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The increased requirements for ignition systems could not be met by the conventional inductive ignition system since 1960. The introduction of new exhaust emission criteria in 1965 and the demand for improved fuel economy in 1975, have forced to use electronics into ignition system to meet the statutory requirements for a vehicle. Legislative requirements and driver demands for better engine performance, added to the manufacturers marketing strategy to offer a more sophisticated vehicle are the impetus for electronic innovation in this field.
Breaker-triggered Systems
Transistor Assisted Contacts (TA.C.)
This system incorporates a normal mechanical breakers, which drives a transistor to control the current in the primary circuit. Since a very small breaker current is used, erosion of the contacts is eliminated so that good coil output is maintained. Also it provides accurate spark timing for a much longer period. When a low inductive coil and ballast resistor are used with this system, excessive contact arcing produced by the high primary current is also eliminated. The basic principle of a breaker-triggered, inductive, semiconductor ignition system is illustrated in Fig. 16.25 where a transistor works as of the contact breaker, by acting as
Fig. 16.25. T.A.C. ignition system. a power switch to make and break the primary circuit. The transistor performs as a relay, which is operated by the current supplied by a cam-operated control switch and thereby called as breaker-triggered. A small control current passes through the base-emitter of the transistor when the contact breaker is in closed condition. This switches-on the collector-emitter circuit of the transistor and allows full current to flow through the primary circuit to energize the coil. The flow of current, at this stage, in the control circuit and transistor base is governed by the total and relative values of the resistors R\ and R2. These resistance values are chosen to provide a control current of about 0.3 A, which is sufficient to provide a self-cleaning action of the contact surfaces without overloading the breaker. When the spark is required, the cam opens the contact to interrupt the base circuit, which causes the transistor to switch-off. With sudden opening of the primary circuit a high voltage is induced into the secondary, which produces a spark at the plug. This sequence is repeated to provide the required number of sparks per each revolution of the cam (Fig. 16.26). The T.A.C. arrangement provides a quicker break of the circuit compared with a non-transistorised system, and, as a result, a more rapid collapse of the magnetic flux takes place. Consequently a high HT secondary voltage is obtained. The components of this ignition system are similar to those used with a conventional system except for the extra control module containing the power transistor. Extra refinements are needed on the basic circuit (Fig. 16.25) to protect the semiconductors from overload due to self-induction and to minimize radio interference. Also this circuit is unsuitable for use with a conventional contact breaker having a fixed-earth contact. An additional transistor is used (Fig. 16.27) to overcome this problem. In this layout the transistor T\ is connected in series with the contact breaker in the control circuit and it acts as a driver for the power transistor T%. Similar to the previous systems, resistors limit the base current in T\ and T2, and also the contact-breaker current.
Fig. 16.27. TA.C. with driver and power transistors. In the closed position of the contact breaker, a small current flows in the control circuit. While most of this current passes through Ri, a very small proportion is passed through the base of T\ to switch-on the transistor. This sensitive transistor then supplies a current to the base of the power transistor T2 to switch-on this. Consequently, the collector-emitter of T2 conducts and completes the primary circuit to allow the build up of magnetic flux in the coil. At the time of the spark, the contact breaker is opened, which interrupts the current in the control circuit and base circuit of T\. With T\ switched-off the current is cut-off from the base of T% thereby breaking the primary circuity The power transistor T<i has to be robust to handle the large current and high voltage due to self-induction. These conditions are more critical when a low-inductance coil is used, especially if the engine is started. In this case a current of about 9 A built up in the primary circuit during normal operation can increase to about 16 A for coldstarting. A conventional breaker can handle a maximum of only 5 A. Therefore, the high currents associated with this type of coil can be switched effectively only by electronic means. However, the reliability of a normal power transistor is reduced at this high load, hence a Darlington amplifier, a special dual-transistor is used with this coil. The substitution of a Darlington amplifier for the power
Fig. 16.28. Darlington amplifier. transistor T2 in the system illustrated in Fig. 16.27 considerably improves the reliability of the system. A Darlington amplifier circuit (Fig. 16.28) with two transistors forms an integrated circuit (IC) having three terminals, E, B and C. When a small current is supplied to the base of T\t it switches-on and causes a proportionally larger current to flow to the base of T2. This in turn, switches-on T%, which allows the main current to flow through T2 from the collector to the emitter. 16.3.2.
