Method for controlling a corona ignition device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9957945-B2
Application number	US-201615218901-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 25, 2016
Priority date	Jul 27, 2015
Publication date	May 1, 2018
Grant date	May 1, 2018

Abstract

Disclosed is an inventive method for controlling a corona ignition device of an internal combustion engine. A corona discharge, which ignites fuel in a combustion chamber of the engine, is generated by applying a voltage to the corona ignition device. An actual value that is characteristic of the nitrogen oxide concentration of the exhaust gas is compared with a setpoint value, and, if the actual value deviates from the setpoint value by more than a specified threshold value and the actual value is greater than the setpoint value, the voltage is reduced after the comparison.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for controlling a corona ignition device of an internal combustion engine, the method comprising:
applying a voltage to the corona ignition device and thereby generating a corona discharge, the corona discharge igniting fuel in a combustion chamber of the engine;
determining nitrogen oxide concentration in exhaust gas of the internal combustion engine;
comparing the determined nitrogen oxide concentration with a setpoint value for nitrogen oxide concentration in the exhaust gas; and
reducing the voltage applied to the corona ignition device after the comparison when the determined nitrogen oxide concentration is greater than the setpoint value by more than a first predetermined threshold amount and thereby reducing the amount of nitrogen oxide in the exhaust gas.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the step of determining nitrogen oxide concentration comprises measuring nitrogen oxide concentration using a sensor.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the step of determining nitrogen oxide concentration comprises calculating nitrogen oxide concentration from engine operating data.

4. The method according to claim 3 , wherein the engine operating data includes combustion temperature or ignition delay.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the voltage is changed in steps as a result of the comparison of the determined nitrogen oxide concentration and the setpoint value, the size of the steps being independent of the extent of deviation of the determined nitrogen oxide concentration from the setpoint value.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the voltage applied to the corona ignition device is a high-frequency alternating voltage generated from a primary voltage using a voltage converter.

7. A method for controlling a corona ignition device of an internal combustion engine, the method comprising:
applying a voltage to the corona ignition device and thereby generating a corona discharge, the corona discharge igniting fuel in a combustion chamber of the engine;
determining nitrogen oxide concentration in exhaust gas of the internal combustion engine;
comparing the determined nitrogen oxide concentration with a setpoint value for nitrogen oxide concentration in the exhaust gas; and
increasing the voltage applied to the corona ignition device after the comparison when the determined nitrogen oxide concentration is less than the setpoint value by more than a first predetermined threshold amount and thereby increasing the amount of nitrogen oxide in the exhaust gas.

8. The method according to claim 7 , wherein the step of determining nitrogen oxide concentration comprises measuring nitrogen oxide concentration using a sensor.

9. The method according to claim 7 , wherein the step of determining nitrogen oxide concentration comprises calculating nitrogen oxide concentration from engine operating data.

10. The method according to claim 9 , wherein the engine operating data includes combustion temperature or ignition delay.

11. The method according to claim 7 , further comprising specifying a maximum value of the voltage not to be exceeded, independently of the determined nitrogen oxide concentration.

12. The method according to claim 11 , wherein the maximum value of the voltage not to be exceeded is determined dynamically by evaluating electrical characteristic variables of an oscillator circuit in the corona ignition device.

13. The method according to claim 7 , wherein the voltage is changed in steps as a result of the comparison of the determined nitrogen oxide concentration and the setpoint value, the size of the steps being independent of the extent of deviation of the determined nitrogen oxide concentration from the setpoint value.

14. The method according to claim 7 , wherein the voltage applied to the corona ignition device is a high-frequency alternating voltage generated from a primary voltage using a voltage converter.

Assignees

• Borgwarner Ludwigsburg Gmbh

Inventors

• Bohne Steffen
• Schenk Alexander

Classifications

• F02P15/10

  having continuous electric sparks · CPC title

• F02P3/06

  having capacitive energy storage (piezoelectric or electrostatic ignition F02P3/12) · CPC title

• F02P23/04 Primary

  Other physical ignition means, e.g. using laser rays · CPC title

• H01T13/50

  having means for ionisation of gap (H01T13/52 takes precedence) · CPC title

• F02P9/002 Primary

  Control of spark intensity, intensifying, lengthening, suppression (by means of current control in the storage devices F02P3/05, F02P3/09, during starting F02P15/12) · CPC title