JP2006286327A - Spark plug - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a spark plug, in which the bending and eccentricity of a connecting terminal to be fixed in an axial hole of an insulating insulator and twistings and deterioration in coaxiality can be prevented. <P>SOLUTION: A protruding part 45, which protrudes from an outer peripheral face, is formed in the intermediate trunk part 43 of the connecting terminal 40 of the spark plug. The protruding part 45 is installed successively, starting from the rear end side to the tip side of the intermediate trunk part 43, and prevents twist of the intermediate trunk part 43. Moreover, when the connecting terminal 40 is assembled to the insulating insulator, because the protruding part 45 is arranged between the inner peripheral face of the axial hole of the insulating insulator and the outer peripheral face of the intermediate trunk part 43, clearance is installed between both, thereby assembling is facilitated; and moreover, destruction of the insulating insulator due to thermal expansion of the intermediate trunk part is prevented. Furthermore, the axial line position of the connecting terminal 40 is corrected in the axial hole by the protruding part 45, and bending and eccentricity are prevented. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a spark plug used for ignition of an internal combustion engine.

  Conventionally, spark plugs for ignition are used in engines such as automobiles. A general spark plug has an insulator that holds the center electrode on the front end side in the shaft hole and holds the connection terminal on the rear end side, and a metal shell that surrounds and holds the periphery of the trunk of the insulator, One end is welded to the tip of the metal shell, and the other end is composed of a ground electrode that faces the tip of the center electrode and forms a spark discharge gap.

  When manufacturing such a spark plug, the conductive powder mainly composed of glass is filled in the shaft hole of the insulator in which the center electrode is disposed, and is softened at a high temperature. In this state, after press-fitting the connection terminal into the softened conductive powder from the rear end side of the shaft hole, the conductive powder is cured and fixed due to a temperature drop, and the center electrode and the connection terminal are electrically connected. This is the glass sealing process. In addition, the part fixed with a glass seal among connection terminals is processed into a screw shape or a knurled shape (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).

As for the connection terminal of the spark plug manufactured in this way, the terminal part at the rear end is exposed from the rear end of the insulator. When the spark plug is assembled to the internal combustion engine, the rubber plug cap is put on the rear end portion of the insulator together with the terminal portion to prevent flashover.
JP-A-9-219273

  However, when the connection terminal is press-fitted into the shaft hole of the insulator, the connection terminal may be fixed in the shaft hole in a state of being eccentric, bent or bent. When the spark plug is manufactured in such a state, the terminal portion at the rear end of the connection terminal exposed from the rear end of the insulator is disposed in a state shifted from the axial center of the insulator. Then, when the spark plug is assembled to the internal combustion engine, the adhesion between the plug cap that covers the terminal portion and the insulator is lowered, which may cause a flashover.

  On the other hand, in order to prevent such bending, eccentricity, bending, and reduction of the coaxiality of the connection terminal, the diameter of the middle body portion is set to a diameter substantially equal to the diameter of the shaft hole of the insulator, and the inner circumference of the shaft hole is set. It is conceivable to reduce the clearance between the surface and the outer peripheral surface of the connection terminal. However, if the clearance is reduced, it becomes difficult to insert the connection terminal into the shaft hole of the insulator during the glass sealing process. Furthermore, when the connection terminal is thermally expanded by heat during the glass sealing process or when the spark plug is used, there is a possibility that the insulator is broken from the shaft hole. Moreover, in order to realize high machining accuracy for clearance management, there is a possibility that the piece time of machining of the connection terminal is increased and the yield is reduced.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and can prevent the connection terminal fixed in the shaft hole of the insulator from being bent, decentered, bent, and lowered in coaxiality. The purpose is to provide.

  In order to achieve the above object, a spark plug according to a first aspect of the present invention includes an insulator in which an axial hole extending in the axial direction is formed inside the radial direction of the spark plug, and is held at the distal end side of the axial hole of the insulator. A spark plug comprising: a center electrode; and a rod-like connection terminal inserted into the shaft hole from the rear end side of the insulator and electrically connected to the center electrode in the shaft hole. The connecting terminal extends in the axial direction and is located in the shaft hole, and is formed on one end side of the middle body portion, and is exposed from the rear end side of the shaft hole, A projecting portion projecting from the surface of the middle body portion, and projecting the middle body portion and the projecting portion of the connection terminal onto a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the insulator. In the figure formed by connecting the tip portions of the projected portions, Characterized to include the position of the axis of the rim insulator.

  Further, in the spark plug of the invention according to claim 2, in addition to the configuration of the invention of claim 1, the projecting portion extends from the one end side of the middle trunk portion to the other end side of the middle barrel portion. It is provided in a rib shape along the extending direction.

  Further, in the spark plug of the invention according to claim 3, in addition to the configuration of the invention of claim 1, the projecting portion extends from the one end side of the middle trunk portion to the other end side of the middle barrel portion. It is provided in a spiral shape surrounding the outer periphery.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the spark plug of the invention according to any one of the first to third aspects, the projecting portion continuous from the one end side to the other end side of the middle trunk portion is At least two sets are provided.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the spark plug of the invention according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the connection terminal is formed at the other end of the middle body portion, and an outer surface is formed. It is processed into a knurled shape or a screw shape, and includes a fixing portion that is fixed in the shaft hole.

  By providing the above configuration, in the spark plug according to the present invention, when the connection terminal is assembled to the insulator, the middle body portion of the connection terminal inserted into the shaft hole of the insulator is formed in the shaft hole by the protruding portion. The shape is supported on the peripheral surface. Then, the displacement of the connection terminal directed in the radial direction on the side where the protrusion is provided can be suppressed. Therefore, if the protrusion is configured so that the axis position is included in the figure formed by connecting the tip of the protrusion projected on the plane orthogonal to the axial direction of the insulator, all directions in the radial direction of the shaft hole In this case, the middle body part can be supported by the projecting part, and it is possible to reduce the occurrence of eccentricity in which the coaxiality is lowered. Thereby, the axis line of an insulator and the axis line of a connection terminal can also be aligned (coaxiality correction effect).

  Further, the portion of the connection terminal that can abut on the inner peripheral surface of the shaft hole is not a middle barrel portion that is substantially the same as the axis of the insulator and the diameter of the shaft hole, but a projecting portion that projects from the surface of the middle barrel portion. Therefore, the stress that the connection terminal exerts on the insulator is small. For this reason, destruction of the insulator can be prevented. When the projecting portion is formed in this way, it is possible to suppress the connection terminal from being bent or bent when pressed into the conductive powder.

  In addition, about the relationship between the figure formed by projecting the middle body part and the projecting part of the connection terminal on the plane orthogonal to the axial direction of the insulator and connecting the tip part of the projecting part, and the position of the axis of the insulator This will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which the middle body portion and the protruding portion of the connection terminal are projected onto a plane orthogonal to the axial direction of the insulator.

  As shown in Sample 1 shown in FIG. 13, when the middle body portion and the projecting portion of the connection terminal are projected onto a plane orthogonal to the axial direction of the insulator, the tip portion of the projecting portion formed on the surface of the middle body portion is seen. The projecting portion is configured so that the figure (indicated by the hatched portion in the figure) formed by connecting each of the positions D, E, and F includes the position of the axis of the insulator. If it does in this way, the middle body part supported in a shaft hole by a projection part will be positioned with respect to the virtual circle which passes through position D, E, and F of each tip part of a projection part. If the virtual circle is substantially the same as the circle obtained by projecting the inner peripheral surface of the shaft hole of the insulator onto the plane, the middle body portion is inserted into the shaft hole when the connection terminal is inserted into the shaft hole. On the other hand, it will be positioned by the protrusion in the radial direction.

  Here, as shown in Sample 2, the position of the axis of the insulator is not included in the figure formed by connecting each of the positions G, H, and I of the tip portion of the protrusion formed on the surface of the middle body portion. In this case, the insulator can be displaced in the radial direction in a direction indicated by an arrow in the drawing.

  However, if the protruding portion is provided so as to go around the outer periphery of the middle body portion in the circumferential direction, the tip portion may be continuous in the circumferential direction as shown by the position J of the tip portion of the protruding portion shown in Sample 3. However, similar to Sample 1, the same effect can be obtained if the position of the axis of the insulator is included in the figure formed by connecting the positions J, K, and L of the tip portion.

  Furthermore, even if the position of the tip portion of the protrusion is only two points, the cross section perpendicular to the axis of the shaft hole is circular, so the position of the axis of the insulator on the line connecting the positions of the two tip portions Is present, the middle body portion supported by the protruding portion is positioned in the shaft hole, and the same effect as described above can be obtained.

  In addition, in addition to the above effects, the following effects can be obtained if the protrusions are not continuously provided in the circumferential direction, particularly in the portion of the middle body portion embedded in the conductive powder. The conductive terminal pressed against the tip of the connection terminal (the conductive powder is in a softened state during the glass sealing process) is not hindered from flowing, and the connection terminal is more reliably sealed with a glass seal. Can be fixed. In view of this, when the protruding portion is formed in a bowl shape at a certain position in the axial direction of the middle body portion, the flow of the molten conductive powder is disturbed particularly in a portion embedded in the conductive powder. There is a fear. However, in any cross section orthogonal to the axial direction, the flow of the molten conductive powder is not hindered at any position unless a protrusion is provided over the entire circumference of the middle barrel. That is, the position of the tip portion of the protruding portion described above may be provided continuously over the entire circumference of the middle barrel portion when projected onto a plane orthogonal to the axis, but any position in the axial direction. In the cross section orthogonal to the axis line, it is desirable that the protruding portion is not continuous around the outer periphery of the middle barrel portion.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the protrusion amount of a protrusion part is substantially equivalent for every protrusion part. In view of being supported by the projecting part over the entire circumference of the middle body part, the axis of the connection terminal is positioned at an equal distance from the inner peripheral surface of the shaft hole in any radial direction. However, it is more effective in suppressing eccentricity. However, depending on the position of the shaft hole, the diameter may be different. Therefore, if the distance to the inner peripheral surface of the shaft hole where each projecting part can abut is changed, the projecting amount must be equal. There is no.

  Moreover, in the spark plug of the invention according to claim 2, in addition to the effect of the invention according to claim 1, as a second aspect of the invention, the projecting portion extends from one end side to the other end side of the middle body portion. It is good to be provided in a rib shape in the direction. Since the projecting portion is provided in a rib shape along the extending direction of the middle barrel portion, it can function as a reinforcing structure that has the above-described effects and suppresses the deflection of the middle barrel portion.

  By the way, the rib-like projecting portion provided in the extending direction does not have to project only in the direction perpendicular to the axis of the connection terminal. If the projecting portion is inclined in the circumferential direction, even if stress is applied to the inner peripheral surface of the shaft hole of the insulator and the projecting portion, and the projecting portion destroys the insulator, the connecting terminal This is because the connection terminal is supported so that the axis of the insulator and the axis of the insulator are aligned, and the protruding portion collapses, that is, elastically deforms, thereby relaxing the stress and preventing the insulator from being broken. .

  Moreover, in the spark plug of the invention according to claim 3, in addition to the effect of the invention according to claim 1, as a third form of the invention, the projecting portion is hung from one end side to the other end side of the middle body portion. It may be provided in a shape. If the projecting portion is provided in a spiral shape, the projecting portion is formed continuously in the circumferential direction when the connection terminal is viewed from the axial direction. For this reason, the part which can contact | abut and support the internal peripheral surface of a shaft hole will exist continuously in the circumferential direction, and the eccentricity of a connection terminal and the fall of a coaxial degree can be suppressed.

  In addition, when a protrusion part is provided in a spiral shape in this way, the form which has what is called a notch in a part of protrusion part may be sufficient. By providing the notch, it is possible to reduce the decrease in fluidity of the conductive powder. Further, the protruding direction of the protruding portion is not necessarily perpendicular to the axis. For example, if the protruding portion falls down along the axial direction of the connection terminal, the stress can be relaxed when the stress is applied and the insulator may be destroyed. In this case, the direction in which the protruding portion falls may be one end side (terminal portion side) of the connection terminal or the other end side (side opposite to the terminal portion).

  Moreover, in the spark plug of the invention according to claim 4, in addition to the effect of the invention according to any of claims 1 to 3, it is preferable that two or more sets of protrusions provided on the middle body portion are provided. The greater the number of sets of protrusions, the more reliably the correction of the position of the axis of the connection terminal with respect to the axis of the insulator can be achieved, and the coaxiality between the two can be increased.

  Further, in the spark plug of the invention according to claim 5, in addition to the effect of the invention according to any of claims 1 to 4, a fixing portion is provided at the other end of the middle body portion, and the fixing portion is embedded in the conductive powder. If it is set as the part to be made, the fluidity | liquidity of above-described electroconductive powder will not be prevented by the protrusion part. By processing the outer surface of the fixed portion into a knurled shape or a screw shape, the contact area between the conductive powder and the fixed portion is increased, and the connection terminal can be reliably fixed.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a spark plug embodying the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, the structure of a spark plug 100 as an example of a spark plug according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view of a spark plug 100. FIG. 2 is a side view of the connection terminal 40. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the connection terminal 40 as seen from the direction of the arrow in the dashed line AA in FIG. In the following description, the axis O direction of the insulator 10 and the axis P direction of the connection terminal 40 are the vertical direction in the drawing, the lower side is the front end side, and the upper side is the rear end side.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the spark plug 100 generally includes an insulator 10, a metal shell 50 that holds the insulator 10, a center electrode 20 that is held in the shaft hole 12 of the insulator 10, and a metal shell. 50, the inner surface 33 of the front end portion 31 is constituted by a ground electrode 30 facing the front end surface 22 of the center electrode 20, and a connection terminal 40 provided on the rear end side of the insulator 10.

  First, the insulator 10 of the spark plug 100 will be described. The insulator 10 is a cylindrical insulating member that is formed by firing alumina or the like and has an axial hole 12 in the direction of the axis O as is well known. A flange portion 19 having the largest outer diameter is formed substantially at the center in the direction of the axis O, and a rear end side body portion 18 is formed on the rear end side. Further, a corrugation portion 16 for increasing a creepage distance is formed further on the rear end side than the rear end side body portion 18. A front end side body portion 17 having an outer diameter smaller than that of the rear end side body portion 18 is formed on the front end side from the flange portion 19. A small leg length portion 13 is formed. The long leg portion 13 is reduced in diameter toward the distal end side, and is exposed to the combustion chamber when the spark plug 100 is assembled to an internal combustion engine (not shown).

  Next, the center electrode 20 will be described. In the center electrode 20, a core material 23 made of copper or copper alloy for radiating heat is embedded in the center of an electrode base material made of a nickel-based alloy such as Inconel (trade name) 600 or 601. It is a rod-shaped electrode. A flange portion 21 is formed on the rear end side of the center electrode 20, and the flange portion 21 is locked to the step portion 14 formed in the shaft hole 12 of the insulator 10. With the distal end surface 22 protruding from the distal end surface of the insulator 10, it is held in the shaft hole 12 corresponding to the portion where the leg long portion 13 is formed.

  Further, the center electrode 20 is electrically connected to the connection terminal 40 held on the rear end side of the shaft hole 12 via the sealing material 80, the resistor 85 and the sealing material 81 provided in the shaft hole 12. Has been. The sealing materials 80 and 81 are made of a glass seal in which a metal component and a glass component are mixed. The sealing materials 80 and 81 are stacked in the axial hole 12 with the axis O direction as the stacking direction and sintered with the resistor 85 interposed therebetween. Has been. The sealing materials 80 and 81 are fixed to the center electrode 20, the connection terminal 40, and the shaft hole 12 to fix each other, and the center electrode 20 and the connection terminal 40 are electrically connected.

  Next, the metal shell 50 will be described. The metal shell 50 is for holding the insulator 10 and fixing the spark plug 100 to an internal combustion engine (not shown). The metal shell 50 holds the insulator 10 so as to surround the flange portion 19, the distal end side trunk portion 17, and the leg length portion 13 from the rear end side barrel portion 18 in the vicinity of the flange portion 19 of the insulator 10. The metal shell 50 is formed of a low carbon steel material, and includes a tool engaging portion 51 to which a spark plug wrench (not shown) is fitted, and a screw portion 52 to be screwed into an engine head provided on an internal combustion engine (not shown). ing. Further, the metal shell 50 has a caulking portion 53 on the rear end side of the tool engaging portion 51. By caulking the caulking portion 53, a step 56 formed on the inner periphery of the metal shell 50 is provided. The step portion 15 between the front end side body portion 17 and the leg long portion 13 of the insulator 10 is supported via the plate packing 8, and the metal shell 50 and the insulator 10 are integrated. In order to complete sealing by caulking, an annular shape is formed between the inner peripheral surface in the vicinity of the caulking portion 53 of the metal shell 50 and the outer peripheral surface of the rear end side body portion 18 in the vicinity of the flange portion 19 of the insulator 10. Ring members 6 and 7 are interposed, and talc (talc) 9 powder is filled between the ring members 6 and 7. Further, a flange 54 is formed at the center of the metal shell 50, and the gasket 5 is inserted into the vicinity of the rear end side (upper part in FIG. 1) of the screw 52, that is, the seat surface 55 of the flange 54. Yes.

  Next, the ground electrode 30 will be described. The ground electrode 30 is made of a metal having high corrosion resistance. As an example, a nickel alloy such as Inconel (trade name) 600 or 601 is used. The ground electrode 30 has a substantially rectangular cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the ground electrode 30 and has a bent rectangular bar-like outer shape. And the base 32 of the base end side of a square bar shape is joined to the front end surface 57 of the front end side of the axial direction of the metal shell 50 by resistance welding. On the other hand, the tip 31 of the ground electrode 30 opposite to the base 32 is bent so that the inner surface 33 faces the tip 22 of the center electrode 20, and a spark discharge gap is formed between them.

  Next, the connection terminal 40 will be described. The connection terminal 40 is electrically connected to the center electrode 20 in the shaft hole 12 of the insulator 10, and a voltage for performing a spark discharge between the center electrode 20 and the ground electrode 30 is applied to the center electrode 20 from the outside. It is a terminal to do. The connection terminal 40 shown in FIG. 2 is a terminal exposed from the rear end of the shaft hole 12 to one end (rear end in the axis P direction) of the rod-shaped middle body portion 43 inserted into the shaft hole 12 of the insulator 10. A portion 42 is formed. When the spark plug 100 is assembled to an internal combustion engine, the terminal portion 42 is covered with a plug cap (not shown) to make an electrical connection with an external circuit and to prevent leakage of applied high voltage. Is done.

  In addition, a fixing portion 41 is provided at the other end (tip in the direction of the axis P) of the middle barrel portion 43, and a knurled process is applied to the outer peripheral surface thereof. As described above, the connection terminal 40 is fixed by the sealing material 81, but the contact area between the both is increased by providing the knurled irregularities on the fixing portion 41, and the connection terminal 40 is fixed by the sealing material 81. Is made strong. The knurling process may be a screw process.

  Furthermore, a rib-like protrusion 45 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the middle body portion 43 from the rear end side to the front end side, that is, along the axis P direction. As shown in FIG. 3, in the cross section of the middle barrel portion 43 orthogonal to the axis P, the protrusions 45 project from the outer peripheral surface of the middle barrel 43 in the four directions perpendicular to each other about the axis P. ing. In this cross section, the diameter of a circle passing through the projecting tip 46 (part farthest from the axis P) of each projecting portion 45 is configured to be slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the shaft hole 12 of the insulator 10. That is, when the connection terminal 40 is inserted into the shaft hole 12 of the insulator 10, the projecting tip 46 of each projecting portion 45 is substantially in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the shaft hole 12. In the fixing portion 41, the portion that protrudes most in the outer diameter direction has a protruding amount smaller than the protruding tip 46, that is, the fixing portion 41 is smaller than the outer diameter of the middle body portion 43 including the protruding portion 45. It is desirable that the outer diameter of the is small. When the spark plug 100 is manufactured, the fixing portion 41 is press-fitted into the melted sealing material 81, and at this time, the flow between the inner peripheral surface of the shaft hole 12 and the most protruding portion of the fixing portion 41. Will not be disturbed.

  When manufacturing the spark plug 100 having such a configuration, the middle body portion 43 of the connection terminal 40 is inserted into the shaft hole 12 of the insulator 10 from the fixing portion 41 side. Then, the insulator 10 and the connection terminal 40 are assembled in a state where the fixing portion 41 is press-fitted into the sealing material 81 filled in the shaft hole 12. At the time of this press-fitting, stress is applied to the connection terminal 40 by the sealing material 81, so that there is a possibility that the axis line P of the connection terminal 40 is displaced with respect to the axis O of the insulator 10. Is in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the shaft hole 12, the inclination and eccentricity of the axis P of the connection terminal 40 with respect to the axis O of the insulator 10 are corrected. As a result, the axis O of the insulator 10 and the axis P of the connection terminal 40 are aligned, and the arrangement position of the middle body portion 43 in the shaft hole 12 is corrected. Furthermore, since the protrusions 45 are continuously provided in the shape of ribs in the direction of the axis P, the middle body portion 43 is not bent by the stress when the connection terminal 40 is press-fitted into the shaft hole 12.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made. For example, the protrusion 45 that is continuous from the rear end side toward the front end side of the middle body portion 43 may be provided with a notch in the middle thereof. For example, like the connection terminal 140 shown in FIG. When the connection terminal 140 is press-fitted into the shaft hole 12 of the insulator 10, the projecting tip 146 of the projecting portion 145 contacts the inner peripheral surface of the shaft hole 12. At this time, the projecting portion 145 is bent under stress. In addition, the entire protruding portion 145 is not bent by the notch portion 147. For this reason, the axial displacement between the axis P of the connection terminal 140 and the axis O of the insulator 10 hardly occurs. However, the same effect can be obtained even if the continuous length of the protruding portion 145 is configured to be short and arranged continuously along the direction of the axis P.

  Further, like the connection terminal 240 shown in FIG. 5, a projecting portion 245 that is short and continuous from the rear end side to the front end side of the middle barrel portion 243 is arranged while being shifted in the axis P direction, and the outer periphery of the middle barrel portion 243 is arranged. You may provide so that it may make a round. In this way, as shown in FIG. 4, the formation positions of the notches 147 of the plurality of protrusions 145 provided on the outer periphery of the middle barrel 143 are aligned over the entire circumference of the middle barrel 143 in the axis P direction. Therefore, the middle barrel portion 243 can be prevented from bending.

  Moreover, like the connection terminal 340 shown in FIG. 6, you may provide the screw-shaped protrusion part 345 which continues from the rear end side of the middle trunk | drum 343 to the front end side, and surrounds the outer periphery. When the projecting portion 345 has such a configuration, only one set of the projecting portions 345 is provided on the entire outer periphery of the middle body portion 343, and the inner peripheral surface of the shaft hole 12 is formed in all directions around the axis P. The protruding portion 345 can be disposed between the outer peripheral surface of the middle body portion 343 and the positional deviation of the axis P of the connection terminal 340 with respect to the axis O of the insulator 10 can be reliably corrected. Furthermore, if the front end portion of the middle body portion 343 is formed in a tapered shape, the clearance between the projecting front end 346 of the projecting portion 345 and the inner peripheral surface of the shaft hole 12 at that portion can be increased. Thereby, when inserting the connection terminal 340 into the shaft hole 12, the insertion can be easily performed. Furthermore, if the projecting portion 345 is provided up to the tip of the middle body portion 343, the fixing portion 341 can be securely fixed by the sealing material 81 without making the shape of the fixing portion 341, so the process of manufacturing the connection terminal 340 can be performed. It can be simplified. Similarly to the above, as shown in FIG. 7, a notch 347 may be formed in the protruding portion 345 having the screw diameter shape of FIG. Note that when forming the taper as described above, the middle body 343 does not have to be tapered, and by reducing the amount of protrusion of the protrusion 345 toward the tip, the shaft hole of the protrusion tip 346 can be reduced. You may enlarge the clearance between 12 inner peripheral surfaces. Further, the notch 347 does not necessarily need to coincide with the axial direction.

  Further, as in the connection terminal 440 shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, in the cross section of the middle body portion 443 orthogonal to the axis P, the cross-sectional shape is polygonal so that the projecting portions 445 project radially from the middle body portion 443. It may have a shape. That is, in the cross section of the middle body portion 443, the shape of the protruding portion 445 does not have to be rectangular or trapezoidal, and the distance between the protruding tip 446 and the axis P is approximately half the inner diameter of the shaft hole 12. What is necessary is just to comprise. As shown in FIG. 9, the tip shape of the projecting portion 445 is desirably a pointed shape that tapers toward the outer periphery in the radial direction, like the projecting tip 446. This is because the pointed shape deforms the pointed portion when a stress is applied by contacting the inner peripheral surface of the insulator, thereby preventing the insulator from being deformed. This embodiment is not limited to the modification shown in FIG. 9, and can be applied to the present embodiment and other modifications.

  Further, like the connection terminal 540 shown in FIG. 10, the middle body 443 of the connection terminal 440 shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 may be configured to be twisted about the axis P. In this way, the projecting tip 546 of the projecting portion 545 is placed between the inner peripheral surface of the shaft hole 12 and the outer peripheral surface of the middle body portion 543 at any position in the axis P direction in all directions around the axis P. Can be placed in between. That is, the positional deviation of the axis P of the connection terminal 340 with respect to the axis O of the insulator 10 can be corrected more reliably. As described above, if the middle body portion 543 is twisted around the axis P, the cross section orthogonal to the axis P may be square, for example, like the connection terminal 640 shown in FIG. Alternatively, it may be triangular or rectangular, that is, it may be configured as a shape in which the middle body portion and the protruding portion are integrated.

