US3603872A — Apparatus using current signals to analyze the ig…

Claim 1

Independent Claim 306 words

An apparatus for testing the ignition circuit of an automotive engine, said ignition circuit including an ignition coil and a distributor and a plurality of spark plugs and at least a first able connected to the distributor and the ignition coil for breaking down the distributor to produce pulses of current and a second cable connected between the distributor and the spark plugs for subsequently breaking down gaps in the spark plugs to produce pulses of current and a second cable connected between the distributor and the spark plugs for subsequently breaking down gaps in the spark plugs to produce pulses of current, including; first means for coupling to the first cable in the ignition circuit and during performance of a test to provide a signal representative of distributor breakdown and spark plug breakdown proportionately to the current flow in the cable over a bandwidth extending into the megacycle range and at least down to the ignition cycle frequency within the speed range of the engine; second means connected to the first means and responsive to the pulse of current representing distributor breakdown to provide recurring control signals; third means connected to the first and second means and responsive to the control signals from the second means to sample the amplitude of the signal representing the current flow in the spark plugs at the time of breakdown of the gaps in the spark plugs, at least once per engine cycle and for a period short relative to an engine cycle; fourth means connected to the third means for providing a signal constituting a reference to which the sampled amplitude is processed; and fifth means connected to the fourth means and the first means to provide a visual indication of the amplitudes of the pulses of current flowing through the spark plugs relative to the reference signal.

Claim 2

Independent Claim 306 words

An apparatus for testing the ignition circuit of an automotive engine, said ignition circuit including an ignition coil and a distributor and a plurality of spark plugs and at least a first able connected to the distributor and the ignition coil for breaking down the distributor to produce pulses of current and a second cable connected between the distributor and the spark plugs for subsequently breaking down gaps in the spark plugs to produce pulses of current and a second cable connected between the distributor and the spark plugs for subsequently breaking down gaps in the spark plugs to produce pulses of current, including; first means for coupling to the first cable in the ignition circuit and during performance of a test to provide a signal representative of distributor breakdown and spark plug breakdown proportionately to the current flow in the cable over a bandwidth extending into the megacycle range and at least down to the ignition cycle frequency within the speed range of the engine; second means connected to the first means and responsive to the pulse of current representing distributor breakdown to provide recurring control signals; third means connected to the first and second means and responsive to the control signals from the second means to sample the amplitude of the signal representing the current flow in the spark plugs at the time of breakdown of the gaps in the spark plugs, at least once per engine cycle and for a period short relative to an engine cycle; fourth means connected to the third means for providing a signal constituting a reference to which the sampled amplitude is processed; and fifth means connected to the fourth means and the first means to provide a visual indication of the amplitudes of the pulses of current flowing through the spark plugs relative to the reference signal.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 42 words

Apparatus as set forth iN claim 1 including sixth means responsive to the pulses of current from the third means for operating upon such pulses to provide an indication of the slope of the current for a particular period during such pulses.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 37 words

Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 including sixth means responsive to the amplitude of the pulses of current from the third means to provide an indication of the current flow for successful firing of spark plugs.

Claim 5

Independent Claim 230 words

An apparatus for testing the ignition circuit of an automobile engine, said ignition circuit including an ignition coil and a distributor and a plurality of spark plugs and a first cable connected to the distributor and the ignition coil for breaking down the distributor to produce pulses of current and a second cable connected between the distributor and the spark plugs for subsequently breaking down gaps in the spark plugs to produce pulses of current, including: first means for coupling to the ignition circuit and including transmission means to provide an electrical signal in analog representation of the current flowing in the ignition circuit in accordance with the breakdowns in the distributor and in the spark plugs; second means connected to the first means and responsive to the pulses of current representing distributor breakdown to provide a recurring test control signal of particular phase and delayed relation to the pulses of current; third means connected to the first and second means and responsive to the recurring test control signal to provide amplitude detection of the pulses of current representing breakdown of the spark plug gap during the control signal; and threshold means operative only within a particular period of time after the occurrence of the pulses of current representing the distributor breakdowns for detecting the occurrence of the pulses of current representing breakdowns of the gap in the spark plug.

