This application is based on and incorporates herein by reference Japanese Patent Applications No. 2006-203828 filed on Jul. 26, 2006 and No. 2007-27153 filed on Feb. 6, 2007.
This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/822,930 claiming priorities to the following Japanese Patent Applications, respectively:
No. 2006-203827 filed on Jul. 26, 2006; and
No. 2007-27152 filed on Feb. 6, 2007.
The present invention relates to an ignition coil.
An engine is provided with an ignition coil having a coil main body constructed by, for example, coaxially arranging a primary coil with a secondary coil. The primary coil is constructed by winding a wire around a primary spool to form a primary winding, and the secondary coil is constructed by winding a wire around a secondary spool to form a secondary winding. A center core, which is formed of a magnetic material, is provided on the radially inner side of the primary and secondary coils. An outer core, which is formed of a magnetic material, is provided on the radially outer side of the primary and secondary coils. Thus, the center core and the outer core construct a magnetic circuit. The ignition coil has an inner gap charged with thermosetting resin such as epoxy resin to electrically insulate inner components from each other, and to fix the inner components therebetween.
The secondary coil has a high voltage end defining a plug mount portion to which a sparkplug is provided. The plug mount portion has a cap mount portion, which is in a cylindrical shape, and extends from a spool constructing the primary coil or the like. The cap mount portion is attached with a plug cap formed of rubber. The plug cap has a fitting hole accommodating a coil spring electrically conducted with a high voltage winding end of the secondary coil via the high voltage terminal. The sparkplug is mounted to the plug mount portion by fitting an insulator portion of the sparkplug into the fitting hole. The sparkplug has a terminal portion in contact with the coil spring.
For example, an ignition coil disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,836,203 B2 (JP-A-2003-163126) has a cap mount portion having an annular charging portion, into which thermosetting resin is charged to restrict electric leakage from a high voltage terminal applied with high voltage to a plug hole in low voltage. This ignition coil disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,836,203 B2 has a coil portion including the primary coil and the secondary coil inserted into a plughole of a cylinder head cover of an engine.
However, the above conventional structure of the ignition coil is not sufficient to restrict electric leakage from the high voltage terminal to the plughole. Specifically, high voltage applied to the high voltage terminal may be transmitted along the inner circumferential periphery of the annular charging portion, and further transmitted toward the radially outer side of the cap mount portion. Accordingly, in the conventional structure of the ignition coil, the insulation distance needs to be sufficiently secured to restrict electric leakage from the high voltage terminal to the plughole.
The present invention addresses the above disadvantage. According to one aspect of the present invention, an ignition coil for a sparkplug of an engine, the ignition coil including a coil main body including a coil case accommodating a primary coil and a secondary coil. The ignition coil further includes a plug mount portion provided to a high voltage end of the coil main body on a high voltage side. The coil case has an inner gap charged with an infilling resin. The plug mount portion and the coil main body are inserted into a plughole of the engine. The plug mount portion has a cap mount portion in a substantially cylindrical shape extending from a primary spool of the primary coil or the coil case. The cap mount portion is connected with a plug cap, which is formed of rubber, having a fitting hole into which an insulator portion of the sparkplug is inserted together with a high voltage terminal and a coil spring. The high voltage terminal is electrically conductive with a high voltage winding end of a winding of the secondary coil on the high voltage side. The coil spring electrically conducts the high voltage terminal with a terminal portion of a tip end of the insulator portion of the sparkplug. The plug cap has a circumferential mount portion, which is in a substantially cylindrical shape, attached to an outer circumferential periphery of the cap mount portion. The cap mount portion has a substantially annular space communicating with the inner gap in the coil case. The substantially annular space is charged with the infilling resin. The circumferential mount portion has a low voltage end on a low voltage side. The substantially annular space has a high voltage end located on the high voltage side with respect to the low voltage end of the circumferential mount portion.
