CA1135329A - Lean air-fuel mixture attraction method and attraction electrode plug in engine - Google Patents

Lean air-fuel mixture attraction method and attraction electrode plug in engine

Info

Publication number
CA1135329A
CA1135329A CA000331602A CA331602A CA1135329A CA 1135329 A CA1135329 A CA 1135329A CA 000331602 A CA000331602 A CA 000331602A CA 331602 A CA331602 A CA 331602A CA 1135329 A CA1135329 A CA 1135329A
Authority
CA
Canada
Prior art keywords
electrode
attraction
lean air
plug
fuel mixture
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired
Application number
CA000331602A
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Naoyuki Maeda
Michio Abe
Seiichiro Kumagai
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Tokai TRW and Co Ltd
Original Assignee
Tokai TRW and Co Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Tokai TRW and Co Ltd filed Critical Tokai TRW and Co Ltd
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of CA1135329A publication Critical patent/CA1135329A/en
Expired legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01TSPARK GAPS; OVERVOLTAGE ARRESTERS USING SPARK GAPS; SPARKING PLUGS; CORONA DEVICES; GENERATING IONS TO BE INTRODUCED INTO NON-ENCLOSED GASES
    • H01T13/00Sparking plugs
    • H01T13/50Sparking plugs having means for ionisation of gap
    • FMECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F02COMBUSTION ENGINES; HOT-GAS OR COMBUSTION-PRODUCT ENGINE PLANTS
    • F02BINTERNAL-COMBUSTION PISTON ENGINES; COMBUSTION ENGINES IN GENERAL
    • F02B51/00Other methods of operating engines involving pretreating of, or adding substances to, combustion air, fuel, or fuel-air mixture of the engines
    • F02B51/04Other methods of operating engines involving pretreating of, or adding substances to, combustion air, fuel, or fuel-air mixture of the engines involving electricity or magnetism
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01TSPARK GAPS; OVERVOLTAGE ARRESTERS USING SPARK GAPS; SPARKING PLUGS; CORONA DEVICES; GENERATING IONS TO BE INTRODUCED INTO NON-ENCLOSED GASES
    • H01T13/00Sparking plugs
    • H01T13/54Sparking plugs having electrodes arranged in a partly-enclosed ignition chamber
    • FMECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F02COMBUSTION ENGINES; HOT-GAS OR COMBUSTION-PRODUCT ENGINE PLANTS
    • F02BINTERNAL-COMBUSTION PISTON ENGINES; COMBUSTION ENGINES IN GENERAL
    • F02B1/00Engines characterised by fuel-air mixture compression
    • F02B1/02Engines characterised by fuel-air mixture compression with positive ignition
    • F02B1/04Engines characterised by fuel-air mixture compression with positive ignition with fuel-air mixture admission into cylinder
    • YGENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02TCLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION
    • Y02T10/00Road transport of goods or passengers
    • Y02T10/10Internal combustion engine [ICE] based vehicles
    • Y02T10/12Improving ICE efficiencies

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Ignition Installations For Internal Combustion Engines (AREA)
  • Spark Plugs (AREA)
  • Combustion Methods Of Internal-Combustion Engines (AREA)

Abstract

Abstract of the Disclosure An improved method and apparatus is provided to attract fuel particles in a lean air-fuel mixture to and about a spark gap of an ignition plug. The fuel particles are maintained there until the time of ignition. The resulting concentration of fuel particles enables the relatively lean air-fuel mixture to be ignited. An attraction electrode capable of attracting the fuel particles in the lean air-fuel mixture is arranged to provide even distribution of the fuel particles to the various cylinders in the engine.