Claim 6

Independent Claim 230 words

An apparatus for testing the ignition circuit of an automobile engine, said ignition circuit including an ignition coil and a distributor and a plurality of spark plugs and a first cable connected to the distributor and the ignition coil for breaking down the distributor to produce pulses of current and a second cable connected between the distributor and the spark plugs for subsequently breaking down gaps in the spark plugs to produce pulses of current, including: first means for coupling to the ignition circuit and including transmission means to provide an electrical signal in analog representation of the current flowing in the ignition circuit in accordance with the breakdowns in the distributor and in the spark plugs; second means connected to the first means and responsive to the pulses of current representing distributor breakdown to provide a recurring test control signal of particular phase and delayed relation to the pulses of current; third means connected to the first and second means and responsive to the recurring test control signal to provide amplitude detection of the pulses of current representing breakdown of the spark plug gap during the control signal; and threshold means operative only within a particular period of time after the occurrence of the pulses of current representing the distributor breakdowns for detecting the occurrence of the pulses of current representing breakdowns of the gap in the spark plug.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 79 words

Apparatus as set fourth in claim 4, including fifth means responsive to the amplitude detection of the pull of current representing breakdowns of the gaps in the spark plugs for sampling such amplitude at particular times during such pulses of current and sixth means responsive to the sampled amplitudes of the signals from the fifth means for operating upon such signals to arithmetically combine the sampled amplitudes to provide a determination of the operating characteristics of the ignition circuit.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 28 words

Apparatus as set forth in claim 4 wherein means are connected to the third means to provide a display representation of the amplitude detection by the third means.

Claim 9

Independent Claim 192 words

An apparatus for testing the ignition circuit of an automotive engine, said ignition circuit including an ignition coil and a distributor and a plurality of spark plugs and a first cable connected to the distributor and the ignition coil for breaking down the distributor to produce pulses of current and a second cable connected to the distributor and the spark plugs for subsequently breaking down gaps in the spark plugs to produce pulses of current, including; a current transformer for coupling to the circuit connections leading to the distributor in the ignition circuit of the engine; first circuit means connected to the current transformer for developing a voltage essentially proportionate to the current flow in said connection; second circuit means operatively coupled to the first circuit means and responsive to a first voltage spike representative of distributor gap breakdown to provide a control signal representative there; and third means operatively coupled to the first and second circuit means to detect, within a particular period after the provision of the control signals, the occurrence of a second voltage spike representative of spark plug gap breakdown and to provide an indication of such occurrence.

Claim 10

Independent Claim 192 words

An apparatus for testing the ignition circuit of an automotive engine, said ignition circuit including an ignition coil and a distributor and a plurality of spark plugs and a first cable connected to the distributor and the ignition coil for breaking down the distributor to produce pulses of current and a second cable connected to the distributor and the spark plugs for subsequently breaking down gaps in the spark plugs to produce pulses of current, including; a current transformer for coupling to the circuit connections leading to the distributor in the ignition circuit of the engine; first circuit means connected to the current transformer for developing a voltage essentially proportionate to the current flow in said connection; second circuit means operatively coupled to the first circuit means and responsive to a first voltage spike representative of distributor gap breakdown to provide a control signal representative there; and third means operatively coupled to the first and second circuit means to detect, within a particular period after the provision of the control signals, the occurrence of a second voltage spike representative of spark plug gap breakdown and to provide an indication of such occurrence.

Claim 11

Independent Claim 262 words

An apparatus for testing the ignition circuit of an automotive engine, said ignition circuit including an ignition coil and a distributor and a plurality of spark plugs and a firsT cable connected to the distributor and the ignition coil for breaking down the distributor to produce pulses of current and a second cable connected to the distributor and the spark plugs for subsequently breaking down gaps in the spark plugs to produce pulses of current, including: first means for coupling to a particular point in the input circuit for the distributor of the engine to provide electrical signals having an amplitude proportionate over a wide frequency range to the amplitude of the current flowing into the distributor upon each breakdown of the distributor; second means connected to the first means for developing test function signals for a particular period of time in response to amplitudes above a particular value for the first signal; third means responsive to the individual cylinder phases of the distributor to provide a sequence of sampling signals of relatively short duration with each individual one of the sampling signals in the sequence being associated with one particular cylinder; fourth means connected to the third means to provide a selection of a particular cylinder phase among the several cylinder phases of each engine cycle so that sampling signals are selected for one particular cylinder only; and fifth means connected to the second and fourth means to sample the amplitude of the test function signals from the second means in response to the sampling signals as selected by fourth means.

Claim 12

Independent Claim 262 words

An apparatus for testing the ignition circuit of an automotive engine, said ignition circuit including an ignition coil and a distributor and a plurality of spark plugs and a firsT cable connected to the distributor and the ignition coil for breaking down the distributor to produce pulses of current and a second cable connected to the distributor and the spark plugs for subsequently breaking down gaps in the spark plugs to produce pulses of current, including: first means for coupling to a particular point in the input circuit for the distributor of the engine to provide electrical signals having an amplitude proportionate over a wide frequency range to the amplitude of the current flowing into the distributor upon each breakdown of the distributor; second means connected to the first means for developing test function signals for a particular period of time in response to amplitudes above a particular value for the first signal; third means responsive to the individual cylinder phases of the distributor to provide a sequence of sampling signals of relatively short duration with each individual one of the sampling signals in the sequence being associated with one particular cylinder; fourth means connected to the third means to provide a selection of a particular cylinder phase among the several cylinder phases of each engine cycle so that sampling signals are selected for one particular cylinder only; and fifth means connected to the second and fourth means to sample the amplitude of the test function signals from the second means in response to the sampling signals as selected by fourth means.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 82 words

