JP2008261577A - Glow plug and its manufacturing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a glow plug and its manufacturing method capable of suppressing uneven deformation and deflection etc. of a coil member, improving durability and suppressing variation of heater temperature rise characteristics. <P>SOLUTION: A sheath heater 3 of the glow plug has a metallic sheath tube 7 having a closed tip part, and inside the sheath tube 7, a heating coil 9 jointed to the tube tip part, a control coil 10 connected to the heating coil 9 and a straight bar-shaped insulator 11 inserted to inside of the heating coil 9 etc. are filled. The outer diameter D1 of the insulator 11 is set smaller than the maximum inner diameter D2 of a tapered diameter reducing part 9a of the heating coil 9 and larger than the minimum inner diameter D3 of the tapered diameter reducing part 9a, and a tip part 11a of the insulator 11 is arranged inside the tapered diameter reducing part 9a. Due to this configuration, effects on the tapered diameter reducing part 9a by swaging can be reduced. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a glow plug used for diesel engine, fuel preheating, and the like, and a method of manufacturing the same.

  Glow plugs used for diesel engine and fuel preheating are generally known to use a sheath heater in which a coil member as a heating element is enclosed with an insulating powder in a metal sheath tube having a closed tip. Yes.

  The coil member disposed in the sheath tube has its distal end joined to the distal end of the sheath tube, and its rear end joined to the distal end of the energizing terminal shaft inserted into the rear portion of the sheath tube. Generates heat when energized through the shaft.

  The sheath heater is generally manufactured as follows. First, the diameter of the end of the cylindrical tube is reduced in a tapered shape, and a coil member connected to the end of the energizing terminal shaft is disposed in the tube. Then, one end of the coil member is welded to the distal end portion of the tube and the tube distal end is closed. Thereafter, an insulating powder such as magnesia is filled in the tube, and swaging is performed in a state where the rear end of the tube is sealed with a sealing member between the current-carrying terminal shafts. The glow plug is completed by assembling the sheath heater thus obtained to the metal shell in a protruding state.

  In the above swaging process, the tube is generally inserted between the dice and the swaging is started, and the tube is pushed between the dice to move the tube from the front end side to the rear end side in the rear end direction. Swinging in the forward direction or inserting the tube from the tip side to the rear end side between the dies, and then pulling the tube from between the dies, the tube is moved from the rear end side to the tip side in the tip direction. Reverse swaging is performed. When reverse swaging is performed, the insulation powder in the tube moves toward the tip near the tube tip, so that insulation near the tube tip is greater than when only forward swaging is performed. The powder packing density can be increased, and a sheath heater with good thermal conductivity on the tube tip side can be manufactured.

  However, since the coil member is relatively soft, conventionally, when the swaging process is performed, the coil member may be bent or eccentric in the middle. In some cases, the winding pitch of the coil member may be non-uniform. Further, if the coil member is bent greatly, the sheath tube and the coil member come into contact with each other and short-circuit when energized, which may cause problems such as not reaching the set temperature. On the other hand, there is a possibility that the heater temperature rise characteristic for each glow plug may vary greatly due to the non-uniform winding pitch of each coil member.

  On the other hand, in recent years, it has been proposed that a rod-shaped insulator is inserted into the coil member prior to the swaging process, thereby increasing the filling density in the sheath tube and suppressing the occurrence of the above-described problems ( For example, see Patent Document 1).

