The invention relates generally to ignition devices for internal combustion engines, and more particularly to electrodes therefore.
A spark plug is a spark ignition device that extends into the combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine and produces a spark to ignite a mixture of air and fuel. Spark plugs typically have an outer ceramic insulator, which is fabricated and fired separately from other components of the spark plug, a center electrode extending partially through the insulator to a firing tip, and a ground electrode extending from an outer metal shell. A separate resistor component is commonly coupled to an end of the electrode within the insulator opposite the firing end of the electrode. The resistor acts to suppress radio frequency (RF) electromagnetic radiation, which if left unchecked, can affect the transmission of other electrical signals, including inferring with radio signals. Typically, the closer the resistor is located to the firing gap between the spaced center and ground electrode firing ends the better, as this is where the spark is produced, thus being a primary location for the generation of RF electromagnetic radiation.
Recent advancements in engine technology are resulting in higher engine operating temperatures to achieve improved engine efficiency and performance. These higher operating temperatures have an adverse affect on the spark plugs by diminishing their useful life. In particular, the higher temperatures are pushing the spark plug electrodes to the very limits of their material capabilities, and in some cases beyond the limits, thereby resulting in failure of the electrode. Presently, Ni-based alloys, including nickel-chromium-iron alloys specified under UNS N06600, such as those sold under the trade names Inconel 600®, Nicrofer 7615®, and Ferrochronin 600®, are in wide use as spark plug electrode materials. These electrodes are typically expected to last up to about 30,000 miles in service, and thereafter, generally need to be replaced.
As is well known, the resistance to high temperature oxidation of these Ni-based nickel-chromium-iron alloys decreases as their operating temperature increases. Since combustion environments are highly oxidizing, corrosive wear including deformation and fracture caused by high temperature oxidation and sulfidation can result and is particularly exacerbated at the highest operating temperatures. At the upper limits of operating temperature (e.g., 1400° F. or higher), tensile, creep rupture and fatigue strength also have been observed to decrease significantly which can result in deformation, cracking and fracture of the electrodes. Depending on the electrode design, specific operating conditions and other factors, these high temperature phenomena may contribute individually and collectively to undesirable growth of the spark plug gap, which increases the voltage required to cause sparking and diminishes performance of the ignition device and associated engine. In extreme cases, failure of the electrode, ignition device and associated engine can result from electrode deformation and fracture resulting from these high temperature phenomena.
Some known attempts to combat failure of electrodes from exposure to the increasing temperatures in high performance engines include fabricating the electrodes from precious metals, such as platinum or iridium. Although the life in services of these electrodes can increase the useful life of the electrode, generally up to about 80,000-100,000 miles, they still typically need to be replaced within the lifetime of the vehicle. Further, these electrodes can be very costly to construct.
Accordingly, there is a need for spark plugs that have electrodes exhibiting an increased useful life in high temperature engine environments; have resistance to high temperature oxidation, sulfidation and related corrosive and erosive wear mechanisms; suppress RF electromagnetic radiation; have sufficient high temperature tensile, creep rupture and fatigue strength; resist cracking and fracture sufficient for use in current and future high temperature/high performance spark ignition devices, and are economical in manufacture.
According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a spark plug, comprising a generally annular ceramic insulator, a conductive shell surrounding at least a portion of the ceramic insulator, a ground electrode operatively attached to the shell, and a center electrode having an elongate body. The center electrode and ground electrodes have sparking surfaces providing a spark gap therebetween. The body is constructed of a composite material including at least one ceramic material that is a conductive ceramic material selected from the group consisting of: titanium nitride, molybdenum disilicide, and titanium diboride.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a composite ceramic electrode such as can be used in a spark plug. The composite ceramic electrode comprises an elongate body constructed of a composite material including at least one ceramic material selected from the group consisting of: titanium nitride, molybdenum disilicide, and titanium diboride.
