Patent ID: 8050833

Claim:
In a torque converter having a pump that is rotatably driven by an internal combustion engine and that is fluidly coupled to a turbine, and a lockup clutch connected between pump and the turbine, a method for controlling engagement of the lockup clutch, the method comprising: retrieving from memory a dynamic model that defines torque transmitted by the lockup clutch as a function of a plurality of torque converter operating parameters, asserting a lockup clutch command to control engagement the lockup clutch, monitoring a number of the plurality of torque converter operating parameters after asserting the lockup clutch command, selecting a profile of one of the plurality of torque converter operating parameters that is configured to result in an intersection of rotational speeds of the pump and the turbine over time when inserted into the model along with the monitored values of the number of torque converter operating parameters, continually solving the model over time using the selected profile and the monitored operating parameters to produce transmitted torque values, and modifying the lockup clutch command based on the transmitted torque values.