However, even when the rod-shaped insulator 51 is inserted into the coil member 52 as in the sheath heater 50 shown in FIG. 4, if the insulator 51 has a relatively small diameter, the inner peripheral portion of the coil member 52 As shown in FIG. 5, the clearance with the inner periphery of the coil member 52 is relatively large so that the clearance with the inner periphery of the coil member 52 is eliminated or reduced as shown in FIG. It is preferable to use the insulator 61.
JP 2004-340562 A

  However, as shown in FIG. 5, the vicinity of the distal end portion of a general coil member 52 is tapered so as not to contact the distal end side tapered portion 53 a of the sheath tube 53. Therefore, when the thick-diameter insulator 61 is used, the bending of the coil member 52 can be reduced, but the insulator 61 cannot be inserted to the tip of the tapered reduced diameter portion 52a of the coil member 52. Become. In this case, the vicinity of the tip of the coil member 52 is filled with only the insulating powder, and the filling density is relatively low. If swaging is performed on this part where the insulator 61 is not inserted, the amount of deformation of the coil member 52 may be locally increased or the thickness may be uneven at this part. This is presumably because the sheath tube is deformed by the swaging process, and the stress caused by the movement of the insulating powder due to the deformation reaches the coil member. If the coil member is deformed largely locally, the thickness becomes non-uniform, and particularly in a thin portion, the resistance value may increase and local heat may be generated, which may cause early disconnection. Such a problem is particularly likely to occur when the reverse swaging as described above is performed and the insulating powder in the tube moves toward the distal end in the vicinity of the distal end of the tube.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to suppress uneven deformation and eccentricity of the coil member, improve durability, and suppress variations in heater temperature rise characteristics. An object of the present invention is to provide a glow plug that can be used and a method for manufacturing the same.

  Hereinafter, each configuration suitable for solving the above-described problems will be described in terms of items. In addition, the effect etc. peculiar to the structure to respond | correspond as needed are added.

Configuration 1. The manufacturing method of the glow plug of this configuration is as follows:
An arrangement step of arranging a coil member made of a resistance heating wire along the axis in a cylindrical sheath tube extending in the axial direction;
A joining step of closing the tip of the sheath tube and joining the tip of the coil member to the tip;
An insertion step of inserting a rod-shaped insulator made of an insulating material into the coil member;
A filling step of filling the sheath tube with insulating powder;
Through the swaging step of performing a swaging process on the sheath tube, as the coil member,
A first coil general portion having a constant inner diameter, and a tapered diameter-reduced portion that is reduced in diameter toward the distal end side and joined to the distal end portion of the sheath tube on the distal end side of the first coil general portion. A first coil;
A glow plug manufacturing method for manufacturing a glow plug including a second coil having a second coil general portion connected in series to a rear end side of the first coil and having a constant inner diameter,
The insulator has a straight rod shape whose outer diameter is constant in the axial direction, and the outer diameter is smaller than the maximum inner diameter of the tapered reduced diameter portion of the first coil and larger than the minimum inner diameter,
In the swaging step, the swaging process is performed so that a front end side end position of the section to be subjected to the swaging process is a position of the front end part of the insulator or a rear end side thereof. It is characterized by that.

  According to the method for manufacturing a glow plug having the above configuration 1, by inserting an insulator into the coil member, the step of arranging the coil member in the tube prior to the swaging process as well as the swaging process, In the process of welding the coil member to the distal end of the tube, it is possible to prevent problems such as the coil member falling due to its own weight, and to reduce eccentricity of the coil member, bending of the coil member, and the like. As a result, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the sheath tube and the coil member come into contact with each other due to manufacturing variations during welding or swaging, and a short circuit occurs. As a result, variation in the heater temperature rise characteristic can be suppressed.

