How Automatic Transmissions Work - HowStuffWorks

10/8/2015
HowAutomaticTransmissionsWorkHowStuffWorks
HowAutomaticTransmissionsWork
byKarimNice
BrowsethearticleHowAutomaticTransmissionsWork
IntroductiontoHowAutomaticTransmissionsWork
ImageGallery:Transmissions
Ifyouhaveeverdrivenacarwithan
automatictransmission,thenyou
knowthattherearetwobig
differencesbetweenanautomatic
transmissionandamanu
al
transmission:
Thereisnoclutchpedalin
anautomatictransmission
car.
Thereisnogearshiftinan
automatictransmissioncar.
Onceyouputthe
transmissionintodrive,
everythingelseisautomatic.
Boththeautomatictransmission
(plusitstorqueconverter)and
amanualtransmission(with
itsclutch)accomplishexactlythe
samething,buttheydoitintotally
differentways.Itturnsoutthatthe
NextUp
TransmissionQuiz
HowManual
TransmissionsWork
HowTorque
ConvertersWork
BillPugliano/GettyImages
The6L50transmissionisaHydraMaticsixspeedrearandallwheel
driveautomatictransmissionproducedbyGM.Seemoretransmission
pictures.
wayanautomatictransmissiondoesitisabsolutelyamazing!
Inthisarticle,we'llworkourwaythroughanautomatictransmission.We'llstart
withthekeytothewholesystem:planetarygearsets.Thenwe'llseehowthe
transmissionisputtogether,learnhowthecontrolsworkanddiscusssomeof
theintricaciesinvolvedincontrollingatransmission.
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Thevideoyouaretryingtoviewisnolongeravailable.
PurposeofanAutomaticTransmission
Justlikethatofamanual
transmission,theautomatic
transmission'sprimaryjobistoallow
theenginetooperateinitsnarrow
rangeofspeedswhileprovidinga
widerangeofoutputspeeds.
Withoutatransmission,carswould
belimitedtoonegearratio,andthat
ratiowouldhavetobeselectedto
allowthecartotravelatthedesired
topspeed.Ifyouwantedatopspeed
of80mph,thenthegearratiowould
besimilartothirdgearinmost
manualtransmissioncars.
You'veprobablynevertrieddrivinga
manualtransmissioncarusingonly
thirdgear.Ifyoudid,you'dquickly
findoutthatyouhadalmostno
Locationoftheautomatictransmission.
accelerationwhenstartingout,and
athighspeeds,theenginewouldbescreamingalongneartheredline.Acarlikethiswouldwearoutveryquickly
andwouldbenearlyundriveable.
Sothetransmissionusesgearstomakemoreeffectiveuseoftheengine'storque,andtokeeptheengineoperatingat
anappropriatespeed.Whentowingorhaulingheavyobjects,yourvehicle'stransmissioncangethotenoughtoburn
upthetransmissionfluid.Inordertoprotectthetransmissionfromseriousdamage,driverswhotowshouldbuy
vehiclesequippedwithtransmissioncoolers.
Thekeydifferencebetweenamanualandanautomatictransmissionisthatthemanualtransmissionlocksand
unlocksdifferentsetsofgearstotheoutputshafttoachievethevariousgearratios,whileinanautomatic
transmission,thesamesetofgearsproducesallofthedifferentgearratios.Theplanetarygearsetisthedevicethat
makesthispossibleinanautomatictransmission.
Let'stakealookathowtheplanetarygearsetworks.
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ThePlanetaryGearset
Whenyoutakeapartandlookinside
anautomatictransmission,youfind
ahugeassortmentofpartsinafairly
smallspace.Amongotherthings,
yousee:
Aningeniousplanetary
gearset
Asetofbandstolockparts
ofagearset
Asetofthreewetplate
clutchestolockotherparts
ofthegearset
Anincrediblyoddhydraulic
Fromlefttoright:theringgear,planetcarrier,andtwosungears
systemthatcontrolsthe
clutchesandbands
Alargegearpumptomovetransmissionfluidaround
Thecenterofattentionistheplanetarygearset.Aboutthesizeofacantaloupe,thisonepartcreatesallofthe
differentgearratiosthatthetransmissioncanproduce.Everythingelseinthetransmissionistheretohelp
theplanetarygearsetdoitsthing.ThisamazingpieceofgearinghasappearedonHowStuffWorksbefore.Youmay
recognizeitfromtheelectricscrewdriverarticle.Anautomatictransmissioncontainstwocompleteplanetarygearsets
foldedtogetherintoonecomponent.SeeHowGearRatiosWorkforanintroductiontoplanetarygearsets.
