THIS description of the hydraulic control used with the hydra-matic transmission reveals how the control operates to change ratios under power without direction from the driver.
The control's pattern of automatic shifting for ordinary, high-range driving has been selected as the best compromise between top performance and low ratio of engine noise to wind noise. The control's low range shifts gears according to performance dictates alone, furnishing greater power for extreme conditions at low speeds and enabling the driver to use his engine as a brake on steep descents.
Heart of the control system is a double hydraulic governor, sensitive both to car speed and throttle opening.
THIS paper, as well as the two that follow, one by Messrs. Nutt and Smirl and the other by Mr. Kimberly, make up a symposium on automatic transmission components presented at the 1947 SAE Summer Meeting.