Patent Application
20070132535
The present invention relates to an electromagnetic device, a high-voltage generating device, and a method for making the electromagnetic device.
It is necessary for starting a high intensity discharge lamp such as a high-intensity discharge (HID) lamp to use a high-voltage generating device called an igniter. The high-voltage generating device is generally provided in the form of an electromagnetic device such as a pulse transformer for converting a low-voltage input to a high-voltage output of pulsed waveform (as disclosed in, for example Japanese Patent Laid-open Publications 11-16752 and 11-74132).
One of such conventional electromagnetic devices is shown in structure in FIGS. 65 to 68. A coil bobbin 60 is made of an insulating material such as synthetic resin having substantially a cylindrical shape which comprises two outer flanges 61 at both ends and a partition flange 62 between the two outer flanges 61. A primary winding 63 at the low voltage side is wound between one of the two outer flanges 61 and the partition flange 62 while a secondary winding 64 at the high voltage side is wound between the other outer flange 61 and the partition flange 62. In particular, the secondary winding 64 is fabricated by winding a long, flat rectangular foil conductor with its wider sides facing each other (in the form of, so-called, edge-wise winding) for improving both the edge side insulation and the contact area of windings. Finally, a couple of U-shaped magnetic cores 65 made of Mn—Zn ferrite are inserted and joined to both ends of the coil bobbin 60 with the primary winding 63 and the secondary winding 64, hence forming an electromagnetic device (a pulse transformer).
a is a perspective view of another conventional electromagnetic device and
This conventional electromagnetic device is fabricated by winding the coil windings 9 and 10 on the bobbin 4PA, inserting the magnetic core 3PA into the bobbin 4PA, assembling those in the casing 5PA, connecting the terminals 6 to the corresponding coil windings 9 and 10, and filling the casing 5PA with an amount of epoxy resin (by vacuum filling process).
It is common that high intensity discharge lamps are widely used as the head lights of vehicles because they are high in the brightness, low in the power consumption, and long in the operating life and thus much favorable in the safety than any halogen lamps. As such high intensity discharge lamps have increasingly been popular, the electromagnetic devices are now desired for minimizing the thickness in view of the dimensional requirements of igniters. However, the conventional devices are hardly reduced in the thickness with the coil bobbin 60 provided between the magnetic core 65 (See
When the bobbin is provided between the magnetic core and the coil windings, its terminals are fixedly connected to the coil windings. In case of a bobbin-less device, the terminals connected with the coil windings may be secured with much difficulty.
The process of fabricating an electromagnetic device shown in
The convention welding joiner 6PA may often cause the insulation coated wire to be dislocated when held between the base portion 61 and the folded portion 62 and pressed with a pair of welding electrodes. If worse, the insulation coated wire may completely be slipped off from between the base portion 61 and the folded portion 62. As the welding of the insulation coated wire to the welding joiner is carried out only with poor consistency, it is much desired to modify the welding joiner for improvement of its stable joining function and operational reliability.
The present invention has been developed in view of the foregoing aspects and its object is to provide an electromagnetic device, a high-voltage generating apparatus, and a method for making the electromagnetic device where the dimensional reduction and the improvement of properties are achieved, and the duration of time required for carrying out the production steps is minimized.
In the present invention, an electromagnetic device comprises a magnetic core having a curved side and a flat rectangular wire conductor wound in an edge-wise winding form directly on the curved side of the magnetic core. Accordingly, as any insulator such as a coil bobbin is not needed between the flat rectangular wire conductor and the magnetic core, the winding can be decreased in the overall size or thickness, thus contributing to the dimensional reduction and the improvement of characteristics of the device. In the device, the magnetic core has an intrinsic resistance of not smaller than 1000 Ω·m.
The electromagnetic device further comprises a winding provided on the outer surface of the flat rectangular wire conductor. Accordingly, a resultant transformer can be reduced in the thickness.
The magnetic core is rough finished at the surface. Accordingly, as no extra step such as polishing is needed after the completion of the magnetic core, the production cost of the magnetic core can be lowered. Also, the flat rectangular wire conductor can be protected from slipping and tilting down during the edge-wise winding process.
The flat rectangular wire conductor and the winding are joined to each other by fusing their coatings. Accordingly, as the positioning between the windings is securely determined, variations in the properties resulting from relative dislocation between the windings will be avoided.
