Patent ID: 8078369

Claim:
A device configured to control an automatic transmission of a vehicle, the device comprising: a standstill circuit configured to one of prepare and activate a starting gear ratio when the vehicle is one of standing still or at a speed below a predetermined limit speed, a low-speed monitoring circuit configured to receive data representing at least one state of the vehicle in which the at least one state represented by the data is directly determined by a direct influence of a driver operating the vehicle, wherein the data represents: a deflection of a gas pedal, an operation of a vehicle brake, including at least one of: when one of the vehicle brake produces no braking effect and the braking effect is below a braking effect limit value, a driver input indicating one of a requirement for the standstill circuit and a deactivation of the standstill circuit, an operation of at least one of the transmission and a clutch, including at least one of: a shifting state of the transmission, and a disengaged state of the clutch, a direction of rotation of rotatable drive elements, at least one of the standstill of the vehicle and when a standstill of the vehicle is not recognized within a defined interval of time, an operation of at least one of a drive motor and a motor control device, including at least one of: when a rotational speed of the motor exceeds a motor rotational speed limit value, when a motor filling limit value is exceeded, when a motor torque exceeds a torque limit value, when a torque in a drive train exceeds a drive train torque limit value, and an acceleration of the vehicle, a decision unit implementing gear ratio selection rule and responsive to the standstill circuit and the low-speed monitoring circuit configured to select a target gear ratio for the automatic transmission, and the low-speed monitoring unit emitting an output signal for rendering the standstill circuit one of ineffective and effective based on the data concerning at least one state of the vehicle and decision rules.