Arlington, Massachusetts, March, 2007. Combustion Electromagnetics Incorporated has done what was perceived to be an impossibility until now – the ability to rapidly burn an ultra-lean homogenous mixture in a simple 2-valve engine. This development led to the re-inventing of the field of spark ignition which had not changed since Kettering invented it 100 years ago. This elusive technology, an ignition that makes lean burn work, is the subject of two master patents issued in the U.S., Germany, France and U.K. in 2000 and 2007. In a drive of 25 years to solve the problem of lean burn and ignition, CEI, under the guidance of Michael Ward, Ph.D., Harvard ‘76, managed to make three radical innovations to find a solution to a problem which the scientific community had all but abandoned: the flow-coupled, lean-burn, spark ignition system. CEI is completing production systems of the CEI Ignition in collaboration with Champion/FM.

Breakthrough in Spark Ignition. The most important development in the coil-per-plug ignition is the small size and light weight of the coil. When done, CEI attained an energy density of 1.0 mj/gm, or 5 times the normal, with many attributes listed below.

1. The first advance, which issued in 2000 as a master patent, led to an open-E coil design with many advantages. For the same size coil, it has 3 times the spark energy, 5 times faster rise time, 5 times faster charge, and 10 times the energy during cold start. Its efficiency is twice that of a standard ignition, in part due to its 42 volt, 90% efficient, DC to DC power converter. In addition, it had a recharge time 1/5 the normal, and a much greater stored energy and greater flexibility.

2. The second advance, which was based on CEI’s patented open-E core, has resulted in several patents, including an important one with all claims recently allowed on first action. See the drawing with two biasing magnets at the end of the core. The coil has a 42 kV output with 150 mj energy, or 5 times of the standard coil. At the peak spark current of about 350 ma, it has a flow-coupling capability 5 times greater than the standard ignition (20 m/sec).

3. There are many patented improvements and refinement of the ignition carried out between 2003 to 2007, based on mathematical rigor. A noteworthy one is the 5 times greater energy and low capacitance of the ignition coil, leading to half the wire turns. It has a low secondary turns which has resulted in a 38 instead of a 42 wire gauge (AWG), with half the cost.

Comparison Table. Below is a comparison between the CEI coil-per-plug of the same size and weight, and the ignition found in essentially all passenger cars.

The main point to appreciate is the 5-times greater energy density and flow-coupling capability, and its easier manufacturing despite its far greater capability.

The missing link in lean burn technology. Despite the small size of the coil and the erroneous claim that high air-flows compromise igniting ability, placing a CEI spark directly in the high air-flows reinforces the spark to produce a torch-like ignition never seen before. The result is a much leaner and faster burn, resulting in a process called ignition-flow-coupling, the missing link in lean burn technology. Every engine ever developed, using standard ignition, has been compromised by its inability to tolerate high air-flows needed for good combustion, and essential for lean burn.

The CEI 4-Cylinder Ignition System. The ignition has gone through several iterations in the power supply, output stage, micro-controllers, the power switch (IGBT), and other. The net effect is to make the ignition lower-cost, robust, and versatile for any multi-valve engine (2, 3 or 4 valve).

1. The Power Supply is improved to make the 42V converter cheap and efficient, made up of an inductor, FET switch, 60V diode and comparator, with small volume parts costing $2.50.

2. Output Stage made up of two 50V, 1000 uf caps, costing $1.00 in moderate quantity, for storing 2,000 mj energy for delivery during cold-start and when greater than 150 mj energy is required.

3. The u-controllers, low-cost devices ($1.00) for giving the ECU and Ignitor the best versatility and independence, including the ability to find the firing cylinder without a cam reference; the ability to fire the coil at 80% duty cycle for an energy of 500 mj; and the many other features of the programmable u-controllers.

4. The Power Switch is a 600 volt, low-cost ($1.00), industrial IGBT, with a slow-turn on and a peak current which has been reduced to under 24 amps for a lower-cost, more robust design.

5. Suppression Wire and Plugs have been developed and have many advantages in terms of EMI suppression, spark plug wear, low breakdown voltage, and other.