The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Mar. 10, 1992
Filed:
Dec. 31, 1990
John H Wall, Columbia City, IN (US);
Dana Corporation, Toledo, OH (US);
Abstract
A soft start controller for regulating the engagement and disengagement of an electromagnetic clutch is disclosed. The controller includes a microprocessor which, in response to an engagement signal, causes electrical current to be provided to a coil of the clutch. A plurality of sensors are provided for generating electrical signals which are representative of various operating conditions of the clutch, such as engine load, clutch temperature and the like. These signals are selectively fed through a multiplexer and an analog to digital converter to the microprocessor. The microprocessor samples the signals generated by the sensors and controls the magnitude of the current fed to the coil of the clutch in response thereto. A plurality of manually operable start select switches are provided for selecting one of a plurality of clutch current curves stored in a memory of the microprocessor for use. Alternatively, the microprocessor may be programmed to select one of the clutch current curves in accordance with the sensed operating conditions. The microprocessor may also be responsive to the sensed operating conditions for automatically engaging or disengaging the clutch under certain conditions.