  In addition, by using an insulator whose outer diameter is smaller than the maximum inner diameter of the tapered reduced diameter portion of the coil member (first coil) and larger than the minimum inner diameter as the insulator inserted into the coil member, the outer diameter is reduced. While using a certain straight rod-shaped insulator, the insulator can be inserted to the inside of the tapered reduced diameter portion. Thereby, prior to swaging, the packing density near the tip of the coil member can be increased. Furthermore, the tip end portion of the insulator is inserted to the tip end side end position or the tip end side of the section to be swung. Accordingly, not only the first coil general portion and the second coil general portion, but also the tapered reduced-diameter portion of the first coil, which is near the tip, is caused by uneven deformation of the coil member due to swaging and the thickness of the coil. And the eccentricity can be suppressed. As a result, the malfunction of early disconnection can be suppressed and durability can be improved. Such an effect is that in the swaging process, swaging is performed in the distal direction from the rear end side to the distal end side of the tube, and the insulating powder in the tube is directed toward the distal end side in the vicinity of the distal end portion of the coil member. It is more effective when moving. The first coil general portion and the second coil general portion described above refer to portions that extend uniformly along the axial direction and have a constant inner diameter. Accordingly, the maximum inner diameter of the tapered reduced diameter portion of the first coil is the same as the inner diameter of the first coil general portion. Further, the minimum inner diameter of the tapered diameter-reduced portion is a portion defined by the first resistance heating wire starting from a portion (the most advanced portion) located closest to the tip end in the axial direction of the tapered diameter-reduced portion. Refers to the inner diameter.

  Even if the insulator breaks into pieces in the tube during the swaging process, the influence of the process on the coil member is affected by the insertion of the insulator into the coil member during the process. Suppressed as much as possible.

  Furthermore, by using a straight rod-shaped insulator, for example, the tip of the insulator is tapered in accordance with the tapered diameter-reduced portion of the first coil, or processing such as making the diameter smaller than the general portion is not performed. Therefore, an increase in manufacturing cost can be suppressed. As a result, when performing the operation of inserting the insulator into the coil member, it is not necessary to select the direction of the insulator, such as confirming the tapered portion or the small diameter portion, so that a reduction in workability is suppressed.

  Further, since the outer diameter of the insulator is smaller than the maximum inner diameter of the tapered reduced diameter portion, that is, the inner diameter of the first coil general portion, the insulator is inserted into the coil member relatively smoothly. be able to. Thus, in order to smoothly insert the insulator or insert the insulator to the inside of the tapered reduced diameter portion, a certain amount of clearance is required between the insulator and the coil member. More preferably, the configuration 2 is used.

Configuration 2. The manufacturing method of the glow plug of this configuration is the above-described configuration 1,
When the diameter difference between the inner diameter of the first coil general portion of the first coil and the outer diameter of the insulator is A,
0.05 ≦ A
It is characterized by satisfying the relationship.

  By setting it as the said structure 2, an insulator can be more reliably penetrated to the inner side of a taper-shaped diameter-reduced part, and the nonuniform deformation | transformation etc. in the front-end | tip part vicinity of a coil member can be suppressed. As a result, the effect of suppressing the early disconnection, and the effect of improving the durability can be further ensured.

  On the other hand, if the insulator is too thin, the clearance between the first coil general part and the second coil general part, in particular the second coil general part, becomes large, the coil member is easily bent, and the effect of inserting the insulator is effective. Since it fades, the following configuration 3 is more preferable.

Configuration 3. The manufacturing method of the glow plug of this configuration is the above configuration 1 or 2,
When the difference in diameter between the inner diameter of the second coil general portion of the second coil and the outer diameter of the insulator is B,
B ≦ 0.15
It is characterized by satisfying the relationship.

  If it is the said structure 3, the clearance gap between an insulator and a coil member can be restrained comparatively small, and the bending of a coil member can be suppressed more reliably. As a result, the effect of suppressing the short circuit between the sheath tube and the coil member, and the effect of suppressing the variation in the heater temperature rise characteristic can be further ensured.

Configuration 4. The method for manufacturing a glow plug of this configuration is any one of the above configurations 1 to 3,
The wire diameter of the first coil is larger than the wire diameter of the second coil.

  By making the wire diameter of the first coil thicker as in the configuration 4, the rigidity of the first coil can be increased, and uneven deformation and the like in the vicinity of the distal end portion of the coil member can be more reliably suppressed. .

