Abstract:
An ignition apparatus includes: sparking coil supplying a sparking plug with a high voltage; an energy supply device supplying the sparking coil with energy; a first switch disposed therebetween; and a control device controlling the first switch&#39;s conduction. The energy supply device has a DC power supply, a resonance coil connected to the DC power supply, a sparking capacitor connected to the resonance coil, and a second switch disposed between the sparking capacitor and an earth, and charges the sparking capacitor to have a voltage value larger than that of the DC power supply in absolute value by making the resonance coil and the sparking capacitor generate an LC resonance when the second and first switches are turned ON and OFF, respectively, according to an instruction from the control device whereas supplying the sparking coil with energy when the second and first switches are operated inversely according to another instruction.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to a capacitive discharge ignition apparatus chiefly employed in an internal combustion engine. 
         [0003]    2. Background Art 
         [0004]    Issues on environmental preservation and fuel depletion are being raised recently and actions toward these issues are urgently necessary in the auto industry. One example of such actions is ultra-lean combustion of an engine using a stratified mixture, so-called stratified lean combustion. Stratified lean combustion is a technique to burn a combustible air-fuel mixture generated only in a partial region within a combustion chamber, that is, a region in the vicinity of a sparking plug. With this technique, an intake loss can be reduced and a coefficient of thermal expansion can be enhanced. 
         [0005]    Because fuel is collected only in the vicinity of the sparking plug by the stratified lean combustion, a method using a flow of air called a swirl flow is used extensively. This method takes an advantage of the nature of air that flows toward the center of a swirl. By disposing a sparking plug at the center of a swirl and allowing fuel to flow on the swirl, it becomes possible to collect the fuel in the vicinity of the sparking plug, thereby enabling the stratified lean combustion. 
         [0006]    Accordingly, there is a possibility with the stratified lean combustion that the combustible mixture is not distributed homogeneously, and a spark discharge over a long period is required from the viewpoint of firing opportunity. A concentration of the mixture is not homogeneous, either, and in these circumstances, a fume leakage caused by carbon deposits on the sparking plug readily occurs. In view of the foregoing, a high secondary current is necessary for the stratified lean combustion to generate a spark discharge in a reliable manner even in circumstances where an energy leakage pathway has been formed. 
         [0007]    In response to this necessity, an ignition apparatus described in Patent Document 1 has been proposed. The ignition apparatus described in Patent Document 1 uses a capacitive discharge ignition method to give rise to a breakdown between electrodes of an ignition plug. By supplying energy intermittently to a primary end of the sparking coil from a coil having pre-stored the energy to maintain a following inductive discharge, an AC spark discharge is generated continuously between the electrodes of the sparking plug. Both a high initial secondary current and a spark discharge over a long period can be thus achieved.
   Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent No. 4497027   
 
         [0009]    Meanwhile, strong eddying flow and current of the combustible mixture develop in the vicinity of the sparking plug and these eddying flow and current make it difficult to start and continue a spark discharge for fuel ignition. The spark discharge is a phenomenon that molecules between the electrodes are turned into plasma by a action or the like with a high voltage applied between the electrodes and a current is flowed through the plasma. There is, however, a phenomenon (blow-off phenomenon) that molecules turned into plasma per se are flowed by the strong current described above or the plasma disappears with cooling. It therefore becomes difficult to start a spark discharge and should a discharge be started, the spark discharge is interrupted when a path (plasma) through which to flow the current disappears. 
         [0010]    The ignition apparatus described in Patent Document 1 has a problem that the blow-off phenomenon readily occurs during an operation on a low discharge current. In other words, because a discharge current per se of the spark discharge contributes to generation of plasma, which serves as a path, when the discharge current is large, the current itself is able to repair the path even when the path is blown off. The path is therefore seldom interrupted and the blow-off phenomenon hardly occurs. In contrast, when the discharge current is small, plasma generated by the current itself is too small to repair the path quickly enough. The path is therefore interrupted easily and the blow-off phenomenon readily occurs. 
