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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7550974 | Ignition coil tester apparatus and method A simple “go or no go” ignition coil tester identifies coils that have failed or that are about to fail by driving a coil with sufficient voltage and amperage to operate at its peak output. Coils that have failed or that are close to failure cannot operate at pe... | 06/23/2009 |
| 7375531 | Method of informing pilot of aircraft of spark detected in gas turbine engine A system for detecting spark in an igniter for a gas turbine engine. An igniter generates a plasma, or spark, somewhat similar to an automotive spark plug. In the invention, an inductive pick-up is positioned adjacent the igniter, to detect current pulses in the ign... | 05/20/2008 |
| 7357019 | Faulty lifter oil manifold assembly solenoid diagnostic system A diagnostic system that detects a faulty lifter oil manifold assembly solenoid includes a current measurement module, a time delay module, a voltage measurement module, and a diagnostic module. The current measurement module measures current flowing through the sol... | 04/15/2008 |
| 7348782 | Ignition device and spark condition detection method When a spark discharge is produced, a first current flows in one direction. From a rise of an ignition signal to energize an ignition coil to a fall of the ignition signal to deenergize the ignition coil, in order that a second current flowing in the opposite direct... | 03/25/2008 |
| 7242195 | Integral spark detector in fitting which supports igniter in gas turbine engine A system for detecting spark in an igniter for a gas turbine engine. An igniter generates a plasma, or spark, somewhat similar to an automotive spark plug. In the invention, an inductive pick-up is positioned adjacent the igniter, to detect current pulses in the ign... | 07/10/2007 |
| 7212005 | Ignition coil tester The present invention relates to an ignition coil tester having a control module and an output electronics for testing the functioning of rod-type ignition coils, which is connectible to a diagnostic tester, the rod-type ignition coil having a primary winding and a ... | 05/01/2007 |
| 7209575 | Method for visual inspection of printed matter on moving lids A method for visual inspection of printed matter on moving lids is disclosed. An associated visual inspection system is also disclosed. ... | 04/24/2007 |
| 7164271 | Ion current detecting device in internal combustion engine An ion current detecting device includes an ion current detecting unit which detects ion current based on combustion ion generated after an ignition which is performed in a combustion chamber and an amplifier unit which amplifies ion current detected by the ion curr... | 01/16/2007 |
| 7137385 | Device to provide a regulated power supply for in-cylinder ionization detection by using the ignition coli fly back energy and two-stage regulation This feature of the present invention comprises a method and apparatus that provides a regulated power supply for in-cylinder ionization detection by harvesting the excess ignition coil leakage and magnetizing energy immediately following the turn off of the ignitio... | 11/21/2006 |
| 7124019 | Powertrain control module spark duration diagnostic system A system and method for diagnosing ignition system performance of an internal combustion engine. The method operates an engine control unit to produce a sequence of spark ignition current pulses through primary windings of a plurality of ignition coils. The current ... | 10/17/2006 |
| 7096722 | Method and apparatus for detecting combustion instability in continuous combustion systems An apparatus and method to sense the onset of combustion stability is presented. An electrode is positioned in a turbine combustion chamber such that the electrode is exposed to gases in the combustion chamber. A control module applies a voltage potential to the ele... | 08/29/2006 |
| 7063079 | Device for reducing the part count and package size of an in-cylinder ionization detection system by integrating the ionization detection circuit and ignition coil driver into a single package Two embodiments of an integrated ionization detection circuit and ignition coil driver, an ASIC and a single electronic package, are disclosed. The apparatuses reduce the cost and complexity of an in-cylinder ionization detection system by combining like functionali... | 06/20/2006 |
| 7015698 | Sensor for detection of spark in igniter in gas turbine engine An igniter for a gas turbine engine. An igniter generates a plasma, or spark, somewhat similar to an automotive spark plug. In the invention, an inductive pick-up is used to detect current which produces the spark, the thereby infer the presence of spark. Further, t... | 03/21/2006 |
