Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 10
Claim 1
Independent Claim
307 words
A method of controlling vehicle deceleration during shuttle shifting of a power shift transmission having clutches for selectively interconnecting an input drive shaft, an output drive shaft, and a plurality of gears rotatably housed in said transmission in driving relationship with said input and output drive shafts such that a selective engagement of said clutches will effect a varying of the speed of operation of said output shaft for a given speed of operation of said input shaft, said gears being arranged in preselected gear ratios from a low speed to a high speed, said power shift transmission further having an electrical control system responsive to switches actuated by manual movement of a gearshift lever between a plurality of positions for controlling clutches in the transmission, the method comprising: generating signals representing the present gear ratio corresponding to the current speed of travel of said vehicle and of the desired gear ratio corresponding to the desired speed of travel of said vehicle indicated by manipulation of said gearshift lever, the change of vehicle speed to said desired speed of travel requiring a deceleration of said vehicle from said current speed of travel; and entering a high speed deceleration routine stored in a microprocessor in said electrical control system, said high speed deceleration routine comprising the steps of: sensing the rate of rotation of said output shaft; comparing the sensed rate of rotation of said output shaft to a lookup table having stored therein rate of rotation limits corresponding to selected gear ratios of said transmission; downshifting said transmission to the next lowest gear ratio when the sensed rate of rotation of said output shaft falls below the stored limit corresponding to the present gear ratio; and repeating said sensing, comparing and downshifting steps until the sensed rate of rotation of said output shaft reaches a predetermined value.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
307 words
A method of controlling vehicle deceleration during shuttle shifting of a power shift transmission having clutches for selectively interconnecting an input drive shaft, an output drive shaft, and a plurality of gears rotatably housed in said transmission in driving relationship with said input and output drive shafts such that a selective engagement of said clutches will effect a varying of the speed of operation of said output shaft for a given speed of operation of said input shaft, said gears being arranged in preselected gear ratios from a low speed to a high speed, said power shift transmission further having an electrical control system responsive to switches actuated by manual movement of a gearshift lever between a plurality of positions for controlling clutches in the transmission, the method comprising: generating signals representing the present gear ratio corresponding to the current speed of travel of said vehicle and of the desired gear ratio corresponding to the desired speed of travel of said vehicle indicated by manipulation of said gearshift lever, the change of vehicle speed to said desired speed of travel requiring a deceleration of said vehicle from said current speed of travel; and entering a high speed deceleration routine stored in a microprocessor in said electrical control system, said high speed deceleration routine comprising the steps of: sensing the rate of rotation of said output shaft; comparing the sensed rate of rotation of said output shaft to a lookup table having stored therein rate of rotation limits corresponding to selected gear ratios of said transmission; downshifting said transmission to the next lowest gear ratio when the sensed rate of rotation of said output shaft falls below the stored limit corresponding to the present gear ratio; and repeating said sensing, comparing and downshifting steps until the sensed rate of rotation of said output shaft reaches a predetermined value.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
52 words
The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of: pre-sensing the rate of rotation of said output shaft; and determining a deceleration strategy based upon the presensed rate of rotation of said output shaft and then permitting said entering step only if said pre-sensed rate of rotation exceeds said predetermined value.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method of claim 2 wherein said determining step is run before each repeating step.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 2 wherein said predetermined value corresponds to a threshold at which other deceleration strategies can be more efficiently operated.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method of claim 2 wherein the stored rate of rotation limits correspond to a maximum speed for each respective gear that would not result in an overspeeding of the engine.
Claim 7
Independent Claim
223 words
A method of controlling vehicle deceleration during shuttle shifting of a power shift transmission operably connected to an engine and having clutches for selectively interconnecting an input drive shaft, an output drive shaft, and a plurality of gears rotatably housed in said transmission in driving relationship with said input and output drive shafts such that a selective engagement of said clutches will effect a varying of the speed of operation of said output shaft for a given speed of operation of said input shaft, said gears being arranged in preselected gear ratios from a low speed to a high speed, said power shift transmission further having an electrical control system responsive to switches actuated by manual movement of a gearshift lever between a plurality of positions for controlling clutches in the transmission, the method comprising: entering a high speed deceleration routine stored in a microprocessor in said electrical control system for effecting a downshifting of said transmission in response to the rate of rotation of said output shaft such that said engine serves to brake the speed of said vehicle; and manipulating said clutches by said electrical control system to cause a downshifting of said transmission to the next lower gear when the rate of rotation of said output shaft decreases to a predetermined level corresponding to each specific gear in said transmission.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
223 words
A method of controlling vehicle deceleration during shuttle shifting of a power shift transmission operably connected to an engine and having clutches for selectively interconnecting an input drive shaft, an output drive shaft, and a plurality of gears rotatably housed in said transmission in driving relationship with said input and output drive shafts such that a selective engagement of said clutches will effect a varying of the speed of operation of said output shaft for a given speed of operation of said input shaft, said gears being arranged in preselected gear ratios from a low speed to a high speed, said power shift transmission further having an electrical control system responsive to switches actuated by manual movement of a gearshift lever between a plurality of positions for controlling clutches in the transmission, the method comprising: entering a high speed deceleration routine stored in a microprocessor in said electrical control system for effecting a downshifting of said transmission in response to the rate of rotation of said output shaft such that said engine serves to brake the speed of said vehicle; and manipulating said clutches by said electrical control system to cause a downshifting of said transmission to the next lower gear when the rate of rotation of said output shaft decreases to a predetermined level corresponding to each specific gear in said transmission.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
107 words
The method of claim 6 wherein said entering step includes the steps of: sensing the rate of rotation of said output shaft; comparing the sensed rate of rotation of said output shaft to a lookup table having stored therein rate of rotation limits corresponding to selected gear ratios of said transmission; downshifting said transmission to the next lowest gear ratio by said manipulating step when the sensed rate of rotation of said output shaft falls below the stored limit corresponding to the present gear ratio; and repeating said sensing, comparing and downshifting steps until the sensed rate of rotation of said output shaft reaches a predetermined value.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
52 words
The method of claim 7 further comprising the steps of: pre-sensing the rate of rotation of said output shaft; and determining a deceleration strategy based upon the presensed rate of rotation of said output shaft and then permitting said entering step only if said pre-sensed rate of rotation exceeds said predetermined value.