Sustained arc ignition system for an internal combustion engine

摘要

An internal combustion engine ignition system comprises: (a) a capacitive discharge ignition device having a voltage transformer which converts a low DC voltage into a corresponding AC voltage and boosts and rectifies the AC voltage into a first higher DC voltage for discharging each of the spark plugs sequentially, boosts and rectifies the AC voltage into a second higher DC voltage for generating arc-sustaining ignition energy, and rectifies the AC voltage into a third higher DC voltage; (b) an ignition signal generating means which generates and outputs an ignition signal whenever the engine rotates through a predetermined engine rotational angle offset by an angular interval determined by the engine speed and engine load; (c) an ignition coil means having a primary winding and secondary winding, one end of the primary winding thereof receiving the first DC voltage from the DC-DC converting means, the other end of the primary winding thereof being grounded when the ignition signal is received from the ignition signal generating means, one end of the secondary winding receiving the second DC voltage from the DC-DC converting means; and (d) a plurality of spark plugs, each located within a corresponding engine cylinder and having a gap between electrodes and one end thereof being connected to the DC-DC converting means for receiving the second and third DC voltages when the ignition signal is received by the ignition coil.