Ignition control and system for an engine of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)

Abstract

The ignition system (10) of an engine (particularly for a UAV) has a primary (10a), and a secondary (10b) ignition system to provide redundancy for get you home capability should the primary ignition system fail. The secondary ignition provides a lower energy or shorter duration spark than the higher energy or longer duration sparking of the primary ignition system, and is retarded relative to primary sparking. Timing of the secondary sparking can be advanced in the event of primary sparking failure. Fuelling strategy can be shifted from a leaner stratified charge to a richer homogenous charge when relying just on the secondary ignition system for ignition. The secondary ignition system can be of a lower spark energy and/or duration than the primary ignition system, avoiding the cost, complexity and weight of replicating the primary ignition system, and to improve packaging within the engine housing, particularly within the limited payload and space limits of a UAV.

Claims

1. An ignition system for a spark ignited engine of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the ignition system including a primary ignition system and a secondary ignition system, the primary ignition system configured to provide an ignition spark of a first spark energy or spark duration to at least one first spark plug for combustion of a fuel-air mixture during operation of the engine, the secondary ignition system configured to provide an ignition spark of a second spark energy or spark duration to the at least one first spark plug or to at least one second spark plug to ignite the fuel-air mixture in the event that the primary ignition system is inoperative or partially operative, wherein the second spark energy or spark duration being provided by the secondary ignition system is less than the respective first spark energy or spark duration being provided by the primary ignition system.

2. The ignition system of claim 1, wherein the primary ignition system includes an inductive coil and the secondary ignition system includes a capacitive discharge coil.

3. The ignition system of claim 1, wherein the primary ignition system includes the at least one first spark plug and the secondary ignition system includes the at least one second spark plug.

4. The ignition system of claim 1, connected to an electronic control unit (ECU) controlling operation of an engine.

5. The ignition system of claim 4, wherein the ECU further is in communication with or includes detection means arranged and configured to detect failure or partial failure of the primary ignition system.

6. The ignition system of claim 4, wherein the ECU is configured to operate the engine in a lean burn combustion mode and to adjust one or both of the ignition timing and the fuel injection timing from said lean burn combustion mode towards a stoichiometric, rich or homogenous combustion mode when ignition is provided by the lower capability secondary ignition system.

7. A method of controlling spark ignition in an engine of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the engine including an ignition system with a primary ignition system and a secondary ignition system, the primary ignition system providing ignition sparking of a first spark energy or spark duration to at least one first spark plug for combustion of a fuel-air mixture during operation of the engine, the secondary ignition system providing ignition sparking of a second spark energy or spark duration to the at least one first spark plug or to at least one second spark plug to ignite the fuel-air mixture in the event that the primary ignition system is inoperative or partially operative, wherein the secondary ignition system provides one or both of: (a) the second spark energy at a lower spark energy, and (b) the second spark duration at a shorter spark duration than the respective first spark energy or spark duration of the primary ignition system.

8. The method of claim 7, including detecting failure or partial failure of the primary ignition system.

9. The method of claim 7, whereby the primary ignition system and the secondary ignition system operate continuously during operation of the engine until the primary ignition system is inoperative or partially operative, and whereby the secondary ignition system maintains one or both of: (a) said second spark energy at a lower spark energy, and (b) the second spark duration for said combustion of the fuel-air mixture.

10. The method of claim 7, whereby the secondary ignition system commences operation following detection of failure or partial failure of the primary ignition system.

11. The method of claim 9, whereby the secondary ignition system sparking occurs retarded relative to the primary ignition sparking.

12. The method of claim 7, further including modifying timing of the secondary ignition system sparking if failure or partial failure of the primary ignition system sparking is detected.

13. The method of claim 12, further including advancing spark timing of the secondary ignition system sparking.

14. The method of claim 7, further including providing retarded spark timing of the secondary ignition system sparking during a limp home mode of operation.

15. The method of claim 7, further including operating an electronic control unit (ECU) to commence sparking or to modify spark timing of the secondary ignition system if a low voltage signal of the primary ignition system is at or below a threshold value.

16. The method of claim 7, further including operating the primary and the secondary ignition system providing sparking during engine operation until the primary ignition system is inoperative or partially operative, whereby the secondary ignition system maintains one or both of: (a) said second spark energy at a lower spark energy, and (b) the second spark duration for said combustion of the fuel-air mixture, the secondary ignition sparking being retarded in time, when the primary and the secondary ignition systems are both providing sparking, with respect to the primary ignition sparking and occurring after a primary flame front has spread through a respective combustion chamber.

17. The method of claim 7, further including modifying the fuelling strategy when the secondary ignition system is relied upon for ignition of the fuel-air mixture.

18. The method of claim 17, further including maintaining a fuel-air ratio between stoichiometric and rich.

19. The method of claim 16, further including maintaining a fuel-air ratio between stoichiometric and rich.

20. The method of claim 17, further including operating the engine with a lean burn combustion mode, and adjusting one or both of the ignition timing and the fuel injection timing from said lean burn combustion mode towards a stoichiometric, rich or homogenous combustion mode when ignition is provided by the secondary ignition system.

21. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) spark ignition engine including an ignition system according to claim 1.

22. The UAV spark ignition engine of claim 21, further including a fuel delivery system delivering heavy fuel into at least one combustion chamber of the engine.

23. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) spark ignition engine controlled using a method according to claim 7.

24. The UAV spark ignition engine of claim 23, further including a fuel delivery system delivering heavy fuel into at least one combustion chamber of the engine.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) One or more embodiments of the present invention will hereinafter be described with reference to the accompanying figures, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a general arrangement of an ignition system for a spark ignited engine for a UAV, the ignition system including a primary ignition system and a secondary ignition system, each connected to a respective spark plug in a cylinder head of the engine, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

(3) FIG. 2 shows a chart representing spark timing for the primary and secondary ignition system when the primary ignition system fails, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

(4) FIG. 3 shows a general schematic of the primary and secondary ignition systems connected to an electronic control unit (ECU), according to an embodiment of the present invention.

(5) FIG. 4 shows an operational logic flow chart relating to an embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

(6) FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of an ignition system 10 of the present invention.

(7) A cylinder head 12 of a UAV engine has mounted to it a delivery injector 14 and two spark plugs 20, 26.

(8) The ignition system 10 includes primary 10a and secondary 10b ignition systems.

(9) The primary ignition system 10a includes a primary ignition unit 16 electrically connected via a high tension (HT) lead 18 to one of the two spark plugs 20.

(10) The primary ignition unit 16 converts low voltage (low tension) pulses to high voltage (HT) pulses. The HT pulses result in primary sparking at the respective spark plug 20.

(11) The primary ignition unit 16 includes an inductive coil having an iron core. Such inductive coils are reliable and produce high power sparking over a short period of time.

(12) The secondary ignition system 10b includes a secondary ignition unit 22 connected via a second high tension lead 24 to the second spark plug 26.

(13) In the embodiment described the secondary ignition unit 22 includes a capacitor discharge device providing lower power sparking than the higher capacity inductive coil of the primary ignition unit. Thus, a weaker spark and/or shorter duration spark is produced by the secondary ignition system.

(14) It will be appreciated that the secondary ignition system is lighter than the primary system, requiring no heavy iron cored inductive coil. This alleviates the problems associated with adding additional weight to a UAV. Duplicating the heavy iron cored inductive coil in a secondary ignition system would increase the overall weight of the UAV to the detriment of performance and range (endurance) of the UAV, as well as potentially cost.

(15) However, not providing a secondary ignition system would result in potential loss of the UAV if the primary ignition system fails and may not meet certain regulatory requirements in terms of redundancy capability for specific applications. Consequently, providing the lighter weight secondary ignition system is a worthwhile and acceptable compromise to provide a get you home functionality to the UAV at lower performance whilst keeping the UAV competitive on cost and satisfying redundancy capability requirements.

(16) FIG. 2 shows an example of the primary ignition spark (PIS) occurring normally in advance of the secondary ignition spark (SIS). The PIS occurs a few degrees before top dead centre of the engine's firing stroke (TDCF).

(17) The SIS also occurs a few degrees before top dead centre of the engine's firing stroke (TDCF), though it is not as advanced as the timing of the PIS.

(18) Up until time t.sub.1, both the primary and secondary ignition systems are operational and their respective spark plugs are sparking. The secondary ignition spark SIS is retarded with respect to the primary ignition spark such that the flame front is created by the primary ignition spark PIS following ignition of the fuel and air mixture within the combustion chamber (not shown).

(19) At or soon after time t.sub.1 in FIG. 2, the primary ignition system failsFailure Occurs (FO). Combustion continues to be initiated from the secondary ignition spark SIS, though with sub-optimal ignition timing because of the now effectively retarded ignition spark.

(20) Thus, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, at or some time between time t.sub.1 and time t.sub.2 in FIG. 2, the Electronic Control Unit (ECU) of the engine that also controls timing of ignition pulses to the spark plugs, detects the failure of the primary ignition systemFailure Detected (FD) (such as a failure of the primary ignition coil). The ECU then adjusts timing of the secondary ignition spark by advancing that sparking towards or to the original ignition timing associated with the primary ignition sparking.

(21) The crank angle trace in FIG. 2 shows the secondary ignition spark (SIS) being advanced from t.sub.2 from its original retarded ignition timing to a more advanced ignition timing. This adjustment of the timing helps to stabilise combustion, and may additionally help to maintain fuel economy and engine performance.

(22) It is preferred that the engine operates using a stratified, leaner fuelling (SLF) charge during engine operation when the primary ignition system is working normally e.g. up to time t.sub.1 in FIG. 2. If the primary ignition system develops a fault or fails e.g. at or after time t.sub.1, the fuelling strategy preferably quickly, and ideally immediately in time for a subsequent (preferably the next) combustion cycle, transitions to a homogenous, richer fuelling (HRF) charge for combustion cycles occurring by or after time t.sub.2 onwards.