According to another aspect of the present invention, an ignition coil adapted to being connected with a sparkplug via a coil spring and a rubber plug cap, and inserted into a plughole of an engine, the ignition coil including a coil case. The ignition coil further includes primary and secondary coils accommodated in the coil case. One of the coil case and a primary spool of the primary coil extends to define a mount portion in a substantially cylindrical shape on a high voltage side. The mount portion includes a high voltage terminal electrically conductive with the secondary coil. The high voltage terminal is adapted to electrically conducting with the sparkplug via the coil spring. The mount portion has an outer circumferential periphery adapted to being attached to a circumferential portion of the rubber plug cap. The rubber plug cap circumferentially surrounds the high voltage terminal, and is adapted to circumferentially surrounding the coil spring and an insulator portion of the sparkplug. The mount portion has a substantially annular space communicating with an inner gap in the coil case, and charged with an infilling resin. The infilling resin charged in the substantially annular space has a first resin high voltage end located on the high voltage side with respect to a low voltage end of the circumferential portion of the rubber plug cap on a low voltage side.
According to another aspect of the present invention, an ignition coil adapted to being connected with a sparkplug and inserted into a plughole of an engine, the ignition coil including a coil case. The ignition coil further includes primary and secondary coils accommodated in the coil case. One of the coil case and a primary spool of the primary coil extends to define a mount portion in a substantially cylindrical shape on a high voltage side. The mount portion includes a high voltage terminal electrically conductive with the secondary coil. The ignition coil further includes a coil spring adapted to electrically conducting the high voltage terminal with the sparkplug. The ignition coil further includes a rubber plug cap having a circumferential portion attached to an outer circumferential periphery of the mount portion. The rubber plug cap circumferentially surrounds the high voltage terminal and the coil spring, and is adapted to circumferentially surrounding an insulator portion of the sparkplug. The mount portion has a substantially annular space communicating with an inner gap in the coil case, and charged with an infilling resin. The infilling resin charged in the substantially annular space has a first resin high voltage end located on the high voltage side with respect to a low voltage end of the circumferential portion of the rubber plug cap on a low voltage side.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description made with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:
In this embodiment, as shown in
As shown in
The plug cap 51 has a substantially cylindrical circumferential mount portion 513 attached to the outer circumferential periphery of the cap mount portion 212. The cap mount portion 212 has an annular space 214, which is in a substantially annular shape, communicating with the gap in the coil case 33. The substantially annular space 214 is charged with the infilling resin 15. The annular space 214 has a high voltage end 215, which located on the high voltage side D1 relative to a low voltage end 515 of the circumferential mount portion 513. The high voltage end 215 is charged with the infilling resin 15 to define a first resin high voltage end 215. Therefore, the first resin high voltage end 215 is located on the high voltage side D1 relative to the low voltage end 515 of the circumferential mount portion 513.
As follows, the ignition coil 1 is described with reference to
The primary coil 21 is constructed by winding a wire, which is applied with electrically insulative coating, around the outer circumferential periphery of the primary spool 211. The primary spool 211 is, for example, formed of thermoplastic resin to have a substantially annular cross section. The secondary coil 22 is constructed by winding a wire, which is applied with electrically insulative coating, around the outer circumferential periphery of the secondary spool 221. The secondary spool 221 is, for example, formed of thermoplastic resin to have a substantially annular cross section. The secondary winding is smaller than the primary winding in diameter. The number of winding of the wire to construct the secondary winding around the secondary spool 221 is greater than the number of winding of the wire to construct the primary winding around the primary spool 211.
Referring to
Referring to
A spring support portion 512 protrudes from the plug cap 51 toward the low voltage side D2 with respect to the axial direction D. In this example, the coil spring 53 has an intermediate portion 53A supported by the spring support portion 512 on the radially inner side of the circumferential mount portion 513. In this example, the high voltage terminal (secondary terminal) 52 is electrically connected with the high voltage winding end 225 of the secondary winding. A terminal mount portion 222 is provided to the end of the secondary spool 221 on the high voltage side D1. The support portion 213 is formed on the radially inner side of the cap mount portion 212 of the primary spool 211. The high voltage terminal 52 is interposed between the terminal mount portion 222 and the support portion 213. The high voltage winding end 225 of the secondary winding is electrically conducted with the terminal portion 72 of the sparkplug 7 via the high voltage terminal 52 and the coil spring 53. Referring to
The connector portion 13 is constructed by providing an igniter 45 in a connector case 41, which is formed of, for example, thermoplastic, for supplying electricity to the primary winding. A connector joint portion 42 radially extends from the connector portion 13. The igniter 45 has multiple conductive pins, which are respectively conduced with multiple conductive pins, which are insert-molded in the connector joint portion 42. The coil main body 11 is fitted into a fitting hole 411 of the connector case 41 via an engage member 34, which is formed of, for example, thermoplastic resin. The igniter 45 includes a power supply circuit for supplying electric power to the primary winding. The igniter 45 further includes an ion current detection circuit for detecting an ion current flowing in the secondary winding through a pair of electrodes of the sparkplug 7.
