Patent ID: 6865467

Claim:
A method of detecting a predetermined shift position of a vehicle transmission that has a plurality of different operating states corresponding to different rotary transfer ratios between an input shaft and an output shaft, said transmission comprising: a shift pattern with a selector track extending in a selector-track direction and shift tracks extending in a shift-track direction; a first shifter element, movable in the shift pattern; a second shifter element; an electrically controlled actuator device for actuating at least one of said shifter elements; an electric control device for controlling the actuator device; a movable element indicative of said shift position and a position-sensor device for detecting a current position of said movable element; wherein the method comprises the steps of: a) by means of the actuator device, applying an actuating force to at least one of the shifter elements in accordance with a predetermined characteristic, when a set of predetermined conditions are present; b) monitoring a first characteristic electrical variable of one of the actuator device and the control device; and c) evaluating said first characteristic electrical variable as a function of time according to a predetermined evaluation characteristic and determining said predetermined shift position based on said evaluation, wherein said predetermined shift position is one of a plurality of shift positions comprising at least one of a dead end of a shift track, one specific position in the selector track, and an arbitrary position in the selector track, wherein the actuator device comprises a selector motor to actuate the first shifter element in the selector-track direction and a shifter motor to actuate the first shifter element in the shift-track direction, and wherein the actuator device comprises a selector motor to actuate the first shifter element in the selector-track direction and a shifter motor to actuate the first shifter element in the shift-track direction, -- has been added. wherein during a change of the shift position, the first shifter element moves along a travel path and the first characteristics electrical variable depends on at least one of the travel path and an amount of actuating force by which at least one of the selector motor and shifter motor is actuating the first shifter element.