Patent ID: 8800539

Claim:
A method for igniting a fuel-air-mixture in one or more combustion chambers, which are limited by walls that are at earth potential, the method comprising: energizing an electrical resonant circuit, in which an electrically insulated ignition electrode extending through one of the walls of the combustion chamber and protruding into the combustion chamber forms a capacitance in conjunction with the walls of the combustion chamber at earth potential; controlling the energization of the resonant circuit in such a way that a corona discharge igniting the fuel-air-mixture is generated in the combustion chamber on the ignition electrode; monitoring a strength of either an alternating current flowing in the resonant circuit, an alternating voltage energizing the resonant circuit and/or an impedance of the resonant circuit; and acquiring characteristic values specifying the state of the combustion chamber and/or the state of the mixture present in the combustion chamber from the observations or from the strength of either the alternating current, the alternating voltage or the impedance of the resonant circuit and/or from their chronological progression and which characteristic values are provided for further processing.