Method for operating an ignition device for an internal combustion engine, and ignition device for an internal combustion engine for carrying out the method

1. A method for operating an ignition device for an internal combustion engine, which ignition device comprises an ignition coil embodied as a transformer, a spark plug connected to a secondary winding of the ignition coil, a drivable switching element connected in series with a primary winding of the ignition coil, and a control unit connected to the primary winding of the ignition coil and a control input of the switching element, wherein the control unit is configured to provide an adjustable supply voltage for the ignition coil and a drive signal for the switching element depending on currents through the primary and secondary windings of the ignition coil and a voltage between a connecting point of the primary winding of the ignition coil to the switching elemeht and a negative terminal of the supply voltage, the method comprising:

in a first phase, the switching element is switched by the drive signal to be conducting at a first switch-on instant and to be non-conducting again at the predefined ignition instant,

in a subsequent second phase, the primary voltage or a voltage derived therefrom is compared with a first threshold value and, in the case of said voltage falling below the first threshold value, the switching element is switched to be conducting again at a second switch-on instant,

in a subsequent third phase, the supply voltage is regulated such that the current through the secondary winding of the ignition coil approximately corresponds to a predefined current and the current through the primary winding of the ignition coil is compared with a predefined second threshold value and, in the case of said current exceeding the second threshold value, the switching element is switched to be non-conducting again at a first switch-off instant,

in a subsequent fourth phase, the current through the secondary winding of the ignition coil is compared with a third threshold value and, in the case of said current falling below the third threshold value, the switching element is switched to be conducting again at a third switch-on instant,

subsequently the third and fourth phases are repeated until a predefined burning duration is reached at an instant, at which point the switching element is finally switched to be non-conducting.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the supply voltage is set to a maximum value with the switching element being switched to be non-conducting.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the current predefined in the third phase is variable.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein during the phases in which the switching element is switched to be conducting, the current through the secondary winding is compared with a fourth threshold value and the switching element is switched to be non-conducting if the fourth threshold value is exceeded by said current, and in that afterward the primary voltage or a voltage derived therefrom is compared with the first threshold value and, in the case of said voltage falling below the first threshold value, the switching element is switched to be conducting again.

5. An ignition device for an internal combustion engine, comprising:

an ignition coil embodied as a transformer and including a secondary winding configured for connection to a spark plug,

a drivable switching element connected in series with a primary winding of the ignition coil, and

a control unit connected to the primary winding of the ignition coil and a control input of the switching element,

wherein the control unit

comprises a controllable voltage converter that provides at an output a supply voltage for the ignition coil, said supply voltage being adjustable depending on a control signal present at a control input of said voltage converter, and is configured for connection to a motor vehicle on-board supply system voltage,

and

wherein the control unit further comprises a control circuit that provides the control signal for the voltage converter and a drive signal for the switching element depending on currents through the primary and secondary windings of the ignition coil and a voltage between a connecting point of the primary winding to the switching element and a negative terminal of the supply voltage.

6. The ignition device as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the control circuit has comprises voltage comparators comprising:

reference inputs that receive reference signals can be applied, and

comparison inputs that receive signals representing the current through the primary winding of the ignition coil and the current through the secondary winding of the ignition coil and the voltage derived from the voltage between the connecting point of the primary winding to the switching element and the negative terminal of the supply voltage, and

outputs connected to inputs of a sequence controller, including:

a first output connected to the control input of the switching element and

a second output connected, via a switching means that can be changed over by the sequence controller, to the control input of the voltage converter, and

wherein the control circuit comprises a regulator circuit including:

a reference input that receives a reference signal representing a desired value,

a comparison input that receives the signal representing the current through the secondary winding of the ignition coil and,

an output connected, via the switching means in a switched state, to the control input of the voltage converter.