System and method for driving a tachometer
First Claim
1. An electronic driver for producing an output waveform for use by a tachometer, comprising:
- an input line connected in series with at least one ignition coil, the at least one ignition coil driven during at least one current dwell period per an ignition cycle, wherein input signals representative of single and multiple sparks are received on the input line from the at least one ignition coil; and
a controller coupled to the input line, the controller programmed to discriminate between the single and multiple sparks represented by the input signals during consecutive ignition cycles, the controller further programmed to responsively form an output waveform having substantially equally spaced pulses.
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Abstract
An electronic driver and method for producing an output waveform for use by a tachometer comprises an input line that is connected in series with at least one ignition coil. The at least one ignition coil is driven during at least one current dwell period per an ignition cycle. A signal representative of at least one spark is caused to be generated on the input line by the at least one ignition coil during the at least one current dwell period of the ignition cycle. A controller is coupled to the input line. The controller discriminates between single and multiple sparks over consecutive ignition cycles. The signal is representative of at least one spark received on the input line from the at least one ignition coil. The controller responsively forms an output waveform having substantially equally spaced pulses aligned with the first spark and the output waveform corresponds to the ignition cycle received on the input line.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. An electronic driver for producing an output waveform for use by a tachometer, comprising:
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an input line connected in series with at least one ignition coil, the at least one ignition coil driven during at least one current dwell period per an ignition cycle, wherein input signals representative of single and multiple sparks are received on the input line from the at least one ignition coil; and
a controller coupled to the input line, the controller programmed to discriminate between the single and multiple sparks represented by the input signals during consecutive ignition cycles, the controller further programmed to responsively form an output waveform having substantially equally spaced pulses. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method for producing an output waveform at a driver for use by a tachometer, the method comprising:
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receiving an input signal from at least one ignition coil, the input signal including at least one current dwell period for each ignition cycle, the input signal representing single and multiple sparks;
measuring at least one reference time period of the input signal;
discriminating between the single and multiple sparks represented in the input signal; and
forming an output waveform, the output waveform comprising substantially equally spaced pulses and corresponding to the ignition cycles; and
aligning the output waveform with a first spark of an ignition cycle to prevent jitter in the output waveform when the input signal changes between a single spark mode of operation and a multispark mode of operation and changes between a multispark mode of operation and single spark mode of operation. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification