Patent ID: 7108633

Claim:
A control apparatus for an automatic transmission in a vehicle having an engine for providing power to the vehicle via the automatic transmission and having a hill-holding engagement element that prevents the vehicle from moving backward by inhibiting a counter rotation of an output shaft of the automatic transmission when the vehicle is stopped in a state where a forward range of the automatic transmission is selected, comprising: a neutral control unit that decreases an engagement pressure of a neutral control clutch provided in the automatic transmission and serving to control a connection between the automatic transmission and the engine of the vehicle, and engages the hill-holding engagement element; and a return control unit that engages the neutral control clutch by changing a hydraulic command value for the neutral control clutch based on a predetermined pattern, and disengages the hill-holding engagement element by changing a hydraulic command value for the hill-holding engagement element based on a predetermined pattern when a predetermined neutral return control condition is established, wherein the return control unit changes an engagement control for the neutral control clutch in accordance with a length of time of a control executed by the neutral control unit.