Configuration 5. The method for manufacturing a glow plug of this configuration is any one of the above configurations 1 to 4,
The inner diameter of the second coil general part of the second coil is larger than the inner diameter of the first coil general part of the first coil.

  In the case of the configuration 5, the operational effects of the various configurations are more effective.

Configuration 6. The glow plug of this configuration is
A cylindrical sheath tube extending in the axial direction and having a closed end,
A coil member formed of a resistance heating wire, arranged along the axis of the sheath tube, and joined to the tip of the sheath tube;
A rod-shaped insulator made of an insulating material and inserted through the coil member;
Having an insulating powder filled in the sheath tube;
A glow plug formed through swaging,
The coil member is
A first coil general portion having a constant inner diameter, and a tapered diameter-reduced portion that is reduced in diameter toward the distal end side and joined to the distal end portion of the sheath tube on the distal end side of the first coil general portion. A first coil;
A second coil having a second coil general portion connected in series to the rear end side of the first coil and having a constant inner diameter;
The insulator has a straight rod shape whose outer diameter is constant in the axial direction, and the outer diameter is configured to be smaller than the maximum inner diameter of the tapered reduced diameter portion of the first coil and larger than the minimum inner diameter,
When the diameter difference between the inner diameter of the first coil general portion of the first coil and the outer diameter of the insulator is A,
0.05 ≦ A
While satisfying the relationship
When the difference in diameter between the inner diameter of the second coil general portion of the second coil and the outer diameter of the insulator is B,
B ≦ 0.15
Satisfy the relationship
The tip of the insulator is inserted to the inside of the tapered diameter-reduced portion, and is located at the tip side end position of the section to be processed on which the swaging process is performed or at the tip side more than that. It is characterized by that.

  According to the configuration 6, the same effects as the glow plug manufactured by the manufacturing method of the configuration 1 and the like are exhibited.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1A is an overall view showing an example of a glow plug manufactured according to the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a longitudinal sectional view thereof.

  As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the glow plug 1 includes a cylindrical metal shell 2 and a sheath heater 3 fixed to the metal shell 2.

  The metal shell 2 has a shaft hole 4 penetrating in the direction of the axis C, and the outer peripheral surface thereof has a hexagonal cross section for engaging a screw portion 5 for attachment to a diesel engine and a tool such as a torque wrench. The tool engaging portion 6 is formed.

  The sheath heater 3 is configured by integrating a sheath tube 7 and a current-carrying terminal shaft 8 in the axis C direction.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the sheath tube 7 is a metal tube (for example, stainless steel) having a closed end, and a heating coil 9 joined to the tip of the tube is disposed inside the heating tube 9. A control coil 10 connected in series at the rear end of 9 is enclosed. That is, in the present embodiment, the heating coil 9 corresponds to the first coil, the control coil 10 corresponds to the second coil, and the coils 9 and 10 constitute a coil member.

  Further, a rod-shaped insulator 11 made of an insulating material such as aluminum oxide (alumina) is inserted into the sheath tube 7 inside the heating coil 9 and the control coil 10 and is oxidized so as to fill these gaps. An insulating powder 12 made of magnesium (magnesia) powder or the like is enclosed. The rear end of the sheath tube 7 is sealed with an annular rubber 13 between the current-carrying terminal shaft 8. As described above, the heating coil 9 is electrically connected to the sheath tube 7 at the tip thereof, but the outer peripheral portions of the heating coil 9 and the control coil 10 and the inner peripheral portion of the sheath tube 7 are separated from each other, and the insulating powder 12 is insulated by the intervention of 12.