An apparatus as in claim 8, including seventh means operatively coupled to the fourth means for providing at least a pair of sampling signals per selected cylinder in each engine cycle to obtain a sampling by the fifth means of at least a pair of amplitude values of the test function signals from the second means, and eighth means for arithmetically combining the sampled amplitude values to provide an indication of the operating characteristics of the ignition circuit of the particular cylinder.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 32 words

An apparatus as in claim 8, the fifth means detecting absence or presence of another signal in the sampling period in representation of a breakdown in a gap in a spark plug.

Claim 15

Dependent Claim 43 words

An apparatus as in claim 8, the third means connected to receive the spikes and including a counter for counting out cylinder phases, the fourth means being responsive to a selected count number in the counter to associate sampling signals with count numbers.

Claim 16

Dependent Claim 25 words

Apparatus as set forth in claim 8 wherein means are connected to the fifth means for providing a visual display of the sampled electrical signals.

Claim 17

Dependent Claim 180 words

Apparatus for testing for an ignition current of an automotive engine having a plurality of cylinders and a distributor and ignition system for sequentially firing the cylinders in a cyclic pattern were the firing of each cylinder is obtained by initially breaking down a distributor gap for that cylinder to produce a first pulse of current and subsequently breaking down a gap in a spark plug for that cylinder to produce a second pulse of current, including first means for detecting the first and second pulses of current flowing through the ignition circuit during the firing of each cylinder, second means operatively coupled to the first means and responsive to the first pulse of current for providing a first control signal for a first particular period after the first pulse, and third means operatively coupled to the first and second means and operative only during the production of the first control signal in first particular period of activation for detecting whether the first means has produced the second pulse of current in representation of the breakdown of the spark plug.

Claim 18

Dependent Claim 180 words

Apparatus for testing for an ignition current of an automotive engine having a plurality of cylinders and a distributor and ignition system for sequentially firing the cylinders in a cyclic pattern were the firing of each cylinder is obtained by initially breaking down a distributor gap for that cylinder to produce a first pulse of current and subsequently breaking down a gap in a spark plug for that cylinder to produce a second pulse of current, including first means for detecting the first and second pulses of current flowing through the ignition circuit during the firing of each cylinder, second means operatively coupled to the first means and responsive to the first pulse of current for providing a first control signal for a first particular period after the first pulse, and third means operatively coupled to the first and second means and operative only during the production of the first control signal in first particular period of activation for detecting whether the first means has produced the second pulse of current in representation of the breakdown of the spark plug.

Claim 19

Dependent Claim 85 words

Apparatus as set forth in claim 13, including fourth means operatively coupled to the second means and responsive to the first control signal for providing a second control signal during a second particular period of activation after the first particular period of activation, and fifth means operatively coupled to the first, second and fourTh means and operative only during the production of the second control signal in the second particular period of activation for detecting the characteristics of the current during the second particular period.

Claim 20

Dependent Claim 48 words

Apparatus as set forth in claim 14, including sixth means operatively coupled to the third and fifth means and responsive to the characteristics of the current produced during the first and second particular periods of activation for indicating if there is an impending failure in the spark plug.

Claim 21

Dependent Claim 224 words

Apparatus for testing for an ignition current of an automotive engine having a plurality of cylinders and an ignition system for sequentially firing the cylinders in a cyclic pattern where the firing is obtained by initially breaking down a distributor gap for that cylinder to produce a first pulse of current and subsequently breaking down a gap in a spark plug for each particular cylinder to produce a pulse of current, including first means for detecting the pulse of current representing breakdown of the gap in a spark plug of a particular cylinder in the plurality; second means operatively coupled to the first means and responsive to the pulse of current representing breakdown of the distributor gap for determining the amplitude characteristics of the pulse of current representing breakdown of the gap in the spark plug at a first particular time; third means operatively coupled to the second means for determining the amplitude characteristics of the pulse of current at a second particular time following the first particular time by a particular time of interval; and fourth means operatively coupled to the second and third means for combining in a particular arithmetic relationship the amplitude characteristics of the signals from the second and the third means to obtain a determination of the characteristics in the breakdown of the spark gap for the particular cylinder.

