Capacitive-discharge ignition system for internal-combustion engines

A capacitive-discharge ignition system for an internal combustion engine comprising:

• a voltage generator having a power output;
• an ignition circuit having a capacitor for storing electrical energy, and switch means for operationally connecting said capacitor to the power output of the voltage generator, and to a sparking circuit of the engine;
• said voltage generator comprising:
• a cup shaped rotor of magnetic material having a cylindrical side wall, and plurality of magnets circumferentially arranged at equal intervals and radially protruding from said cylindrical wall of the rotor to provide inwardly facing pole faces;
• said plurality of magnets comprising a first group of at least two magnets having pole faces of a same polarity extending over a first portion of said cylindrical wall, said plurality of magnets also comprising a second group of magnets having pole faces of opposite polarities alternatively extending over remaining portion of said cylindrical wall;
• a stator core within said cup-shaped rotor, said stator core comprising a plurality of pole-members circumferentially arranged at equal intervals and radially protruding towards pole-faces of the magnets on said cylindrical wall of the rotor, each of said pole-members having a coil wound around thereof;
• the coils of said pole-members defining a first set of at least two serially connected and electrically in phase coils wound on adjacent pole-members of the stator, as well as a second set of serially connected coils wound in mutually opposed directions on remaining pole members of the rotor;
• and
• voltage activated circuit means connected to an intermediate point between said first set of coils and to an intermediate point of a voltage divider connected in parallel to said first set of coils, to provide a spark control signal during each revolution of the voltage generator.