The inner gap in the ignition coil 1 is charged with the infilling resin 15. In this example, the infilling resin 15 is thermosetting resin such as epoxy resin. The infilling resin 15 is formed by assembling the components of the ignition coil 1, vacuuming the inner gap of the ignition coil 1, charging resin such as epoxy resin being in a liquid condition into the vacuum gap, and solidifying the epoxy resin. The infilling resin 15 is charged in the gap defined among the coil case 33, the connector portion 13, the primary spool 211 including the cap mount portion 212, the high voltage terminal 52, and the like of the ignition coil 1. Referring to
The ECU transmits a pulse-shaped spark-generating signal to supply electricity to the primary winding, so that the center core 31 and the outer core 32 form therebetween a magnetic field. The ECU terminates the electricity supplied to the primary winding, so that the center core 31 and the outer core 32 form therebetween an inductive magnetic field opposite to the magnetic field. The inductive magnetic field generates induced high-voltage electromotive force (counter electromotive force) in the secondary wiring, so that the pair of electrodes of the sparkplug 7 of the ignition coil 1 sparks.
In this example of the ignition coil 1, the plug mount portion 12 includes the cap mount portion 212, to which the plug cap 51 formed of rubber is mounted. The cap mount portion 212 has the annular space 214 charged with the infilling resin 15. The annular space 214 has the high voltage end 215, i.e., the first resin high voltage end 215, which is located on the high voltage side D1 relative to the low voltage end 515 of the circumferential mount portion 513.
Referring to
As unillustrated, the cap mount portion 212 may be formed by extending the coil case 33. In this structure, the cap mount portion 212 may be formed integrally with the coil case 33. Alternatively, in this structure, the cap mount portion 212 may be formed separately from the coil case 33, and the cap mount portion 212 may be connected with the coil case 33.
As shown in
A radially inner space 216 is located on the radially inner side of the annular space 214 in the cap mount portion 212. The radially inner space 216 is radially opposed to the outer circumferential periphery of the terminal cylindrical portion 522 of the high voltage terminal 52A. The radially inner space 216 is an annular space extending circumferentially throughout the terminal cylindrical portion 522 of the high voltage terminal 52A. The radially inner space 216 is charged with the infilling resin 15 integrally with the infilling resin charged in the annular space 214 through the gap in the ignition coil. The annular space 214 has the high voltage end 215 charged with the infilling resin 15. The high voltage end 215 is located on the high voltage side D1 relative to a high voltage end 217 of the radially inner space 216 charged with the infilling resin 15.
The high voltage end 217 of the radially inner space 216 is charged with the infilling resin 15 to define a second resin high voltage end 217. The first resin high voltage end 215 is located on the high voltage side D1 relative to the second resin high voltage end 217 of the radially inner space 216 charged with the infilling resin 15.
In this example, the radially inner space 216 and the annular space 214 are charged with resin, and are located on the radially outer side of the high voltage terminal 52A. In this structure, electricity in the high voltage terminal 52A can be also effectively restricted from leaking to the plughole 81. In this example of the ignition coil 1A, the structure other than the above feature is similar to that in the first embodiment, so that the ignition coil 1A in this embodiment is capable of producing an effect similarly to the first embodiment.
The above structures of the embodiments can be combined as appropriate.
Various modifications and alternations may be diversely made to the above embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
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