The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 24, 2017
Filed:
Aug. 14, 2015
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc., Erlanger, KY (US);
Mohammad E. Dufford, Los Angeles, CA (US);
TOYOTA MOTOR ENGINEERING & MANUFACTURING NORTH AMERICA, INC., Erlanger, KY (US);
Abstract
A system for reducing the likelihood of brakes of a vehicle overheating when towing a trailer includes a transmission configured to operate in a plurality of gear ratios and a GPS unit configured to detect location data. The system also includes an input device configured to receive data indicating whether the trailer is connected to the vehicle and an ECU coupled to the transmission, the GPS unit and the input device. The ECU is designed to determine whether the vehicle is within a predetermined distance of a downgrade of a road based on the location data, determine a current gear ratio of the transmission and determine whether it is desirable for the transmission to operate in a second gear ratio that is lower than the current gear ratio based on whether the trailer is connected, whether the vehicle is within the predetermined distance, and the current gear ratio.