One or more embodiments of the invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings, wherein like designations denote like elements, and wherein:
Referring in more detail to the drawings,
The spark plug 10 includes the generally annular ceramic insulator 14, which may include aluminum oxide or another suitable electrically insulating material having a specified dielectric strength, high mechanical strength, high thermal conductivity, and excellent resistance to thermal shock. The insulator 14 may be press molded from a ceramic powder in a green state and then sintered at a high temperature sufficient to densify and sinter the ceramic powder. The insulator 14 has an outer surface which may include a lower portion indicated generally at 19 having a small lower shoulder 21 and a large upper shoulder 23, with a partially exposed upper mast portion 20 extending upwardly from the upper shoulder 23 to which a rubber or other insulating spark plug boot (not shown) surrounds and grips to electrically isolate an electrical connection with an ignition wire and system (not shown). The exposed mast portion 20 may include a series of ribs 22 or other surface glazing or features to provide added protection against spark or secondary voltage flash-over and to improve the gripping action of the mast portion 20 with the spark plug boot. The insulator 14 is of generally tubular or annular construction, including a central passage 24 extending longitudinally between an upper terminal end 26 and a lower core nose end 28. With respect to the embodiment of
The spark plug includes an electrically conductive metal shell 30. The metal shell 30 may be made from any suitable metal, including various coated and uncoated steel alloys. The shell 30 has a generally annular interior surface 32 which surrounds and is adapted for sealing engagement with the outer surface of the lower portion 19 of the insulator 14 and has the ground electrode 18 attached thereto which is maintained at ground potential. While the ground electrode 18 is depicted in a commonly used single L-shaped style, it will be appreciated that multiple ground electrodes of straight, bent, annular, trochoidal and other configurations can be substituted depending upon the intended application for the spark plug 10, including two, three and four ground electrode configurations, and those where the electrodes are joined together by annular rings and other structures used to achieve particular sparking surface configurations. The ground electrode 18 has one or more ground electrode firing or sparking surface 34, on a sparking end 36 proximate to and partially bounding the spark gap 16 located between the ground electrode 18 and the center electrode 12, which also has an associated center electrode sparking surface 38 on a sparking end 39. The spark gap 16 may constitute an end gap, side gap or surface gap, or combinations thereof, depending on the relative orientation of the electrodes and their respective sparking ends and surfaces. The ground electrode sparking surface 34 and the center electrode sparking surface 38 may each have any suitable cross-sectional shape, including flat, arcuate, tapered, pointed, faceted, round, rectangular, square and other shapes, and the shapes of these sparking surfaces may be different. The center electrode 12 may have any suitable cross-sectional size or shape, including circular, square, rectangular, or otherwise or size. Further, the sparking end 36 may have any suitable shape. It may have a reduced cross-sectional size, and may have a cross-sectional shape that is different than the other portions of the center electrode.
The shell 30 is generally tubular or annular in its body section and includes an internal lower compression flange 40 configured to bear in pressing contact against the small mating lower shoulder 21 of the insulator 14 and an upper compression flange 42 that is crimped or formed over during the assembly operation to bear on the large upper shoulder 23 of the insulator 14 via an intermediate packing material 44. The shell 30 may also include an annular deformable region 46 which is designed and configured to collapse axially and radially outwardly in response to heating of the deformable zone 46 and associated application of an overwhelming axial compressive force during or subsequent to the deformation of the upper compression flange 42 in order to hold the shell 30 in a fixed axial position with respect to the insulator 14 and form a gas tight radial seal between the insulator 14 and the shell 30. Gaskets, cement, or other packing or sealing compounds can also be interposed between the insulator 14 and the shell 30 to perfect a gas-tight seal and to improve the structural integrity of assembled spark plug 10.
The shell 30 may be provided with an external tool receiving hexagon 48 or other feature for removal and installation of the spark plug in a combustion chamber opening. The feature size will preferably conform with an industry standard tool size of this type for the related application. Of course, some applications may call for a tool receiving interface other than a hexagon, such as slots to receive a spanner wrench, or other features such as are known in racing spark plug and other applications. A threaded section 50 is formed on the lower portion of the shell 30, immediately below a sealing seat 52. The sealing seat 52 may be paired with a gasket 54 to provide a suitable interface against which the spark plug 10 seats and provides a hot gas seal of the space between the outer surface of the shell 30 and the threaded bore in the combustion chamber opening. Alternately, the sealing seat 52 may be configured as a tapered seat located along the lower portion of the shell 30 to provide a close tolerance and a self-sealing installation in a cylinder head which is also designed with a mating taper for this style of spark plug seat.
