초록 ▼

An ignition control module for an internal combustion engine is incorporated directly into an existing ignition module package design and thereby preserves stock appearance, and is cooperative with stock magnetos, distributors and coils. The module incorporates both ignition pulse generation and adj

An ignition control module for an internal combustion engine is incorporated directly into an existing ignition module package design and thereby preserves stock appearance, and is cooperative with stock magnetos, distributors and coils. The module incorporates both ignition pulse generation and adjustable rev limiting. A pushbutton switch allows manual selection of a preferred RPM to rev limit to, and the selection may be carried out under the hood while the engine is running. A plurality of light emitting diodes display the selected rev limit RPM by flashing a corresponding LED, and when not being used to select rev limit RPM, display the engine RPM in bar graph format. A digital flywheel is provided to reduce adverse affect of mechanical jitter in distributor mechanical parts, to improve timing of individual sparks. Dwell and timing curves are programmed into a microprocessor, and may be changed through external input.

대표청구항 ▼

1. In combination, an internal combustion engine having: at least one combustion cylinder generally closed at one end;at least one piston operatively reciprocating within said at least one combustion cylinder and thereby defining at least one combustion chamber between said at least one combustion c

1. In combination, an internal combustion engine having: at least one combustion cylinder generally closed at one end;at least one piston operatively reciprocating within said at least one combustion cylinder and thereby defining at least one combustion chamber between said at least one combustion cylinder closed end and said at least one piston, said piston coupled with and at least partially driving rotation of a crank shaft;at least one input and at least one exhaust permitting the flow of combustible mixture into said at least one combustion chamber and the flow of gases from said at least one combustion chamber;at least one spark plug protruding into said at least one combustion chamber and operatively providing an ignition spark to ignite said combustible mixture therein;a timing apparatus for effectively detecting a position of said at least one piston within said at least one combustion cylinder and generating a timing signal responsive thereto; andan ignition module having a housing and an electronic ignition circuit responsive to said timing signal for initiating said ignition spark;wherein the improvement comprises said ignition module housing having an external stock appearance, and said ignition module electronic ignition circuit having a crankshaft rotation rate monitor and having a rev limiter for limiting crankshaft rotation rate when said monitor determines that a first predetermined rotation rate has been exceeded, wherein said rev limiter includes a plurality of predetermined rotation rates, and wherein said ignition module further comprises a plurality of indicator lights indicative in a first mode of said first predetermined rotation rate, and in a second mode of said crankshaft rotation rate. 2. The combination internal combustion engine and ignition module of claim 1, wherein said rev limiter further comprises a manually actuated switch, the manual actuation which sets which of said plurality of predetermined rotation rates is used by said rev limiter to limit said crankshaft rotation rate. 3. The combination internal combustion engine and ignition module of claim 2, wherein said manually actuated switch further comprises a pushbutton switch, and repetitive actuations of said pushbutton switch step through individual ones of said plurality of predetermined rotation rates. 4. The combination internal combustion engine and ignition module of claim 1, wherein said plurality of indicator lights flash a selected one of said plurality of indicator lights to indicate said first predetermined rotation rate and provide a bar graph indicative of said crankshaft rotation rate. 5. The combination internal combustion engine and ignition module of claim 1, wherein said ignition module further comprises an averaging apparatus receiving said timing signal and averaging the interval between said timing signals, and using said averaged interval to initiate said ignition spark. 6. The combination internal combustion engine and ignition module of claim 1, wherein said ignition module further comprises a programmable microprocessor, and a program determining at least one of dwell and timing curves. 7. The combination internal combustion engine and ignition module of claim 6, wherein said ignition module further comprises an input connector operatively coupled to said programmable microprocessor enabling reprogramming of said at least one of dwell and timing curves. 8. A method of limiting maximum engine speed, comprising the steps of: providing an ignition control module having a stock appearance;monitoring engine speed;averaging said monitoring of said engine speed over time;triggering an ignition spark responsive to said averaged engine speed, to thereby reduce adverse effects of mechanical jitter;manually selecting a predetermined maximum speed threshold from a plurality of possible thresholds within said ignition control module;detecting when engine speed exceeds said predetermined maximum speed threshold; andlimiting engine speed through control by said ignition control module while said predetermined maximum speed threshold is exceeded. 