referring to fig1 , a planetary gear assembly 10 of the ravigneaux type located in a transmission housing 12 includes a first and second sun gears ( not shown ); a planet pinion carrier 14 , which is supported for rotation about an axis 16 ; long pinion shafts 18 , each spaced angularly about axis 16 and supported on carrier 14 ; a long planet pinions 20 , each spaced angularly about axis 16 , supported for rotation on one of the long pinion shafts 18 and meshing with one of the first sun gears ; short pinion shafts 22 , spaced angularly about axis 16 and supported on carrier 14 ; a set of short planet pinions 24 supported for rotation on the short pinion shafts 22 and meshing with the second sun gears and the long pinions 20 ; and a ring gear 26 engaged with the long pinions 20 and arranged coaxially with the sun gears and pinions 20 , 24 . an integral ring gear assembly comprising ring gear 26 , disc 27 and output shaft 28 , is supported for rotation about axis 16 . the carrier assembly 14 includes a first disc 30 ; a second disc 32 , spaced axially from the first disc ; and a third disc 34 , located between the end discs 30 , 32 . the carrier discs 30 , 32 , 34 support the pinion shafts 18 , 22 , on which pinions 20 , 24 are supported for rotation , respectively . the transmission housing 12 is formed at an inner surface with axially directed spline teeth 40 , which are engaged with external spline teeth formed on the circumferential periphery of the outer ring 42 of a rocker one - way or overrunning brake 44 . an annular pilot recess on the inner ring 46 of brake 44 is engaged by carrier disc 32 . u . s . pat . no . 7 , 383 , 930 discloses the structure and operation of a rocker one - way clutch similar to brake 44 . a low / reverse hydraulically - actuated friction brake 50 includes discs 52 , splined at their outer periphery to housing 12 , and plates 54 , interleaved with discs 52 and splined at their inner periphery to the intermediate disc 34 of carrier 14 . a servo piston 55 moves axially rightward to force the discs 52 and plates 54 into mutual friction contact . the force of the actuating piston is reacted on the housing 12 due to the outer ring 42 being secured against axial displacement . an overrunning brake alternately engages to secure a component of the kinematic arrangement against rotation in one direction relative the housing 12 , and disengages to release the component to rotate freely in the opposite direction . a overrunning clutch alternately engages to secure two components of the kinematic arrangement against relative rotation when the speed of a first component is greater than that of a second component in one direction and disengages to release the components to rotate relative to one another when the speed of the second component is greater than that of the first component . referring now to fig2 a and 2b , which illustrate a control strategy that utilizes the hydraulic low / reverse brake 50 in first gear during high torque events to maintain torque load on the one - way brake 44 at an acceptable magnitude and to reduce deflections of the planetary carrier 14 . at step 60 a test is made to determine whether the transmission is operating in first gear . if the result of test 60 is logically false , at step 62 the parallel assist control is terminated . if the result of test 60 is logically true , at step 64 the owc 44 is in the powerflow , and parallel brake assist control is activated . at step 66 a test is made to determine whether engine braking is desired in first gear , i . e ., whether first gear was manually selected ( 1 m ) or automatically selected ( 1 a ). if the result of test 66 is false , indicating that engine braking is not desired and the transmission is in gear 1 a , at step 68 brake 50 is maintained disengaged while the speed of output shaft 28 is greater than 250 rpm under low positive torque conditions and under negative torque conditions . preferably the upper range for low positive torque conditions is on - half of maximum torque . to prepare for a reverse engagement , at step 68 , brake 50 is stroked by applying stroke pressure while the output speed is less than 250 rpm under low positive torque conditions and under negative torque conditions . at step 68 , brake 50 is fully engaged under higher positive torque conditions at all output speeds to provide parallel brake assist . under positive torque conditions , torque is transmitted from the engine through the output shaft 28 to the vehicle wheels . under negative torque conditions , torque is transmitted from the vehicle wheels through the output shaft 28 to the engine , such as when the vehicle is coasting down hill . the one - way brake 44 overruns during negative torque conditions . brake 50 is alternately engaged and disengaged in response to the magnitude of pressure applied to a servo cylinder that actuates servo piston 55 . stroke pressure is the magnitude of pressure applied to that servo such that clearances among the servo piston 55 , discs 52 and plates 54 are removed by moving them into mutual friction contact , but without transmitting torque through the brake . the low / reverse brake 50 has substantially no torque transmitting capacity when stroke pressure is present in the servo cylinder that actuates piston 55 . at step 70 a test is made to determine whether a transition from a negative torque condition to a positive torque condition is occurring based on an engine torque signal . if the result of test 70 is false , at step 72 actuating pressure in brake 50 is maintained at a low magnitude to prevent engine braking . if the result of test 70 is true , at step 74 monitor the transmission gear ratio for overrunning , i . e ., a ratio greater than the first gear ratio . limit the rate of change of pressure in the low / reverse brake 50 until the first gear ratio is produced . this is necessary to prevent a possible bump or torque disturbance from the low reverse brake 50 that would increase engine speed faster than the transition from negative torque to positive torque is increasing engine speed via engine combustion torque . if the result of test 66 is true , indicating that engine braking is desired and the transmission is in gear 1 m , at step 76 keep brake 50 stroked at all times , maintaining sufficient torque capacity in brake 50 to handle all negative torque conditions without allowing the brake to slip . for positive torque conditions , maintain pressure in brake 50 just above stoke pressure until the brake reaction torque carried by brake one - way 44 exceeds the brake torque at which parallel brake assist is desired , referred to as the reference brake reaction torque . the reference brake reaction torque is determined with reference to the endurance limit , required service life , strength and performance characteristics of the one - way rocker brake 44 in addition to in - service deflections of the carrier 14 and nvh effects . at step 78 a test is made to determine whether disengagement of low / reverse brake 50 is required such as when an upshift from first gear is being commanded . if the result of test 78 is true and regardless of whether the transmission is in operating in gear 1 m or gear 1 a , at step 80 pressure actuating the low / reverse brake 50 is reduced to a magnitude at which the brake is released and fully disengaged . in accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes , the preferred embodiment has been described . however , it should be noted that the alternate embodiments can be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described .