Detonation meter

Claim 1

A DETONATION METER COMPRISING MEANS FOR CONVERTING PRESSURE VARIATIONS IN AN ENGINE CYLINDER INTO ELECTRICAL CURRENT COMPRISING VOLTAGE COMPONENTS REPRESENTATIVE OF UNWANTED VIBRATIONS, VOLTAGE COMPONENTS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE MAIN PRESSURE VARIATIONS IN THE CYLINDER, AND VOLTAGE WAVES REPRESENTATIVE OF DETONATION, EACH VOLTAGE WAVE HAVING AN AMPLITUDE PROPORTIONAL TO THE PEAK INTENSITY OF A DETONATION IN THE CYLINDER; A LOW-PASS FILTER FOR ATTENUATING SAID UNWANTED VOLTAGE COMPONENTS, THE OUTPUT OF SAID FILTER INCLUDING THE VOLTAGE COMPONENTS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE MAIN PRESSURE VARIATIONS WITH PIPS PROJECTING THEREFROM REPRESENTING THE RESPECTIVE DETONATION VOLTAGE WAVES; A THRESHOLD CIRCUIT FOR ELIMINATING VOLTAGES OF LESS THAN A PREDETERMINED AMPLITUDE WHICH IS SLIGHTLY GREATER THAN THE PEAK AMPLITUDE OF THE VOLTAGE COMPONENTS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE MAIN PRESSURE VARIATIONS FED TO THE THERESHOLD CIRCUIT WHEREBY THE OUTPUT OF SAID THRESHOLD CIRCUIT COMPRISES A SERIES OF PULSES; MEANS FOR CONNECTING THE OUTPUT OF SAID FILTER TO AN INPUT OF SAID THRESOLD CIRCUIT, A FIRST PULSING CIRCUIT FOR PRODUCING SPACED EXPONENTIAL PULSES EACH HAVING AN AMPLITUDE PROPORTIONAL TO THE RESPECTIVE ONE OF SAID SERIES OF PULSES; A SECOND PULSING CIRCUIT FOR PRODUCING OVERLAPPING PULSES EACH HAVING AN AMPLITUDE PROPORTIONAL TO THE RESPECTIVE ONE OF SAID SPACED EXPONENTIAL PULSES; MEANS FOR INTEGRATING SAID OVERLAPPING PULSES TO PRODUCE AN OUTPUT SIGNAL; AND MEANS CONNECTED BETWEEN SAID MEANS FOR CONVERTING AND SAID LOW-PASS FILTER FOR SELECTIVELY DELAYING THE VOLTAGE COMPONENTS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE MAIN PRESSURE VARIATIONS IN THE CYLINDER WITH RESPECT TO THE VOLTAGE WAVES REPRESENTATIVE OF DETONATION SO THAT THE PEAK OF EACH OF SAID VOLTAGES COMPONENTS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE MAIN PRESSURE VARIATIONS AND THE RESPECTIVE ONE OF SAID VOLTAGE WAVES REPRESENTATIVE OF DETONATION OCCUR AT SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME TIME.