Control apparatus for vehicular power transmitting system

A control apparatus for a vehicular power transmitting system including (a) an electrically controlled differential portion having a differential mechanism disposed between an engine and a drive wheel, and a differential-portion electric motor operatively connected to the differential mechanism, wherein a differential state of the differential portion is controllable by controlling an operating state of the differential-portion electric motor, and (b) a step-variable automatic transmission portion which constitutes a part of a power transmitting path between the engine and the drive wheel, said control apparatus comprising:

• a shifting-action determining portion configured to determine whether a shifting action of the automatic transmission portion should take place;
• a shifting inhibiting portion configured to inhibit a shift-down action of the automatic transmission portion when an operating speed of the engine is lower than a predetermined lower limit;
• a shifting-time comparing portion operable when said shifting-action determining portion determines that a jump shift-down action of the automatic transmission portion from a present gear position to a target gear position while skipping at least one intermediate gear position therebetween should take place, and when said jump shift-down action is inhibited by said shifting inhibiting portion, said shifting-time comparing portion being configured to compare a total sequential-shift-down-operation time required for a sequential shift-down operation consisting a shift-down action from the present gear position to each of said at least one intermediate gear position and a last shift-down action from the last intermediate gear position to said target gear position, with a total jump-shift-down-action time required for said jump shift-down action to be performed after the inhibition of said jump shift-down action is canceled;
• and
• a shift control portion operable when said shifting-action determining portion determines that said jump shift-down action should take place and when said jump shift-down action is inhibited, said shift control portion being configured to generate a shifting command to perform said jump shift-down action when said total jump-shift-down-action time is shorter than said total sequential-shift-down-operation time, and a shifting command to perform said sequential shift-down operation when said total jump-shift-down-action time is not shorter than said total sequential-shift-down-operation time.