The magnetic core of an edge-wise winding form of the flat rectangular wire conductor is located between a group of leads joined together. Accordingly, the winding is arranged with its leads extending over the outer surface of the flat rectangular wire conductor.
The electromagnetic device further comprises a first insulating member arranged of a cylindrical shape to which the magnetic core of the flat rectangular wire conductor is fitted and a secondary insulating material covering over the first insulating member and the winding which is made of an electrically conductive resin material and provided on the outer side of the first insulating member. Accordingly, the insulation between the winding of the flat rectangular wire conductor and the winding of the electrically conductive resin material can be ensured by the first insulating material.
The first insulating member has a groove provided in the outer side thereof and the winding is fabricated by filling the groove with an electrically conductive resin material. Accordingly, the insulation between the high-voltage end of the winding of the flat rectangular wire conductor and the winding of the electrically conductive resin material can be ensured. The flat rectangular wire conductor serves as a secondary winding and the winding serves as a primary winding.
The primary winding is located adjacent to the low-voltage end of the secondary winding. Accordingly, the surface distance between the high-voltage side of the secondary winding and the primary winding can be increased thus improving the insulating function.
One of two ends of the primary winding disposed at the high-voltage end side of the secondary winding is drawn to the low-voltage end of the secondary winding. Accordingly, the insulation can be improved to a desired level.
The primary winding is an insulated wire or a magnet wire protected with an insulation coating for electrically insulating between the primary winding and the secondary winding. Accordingly, the insulation can be improved to a desired level.
The magnetic core has an elliptical shape in the cross section and its flat rectangular wire conductor is drawn out at both ends through a space between a transformer consisting mainly of the magnetic core and the flat rectangular wire conductor and a rectangular housing mounted outwardly of the transformer. Accordingly, the transformer can be reduced in both the size and the cost.
The magnetic core has a bottomed hole provided in each end thereof and the hole is arranged of a tapered shape which becomes gradually smaller in the diameter from the opening to the bottom. Accordingly, when the magnetic core is fallen down about the point at the edge of its bottom with its bottomed hole accepting the projection of the rod during the preparation of the magnetic core using the paired rods and a pair of punching dies, its portion about the bottomed hole can clear the projection of the rod. As a result, the magnetic core can be protected from being tipped off at its edge about the bottomed hole of its bottom. The magnetic core has an elliptical shape in the cross section. Accordingly, the overall size can be thinned.
In the present invention, an electromagnetic device having a transformer arrangement includes a bar-like magnetic core and a flat rectangular wire conductor wound on the outer surface of the magnetic core for generation of a high voltage, the flat rectangular wire conductor drawn out at both ends from two ends of the magnetic core respectively, characterized by a resin outer housing provided about the transformer by filling or molding an insulating resin material and having at least one side thereof configured up and down along a direction substantially parallel with the axial direction of the magnetic core. Accordingly, as the surface distance is increased by the effect of the up and down configuration, the insulation function can be improved.
The up and down configuration is provided at the high-voltage end side of the flat rectangular wire conductor. Accordingly, the insulation function can be improved.
In the present invention, an electromagnetic device having a transformer arrangement includes a magnetic core, a winding and a flat rectangular wire conductor both provided on the magnetic core, and at least two terminals for connection of the winding and the flat rectangular wire conductor with the outside, characterized in that the transformer is sealed in an injection molded form of a thermoset resin material. Accordingly, the production of the transformer can be simplified.
The electromagnetic device further comprises a lead frame for supporting the components during the injection molding. Accordingly, the production can be simplified.
The thermoset resin material is covered with a molded form of a thermoplastic resin material. Accordingly, the insulation can be ensured while the protection against moisture is effectively improved.
The winding and the flat rectangular wire conductor are secured at least at one end with an adhesive. Accordingly, the coil winding can hardly be loosened by the effect of spring back.
While the winding acts as a primary winding, the flat rectangular wire conductor acts as a secondary winding and is insulated by coating and provided in an edge-wise winding form on the magnetic core. Accordingly, the overall size can be minimized.
In the present invention, an insulation coated wire is joined with a welding joiner which comprises a flat base portion extending in one direction and a folded portion extending from one side along the one direction of the base portion substantially at a right angle to the one direction, where the folded portion is folded down along the one side to face the base portion, and the base portion has a tab portion extending from the other side than the one side thereof and bent upright to form a positional error inhibitor. Accordingly, when the welding joiner is pressed by welding electrodes for joining, the insulation coated wire can securely be held with but not detached from the welding joiner and its joining can hence be maintained and improved in both the stability and the durability.