  The heating coil 9 is composed of a resistance heating wire such as a nickel chrome alloy, and the control coil 10 is composed of a material having a temperature coefficient of electrical specific resistance larger than that of the material of the heating coil 9, such as a resistance heating wire such as a cobalt-iron alloy. Has been. As a result, the control coil 10 receives its own heat generation and heat generation from the heat generation coil 9 and increases the electrical resistance value by increasing the temperature, thereby controlling the power supply amount to the heat generation coil 9. Accordingly, since the temperature of the control coil 10 is low and the electric resistance value is small at the initial stage of energization, a relatively large electric power is supplied to the heating coil 9 and the temperature is rapidly raised. When the temperature of the heat generating coil 9 rises, the heat generation heats the control coil 10 to increase the electrical resistance value and decrease the power supply to the heat generating coil 9. As a result, the temperature rise characteristic of the heater is such that the temperature is saturated in the initial stage of energization, and thereafter the power supply is suppressed by the action of the control coil 10 so that the temperature is saturated. It is possible to make it difficult for the temperature to rise excessively.

  Further, the sheath tube 7 is formed with a small-diameter portion 7a that accommodates the heating coil 9 and the like on the distal end side thereof by swaging or the like, which will be described later, and a large-diameter portion that is larger in diameter than the small-diameter portion 7a on the rear end side. 7b is formed. The large diameter portion 7 b is press-fitted and joined to the small diameter portion 4 a formed in the shaft hole 4 of the metal shell 2, so that the sheath tube 7 is held in a state of protruding from the tip of the metal shell 2.

  The energizing terminal shaft 8 has its tip inserted into the sheath tube 7 and is electrically connected to the rear end of the control coil 10 and is inserted into the shaft hole 4 of the metal shell 2. The rear end of the current-carrying terminal shaft 8 protrudes from the rear end of the metal shell 2. At the rear end of the metal shell 2, an O-ring 15 made of rubber, an insulating bush 16 made of resin, and the insulating bush 16 are provided. The holding ring 17 for preventing the drop and the nut 18 for connecting a cable for energization are fitted into the energization terminal shaft 8 in this order.

  Here, a method for manufacturing the glow plug 1 will be described. In the manufacturing process of the sheath heater 3, first, in the insertion process, the insulator 11 is inserted inside the welded heat generating coil 9 and the control coil 10, and then the rear end side of the control coil 10 is resistance welded to the energizing terminal shaft 8 or the like. To join.

  In the subsequent arrangement step, first, the distal end of the cylindrical sheath tube 7 which is formed to have a diameter larger than the final dimension by the machining allowance and whose distal end is not closed is reduced in a tapered shape. Subsequently, in the sheath tube 7, the heating coil 9 and the control coil 10 through which the insulator 11 is inserted, and the tip of the energizing terminal shaft 8 integrated therewith are arranged.

  In the joining step, the tip of the heating coil 9 is joined to the tip of the sheath tube 7 by arc welding or the like, and the tip of the sheath tube 7 is closed.

  Then, after filling the sheath tube 7 with the insulating powder 12 in the filling step, the rear end of the sheath tube 7 is sealed with the annular rubber 13. Then, in the swaging process, swaging is performed on substantially the entire region of the sheath tube 7 to form the sheath tube 7 having a predetermined dimension.

  In the swaging step, first, in the first step, the sheath tube 7 is inserted between the dice (not shown) for the large-diameter portion 7b from the front end side of the sheath tube 7 until the portion where the annular rubber 13 at the rear end is located, and then the sheath tube By pulling 7 out of the die, the sheath tube 7 is swaged in the distal direction. Next, in the second step, the distal end side of the sheath tube 7 is inserted between dies (not shown) for the small-diameter portion 7a and swaging is started, and the sheath is moved to a position that becomes a boundary portion between the small-diameter portion 7a and the large-diameter portion 7b. By pushing the tube 7, swaging is performed toward the rear end part way through the sheath tube 7. In a third step performed by pulling out the sheath tube 7 from between the dies in succession to the second step, the sheath tube 7 is swaged in the distal direction. Thereby, the sheath heater 3 in which the sheath tube 7 is integrated with the energizing terminal shaft 8 is completed.

