Patent ID: 8808127

Claim:
A differential assembly, comprising: a driving gear; a differential drive with an input part and two output parts, wherein the output parts are drivingly connected to the input part and, relative to one another, have a differential effect; a coupling effectively arranged between the driving gear and the differential drive, wherein, in a closed condition of the coupling, torque is transmitted from the driving gear to the differential drive and, in an open condition of the coupling, a transmission of torque is interrupted; a controllable actuator for actuating the coupling, wherein the actuator comprises an electromagnet and an axially displaceable piston, and wherein the actuator is configured to generate a current signal representing a coil current of the electromagnet; a sensor for determining at least three switching positions of the coupling, wherein the sensor is configured to generate a sensor signal representing a switching position of the coupling; and an electronic control unit which is configured to receive said sensor signal from said sensor, to evaluate the sensor signal thereby taking into account the current signal of the electromagnet, to generate an evaluated sensor signal, and to control the electric motor based on said evaluated sensor signal.