The length of the tab positional error inhibiting portion from the base portion is equal to or slightly greater than the diameter of the insulation coated wire. Accordingly, as the insulation coated wire when dislocated is securely held by the positional error inhibitor of the welding joiner, it can definitely remain protected from being detached from the welding joiner.
The positional error inhibiting portion is distanced from the folded portion. Accordingly, as any short-circuit between the positional error inhibiting portion and the folded portion is avoided, Joule heat generated by energization can successfully be radiated from the extending side of the folded portion of the joiner.
In the present invention, a high-voltage generating device comprises: a pulse transformer having a magnetic core, a flat rectangular wire conductor wound in an edge-wise winding form directly on the outer surface of the magnetic core, and a winding provided on the outer side of the flat rectangular wire conductor; a capacitor connected in parallel with the primary winding of the pulse transformer; a switching element for opening and closing the discharging path extending from the capacitor to the primary winding; and a resistor connected to the primary winding. Accordingly, as any insulator such as a coil bobbin is not needed between the magnetic core and the winding (of the flat rectangular wire conductor), the winding can be decreased in the overall size or thickness thus implementing a thin, property improved high-voltage generating device. Also, as its undesired oscillation is attenuated by resistance loss in the resistor connected in parallel with the primary winding, the pulsed high-voltage output of the secondary winding of the pulse transformer can favorably be corrected to substantially a fundamental waveform. Moreover, since the oscillation of the voltage is readily settled down, any unwanted stress on the components including the capacitor can successfully be eased. As a result, the components to be used may be declined in the resistance to high voltage and reduced in the size and the cost.
In the present invention, a high-voltage generating device comprises: a pulse transformer having a magnetic core, a flat rectangular wire conductor wound in an edge-wise winding form directly on the outer surface of the magnetic core, and a winding provided on the outer side of the flat rectangular wire conductor; a capacitor connected in parallel with the primary winding of the pulse transformer; a switching element for opening and closing the discharging path extending from the capacitor to the primary winding; and metal strips provided adjacent to at least one end of the pulse transformer in an open magnetic circuit. Accordingly, as any insulator such as a coil bobbin is not needed between the magnetic core and the winding (of the flat rectangular wire conductor), the winding can be decreased in the overall size or thickness thus implementing a thin, property improved high-voltage generating device.
The pulse transformer, the capacitor, and the switching element are installed in a housing which has a socket for connecting the base of a discharge lamp electrically and mechanically, whereby the base of the discharge lamp is supplied with a pulsed high voltage generated at the secondary winding of the pulse transformer. Accordingly, a thin, property improved high-voltage generating device can be realized having the socket for connection to the base of a discharge lamp.
In the present invention, a method for making an electromagnetic device comprises the steps of: winding a flat rectangular wire conductor in an edge-wise winding form on a magnetic core; and fixedly joining ends of the flat rectangular wire conductor provided in the edge-wise winding form to corresponding terminals which are provided integrally on a single metal strip. Accordingly, the duration required for the production can be decreased. Also, with no use of insulators, the ends of the coil winding can be joined to the corresponding terminals.
In the above method, the metal strip is arranged of a linear form to which the ends of the flat rectangular wire conductor are joined as drawn out in one direction towards the metal strip. Accordingly, the metal strip can be arranged of a simple shape.
In the method, as the ends of the flat rectangular wire conductor have fixedly been joined to the corresponding terminals of the metal strip, the redundancy of the metal strip is separated from the terminals for electrically isolating the ends of the flat rectangular wire conductor from the metal strip. Accordingly, the electromagnetic device with its coil winding joined at the ends to the corresponding terminals with no use of insulators can be fabricated by using simpler steps.
In the method, the magnetic core has an elliptical shape in the cross section. Accordingly, the downsizing and the cost down can be feasible.
In the present invention, a method for making an electromagnetic device with the use of a winding jig for holding one end of a magnetic core, a center shaft for supporting the center axis of the magnetic core, a hold-down jig arranged slidable on the magnetic core and the center shaft, a hold-down spring urging a stress against the hold-down jig, and a spring holder arranged slidable in response to the width of winding, comprises the steps of: coupling one end of a flat rectangular wire conductor to the winding jig joined to the magnetic core and rotating the winding jig; winding the flat rectangular wire conductor on the magnetic core which is rotated by the rotating action of the winding jig; and allowing the hold-down jig and the spring holder to be slid to protect the flat rectangular wire conductor from tilting down as the width of winding increases during the edge-wise winding of the flat rectangular wire conductor on the magnetic core between the winding jig and the hold-down jig.
