Patent ID: 7211027

Claim:
An apparatus for controlling an automotive vehicle including an engine, and an automatic transmission including a plurality of frictional coupling devices and having a plurality of operating positions having respective different speed ratios, which are selectively established by selective engaging and releasing actions of said plurality of frictional coupling devices, to transmit a rotary motion of the engine to drive wheels of the vehicle, said apparatus being operable upon generation of an engine-output control command requiring an output of the engine during a shift-up action of the automatic transmission by the engaging action of a selected one of the frictional coupling devices initiated in the absence of the engine-output control command, said apparatus comprising: an engine-output control command determining portion which determines if there is an absence of an engine-output control command after a shift-up action has been initiated, and which determines whether an engine-output control command has thereafter been generated during the shift-up action; a shifting-progress calculating portion operable to calculate a degree of progress of said shift-up action of said automatic transmission after a moment of generation of said engine-output control command, on the basis of a change of a rotating speed of a rotary element which changes with the progress of said shift-up action; and a gradual-engine-torque-increase control portion operable to control said engine on the basis of said degree of progress of said shift-up action calculated by said shifting-progress calculating portion, so as to gradually increase an output torque of the engine with the progress of said shift-up action.