1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical assembly, and, more particularly, to an ignition terminal assembly.
2. Description of the Related Art
Gasoline engines are one type of internal combustion engines that have cylinder blocks, which contain individual cylinders. Each cylinder is closed at one end by a cylinder head that is attached to the engine block. A piston moves within the cylinder to transfer energy from expanding gases into mechanical movement. In a spark-ignition engine a cylinder head contains sparkplug holes, which are threaded to receive spark plugs therein. Each spark plug includes a central electrical terminal that is available for connection with a mating terminal that is electrically connected to a spark ignition system.
A high voltage ignition coil is typically placed in electrical connection with each spark plug at an appropriate time and an electrical excitation of the ignition coil causes a high voltage pulse to transfer from the coil along a conduction element through an ignition terminal to the spark plug. The spark plug has a gap across which the electrical high voltage arcs causing the fuel in the cylinder, which has been compressed by the piston to ignite.
Electromagnetic interference from the passing of high voltage to the spark plug and the arcing within the cylinder can lead to undesirable electromagnetic interference.
What is needed in the art is a cost effective terminal that effectively reduces electromagnetic interference.
The present invention, in one form thereof, comprises an ignition terminal assembly including a serpentine conduction element having an end and a formed terminal connected to the end.
The present invention, in another form thereof, comprises a method of forming an ignition terminal assembly including the steps of forming a serpentine element in a planar form and bending the serpentine element into a quasi-cylindrical shape.
An advantage of the present invention is that the serpentine shape adds resistance to the terminal assembly and forms a resilient spring-like construct.
Yet another advantage is that the terminal may be formed from a planar material.
Yet another advantage of the present invention is that a serpentine conduction path may be formed around a resistive element.
Yet another advantage of the present invention is that the interaction of a serpentine conduction path and a resistive element allows a distributed resistive effect for reducing electromagnetic interference.
The above-mentioned and other features and advantages of this invention, and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparent and the invention will be better understood by reference to the following description of an embodiment of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views. The exemplification set out herein illustrates one preferred embodiment of the invention, in one form, and such exemplification is not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention in any manner.
Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to
As shown in
Serpentine conduction element 16 along with first terminal 18 and second terminal 20 are formed into a cylindrical or quasi-cylindrical shape as shown in
Terminals 18 and 20 are formed and are either attached to serpentine conduction element 16 or are formed as an integral assembly as illustrated in
Referring now to
While this invention has been described as having a preferred design, the present invention can be further modified within the spirit and scope of this disclosure. This application is therefore intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention using its general principles. Further, this application is intended to cover such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which this invention pertains and which fall within the limits of the appended claims.
This is a non-provisional application based upon U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/561,734, entitled “IGNITION TERMINAL”, filed Apr. 13, 2004.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60561734 | Apr 2004 | US |