An electromagnetic device of this embodiment is a single-winding inductor having a winding wound directly on a rod magnetic core 3 arranged of substantially a cylindrical shape with no need of an insulator such as a coil bobbin as shown in
The magnetic core 3 is made of an Ni—Zn ferrite material which is high in the resistivity (intrinsic resistance) and about 8 mm in the diameter of its cylindrical shape. The winding is a flat rectangular wire conductor 2 (for example, having a thickness of 70 μm and a width of 1.4 mm) wound in a single layer of edge-wise winding form on substantially the entire length of the magnetic core 3. More specifically, the flat rectangular wire conductor 2 is wound on the magnetic core 3 which is secured at both axial ends to jigs and then rotated by a rotating motion of the jigs.
It is found from examination of the insulation coating (not show) of the flat rectangular wire conductor 2 wound on the magnetic core 3 in the inductor of this embodiment that the insulation between the winding (of the flat rectangular wire conductor 2) and the magnetic core 3 and between any two adjacent turns of the winding is highly ensured. Although the insulation between the winding and the magnetic core 3 depends on the resistivity which is one of the insulating properties of the magnetic core 31 it remains explicitly favorable when the resistivity is not smaller than 1000 Ω·m. It is also found that the magnetic and electric properties remain not declined.
As its flat rectangular wire conductor 2 is directly wound in an edge-wise winding form on the magnetic core 3 made of a high-resistivity material, the inductor eliminates the use of any insulator such as the coil bobbin 60 between the winding (of the flat rectangular wire conductor 2) and the magnetic core 3 and can thus be minimized in the thickness with its winding reduced in the external dimensions. Also, as the flat rectangular wire conductor 2 is directly wound on the magnetic core 3, its winding can be shortened in the overall length thus declining the level of resistance. Moreover, as the inductor develops no gap between the winding and the magnetic core 3, its self-inductance can comparatively be decreased with the dimensions and the number of windings remaining unchanged. The conventional electromagnetic device having the flat rectangular wire conductor wound in an edge-wise winding form on an insulator such as the coil bobbin develops a gap between the winding and the magnetic core which then makes the relative positional relationship between the winding and the magnetic core unstable, hence creating variations in the properties including the inductance. Because the flat rectangular wire conductor 2 is directly wound on the magnetic core 3 in the embodiment, they are closely secured to each other and their relative position can be secured thus minimizing variations in the properties.
This embodiment is characterized by a magnetic core 3 having an elliptical shape in the cross section as shown in
The magnetic core 3 is made of an Ni—Zn ferrite material identical to that of Embodiment 1 but having an elliptical shape in the cross section on which a flat rectangular wire conductor 2 is directly wound in an edge-wise winding form. As its magnetic core 3 has an elliptical shape in the cross section, the inductor can be lower in the height than that of Embodiment 1.
The magnetic core 3 has a hemispheric recess (pit) 3c of about 2 mm in diameter provided at the center in each end thereof. While the flat rectangular wire conductor 2 is being wound on the magnetic core 3 by the action of a winder 4, the magnetic core 3 is secured to the winder with its recess 3c tightly accepting the corresponding projection of a jig of the winder.
This will be explained in more detail referring to
Then, with the magnetic core 3 being held by the jigs as shown in
As described, the inductor having the flat rectangular wire conductor 2 wound directly on the magnetic core 3 of the elliptical shape in the cross section, like that of Embodiment 1, can be minimized in the size, particularly the height and in the inductance variation.
While the flat rectangular wire conductor is directly wound on the core according to Embodiment 1, the core may be covered with a coating for increasing the level of insulation or protected at the sides (where the flat rectangular wire conductor is wound) with a tape of insulating material. This also allows the flat rectangular wire conductor to be wound by the rotating action of the magnetic core, thus contributing to the small size of the inductor.
