Apparatus for controlling an automatically shifting transmission
AssigneeBayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft
InventorNorbert Fischer
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The apparatus suppresses manual shifting options in an electronically controlled automatic transmission with a manual mode in the active transportation mode of a motor vehicle by appropriate programming of an electronic transmission control unit. The transmission can be operated only in the automatic mode. Preferably, only the forward gears can be selected in this case, the weakest shift element, in particular the weakest brake or clutch in an automatic transmission, always being closed in the forward gears.
Claims6
A motor vehicle equipped with an automatically shifting transmission, the motor vehicle comprising:
- at least one selector device defining at least driving stages P, R, N, and D, which are settable in an automatic mode;
- an electronic transmission control unit by which shift elements of the automatically shifting transmission for selecting a respectively defined gear are actuatable depending on signals from the selector device;
- a second selector device by which a direct upshift operation and/or downshift operation are triggerable, wherein
- the electronic transmission control unit comprises a transportation mode functional module,
- the electronic transmission control unit receives an input signal indicative of a state of a transportation mode,
- the electronic transmission control unit receives signals from the second selector device, and
- the electronic transmission control unit configured with the transportation mode functional module does not permit any direct upshift or downshift operation when the signal indicates the motor vehicle is in the transportation mode even when the second selector device is operated.
A method of controlling an automatically shifting transmission of a motor vehicle equipped with a first selector device defines driving stages P, R, N, and D that are settable in an automatic mode, an electronic transmission control unit by which shift elements of the automatically shifting transmission for selecting a respectively predefined gear are actuatable depending on signals from the first selector device, and a second selector device by which a direct upshift operation and/or downshift operation is triggerable, the method comprising the acts of:
- receiving, by the electronic transmission control unit, a signal indicative of whether the motor vehicle is in a transportation mode or not;
- and
- if the signal indicates the motor vehicle is in the transportation mode, controlling the automatically shifting transmission to not permit any direct upshift or downshift operation when the second selector device is operated to trigger such an operation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.