Patent ID: 8918259

Claim:
A system for managing distribution of engine torque of an engine between front and rear wheel sets of a vehicle, the system comprising: an electromechanical actuator to distribute the engine torque between the front and rear wheel sets, and to selectively adopt a mechanical coupling configuration of the front and rear wheel sets and a mechanical decoupling configuration of the front and rear wheel sets; an electronic control unit including a memory to control, using at least one actuator control signal, switching of the electromechanical actuator to at least one of the coupling and decoupling configurations; an electrical power supply to supply power to the electronic control unit; and a plurality of sensors to transmit to the electronic control unit a plurality of sensor signals, including at least an ignition signal representative of operation of the engine and a stop signal representative of stopping of the engine and measurements of physical parameters or temperature of ambient air, wherein the electronic control unit is configured: to adopt an active operating mode in which the electronic control unit generates at least one control signal for the electromechanical actuator and, using at least some of the measurements of physical parameters, estimates a current actuator temperature value; and to adopt a sleep mode in which the electronic control unit retains information in the memory, and in which the electronic control unit does not generate the at least one actuator control signal and does not estimate the current actuator temperature value, the electrical energy consumption of the electronic control unit being higher in the active operating mode as compared to that in the sleep mode, wherein switchover from the active operating mode to the sleep mode is authorized by the electronic control unit: when the engine is stopped, and when the estimated current actuator temperature value is less than or equal to a predetermined temperature threshold, and wherein switchover from the sleep mode to the active operating mode is authorized by the electronic control unit after the electronic control unit has received at least one of the ignition signal and provided that the electronic control unit does not receive the stop signal between a moment of reception of the ignition signal and a moment when the electronic control unit is in the active operating mode.