         [0011]    Hence, once the discharge is interrupted, it becomes impossible to give rise to a breakdown again between the electrodes of the sparking plug. The spark discharge is therefore interrupted and ends at this point. 
         [0012]    In circumstances where there is a fume leakage pathway between the electrodes of the sparking plug, an initial breakdown is possible due to the capacitive discharge method. However, when a spark discharge current thereafter is small, a large proportion of energy leaks through the leakage pathway. Hence, as with the description above, there is a case where the spark discharge cannot be maintained, causing a firing opportunity to be missed. 
         [0013]    In addition, the ignition apparatus of Patent Document 1 proposes a scheme equipped with DC-to-DC converters separately used for a normal operation and stratified lean combustion and generating a further larger discharge current. To achieve this scheme, however, a further larger DC-to-DC converter and a further larger energy storing coil are necessary. This proposed scheme therefore has problems of heat generation and a large size of the product. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0014]    The invention has an object to solve the problems discussed above by providing a compact capacitive discharge ignition apparatus achieving a high secondary current and a spark discharge over a long period and capable of resuming a spark discharge by giving rise to a breakdown again even when the spark discharge is interrupted. 
         [0015]    An ignition apparatus according to an aspect of the invention includes: a sparking coil that supplies a sparking plug with a high voltage; an energy supply device that supplies the sparking coil with energy; a first switch that is disposed between the sparking coil and the energy supply device; and a control device that controls conduction of the first switch. The energy supply device has a DC power supply, a resonance coil connected to the DC power supply, a sparking capacitor connected to the resonance coil, and a second switch disposed between the sparking capacitor and an earth. The energy supply device charges the sparking capacitor to have a voltage value larger than an output voltage value of the DC power supply in absolute value by making the resonance coil and the sparking capacitor generate an LC resonance when the second switch is turned ON and the first switch is turned OFF according to a first instruction from the control device, and supplies the sparking coil with the energy supplied to the sparking capacitor when the second switch is turned OFF and the first switch is turned ON according to a second instruction from the control device. 
         [0016]    The ignition apparatus of the invention can be compact, achieve a high secondary current and a spark discharge over a long period, and resume a spark discharge by giving rise to a breakdown again even when the spark discharge is interrupted. 
         [0017]    The foregoing and other object, features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention when taken conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0018]      FIG. 1  is a view schematically showing a configuration of an ignition apparatus according to a first embodiment of the invention; 
           [0019]      FIG. 2  is a view showing a circuit configuration of the ignition apparatus according to the first embodiment of the invention; 
           [0020]      FIGS. 3A to 3F  represent a timing chart showing waveforms at respective portions in the ignition apparatus of  FIG. 2 ; and 
           [0021]      FIGS. 4A to 4F  represent another timing chart showing waveforms at respective portions in the ignition apparatus of  FIG. 2 . 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     First Embodiment 
       [0022]      FIG. 1  schematically shows a configuration of an ignition apparatus of the invention. Referring to  FIG. 1 , energy is supplied from an energy supply device  104  to a sparking coil  102  that supplies a sparking plug  101  with a high voltage with which to generate a spark discharge. A first switch  105  is disposed between the sparking coil  102  and the energy supply device  104  and it operates under predetermined control by a control device  103 . The energy supply device  104  includes a DC power supply  110  formed of a battery or the like, a resonance coil  111  connected to the DC power supply  110 , a sparking capacitor  112  connected to the resonance coil  111 , and a second switch  113  disposed between the sparking capacitor  112  and an earth  109 . 
         [0023]    The energy supply device  104  stores energy according to a control signal from the control device  103 . The stored energy is supplied to the sparking coil  102  via the first switch  105  according to an instruction from the control device  103 . The sparking coil  102  generates a high voltage upon a supply of the energy and applies the high voltage between the electrodes of the sparking plug  101 , which gives rise to a breakdown and a spark discharge between the electrodes of the sparking plug  101 . 
