Appeal No. 2001-0034
Application 08/944,807
Appellants’ invention pertains generally “to systems for
controlling semiautomatic transmissions, and more specifically to
systems for switching between manual and automatic control modes
of a number of top gears of a semiautomatic transmission”
(specification, page 1). A further understanding of appellants’
invention can be derived from a reading of exemplary claim 1,
reproduced below (with emphasis added):
1. A system for selecting between automatic and manual
control of a number of gear ratios of a semiautomatic
transmission comprising:
an internal combustion engine coupled to a semiautomatic
transmission having a number of manually selectable gear ratios
and a number of automatically selectable gear ratios;
means for determining an engine fueling rate;
a switch having a first switch position and a second switch
position;
a memory unit including a software algorithm for controlling
shifting between the number of automatically selectable gear
ratios; and
a control computer responsive to said first switch position
to execute said software algorithm and thereby control shifting
between the automatically selectable gear ratios, said control
computer responsive to said second switch position to inhibit
execution of said software algorithm such that said number of
automatically selectable gear ratios are manually selectable if
said engine is currently engaged with any of said number of
automatically selectable gear ratios and said fueling rate is
less than a threshold fueling rate.
2
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