Anyplanetarygearsethasthreemaincomponents:
Thesungear
Theplanetgearsandtheplanetgears'carrier
Theringgear
Eachofthesethreecomponentscanbetheinput,theoutputorcanbeheldstationary.Choosingwhichpieceplays
whichroledeterminesthegearratioforthegearset.Let'stakealookatasingleplanetarygearset.
PlanetaryGearsetRatios
Oneoftheplanetarygearsetsfromourtransmissionhasaringgearwith72teethandasungearwith30teeth.We
cangetlotsofdifferentgearratiosoutofthisgearset.
Input
Output
Stationary
Calculation
Gear
Ratio
Sun(S)
PlanetCarrier
(C)
Ring(R)
1+R/S
3.4:1
PlanetCarrier
(C)
Ring(R)
Sun(S)
1/(1+
S/R)
0.71:1
Sun(S)
Ring(R)
PlanetCarrier
(C)
R/S
2.4:1
Also,lockinganytwoofthethreecomponentstogetherwilllockupthewholedeviceata1:1gearreduction.Notice
thatthefirstgearratiolistedaboveisareductiontheoutputspeedisslowerthantheinputspeed.Thesecondis
anoverdrivetheoutputspeedisfasterthantheinputspeed.Thelastisareductionagain,buttheoutputdirectionis
reversed.Thereareseveralotherratiosthatcanbegottenoutofthisplanetarygearset,butthesearetheonesthat
arerelevanttoourautomatictransmission.Youcantrytheseoutintheanimationbelow:
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Animationofthedifferentgearratiosrelatedtoautomatictransmissions
Clickonthebuttonsontheleftinthetableabove.
Sothisonesetofgearscanproduceallofthesedifferentgearratioswithouthavingtoengageordisengageanyother
gears.Withtwoofthesegearsetsinarow,wecangetthefourforwardgearsandonereversegearourtransmission
needs.We'llputthetwosetsofgearstogetherinthenextsection.
CompoundPlanetaryGearset
Thisautomatictransmissionusesasetofgears,calledacompoundplanetarygearset,thatlookslikeasingle
planetarygearsetbutactuallybehavesliketwoplanetarygearsetscombined.Ithasoneringgearthatisalwaysthe
outputofthetransmission,butithastwosungearsandtwosetsofplanets.
Let'slookatsomeoftheparts:
Howthegearsinthetransmissionareputtogether
Lefttoright:theringgear,planetcarrier,andtwosungears
Thefigurebelowshowstheplanetsintheplanetcarrier.Noticehowtheplanetontherightsitslowerthantheplanet
ontheleft.Theplanetontherightdoesnotengagetheringgearitengagestheotherplanet.Onlytheplanetonthe
leftengagestheringgear.
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Planetcarrier:Notethetwosetsofplanets.
Nextyoucanseetheinsideoftheplanetcarrier.Theshortergearsareengagedonlybythesmallersungear.The
longerplanetsareengagedbythebiggersungearandbythesmallerplanets.
Insidetheplanetcarrier:Notethetwosetsofplanets.
Theanimationbelowshowshowallofthepartsarehookedupinatransmission.
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Movetheshiftlevertoseehowpoweristransmittedthroughthetransmission.
FirstGear
Infirstgear,thesmallersungearisdrivenclockwisebytheturbineinthetorqueconverter.Theplanetcarriertriesto
spincounterclockwise,butisheldstillbytheonewayclutch(whichonlyallowsrotationintheclockwisedirection)and
theringgearturnstheoutput.Thesmallgearhas30teethandtheringgearhas72,sothegearratiois:
Ratio=R/S=72/30=2.4:1
Sotherotationisnegative2.4:1,whichmeansthattheoutputdirectionwouldbeoppositetheinputdirection.Butthe
outputdirectionisreallythesameastheinputdirectionthisiswherethetrickwiththetwosetsofplanetscomesin.
Thefirstsetofplanetsengagesthesecondset,andthesecondsetturnstheringgearthiscombinationreversesthe
direction.Youcanseethatthiswouldalsocausethebiggersungeartospinbutbecausethatclutchisreleased,the
biggersungearisfreetospinintheoppositedirectionoftheturbine(counterclockwise).
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SecondGear
Thistransmissiondoessomethingreallyneatinordertogettherationeededforsecondgear.Itactsliketwo
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planetarygearsetsconnectedtoeachotherwithacommonplanetcarrier.
Thefirststageoftheplanetcarrieractuallyusesthelargersungearastheringgear.Sothefirststageconsistsofthe
sun(thesmallersungear),theplanetcarrier,andthering(thelargersungear).
Theinputisthesmallsungeartheringgear(largesungear)isheldstationarybytheband,andtheoutputisthe
planetcarrier.Forthisstage,withthesunasinput,planetcarrierasoutput,andtheringgearfixed,theformulais:
1+R/S=1+36/30=2.2:1
Theplanetcarrierturns2.2timesforeachrotationofthesmallsungear.Atthesecondstage,theplanetcarrieractsas
theinputforthesecondplanetarygearset,thelargersungear(whichisheldstationary)actsasthesun,andthering
gearactsastheoutput,sothegearratiois:
1/(1+S/R)=1/(1+36/72)=0.67:1
Togettheoverallreductionforsecondgear,wemultiplythefirststagebythesecond,2.2x0.67,togeta1.47:1
reduction.Thismaysoundwacky,butifyouwatchthevideoyou'llgetanideaofhowitworks.
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ThirdGear
Mostautomatictransmissionshavea1:1ratiointhirdgear.You'llrememberfromtheprevioussectionthatallwehave
todotogeta1:1outputislocktogetheranytwoofthethreepartsoftheplanetarygear.Withthearrangementinthis
gearsetitiseveneasierallwehavetodoisengagetheclutchesthatlockeachofthesungearstotheturbine.
Ifbothsungearsturninthesamedirection,theplanetgearslockupbecausetheycanonlyspininoppositedirections.
Thislockstheringgeartotheplanetsandcauseseverythingtospinasaunit,producinga1:1ratio.
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Overdrive
Bydefinition,anoverdrivehasafasteroutputspeedthaninputspeed.It'saspeedincreasetheoppositeofa
reduction.Inthistransmission,engagingtheoverdriveaccomplishestwothingsatonce.IfyoureadHowTorque
ConvertersWork,youlearnedaboutlockuptorqueconverters.Inordertoimproveefficiency,somecarshavea
mechanismthatlocksupthetorqueconvertersothattheoutputoftheenginegoesstraighttothetransmission.
Inthistransmission,whenoverdriveisengaged,ashaftthatisattachedtothehousingofthetorqueconverter(which
isboltedtotheflywheeloftheengine)isconnectedbyclutchtotheplanetcarrier.Thesmallsungearfreewheels,and
thelargersungearisheldbytheoverdriveband.Nothingisconnectedtotheturbinetheonlyinputcomesfromthe
converterhousing.Let'sgobacktoourchartagain,thistimewiththeplanetcarrierforinput,thesungearfixedand
theringgearforoutput.
Ratio=1/(1+S/R)=1/(1+36/72)=0.67:1
Sotheoutputspinsonceforeverytwothirdsofarotationoftheengine.Iftheengineisturningat2000rotationsper
minute(RPM),theoutputspeedis3000RPM.Thisallowscarstodriveatfreewayspeedwhiletheenginespeed
staysniceandslow.
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ReverseGear
Reverseisverysimilartofirstgear,exceptthatinsteadofthesmallsungearbeingdrivenbythetorqueconverter
turbine,thebiggersungearisdriven,andthesmallonefreewheelsintheoppositedirection.Theplanetcarrieris
heldbythereversebandtothehousing.So,accordingtoourequationsfromthelastpage,wehave:
Ratio=R/S=72/36=2.0:1
Sotheratioinreverseisalittlelessthanfirstgearinthistransmission.
GearRatios
Thistransmissionhasfourforwardgearsandonereversegear.Let'ssummarizethegearratios,inputsandoutputs:
Gear
Input
1st
30toothsun
30toothsun
2nd
Planetcarrier
Output
Fixed
72toothring Planetcarrier
Planet
carrier
30and36tooth
suns
OD
Reverse
2.4:1
36toothring
2.2:1
72toothring 36toothsun
0.67:1
Total2nd
3rd
GearRatio
1.47:1
72toothring
1.0:1
Planetcarrier
72toothring 36toothsun
0.67:1
36toothsun
72toothring Planetcarrier
2.0:1
Afterreadingthesesections,youareprobablywonderinghowthedifferentinputsgetconnectedanddisconnected.
