Electricity: measuring and testing – Internal-combustion engine ignition system or device – In situ testing of spark plug
Patent
1990-06-26
1993-08-31
Wieder, Kenneth A.
Electricity: measuring and testing
Internal-combustion engine ignition system or device
In situ testing of spark plug
F02P 1700
Patent
active
052412741
ABSTRACT:
On-board apparatus for visually indicating the efficiency of the spark plugs and ignition wires of an internal combustion engine includes a capacitive clamp attached to the insulated ignition wire of each spark plug of the engine, preferably as close to the spark plug as possible. The current derived by the capacitive clamp is fed through a knock-down resistor to reduce the voltage fed to a conditioning circuit. The conditioning circuit provides a positive pulse substantially proportionate to the intensity of the signal through the conditioning circuit. The resulting signal is then fed to a time delay circuit to provide a relatively smooth signal to a bar graph. The time delay circuit includes high and low sensitivity modes for user selection to generally monitor system efficiency or to detect misfires. An adjustable gain circuit allows the bar graph to be calibrated to operate at a preselected level when the engine idles. The system may optionally include a bar graph test circuit which simultaneously imposes a test voltage to the bar graph of all the spark plugs to permit the operator to determine whether variations from normal bar graph readings are caused by the ignition system or by the bar graph.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4032843 (1977-06-01), Loucks
patent: 4547734 (1985-10-01), Spaude
patent: 4825167 (1989-04-01), Bayba
patent: 4902978 (1990-02-01), Horigan
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