Starting system for an internal combustion system and method of operating same
First Claim
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1. A starting system for an internal combustion engine, comprising:
- an energy supply;
a starter motor connected with said engine and said energy supply;
an electronic controller connected with said engine and said starter, said electronic controller causing said energy supply to controllably apply electrical power to said starter motor thereby causing the engine to begin turning over;
wherein said electronic controller determines a first voltage applied to said starter motor at a first time period after said electrical power is applied to said starter motor;
wherein said electronic controller compares said first voltage to an expected first voltage; and
said electronic controller determines starting system performance as a function of said comparison of said first voltage to the expected first voltage.
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Abstract
An apparatus and method for determining the performance of a starting system for an internal combustion engine is disclosed. Preferably the system includes an energy supply connected with a starting motor and a charger for charging the energy supply. An electronic controller determines operating characteristics of the energy supply and starting system.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. A starting system for an internal combustion engine, comprising:
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an energy supply;
a starter motor connected with said engine and said energy supply;
an electronic controller connected with said engine and said starter, said electronic controller causing said energy supply to controllably apply electrical power to said starter motor thereby causing the engine to begin turning over;
wherein said electronic controller determines a first voltage applied to said starter motor at a first time period after said electrical power is applied to said starter motor;
wherein said electronic controller compares said first voltage to an expected first voltage; and
said electronic controller determines starting system performance as a function of said comparison of said first voltage to the expected first voltage. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method of assessing the performance of a starting system associated with an internal combustion engine, said starting system including an energy supply connected with an electronic controller and a starting motor, said energy supply supplying electrical current to the starting motor as a function of a starting signal from said electronic controller to said starting motor, said method comprising:
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determining a first starting voltage at a time subsequent to issuing said starting signal;
determining a second starting voltage at a second time subsequent to issuing said starting signal;
determining an energy supply temperature;
determining a first expected voltage as a function of said energy supply temperature;
determining a second expected voltage as a function of said energy supply temperature;
comparing said first starting voltage with said first expected voltage;
comparing said second starting voltage with said second expected voltage;
determining the starting system performance as a function of said steps of comparing. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22)
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Specification