Thisisdonebyaseriesofclutchesandbandsinsidethetransmission.Inthenextsection,we'llseehowthesework.
ClutchesandBandsinanAutomaticTransmission
Inthelastsection,wediscussedhoweachofthegearratiosiscreatedbythetransmission.Forinstance,whenwe
discussedoverdrive,wesaid:
Inthistransmission,whenoverdriveisengaged,ashaftthatisattachedtothehousingofthetorqueconverter(which
isboltedtotheflywheeloftheengine)isconnectedbyclutchtotheplanetcarrier.Thesmallsungearfreewheels,and
thelargersungearisheldbytheoverdriveband.Nothingisconnectedtotheturbinetheonlyinputcomesfromthe
converterhousing.
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Togetthetransmissionintooverdrive,lotsofthingshavetobeconnectedanddisconnectedbyclutchesandbands.
Theplanetcarriergetsconnectedtothetorqueconverterhousingbyaclutch.Thesmallsungetsdisconnectedfrom
theturbinebyaclutchsothatitcanfreewheel.Thebigsungearisheldtothehousingbyabandsothatitcouldnot
rotate.Eachgearshifttriggersaseriesofeventslikethese,withdifferentclutchesandbandsengagingand
disengaging.Let'stakealookataband.
Bands
Inthistransmissiontherearetwobands.Thebandsinatransmissionare,literally,steelbandsthatwraparound
sectionsofthegeartrainandconnecttothehousing.Theyareactuatedbyhydrauliccylindersinsidethecaseofthe
transmission.
Oneofthebands
Inthefigureabove,youcanseeoneofthebandsinthehousingofthetransmission.Thegeartrainisremoved.The
metalrodisconnectedtothepiston,whichactuatestheband.
Thepistonsthatactuatethebandsarevisiblehere.
Aboveyoucanseethetwopistonsthatactuatethebands.Hydraulicpressure,routedintothecylinderbyasetof
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valves,causesthepistonstopushonthebands,lockingthatpartofthegeartraintothehousing.
Theclutchesinthetransmissionarealittlemorecomplex.Inthistransmissiontherearefourclutches.Eachclutchis
actuatedbypressurizedhydraulicfluidthatentersapistoninsidetheclutch.Springsmakesurethattheclutch
releaseswhenthepressureisreduced.Belowyoucanseethepistonandtheclutchdrum.Noticetherubbersealon
thepistonthisisoneofthecomponentsthatisreplacedwhenyourtransmissiongetsrebuilt.
Oneoftheclutchesinatransmission
Thenextfigureshowsthealternatinglayersofclutchfrictionmaterialandsteelplates.Thefrictionmaterialissplined
ontheinside,whereitlockstooneofthegears.Thesteelplateissplinedontheoutside,whereitlockstotheclutch
housing.Theseclutchplatesarealsoreplacedwhenthetransmissionisrebuilt.
Theclutchplates
Thepressurefortheclutchesisfedthroughpassagewaysintheshafts.Thehydraulicsystemcontrolswhichclutches
andbandsareenergizedatanygivenmoment.
WhenYouPuttheCarinPark
Itmayseemlikeasimplethingtolockthetransmissionandkeepitfromspinningbutthereareactuallysome
complexrequirementsforthismechanism:
Youhavetobeabletodisengageitwhenthecarisonahill(theweightofthecarisrestingonthe
mechanism).
Youhavetobeabletoengagethemechanismeveniftheleverdoesnotlineupwiththegear.
Onceengaged,somethinghastopreventtheleverfrompoppingupanddisengaging.
Themechanismthatdoesallthisisprettyneat.Let'slookatsomeofthepartsfirst.
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Theoutputofthetransmission:Thesquarenotchesare
engagedbytheparkingbrakemechanismtoholdthecarstill.
Theparkingbrakemechanismengagestheteethontheoutputtoholdthecarstill.Thisisthesectionofthe
transmissionthathooksuptothedriveshaftsoifthispartcan'tspin,thecarcan'tmove.
Theemptyhousingofthetransmissionwiththeparkingbrake
mechanismpokingthrough,asitdoeswhenthecarisinpark
Aboveyouseetheparkingmechanismprotrudingintothehousingwherethegearsarelocated.Noticethatithas
taperedsides.Thishelpstodisengagetheparkingbrakewhenyouareparkedonahilltheforcefromtheweightof
thecarhelpstopushtheparkingmechanismoutofplacebecauseoftheangleofthetaper.
