Apparatus and methods for determining vehicular transmission output torque

A method for distributing torque output by a transmission of a vehicle, the transmission being shiftable between multiple gears, the method comprising:

• storing a blended gear number;
• using a first processor to determine a target gear number and an actual gear number during shifting between the gears of the transmission, the target gear number being equal to a value of a gear number to which the transmission is shifting, the actual gear number being equal to a value of a gear number from which the transmission is shifting;
• using a second processor to:
• compare the target gear number to the actual gear number, and to retrieve the blended gear number from the storage device if the target gear number is greater than the actual gear number,
• determine an approximate value for a gear ratio that decreases in proportion to a rate of decrease in torque output by the transmission based on the blended gear number, and
• estimate a value of the torque output by the transmission based on the determined gear ratio;
• and
• operating at least one of a pair of clutch assemblies based on the estimated value of the torque output by the transmission.

A torque distribution control system for distributing torque output by a transmission among front and rear wheels of a vehicle, the transmission being shiftable between multiple gears, the vehicle including at least one clutch configured to selectively couple at least one of the front and rear wheels to the transmission, the torque distribution control system comprising:

• an electronic storage device that stores a blended gear number;
• a first controller configured to determine a target gear number and an actual gear number during shifting between the gears of the transmission, the target gear number being equal to a value of a gear number to which the transmission is shifting, the actual gear number being equal to a value of a gear number from which the transmission is shifting;
• and
• a second controller configured to:
• compare the target gear number to the actual gear number, and to retrieve the blended gear number from the storage device if the target gear number is greater than the actual gear number,
• determine an approximate value for a gear ratio that decreases in proportion to a rate of decrease in torque output by the transmission based on the blended gear number,
• estimate an output torque based on the determined gear ratio,
• determine a torque distribution based on the estimated torque among the front and rear wheels, and
• instruct the clutch to couple the at least one of the front and the rear wheels to the transmission based on the determined torque distribution.