Control apparatus for vehicular automatic transmission

• US 9,008,930 B2
• Filed: 12/06/2010
• Issued: 04/14/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/06/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Saito, Hidenori, Sugimura, Toshio
• Primary Examiner(s): EL CHANTI, HUSSEIN A
• Application Number:
  US13/990,570
• Publication Number:
  US 20130253786A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,590 Days
• Field of Search: 701/55
• US Class Current: 701/55
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 2061/1208 with diagnostic check cycles; Monitoring of failures
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 2061/1232 Bringing the control into a predefined state, e.g. giving priority to particular actuators or gear ratios
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 2061/1268 Electric parts of the controller, e.g. a defect solenoid, wiring or microprocessor
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 61/12 Detecting malfunction or potential malfunction, e.g. fail safe in control of hydrostatic gearing F16H61/4192; Circumventing or fixing failures
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 61/68 specially adapted for stepped gearings
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 61/686 with orbital gears
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 74/19251 Control mechanism

Abstract

A control apparatus for a vehicular automatic transmission configured to selectively establish a plurality of shift positions by respective combinations of frictional coupling devices of a plurality of frictional coupling devices in an engaged state thereof, with output hydraulic pressures of respective ones of a plurality of solenoid valves provided in a hydraulic control circuit, includes a fail-safe control portion configured to perform a predetermined fail-safe function when shifting direction values requiring a shifting control of said vehicular automatic transmission and shifting output values respectively generated according to said shifting direction values are not coincident with each other, said shifting output values being represented by respective electric signals for driving said plurality of solenoid valves.

Claims

1. A control apparatus for a vehicular automatic transmission configured to selectively establish a plurality of shift positions by respective combinations of frictional coupling devices of a plurality of frictional coupling devices in an engaged state thereof, with output hydraulic pressures of respective ones of a plurality of solenoid valves provided in a hydraulic control circuit, comprising:

a shift control portion configured to implement a shifting control of said vehicular automatic transmission,

a fail-safe control portion configured to perform a predetermined fail-safe function when shifting direction values requiring said shifting control of said vehicular automatic transmission and shifting output values respectively generated according to said shifting direction values are not coincident with each other,

said shifting output values being represented by respective electric signals for driving said plurality of solenoid valves,

said fail-safe control portion performing said predetermined fail-safe function in a case that the shifting direction values and the shifting output values are not coincident each other by commanding said shift control portion to implement a shifting action of the vehicular automatic transmission to one of the shift positions, using an engaging action of the frictional coupling device which takes place with an output hydraulic pressure of one of said solenoid valves which corresponds to one of said shifting output values which is not coincident with the corresponding shifting direction value,

in a case that all shifting actions from the shift position to be established when said shifting direction values and said shifting output values are coincident to each other, to said plurality of the shift positions to be established using the engaging action of the frictional coupling device which takes place with the output hydraulic pressure of one of said solenoid valves which corresponds to one of said shifting output values which is not coincident with the corresponding shifting direction value are shift-down actions, the shifting action to said one of the shift positions to be established when said predetermined fail-safe function is performed being a shift-down action causing a lowest stepping change between speed ratios of the shifting, and

in a case that the shifting actions from the shift position to be established when said shifting direction values and said shifting output values are coincident to each other, to said plurality of the shift positions to be established using the engaging action of the frictional coupling device which takes place with the output hydraulic pressure of one of said solenoid valves which corresponds to one of said shifting output values which is not coincident with the corresponding shifting direction value are both a shift-up action and a shift-down action, the shifting action to said one of the shift positions to be established when said predetermined fail-safe function is performed being a shift-up action.

2. The control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said fail-safe control portion performs said predetermined fail-safe function in a case that the shifting direction values and the shifting output values are not coincident each other by changing any of said shifting direction values with which a corresponding one of said shifting output values is not coincident.

3. The control apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising an output value coincidence determining portion configured to determine any of said shifting output values which is not coincident with the corresponding one of said shifting direction values, according to a table of coincidence stored in a memory, which table indicates a relationship between said plurality of shift positions and said respective combinations of the frictional coupling devices to be placed in the engaged state.

4. The control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said shifting direction values are shifting command values commanding said shift control portion to implement the shifting control of said vehicular automatic transmission, or shifting implementation values on the basis of which a need for implementing said shifting control is determined.

5. A control apparatus for use in a vehicular automatic transmission, the control apparatus being configured to selectively establish a plurality of shift positions by respective combinations of a plurality of frictional coupling devices in an engaged state, the shift positions of the frictional coupling devices being established by a hydraulic control circuit having a plurality of solenoid valves configured to output different hydraulic pressures representing different shift positions of the frictional coupling devices, the control apparatus comprising:

an electronic control unit programmed to;

execute a shifting operation in the vehicular automatic transmission including generating shifting direction values;

perform a predetermined fail-safe function in response to the shifting direction values requiring the shifting operation being not coincident with shifting output values respectively generated based on the shifting direction values, the shifting output values being represented by respective electric signals for driving the solenoid valves, the predetermined fail-safe function including initiating a shifting action of the vehicular automatic transmission to one of the shift positions based on an engaging action of the frictional coupling device which takes place with an output hydraulic pressure of one of the solenoid valves corresponding to one of the shifting output values that is not coincident with the corresponding shifting direction value, wherein;

in a case for shifting actions from the shift position to be established when the shifting direction values are coincident with the shifting output values, to the shift positions to be established using the engaging action of the frictional coupling device which takes place with the output hydraulic pressure of one of said solenoid valves which corresponds to one of said shifting output values which is not coincident with the corresponding shifting direction value are shift-down actions, the shifting action to one of the shift positions to be established when said predetermined fail-safe function is performed is a shift-down action causing a lowest stepping change between speed ratios in the shifting action, and

in a case for shifting actions from the shift position to be established when the shifting direction values are coincident with the shifting output values, to the shift positions to be established using the engaging action of the frictional coupling device which takes place with the output hydraulic pressure of one of said solenoid valves which corresponds to one of said shifting output values which is not coincident with the corresponding shifting direction value are both;

(i) a shift-up action, and (ii) a shift-down action, the shifting action to the one of the shift positions to be established when said predetermined fail-safe function is performed is a shift-up action.

6. The control apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the electronic control unit performs the predetermined fail-safe function in response to the shifting direction values being not coincident with the shifting output values by changing at least one of the shifting direction values that is not coincident with a corresponding value of the shifting output values.

7. The control apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising:

a memory storing;

a table of coincidence data specifying a relationship between the plurality of shift positions and the respective combinations of the frictional coupling devices in the engaged state; and

the electronic control unit further including;

determining that at least one of the shifting output values is not coincident with the corresponding shifting direction value based on the table of coincidence stored in the memory.

8. The control apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the shifting direction values are:

(i) shifting command values commanding the electronic control unit to execute the shifting operation of the vehicular automatic transmission, or (ii) shifting implementation values based on which a need for implementing the shifting operation is determined.