         [0024]      FIG. 2  is a view showing a concrete circuit configuration of the ignition apparatus according to the first embodiment of the invention. In the drawing, like components are labeled with like reference numerals with respect to  FIG. 1 . Referring to  FIG. 2 , the DC power supply  110  is formed of a known DC-to-DC converter  203  and attached thereto are a monitor circuit  204  and a voltage regulator circuit  205  both described below. In an example shown herein, the first switch  105  and the second switch  113  each are formed of an IGBT. It should be appreciated, however, that the invention is not limited to this example and an IGBT can be replaced with a power transistor or a MOSFET. A half-bridge drive circuit  202  is used to drive the first switch  105  and the second switch  113 , in particular, to stabilize potential at an emitter (source) of the first switch  105  in a floating state and a commercially available half-bride drive circuit can be used. 
         [0025]    The DC-to-DC converter  203  in the DC power supply  110  boosts the battery  100  and is able to supply a sufficient DC current for a short time. The resonance coil  111 , the sparking capacitor  112 , and the second switch  113  are disposed in series between the DC power supply  110  and the earth  109 . In addition, the first switch  105  is disposed between the sparking capacitor  112  and the sparking coil  102  and ON and OFF operations of the first switch  105  and the second switch  113  are controlled by the control device  103 . 
         [0026]    A circuit operation of  FIG. 2  including an internal operation of the energy supply device  104  will now be described. As the second switch  113  is turned ON, that is, as the sparking capacitor  112  and the earth  109  are brought into conduction while the first switch  105  stays OFF, that is, while the sparking capacitor  112  and the sparking coil  102  are not conducting, a current starts to flow from the DC power supply  110  to the earth  109 . In this instance, an LC resonance is generated between the resonance coil  111  and the sparking capacitor  112  and a voltage is raised higher than a voltage of DC power supply  110 . With this raised voltage, the sparking capacitor  112  is charged quite fast to have a voltage higher than the voltage of the DC power supply  110 . 
         [0027]    After the charging of the sparking capacitor  112  is completed, the second switch  113  is turned OFF and the first switch  105  is turned ON. Then, charges stored in the sparking capacitor  112  flow into the sparking coil  102 , upon which the sparking coil  102  generates a high voltage. This high voltage gives rise to a spark discharge between the electrodes of the sparking plug  101 . An ignition operation of an internal combustion engine is thus carried out. 
         [0028]    As has been described, according to the ignition apparatus of the first embodiment, the sparking capacitor  112  can be charged quite fast. Hence, even when the energy supply device  104  is formed of one circuit, for example, when the sparking capacitor  112  has only one circuit, it becomes possible to supply energy to more than one cylinder by providing a plurality of secondary coils  102   b  to the sparking coil  102 . 
         [0029]    In short, because the energy supply source can be shared, the apparatus can be reduced in size and cost. 
         [0030]    It is preferable to dispose the energy supply device  104  in the same package as a product. Alternatively, the energy supply device  104  together with the half-bridge drive device  202  used to drive the first switch  105  and the second switch  113  described below may be disposed in the same package. Further, the control device  103  may also be disposed in the same package. 
         [0031]    An operation of multi-sparking using the ignition apparatus of the invention will now be described. 
         [0032]    Initially, the DC power supply  110  is boosted by the DC-to-DC converter  203  to have a battery voltage at or exceeding 100 V and charges a capacitor  201  to be capable of supplying a sufficient current to the following stage. Hereinafter, the capacitor  201  is referred to as the tank capacitor. 
         [0033]    A capacity of the tank capacitor  201  has to be sufficiently large for a capacity of the sparking capacitor  112 . The tank capacitor  201  is responsible for most of a supply of energy to the sparking capacitor  112 . Given a case where a supply of energy is necessary a plurality of times in a short time like in multi-sparking, then it is necessary for the tank capacitor  201  to secure a sufficient capacity difference. Herein, a selection is made so that a capacity of the tank capacitor  201  is about 10μ to 100 μF and a capacity of the sparking capacitor  112  is about 0.5μ to 5 μF, thereby ensuring a capacity difference of about 10 to 20 times. 
