Method of operating an automatic transmission as well as controller

Abstract

A method is provided for operating an automatic transmission for a vehicle, that includes, but is not limited to detecting whether a target speed of the vehicle is set, calculating an optimum acceleration gear in dependence of an actual virtual accelerator pedal position, and, if the optimum acceleration gear differs from a current gear, storing the actual virtual accelerator pedal position, shifting to the optimum acceleration gear and ignoring newly calculated actual virtual accelerator pedal positions for an acceleration period of time. Since the actual virtual accelerator pedal position is stored in the case of a detected necessary gear shift and further calculated actual virtual accelerator pedal positions are ignored for a time, the operating of the transmission is based mainly on the value of the actual virtual accelerator pedal position at the time, when a necessary gear shift is detected. The risk that due to insignificant changes of the accelerator pedal position the gear is shifted up and down several times (“gear hunting”) until the target speed is reached is reduced.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.