EVALUATION OF SPARK-IGNITION OF A GAS COOKTOP FLAME

One of the energy-saving devices used on gas cooking appliances to eli minate the standing pilot is a spark ignition system. For safety, an i gnition system must start promptly and be active whenever flowing gas is not ignited. To minimize noise and nuisance shock hazard, ignition must occur quickly and the sparking must be stopped as soon as ignitio n occurs and remain off as long as the flame is present. To accomplish both of these requirements, ignition systems have been devised which use the electrical current rectification property of a flame to sense it. These systems spark whenever the gas valve is on and a flame is no t present. The factors affecting the performance of a spark ignition s ystem are numerous, complex, and transient. All of these properties ma ke quantification of performance difficult. A system is described whic h can evaluate the overall performance of ignition systems over signif icant periods of time and varieties of operating conditions and organi ze the resulting data into simple, quantifiable forms for evaluation a nd comparison. Some examples are presented.