         [0034]    A potential difference across the tank capacitor  201  is constantly monitored by the monitor circuit  204 , so that, for example, when potential at a resistance voltage dividing point  206  reaches a breakdown voltage of a zener diode (or avalanche diode)  207 , a transistor  208  is turned ON to stop a boosting operation by the DC-to-DC converter  203 . When configured in this manner, wasteful power consumption and hence unnecessary heat generation can be suppressed. A contribution can therefore be made to a further reduction of the device in size and cost. 
         [0035]    By adding the voltage regulator circuit  205  to the monitor circuit  204  of  FIG. 2 , energy to be supplied to the sparking coil  102  can be varied with an operation condition. Further, the apparatus consumes less power and the life of the sparking plug  101  is prolonged. For example, when an internal transistor  209  is turned ON by sending a control signal from the control device  103  to the voltage regulator circuit  205 , divided potential at the resistance voltage dividing point  206  drops. Because the breakdown voltage of the zener diode  207  does not vary, it becomes necessary to further raise a charging voltage of the tank capacitor  201  to achieve the breakdown voltage. It thus becomes possible to adjust a potential difference across the tank capacitor  201 . Accordingly, because a charging amount of the sparking capacitor  112  is adjustable, it becomes possible to adjust magnitude of a secondary voltage V 2  and a secondary current I 2  generated in the secondary winding wire  102   b  of the sparking coil  102 . 
         [0036]    A charging target of the tank capacitor  201  is set, for example, to 100 V mainly and 160 V after the switching. Both are extremely low as a voltage to be supplied to a primary end of a capacitive discharge sparking coil. However, because a voltage can be raised by about two times using an LC resonance in the circuit in the latter stage, about 200 to 320 V is given as a potential difference across the sparking capacitor that directly supplies energy to the primary end of the sparking coil. Hence, an output voltage at a level as high as or higher than that of a typical capacitive discharge ignition apparatus can be obtained. Also, when a charging target of the tank capacitor  201  is a voltage about 100 to 160 V, a general-purpose electronic part can be used. The range of choice for parts is therefore broadened extensively and a compact and inexpensive part can be chosen. Also, because a DC-to-DC converter having a small output with good efficiency can be chosen, heat generation can be suppressed. 
         [0037]    A charging operation of the sparking capacitor  112  will now be described with reference to a timing chart of  FIGS. 3A  to  3 F. In the drawing,  FIG. 3A  represents a control signal waveform Sc applied to the second switch  113  from the control device  103  via the half-bridge drive circuit  202 ,  FIG. 3B  represents a control signal waveform Si applied to the first switch  105  also from the control device  103  via the half-bridge drive circuit  202 ,  FIG. 3C  represents a current waveform Ic flowed into the sparking capacitor  112  when the second switch  113  is turned ON, FIG.  3 D 1  represents a potential difference Vt (broken line) across the tank capacitor  201 , FIG.  3 D 2  represents a potential difference V 1  (solid line) across the sparking capacitor  112 ,  FIG. 3E  represents a primary current I 1  flowed into a primary winding wire  102   a  of the sparking coil  102  from the sparking capacitor  112 , and  FIG. 3F  represents a secondary current I 2  flowed into the secondary winding wire  102   b.    
         [0038]    As is represented by  FIG. 3A , when the signal Sc shifts to a high level (timing T 1  of  FIGS. 3A to 3F ), the second switch  113  is turned ON, that is, switched to a conducting state. Then, a current represented by  FIG. 3C  flows into the sparking capacitor  112  from the tank capacitor  201  via the resonance coil  111 . In this instance, because of an LC resonance occurring between the resonance coil  111  and the sparking capacitor  112 , the sparking capacitor  112  is charged with potential at least two times higher than the potential difference Vt (broken line) across the tank capacitor  201  represented by FIG.  3 D 1 . The potential difference V 1  (solid line) across the fully charged sparking capacitor  112  is therefore about 200 V as is represented by FIG.  3 D 2 . The charging time is as short as 10μ to 20 μsec and such a short charging time enables capacitive discharge multi-sparking described below. 
