Based on respective signals from the combustion pressure sensor and a crank angle sensor, heat generation amount data in which a heat generation amount and a crank angle are related to each other is generated, and an estimated heat generation amount is calculated based on a fuel amount in the combustion cycle. When a final value of a heat generation amount in the combustion cycle is smaller than the estimated heat generation amount, the combustion state parameter is calculated based on the heat generation amount data to a crank angle corresponding to the final value of the heat generation amount. When the final value of the heat generation amount is equal to or larger than the estimated heat generation amount, the combustion state parameter is calculated based on the heat generation amount data to a crank angle at which the heat generation amount reaches the estimated heat generation amount.

A glow plug includes a heating rod (11), a plug body (13) having a receiving housing (14) of the heating rod, a receiving sleeve (16) which is fixed rigidly and impermeably to the proximal portion of the heating rod, and a load sensor (17). The receiving sleeve (16) has a distal extremity portion which is turned up on the proximal side towards the exterior, and connected rigidly and impermeably to the plug body, so as to form a turned-up part (26) which is elastic in flexion and impermeable.

A method of controlling a slew rate of a MOSFET connected to a battery for supplying an electrical current to an electrical load is provided. A state transition of the MOSFET is provided and a drain-source voltage of the MOSFET is monitored. A variable current is provided through a gate of the MOSFET. A constant current is provided through the gate of the MOSFET, when the drain-source voltage of the MOSFET satisfies a predefined condition that is a function of a battery voltage.

An internal combustion engine, a method of operating the internal combustion engine, and a controller are disclosed. The method may be implemented in part by the controller and comprises determining a shaft angle of an engine shaft; supplying, to an ion sensor fluidly coupled to a combustion chamber of the engine a low voltage at a beginning of a combustion cycle to generate an ion sensor current and a high voltage during an ionization voltage window based at least in part on the shaft angle, wherein the low voltage is configured to prevent premature ignition of fuel in the combustion chamber and the high voltage exceeds the low voltage and is configured to increase the ion sensor current above a current threshold.

A glow plug of a vehicle preventing an interference with an injected fuel includes a preheating rod having one end protruding to the combustion chamber to selectively preheat the combustion chamber; a bellows pipe enclosing the preheating rod to maintain an air-tightness of an area where the preheating rod is inserted to the combustion chamber; a piezo element selectively pulling or pushing another end of the preheating rod; and a controller controlling a deformation of the piezo element and the preheating of the combustion chamber through the preheating rod.

On an inner wall surface of a plug hole, an internal thread portion and a seat portion are formed. The seat portion has a tapered seat surface. A glow plug with a combustion pressure sensor includes a housing, a glow heater, a load transfer member, and a pressure detector. The housing has an external thread and a seat facing portion. The seat facing portion has a tapered contact surface in surface contact with the tapered seat surface. A recessed portion recessed to be in non-contact with the seat portion is formed annularly about a central axis of the housing.

Described is a method for regulating the temperature of a glow plug of an internal combustion engine, wherein a target resistance is determined from a target temperature by means of a resistance temperature characteristic of the glow plug and the actual resistance of the glow plug is regulated to the target resistance, the glow plug is heated to determine the resistance temperature characteristic of the glow plug, and thereby determining a resistance gradient and an electrical resistance of the glow plug is measured before the heating or at a defined time during the heating, using both the measured resistance and the resistance gradient, the resistance temperature characteristic is determined.

A control apparatus (100) controls a diesel engine (10). A glow plug (32) which can detect cylinder pressure is provided on the engine (10). An ECU (70) computes a parameter related to a change in cylinder pressure obtained from the glow plug (32). The ECU (70) controls fuel injection timing such that the parameter falls within a target range when combustion in the engine (10) is switched from premixed combustion to diffusion combustion.

A glow plug of a vehicle preventing an interference with an injected fuel includes a preheating rod having one end protruding to the combustion chamber to selectively preheat the combustion chamber; a bellows pipe enclosing the preheating rod to maintain an air-tightness of an area where the preheating rod is inserted to the combustion chamber; a piezo element selectively pulling or pushing another end of the preheating rod; and a controller controlling a deformation of the piezo element and the preheating of the combustion chamber through the preheating rod.

An ion processing system for collecting and processing combustion information to improve engine efficiency and decrease engine emissions. The ion processing system generally includes a processing unit which is adapted to receive signals from engine sensors such as the crank sensor, injector sensor, and cam sensor. An ion sensor is provided to detect all phases of combustion and generate an ion current signal to be received by the processing unit. Signal conditioners are provided for each individual signal source (crank sensor, injector sensor, cam sensor, ion sensor) to amplify and filter the signals for optimal detection and analysis by the processing unit. The processing unit may monitor crank positioning, cam positioning, and injector timing across all stages of operation of an engine in real-time. This information may be processed and communicated to an engine control unit to improve efficiency and reduce emissions, or to a computing device for diagnostics.