9. The method of limiting maximum engine speed of claim 8, wherein said step of manually selecting a predetermined maximum speed threshold from a plurality of possible thresholds further comprises manually selecting while said engine speed is greater than zero. 10. The method of limiting maximum engine speed of claim 8, wherein said step of manually selecting a predetermined maximum speed threshold from a plurality of possible thresholds further comprises the step of repetitively pressing a switch to step through and select individual ones of said plurality of possible thresholds until a desired one of said plurality of possible thresholds is selected. 11. The method of limiting maximum engine speed of claim 8, further comprising the step of indicating said selected predetermined maximum speed threshold by flashing a light. 12. The method of limiting maximum engine speed of claim 11, wherein said indicating step further comprises flashing a selected one of a plurality of lights, said selected one corresponding to said selected predetermined maximum speed threshold. 13. The method of limiting maximum engine speed of claim 8, further comprising the step of displaying said engine speed by illuminating a representative number of lights simultaneously. 14. The method of limiting maximum engine speed of claim 8, further comprising the steps of: programming a timing curve; and storing said programmed timing curve in said ignition control module. 15. The method of limiting maximum engine speed of claim 8, further comprising the steps of: programming a dwell curve; and storing said programmed dwell curve in said ignition control module. 16. In combination, an internal combustion engine having: at least one combustion cylinder generally closed at one end;at least one piston operatively reciprocating within said at least one combustion cylinder and thereby defining at least one combustion chamber between said at least one combustion cylinder closed end and said at least one piston, said piston coupled with and at least partially driving rotation of a crank shaft;at least one input and at least one exhaust permitting the flow of combustible mixture into said at least one combustion chamber and the flow of gases from said at least one combustion chamber;at least one spark plug protruding into said at least one combustion chamber and operatively providing an ignition spark to ignite said combustible mixture therein;a timing apparatus for effectively detecting a position of said at least one piston within said at least one combustion cylinder and generating a timing signal responsive thereto; andan ignition module having a housing and an electronic ignition circuit responsive to said timing signal for initiating said ignition spark;wherein the improvement comprises said ignition module electronic ignition circuit having a crankshaft rotation rate monitor and having a rev limiter for limiting crankshaft rotation rate when said monitor determines that a first predetermined rotation rate has been exceeded, wherein said rev limiter includes a plurality of predetermined rotation limit rates, said ignition module housing having a plurality of indicator lights on a visible exterior thereof that are indicative in a first mode of one of said first predetermined rotation limit rates that said rev limiter is set to limit crankshaft rotation to, and indicative in a second mode of said crankshaft rotation rate. 17. The combination internal combustion engine and ignition module of claim 16, wherein said plurality of indicator lights in said first mode flash a selected one of said plurality of indicator lights to indicate said one of said first predetermined rotation limit rates and in said second mode provide a bar graph indicative of said crankshaft rotation rate. 18. The combination internal combustion engine and ignition module of claim 16, wherein said ignition module further comprises an averaging apparatus receiving said timing signal and averaging the interval between said timing signals, and said ignition module further operatively uses said averaged interval to initiate said ignition spark and thereby reduce adverse effects of mechanical jitter. 19. In combination, an internal combustion engine having: at least one combustion cylinder generally closed at one end;at least one piston operatively reciprocating within said at least one combustion cylinder and thereby defining at least one combustion chamber between said at least one combustion cylinder closed end and said at least one piston, said piston coupled with and at least partially driving rotation of a crank shaft;at least one input and at least one exhaust permitting the flow of combustible mixture into said at least one combustion chamber and the flow of gases from said at least one combustion chamber;at least one spark plug protruding into said at least one combustion chamber and operatively providing an ignition spark to ignite said combustible mixture therein;a timing apparatus for effectively detecting a position of said at least one piston within said at least one combustion cylinder and generating a timing signal responsive thereto; andan ignition module having a housing and an electronic ignition circuit responsive to said timing signal for initiating said ignition spark;wherein the improvement comprises said ignition module housing having an external stock appearance, and said ignition module electronic ignition circuit having a crankshaft rotation rate monitor and having a rev limiter for limiting crankshaft rotation rate when said monitor determines that a first predetermined rotation rate has been exceeded, wherein said rev limiter includes a plurality of predetermined rotation rates, and wherein said ignition module further comprises an averaging apparatus receiving said timing signal and averaging the interval between said timing signals, and using said averaged interval to initiate said ignition spark.