(23) If the engine is operating in the lean, stratified, combustion region (low/medium load) and the primary ignition system develops a suspected fault (such as a faulty primary ignition coil), fuelling can be shifted to a richer mixture. This shift preferably occurs on the next injection event (i.e. as soon as possible after the fault is detected) to avoid the possibility of the lower energy and/or shorter spark duration capacity secondary ignition coil in the secondary ignition system failing to ignite the currently lean mixture with a retarded ignition timing and potentially resulting in an engine stall situation.

(24) A fuelling shift from a stratified leaner charge (SLF) to a homogenous richer charge (HRF) (stoichiometric or richer) can be employed when the fault in the primary ignition system is detected in order to ensure the lower energy and/or shorter duration retarded spark provided by the secondary ignition system can ignite the mixture within the cylinder for this next combustion event.

(25) Where the secondary ignition system is a capacitive discharge ignition system (CDI system), which provides a significant weight reduction of the secondary system as compared to the primary system, the long spark duration of the primary ignition system is no longer available to assure overlap of the fuel delivery event and the spark event for reliable combustion in stratified fuelling mode. In such a situation, the shift to a homogeneous fuelling mode is preferred to maintain the expectancy of igniting the air-fuel mixture within the cylinder.

(26) FIG. 3 shows a general schematic of an ignition system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. An ECU 102 is connected electrically to primary 104 and secondary 106 ignition systems. Normal operation of the engine relies on the primary ignition system 104. If the primary ignition system fails or has a fault, the secondary ignition system 106 can take over ignition. The ECU can have the ability to detect failure or a fault in the primary ignition system.

(27) The ECU can have the following failure detection capabilities (preferably implemented in hardware): Open load detection (e.g. determine if ECU is connected to primary ignition coil); Short-to-battery detection (e.g. determine if wire between ECU and coil has become shorted to battery); and/or Short-to-ground detection (e.g. determine if wire between ECU and coil has become shorted to Ground).

(28) Further failure detection strategies can be implemented in software. For example: if the engine starts running poorly, then the ECU can assume that the primary ignition has failed and can confirm this assumption by adjusting the primary timing and observing the resulting effect (if any).

(29) An ignition coil 114 includes a low voltage supply side 112.

(30) Failure detection can also include the ECU determining poor or no sparking at the spark plug terminals 108 via the high tension side 116.

(31) In the event that the primary ignition system 104 fails or is faulty, the secondary ignition system 106 can already be sparking. As mentioned above, the secondary ignition system can be sparking with retarded spark timing whilst the primary system is operating normally. The secondary ignition system can include a low voltage side 118 connected to the ECU, a voltage transformer 120, preferably a lightweight, capacitor type transformer, and a high voltage side 122 connected to the terminals 110 of the second spark plug.

(32) FIG. 4 shows a logic flow chart giving an example of ignition systems operation and checking from start-up to cessation of operation. When an engine of the UAV is to be started 202, an ignition systems check 204 is carried out. The UAV would preferably not be allowed to take-off if the ignition systems check reveals 205 that one or other of the primary and secondary ignition systems has failed or is faulty before take-off.

(33) If the primary and secondary ignition systems are operating 207, the ECU is aware of a normal ignition systems operating mode 208. The UAV is allowed to take-off. A continual check 209 is made of the operation of at least the primary ignition system to make sure it is operating normally.

(34) If a fault or failure of the primary ignition system is detected 211, the secondary ignition system is relied upon to maintain ignition in order for the UAV to return home to base or to a directed location. Thus, the UAV is in a limp home mode with the secondary ignition system providing ignition. Depending on specific or desired operating engine operating conditions, the timing of the secondary ignition system sparking may be advanced to match or be closer to that of the original ignition timing of the primary ignition system, or potentially retarded such that later secondary spark timing may be maintained during such limp home mode operation. The UAV is then directed or controlled to return to base 213.

(35) Preferably the ECU has the ability to detect failure of the primary ignition system, such as by detecting a weak or no primary ignition pulse on the low tension side or on the high tension side.

(36) Alternatively, the ECU may be controlled remotely, such as by an operator using wireless remote control, to commence/initiate operation of the secondary ignition system if it is not already operating and/or to advance timing of the secondary ignition spark to maintain combustion within a desired or acceptable specification.

(37) It will be appreciated that the present invention provides a relatively lightweight secondary ignition system giving partial ignition system redundancy should the primary ignition system fail.

(38) The present invention beneficially overcomes the significant weight increase (and therefore the associated financial cost of the more robust components, reduced fuel economy, reduced range and overall performance of the vehicle), that would otherwise come with full redundancy through duplicating the primary ignition system, whilst maintaining an operational back-up ignition system at least sufficient for the vehicle to return to base or to reach a safe location to avoid the potential complete loss of the vehicle.