Patent ID: 8160791

Claim:
A method for detecting a fault in a coupling, having coupling elements that are movable against each other, and which are situated between a first drive unit and a second drive unit, the method comprising: providing a torque by the second drive unit, wherein the first and second drive units are each configured to independently generate torques; activating the coupling so that the coupling elements are moved to a position which, in a normal state of the coupling, corresponds to a touch point position which corresponds to a position of the coupling elements in which, in the normal state of the coupling, the coupling elements lie against each other, but no torque is transmittable between the coupling elements; determining, after setting the touch point position, whether a torque is being transmitted from the second drive unit to the first drive unit via the coupling; and detecting a fault in the coupling when it is determined that a certain torque is being transmitted via the coupling.