United Technologies Corporation

R.e. Phelon Company, Inc.

James A Herndon

Bob O Burson

Henry R Ask

Capacitor discharge ignition system having a microprocessor disposed thereon to control the ignition timing of the system. The system has a generator coil, a primary coil and a secondary coil on the same leg portion of a ferromagnetic core. An electronic circuit associated with the microprocessor includes a capacitor adapted to be charged by an intermediate pulse generated by the charge coil with the leading and trailing pulses thereof being input to control the operation of the microprocessor. The circuit also includes an SCR having its anode-cathode path connected in circuit with the capacitor and primary coil and its gate connected to an output port of the microprocessor which also includes an input port to power the microprocessor from the charge coil. Another port of the microprocessor is adapted to receive timing reference inputs from the charge coil. The microprocessor is programmed to send a signal to the SCR that causes the capacitor to discharge through the primary and thereby induce an ignition pulse in the secondary. In addition, the microprocessor is programmed to be cut 'off' and remain 'off' for the duration of the ignition pulse.

Microprocessor controlled capacitor discharge ignition system

A digital flight data recorder receives sensed parameter information in serial data format in successive data frames and first circulates the information in a first-in first-out (FIFO) sequence through a minor memory to preserve the data received over a most recent real time interval, after which the data is compressed to a smaller data base including periodic slow interval samples and intermediate exceedance parameter samples which are stored in a major memory for later retrieval.

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Suffield, CT, United States of America

James A Herndon