Infineon Debuts “Starter Kit” for Automatic Transmission Design with Improved Accuracy to Help Reduce Fuel Consumption

17 October 2006

Infineon Technologies is demonstrating a transmission starter kit platform that provides the most precise control in the industry and includes all key integrated circuit (IC) content for next-generation, wide gear ratio automatic transmissions.

The platform is a complete transmission control unit, supporting 5-, 6- and 7-speed gearing designs, based on new Infineon current driver transmission solenoid control ICs, a new 32-bit automotive microcontroller and a new microcontroller power supply IC, as well as other power and communications ICs from Infineon’s automotive portfolio.

Because they provide an improved driving experience and greater overall efficiency, wide-ratio gearing is moving from a premium feature offered in luxury vehicles to wide application across many types of passenger cars and light trucks.

Typically, a 6-speed transmission can improve fuel economy from three to seven percent, depending on vehicle type. With a wider span between the highest and lowest gears, compared to traditional 3- and 4-speed transmissions, the new designs demand control electronics that are more precise, flexible and capable.

The starter kit demonstration by Infineon includes components that provide the most precise control in the industry. The two-percent accuracy of the solenoid control ICs, for example, far surpasses the five-percent accuracy achieved in a typical four-speed transmission. Key components in the starter kit design include three products introduced by Infineon at Convergence 2006:

• TLE7241E Dual Constant Current Driver and TLE7242G Quad Fixed Frequency Constant Current Pre-Driver: Featuring commanded current accuracy of two percent (compared to a typical five percent) and programming flexibility through SPI interface.

• TC1764 32-bit Microcontroller: Combining Infineon’s TriCore automotive MCU architecture and a second, 32-bit Peripheral Control Processor and transmission-optimized peripherals on one chip.

• The TLE7368 (SuperSonic): Multifunction power supply IC that converts voltage supply from standard auto batteries to the power levels needed to drive the 32-bit MCU.

Other Infineon components featured on the starter kit design include a CAN (Controller Area Network) transceiver and a range of power devices, including PROFET and multi-channel low-side smart power switches and discrete devices.

The software used in the demonstration was designed specifically to prove the functionality of the basic design and demonstrate different gear ratio configurations. Infineon customers would typically develop specific software to optimize the platform for the requirements of particular vehicle designs.