Patent US5216606A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
← Back to Patent Explorer
US5216606A Expired / Lapsed US ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Compensated control method for filling a fluid-operated automatic transmission clutch

Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC
•
Filing: 1991-01-18
•
Granted: 1993-06-01
•
Expires: 2011-01-18
📄 Original PDF 🌐 Google Patents 🔄 Sync Now

Abstract

Abstract The on-coming clutch of an automatic transmission is filled for a fill time determined from empirical data embodied in look-up tables which relate the effects of pump speed and fluid temperature on the fill time. The fill time is determined for a baseline clutch and then multiplied by a volume ratio for a particular clutch. The effect of fluid temperature on leakage is tabulated and used with the pump speed to determine the effective pumping speed. The effects of fluid temperature on viscosity and oil flow rate are determined and used to adjust the base fill time for low pumping speeds. The fluid retained in a clutch cavity from a recent application and not fully exhausted is also taken into account.

Inventors

  • 👤 Carl A. Lentz
  • 👤 Charles F. Long

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction US
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-10-31 05:59
CPC Classifications
F; F16; F16H; F16H61/00; F16H61/04; F16H61/06; F16H61/061; F16H59/00; F16H59/68; F16H2059/6807; F16H2061/0075; F16H2061/0087; F16H2061/062; F16H59/72

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 9
Claim 1
Independent Claim 132 words
In a vehicular automatic shift transmission including a pump driven at a variable speed for developing fluid pressure and a fluid-operated torque transmitting device which is filled with fluid in preparation for engagement in response to issuance of a shift command, a control method for filling said torque transmitting device comprising the steps of: determining an effective pumping speed as a function of transmission fluid temperature and a sensed pump speed; determining a fill time according to the product of a volume ratio factor for said torque transmitting device and a base fill time determined as a function of said effective pumping speed from a table of empirically derived base fill time values; and supplying the fluid pressure developed by said pump to said torque transmitting device for said determined fill time.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 132 words
In a vehicular automatic shift transmission including a pump driven at a variable speed for developing fluid pressure and a fluid-operated torque transmitting device which is filled with fluid in preparation for engagement in response to issuance of a shift command, a control method for filling said torque transmitting device comprising the steps of: determining an effective pumping speed as a function of transmission fluid temperature and a sensed pump speed; determining a fill time according to the product of a volume ratio factor for said torque transmitting device and a base fill time determined as a function of said effective pumping speed from a table of empirically derived base fill time values; and supplying the fluid pressure developed by said pump to said torque transmitting device for said determined fill time.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 29 words
The control method as defined in claim 1 wherein the effective pumping speed is determined by offsetting the sensed pump speed by a fluid temperature dependent leakage offset term.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 56 words
The control method as defined in claim 1 wherein the step of determining the fill time includes the steps of: determining a fluid temperature dependent hydraulic restriction factor for the torque transmitting device; and determining said fill time according to the product of said volume ratio factor, said base fill time and said hydraulic restriction factor.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 101 words
The control method as defined in claim 1 wherein the fill time depends on an initial condition of the device due to being only partially exhausted at the issuance of said shift command, and wherein the step of determining the fill time includes the further step of: measuring the time elapsed between the last pressure exhaust command and the issuance of said fill command, determining the percentage of device capacity as a predetermined function of such measured time; and determining the fill time according to the product of base fill time, the volume ratio factor, and the percentage of device capacity.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 140 words
In a vehicular automatic shift transmission including a pump driven at a variable speed for developing fluid pressure and a fluid-operated torque transmitting device which is filled with fluid prior to engagement in response to issuance of a shift command, a control method for filling said torque transmitting device comprising the steps of: determining an effective pumping speed as a function of a sensed pump speed, a transmission fluid temperature dependent leakage offset and an adaptively updated viscosity offset; determining a fill time according to the product of a volume ratio factor for said torque transmitting device and a base fill time determined as a function of said effective pumping speed form a table of empirically derived base fill time values; and supplying the fluid pressure developed by said pump to said torque transmitting device for said determined fill time.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim 140 words
In a vehicular automatic shift transmission including a pump driven at a variable speed for developing fluid pressure and a fluid-operated torque transmitting device which is filled with fluid prior to engagement in response to issuance of a shift command, a control method for filling said torque transmitting device comprising the steps of: determining an effective pumping speed as a function of a sensed pump speed, a transmission fluid temperature dependent leakage offset and an adaptively updated viscosity offset; determining a fill time according to the product of a volume ratio factor for said torque transmitting device and a base fill time determined as a function of said effective pumping speed form a table of empirically derived base fill time values; and supplying the fluid pressure developed by said pump to said torque transmitting device for said determined fill time.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim 112 words
The control method set forth in claim 5, wherein the transmission includes a driven input shaft connected to said torque transmitting device, and the adaptive updating of said viscosity offset term includes the steps of: adjusting the viscosity offset term in a direction to increase the effective pumping speed in subsequent fill time determinations in response to an early pulldown of the transmission input shaft due to engagement of the torque transmitting device; and adjusting the viscosity offset term in a direction to decrease the effective pumping speed in subsequent fill time determinations in response to a late pulldown of the transmission input shaft due to engagement of the torque transmitting device.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim 55 words
The control method set forth in claim 5, including the steps of: adaptively adjusting said fill time during shifting at pump speeds for which fluid viscosity variations do not significantly affect fill time; and adaptively adjusting said viscosity offset term during shifting at pump speeds for which fluid viscosity variations do significantly affect fill time.

References Cited (Backward Citations)

US4707789A Cited
US4671139A Cited
US4706522A Cited
US5113720A Cited
US4951200A Cited
US4913004A Cited
US5079970A Cited

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Annuity Stage Window Opens Payment Deadline Surcharge Period Until Estimated Fee Status
3.5 Years (Year 4) 1996-05-31 1996-11-30 1997-06-01 $2000.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8) 2000-05-31 2000-11-30 2001-06-01 $3760.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12) 2004-05-31 2004-11-30 2005-06-01 $7700.00 Window Closed / Lapsed

Assigned Categories & Tags

No categories assigned to this patent yet.

Assign Category Tag