Autonomous Glow Driver For Radio Controlled Engines
First Claim
1. An autonomous glow driver system for use with an engine having a glow plug, the glow plug having a prong, a body, and a glow element, wherein the glow element has a resistance that changes in response to temperature variations, the autonomous glow driver system comprising:
- a temperature signal processor in electrical communication with the glow element, the temperature signal processor monitoring a glow element voltage corresponding to the temperature at the glow element and producing a temperature signal;
an RPM signal processor in electrical communication with the glow element and the temperature signal processor, the RPM signal processor producing an RPM signal based on a comparison of an amplified glow element voltage corresponding to the glow element voltage and a varying reference voltage;
a glow driver in electrical communication with the glow element and selectively supplying an activation voltage to the glow plug via the glow element in response to a control signal; and
a controller in electrical communication with the glow driver, the controller receiving the temperature signal and the RPM signal and producing the control signal when the temperature signal reaches a threshold value corresponding to a selected temperature.
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Abstract
An autonomous glow driver system for radio controlled (RC) engines. Aspects of the system include a connector that securely attaches to the glow plug to maintain good electrical contact with the glow plug and reduce signal noise and using a current and differential amplifiers to determine the temperature of the glow element and the RPMs of the glow engine from a voltage signal (obtained via the connector) that varies with the temperature as induced changes in the resistance of the glow element occur. Using the data of temperature, non-running RPM, and running RPM to control operation of the glow driver leads to a very reliable approach to automatically activating the glow driver to maintain the combustion chamber temperature of the glow engine at a selected level because RPM is indicative of a rotating engine whereas temperature is not.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. An autonomous glow driver system for use with an engine having a glow plug, the glow plug having a prong, a body, and a glow element, wherein the glow element has a resistance that changes in response to temperature variations, the autonomous glow driver system comprising:
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a temperature signal processor in electrical communication with the glow element, the temperature signal processor monitoring a glow element voltage corresponding to the temperature at the glow element and producing a temperature signal; an RPM signal processor in electrical communication with the glow element and the temperature signal processor, the RPM signal processor producing an RPM signal based on a comparison of an amplified glow element voltage corresponding to the glow element voltage and a varying reference voltage; a glow driver in electrical communication with the glow element and selectively supplying an activation voltage to the glow plug via the glow element in response to a control signal; and a controller in electrical communication with the glow driver, the controller receiving the temperature signal and the RPM signal and producing the control signal when the temperature signal reaches a threshold value corresponding to a selected temperature. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of operating a glow driver for a glow plug in a system comprising a connector secured to the glow plug, a temperature signal processor in electrical communication with the connector, an RPM signal processor in electrical communication with the connector and the temperature signal processor, the glow driver in electrical communication with the connector, and a controller in electrical communication with the glow driver, the method comprising the acts of:
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monitoring a glow element voltage corresponding to the temperature at the glow element via an electrical connection to the glow plug; producing a temperature voltage corresponding to the glow element voltage; amplifying the temperature voltage to produce a varying reference voltage; producing an RPM signal based on a comparison of an amplified glow element voltage corresponding to the glow element voltage and the varying reference voltage via the RPM signal processor; automatically producing a control signal when the temperature voltage reaches an autoglow threshold value corresponding to a selected temperature; and selectively activating the glow plug via the glow element in response to the control signal. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification