US Patent 7169079 Control apparatus and method for automatic transmission

A control apparatus and method control a torque of an engine coupled to an input shaft of an automatic transmission during a shift by that automatic transmission. A torque-down control by which the engine torque is decreased by a predetermined amount is performed, a torque-restore control starting point at which time torque-restore control is to be started is determined, and the torque-restore control so as to gradually restore the engine torque to a value before the torque-down control was performed is started at the torque-restore control starting point. The torque-restore control starting point is determined according to a dynamic model which simulates behavior of the automatic transmission over time from start of the torque-down control, so that a rotational speed of the input shaft of the automatic transmission at a target point substantially matches a target speed.