Shift control device

A shift control device having a stepless shift mode and a stepped shift mode as shift modes for controlling a continuously variable transmission to be coupled to an engine, the stepless shift mode being a mode in which a transmission gear ratio of the continuously variable transmission is controlled in a stepless fashion, the stepped shift mode being a mode in which the transmission gear ratio of the continuously variable transmission is controlled in a stepwise fashion, the shift control device comprising:

• a shift controller configured to switch the shift mode from the stepped shift mode to the stepless shift mode by executing shift control of the continuously variable transmission if an accelerator-pedal operated amount falls below a switch threshold during the stepped shift mode;
• a minimum value detector configured to detect a minimum value of the accelerator-pedal operated amount in a shift process of switching the shift mode from the stepped shift mode to the stepless shift mode;
• and
• an upper-limit-value setting unit configured to set an upper limit value for rotational acceleration of the engine based on a difference between the accelerator-pedal operated amount and the minimum value in the shift process of switching the shift mode from the stepped shift mode to the stepless shift mode,
• wherein, in the shift process of switching the shift mode from the stepped shift mode to the stepless shift mode, the shift controller limits the rotational acceleration of the engine to the upper limit value or lower by limiting a shift rate when the continuously variable transmission is downshifted.