Flywheel magneto having capacitive ignition system

Claim 1

An ignition system comprising: a. a flywheel having a plurality of permanent magnets with pole faces directed toward the rotational axis of the flywheel; b. a ferromagnetic coil disposed inside said flywheel and comprising superimposed laminations, each individual lamination having three pole legs whose ends are disposed adjacent to the rotational path of said pole faces; c. a charging coil disposed on the intermediate pole leg of said coil core; d. a trigger coil disposed on the last leg of said coil core when viewed in the direction of rotation of the flywheel; e. a charging circuit including said charging coil, a rectifier, a storage capacitor, and the primary winding of an ignition transformer, all connected together in a single series, said transformer having a secondary winding adapted to be connected in circuit with a spark plug; f. a thyristor connected by its anode and its cathode across a portion of said charging circuit including the series-connected capacitor and the primary winding; and g. means connecting one end of said charging coil to the anode of said thyristor, the other end of said charging coil being connected (1) through said trigger coil and a diode to the control terminal of said thyristor, and (2) through a resistor to said control terminal.