         [0039]    A sparking operation thereafter will now be described. The control device  103  shifts the control signal Sc (represented by  FIG. 3A ) to a low level (timing T 2  of  FIGS. 3A to 3F  to switch the second switch  113  to a non-conducting state. Thereafter, the control device  103  shifts the control signal Si to a high level and switches the first switch  105  to a conducting state. In this instance, attention should be paid to prevent the first switch  105  and the second switch  113  from being switched to a conducting state at the same time. Accordingly, the circuit configuration in the control device  103  is limited so that the control signal Sc does not logically shift to a high level at the same time. When the both switches are switched to a conducting state at the same time, all the energy stored in the tank capacitor  201  flows directly into the primary winding wire  102   a  of the sparking coil  102 . Hence, in order to resume the sparking, the tank capacitor  201  has to be charged all over again. This charging, however, takes a time and it becomes impossible to carry out an operation within a short time, such as multi-sparking. 
         [0040]    Also, because the emitter of the first switch  105  is not grounded and in a floating state, it is necessary to drive the first switch  105  using the half-bridge drive device  202 . To this end, the half-bridge drive device  202  includes a capacitor (not shown) capable of generating a potential difference large enough to drive the gate of the IGBT. The half-bridge drive device  202  drives the first switch  105  in a stable manner by generating a potential different using the capacitor when the control signal Sc is at a high level and giving the potential difference to the gate of the first switch  105  in reference to the emitter of the first switch  105  when the control signal Si shifts to a high level. 
         [0041]    When the first switch  105  is turned ON, that is, switched to a conducting state, the primary current I 1  represented by  FIG. 3E  flows through the primary winding wire  102   a  of the sparking coil  102  from the sparking capacitor  112 . When a current starts to flow through the primary winding wire  102   a , a high voltage V 2  by an induced electromotive force is generated in the secondary winding wire  102   b , which is magnetically coupled to the primary winding wire  102   a  and has more turns than the primary winding wire  102   a , in a forward direction (herein, a direction in which a center electrode (secondary wiring wire side) of the sparking plug  101  becomes negative is defined as the forward direction). This gives rise to a breakdown between the electrodes of the sparking plug  101 . Accordingly, the secondary current I 2  represented by  FIG. 3F  flows between the electrodes of the sparking plug  101  in a forward direction (in the case of  FIG. 3F , a direction in which the current (denoted as I 2  in the drawing) flows toward the center electrode from the negative side, that is, a side electrode (GND side) of the sparking plug  101 , is defined as the forward direction). 
         [0042]    An operation of multi-sparking will now be described. As is represented by  FIG. 3E , when the control signal Si is shifted to a low level (timing T 3  of  FIGS. 3A to 3F ), that is, when the first switch  105  is switched to a non-conducting state while the primary current I 1  is flowing, the high voltage V 2  in a direction opposite to the direction specified above is generated in the secondary winding wire  102   b  by an induced electromotive force. Accordingly, the secondary current I 2  in the opposite direction (that is, toward the positive side) as is represented by  FIG. 3F  flows continuously. 
         [0043]    Immediately after the control signal Si is shifted to a low level (slightly after the timing T 3  of  FIGS. 3A to 3F , the sparking capacitor  112  is re-charged by shifting the control signal Sc to a high level as is represented by  FIG. 3A  and thereby switching the second switch  113  to a conducting state. The re-charging of the sparking capacitor  112  is completed while a spark discharge in the opposite direction is continuing and the control signal Si (represented by  FIG. 3B ) is shifted to a high level (timing T 4  of  FIGS. 3A to 3F ). Then, an induced electromotive force in the forward direction is generated again and a discharge current starts to flow continuously in the forward direction this time. 
         [0044]    In this manner, by repeating the switching operations successively while the spark discharge is continuing, it becomes possible to flow a spark discharge current continuously in the forward direction and the opposite direction, that is, to give rise to an AC continuous spark discharge. In order to generate such an AC continuous spark discharge, it is preferable to set the number of turns of the primary wiring wire  102   a  and that of the secondary winding wire  102   b  of the sparking coil  102  at a high ratio, for example, it is preferable to set a ratio of about 100 times to 200 times. Also, it is preferable to provide a large number of turns, for example, 5000 to 10000 turns, to the secondary wiring wire  102   b  so that a discharging time characteristic of the sparking coil  102  becomes slightly longer. It is preferable to set intervals of the switching operations to 50μ to 500 μsec. 