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Thisrodactuatestheparkmechanism.
Thisrodisconnectedtoacablethatisoperatedbytheshiftleverinyourcar.
Topviewoftheparkmechanism
Whentheshiftleverisplacedinpark,therodpushesthespringagainstthesmalltaperedbushing.Ifthepark
mechanismislinedupsothatitcandropintooneofthenotchesintheoutputgearsection,thetaperedbushingwill
pushthemechanismdown.Ifthemechanismislinedupononeofthehighspotsontheoutput,thenthespringwill
pushonthetaperedbushing,buttheleverwillnotlockintoplaceuntilthecarrollsalittleandtheteethlineup
properly.Thisiswhysometimesyourcarmovesalittlebitafteryouputitinparkandreleasethebrakepedalithas
torollalittlefortheteethtolineuptowheretheparkingmechanismcandropintoplace.
Oncethecarissafelyinpark,thebushingholdsdowntheleversothatthecarwillnotpopoutofparkifitisonahill.
AutomaticTransmissions:Hydraulics,PumpsandtheGovernor
Hydraulics
Theautomatictransmissioninyourcarhastodonumeroustasks.Youmaynotrealizehowmanydifferentwaysit
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operates.Forinstance,herearesomeofthefeaturesofanautomatictransmission:
Ifthecarisinoverdrive(onafourspeedtransmission),thetransmissionwillautomaticallyselectthe
gearbasedonvehiclespeedandthrottlepedalposition.
Ifyouaccelerategently,shiftswilloccuratlowerspeedsthanifyouaccelerateatfullthrottle.
Ifyoufloorthegaspedal,thetransmissionwilldownshifttothenextlowergear.
Ifyoumovetheshiftselectortoalowergear,thetransmissionwilldownshiftunlessthecarisgoingtoo
fastforthatgear.Ifthecarisgoingtoofast,itwillwaituntilthecarslowsdownandthendownshift.
Ifyouputthetransmissioninsecondgear,itwillneverdownshiftorupshiftoutofsecond,evenfroma
completestop,unlessyoumovetheshiftlever.
You'veprobablyseensomethingthatlookslikethisbefore.Itisreallythebrainoftheautomatictransmission,
managingallofthesefunctionsandmore.Thepassagewaysyoucanseeroutefluidtoallthedifferentcomponentsin
thetransmission.Passagewaysmoldedintothemetalareanefficientwaytoroutefluidwithoutthem,manyhoses
wouldbeneededtoconnectthevariouspartsofthetransmission.First,we'lldiscussthekeycomponentsofthe
hydraulicsystemthenwe'llseehowtheyworktogether.
ThePump
Automatictransmissionshaveaneatpump,calledagearpump.Thepumpisusuallylocatedinthecoverofthe
transmission.Itdrawsfluidfromasumpinthebottomofthetransmissionandfeedsittothehydraulicsystem.Italso
feedsthetransmissioncoolerandthetorqueconverter.
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Gearpumpfromanautomatictransmission
Theinnergearofthepumphooksuptothehousingofthetorqueconverter,soitspinsatthesamespeedasthe
engine.Theoutergearisturnedbytheinnergear,andasthegearsrotate,fluidisdrawnupfromthesumponone
sideofthecrescentandforcedoutintothehydraulicsystemontheotherside.
TheGovernor
Thegovernorisaclevervalvethattellsthetransmissionhowfastthecarisgoing.Itisconnectedtotheoutput,sothe
fasterthecarmoves,thefasterthegovernorspins.Insidethegovernorisaspringloadedvalvethatopensin
proportiontohowfastthegovernorisspinningthefasterthegovernorspins,themorethevalveopens.Fluidfrom
thepumpisfedtothegovernorthroughtheoutputshaft.
Thefasterthecargoes,themorethegovernorvalveopensandthehigherthepressureofthefluiditletsthrough.
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Thegovernor
AutomaticTransmissions:ValvesandModulators
Toshiftproperly,theautomatictransmissionhastoknowhowhardtheengineisworking.Therearetwodifferent
waysthatthisisdone.Somecarshaveasimplecablelinkageconnectedtoathrottlevalveinthetransmission.The
furtherthegaspedalispressed,themorepressureisputonthethrottlevalve.Othercarsuseavacuummodulatorto
applypressuretothethrottlevalve.Themodulatorsensesthemanifoldpressure,whichincreaseswhentheengineis
underagreaterload.
