Torque Converter Fault Detection for Blockage vs Dry Running
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for monitoring automatic transmissions in motor vehicles with torque converters fail to accurately distinguish between blockages and dry-running conditions, leading to potential damage or unnecessary shutdowns, as they rely on turbine rotation speed alone, which can be misleading due to external factors like cooling circuit leaks or vehicle inactivity.
Innovation Solution
A method that detects the rotation speed of the turbine wheel and motor load to differentiate between blockages and dry-running conditions, emitting specific signals to prevent damage or unnecessary shutdowns, allowing the vehicle to start again once the torque converter is refilled, and ensuring safe operation by assessing rotation speed and load thresholds.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If turbine rotation speed alone is used to detect blockages, then the monitoring system remains simple, but false fault signals are generated due to dry-running conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple monitoring parameters (turbine rotation speed, pump rotation speed, and motor load) into a unified fault detection system. By merging these parameters and evaluating them together through a logic unit, the system achieves more reliable fault detection while avoiding false positives from dry-running conditions, effectively resolving the contradiction between reliability and complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The monitoring system is designed to perform multiple functions: detecting blockages, identifying dry-running conditions, and distinguishing between normal idling and abnormal states. This multi-functionality allows the same system to handle various fault scenarios without requiring separate dedicated systems for each condition, improving reliability without proportionally increasing complexity.
2Reliability
If the transmission is shut down on detecting zero turbine speed, then potential blockages are prevented, but unnecessary shutdowns occur during dry-running conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary differentiation between dry-running conditions and actual blockages before triggering a shutdown. By evaluating multiple parameters (turbine speed, pump speed, and motor load) in advance, the system can identify false alarm conditions and prevent unnecessary shutdowns, thereby maintaining vehicle availability while still protecting against real blockages.
Solution Approach 2:
The monitoring system continuously feedbacks the status of multiple parameters and uses this information to dynamically adjust shutdown decisions. The logic unit processes ongoing data from sensors and provides real-time feedback on whether a shutdown is truly necessary, preventing premature or unnecessary interruptions while ensuring protection when actually needed.
3Measurement precision
If multiple parameters are monitored to distinguish blockages from dry-running, then detection accuracy improves, but the monitoring system becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The monitoring system segments the detection task into distinct functional components: speed sensors for turbine and pump, load sensors for the motor, and a logic unit that processes these segmented data streams separately before integrating them for final fault determination. This segmentation allows precise measurement of each parameter while managing system complexity through modular architecture.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Effectively prevents damage by accurately identifying blockages and dry-running conditions, allowing the vehicle to operate safely once the torque converter is replenished, reducing false fault signals and ensuring regular operation.
Implementation Method 1
The pump wheel and the turbine wheel can be designed to transmit a torque hydrodynamically from one to the other
Data Source
AI summary
A monitoring device and a method for operating an idling automatic transmission of a motor vehicle having a torque converter which includes at least one pump wheel and a turbine wheel that are designed to transmit torque hydrodynamically from one to the other. The method includes at least the following steps of: determining a rotational speed of the turbine wheel; determining a load on the motor of the motor vehicle; and recognizing whether there is a blockage in the drive-train of the motor vehicle or whether the torque converter is running dry, as a function of the turbine rotational speed and the motor load detected.