Patent ID: 7181327

Claim:
An apparatus for controlling fluid supply to a clutch pack of an automatic transmission of a vehicle having an engine, the apparatus comprising: a detecting unit for detecting an operating state of a vehicle and abnormal operation thereof a control unit for determining if an output of the detecting unit satisfies a pre-fill time control condition and thereby for controlling fluid supply to a clutch pack of an automatic transmission on a basis of a pre-fill time calculated on the basis of output of the detecting unit; and a fluid supply unit for supplying fluid to the clutch pack under control of the control unit; wherein the detecting unit comprises: an ignition detector for detecting running of an engine; an engine speed detector for detecting a current engine speed; a turbine speed detector for detecting a turbine speed of the automatic transmission that is input to a shift mechanism of the transmission; an output-shaft speed detector for detecting an output-shaft speed of the shift mechanism of the transmission; a fluid temperature detector for detecting a fluid temperature, the fluid being used for forming pressure of the clutch pack to engage the clutch; a throttle opening detector for detecting a throttle valve opening; and a malfunction detector for detecting a malfunction of the vehicle; and wherein the pre-fill time control condition comprises: the automatic transmission being in a first speed for the first time after the engine is restarted; and a difference between fluid temperatures of before the engine is stopped and after the engine is restarted being greater than a predetermined difference.