An electrically conductive terminal stud 56 is partially disposed in the central passage 24 of the insulator 14 and extends longitudinally from an exposed top post 58 to a bottom end 60 embedded partway down the central passage 24. The top post 58 is configured for connection to an ignition wire (not shown) which is typically received in an electrically isolating boot as described herein and receives timed discharges of high voltage electricity required to fire the spark plug 10 by generating a spark across the spark gap 16.
The bottom end 60 of the terminal stud 56 is embedded within a conductive glass seal 62. The conductive glass seal 62 functions to seal the bottom end 60 of terminal stud 56 and the central passage 24 from combustion gas leakage and to establish an electrical connection between the terminal stud 56 and the center electrode 12. Many other configurations of glass and other seals are well-known and may also be used. In addition, although not believed necessary in lieu of the construction of the center electrode 12, a resistor layer (not shown), as is known, made from any suitable composition known to reduce electromagnetic interference (“EMI”), could be disposed between the bottom end 60 of the terminal stud 56 and an upper end or head 64 of the center electrode 12. Accordingly, an electrical charge from the ignition system travels through the bottom end 60 of the terminal stud 56, through the glass seal 62, and through the center electrode 12.
The center electrode 12 is partially disposed in the central passage 24 of the insulator 14 and has an elongate body 63, that extends along a longitudinal axis 66 from its enlarged radially outwardly flared head 64, which is encased in the glass seal 62, to its sparking end 38 which projects outwardly from the nose end 28 of the insulator 14 proximate, but spaced from, the sparking surface 34 of the ground electrode 18. The body 63 of the center electrode 12 is formed as a solid, one-piece, monolithic conductive or semi-conductive composite ceramic structure extending continuously and uninterrupted between its head 64 and its sparking end 38. The composite ceramic structure may be fabricated having at least two different composite materials, and can either be a ceramic-ceramic composition, or a ceramic-metal (CERMET) composition, depending on the specific attributes sought in the specific spark plug application. If constructed as a ceramic-ceramic composite, one exemplary composite structure example includes a composite of silicon nitride (Si3N4) and molybdenum disilicide (MoSi2). As shown schematically in
In one exemplary embodiment, without limitation, the composition of the outer portion 68 can be provided having about 28 percent MoSi2 and about 72 percent Si3N4 (microscopically illustrated in
While the center electrode 12 is illustrated in
The center electrode 12 may be formed using any suitable method for making ceramic articles of the types described, including injection molding and sintering, extrusion and sintering or pressing and sintering. In addition, given the center electrode 12 can be a ceramic-ceramic composite structure, it can be sintered or fired together with the insulator 14 in manufacture. This allows the center electrode 12 to be permanently positioned and bonded within the insulator 14, if desired.
Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.
This application is a divisional of U.S. Ser. No. 12/201,590, filed Aug. 29, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,044,565, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
3988646 | Atkins et al. | Oct 1976 | A |
4400643 | Nishio et al. | Aug 1983 | A |
4406968 | Friese et al. | Sep 1983 | A |
4659960 | Toya et al. | Apr 1987 | A |
4713582 | Yamada et al. | Dec 1987 | A |
5189333 | Kagawa et al. | Feb 1993 | A |
5493171 | Wood et al. | Feb 1996 | A |
6160342 | Nishikawa et al. | Dec 2000 | A |
7388323 | Shibata et al. | Jun 2008 | B2 |
7768184 | Hanashi et al. | Aug 2010 | B2 |
8044561 | Walker et al. | Oct 2011 | B2 |
8044565 | Walker et al. | Oct 2011 | B2 |
20070080618 | Torii et al. | Apr 2007 | A1 |
20080143229 | Walker | Jun 2008 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
55081477 | Jun 1980 | JP |
Entry |
---|
International Search Report for PCT/US09/054154 dated Mar. 31, 2010 (6 pgs). |
Restriction Requirement for U.S. Appl. No. 12/201,590 dated May 6, 2010 (7 pgs). |
Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/201,590 dated Sep. 1, 2010 (7 pgs). |
Restriction Requirement for U.S. Appl. No. 12/201,590 dated Mar. 17, 2011 (9 pgs). |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20120038262 A1 | Feb 2012 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
Parent | 12201590 | Aug 2008 | US |
Child | 13279862 | US |