Themanualvalveiswhattheshiftleverhooksupto.Dependingonwhichgearisselected,themanualvalvefeeds
hydrauliccircuitsthatinhibitcertaingears.Forinstance,iftheshiftleverisinthirdgear,itfeedsacircuitthatprevents
overdrivefromengaging.
Shiftvalvessupplyhydraulic
pressuretotheclutchesand
bandstoengageeachgear.The
valvebodyofthetransmission
containsseveralshiftvalves.The
shiftvalvedetermineswhento
shiftfromonegeartothenext.For
instance,the1to2shiftvalve
determineswhentoshiftfromfirst
tosecondgear.Theshiftvalveis
pressurizedwithfluidfromthe
governorononeside,andthe
throttlevalveontheother.They
aresuppliedwithfluidbythe
pump,andtheyroutethatfluidto
oneoftwocircuitstocontrolwhich
gearthecarrunsin.
Theshiftcircuit
Theshiftvalvewilldelayashiftif
thecarisacceleratingquickly.Ifthecaracceleratesgently,theshiftwilloccuratalowerspeed.Let'sdiscusswhat
happenswhenthecaracceleratesgently.
Ascarspeedincreases,thepressurefromthegovernorbuilds.Thisforcestheshiftvalveoveruntilthefirstgearcircuit
isclosed,andthesecondgearcircuitopens.Sincethecarisacceleratingatlightthrottle,thethrottlevalvedoesnot
applymuchpressureagainsttheshiftvalve.
Whenthecaracceleratesquickly,thethrottlevalveappliesmorepressureagainsttheshiftvalve.Thismeansthatthe
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pressurefromthegovernorhastobehigher(andthereforethevehiclespeedhastobefaster)beforetheshiftvalve
movesoverfarenoughtoengagesecondgear.
Eachshiftvalverespondstoaparticularpressurerangesowhenthecarisgoingfaster,the2to3shiftvalvewilltake
over,becausethepressurefromthegovernorishighenoughtotriggerthatvalve.
ElectronicallyControlledTransmissions
Electronicallycontrolled
transmissions,whichappearon
somenewercars,stilluse
hydraulicstoactuatetheclutches
andbands,buteachhydraulic
circuitiscontrolledbyanelectric
solenoid.Thissimplifiesthe
plumbingonthetransmissionand
allowsformoreadvancedcontrol
schemes.
Inthelastsectionwesawsomeof
thecontrolstrategiesthat
mechanicallycontrolled
transmissionsuse.Electronically
controlledtransmissionshave
evenmoreelaboratecontrol
schemes.Inadditiontomonitoring
vehiclespeedandthrottleposition,
thetransmissioncontrollercan
monitortheenginespeed,ifthe
brakepedalisbeingpressed,and
eventheantilockbrakingsystem.
Usingthisinformationandan
advancedcontrolstrategybased
iStockphoto/EmreOgan
onfuzzylogicamethodof
Anautomatictransmissionwithamanualmodeallowsthedriverto
programmingcontrolsystems
shiftgearswithoutaclutchpedal.
usinghumantypereasoning
electronicallycontrolledtransmissionscandothingslike:
Downshiftautomaticallywhengoingdownhilltocontrolspeedandreducewearonthebrakes
Upshiftwhenbrakingonaslipperysurfacetoreducethebrakingtorqueappliedbytheengine
Inhibittheupshiftwhengoingintoaturnonawindingroad
Let'stalkaboutthatlastfeatureinhibitingtheupshiftwhengoingintoaturnonawindingroad.Let'ssayyou're
drivingonanuphill,windingmountainroad.Whenyouaredrivingonthestraightsectionsoftheroad,the
transmissionshiftsintosecondgeartogiveyouenoughaccelerationandhillclimbingpower.Whenyoucometoa
curveyouslowdown,takingyourfootoffthegaspedalandpossiblyapplyingthebrake.Mosttransmissionswill
upshifttothirdgear,orevenoverdrive,whenyoutakeyourfootoffthegas.Thenwhenyouaccelerateoutofthe
curve,theywilldownshiftagain.Butifyouweredrivingamanualtransmissioncar,youwouldprobablyleavethecar
inthesamegearthewholetime.Someautomatictransmissionswithadvancedcontrolsystemscandetectthis
situationafteryouhavegonearoundacoupleofthecurves,and"learn"nottoupshiftagain.
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