WO2009019568A2

WO2009019568A2 - Battery arrangement and electrical system for automotive engine operation

Info

Publication number: WO2009019568A2
Application number: PCT/IB2008/002035
Authority: WO
Inventors: Sung On Andrew Ng
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2007-08-09
Filing date: 2008-08-04
Publication date: 2009-02-12
Anticipated expiration: 2010-02-09
Also published as: WO2009019568A3

Abstract

A battery arrangement adapted to provide a train of current pulses of a substantially constant magnitude at a substantially constant voltage for ignition of said spark plug during operation of said internal combustion engine, said battery arrangement comprising at least a first battery of a high power capability or a high pulsed current capability at a substantial stable or constant voltage and a second battery of a substantially higher energy capacity but with lower capability than said first battery.

Description

BATTERY ARRANGEMENT AND ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FOR AUTOMOTIVE

ENGINE OPERATION

FIELD OFTHE INVENTION

The present invention relates to battery, arrangement for automotive applications, and more particularly, to an automotive comprising an ignition circuit having a battery arrangement for enhancing fuel economy during operation.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Automobiles operated by an Internal combustion engine, especially petrol engines, are a major source of air pollution and a major consumer of fossil-fuels. It is therefore desirable to maximize fuel economy of vehicles run by Internal combustion engines.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Broadly speaking, the present invention has described an automotive electrical system for a vehicle having an Internal combustion engine cornprising:-

• a battery arrangement;

• an alternator for changing said battery arrangement;

• an ignition coll connected to said battery arrangement for stepping up voltage- of the voltage arrangement for ignition discharge of at least one spark plug; and • an ignition timing control circuit to control timing or ignition pulse to said ignition coil;

wherein said battery arrangement is adapted to provide a train of current pulses of a substantially constant magnitude at a substantially constant or stable voltage for ignition of said spark plug during operation of said internal combustion engine

According to a preferred embodiment of ttie present invention., there is provided a battery arrangement adapted to provide a train of current pulses of a substantially constant magnitude at a substantially constant voltage for Ignition of said spark plug during operation of said internal combustion engine, said battery arrangement comprising at least a first battery of a high power capability or a high pulsed current capability at a substantial stable or constant voltage and a second battery of a substantially higher energy capacity than said first battery.

The battery arrangement comprises a parallel connection of at least one first battery having a high power capability, and at least one second battery having a lower power capability but a larger energy capacity than said first battery.

The battery arrangement comprises a parallel connection of at least one first battery and at least one second battery, said first battery having a substantially constant pulsed current and voltage output for ignition of said spark plug during operation of said internal combustion engine, and said second battery having a larger energy capacity than said first battery.

The battery having a high pulsed energy stability density comprises a battery of the thin-metal-film (TMF) type. The TMF battery is a lead-acid battery.

The TMF battery is dtaracterisβd In having thin active material electrods plates, and wherein each one of said electrode plates has a thickness of less than 0.254 mm.

The TMF battery is characterised in having foil current collectors of a thickness of less than 0.127 mm.

The first battery has an energy capacity of less that 5AH, and said second battery has an energy capacity of exceeding 40AH. The TMF battery is characterized by having a cast on terminal using molten lead,

The second battery would likely be the conventional lead acid battery that is standard in a present day automobile.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OFTHE DRAWINGS

Preferred embodiments αf the present invention will be explained in further detail below by way of examples and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in whlch:-

Figure 1 is a chart showing Input current and voltage at the primary side of an ignition coil of a test vehicle with a conventional battery arrangement,

. Figure 2 shows the chart of Figure 1 but with a novel battery arrangement comprising a conventional battery of Figure 1 in parallel with a single TMF battery,

Figure 3 shows the chart of Figure 1 but wfth a novel battery .arrangement comprising a conventional battery of Figure 1 in parallel with two TMF batteries, Figure 4 is a discharge voltage versus time characteristic of a TMF battery (extracted from us 5,047.300),

Figure 5 is a plan view of a typical TMP battery (extracted from Figure 1 of US 5,047,300),

Figure 6 are drawings showing various views of a TMF battery and Hs internal structure, as provided at the website of Bolder Technologies, Including the "cast on" terminal as described by US Patent 5.198,313.

Figure 7 shows a peak power versus depth of discharge of a TMF battery versus other batteries,

Figure 8 is a graph showing the chart characteristics of a TMF battery, and

Figure 9 is a typical specification of a TMF battery of Bolder Technologies.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A vehicle powered by petrol engines, or more specifically, petrol operated internal combustion engines, comprises a plurality of cylinders each equipped with a spark plug for igniting vaporized petrol dispersed In the cylinder and to provide combustion power through induced explosion of the vaporized petrol.