This embodiment is characterized by a magnetic core 3 having a through hole 3d provided along the axial direction therein as shown in
This embodiment is characterized by a magnetic core 3 having a pair of outer flanges 8 provided on both ends thereof to extend outwardly, as shown in FIGS. 7 to 9. The magnetic core 3 like that of Embodiment 2 has an elliptical shape in the cross section and its outer flanges 8 project from the lengthwise ends radially (outwardly) at substantially a right angle to the lengthwise direction. When wound in an edge-wise winding form, a flat rectangular wire conductor 2 may be loosened out at both ends of the magnetic core 3. This is inhibited by the outer flanges 8 which holds the flat rectangular wire conductor 2 at the two ends. Also, a plurality (two in this embodiment) of hemispheric recesses 3c are provided in each end of the magnetic core 3. During the winding of the flat rectangular wire conductor 2, the magnetic core 3 is tightly secured to the winder with its recesses 3c accepting and engaging with corresponding projections of a winder 4 which can rotate. This allows the winding of the flat rectangular wire conductor 2 to be more stable than in Embodiment 2. The magnetic core 3 may be arranged of a cylindrical shape similar to that of Embodiment 1.
This embodiment is characterized by a magnetic core 3 having a particular shape shown in
An electromagnetic device of this embodiment is a two-winding transformer having a primary winding and a secondary winding wound directly on a substantially cylindrical, rod-like magnetic core 3 thereof, shown in
The magnetic core 3 is substantially identical in the construction to that of Embodiment 1 where flat rectangular wire conductors 2 are wound in an edge-wise winding form on the magnetic core 3 to implement the primary winding 9 and the secondary winding 10. As its primary winding 9 and secondary winding 10 are implemented by the edge-wise winding of the flat rectangular wire conductors 2 directly on the magnetic core 3, the transformer can be decreased in the overall size as compared with the conventional arrangement having the windings wound on the coil bobbin and declined in the direct-current resistance of both the primary winding 9 and the secondary winding 10, hence improving its properties. Also, as the primary winding 9 and the secondary winding 10 are separated from each other along the lengthwise direction of the magnetic core 3, the insulation between them can highly be ensured. The magnetic core 3 may be arranged of an elliptical shape in the cross section similar to that of Embodiment 2.
This embodiment is characterized by a magnetic core 3 having a particular shape shown in
Accordingly, the outer flanges 8a and 8b can inhibit the edge-wise winding form of the flat rectangular wire conductor 2 from being loosened at the two lengthwise ends of the magnetic core 3 while the partition flange 11 provided between the primary winding 9 and the secondary winding 10 on the magnetic core 3 can definitely separate and electrically insulate the two windings 9 and 10 from each other thus improving the insulation as compared with that of Embodiment 6. The magnetic core 3 may be arranged of an elliptical shape in the cross section similar to that of Embodiment 2.
This embodiment is characterized by a magnetic core 3 having a particular shape shown in
Each half of the magnetic core 3 on which the primary winding 9 or the secondary winding 10 is directly wound is sloped down from both ends, the lengthwise end and the center of the magnetic core 3, to the intermediate region. This allows the winding of the flat rectangular wire conductor 2 to be securely wound along the lengthwise direction without loosening outwardly at the two ends. Also, the cross section at the center of the magnetic core 3 between the primary winding 9 and the secondary winding 10 is greater than the halves on which the primary winding 9 and the secondary winding 10 are directly wound, the two windings 9 and 10 can be separated and insulated from each other at a higher level of certainty than in Embodiment 6. The magnetic core 3 may be arranged of an elliptical shape in the cross section similar to that of Embodiment 2.
An electromagnetic device of this embodiment is a two-winding transformer having a primary winding and a secondary winding wound directly on a substantially cylindrical, rod-like magnetic core 3 thereof, shown in
The secondary winding 10 on the magnetic core 3 is fabricated by providing 220 turns of a flat rectangular wire conductor 2 (e.g. 0.070 mm thick and 1.4 mm wide) directly in an edge-wise winding form. It is found that the direct current resistance of the secondary winding 10 is substantially 1.8Ω. As shown in
Because of the above described arrangement of this embodiment, the primary winding 9 is wound over the secondary winding 10 thus increasing the magnetic coupling between the two windings 9 and 10 and improving the efficiency of power transmission. As a result, the electromagnetic device of this embodiment can produce a higher secondary voltage as a pulse transformer than the previous embodiment 7 or 8 where the two windings 9 and 10 are separately wound on the magnetic core 3. For example, when the primary voltage is 600 V, the pulsed output can be generated a peak value of 30 kV. Also, as the primary winding 9 is located close to the low-voltage end 10a of the secondary winding 10, it can be separated and insulated by a marginal distance from the high-voltage end 10b of the secondary winding 10. Moreover, since the primary winding 9 is implemented by the coated wire conductor, the insulation between the two windings 9 and 10 can be ensured. The primary winding 9 may be provided adjacent to the low-voltage end 10a of the secondary winding 10 along the lengthwise direction of the magnetic core 3 with equal success, as shown in
An electromagnetic device of this embodiment is a two-winding transformer having flat rectangular wire conductors 2a and 2b wound in an edge-wise winding form directly on a substantially cylindrical rod-like magnetic core 3 thereof with no use of an insulator such as a coil bobbin to implement the primary winding 9 and the secondary winding 10 respectively shown in
As the primary winding 9 and the secondary winding 10 are implemented by the edge-wise winding form of the flat rectangular wire conductors 2a and 2b directly on the magnetic core 3, their external dimensions are substantially equal to each other and can thus contribute to the smaller or thinner size of the electromagnetic device than that of Embodiment 9. Also, the flat rectangular wire conductor 2a of the primary winding 9 like the secondary winding 10 is directly wound on the magnetic core 3, the two windings 9 and 10 can be fabricated in one single step thus increasing the productivity.