| 7005855 | Device to provide a regulated power supply for in-cylinder ionization detection by using the ignition coil fly back energy and two-stage regulation The present invention is directed to a dual charge rate power supply circuit and method for ionization detection. The circuit includes a first diode, first and second capacitors, and first and second current paths. The first diode includes an anode operably connecte... | 02/28/2006 |
| 6998846 | Ignition diagnosis using ionization signal The present feature of the invention is generally directed to a subsystem of an ignition diagnostics and feedback control system using ionization current feedback. It utilizes the ionization signal from an ionization detection circuit to monitor ignition parameters,... | 02/14/2006 |
| 6993960 | Method and apparatus for detecting combustion instability in continuous combustion systems An apparatus and method to sense the onset of combustion stability is presented. An electrode is positioned in a turbine combustion chamber such that the electrode is exposed to gases in the combustion chamber. The electrode may be integrated with an igniter. A cont... | 02/07/2006 |
| 6972569 | Waste-power KV simulator for hybrid/DIS ignition A testing apparatus for testing a waste-power ignition coil is provided and includes an igniter simulator having a first switching device electrically connected to an output of the primary side of a waste-power ignition coil under test and a triggering means for cha... | 12/06/2005 |
| 6969995 | Measuring device for ignition voltages The invention relates to a measuring device with a sensor (4) for monitoring the ignition voltage of an associated cylinder of an internal combustion engine, said sensor (4) being arranged along the ignition conductor (12), between the spark plu... | 11/29/2005 |
| 6960918 | Method and apparatus for control and fault detection of a remote electrical motor The present invention provides a system and method to passively monitor the performance of an electrical circuit designed to drive to a remote electric motor, including faults that occur intermittently. The invention is capable of identifying the location and type o... | 11/01/2005 |
| 6954074 | Circuit for measuring ionization current in a combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine A circuit for measuring ionization current in a combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine including an ignition coil, having a primary winding and a secondary winding, and an ignition plug. The ignition plug ignites an air/fuel mixture in the combustion ch... | 10/11/2005 |
| 6922057 | Device to provide a regulated power supply for in-cylinder ionization detection by using a charge pump A charge pump is used to supply current to the ionization detection circuit. To detect in-cylinder ions generated during the combustion process, a DC bias voltage needs to be applied. There are two ways to generate the DC bias: conventional DC power supply (large el... | 07/26/2005 |
| 6909286 | Method of inspecting insulators to detect defects including measuring leakage current flowing through the insulator A method of inspecting insulators such as spark plug insulators for defects, whereby a plurality of insulators are inspected concurrently by being disposed with a plurality of first electrodes engaged in respective apertures in the insulators, and with apertures for... | 06/21/2005 |
| 6909289 | Electrical high tension tester An electrical high tension test device having first and second contacts connectable to a high tension circuit, a first electrode connected to one contact; a second electrode connected to the second contact, the first and second electrodes being spaced apart from one... | 06/21/2005 |
| 6907503 | Dual port RAM communication protocol An apparatus for determining the validity of a data signal communicated between two microprocessors by a dual port RAM includes a sender for providing a data signal and an initialization status indicator and a dual port RAM in communication with the sender for recei... | 06/14/2005 |
| 6850070 | Coil on plug inductive sampling method A coil-on plug testing apparatus generates an output signal representing an ignition signal. The testing apparatus includes an inductive sensor for detecting an electromagnetic flux generated by a coil-on plug device during a firing event and generating and outputti... | 02/01/2005 |
| 6836120 | Automotive ignition coil tester An apparatus for testing the actual functioning of an automotive coil includes a housing with a switch and a capacitor across the switch. Connections to ground and to a coil that is placed in series with the apparatus are provided. An opposite side of the coil eithe... | 12/28/2004 |
| 6741080 | Buffered ion sense current source in an ignition coil In an ignition coil assembly of an ion sensing ignition system having an ignition coil output, a buffered ion-sense current source circuit is provided and includes a current sensing circuit, the current sensing circuit being disposed so as to be communicated with th... | 05/25/2004 |