Breaker-less Systems
An electronic switch in place of the mechanical contact breaker offers the following advantages. (i) Accurate spark timing is available throughout the operating speed range. (ii) There is no erosion and wear due to absence of any contacts. This system is maintenance free in respect of constant replacement, dwell adjustment and setting of the spark timing. Also the timing remains correct for a very long period. (Hi) Build-up time for the ignition coil can be varied by changing the dwell period to suit the conditions. This provides a higher energy output from the coil at high speed, but has no risk of HT erosion at low speed. (iv) There is no bouncing of contacts at high speed and hence the chance of robbing the coil of its primary current is eliminated. The main layout of a breaker-less, electronic ignition system is illustrated in Fig. 16.29. The distributor unit is similar to a conventional unit except that an electronic switch, called a pulse generator, replaces the contact breaker. The pulse generator generates an electrical pulse to signal when the spark is required. The solid state control module makes and breaks electronically the primary current for the ignition coil by amplifying and processing the signals received from the pulse generator. Additionally, the control module senses the engine speed from the pulse frequency and accordingly varies the dwell time to suit the engine speed.
Pulse Generator.
The three main types of pulse generator are (i) inductive (ii) hall generator, and (Hi) optical.
plastics gauge is used to check the air gap. A Bosch pulse generator operates on a similar principle but has a different construction (Fig. 16.32). This is consisted of a circular disc magnet with the two flat faces acting as the N and S poles. A soft iron circular pole piece is placed on the top face of the magnet which has fingers bent upwards to form four stator poles in the case of a 4-cylinder engine. A similar number of teeth are formed on the trigger wheel to make a path for the flux to pass to the carrying plate supporting the magnet. The inductive coil is wound concentrically with the spindle and
Fig. 16.31. Voltage output from pulse generator. the complete assembly forms a symmetrical unit, which is resistant to vibration and spindle wear.
Fig. 16.32. Pulse generator (Bosch). Some manufactures do not use a conventional distributor. Citroen use a single metal slug called a target, bolted on the periphery of the flywheel and a target sensor mounted on the clutch housing (Fig. 16.33). The target sensor uses an inductive winding placed around a magnetic core in such a way that the core is 10.5 mm away from the slug when no. 1 piston is just before TDC. The voltage output is similar to other pulse generators except that the control module (computer) in this case receives only one signal pulse per revolution. For control purposes, Citroen incorporate a second target sensor of identical construction to the other sensor and adjacent to the starter ring teeth on the flywheel. This sensor signals the passage of each flywheel tooth so that the computer can count the teeth and determine the engine speed to set the ignition advance suiting to the conditions.
Fig. 16.33. Pulse generator (Citroen) Once the metal vane is clear of the air gap, the chip is exposed to the magnetic flux and the Hall voltage is applied to CD. The switch is now turned on and current flows in the CD circuit. Moving the vane into the air gap between the magnet and the chip blocks, diverts the magnetic flux away from the chip, which causes the Hall voltage to drop to zero. If the vane is in this flux-blocking position, the switch is off and no Hall current flows in the CD circuit. When the pulse generators trigger vane is passing through the air gap, the control module used with this system switches on the primary current for the ignition coil. Therefore the angular spacing of the vanes governs the dwell period. If the space between the vanes decreases the time of closure of the primary circuit increases. When the Hall switch is closed i.e. when the vane leaves the air gap the closed period is terminated and the spark is produced.
The layout of a Hall generator used in a Bosch distributor is shown in Fig. 16.35. The semiconductor chip in this model is used in an integrated circuit, which also performs the functions of pulse shaping, pulse amplification and voltage stabilization. The number of vanes on the trigger wheel equals the number of engine cylinders. In this design the trigger wheel and the rotor arms form one integral part. A three-core cable connects the Hall generator with the control module, and the leads form signal input, Hall output and earth.
Control Modules.
Fig. 16.36. Optical pulse generator. The control module, or trigger box, switches the current of the primary winding of the ignition coil in agreement with the signal received from the pulse generator. Both inductive storage type and capacity discharge type control systems are in use. These two different types of control form two distinct electronic ignition systems. 16.3.3.
Pulse Shaping.
