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:
Nov. 18, 2008
Filed:
Aug. 03, 2005
Morita Asano, Ikeda, JP;
Mitsuhiro Izumi, Osaka, JP;
Morita Asano, Ikeda, JP;
Mitsuhiro Izumi, Osaka, JP;
Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd., , JP;
Abstract
According to the present invention, in a spark ignition-type internal combustion engine which has a spark plug and mounted in a vehicle, an ion current generated in a combustion chamber through the spark plug after ignition is detected and smoldering of the spark plug is determined on the basis of the detected ion current. An operation state of the internal combustion engine is detected and smoldering of the spark plug is determined based on that the detected ion current satisfies a predetermined condition when the detected operation state falls within an operation determination range set corresponding to an operation range in which an intake port pressure close to an atmospheric pressure is achieved using predetermined engine speed as an upper limit and a predetermined intake port pressure as a lower limit.