US5160892A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Engine analyzer waveform display with a buffer region
Assignee: SPX Technologies Inc
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Filing: 1990-10-05
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Granted: 1992-11-03
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Expires: 2010-10-05
Abstract
Abstract An engine analyzer for an internal combustion engine includes an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter which digitizes an analog input waveform representing, for example, a secondary or primary voltage waveform of the ignition coil of the internal combustion engine. The sampling rate of the analog digital converter is determined by dividing the waveform time period by the desired number of samples. An adjustment factor C is used to provide a buffer period during the sampling period of the waveform. A display for displaying the waveform has a buffer region which corresponds to the buffer period. Thus, a variation in the speed of the engine which causes the engine to slow down and extends the period of the engine waveform does not cause a loss of data collected from the waveform because the buffer period provides a margin of error.
Inventors
- 👤 Surender K. Makhija
- 👤 Steven J. Sparacino
- 👤 Robert T. Burgess
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-30 00:02
CPC Classifications
F; F02; F02P; F02P17/00; F02P17/02; F02P17/04; F02P17/08
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 28
Claim 1
Independent Claim
156 words
A display, for an engine test system, comprising: means for providing a periodic analog input waveform representative of operation of an internal combustion engine, the waveform having a period which varies as a function of the engine speed; analog to digital converter means for sampling the analog input waveform periodically at a data sampling rate and converting each sample to a digital value representative of an analog value of the analog input signal; display means for displaying a simulated visual representation based upon digital values from the analog to digital converter, the simulated visual display being representative of operation of the internal combustion engine; and means for determining the data sampling rate of the analog to digital converter as a function of engine speed, an adjustment factor, a maximum number of data points, a number of cylinders of the internal combustion engine, and a total firing time of a firing cycle of the internal combustion engine.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
156 words
A display, for an engine test system, comprising: means for providing a periodic analog input waveform representative of operation of an internal combustion engine, the waveform having a period which varies as a function of the engine speed; analog to digital converter means for sampling the analog input waveform periodically at a data sampling rate and converting each sample to a digital value representative of an analog value of the analog input signal; display means for displaying a simulated visual representation based upon digital values from the analog to digital converter, the simulated visual display being representative of operation of the internal combustion engine; and means for determining the data sampling rate of the analog to digital converter as a function of engine speed, an adjustment factor, a maximum number of data points, a number of cylinders of the internal combustion engine, and a total firing time of a firing cycle of the internal combustion engine.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
33 words
The display of claim 1 wherein during a firing cycle of the internal combustion engine the data sampling rate provides about ten percent less data samples than the maximum number of data points.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
46 words
The display of claim 1 wherein the display means includes a primary display for displaying the simulated visual representation of a function of the internal combustion engine and a buffer region for displaying portions of the visual representation which exceed boundaries of the primary display region.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
27 words
The display of claim 3 wherein the buffer region has a display capacity which is about ten percent of a display capacity of the primary display region.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
20 words
The display of claim 4 wherein the display capacity of the buffer region is a function of the adjustment factor.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
203 words
A display, for an internal combustion engine, comprising: means for providing a periodic analog input waveform representative of operation of an internal combustion engine, the waveform having a period which varies as a function of the engine speed; analog to digital converter means for sampling the analog input waveform periodically at a data sampling rate and converting each sample to a digital value representative of an analog value of the analog input signal; display means for displaying a simulated visual representation based upon values from the analog to digital converter, the simulated visual display being representative of a function of the internal combustion engine, the display means including a primary display region for displaying the function of the internal combustion engine, the primary display region having display boundaries, and a buffer display region for displaying portions of the simulated visual display which exceed the display boundaries of the primary display region; and means for determining the data sampling rate of the analog to digital converter as a function of engine speed, a maximum number of data points, a number of cylinders of the internal combustion engine, a total firing time of a firing cycle of the internal combustion engine and an adjustment factor.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
203 words
A display, for an internal combustion engine, comprising: means for providing a periodic analog input waveform representative of operation of an internal combustion engine, the waveform having a period which varies as a function of the engine speed; analog to digital converter means for sampling the analog input waveform periodically at a data sampling rate and converting each sample to a digital value representative of an analog value of the analog input signal; display means for displaying a simulated visual representation based upon values from the analog to digital converter, the simulated visual display being representative of a function of the internal combustion engine, the display means including a primary display region for displaying the function of the internal combustion engine, the primary display region having display boundaries, and a buffer display region for displaying portions of the simulated visual display which exceed the display boundaries of the primary display region; and means for determining the data sampling rate of the analog to digital converter as a function of engine speed, a maximum number of data points, a number of cylinders of the internal combustion engine, a total firing time of a firing cycle of the internal combustion engine and an adjustment factor.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
33 words
The display of claim 6 wherein during a firing cycle of the internal combustion engine the data sampling rate provides about ten percent less data samples than the maximum number of data samples.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
28 words
The display of claim 6 wherein the buffer display region has a display capacity which is about ten percent of a display capacity of the primary display region.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
28 words
The display of claim 7 wherein the display capacity of the buffer display region is a function of an adjustment factor used to adjust the data sampling rate.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
134 words
A method of sampling data, in an internal combustion engine testing system, comprising: measuring a firing time of a cylinder of an internal combustion engine; calculating a sampling time based upon the firing time, a predetermined number of data samples to be taken and a buffer period; measuring a periodic analog waveform representative of operation of the internal combustion engine; converting the analog waveform to a digital waveform at a sampling rate determined by the sampling time period; and displaying a visual display representative of a function of the internal combustion engine based upon the digital waveform wherein the buffer period provides a buffer region in the display and the buffer region is about ten percent of the predetermined number of data samples, to accommodate variation in a total firing time of a cylinder.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
134 words
A method of sampling data, in an internal combustion engine testing system, comprising: measuring a firing time of a cylinder of an internal combustion engine; calculating a sampling time based upon the firing time, a predetermined number of data samples to be taken and a buffer period; measuring a periodic analog waveform representative of operation of the internal combustion engine; converting the analog waveform to a digital waveform at a sampling rate determined by the sampling time period; and displaying a visual display representative of a function of the internal combustion engine based upon the digital waveform wherein the buffer period provides a buffer region in the display and the buffer region is about ten percent of the predetermined number of data samples, to accommodate variation in a total firing time of a cylinder.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
46 words
The method of claim 10 wherein calculating a sampling time period comprises dividing a time period of a firing cycle of the internal combustion engine by a number of cylinders in the engine and a predetermined number of data points and multiplying by an adjustment factor.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
165 words
A display, for an engine test system, comprising: means for providing a periodic analog input waveform representative of operation of an internal combustion engine, the waveform having a period which varies as a function of the engine speed; analog to digital converter means for sampling the analog input waveform periodically at a data sampling rate and converting each sample to a digital value representative of an analog value of the analog input signal; display means for displaying a simulated visual representation based upon digital values from the analog to digital converter, the simulated visual display being representative of operation of the internal combustion engine, including a primary display for displaying the simulated visual representation as a function of the internal combustion engine and a buffer region for displaying portions of the visual representation which exceed boundaries of the primary display region; and means for determining the data sampling rate of the analog to digital converter as a function of engine speed and an adjustment factor.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
165 words
A display, for an engine test system, comprising: means for providing a periodic analog input waveform representative of operation of an internal combustion engine, the waveform having a period which varies as a function of the engine speed; analog to digital converter means for sampling the analog input waveform periodically at a data sampling rate and converting each sample to a digital value representative of an analog value of the analog input signal; display means for displaying a simulated visual representation based upon digital values from the analog to digital converter, the simulated visual display being representative of operation of the internal combustion engine, including a primary display for displaying the simulated visual representation as a function of the internal combustion engine and a buffer region for displaying portions of the visual representation which exceed boundaries of the primary display region; and means for determining the data sampling rate of the analog to digital converter as a function of engine speed and an adjustment factor.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
58 words
The display of claim 12 wherein the means for determining the data sampling rate comprises means for determining the data sampling rate as a function of a maximum number of data points, a number of cylinders of the internal combustion engine, a total firing time of a firing cycle of the internal combustion engine and the adjustment factor.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
