Patent ID: 7798031

Claim:
A method for shifting gears of an automatic transmission, comprising the steps of: moving a shift finger ( 22 ) by a selective actuator ( 12 ) in a first direction along a selective path into a selective position; ceasing the movement of the shift finger ( 22 ) in the first direction by the selective actuator ( 12 ) along the selective path before the shift finger ( 22 ) contacts an edge substantially orthogonal to the first direction and aligned with the selective path in the first direction; moving said shift finger ( 22 ) out of said selective position via a shift actuator ( 14 ) into a shift path, wherein the shift finger ( 22 ) always engages a gear when it is moved into an end region of the shift path and the shift path is at least partially defined by substantially parallel respective shift path edges substantially orthogonal to the first direction; and, when the shift finger ( 22 ) is aligned in the first direction with the respective shift path edges and prior to engagement of a new gear within the shift path, activating the selective actuator ( 12 ) so that the shift finger ( 22 ) is moved in the first direction to contact a respective shift path edge for verifying the correct function of the selective actuator ( 12 ) and its connection to the shift finger ( 22 ).