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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Glow plug current supply control system

Patent ·
OSTI ID:5536100
A glow plug currently supply control system is described in a diesel engine with a battery and an AC generator driven by the engine. The control system consists of: a rapid heating circuit for supplying current to a glow plug through a first switching element interposed between a key switch connected through a resistor with a low resistance value to the battery and the glow plug; an after glow circuit for supplying current to the glow plug through at least one thyristor from an AC generator after starting the engine, wherein the anode of the thyristor is connected to an output terminal of the AC generator and the cathode of the thyristor is connected to the glow plug; a first on-off control means for continuously closing the first switching element prior to the start of the diesel engine and continuously opening the first switching element after the start of the diesel engine owing to the generated voltage of the AC generator being higher than that of the battery; and a second on-off control means including a circuit with an oscillator having an output connected to a gate terminal of the thyristor, for feeding a periodic signal to the gate terminal from the oscillator so as to periodically turn on-off the thyristor so that the voltage supplied to the glow plug is higher than that of the battery.
Assignee:
Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha, Toyota
Patent Number(s):
US 4594975
OSTI ID:
5536100
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English