A gear stage choosing apparatus that chooses a gear stage of a stepped transmission of a vehicle includes a storage unit configured to store a shift map containing a relationship between vehicle speed and gear stage, a determination unit configured to determine a gear stage associated with an estimated vehicle speed after a lapse of a first period of time from current time based on the shift map, an evaluation unit configured to evaluate fuel efficiency in some gear stages, including the determined gear stage and one or more gear stages higher or lower in less than or equal to a specific number of gear steps than the determined gear stage, of multiple gear stages, and a choosing unit configured to choose a gear stage selected from among the some gear stages based on the fuel efficiency as a gear stage to which a current gear stage is changed.

A method to automatically control a drivetrain provided with a servo-assisted transmission; the method comprises the steps of: measuring a rotation speed of the internal combustion engine; carrying out a shift to a lower gear in an autonomous manner and independently of an intervention of a driver, when the rotation speed of the internal combustion engine reaches a lower threshold; carrying out a shift to a higher gear in an autonomous manner and independently of an intervention of the driver, when the rotation speed of the internal combustion engine reaches an upper threshold; detecting a release of an accelerator pedal in a first instant; waiting, starting from the first instant, a time interval until a second instant, which is subsequent to the first instant; and increasing a value of the lower threshold starting from the instant until a following pressing of the accelerator pedal.

A method to automatically control a drivetrain provided with a servo-assisted transmission; the method comprises the steps of: measuring a rotation speed of the internal combustion engine; carrying out a shift to a lower gear in an autonomous manner and independently of an intervention of a driver, when the rotation speed of the internal combustion engine reaches a lower threshold; carrying out a shift to a higher gear in an autonomous manner and independently of an intervention of the driver, when the rotation speed of the internal combustion engine reaches an upper threshold; detecting a release of an accelerator pedal in a first instant; waiting, starting from the first instant, a time interval until a second instant, which is subsequent to the first instant; and increasing a value of the lower threshold starting from the instant until a following pressing of the accelerator pedal.

A method for, during creep mode, performing gearshift in a vehicle powertrain comprising a combustion engine, a gearbox, and a clutch is provided. The method comprises, in response to a request for gearshift, disconnecting the combustion engine from the gearbox by opening the clutch. The method further comprises, when the combustion engine is disconnected from the gearbox, shifting the gearbox and controlling the speed of the combustion engine to a target speed. Said target speed constitutes a combustion engine speed corresponding a desired combustion engine torque for completing a torque ramp during closing of the clutch. The method further comprises connecting the combustion engine to the gearbox by closing the clutch. A control device configured to perform the method and a vehicle comprising the control device are also provided.

A control method of controlling an idle stop-and-go (ISG) function of a vehicle provided with a manual transmission includes: determining, by a controller, whether an ISG function activation condition is satisfied based on vehicle running state information of the vehicle; stopping an engine, by the controller, when the ISG activation condition is satisfied; determining, by the controller, whether a first starting condition in which a shift stage of the manual transmission is a neutral stage is satisfied; determining, by the controller, whether a second starting condition in which a shift stage of the manual transmission is a driving stage is satisfied; and restarting, by the controller, the engine when the first starting condition or the second starting condition is satisfied. The vehicle running state information includes: an operation information of the manual transmission and a clutch pedal, and current and recorded vehicle speeds of the vehicle.

A transmission control apparatus for a vehicle includes: a speed prediction device that predicts speeds for each gear stage from a current position of the vehicle to a position of a speed camera based on a driving state of the vehicle when it is identified that the speed camera exists on a road ahead while an operation of an accelerator pedal is in an OFF state; and a controller that determines a transmission gear stage based on the predicted speeds for each gear stage and performs a transmission control operation of the vehicle based on the determined transmission gear stage.

An outboard motor having an idling stop function, which includes a starter motor configured to start up an engine, a capacitor configured to serve as a power source of the starter motor, a restarting circuit that includes a restart switch configured to activate the starter motor by electric power supplied from the capacitor in conjunction with a shift lever directly operated by a ship operator at a time of restarting after idling stop, a changeover switch configured to switch to an idling stop mode that enables the restarting circuit, and an engine control device configured to control shifting to the idling stop in the idling stop mode. The capacitor is disposed in an engine compartment of the outboard motor.

An outboard motor having an idling stop function, which includes a starter motor configured to start up an engine, a capacitor configured to serve as a power source of the starter motor, a restarting circuit that includes a restart switch configured to activate the starter motor by electric power supplied from the capacitor in conjunction with a shift lever directly operated by a ship operator at a time of restarting after idling stop, a changeover switch configured to switch to an idling stop mode that enables the restarting circuit, and an engine control device configured to control shifting to the idling stop in the idling stop mode. The capacitor is disposed in an engine compartment of the outboard motor.

A transmission control apparatus for a vehicle includes: a speed prediction device that predicts speeds for each gear stage from a current position of the vehicle to a position of a speed camera based on a driving state of the vehicle when it is identified that the speed camera exists on a road ahead while an operation of an accelerator pedal is in an OFF state; and a controller that determines a transmission gear stage based on the predicted speeds for each gear stage and performs a transmission control operation of the vehicle based on the determined transmission gear stage.

In a specific state where an electric vehicle is in a stop state and a creep torque is generate in an electric motor (2), when a shift range is switched from a traveling range to a non-traveling range, a motor control section (10B) performs a torque decrease control to stepwisely decrease the creep torque of the electric motor (2), and an automatic transmission control device (30) performs a disengagement control to gradually disengage the frictional engagement element of the automatic transmission (3).