Description

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~' This inVention relates to an attraction ~ethod for lean air-fuel mixture to be supplied to the combustion chamber in a - cylinder and an attraction electrode plug for use in the attraction method.
The prior art and the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Fig. 1 is an explanatory view of a prior art lean air-fuel mixture attraction method employing corona discharge electrode plugs;
Fig. 2 is a view showing the relationship between the strokes in an engine utilizing the prior art method shown in Fig.
1 and the voltage within the combustion chamber;
Fig. 3 is a view showing one embodiment of the lean air-fuel mixture attraction method by the present invention;
Fig. 4 is a view showing the relationship between the - engine strokes in an engine utilizing the present invention and the voltage within the combustion chamber;
Fig. 5 is a performance comparison diagram of the prior art method and the method of the present invention;
Fig. 6 is an elevational view in partial section of an embodiment of the attraction electrode plug of the present inven-tion;
Figs. 7, 8 and 9 are elevational views of other embodi-ments of the attraction electrode plugs of the present invention in partial section;
Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 10-10 of Fig. 9;

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Fig. ll is an elevational view of another embodiment of the attraction electrode of the present invention in partial section;
Fig. 12 is a view showing another embodiment of the lean air-fuel mixture attraction method of the present invention; and Fig. 13, appearing on the same drawing sheet as Fig. l, is a view of still another embodiment of the invention.
One prior art method for collecting fuel particles in a lean air-fuel mixture to be supplied to the combustion chamber in a cylinder and igniting the lean air-fuel mixture is designed to cause corona discharge by means of a corona discharge electrode 90 to collectthe fuel particles and ignites the lean air-fuel mixture as shown in Fig. l.
However, in the prior art method, since a negative pres-sure generates in the cylinder on the suction stroke of the engine, the corona discharge electrode 90 tends to cause glow discharge ,...
and the high voltage applied to the corona discharge electrode 90 drops suddenly as shown in Fig. 2 and is not capable of maintaining the fuel particles at and about the spark gap 22 of the ignition plug 20 resulting sometimes in failure of ignition.
The present invention is designed to eliminate the dis-advantages inherent in the prior art method as mentioned hereinabove and provide an attraction method for lean air-fuel mixture in which the fuel particles in the lean air-fuel mixture are always attract-ed to and about the spark gap of the ignition plug and maintained there until the time of ignition to the degree that the combustion of the fuel can be positively effected, an attraction electrode ~, -2-j~:

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capable of attracting the fuel particles in the lean air-fuel ` mixture by electrostatic induction and an attraction method for lean air-fuel mixture disposed in such a manner that the distribu-tion of the fuel particles which flow into manifolds in communi-cation with cylinders can be made evenly to the respective cylinders.
According to a broad aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for igniting a lean air-fuel mixture, said apparatus comprising means for defining a combustion chamber, said means for defining a combustion chamber including a cylinder head, a spark plug mounted in said cylinder head, said spark plug including a straight longitudinally extending main electrode ex-tending into the combustion chamber and exposed to the atmosphere in the combustion chamber and a side electrode disposed adjacent to said main electrode and electrically insulated from said main electrode, an attraction plug mounted in said cylinder head at a location offset to one side of and adjacent to said spark plug, said attraction plug including a straight longitudinally extending central electrode, a metal body connected with said cylinder head, and insulator means at least partially encasing said central electrode for electrically insulating said central electrode from said metal body and said cylinder head and for isolating the por-tion of said central electrode disposed in the combustion chamber from the atmosphere in the combustion chamber, said central elec-trode of said attraction plug having a longitudinal central axis extending transversely to the longitudinal central axis of said main electrode of said spark plug and an end portion which is disposed adjacent to said main electrode and is encased by sa.id ~ç 3 i, ~.~35~

insulator means, means for applying an electrical potential to said central electrode of said attraction plug to establish an electrostatic field in the combustion chamber to attract fuel particles to the vicinity of the end portion of said central elec-trode of said attraction plug and to a gap between said main and side electrodes of said spark plug without establishing a corona discharge in the combustion chamber, and means for applying an electrical potential to said main electrode of said spark plug to establish a spark between said main and side electrodes to ignite fuel particles attracted to the vicinity of said spark plug by the electrostatic field from said attraction plug.
The invention will now be described in greater detail with particular reference to Figs. 3-13 of the drawings.
Fig. 3 shows one embodiment of the lean air-fuel mixture attraction method according to the present invention and as shown in this figure, à combustion chamber 11 defined in the cylinder head 10 is provided with an ignition plug 20 and an attraction electrode plug 30 with the leading end 35 of the center electrode 32 of the attraction electrode plug 30 positioned adjacent to the spark gap 22 of the ignition plug 20. The leading end 35 of the center electrode 32 has an electrostatic induction means 36 -3a-' '~' `