33 words
The display of claim 13 wherein during a firing cycle of the internal combustion engine the data sampling rate provides about ten percent less data samples than the maximum number of data points.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
27 words
The display of claim 12 wherein the buffer region has a display capacity which is about ten percent of a display capacity of the primary display region.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
20 words
The display of claim 15 wherein the display capacity of the buffer region is a function of the adjustment factor.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
194 words
A display for an internal combustion engine, comprising: means for providing a periodic analog input waveform representative of operation of an internal combustion engine, the waveform having a period which varies as a function of the engine speed; analog to digital converter means for sampling the analog input waveform periodically at a data sampling rate and converting each sample to a digital value representative of an analog value of the analog input signal; display means for displaying a simulated visual representation based upon values from the analog to digital converter, the simulated visual display being representative of a function of the internal combustion engine, the display means including a primary display region for displaying the function of the internal combustion engine, the primary display region having display boundaries, and a buffer display region for displaying portions of the simulated visual display which exceed the display boundaries of the primary display region wherein the buffer display region has a display capacity which is about ten percent of a display capacity of the primary display region; and means for determining the data sampling rate of the analog to digital converter as a function of engine speed.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
194 words
A display for an internal combustion engine, comprising: means for providing a periodic analog input waveform representative of operation of an internal combustion engine, the waveform having a period which varies as a function of the engine speed; analog to digital converter means for sampling the analog input waveform periodically at a data sampling rate and converting each sample to a digital value representative of an analog value of the analog input signal; display means for displaying a simulated visual representation based upon values from the analog to digital converter, the simulated visual display being representative of a function of the internal combustion engine, the display means including a primary display region for displaying the function of the internal combustion engine, the primary display region having display boundaries, and a buffer display region for displaying portions of the simulated visual display which exceed the display boundaries of the primary display region wherein the buffer display region has a display capacity which is about ten percent of a display capacity of the primary display region; and means for determining the data sampling rate of the analog to digital converter as a function of engine speed.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
58 words
The display of claim 17 wherein the means for determining the date sampling rate comprises means for determining the data sampling rate as a function of a maximum number of data points, a number of cylinders of the internal combustion engine, a total firing time of a firing cycle of the internal combustion engine and an adjustment factor.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
33 words
The display of claim 18 wherein during a firing cycle of the internal combustion engine the data sampling rate provides about ten percent less data samples than the maximum number of data points.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
28 words
The display of claim 17 wherein the display capacity of the buffer display region is a function of an adjustment factor used to adjust the data sampling rate.
Claim 26
Independent Claim
137 words
A method of sampling data, in an internal combustion engine testing system, comprising: measuring a firing time of a cylinder of an internal combustion engine; calculating a sampling time period by dividing a time period of a firing cycle of the internal combustion engine by a number of cylinders in the engine and a predetermined number of data points and multiplying by an adjustment factor; measuring a periodic analog waveform representative of operation of the internal combustion engine; converting the analog waveform to a digital waveform at a sampling rate determined by the sampling time period; and displaying a visual display representative of a function of the internal combustion engine based upon the digital waveform wherein the buffer period provides a buffer region in the display, to accommodate variation in a total firing time of a cylinder.
Claim 27
Independent Claim
137 words
A method of sampling data, in an internal combustion engine testing system, comprising: measuring a firing time of a cylinder of an internal combustion engine; calculating a sampling time period by dividing a time period of a firing cycle of the internal combustion engine by a number of cylinders in the engine and a predetermined number of data points and multiplying by an adjustment factor; measuring a periodic analog waveform representative of operation of the internal combustion engine; converting the analog waveform to a digital waveform at a sampling rate determined by the sampling time period; and displaying a visual display representative of a function of the internal combustion engine based upon the digital waveform wherein the buffer period provides a buffer region in the display, to accommodate variation in a total firing time of a cylinder.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 21 wherein the buffer region is about ten percent of the predetermined number of data samples.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1995-11-03 | 1996-05-04 | 1996-11-03 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1999-11-03 | 2000-05-04 | 2000-11-03 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2003-11-03 | 2004-05-04 | 2004-11-03 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |