Glow plug energization control to avoid overheating
First Claim
1. A glow plug energization controlling apparatus comprising:
- a power supply working to supply electric power to a glow plug mounted in an internal combustion engine;
an on-off switch working to produce a control trigger signal when turned on; and
a controller including a microcomputer, said controller being responsive to the control trigger signal to control supply of the electric power from said power supply to energize the glow plug, the microcomputer working to monitor an off-on interval from turning off to turning on of said on-off switch and control an amount of energization of the glow plug as a function of the off-on interval.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A glow plug energization control apparatus is provided which includes a power supply working to supply electric power to a glow plug mounted in an internal combustion engine, an on-off switch working to produce a control trigger signal when turned on, and a controller including a microcomputer. The microcomputer is responsive to the control trigger signal to control supply of the electric power from the power supply to energize the glow plug. The microcomputer works to monitor an off-on interval from turning off to turning on of the on-off switch and control an amount of energization of the glow plug as a function of the off-on interval, thereby avoiding overheating of the glow plug.
-
Citations
15 Claims
-
1. A glow plug energization controlling apparatus comprising:
-
a power supply working to supply electric power to a glow plug mounted in an internal combustion engine;
an on-off switch working to produce a control trigger signal when turned on; and
a controller including a microcomputer, said controller being responsive to the control trigger signal to control supply of the electric power from said power supply to energize the glow plug, the microcomputer working to monitor an off-on interval from turning off to turning on of said on-off switch and control an amount of energization of the glow plug as a function of the off-on interval. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
-
-
10. A glow plug energization controlling method of controlling energization of a glow plug mounted in an internal combustion engine, comprising:
-
a first step of sampling a parameter indicating a temperature of the engine upon turning on of an on-off switch designed to produce a control trigger signal when turned on, finding an initial energization during for which the glow plug is to be energized until a target temperature is reached by look-up using a first map representing the initial energization duration defined as a function of the temperature of the engine, energizing the glow plug for the initial energization duration, and keeping the glow plug at the target temperature for a given temperature-holding time after expiry of the initial energization duration;
a second step of finding a cooling time ts2 required by the glow plug to cool from the target temperature to an unoverheating temperature from which the glow plug is permitted to be energized for the initial energization duration without overheating, blocking supply of power to the glow plug when the on-off switch is turned off after expiry of the initial energization duration during the first step, and entering a rest mode to place the glow plug in an off-position until expiry of the cooling time ts2 unless the on-off switch is turned on; and
a third step of, when the on-off switch is turned on again during the second step, calculating a reenergization duration tpr2 for which the glow plug is to be energized as a function of an off-on interval from turning off to turning on of the on-off switch, energizing the glow plug for the reenergization duration tpr2, and keeping a temperature of the glow plug constant for the temperature-holding time after expiry of the reenergization duration tpr2. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
-
Specification