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surrounding the leading end.
The ignition plug 20 is electrically conn~cted to an ignition circuit 23 throu~h a terminal 21 provided at the end of the plug remote from the spark gap 22 and the ignition circuit is conventional and includes a battery 24, a prim.ary coil 25, a secondary coil 26, a contact 27 and a distributor 28. The ignition circuit 23 is regulated to work for ignition when fuel particles 100 are attracted and accumulated at and about the spark gap 23 to form an ignitable lean air-fuel mixture layer 101 there.
The attraction electrode plug 30 comprises a metal main body 31 (Fig. 6) through which the center electrode 32 extends and one end or the outer end 33 of the center electrode 32 is electrically connected to a hlgh voltage application circuit 37 and the other or inner end 35 of the center electrode has the electrostatic induction means 36 thereon. An intermediate portion of the center electrode 32 between the opposite ends is surrounded and supported by an electrical insulator 34. In one embodiment, the electrostatic induction means 36 comprises an electrical insulator surrounding the other end 35 of the center electrode 32. The high voltage application circuit 37 has a rectifier 38 and is directlv and electrically connected to the secondary coil 26.

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In the illustrated embodiment, when a high negative voltage or a peak voltage developing at the secondary coil 26 of the ignition coil 23 is smoothed by the rectifier 38 and a floating capacity (Cs) of the high voltage application circuit and applied to the center electrode 32 of the attraction electrode plug 30, an electric field is provided at or about the spark gap 22 of the ignition plug 22 through effect of the center electrode 32 which is positioned in the cornbustion chamber 11 whereby the fuel particles 100 in the lean air-fuel mixture supplied to the combustion chamber 11 through a suction valve 12 are attracted towards and accumulate about the inner end 35 of the center electrode 32. Thus, the fuel particles 100 are attracted toward and accumulated about the inner end 35 of the center electrode 32 having the electrostatic induction means 36 by the electro-static induction action of the electric field maintained by the high voltage application until the fuel particles form the ignitable lean air-fuel mixture layer 101 about the spark gap 22 of the ignition plug 20.
~ Ihen the ignitable lean air-fuel mixture layer 101 is formed about the spark gap 22 of the ignition plug 20, the ignitable lean air-fuel mixture is ignited by the ignition plug 20 through the ignition circuit 23 thereby causing the lean air-fuel mixture to explode.

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In the illustrated embodiment, the fuel particles 100 in the lean air-fuel mixture are attracted and accumulated by the electrostatic induction action of the electric field provided by the attraction plug to thereby form the ignitable lean air-fuel mixture layer 101. Therefore, there is no sudden voltage drop phenomenon due to the transition from a corona discharge to a glow discharge in the fuel suction stage by negative pressure and thus, as more clearly shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the vicinity of at least the inner end 35 of the attraction electrode plug is always maintained at a high voltage through the compression, suction, discharge and expansion strokes of the engine whereby the fuel particles 100 are attracted towards and held at and about the spark gap 22 of the ignition plug 20 until the lean air-fuel mixture within the combustion chamber 11 is ignited and thus, the lean air-fuel mixture can be positively exploded.
Referring to ~ig. 6, a second embodiment of the attraction electrode plug of the invention is shown and the attraction - -electrode plug 30 comprises a metal main body 31 and a center electrode 32 which extends through the main body 31~
The outer periphery of the lower half portion of the metal main body 31 is formed with threads 31' by means of which the attraction electrode plug 30 is secured to the top wall of the combustion chamber of the cylinder head.

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The center electrode 32 extends through the metal main body 31 with the opposite ends 33 and 35 thereof extending out of the main body 31.
One end 33 of the center electrode 32 is electrically connected to the high voltage application circuit and the intermediate portion of the center electrode 32 between the opposite ends thereof is surrounded by an electric insulator 34. The other end 35 of the center electrode 32 is surrounded by an electrostatic induction means 36 which is integral with another electric insulator 40.
The attraction electrode plug 30 is secured to the top wall of the combustion chamber in the cylinder head by inserting the end 35 surrounded by the electrostatic induction means 36 into the combustion chamber of the cylinder head and screwing the threaded portion 31' of the main body 31 into the top ~7all of the combustion chamber. When a high voltage is applied to the end 33 of the center electrode 32, an electric field is provided in the combustion chamber 11 as shown in Fig. 3 and the fuel particles 100 in the lean air-fuel mixture supplied to the combustion chamber 11 are attracted towards and accumulate at and about the end 35 of the center electrode 32 hy the electrostatic induction action of the electric field.
Fig. 7 shows another embodiment of the present invention and in this e~bodiment, the electrostatic induction means 36 includes an electrically conductive material 41 whlch surrounds the end 35 of the center electrode 32.

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Fig. 8 shows another embodiment of the present invention and in this embodiment, the electrostatic induction means 36 includes a floating electrode 42 rlade of an electrically conductive material about the electric insulator 40 which surrounas the end 35 of the center electrode 32 and the other parts of this embodiment are substantially similar to the corresponding parts of the preceding embodiment shown in Fig. 6. The floating electrode 42 may be provided about the electrically conductive material-41 as shown in Fig. 7.
Figs. 9 and 10 show another embodiment of the present invent~on and in this embodiment, the electrostatic induction means 36 includes an electric insulator 40 surrounding the end 35 of the center electrode 32 and provided with grooves 43 for receiving fuel particles 100 and the other parts of this embodiment are substantially similar to the corresponding parts of the preceding embodiments. The grooves 43 may be provided in the outer periphery of the electrically conductive material 41 as shown in Fig. 7 or the grooves 43 may be replaced by a plurality of recesses of a suitable size.
Fig. 11 shows another embodiment o~ the attraction electrode plug of the present invention and the attraction electrode plug 50 comprises a metal main body 51,- a first center ignition electrode 52, an outer electrode 55 and a second electrostatic center electrode 57.

~13~12~3 g The outer periphery of one half portion of the metal main body 51 is provided with threads 51' and the attraction electrode plug 50 is secured to the combustion chamber of the eylinder head by screwing the threaded portion of the main body 51 into the top wall of the eylinder head eombustion cham~er.
The first electrode 52 and seeond eleetrode 57 are disposed within the metal main~body 51 in a spaced relationship to eaeh other and embedded in an electric insulator 60 positioned within the metal main body 51.
The first electrode 52 is electrically eonneeted at one end 53 to an ignition eireuit 62 and extends at the other end 54 beyond the adjacent end face of the electric insulator 60.
The outer electrode 55 projects beyond the adjaeent end of the metal main body 51 and the leading or free end of the outer : electrode 55 is bent towards the end 54 of the first eleetrode 52 to define a spark gap 56 by the end 54 of the first eleetrode 52 and the outer electrode 55.
: The second electrode 57 is electrically eonnected at one end 58 to a high voltage application circuit 63 and the other end 59 of the second electrode 57 is positioned between the first electrode 52 and the outer electrode 55 and is formed with an electrostatic induction means 61 which is surrounded by the ~ electrostatic insulator 60.

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; The attraction electrode plug 50 is mounted in the combustion chamber by positioning the spark gap 56 and the end S9 of the second electrode 57 ~hich end is formed with the electrostatic induction means 61 within the combustion chamber~ When a high voltage is applied to the second electrode 57, an electric field is formed about the end 59 of the second electrode 57 to attract and accumulate the fuel particles in the lean air-~uel mixture supplied to the combustion chamber towards and about the spark gap 56 by the electrostatic induction action. The accumulated fuel particles form an ignitable lean air-fuel mixture layer whereupon a voltage is applied to the spark gap 56 through the first electrode 52 to ignite the lean air-fue; mixture. Thus, the attraction electrode plug 50 has the dual functions of an inherent attraction electrode plug and an ignition plug.
Fig. 12 shows another embodiment of the lean air-fuel mixture attraction method according to the present invention. The device for performing the attraction method generally comprises a carburetor 70, a main lean air-fuel mixture passage 71, manifolds 72, 73, 74, 75 and cylinders 76, 77, 78 and 79 connected to the carburetor 70 through the main lean air-fuel mixture passage 71 and manifolds 72, 73, 74, 75, respectively. Attraction electrode plugs 80, 81, 82, 83 are provided in the manifolds 72, 73, 74, 75, respectively in the upper streams of these manifolds and fuel concentration measuring means 84, 85, 86, 87 are provided in the downstreams of the manifolds within the manifolds.

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The attraction electrode plugs 80, 81, 82, 83 serve to positively attract the fuel particles in the lean air-fuel mixture distributed into the manifolds 72, 73, 74, 75, respectively and also feed the fuel particles through the manifolds along the axes of the manifolds.
The concentration measuring means 84, 85, 86, 87 measure the concentration of the lean air-fuel mixture within the manifolds 72, 73, 74, 75 and based on the measuring results, the voltage to be applied to the attraction electrode plugs 80, 81, 82, 83 is controIled in inverse proportion to the concentration to thereby control the distribution amount of the lean air-fuel mixture to be attracted to the manifolds 72, 73, 74, 75.
According to the present invention, since the voltage applied to the attraction electrode plugs 80, 81, 82, 83 is controlled by the concentration of the lean air-fuel mixture to he fed to the manifolds 72, 73, 74, 75 and the attraction function of the attraction electrode plugs 80, 81, 82, 83 is controlled, the amount of the lean air-fuel mixture to be fed to the cylinders 76, 77, 78, 79 is adjusted whereby the--concentration of the lean air-fuel mixture is made uniform and the lean air-fuel mixture is guided along the axes of the manifolds 72, 73, 7~, 75 and the lean air-fuel mixture is prevented from adhering to the inner surfaces of the manifold walls.

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-lla-~ ig. 13 shows still another embodiment of the lean air-fuel mixture attraction method according to the present invention.
The device of Fig. 13 is substantially the same as the device of Fig. 12. However, the device of Fig. 13 is preferred, in certain situation~ at least, since the attraction electrode plugs and measuring means are closer to the c~linders~ The device for performing the attraction method generally comprises a carburetor 70a, a main lean air-fuel mixture passage 71a, relatively short manifolds 72a, 73a, 74a, 75a and cylinders 76a, 77a, 78a, 79a connected to the carburetor 70a through the main lean air-fuel mixture passage 71a and manifolds 72a, 73a, 74a, 75a, respectively.
Attraction electrode plugs 80a, 81a, 82a, 83a are provided in the manifolds 72a, 73a, 74a, 75a, respectively in the upper streams of these manifolds and fuel concentration measuring means 84a, 85a, 86a, 87a are provided in the do~nstreams of the manifolds within the manifolds.
The attraction electrode plugs 80a, 81a, 82a, 83a servé
to positively attract the fuel particles in the lean air-fuel mixture distributed into the manifolds 72a, 73a, 74a, 75a, respectively and also feed the fuel particles through the manifolds along the axes of the manifolds.

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-llb-The concentration measuring means 84a, 85a, 86a, 87a measurethe concentration of the lean air-fuel mixture within the manifolds 72a, 73a, 74a, 75a and based on the measuring results, the voltage to be applied to the attraction electrode plugs 80a, 81a, 82a, 83a is controlled in inverse proportion to the concentration to thereby control the distribution amount of the lean air-fuel mixture to be attracted to the manifolds 72a, 73a, 7aa, 75a.
~ ccording to the present invention, since the voltage applied to the attraction electrode plugs 80a, 81a, 82a, 83a is controlled ~y the concentration of the lean air-fuel mixture to be fed to the manifolds 72a, 73a, 74a, 75a and the attraction function of the attraction electrode plugs 80a, 81a, 82a, 83a is controlled, the amount of the lean air-fuel mixture to be fed to the cylinders 76a, 77a, 78a, 79a is adjustea whereby the concentration of the lean air-fuel mixture is made uniform and the lean air-fuel mixture is guided along the axes of the manifolds 72a, 73a, 74a, 75a and the lean air-fuel mixture is prevented from adhering to the inner surfaces of the manifold walls.

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With the above-mentioned construction and function of the attraction electrode plugs of the present invent.ion, by the first embodiment of the attraction electrode plug, a uniform electric field is always provided (an electrostatic field is provided even in the negative pressure suction stroke) at or about the spark gap in the combustion chamber, and since the electric field attracts and accumulates the fuel particles in the lean air-fuel mixture by the electrostatic induction action and the lean air-fuel mixture is ignited only after an ignitable lean air-fuel mixture layer has been formed at and about the spark gap of :the ignition plug, there are no:disadvantages as seen in the prior art lean air~fuel mixture ignition methods such as sudden drop in volta~e to be appl~ed to the corona discharge electrode plug in the transit from corona discharge to glow discharge resulting in insufficient attraction of fuel particles leading to insufficient ignition. The present invention can positively perform the attraction and accumulation of the fuel particles in the lean air-fuel mixture, the drawing of the fuel particles and the ignition of the lean air-fuel mixture.
In the second embodiment of the invention, since the end of the center electrode positioned in the combustion chamber is formed with the electrostatic induction means to which a voltage higher than that applied to the prior art electrode is applied, the electric field attracts and accumulates the fuel particles in the lean air-fuel mixture into the combustion chamber and maintains ~135~2~
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the accumulated fuel particles in their attracted condition and thus the fuel particle attraction method as mentioned hereinabove can ~e perfectly performed.
In the third embodiment of the present invention, since the single metal main body includes the first electrode and the outer electrode forming the spark gap with the second electrode forming the attraction electrode plug, the single electrode asse~bly concurrently performs as the ignition plug and attraction electrode plug.
In the fourth embodiment of the present invention, the attraction electrode plugs are disposed adjacent to the connection between the main lean air-fuel mixture passage and the manifolds in the upper streams within the manifolds and the voltage applied to the attraction electrode plug is controlled so as to make the concentration of the lean air-fuel mixture uniform to thereby adjust the amount of the lean air-fuel mixture fed to the cylinders and equalize the concentration of the lean air-fuel mixture. And the fuel particles in the lean air-fuel mixture supplied to the manifolds are fed alon~ the axes of the manifolds by the attraction action of the attraction electrode plugs whereby adhering of the fuel particles to the walls of the manifolds can be prevented.

. .

Claims (6)

Having described a specific preferred embodiment of the invention, the following is claimed:
1. An apparatus for igniting a lean air-fuel mixture, said apparatus comprising means for defining a combustion chamber, said means for defining a combustion chamber including a cylinder head, a spark plug mounted in said cylinder head, said spark plug including a straight longitudinally extending main electrode extending into the combustion chamber and exposed to the atmosphere in the combustion chamber and a side electrode disposed adjacent to said main electrode and electrically insulated from said main electrode, an attraction plug mounted in said cylinder head at a location offset to one side of and adjacent to said spark plug, said attraction plug including a straight longitudinally extending central electrode, a metal body connected with said cylinder head, and insulator means at least partially encasing said central electrode for electrically insulating said central electrode from said metal body and said cylinder head and for isolating the portion of said central electrode disposed in the combuston chamber from the atmosphere in the combustion chamber, said central electrode of said attraction plug having a longitudinal central axis extending transversely to the longitudinal central axis of said main electrode of said spark plug and an end portion which is disposed adjacent to said main electrode and is encased by said insulator means, means for applying an electrical potential to said central electrode of said attraction plug to establish an electrostatic field in the combustion chamber to attract fuel particles to the vicinity of the end portion of said central electrode of said attraction plug and to a gap between said main and side electrodes of said spark plug without establishing a corona discharge in the combustion chamber, and means for applying an electrical potential to said main electrode of said spark plug to establish a spark between said main and side electrodes to ignite fuel particles attracted to the vicinity of said spark plug by the electrostatic field from said attraction plug.
2. An apparatus for igniting a lean air-fuel mixture as set forth in claim 1, wherein said end portion of said central electrode of said attraction plug has electrostatic induction means thereon.
3. An apparatus for igniting a lean air-fuel mixture as set forth in claim 2, wherein said electrostatic induction means comprises an electrical insulator which surrounds said end portion of said central electrode of said attraction plug.
4. An apparatus for igniting a lean air-fuel mixture as set forth in claim 2 wherein said electrostatic induction means comprises an electrically conductive material which surrounds said end portion of said central electrode.
5. An apparatus for igniting a lean air-fuel mixture as set forth in claim 3 or 4, wherein said electrostatic induction means includes a floating electrode formed of an electrically conductive material which surrounds said end portion of said central electrode of said attraction plug.
6. An apparatus for igniting a lean air-fuel mixture as set forth in claim 3 or 4, wherein said electrostatic induction means includes recesses formed in the outer periphery of said electric insulator or said electrically conductive material which surrounds said end portion of said central electrode of said attraction plug.
CA000331602A 1978-07-13 1979-07-11 Lean air-fuel mixture attraction method and attraction electrode plug in engine Expired CA1135329A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
JP53(1978)85494 1978-07-13
JP8549478A JPS5512275A (en) 1978-07-13 1978-07-13 Attraction method and attraction electrode plug for lean mixture in engine

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
CA1135329A true CA1135329A (en) 1982-11-09

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ID=13860479

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CA000331602A Expired CA1135329A (en) 1978-07-13 1979-07-11 Lean air-fuel mixture attraction method and attraction electrode plug in engine

Country Status (5)

Country Link
JP (1) JPS5512275A (en)
CA (1) CA1135329A (en)
DE (1) DE2928018C2 (en)
FR (1) FR2431208A1 (en)
GB (1) GB2030643B (en)

Families Citing this family (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
IT1135400B (en) * 1981-02-11 1986-08-20 Tiziano Cavani ENDOTHERMAL HOLLOW LOADING MOTORS
DE19747700C2 (en) * 1997-10-29 2000-06-29 Volkswagen Ag Ignition device with an ignition electrode
KR101752193B1 (en) * 2009-05-04 2017-06-29 페더럴-모굴 이그니션 컴퍼니 Corona tip insulator
KR101316509B1 (en) 2011-12-09 2013-10-10 서울대학교산학협력단 Combustion Chamber Electric Field Generating Apparatus
JP6137529B2 (en) 2013-03-19 2017-05-31 ヤンマー株式会社 Ignition device, spark plug, and engine using them
JP6036584B2 (en) * 2013-07-12 2016-11-30 株式会社デンソー Internal combustion engine and control method thereof

Family Cites Families (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3318293A (en) * 1965-05-14 1967-05-09 Gen Motors Corp Internal combustion engine fuel charge stratification by electrostatic forces
FR2176263A5 (en) * 1972-03-16 1973-10-26 Labre Guy
JPS5142245B2 (en) * 1974-07-08 1976-11-15
US4020388A (en) * 1974-09-23 1977-04-26 Massachusetts Institute Of Technology Discharge device
JPS5254816A (en) * 1975-10-30 1977-05-04 Mitsubishi Motors Corp Internal combustion engine
CA1103536A (en) * 1976-04-06 1981-06-23 Hiroyuki Maruoka Air-fuel mixture ratio control using electrostatic force
JPS52121130A (en) * 1976-04-06 1977-10-12 Nissan Motor Co Ltd Air fuel ratio distribution control equipment
JPS5343143A (en) * 1976-09-30 1978-04-19 Tokai Trw & Co Ignition plug
FR2541937B1 (en) * 1983-03-03 1985-09-13 Vallourec COMPOSITE PRODUCT HAVING AN AGGREGATED TUBULAR METAL ENVELOPE AND A PULVERULENT CORE SUITABLE FOR WINDING

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB2030643B (en) 1983-03-30
GB2030643A (en) 1980-04-10
DE2928018A1 (en) 1980-01-31
DE2928018C2 (en) 1985-03-28
FR2431208A1 (en) 1980-02-08
JPS5512275A (en) 1980-01-28
FR2431208B1 (en) 1983-05-27

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