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US 4,558,612 AGranted
Vehicular automatic speed change gear assembly
AssigneeMitsubishi Jidosha Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorsTakeo Shimizu, Takeo Hiramatsu, Bonnosuke Takamiya, Hiroshi Fukuchi
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A fully automatic transmission for use in automobiles requires the use of only a single manually operable switch in the vehicle compartment for selecting the travelling direction. All other functions of the transmission, namely the selection of the speed range, including neutral and the application of a parking mechanism are performed by a hydraulc control system in combination with an electronic control system operating according to a predetermined process.
Claims11
An automatic speed change gear assembly for a vehicle, comprising:
- advancement direction indicating switch means having at least two settings, said switch means being manually operable to indicate forward movement at one of said two settings and backward movement at another setting;
- a vehicle stop sensor for detecting when said vehicle is stopped;
- operating condition change-over means for providing one of forward, backward and neutral operating conditions in response to forward, backward and neutral control signals, respectively;
- and
- control means responsive to said advancement direction indicating switch and said vehicle stop sensor for providing said neutral control signal when said advancement direction indicating switch means is switched from a forward movement indication to a backward movement indication and said vehicle stop sensor indicates that said vehicle is not stopped, and thereafter for automatically providing said backward control signal when said vehicle stop sensor indicates that said vehicle has stopped.
2 more elements
An automatic speed change gear assembly for a vehicle, comprising:
- advancement direction indicating switch means having at least two settings, said switch means being manually operable to indicate forward movement at one of said two settings and backward movement at another setting;
- a vehicle stop sensor for detecting when said vehicle is stopped;
- a parking brake operation sensor for detecting the operation of a manually operable parking brake device;
- operating condition change-over means for providing one of forward, backward and neutral operating conditions in response to forward, backward and neutral control signals, respectively, and
- control means responsive to said advancement direction indicating switch means, said vehicle stop sensor and said parking brake operation sensor for providing said neutral control signal when said vehicle stop sensor indicates that said vehicle is stopped and said parking brake operation sensor indicates that said parking brake has been operated.
2 more elements
An automatic speed change gear assembly for a vehicle, comprising:
- advancement direction indicating switch means having at least two settings, said switch means being manually operable to indicate forward movement at one of said two settings and backward movement at another setting;
- a vehicle stop sensor for detecting when said vehicle is stopped;
- an engine stop sensor for detecting the stopping of an engine of said vehicle;
- operating condition change-over means for providing one of forward, backward and neutral operating conditions in response to forward, backward and neutral control signals, respectively;
- and
- control means responsive to said advancement direction indicating switch means, said vehicle stop sensor and said engine stop sensor for providing said neutral control signal when said engine stop sensor indicates that said engine has stopped.
3 more elements
An automatic speed change gear assembly for a vehicle, comprising:
- a speed change gear mechanism capable of providing at least forward, backward and neutral ranges and having an output means, and including a parking mechanism for stopping the rotation of said output means to thereby place said vehicle in a parked state;
- actuating means for operating said parking mechanism;
- a vehicle stop sensor for detecting the stoppage of said vehicle;
- a key switch for controlling the start and stop of an engine;
- a seat switch for detecting when an operator sits on a driver's seat of said vehicle;
- a parking brake operation sensor for detecting the operation of a manually operable parking brake device;
- and
- control means for applying signals to said actuating means to engage or disengage said parking mechanism according to signals from said vehicle stop sensor, seat switch, key switch and parking brake operation sensor, said control means applying a signal to said actuating means to place said parking mechanism in an engagement state when said vehicle stop sensor indicates that said vehicle is stopped, said parking brake operation sensor indicates that said parking brake has not been operated and said seat switch indicates that said driver's seat is not occupied.
5 more elements
An automatic speed change gear assembly for a vehicle, comprising:
- a speed change gear mechanism capable of providing at least forward, backward and neutral ranges and having an output means, and including a parking mechanism for stopping the rotation of said output means to thereby place said vehicle in a parked state;
- actuating means for operating said parking mechanism;
- a vehicle stop sensor for detecting the stoppage of said vehicle;
- a key switch for controlling the start and stop of an engine;
- a seat switch for detecting when an operator sits on a drivers seat of said vehicle;
- a sensor for detecting the operation of said engine;
- a parking brake operation sensor for detecting the operation of a manually operable parking brake device;
- and
- control means for applying signals to said actuating means to engage or disengage said parking mechanism in accordance with signals from said vehicle stop sensor, said key switch, said seat switch, said engine sensor and said parking brake operation sensor, said control means applying a signal to said actuating means to place said parking mechanism in an engagement state when said vehicle stop sensor indicates that said vehicle is stopped and said key switch is in an "off" position, and said control means operating to provide a signal to release said parking mechanism when said seat switch indicates that an operator is sitting on said drivers seat, said engine sensor indicates that said engine is being operated and said parking brake operation sensor indicates that said parking brake has been operated.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.