This embodiment is characterized by a construction of the primary winding 9 shown in
The process of fabricating the primary winding 9 is now explained in more detail. As shown in
As its primary winding 9 is fabricated by winding the wire conductor foil 12 and the insulating film 13, an electromagnetic device of this embodiment can further be decreased in the thickness. Also, as the distance between the primary winding 9 and the secondary winding 10 is minimized, the magnetic coupling between the same can be enhanced thus increasing the efficiency of power transmission and thus producing a higher amplitude of the output voltage. Moreover, as the primary winding 9 is increased in the cross section of the wire conductor, its direct current resistance can be reduced hence producing a greater level of the primary current.
This embodiment is characterized by a construction of the primary winding 9 shown in
Because of the above described arrangement of this embodiment, the insulation casing 14 can definitely insulate between the primary winding 9 and the secondary winding 10. Also, as the secondary winding 10 is entirely enclosed in the insulation casing 14, its marginal surface can be protected from dielectric breakdown throughout the length from its high-voltage end 10b to the primary winding 9.
This embodiment is characterized by a construction of the primary winding 9 shown in
As the two windings 9 and 10 are bonded to each other by fusion of their coating to determine the position of the primary winding 9, they can be inhibited from relatively dislocating from each other thus eliminating any undesired variation in the properties. The coating of the flat rectangular wire conductor 2 of the secondary winding 10 provided in an edge-wise winding form may be made of a fusible resin material and directly bonded by fusion to the magnetic core 3 for positioning the secondary winding 10.
This embodiment is characterized by a construction of the primary winding 9 shown in
In Embodiment 9, the primary winding 9 is implemented by the coated wire of which the overall diameter is set to substantially five times greater than the diameter of its wire conductor because of a point of view that a dielectric breakdown between the primary winding 9 and the secondary winding 10 possibly occurs at the marginal surface close to the high-voltage end 10b of the secondary winding 10. However, when the coated wire of such a greater diameter is used, a resultant electromagnetic device (a transformer) becomes greater in dimensions thus interrupting the reduction of the overall size. Also, as the coated wire is round in the cross section, it may hardly be positioned on the secondary winding 10 and, if worse, may be wound to a greater thickness. While the diameter of the wire of the primary winding 9 in Embodiment 12 is successfully decreased, the overall dimensions of the electromagnetic device (transformer) become greater due to the size of the insulation casing 14 and may be increased in the number of components or assembled with much difficulty.
This embodiment is an electromagnetic device (a transformer) comprising a primary winding assembly 18 including the primary winding 9 with insulators and a magnetic core 3 having a flat rectangular wire conductor 2 wound in an edge-wise winding form thereon and coupled to the primary winding assembly 18, as shown in
The primary winding assembly 18 includes a substantially cylindrical housing 19 of an insulating resin material (a first insulating material) arranged of an elliptical shape in the cross section as shown in
When an electrically conductive resin 21 which is highly flowable is poured into the groove 19a of the housing 19 installed in a set of molds 20 shown in
As the housing 19 with the primary winding 9 is entirely covered with a synthetic resin (a secondary insulating material, e.g. poly-ether-imide identical to the material of the housing 19) but its two lengthwise end openings remaining open, the primary winding assembly 18 containing the housing 19 covered with the secondary insulating material of a shape 22 is completed.
