Patent ID: 8812209

Claim:
A method for detecting lockup clutch on-coming capacity in a torque converter comprising a turbine and a pump, the method comprising: producing a pump speed signal corresponding to a rotational speed of the pump; producing a turbine speed signal corresponding to a rotational speed of the turbine; asserting a lockup clutch command to control engagement of a lockup clutch connected between a pump and a turbine of the torque converter; monitoring a plurality of torque converter operating parameters after asserting the lockup clutch command; continually solving a dynamic model that defines a torque transmitted by the lockup clutch as a function of the plurality of torque converter operation parameters, the torque converter operating parameters including the rotational speed of the pump and the rotational speed of the turbine; generating a lockup clutch on-coming capacity signal in response to the torque transmitted by the lockup clutch exceeding a torque threshold; and executing a lockup clutch control routine to increase the lockup clutch command to a maximum value in response to a determination that the pump rotational and the turbine rotational speed are substantially equal.