  The sheath heater 3 manufactured as described above is inserted into the shaft hole 4 of the separately formed metal shell 2 from the rear end side of the energizing terminal shaft 8, and the sheath tube 7 is press-fitted and joined to the shaft hole 4. The tube 7 is held in a state of protruding from the tip of the metal shell 2. Subsequently, the glow plug 1 is completed by fitting the O-ring 15, the insulating bush 16 and the like into the rear end portion of the energizing terminal shaft 8 protruding from the rear end portion of the metal shell 2.

  Here, in order to explain the main part of the present invention, the configuration of the distal end portion of the sheath heater 3 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the distal end portion of the sheath heater 3.

  Around the distal end of the sheath tube 7, a distal end side taper portion 30 formed when the sheath tube 7 is formed is provided. Further, on the distal end side of the distal end side taper portion 30, a melt bonded portion 31 formed by melt bonding the sheath tube 7 and the heating coil 9 is provided.

  Further, in accordance with the shape of the distal end side taper portion 30 of the sheath tube 7, a tapered diameter-reduced portion 9 a is provided near the distal end portion of the heating coil 9 so as to be tapered toward the distal end side.

  On the other hand, the insulator 11 inserted through the heating coil 9 and the control coil 10 has a straight rod shape whose outer diameter D1 is constant in the direction of the axis C, and the tip end portion 11a thereof is a tapered reduced diameter of the heating coil 9. It is inserted to the inside of the part 9a. Thereby, the front-end | tip part 11a of the insulator 11 is located in the front end side of the sheath tube 7 rather than the front end side edge part position Z in the to-be-processed area W of the axis C direction in which swaging is performed.

  In order to obtain such a configuration, in the present embodiment, the outer diameter D1 of the insulator 11 is smaller than the maximum inner diameter (the inner diameter of the general portion of the heating coil 9) D2 of the tapered reduced diameter portion 9a and is tapered. It is set larger than the minimum inner diameter D3 of the portion 9a. In addition, the general part of the heat generating coil 9 corresponds to the first coil general part in the present embodiment, and indicates a part that extends uniformly along the direction of the axis C and has a constant inner diameter. The same applies to the general part of the control coil 10, and the general part of the control coil 10 corresponds to the second coil general part in the present embodiment.

  More specifically, the difference between the inner diameter D2 of the general portion of the heating coil 9 and the outer diameter D1 of the insulator 11, that is, between the inner peripheral portion of the general portion of the heating coil 9 and the outer peripheral portion of the insulator 11. The heating coil-insulator clearance A is set to satisfy the following equation (1).

0.05 ≦ A (1)
This is because if the heating coil-insulator clearance A is too small, the insulator 11 cannot be smoothly inserted into the heating coil 9 or the like, and the tip end side end position Z on which the swaging process is performed is performed. This is because the insulator 11 may not be able to be inserted to the tip side.

  In the present embodiment, the inner diameter D4 of the general part of the control coil 10 is set larger than the inner diameter D2 of the general part of the heating coil 9, and the wire diameter K1 of the heating coil 9 is set to the wire diameter K2 of the control coil 10. Is bigger than.

  Further, the control coil between the inner diameter D4 of the general part of the control coil 10 and the outer diameter D1 of the insulator 11, that is, between the inner peripheral part of the general part of the control coil 10 and the outer peripheral part of the insulator 11. The inter-insulator clearance B is set so as to satisfy the following formula (2).

B ≦ 0.15 (2)
This is because if the control coil-insulator clearance B is too large, the control coil 10 or the like is easily bent, and the sheath tube 7 and the control coil 10 or the like come into contact with each other due to manufacturing variations such as welding or swaging. This is because there is a risk of occurrence.