Finally, as the magnetic core 3 with the secondary winding 10 is installed in the housing 19 of the primary winding assembly 18 and the primary winding 9 is connected at both ends to terminal strips 23, the electromagnetic device (a transformer) of this embodiment is completed (See
Because of the above arrangement of this embodiment, the insulation between the primary winding 9 and the secondary winding 10 can be implemented by the primary winding assembly 18. Since the secondary insulating material of the shape 22 encloses the housing 19 on which the primary winding 9 has been developed with the electrically conductive resin material 21, it can favorably insulate the primary winding 9 from the high-voltage end of the secondary winding 10. Also, as the primary winding 9 is fabricated by filling the grooves 19a and 19b of the housing 19 with the highly flowable electrically conductive resin material 21 with no need of the conventional step for winding a wire to develop the primary winding 91 its assembling process can be facilitated thus improving the overall productivity. As its dimensional properties remain free from unwanted variations which are pertinent to the coated wire and its winding exhibits a minimum of winding faults, the primary winding 9 can be small or thin. As a result, the electromagnetic device can hence be minimized in the overall size or thickness.
While the magnetic cores 3 of this embodiment and the previous embodiments 1 to 14 are made of a bar-like ferrite material and polished at the surface, they may not be polished but remain rough. In the latter case, the surface roughness or mathematical average roughness (Ra) of the magnetic core 3 can preferably be 0.8 μm or greater. This eliminates the step of polishing the magnetic core 3 and can hence reduce the production cost of the magnetic core 3. In case that the surface roughness of the magnetic core 3 is declined, it may cause the flat rectangular wire conductor 2 to be slipped down and fractured during the edge-wise winding as shown in
Prior to the description of this embodiment, a circuitry arrangement in the conventional high-voltage generating device will be explained referring to
The high-voltage generating device of this embodiment has a couple of metal strips 24 provided adjacent to both ends of the magnetic core 3 in a pulse transformer PT as shown in
As described, the high voltage waveform supplied to the high intensity discharge lamp Lp can be corrected to close to the fundamental form shown in
This embodiment is characterized by a high-voltage generating device where the primary winding of a pulse transformer PT is connected in parallel with a resistor Ra as shown in
This embodiment is characterized by a high-voltage generating device where a high intensity discharge lamp Lp is provided integral with a socket which is arranged detachable as shown in
The cover 32 has a socket opening 34 of substantially a round shape provided in the front side thereof and a group of bayonet stoppers 35 provided on the circumferential edge about the socket opening thereof. The stoppers 35 are formed integral with the circumferential edge about the socket opening 34 and provided in the form of notches opening towards the center. More particularly, the stopper 35 is an L shaped recess comprising a vertical groove 35a for accepting each engaging tab (not shown) provided on the outer surface of a base of the high intensity discharge lamp Lp which is inserted from the front to the back in the socket opening 34 and a horizontal groove 35b continuously communicated with the vertical groove 35a. In addition, the stopper 35 has a stopper recess 35c provided in the innermost thereof for holding the engaging tab at the engaging position.
The body 31 includes a substantially cylindrical tube 36 accommodated in the socket opening 34 of the cover 32 and an engaging projections 38 provided thereon for engaging with engaging slots 37 provided in the lateral side of the cover 32. As the cover 32 is placed over the front side of the body 31, its engaging projections 38 come into engagement with the corresponding engaging slots 37. As a result, the body 31 and the cover 32 are joined together with its tube 36 accommodated in the socket opening 34 (See
The body 31 also has a first component recess 42 provided in the front side thereof for accommodating the circuitry components including a resistor R1 and a capacitor C1. As best shown in
The lid 33 has a group of engaging slots 45 provided in a circumferential wall 33a thereof for engagement with corresponding engaging projections 44 provided on the outer surface of the body 31. When the lid 33 is placed over the back side of the body 31, its engaging slots 45 come to accept the corresponding engaging projections 44. As the body 31 is coupled with the lid 33, it can be closed up at the back side with the lid 33.
The shield cover 50 is a box shape of an electrically conductive magnetic material having one side opened. The shield cover 50 has a fitting slot 47 provided in a circumferential wall thereof for engagement with a fitting projection 46 provided on the outer side of the cover 32. When the main assembly 30 consisting mainly of the body 31, the cover 32, and the lid 33 is inserted from the back into the shield cover 50, the fitting projection 46 of its cover 32 comes in engagement with the fitting slot 47 thus coupling the main assembly 30 with the shield cover 50.
