Patent ID: 8323134

Claim:
A transmission controller for a continuously variable transmission system of a vehicle having an engine that includes a crankshaft and having a driving wheel, the transmission system includes a driving pulley having an adjustable width, a driven pulley, a belt wound between the driving pulley and the driven pulley, a free wheeling clutch connected between said continuously variable transmission system and said driving wheel and the free wheeling clutch is configured to transmit power only in one direction from said continuously variable transmission system toward said driving wheel, and a start-up clutch connected between said crankshaft of said engine and said driving pulley to transmit power from said crankshaft to said continuously variable transmission system when the number of revolutions of said crankshaft equals or exceeds a specified value, and where a winding diameter of said belt wound between said driving pulley and said driven pulley is changed in accordance with the number of revolutions of said driving pulley, said transmission controller comprising: gear ratio changing means for changing a gear ratio at the driving pulley of said continuously variable transmission system, said gear ratio changing means is an actuator coupled to said driving pulley, said continuously variable transmission system comprises a worm gear, a worm wheel, and a transmission ring, the gear ratio changing means is configured to change a gear ratio at the driving pulley of said continuously variable transmission system by transmitting a driving force from the actuator to the transmission ring via the worm gear and the worm wheel; gear ratio detecting means for detecting the gear ratio at the driving pulley of said continuously variable transmission system, the gear ratio detecting means having a position sensor, where the driving force transmitted to the worm wheel is transmitted to the position sensor, the gear ratio detecting means to detect the amount of rotation of the transmission ring; pulley number-of-revolution detecting means for detecting the number of revolutions of the driving pulley; and control means for performing a control operation to drive said gear ratio changing means, the control means is configured to change a width of said driving pulley when: (1) said pulley number-of-revolution detecting means detects that the driving pulley has stopped and (2) said gear ratio detecting means detects that the gear ratio of said continuously variable transmission system is not in a specified state.