To produce a voltage of a sufficiently hfgh magnitude enough to induce explosion and cause complete combustion, the ignition system of a vehicle typically comprises an ignition coll which is arranged to step up the voltage of a battery or voltage generated by an alternator to a voltage sufficient to Induce a spark within the cylinder to cause explosion of the vaporized petrol filed within the engine cylinder.

An ignition oon usually comprises a primary con and a secondary coil which are arranged to step up the DC voltage of a vehicle, for example, from 6, 12 or 24V, to a sufficiently higher voltage between the terminals of a spark plug (for example, over 2OkV or above) to induce a spark for ignition of vaporized petrol wfthln an Internal combustion engine to generate motion. it is noted that during the discharge period of a spark plug, that is, the duration of an ignition spark, a current pulse of a very high magnitude and a short duration will be required to sustain a discharge of an appropriate degree.

During battery performance evaluations, It has become apparent that by replacing a conventional automotive battery with a novel battery arrangement comprising at least a first battery of a high power capability or a high pulsed current capability at a substantial stable or constant voftage to argument a second battery which might have higher energy capacity but with less power capacity than the first battery, substantial fuel economy can be obtained.

In a first trial test, a Mercedes E280 is tested at a constant speed of 70 km per hour for a cruising distance of 45 km. A total fuel consumption of 3.78 litre, that is, 8.4 I/km, is obtained using a conventional automotive battery arrangement, while the fuel consumption is reduced to 3.1 litre, that ta, 7.8 litre per 100 km, when the novel battery arrangement comprising a parallel connection of a conventional lead acid battery as used in test one above but adding a parallel connection of two thin-metal-film (TMF) battery of 1 AH each manufactured by Bolder Technologies Corporation, a subsidiary of the present applicant with specification of the batteries available at http://www.boldertmf.com. This represents a petrol saving of 0.6 litre/km.

Upon a closer evaluation of the test vehicle by monitoring the current and voltage supply b the ignition coil, the reasons for the fuel saving becomes more apparent

Referring to Figure 1 which shows a chart with current input to the ignition con (upper graph) and voltage input at the ignition coil (lower chart) versus time, it will be noted that the Input voltage at the ignition coil varies approximately between 13.2 to 13.8 volts, and this is the resultant voltage due to the combined automotive alternator and the conventional lead acid battery.

Referring now to Figure 2 showing the same test at constant speed uphill at 40 km/hour with a conventional lead add car battery in parallel with 1 TMF battery of 1AH rating, it will be appreciate that a more stable voltage supply to the Ignition ooll In the region of between 13.6 to 13.8 volts can be obtained.

Referring further to Figure 3 in which tne same charts showing a conventional car battery in parallel connection with 2 TMF batteries each of 1 AH rating, it will be appreciated that the supply voltage at the primary coil of the ignition coil is now maintained substantially stable and/or constant at about 13.8 to 14 volts. As the input voltage to the ignition coil will be stepped up many thousand times, a difference of 0.1 or 0.2 volt at the primary side would result in a difference of several hundred vote at the secondary coll output of the ignition coil or at the spark plug terminals. It will be noted that a higher and more stable input voltage to the ignition coil will translate into more consistent and more powerful sparks in a cylinder, resulting in more complete combustion and more efficient fuel usage. It will be appreciated that a voltage drop of several hundred volts below the Ideal or optimal discharge voltage would likely affect the degree of combustion and therefore fuel economy or combustion efficiency, and it has become apparent that by connecting a pair of TMF batteries of 1 AH or 2 AH fating each In parallel with a conventional lead add accumulator, the fuel economy can be substantially achieved due to maintenance of a substantially stable input voltage at the primary side of the ignition coil.

TMF batteries have been selected as an example of a suitable first battery due to its specific high pulsed current stability during operation of the. internal combustion engine or the spark plug.

As shown In Figure 4, a TMF battery shows a more stable voltage performance even after a prolonged period of discharge. The substantially constant voltage and extended period of discharge provides a stable input voltage at the primary side of the Ignition coil to ensure optimal and/or complete combustion In the Internal combustion engine.

In an exemplary TMF battery of the spiral wound type as shown in Figure 5 (or Figure 2 of US 5,047,300). The TMF lead acid battery has the following physical characteristics:-

• electrode plates: less than 0.254 mm

• films: less than 0.127 mm.

In another example, • electrode plates: less than 0.2 mm

• films: less than 0.076 mm.

