An ionization detector that reduces the filtering effects of the ignition coil inductances by shorting an inductance of a primary winding of the ignition coil. The ionization detector includes a bias voltage source and an inductance control switch. The bias voltage source supplies electric voltage across an electric gap of a spark plug for detecting ionization within the combustion chamber. The inductance control switch is electrically parallel with a primary winding of an ignition coil and is operable to short an inductance of the primary winding.

A process and a system for preventing pre-ignition in an internal combustion engine (ICE) includes detecting an ionization level of a combusted gas from a cylinder of the ICE during gas exchange and for a given combustion cycle i. When the ionization level is greater than a reference ionization level a pre-ignition countermeasure prior to and/or during an immediate subsequent combustion cycle i+1 is executed. The ionization sensor may be part of a spark initiating device of the ICE or be a separate ionization sensor.

An electronic ignition system for an internal combustion engine. The system includes a coil having a primary winding with a first terminal and a second terminal and a secondary winding connected to a spark plug. A high voltage switch is serially connected to the primary winding. A control terminal carries a control signal to control the opening or closing of the high voltage switch. A first switch is interposed between a battery voltage and the first terminal of the primary winding, a second switch is interposed between the first terminal of the primary winding and a reference voltage, a third switch is interposed between the second terminal of the primary winding and said reference voltage. A driving unit is configured to generate signals to control the switches during a charging phase, during a transfer of energy phase, and during a measure phase of ionization current.

Methods and systems are provided for coordinating cylinder deactivation adjustments with changes to individual cylinder piston displacement. In doing do, the benefits of variable displacement and variable compression ratio may be synergized. An engine can be operated with some cylinders deactivated while active cylinders operate with knock addressed while spark timing is at MBT for a longer duration.

An ionization detector that reduces the filtering effects of the ignition coil inductances by shorting an inductance of a primary winding of the ignition coil. The ionization detector includes a bias voltage source and an inductance control switch. The bias voltage source supplies electric voltage across an electric gap of a spark plug for detecting ionization within the combustion chamber. The inductance control switch is electrically parallel with a primary winding of an ignition coil and is operable to short an inductance of the primary winding.

A process and a system for preventing pre-ignition in an internal combustion engine (ICE) includes detecting an ionization level of a combusted gas from a cylinder of the ICE during gas exchange and for a given combustion cycle i. When the ionization level is greater than a reference ionization level a pre-ignition countermeasure prior to and/or during an immediate subsequent combustion cycle i+1 is executed. The ionization sensor may be part of a spark initiating device of the ICE or be a separate ionization sensor.

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.

The present invention relates to a method for controlling the performance of an engine, comprising the steps detecting an ion current in the form of a first signal analysing said first signal to determine at least one property determining a knock index based on said first signal and preferably on said at least one property combining said knock index with a plurality of factors related to properties of the engine or the operation of the engine to arrive at a engine index, and comparing said engine index with a sensitivity map of the engine to determine a correction required to improve the operation of the engine, and correcting the operation of the engine in accordance with the correction determined. The invention also relates to a system for controlling the performance of an engine.

A system for and a method of knock detection and control for an engine utilizes a knock sensor configured to generate a knock signal indicative of a vibration of the engine caused by abnormal combustion. A controller is configured to receive the knock signal, determine, with respect to a crank angle of the engine, distinct monitoring windows for low speed pre-ignition (LSPI) knock and spark knock, respectively, based on (i) spark timing and (ii) an appropriate mass fraction burn (MFB) location, monitor the knock signal using the distinct monitoring windows, detect one of LSPI knock and spark knock based on the monitoring, and control the engine to mitigate the detected LSPI knock or spark knock.

A system and method for providing multiple commands to an ignition coil driver circuit to provide spark, ion signal integration, and ignition coil shunting during a cycle of a cylinder is presented. In one example, multiple voltage pulses are provided over a single conductor communication link. The voltage pulses provide encoded instructions for ignition timing, ignition coil shunting, and ion signal integration.