Patent ID: 7740557

Claim:
A hydraulic control apparatus of an automatic transmission which is provided with a plurality of friction apply elements and in which a gear ratio is established by selectively applying the plurality of friction apply elements by controlling hydraulic pressure with respect to the plurality of friction apply elements, comprising: a next-shift estimating device that estimates whether there is a possibility that, during a shift operation during a power-off downshift, there will be a demand for a shift into a second predetermined gear which has a larger gear ratio than a first predetermined gear that is to be established by this shift operation; and a next-shift preparing device that, when it is estimated by the next-shift estimating device that there is the possibility that there will be the demand for the shift into the second predetermined gear, starts an operation for supplying an apply preparation hydraulic pressure in preparation for the shift into the second predetermined gear, with respect to the friction apply element that will be applied in the second predetermined gear for which there is the possibility that there will be the demand for the shift thereinto and placing this friction apply element in a state right before the applied state, while continuing that shift operation, wherein when there is the demand for the shift into the second predetermined gear, an operation for applying the friction apply element that has been placed in the state right before the applied state is started.