Patent ID: 7346445

Claim:
A control unit for controlling an internal combustion engine, comprising: means for setting a torque output of the internal combustion engine via a power actuator as a function of a signal of a driver's command sender; means for forming a value for a maximum admissible torque of the internal combustion engine; means for forming a dimension figure for an actual torque of the internal combustion engine and comparing the dimension figure to the value for the maximum admissible torque; means for triggering an error response if the actual torque exceeds the value for the maximum admissible torque; and means for superimposing an intervention of a fault regulator on an activating signal of the power actuator, wherein the value for the maximum admissible torque is formed from a linking of a first approximation value to an estimated value for a torque contribution of the intervention of the fault regulator, the first approximation value being formed as a function of the signal of the driver's command sender.