Patent ID: 7418883

Claim:
An automatic transmission for a vehicle, comprising: a transmission case; a clutch; an input member to receive engine rotation through the clutch; an output member; a gear system including a plurality of gear sets enclosed in the transmission case, and arranged to form a drive path transmitting motion from the input member to the output member; a selecting system including a plurality of meshing mechanisms to provide one of a plurality of gear speeds by altering a driving connection state of the gear system, each of the meshing mechanisms including a coupling sleeve, one of the meshing mechanisms being a first meshing mechanism; and a parking gear fixed to the transmission case, and adapted to engage with the coupling sleeve of the first meshing mechanism when the coupling sleeve is shifted axially toward the parking gear, to put the output member in a park lock state, wherein the first meshing mechanism is disposed axially between the parking gear and a first gear set which is one of the gear sets of the gear system, wherein the first meshing mechanism is arranged to select the first gear set, as part of the drive path, when the coupling sleeve of the first meshing mechanism is shifted axially away from the parking gear, and wherein the first gear set is a gear set to select a highest forward gear speed among the gear speeds of the automatic transmission.