The full line in Fig. 16.38 represents the output voltage from an inductive-type pulse generator connected to a control module circuit. The full negative wave is obtained only when the generator is tested on open circuit. Once the AC signal is fed to the trigger circuit stage, the pulse is shaped into a DC rectangular form (Fig. 16.38). The rectangular pulse width depends on the duration of the pulse output from generator. However, the height of the rectangle, or the current output from the trigger circuits, is independent of engine speed.
Primary Switching.
The current to the primary circuit is normally switched by a Darlington amplifier. Pulse signals received from the dwell period control stage are passed to a driver
transistor acting as a control current amplifier. At the proper times, current from the driver is switched-on or switched-off to control the heavy-duty power transistor of the Darlington output stage.
Pulse Processing.
The sequence of events from the time of receiving the signal from the original pulse generator to the instant of the spark in the cylinder is illustrated in Fig. 16.39. A
Fig. 16.39. Pulse processing. cathode ray oscilloscope (CRO), when connected to the output of an ignition coil forming part of an electronic ignition system, gives the image shown by the secondary output patterns. Vertical and horizontal axes of the CRO pattern represent voltage and time respectively. The main features of one secondary discharge are shown in Fig. 16.40. If the primary circuit is broken, the secondary voltage increases until the spark is initiated. When this occurs the voltage needed to sustain the spark falls to a value, which is then maintained until the output energy is no longer sufficient to support the sparking process. At this instant the secondary voltage rises slightly before it falls and oscillates two or three times as the remaining energy is dissipated in the coil. Secondary Output Control. Except for the changes due to mechanical defects, a breaker-triggered system has a constant dwell over the whole speed range. As a result at high speed the dwell period is too short, due to which the secondary output is poor because of the comparatively low primary current. However, a low inductance coil improves the output in the upper speed range, but causes erosive wear at the lower speed range. Use of a constant energy system overcomes this problem. This energy system incorporates a high output coil and is electronically controlled to vary the dwell period suiting to all speeds. At low speed the percentage dwell is kept relatively small, which is increased progressively with the increase of speed. As shown in Fig. 16.40, dwell starts at point (1) and ends at point (2) at low speeds. With the increase of engine speed, the start of the dwell period (i.e. the point at which current starts
Fig. 16.40. Dwell in relation to secondary voltage. to flow in the primary winding) gradually shifts towards the extreme limit (3). Any increase in dwell start beyond point (3) reduces the spark duration because this limit represents the end of the sparking discharge period. The variation in percentage dwell with engine speed is shown in Fig. 16.41. At idling speed the percentage dwell is set large to give a high energy spark to control exhaust gas emissions. However between idling and 4000 rpm the increase in percentage dwell prevents a reduction in the stored energy. Consequently this provides a nearconstant secondary voltage up to the systems maximum, which is considered at about 15000 sparks/min.
SPARKING RATE, SPARKS/MIN 4 CYLINDER Fig. 16.41. Alteration in dwell to suit engine speed. When the system is incorporated on 6- and 8-cylinder engines it becomes necessary to decrease the percentage dwell at speeds beyond 5000 rpm, otherwise the start of the dwell would occur before the end of the spark discharge period. This problem is overcome by using a transistor in the control system to switch on the primary current at a given time after the spark has been initiated. Duration of 0.4 millisecond is normally sufficient to meet most combustion requirements. Figure 16.42 shows an output given by constant-energy sys tem using dwell-angle control.
At low engine speeds, the transistor T2 is switched-on for a comparatively long time. This allows the capacitor plate, adjacent to T2, to pass the charge to earth that it received from Ra when T2 was switched-off. At this slow speed, there is sufficient time for the capacitor to fully discharge to a point where the plate potential becomes similar to earth. This causes the capacitor to attract a large charge from R5 when the transistor T2 switches off. Since the time taken to provide this charge is long, the switch-on point of T3 is delayed and a short dwell period results. At high speed, the T2 is switched-on for a short period thereby allowing only partial discharge of the capacitor. Consequently, the time taken to charge the capacitor is shorter and the dwell commences at an earlier point providing a longer period. Interruption for the primary coil occurs when T2 is switched on. This is dictated by the trigger signal due to which the end of the dwell period always occurs at the same time. At the instant T2 switches-on, the capacitor starts to discharge, which causes T3 to switch-off to trigger the spark.
Fig. 16.46. Electronic ignition circuit (Honda). If the ignition switch is closed with the engine stationary, R2 applies a voltage to the base of T\. This voltage is above the trigger voltage and, since the resistance of the pulse generators winding is above 700 Q. the transistor T\ is switched-on. At this stage, T\ conducts current a to earth instead of passing to the base of T2. Consequently T2 is switched-off and the primary circuit is open. During cranking of the engine an ernf is generated by the movement of the reflector. If the polarity of the generators emf at the T\ end of the winding is negative, the resistor R2 supplies current to earth through the winding and diode D\. At this stage, voltage applied to the base of T\ is less than trigger voltage, and hence T\ is switchedoff. Current a from R3 is now diverted from T\ to the base of T2, so T2 is switchedon and current passes through the primary winding. If the emf from the pulse generator is reversed, the combined effect of the voltage from R2 and the emf from the pulse generator triggers and switches-on Ti, and switch-off T2 to interrupt the primary current and give a spark at the plug. Zener diodes ZD\ and ZD2, fitted at each end of the primary winding, conduct to earth the high-voltage oscillatory current caused by self induction and thereby protect both transistors from high-voltage charges. 16.3.4.
releases the energy to the coil primary winding by firing a thyrister, which is a type of transistor switch. Once the thyrister is triggered, it continues to pass current through the switch even after the trigger current has ceased. Due to sudden discharge of the high voltage energy to the primary winding, a rapid rise in the magnetic flux of the coil takes place, which induces a voltage in excess of 40 kV in the secondary circuit to produce a high intensity, short duration spark.
Fig. 16.47. Capacity discharge electronic ignition layout. Advantages of a CD system are : (i) It reserves high secondary voltage. Hi) It provides a constant input current and constant output is available voltage over a wide speed range. (Hi) It causes a fast build up of output voltage. Since the speed of build up is about ten times faster than the inductive type of electronic ignition, the CD system reduces the risk of the HT current shorting to earth via a fouled plug insulator or taking some path other than the plug electrodes. Although the CD system is specifically suited for the high performance engines, a spark duration of about 0.1 ms given by this system is normally too short to ignite reliably the weaker mixtures used in many modern engines. To offset the problem of short spark duration, advantage of the high secondary output is sometimes used to provide a larger spark by increasing the spark plug gap. The system can be triggered by a mechanical breaker, but a pulse generator, either of inductive or Hall effect type is used to make the system more attractive. The AC signal from the generator is applied to a pulse shaping-control circuit, which converts the signal into a rectified rectangular pulse and then changes it to a triangular trigger pulse to fire the thyrister when the spark is required. A voltage transformer capable of providing either a single- or multi-pulse output is used to charge the 1 uF capacitor to the voltage of about 400 V. A diode is installed in both cases, between the charging stage and the capacitor to prevent the flow of current from the capacitor. Single-pulse charging of the capacitor enables the build up to maximum voltage in about 0.3 ms, whereas the oscillatory charge provided by the multi-pulse is much slower (Fig. 16.48) and hence the former is preferred. This short charge-up time overcomes the need for dwell-angle control since the charge time of a CD system is independent of engine speed. As the primary winding of the ignition transformer (coil) always receives a similar energy discharge from the capacitor, the secondary available voltage is constant throughout the engine speed range (Fig. 16.49).
Fig. 16.49. Secondary output from CD system. The external appearance of an ignition transformer of a CD system is similar to a normal ignition coil, but internally it is quite different. It is robust to withstand higher electrical and thermal stresses. Also the inductance of the primary winding is only about 10% of that of a normal coil. Because of low impedance of about 50 kl, the CD coil readily accepts the energy discharged from the capacitor, due to which the rise in secondary voltage is ten times faster. This feature reduces the risk of misfiring because of the presence of HT shunts, for example a leakage path through a fouled spark plug, which has a resistance of 0.2-1.0 M2. During replacement only the recommended type of transformer must be fitted. A standard coil in place of an ignition transformer, however, operates without damaging the system, but many of the advantage of a CD system are lost. On the other hand, if an ignition transformer is used with a non-CD system, damage to control module and transformer occurs immediately after switching on the system. The CD principle is also adopted in some small engines fitted to motor cycles, lawn mowers, etc. As battery is not used in these cases, the energy needed by the CD system is supplied by a magneto.