Patent ID: 8607770

Claim:
An ignition device for an internal combustion engine comprising an ignition coil having a primary side and a secondary side, said primary side being fed by a voltage supply unit, said voltage supply unit including a direct current supply unit and a capacitor connected in parallel with said direct current supply unit; a secondary current measuring device on said secondary side of said ignition coil for directly measuring the course of only the secondary side current; a polarity evaluation device for determining a polarity of the secondary side current measured by said secondary current measuring device; and a control device for at least temporarily controlling at least one of a primary side voltage and a primary side current depending on the course of the secondary side current measured by said secondary current measuring device including the polarity of the secondary side current determined by said polarity evaluation device; wherein, subsequent to an interruption of the primary side voltage or current supply of said ignition coil during an ignition process or subsequent to a drop of the primary side voltage or the primary side current in said ignition coil below a predeterminable threshold during the ignition process, said control device is operable to energize or regulate the primary side voltage or current supply of said ignition coil above the predeterminable threshold only when the secondary side current induced thereby acts in a direction of the predetermined course of the secondary side current.