Claim 22

Dependent Claim 224 words

Apparatus for testing for an ignition current of an automotive engine having a plurality of cylinders and an ignition system for sequentially firing the cylinders in a cyclic pattern where the firing is obtained by initially breaking down a distributor gap for that cylinder to produce a first pulse of current and subsequently breaking down a gap in a spark plug for each particular cylinder to produce a pulse of current, including first means for detecting the pulse of current representing breakdown of the gap in a spark plug of a particular cylinder in the plurality; second means operatively coupled to the first means and responsive to the pulse of current representing breakdown of the distributor gap for determining the amplitude characteristics of the pulse of current representing breakdown of the gap in the spark plug at a first particular time; third means operatively coupled to the second means for determining the amplitude characteristics of the pulse of current at a second particular time following the first particular time by a particular time of interval; and fourth means operatively coupled to the second and third means for combining in a particular arithmetic relationship the amplitude characteristics of the signals from the second and the third means to obtain a determination of the characteristics in the breakdown of the spark gap for the particular cylinder.

Claim 23

Dependent Claim 31 words

Apparatus as set forth in claim 16 wherein the second means is adjustable to vary the first particular time and the third means is adjustable to vary the second particular time.

Claim 24

Dependent Claim 39 words

Apparatus as set forth in claim 16 wherein the fourth means adds and averages the amplitudes of the signals from the second and third means to obtain an average value of the amplitude characteristics of the pulse of current.

Claim 25

Dependent Claim 38 words

Apparatus as set forth in claim 16 wherein the fourth means obtains the difference between the amplitudes of the signals from the second and third means to obtain a determination of slope characteristics of the pulse of current.

Claim 26

Dependent Claim 310 words

Apparatus for testing an ignition current of an automobile engine having a plurality of cylinders and an ignition system for sequentially firing the cylinders in a cyclic pattern where the firing is obtained by breaking down a gap in a spark plug for such particular cylinder to produce a pulse of current, including first means for detecting the pulse of current in a particular cylinder in the plurality; a first gate having open and closed conditions and having properties of preventing the passage of signal information when opened and of providing for the passage of signal information when closed; a second gate having open and closed conditions and having properties of preventing the passage of signal information when opened and of providing for the passage of signal information when closed; second means including the first gate for normally maintaining the first gate closed and for providing for the opening of the first gate at a first particular time during the pulse of current; third means including the second gate for normally maintaining the second gate closed and for providing for the opening of the second gate at a second particular time during the pulse of current where the second particular time follows the first particular time by a particular time interval; fourth means operatively coupled to the second means for sensing the amplitude characteristics of the pulse of current upon the openinG of the first gate; fifth means operatively coupled to the third means for sensing the amplitude characteristics of the pulse of current upon the opening of the second gate; and sixth means operatively coupled to the fourth and fifth means and responsive to the amplitude characteristics of the currents passing through the first and second gates for arithmetically combining these amplitude characteristics to obtain a determination of the characteristics of breakdown of the gap in the particular cylinder.

Claim 27

Dependent Claim 310 words

Apparatus for testing an ignition current of an automobile engine having a plurality of cylinders and an ignition system for sequentially firing the cylinders in a cyclic pattern where the firing is obtained by breaking down a gap in a spark plug for such particular cylinder to produce a pulse of current, including first means for detecting the pulse of current in a particular cylinder in the plurality; a first gate having open and closed conditions and having properties of preventing the passage of signal information when opened and of providing for the passage of signal information when closed; a second gate having open and closed conditions and having properties of preventing the passage of signal information when opened and of providing for the passage of signal information when closed; second means including the first gate for normally maintaining the first gate closed and for providing for the opening of the first gate at a first particular time during the pulse of current; third means including the second gate for normally maintaining the second gate closed and for providing for the opening of the second gate at a second particular time during the pulse of current where the second particular time follows the first particular time by a particular time interval; fourth means operatively coupled to the second means for sensing the amplitude characteristics of the pulse of current upon the openinG of the first gate; fifth means operatively coupled to the third means for sensing the amplitude characteristics of the pulse of current upon the opening of the second gate; and sixth means operatively coupled to the fourth and fifth means and responsive to the amplitude characteristics of the currents passing through the first and second gates for arithmetically combining these amplitude characteristics to obtain a determination of the characteristics of breakdown of the gap in the particular cylinder.

Claim 28

Dependent Claim 31 words

The apparatus set forth in claim 20 wherein the second means are adjustable to vary the first particular time and the third means are adjustable to vary the second particular time.

Claim 29

Dependent Claim 36 words

Apparatus as set forth in claim 20 wherein the sixth means operates to add the amplitudes of the pulses of current passing through the first and second gates to obtain an average value of such pulses.

Claim 30

Dependent Claim 40 words

Apparatus as set froth in claim 20 wherein the sixth means operates to obtain the difference between the amplitude of the pulses of current passing through the first and second gates to obtain slope characteristics of the pulse of current.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1974-09-06	1975-03-08	1975-09-07	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	1978-09-06	1979-03-08	1979-09-07	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	1982-09-06	1983-03-08	1983-09-07	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Apparatus using current signals to analyze the ignition of an engine

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