Control for spark ignited internal combustion engine
AssigneeChampion Spark Plug Company
InventorsJohn C. Hilliard, Anthony K. F. Chan
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An improved control to establish ignition timing in a spark ignited internal combustion engine near optimum efficiency without knock and/or anomalous combustion. The control operates in response to a detected ion and charged particle current in the engine exhaust and to timing pulses from the engine. When the engine is operating under steady state conditions and retarded from the point of incipient knock and/or anomalous combustion, there is very little time change in the averaged exhaust current data. When incipient knock or anomalous combustion is approached, scatter in the averaged exhaust current data significantly increases. The detected scatter in the averaged exhaust current data is used to optimize engine operation for each combustion chamber.
Claims15
A control for a spark ignited internal combustion engine having at least one combustion chamber having a combustion cycle, means for producing timing pulses having a predetermined relationship to the engine cycle, a spark plug mounted for igniting an air-fuel mixture within said chamber, an ignition system responsive to a timed signal from said control for supplying an ignition voltage to said spark plug and a port for exhausting combustion gases from said chamber, said control comprising detector means for producing an electric signal proportional to the degree of the electrical conductivity of exhaust gases passing through said port, means for averaging such detector means signal over a predetermined number of ignition cycles to generate an averaged detector means signal, and means responsive to such averaged detector means signal in successive ignition cycles and to such timing pulses for applying a timed signal to said ignition system to produce ignition timing near maximum engine efficiency without knock.
A control for a spark ignited internal combustion engine having at least one combustion chamber having a combustion cycle, means for producing timing pulses having a predetermined relationship to the engine cycle, a spark plug mounted for igniting an air/fuel mixture within said chamber, an ignition system responsive to a timed signal from said control for supplying an ignition voltage to said spark plug and a port for exhausting combustion gases from said chamber, said control comprising detector means for producing an electric signal proportional to the degree of the electrical conductivity of exhaust gases passing through said port, means for averaging such detector means signal over a predetermined number of ignition cycles to generate an averaged detector means signal, and means responsive to such averaged detector means signal in successive ignition cycles and to such timing pulses for applying a timed signal to said ignition system to produce ignition timing near maximum engine efficiency without knock, said signal applying means including means for integrating such detector means signal in each cycle between a predetermined threshold level and a first peak in such detector means signal, said means for averaging operative to average such integrated signal over said predetermined number of ignition cycles, and wherein said signal applying means is responsive to changes in such averaged integrated signals for applying a timed signal to said ignition system.
A control for an internal combustion engine having at least one combustion chamber having a combustion cycle, means for producing timing pulses having a predetermined relationship to each engine cycle, a variable parameter effecting each combustion event in said combustion chamber, means responsive to a control signal from said control for adjusting said variable parameter, and a port for exhausting combustion gases from said chamber, said control comprising detector means for producing an electric signal proportional to the degree of electrical conductivity of exhaust gases passing through said port, means for averaging said detector means signal over a predetermined number of ignition cycles to generates an averaged detector means signal, and means responsive to said averaged detector means signal in successive combustion cycles and to such timing pulses for applying a control signal to said variable parameter adjusting means to operate the engine at maximum efficiency without knock.
A control for a spark ignited internal combustion engine having at least one combustion chamber having a combustion cycle, means for producing timing pulses having a predetermined relationship to the engine cycle, a spark plug mounted for igniting an air/fuel mixture within said chamber, an ignition system responsive to a timed signal from said control for supplying an ignition voltage to said spark plug and a port for exhausting combustion gases from said chamber, said control comprising detector means for producing a pulsed electric signal having a magnitude proportional to the degree of electrical conductivity of exhaust gases passing through said port, said pulsed detector means signal defining a first pulse followed by at least one secondary pulse for each ignition cycle, and means responsive to only said first pulse of said pulsed detector means signal in each ignition cycle and to such timing pulses for applying a timed signal to said ignition system to produce ignition timing near maximum engine efficiency without knock.
A control for an internal combustion engine having at least one combustion chamber having a combustion cycle, means for producing timing pulses having a predetermined relationship to each engine cycle, a variable parameter effecting each combustion event in said combustion chamber, means responsive to a control signal from said control for adjusting said variable parameter, and a port for exhausting combustion gases from said chamber, said control comprising detector means for producing a pulsed electric signal having a magnitude proportional to the degree of electrical conductivity of exhaust gases passing through said port, said pulsed detector means signal defining a first pulse followed by at least one secondary pulse for each combustion cycle, and means responsive to only said first pulse of said pulsed detector means signal in each combustion cycle and to such timing pulses for applying a control signal to said variable parameter adjusting means to operate the engine at maximum efficiency without knock.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.