Automatic transmission control apparatus
First Claim
1. A control apparatus for an automatic transmission of a vehicle comprising:
- calculating means for calculating a running resistance of the vehicle;
selecting means for selecting a gear based on a speed of the vehicle and an opening of a throttle valve of the vehicle; and
setting means for enabling the selecting means to set the transmission to the selected gear when the running resistance is less than a first value and for preventing the selecting means from upshifting the transmission from the selected gear when the running resistance exceeds the first value, said first value being determined based upon the selected gear of the transmission and corresponds to an uphill slope;
wherein the calculating means calculates the running resistance as a function of an engine torque and acceleration of the vehicle.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A control apparatus for an automatic transmission calculates the running resistance of a vehicle based on the vehicle acceleration and the torque generated by the engine. When the running resistance exceeds a first prescribed value, it is determined that the vehicle is travelling on an uphill slope on which upshifting should not take place, so the transmission is prevented from upshifting. When the running resistance falls below a second prescribed value, it is determined that the vehicle is travelling on a downhill slope, so the transmission is made to downshift to a gear in which the engine of the vehicle will perform engine braking. When the running resistance is between the first and second prescribed values, the control apparatus controls the transmission based on the vehicle speed and the throttle opening.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A control apparatus for an automatic transmission of a vehicle comprising:
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calculating means for calculating a running resistance of the vehicle; selecting means for selecting a gear based on a speed of the vehicle and an opening of a throttle valve of the vehicle; and setting means for enabling the selecting means to set the transmission to the selected gear when the running resistance is less than a first value and for preventing the selecting means from upshifting the transmission from the selected gear when the running resistance exceeds the first value, said first value being determined based upon the selected gear of the transmission and corresponds to an uphill slope;
wherein the calculating means calculates the running resistance as a function of an engine torque and acceleration of the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (2)
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3. A control apparatus for an automatic transmission of a vehicle comprising:
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calculating means for calculating a running resistance of the vehicle; selecting means for selecting a gear based on a speed of the vehicle and an opening of a throttle valve of the vehicle; setting means for enabling the selecting means to set the transmission to the selected gear when the running resistance is less than a first value and for preventing the selecting means from upshifting the transmission from the selected gear when the running resistance exceeds the first value, said first value being determined based upon the selected gear of the transmission and corresponds to an uphill slope; and means for downshifting the transmission from the selected gear to a lower gear when the running resistance is less than a second value smaller than the first value and corresponding to a downhill slope. - View Dependent Claims (4)
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5. A control apparatus for an automatic transmission of a vehicle comprising:
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calculating means for calculating a running resistance of the vehicle; selecting means for selecting a gear based on a speed of the vehicle and an opening of a throttle valve of the vehicle; and setting means for enabling the selecting means to set the transmission to the selected gear when the running resistance is greater than a prescribed value and for causing said selecting means to downshift the transmission from the selected gear to a lower gear when the running resistance is less than the prescribed value, wherein the prescribed value is determined based upon the selected gear of the transmission and corresponds to a downhill slope. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8)
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9. A control method for an automatic transmission of a vehicle comprising:
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calculating a running resistance of the vehicle; preventing the transmission from upshifting when the running resistance is greater than a first value which corresponds to an uphill slope and is based upon a selected gear of the transmission; and downshifting the transmission when the running resistance is smaller than a second value that is smaller than the first value which corresponds to a downhill slope and is based upon the selected gear of the transmission. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13)
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12. A control method as claimed in claim 9 wherein the downshifting is to a gear in which engine braking is performed by an engine of the vehicle.
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13. A control method as claimed in claim 9 wherein the vehicle is equipped with brakes, further comprising detecting whether the brakes of the vehicle have been applied so that the downshifting is performed only after detecting the application of the brakes.
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14. A control method for an automatic transmission of a vehicle comprising:
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calculating a running resistance of the vehicle; and downshifting the transmission when the running resistance is smaller than a prescribed value corresponding to a downhill slope, said prescribed value being based upon a selected gear of the transmission. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A control method for an automatic transmission of a vehicle comprising:
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calculating a running resistance of the vehicle; selecting a gear for the transmission based on a speed of the vehicle and an opening of a throttle valve of the vehicle; operating the transmission in the selected gear when the running resistance is between a first value and a second value; preventing the transmission from upshifting from the selected gear when the running resistance exceeds the first value, the first value corresponding to an uphill slope and being based upon the selected gear of the transmission; and downshifting the transmission from the selected gear when the running resistance falls below the second value, the second value corresponding to a downhill slope and being based upon the selected gear of the transmission.
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Specification