The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jul. 26, 2005
Filed:
Jun. 11, 2003
Guoming G. Zhu, Novi, MI (US);
Michael T. Nation, Ypsilanti, MI (US);
Bruce Wang, Troy, MI (US);
Kenneth L. Gould, Fayetteville, GA (US);
Garlan J. Huberts, Milford, MI (US);
Kevin D. Moran, Trenton, MI (US);
Guoming G. Zhu, Novi, MI (US);
Michael T. Nation, Ypsilanti, MI (US);
Bruce Wang, Troy, MI (US);
Kenneth L. Gould, Fayetteville, GA (US);
Garlan J. Huberts, Milford, MI (US);
Kevin D. Moran, Trenton, MI (US);
Visteon Global Technologies, Inc., Van Buren Township, MI (US);
Abstract
A charge pump is used to supply current to the ionization detection circuit. To detect in-cylinder ions generated during the combustion process, a DC bias voltage needs to be applied. There are two ways to generate the DC bias: conventional DC power supply (large electronics) and capacitor charges by primary or secondary flyback voltage (high voltage capacitor). Typically, flyback voltage is used to charge the capacitor which supplies current to the ionization detection circuit. This necessitates the use of high voltage capacitors. Generally, ceramic capacitors are used. However, as temperature fluctuates, the board that the capacitor is mounted on can flex, causing the ceramic capacitor to crack. This invention proposes to use a high voltage charge pump to provide enough DC bias voltage for measuring ionization current. In a preferred embodiment, a model number M1C4827 EL driver is used in the charge pump circuit. The charge pump circuit will convert the 12 Volt DC at the B+ terminal to a 90 to 100 volt pulse train with a pulse repetition frequency of 500 kHz at the charge pump output.