Patent ID: 8301349

Claim:
A vehicle, comprising: a prime mover; a transmission operative to couple power from the prime mover to a transmission output at a plurality of different gear ratios; a sensor, operative to measure a value indicative of a traction resistance of the vehicle on a grade; and a controller, in communication with the sensor and the transmission, operative to: select a first gear ratio of the transmission; determine a shift point motor speed, wherein the shift point motor speed is the motor speed at which the transmission changes from one fixed gear ratio to a different fixed gear ratio in a stepped fashion, comprising: determining a first intermediate shift point motor speed corresponding to a transmission gear ratio change for the vehicle on a level surface; receiving from the sensor the value indicative of the traction resistance; determining a first offset value based on the traction resistance of the vehicle on the grade; determining a second offset value based on a change in the traction resistance of the vehicle on the grade; adjusting the first intermediate shift point motor speed by the first offset value to yield a second intermediate shift point motor speed; and adjusting the second intermediate shift point motor speed by the second offset value to yield the shift point motor speed corresponding to a transmission gear ratio change of the vehicle on the grade from the first gear ratio to a second gear ratio of the transmission; and initiate the transmission gear ratio change from the first gear ratio to the second gear ratio when a motor speed of the internal combustion motor is about equal to the shift point motor speed.