  Further, like the connection terminal 740 shown in FIG. 12, the protruding direction of the protruding portion 745 protruding from the middle body portion 743 may not be a direction orthogonal to the axis P. In this way, the protrusion 745 can be configured to be easily bent in the direction orthogonal to the axis P, so that there is no possibility of the insulator 10 being broken from the shaft hole 12 by the protrusion 745. For this reason, the tolerance at the time of manufacture can be taken large about the position of the protrusion front-end | tip 746 with respect to the axis line P. FIG.

  In this embodiment, the shape of the concavo-convex portion formed on the outer periphery of the fixing portion 41 of the connection terminal 40 is a knurled shape. However, the shape is not limited to this, and may be, for example, a screw shape or a loose concavo-convex shape. May be.

  Moreover, although the protrusion part 45 protruded continuously from the rear end side to the front end side of the middle body part 43, it does not necessarily need to protrude continuously so that the both ends of the middle body part 43 may be connected. That is, one end of the continuous protrusion 45 may be located on the rear end side of the middle body 43 with respect to the other end, and may be arranged at an arbitrary position on the surface of the middle body 43. Means that. One of the end portions may be connected to the terminal portion, or a distance may be provided between the end portion. However, when the spark plug 100 is assembled, considering the ease of insertion of the middle barrel portion 43 into the shaft hole 12, it is closer to the rear end side of the middle barrel portion 43, that is, closer to the side where the terminal portion 42 is formed. In addition, the protrusion 45 may be disposed. Further, as described above, when the protrusion 45 is provided in a rib shape to prevent the middle body 43 from being bent as a reinforcing structure, the protrusion 45 may have a certain length along the axis P direction. It is valid.

  The present invention can be applied to a spark plug in which a connection terminal is inserted into a shaft hole of an insulator.

1 is a partial cross-sectional view of a spark plug 100. FIG. 3 is a side view of a connection terminal 40. FIG. It is sectional drawing of the connecting terminal 40 seen from the arrow direction in the dashed-dotted line AA of FIG. It is a side view of connecting terminal 140 as a modification. It is a side view of connecting terminal 240 as a modification. It is a side view of connection terminal 340 as a modification. FIG. 11 is a side view of a connection terminal 340 showing an example in which a notch 347 is provided in a protrusion 345. It is a side view of connection terminal 440 as a modification. It is sectional drawing orthogonal to the axis line P of the connecting terminal 440 as a modification. It is a side view of connection terminal 540 as a modification. It is sectional drawing orthogonal to the axis line P of the connecting terminal 640 as a modification. It is sectional drawing orthogonal to the axis line P of the connecting terminal 740 as a modification. It is a schematic diagram which shows a mode that the inner trunk | drum and the protrusion part of the connection terminal were projected on the plane orthogonal to the axial direction of an insulator.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Insulator 12 Shaft hole 20 Center electrode 40 Connection terminal 41 Fixing part 42 Terminal part 43 Middle trunk part 45 Projection part 100 Spark plug

Claims (5)

An insulator in which an axial hole extending in the axial direction is formed inside itself, a center electrode held on a tip end side of the shaft hole of the insulator, and a rear end side of the insulator in the shaft hole A spark plug having a rod-shaped connection terminal inserted and electrically connected to the center electrode in the shaft hole,
The connection terminal is
A middle body portion extending in the axial direction and located in the shaft hole;
A terminal portion formed on one end side of the middle body portion and exposed from a rear end side of the shaft hole;
A protruding portion protruding from the surface of the middle trunk portion,
In the figure formed by connecting the tip end portion of the projected portion when the middle body portion and the projecting portion of the connection terminal are projected onto a plane orthogonal to the axial direction of the insulator. The spark plug includes a position of the axis of the insulator.   2. The spark according to claim 1, wherein the protruding portion is provided in a rib shape along the extending direction of the middle body portion from the one end side to the other end side of the middle body portion. plug.   2. The spark plug according to claim 1, wherein the protruding portion is provided in a spiral shape surrounding an outer periphery of the middle body portion from the one end side to the other end side of the middle body portion.   The spark plug according to claim 1, wherein two or more sets of the protruding portions are provided.   The said connection terminal is formed in the said other end of the said middle trunk | drum, The outer surface is processed into the knurled shape or the screw shape, The fixing | fixed part fixed in the said shaft hole was provided. The spark plug according to any one of 1 to 4.

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