       Second Embodiment 
       [0045]    Another charging operation of the sparking coil  112  will now be described with reference to a timing chart of  FIGS. 4A to 4F . In the drawing, descriptions of  FIGS. 4A to 4F  are the same as those of the respective waveforms of  FIGS. 3A to 3F . That is,  FIG. 4A  represents the control signal waveform Sc,  FIG. 4B  represents the control signal waveform Si,  FIG. 4C  represents the current waveform Ic flowed into the sparking capacitor  112  when the second switch  113  is turned ON, FIG.  4 D 1  represents the potential difference Vt (broken line) across the tank capacitor  201 , FIG.  4 D 2  represents the potential difference V 1  (solid line) across the sparking capacitor  112 ,  FIG. 4E  represents the primary current I 1  flowed into the primary winding wire  102   a  of the sparking coil  102  from the sparking capacitor  112 , and  FIG. 4F  represents the secondary current I 2  flowed into the secondary winding wire  102   b.    
         [0046]    A difference from  FIGS. 3A to 3F  is that, in  FIGS. 3A to 3F , the control signal Si is shifted to a low level (timing T 3  of  FIGS. 3A to 3F ) while the primary current I 1  is flowing whereas in  FIGS. 4A to 4F , a sparking operation as follows is carried out repetitively. That is, the control signal Si (represented by  FIG. 4B ) is shifted to a low level when the primary current I 1  (represented by  FIG. 4E ) flowing through the primary winding wire  102   a  of the sparking coil  102  has stopped flowing. Subsequently, the control signal Sc (represented by  FIG. 4A ) is shifted to a high level to re-charge the sparking capacitor  112 . Then, after the control signal Sc (represented by  FIG. 4A ) is shifted to a low level, the control signal Si (represented by  FIG. 4B ) is shifted again to a high level. 
         [0047]    When configured in this manner, a spark ignition discharge becomes intermittent. However, as in the first embodiment above, it becomes possible to obtain a firing opportunity over a long period. According to the second embodiment, because continuity of discharge is not required for the ignition apparatus, in a case where there is a considerable gap between the charging voltage monitor value of the tank capacitor  201  monitored by the monitor circuit  204  and a target value, for example, in a case where the monitor value drops below 50 V when the charging target is 100 V, the transistor  208  is brought into conduction to inhibit multi-sparking or an amount of consumed charges is reduced by decreasing the number of times of multi-sparking or a charging period is extended by setting intervals of multi-sparking longer, for example, by carrying out multi-sparking ten times at intervals of 100 μsec or five times at intervals of 200 μsec when multi-sparking is normally carried out 20 times at intervals of 50 μsec. Consequently, high priority is given to charging to carry out a following sparking in a reliable manner while maintaining the same firing period. 
         [0048]    As has been described, according to the invention, because a boosting voltage of the DC-to-DC converter can be suppressed to a low voltage by using an LC resonance, it becomes possible to allow the DC-to-DC converter to operate efficiently, which can in turn suppress power consumption of the circuit to a low level. 
         [0049]    In addition, because a boosting voltage of the DC-to-DC converter can be suppressed to a low voltage by using an LC resonance, parts having low voltage resistance can be chosen. The apparatus can be therefore reduced in size and cost. Further, because the sparking capacitor can be charged in a quite short time, an AC continuous spark discharge and capacitive discharge multi-sparking are enabled. 
         [0050]    The ignition apparatus of the invention can be incorporated into a broad range of vehicles or the like using an internal combustion engine, such as automobiles, two-wheeled vehicles, outboard engines, and other special machines, to ignite fuel in a reliable manner. Hence, not only can the ignition apparatus make the internal combustion engine operate efficiently, but also the ignition apparatus can be of help to issues on fuel depletion and environment preservation. 
         [0051]    Various modifications and alterations of this invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of this invention, and it should be understood that this is not limited to the illustrative embodiments set forth herein.