| 6621269 | System for monitoring solenoid flyback voltage spike A method includes diagnosing a solenoid circuit to determine if the circuit has begun to degrade. By measuring characteristics associated with the electrical waveform, it is determined if the characteristics of a solenoid circuit are different from the pr... | 09/16/2003 |
| 6600322 | Stroke distinction in 4-cycle engines without a cam reference Methods, apparatus, and systems for distinguishing between compression and exhaust strokes of a four-cycle engine is provided. A first ionization time of a spark plug for a known cylinder is measured on a first engine stoke. A second ionization time of th... | 07/29/2003 |
| 6512375 | Method of detecting spark plug fouling and ignition system having means for carrying out the same A method of detecting spark plug fouling in an internal combustion engine is provided. The method comprises calculating an integration value of discharge current flowing between electrodes of a spark plug during a period of a spark discharge and judging i... | 01/28/2003 |
| 6492818 | Apparatus and method for determining component fault conditions as a function of primary coil voltage in a capacitive discharge ignition system An apparatus for determining component fault conditions associated with a capacitive discharge ignition system for an internal combustion engine includes a number of AC coupling circuits connected to a spark detection circuit, wherein the combination is r... | 12/10/2002 |
| 6483311 | Method and device for evaluating ionic current signals for assessing combustion processes A method and an arrangement for detecting combustion misfires in internal combustion engines are presented where a measured ionic current signal is subjected to a floating short-time integration and a feature is formed which corresponds to the maximum val... | 11/19/2002 |
| 6426626 | Apparatus and method for testing an ignition coil and spark plug A method and apparatus for testing spark plugs and ignition coils. An apparatus includes a power supply for supplying power to an ignition coil to generate a spark across a spark plug. A capture circuit captures an energy signal reflected from the ignitio... | 07/30/2002 |
| 6424155 | Igniting system with a device for measuring the ion current An inductive ignition apparatus for a combustion engine includes a measurement device for ascertaining the ionization current at the spark plug of each cylinder, and includes for each spark plug an ignition coil device which forms the ignition high voltag... | 07/23/2002 |
| 6396277 | Coil on plug signal detection An apparatus for measuring ignition charge signals produced by coils of coil-on-plug devices of an internal combustion engine. A signal detector comprises an insulating substrate having a first conductive planar layer on a first side and a second conducti... | 05/28/2002 |
| 6384606 | Ignition coil with lead for secondary diagnostics An ignition coil with an isolated internal lead in proximity to the secondary side can be used in a capacitive discharge ignition system with a microprocessor-based signal-processing module to monitor system performance. The diagnostic lead is fed into a ... | 05/07/2002 |
| 6359439 | Compression sense ignition system with fault mode detection and having improved capacitive sensing A compression sense ignition system includes a sensing capacitor having a conductive sensing element disposed in proximity to the secondary winding leads of a first and a second ignition coil for developing a compression sense ignition signal. Epoxy potti... | 03/19/2002 |
| 6343500 | Engine combustion condition detecting apparatus equipped with malfunction diagnosing apparatus A failure of a detecting circuit such as an ion current detecting circuit for detecting a combustion condition of an engine can be diagnosed at a stage for detecting a combustion condition by a combustion condition detecting apparatus equipped with a malf... | 02/05/2002 |
| 6307376 | Fault detection system and method for solenoid controlled actuators of a transmission system An improved system and method for detecting solenoid-related faults in a solenoid-controlled actuator assembly. The system includes a processing circuit which controls a solenoid driver circuit for energizing and de-energizing the solenoid, a current sens... | 10/23/2001 |
| 6281682 | Sensor for detecting ignition current and ion current in ignition secondary circuit An ignition secondary sensor is provided which is disposed in a high voltage path between an ignition coil and a spark plug for use with a detecting circuit for detecting ignition current and ion current flowing through a spark plug. The sensor comprises ... | 08/28/2001 |