Further description and reference of the TMF battery as described in US 5,198,313, US 5.047,300 and the article entitled "Repetitive Pulse Power Characteristics of Batteries made with Thinmetal film (TMF(R)) Technology" by R.C. θhardwaj of Bolder Technologies Corporation and available from http://eeexplore.lee.org/xpl/absprintf.jspsp@anumber=825495&page-FREE are incorporated herein by reference and are annexed hereto as part of the specification.

In substance, the combination of a battery assembly comprising a first battery having a high pulsed energy stability so that a train of current pulses of a high magnitude and short duration (micro-second duration) can be produced at a substantially constant or stable voltage arranged for ultimate discharge vottage at the spark plug has shown to substantially Improve fuel efficiency end this Is an unexpected result.

During operation, the TMP battery or batteries provide the necessary pulsed current or energy for engine ignition while the lead add battery of the conventional type may replenish the discharge capacity of the TMF battery as well as providing, in conjunction with the alternator, the electrical requirements of the automobile. As a further benefit It has been observed that automobiles fitted with a novel arrangement, a conventional lead acid battery and TMP battery packs show Improved power handling, especially on acceleration, as well as an enhancement in the audio system. Of course, the dynamo or the alternator is adapted for charging lead acid batteries, including the conventional and the TMF batteries of the novel battery designs and therefore, no adaptation to the charging system is required.

While the present invention has been explained by reference to the examples or preferred embodiments described above, it will be appreciated that those are examples to assist understanding of the present invention and are not meant to be restrictive. Variations or modifications which are obvious or trivial to persons skilled in the art, as well as improvements made thereon, should be considered as equivalents of this invention,

Furthermore, while the present invention has been explained by reference to a TMF battery, it should be appreciated that the invention can apply, whether with or without modification, to other batteries of a high power capability without loes of generality. The use of other battery system is less desirable because of a need to incorporate charging and discharging control droultiy.

The fuel saving feature of the present invention is particularly significant during startup and acceleration of an automobile. This is because the output of the alternator is dependent on the speed of the engine. During acceleration, the alternator cannot generate enough power to supply the spark plugs because the engine is still slow. This meant that the sparks are not sufficient to provide the best ignition in the engine cylinders to assure efficient combustion. Under such circumstances, the presence of the TMF battery would provide the needed electrical energy to argument the power from the standard battery, thereby assuring better fuel economy.

Claims

1, A battery arrangement adapted to provide a train of current pulses of a substantially constant magnitude at a substantially constant voltage for ignition of said spark plug during operation of said internal combustion engine, said battery arrangement comprising at least a first battery of a high power capability or a high pulsed current capability at a substantial stable or constant voltage and a second tattary of a substantially higher energy capacity but with lower capability than said first battery.

2. An automotive electrical system for a vehicle having an internal combustion engine comprising:-

• a battery arrangement;

• an alternator for charging said battery arrangement;

º an Ignition coil connected to said battery arrangement for stepping up voltage of the voltage arrangement for Ignition discharge of at least one spark plug; and

• an ignition timing control circuit to control timing of ignition pulse to said ignition coil;

wherein said battery arrangement is adapted b provide a train of current pulses of a substantia!/ constant magnitude at a substantially constant or stable voltage for ignition of said spark plug during operation of said internal combustion engine.

3. An automotive electrical system/ a battery arrangement according to Claims 1 or 2, wherein said battery arrangement comprises a parallel connection of at least one first battery having a high power capability , and at least one second battery having a low power capability but a larger energy capacity than said first battery.

4. An automotive electrical system/ a battery arrangement according to any of the preceding Claims, wherein said battery arrangement comprises a parallel connection of at least one first battery and at least one second battery, said first battery having a substantially constant pulsed current and voltage output for ignition of said spark plug during operation of said Internal combustion engine, and said second battery having a larger energy capacity than said first battery.

5. An automotive electrical system/ a battery arrangement according to any of the preceding Claims, wherein said battery having a high power capability or power density comprises a battery of the thin -metal-fllm (TMF) type.

0. An automotive electrical system/ a battery arrangement according to Claim 5, wherein the TMP battery is a lead-acid battery. \

7. An automotive electrical system/ a battery arrangement according to any of Claims 5 or- 6, wherein the TMF battery is characterised in having thin active material electrode plates, and wherein each one of sard electrode plates has a thickness of less than 0.254 mm.

8. An automotive electrical system/ a battery arrangement according to any of Claims 5 to 7, wherein said TMF battery Is characterised in having foil current collectors of a thickness of fess than 0.127 mm.

9. An automotive electrical system/a battery arrangement according to claim 5 to 7, wherein said TMF battery is characterized by having a "cast on" terminal.

10. An automotive electrical system/ a battery arrangement according to any of the preceding Claims, wherein said first battery has a power capacity of less that 5AH, and said second battery has a power capacity of exceeding 40AH.