Electronic gear-change control device for motor vehicles

Claim 1

AN ELECTRONIC GEAR-CHANGE CONTROL DEVICE FOR MOTOR VEHICLES, COMPRISING MEANS FOR PRODUCING AN ELECTRIC CURRENT WHOSE VOLTAGE IS VARIABLE AS A FUNCTION AT LEAST OF THE SPEED OF THE VEHICLE AND A CIRCUIT HAVING THEREIN THRESHOLD-TYPE SEMICONDUCTOR AMPLIFIERS AND COMPRISING ELECTRIC GEAR CHANGE CONTROL MEANS, CHARACTERIZED IN THAT SAID CIRCUIT, WHICH INCLUDES A SOURCE OF DIRECT CURRENT, COMPRISES A FIRST ZENER DIODE PROVIDING A STABILIZED VOLTAGE IN ONE PORTION OF THE CIRCUIT, A SEMICONDUCTOR AMPLIFIER TO THE BASE OF WHICH IS APPLIED SAID VARIABLE VOLTAGE CONTROLLING CONDUCTIVITY THEREOF, AND A SECOND SEMICONDUCTOR AMPLIFIER WHOSE CONDUCTIVITY IS DEPENDENT UPON THAT OF SAID FIRST AMPLIFIER, SAID SECOND SEMICONDUCTOR AMPLIFIER HAVING A COLLECTOR CIRCUIT CONTAINING SAID ELECTRIC GEAR-CHANGE CONTROL MEANS, A LEAD BEING PROVIDED BETWEEN THE COLLECTOR OF SAID SECOND AMPLIFIER AND A POINT IN SAID STABILIZED-VOLTAGE CIRCUIT PORTION WHEREBY SAID ELECTRIC CONTROL MEANS AND SAID ZENER DIODE ARE PARALLEL-CONNECTED INTO SAID COLLECTOR CIRCUIT, SAID LEAD BEING CROSS-CONNECTED TO THE EMITTER CIRCUIT OF SAID FIRST SEMICONDUCTOR AMPLIFIER AND COMPRISING, ONE ON EITHER SIDE OF THE CONNECTION, TWO DIODES WHOSE CONDUCTIVE DIRECTIONS LEAD TOWARD SAID STABILIZED CIRCUIT PORTION, AND, LEADING AWAY FROM SAID STABILIZED VOLTAGE CIRCUIT PORTION AND SAID CROSS-CONNECTION RESPECTIVELY, TWO INTERCONNECTED LEADS COMPRISING AT LEAST ONE RESISTOR PARALLEL-CONNECTED WITH RESPECT TO SAID ZENER DIODE IN ORDER THAT CONDUCTIVITY OF SAID FIRST SEMICONDUCTOR AMPLIFIER BE FURTHER DEPENDENT UPON THE ENERGIZATION OF SAID ELECTRIC CONTROL MEANS, WHEREBY TO OBTAIN THE DESIRED STEP BETWEEN THE REQUIREMENTS FOR UPWARD AND DOWNWARD GEAR CHANGES, RESPECTIVELY.