A gear shift control device for a continuously variable transmission of a vehicle is configured to steplessly and continuously change and output a rotation speed of an engine. The gear shift control device includes a gear shift control unit and a torque control command unit. The gear shift control unit is configured to implement a pseudo-stepped upshift control to change a gear shift ratio in steps when upshifting the continuously variable transmission. The torque control command unit is configured to output a torque reduction command so as to reduce an engine torque in conjunction with the pseudo-stepped upshift control so that reduction of the engine torque starts before a point in time when an actual gear shift ratio starts changing in response to an upshift command.

A method for operating a motor vehicle. The motor vehicle has a drive unit which is designed in such a way that, in case of acceleration, the motor vehicle is accelerated using a continuous torque output. The drive unit is operable in a first and second operating mode. In the first operating mode the motor vehicle is accelerated without interruption by the continuous torque output, and in the second operating mode the continuous torque output is changed over to a stepped torque output, so that in the second operating mode the motor vehicle is accelerated subject to interruption by the stepped torque output.

The drive system from the engine (1) to the drive wheels (7) of a vehicle is equipped with a torque converter (2), which has a lock-up clutch (3), and a variator (4). Said engined car is provided with a lock-up control means for controlling the engagement/disengagement of the lock-up clutch (3) and a gear change mode switch-controlling means (FIG. 8) for performing control to switch between a continuously variable gear change mode and a DSTEP gear change mode. While traveling, the gear change mode switch-controlling means (FIG. 8) prohibits gear change by the DSTEP gear change mode when the detected oil temperature is at or below a lock-up engagement-permitting threshold for permitting engagement of the lock-up clutch (3) and allows gear change by the DSTEP gear change mode when the detected oil temperature is higher than the lock-up engagement-permitting threshold.

The control apparatus for a vehicle includes a determination unit that determines whether or not a start condition is established, the start condition including when a torque converter is in a lockup state, and when the vehicle is in an accelerating state; and a display control unit that causes an acting number of rotations to be displayed on a tachometer instead of an actual number of rotations when it is determined by the determination unit that the start condition is established. The display control unit calculates the acting number of rotations based on a target value of an input number of rotations of a continuously variable transmission, and varies the acting number of rotations with a rate of change having an absolute value that is greater than an absolute value of a rate of change of the actual number of rotations upon an abrupt change in the target value.

In a hybrid vehicle including an engine, a motor driven by a battery output, and a continuously variable transmission, when acceleration is requested, an ECU executes feeling-of-acceleration producing control for gradually increasing an engine rotation speed from an initial value NEini lower than an optimum rotation speed. With the battery output, the ECU makes up for a shortfall of engine output caused by the feeling-of-acceleration producing control. When starting the feeling-of-acceleration producing control, the ECU calculates a basic initial value NEini_base lower than the optimum rotation speed, and calculates, based on an atmospheric pressure, a lower limit value NEmin that allows the battery output to be maintained to be equal to or lower than prescribed electric power. The ECU selects a larger one of basic initial value NEini_base and lower limit value NEmin as initial value NEini.

A method of controlling a Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) simulates a step-ratio transmission upshift. To simulate a step-ratio torque phase, the input torque is gradually reduced before beginning to change the variator ratio. Then, as the variator ratio is changed, the input torque is gradually increased to compensate for the decreasing torque ratio, simulating the relatively constant output torque of an inertia phase of a step-ratio upshift.

A vehicle control device executes driving force control to set a target driving force in accordance with an engine operating state, and control an output of a driving source and a gear ratio of a continuously variable transmission so that a target driving force is realized. The device includes a power generator which can be driven by the driving source, and in a normal shifting mode, the driving force control is corrected on the basis of a power generating state of the power generator, and in a linear shifting mode giving priority to a revolution speed change of the driving source, the correction of the driving force control is not carried out.

An abnormality detection device includes: a torque upper limit setting module that sets an upper limit of torque based on an allowable input torque for the continuously variable transmission, the upper limit of torque limiting an output torque of an engine; a determination torque calculation module that determines an acceleration requested by a driver based on an amount of operation of an accelerator, obtains a running resistance of a vehicle according to the requested acceleration, and calculates a determination torque for determining abnormality of the upper limit of torque based on the running resistance of the vehicle and a gear ratio of the continuously variable transmission; and an abnormality determination module that determines the upper limit of torque to be abnormal in the case where the upper limit of torque is less than or equal to the determination torque.

A continuously variable transmission control system for a vehicle has a continuously variable transmission device having a belt which is bridged over a driving pulley on a motive power source side and a driven pulley on a wheel side, and an electricity-driven actuator that moves a moveable sheave of at least one of the driving pulley and the driven pulley in the axial direction, to change a width between the moveable sheave and a fixed sheave, a control device that controls driving of the electricity-driven actuator, and an acceleration operation detection unit that detects an operation state of an acceleration operation unit. The control device moves the moveable sheave in the axial direction using the electricity-driven actuator so that a reduction ratio of the continuously variable transmission device is reduced as an amount of operation of the acceleration operation unit is increased at least in a predetermined operation amount range.

A powertrain system including an internal combustion engine rotatably coupled to a variator of a continuously variable transmission (CVT) is described. A method for controlling the CVT includes determining a desired variator speed ratio in response to a command to increase output power from the powertrain system and executing a step-down shift in the CVT based upon the desired variator speed ratio, the step-down shift. The step-down shift includes determining a preferred CVT input acceleration profile based upon the desired variator speed ratio, a present variator speed ratio, and a preferred shift time and synchronizing the preferred CVT input acceleration profile with engine torque. A change rate for the variator speed ratio is based upon the preferred CVT input acceleration profile, and the CVT is controlled in response to the change rate for the variator speed ratio and the desired variator speed ratio.