Patent US4017943A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
EP0129971A2
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EP
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Engine control systems
Assignee: OFFERTA DI LICENZA AL PUBBLICO
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Filing: 1984-05-11
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2004-05-11
Abstract
Abstract The invention relates to a method of engine control, which comprises firing a weak spark through the spark gap, measuring the current through or voltage across the electrodes following the weak spark, analysing the voltage or current to derive a prediction of the flame propagation speed and subsequently firing a stronger spark through the spark gapto ignite the charge, the timing of the stronger spark being varied in dependence upon the prediction of the flame propagation speed.
Inventors
- 👤 Thomas Tsoi-Hei Ma
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-30 00:34
CPC Classifications
F; F02; F02P; F02P5/00; F02P5/04; F02P5/145; F02P5/1455; F02P17/00; F02P17/12; F02P2017/125; F02P2017/128; F02P5/15; F02P5/152; Y; Y02; Y02T; Y02T10/00; Y02T10/10; Y02T10/40
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 6
Claim 1
Independent Claim
77 words
A method of engine control, characterised by the steps of firing a weak spark through the spark gap, measuring the current through or voltage across the electrodes following the weak spark, analysing the voltage or current to derive a prediction of the flame propagation speed and subsequently firing a stronger spark through the spark gap to ignite the charge, the timing of the stronger spark being varied in dependence upon the prediction of the flame propagation speed.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
77 words
A method of engine control, characterised by the steps of firing a weak spark through the spark gap, measuring the current through or voltage across the electrodes following the weak spark, analysing the voltage or current to derive a prediction of the flame propagation speed and subsequently firing a stronger spark through the spark gap to ignite the charge, the timing of the stronger spark being varied in dependence upon the prediction of the flame propagation speed.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
47 words
A method as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that several weak sparks are fired in a single cycle to obtain several gas velocity readings, the readings being processed to provide by extrapolation an estimate of the gas velocity at the instant of the ensuing main spark.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
68 words
A method as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterised in that in order to obtain a parameter dependent upon actual burn period duration for closed loop control of the fueling of the engine, an ionisation current is additionally passed through the spark plug after ignition and the latter current is analysed to locate the timing of a spike superimposed on the trailing edge of the ionisation current.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
45 words
A method as claimed in claim 3, wherein in order to analyse the ionisation current, there is subtracted from the current an estimated decay curve and the first derivative or the centroid of the residiual signal is evaluated in order to provide the location parameter.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
41 words
A method a claimed in claim 3 or 4, wherein the ionisation current is analysed to detect on the trailing edge a high frequency component indicative of knock, the ignition being varied in dependence upon such detection to avoid engine damage.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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