As the pulse transformer PT in the main assembly 30 is accommodated in the body 31 with its magnetic core 3 facing at both ends the inner side of the shield cover 50, its magnetic core 3 of the main assembly 30 when coupled to the shield cover 50 develops a closed magnetic circuit together with the shield cover 50. Because the main assembly 30 is protected with the shield cover 50 and its pulse transformer PT allows the magnetic core 3 to develop the closed magnetic circuit together with the shield cover 50, any noise generated and emitted from the high-voltage generating device can favorably be attenuated and simultaneously the (high voltage) output of the pulse transformer PT can be increased. Also, the device itself can be minimized in the overall size or thickness. The shield cover 50 of this embodiment also acts as the metal strips 24 of Embodiment 16. As the metal strips 24 are not needed, the components can thus be decreased in the total number and their arrangement can be simplified.
As the coil windings 1 and 2 are provided directly on the magnetic core 3 with no use of the bobbin, the terminals 6 of this embodiment are joined with non of the bobbin. This embodiment allows the terminals 6 to be connected together by a hoop material 60 as shown in
Referring to
a illustrates the magnetic core of an electromagnetic device of this embodiment. The magnetic core 3A of the electromagnetic device has a recess 3c provided in each end thereof which is identical to that of the previous embodiment and is arranged of an elliptical shape in the cross section. The other arrangement is identical to that of the previous embodiment. As its magnetic core 3A is rather flat in the shape, the electromagnetic device can be implemented as a thin transformer. Also, the recess 3c has a tapered shape as described. As the magnetic core 3A is elliptical in the cross section, it may hardly be tilted down in a direction denoted by the arrow shown in
It is known that the open circuit allows the coupling between the primary and secondary windings to be more increased when the coil winding 1 is located as the primary winding on the center of the magnetic core 3 than on either end of the same. The coil winding 1 shown in
When the coil winding 1 is located on the lead 2L of the coil winding 2, the protection from dielectric breakdown can be enhanced but the coupling between the primary and secondary windings will be declined thus lowering the level of the high-voltage output at the secondary winding. For compensation, the coil winding 1 of this embodiment is slightly biased towards the center of the coil winding 2 to guarantee the coupling between the primary and secondary windings as shown in
While the leads 1L and 1R of the coil winding 1 as the primary winding are drawn out from a location close to the low-voltage end 2L of the coil winding 2 in the previous embodiment, the lead 1R of the coil winding 1 of this embodiment close to the high-voltage end 2R of the coil winding 2 only is biased towards one particular end of the magnetic core 3A where the low-voltage end 2L of the coil winding 2 is located. This arrangement will also improve the insulation function. More particularly, the two leads of the coil winding 2 are drawn out along the thin side of the magnetic core 3A. This allows the insertion molded member 5A to remain minimum in the thickness as shown in
As shown in
This is followed, as shown in
As shown in
a illustrates an electromagnetic device of this embodiment having welding joiners 70. The welding joiner 70 is joined to one end of an insulation coated wire 8 of the primary winding and used as a terminal 6 of the electromagnetic device. The welding joiner 70 is arranged of a foldable shape comprising a flat base portion 71 extending in one direction, a folded portion 72 extending from one side at a right angle to the one direction, and an extending portion 73 allowing the folded portion 72 to face the flat portion 71. Also, a tab-like portion is provided extending from the other side than the folded portion 72 side of the base portion 71 and bent upwardly, thus acting as a positional error inhibitor 74. The length of the positional error inhibitor portion 74 from the flat portion 71 is equal or slightly greater than the diameter of the insulation coated wire 8. Particularly, the positional error inhibitor portion 74 is located as spaced from the folded portion 72.
The welding joiner 70 is securely coupled to the insulation coated wire 8 when pressed and welded between welding electrodes 78 as shown in
As set forth above, the electromagnetic device, the high-voltage generating device, and the method for fabricating the electromagnetic device according to the present invention are favorably applicable to and can contribute to the reduction of the size or thickness of a pulse transformer also called an igniter for starting a common high intensity discharge lamp.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000-280666 | Sep 2000 | JP | national |
| 2001-012224 | Jan 2001 | JP | national |
This application is a continuation of pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/129,105, filed Jul. 7, 2002, which is a U.S. National Stage Application of PCT/JP01/08022, filed on Sep. 14, 2001, the disclosures of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 10129105 | Jun 2002 | US |
| Child | 11548353 | Oct 2006 | US |