  The clearances A and B are set values after swaging. As the values of the clearances A and B, various values satisfying the relational expressions (1) and (2) can be set. In this regard, in order to confirm the effect of the present invention, a plurality of types of prototypes are used. Fabricated and verified by the above method. The verification results of each prototype are shown in Tables 1 and 2. However, in all of the prototype examples shown in Tables 1 and 2, the difference between the outer diameter of the general part of the control coil 10 and the inner diameter of the general part of the sheath tube 7, that is, the clearance between the tube and the control coil is set to 0.4 mm. It is set.

表１には、スウェージング加工後の発熱コイル−絶縁体間クリアランスＡがそれぞれ０ｍｍ，０．０５ｍｍ，０．１０ｍｍに設定された３種類の試作例Ｔ１，Ｔ２，Ｔ３が示されている。ここで、試作例Ｔ１は比較例であり、試作例Ｔ２，Ｔ３が実施例である。

Table 1 shows three types of prototypes T1, T2, and T3 in which the heating coil-insulator clearance A after swaging is set to 0 mm, 0.05 mm, and 0.10 mm, respectively. Here, the trial example T1 is a comparative example, and the trial examples T2 and T3 are examples.

  Here, the durability of the sheath heater 3 is verified. These verification results relate to the comparative example T1 and the examples T2 and T3, and are based on the measurement results of 100 samples.

  In the durability verification, after applying a voltage of DC 11V for 10 seconds, and subsequently applying a voltage of DC 13.5V for 180 seconds, energization is stopped until the tube surface temperature becomes 50 ° C. or less in one cycle. As a result, the current-carrying durability test is repeated, and the cycle number of the shortest sample among the samples in which defects such as disconnection occur is obtained.

  In Comparative Example T1 where the heating coil-insulator clearance A is set to 0 mm, the tip 11a of the insulator 11 cannot be inserted into the inside of the tapered reduced diameter portion 9a of the heating coil 9, so heat generation after swaging is performed. Several samples with very large deformation near the tip of the coil 9 were confirmed. In these samples, the thickness also varies in the part that has been deformed unevenly, the resistance value increases in the thinned part, and early disconnection occurs there. In Comparative Example T1, The result was 5000 cycles, and the worst result among the three in terms of durability was obtained.

  On the other hand, in Examples T2 and T3 in which the clearance A between the heating coil and the insulator is set to 0.05 mm and 0.10 mm, the insulator 11 is relatively thin with respect to the heating coil 9, and the tip of the insulator 11 Since 11a can be inserted to the inside of the tapered reduced diameter portion 9a of the heating coil 9, the influence of the swaging process on the vicinity of the tip of the heating coil 9 can be suppressed. For this reason, with respect to Example T2, only some samples that are slightly deformed in the vicinity of the tip of the heating coil 9 have been confirmed. There was no uneven deformation near the tip. For this reason, both of the results of the energization durability test were 10,000 cycles, both of which were excellent.

表２には、スウェージング加工後の制御コイル−絶縁体間クリアランスＢがそれぞれ０ｍｍ，０．１０ｍｍ，０．１５ｍｍ，０．２０ｍｍ，０．３０ｍｍ，０．４０ｍｍに設定された６種類の試作例Ｓ１，Ｓ２，Ｓ３，Ｓ４，Ｓ５，Ｓ６が示されている。ここで、試作例Ｓ１，Ｓ２，Ｓ３が実施例であり、試作例Ｓ４，Ｓ５，Ｓ６は比較例である。

Table 2 shows six prototypes in which the control coil-insulator clearance B after swaging is set to 0 mm, 0.10 mm, 0.15 mm, 0.20 mm, 0.30 mm, and 0.40 mm, respectively. S1, S2, S3, S4, S5 and S6 are shown. Here, prototype examples S1, S2, and S3 are examples, and prototype examples S4, S5, and S6 are comparative examples.

  Here, the occurrence of a short circuit and the heater temperature rise characteristics are verified. These verification results are also based on the measurement results of 100 samples prepared in each of Examples S1, S2, S3 and Comparative Examples S4, S5, S6.

  In the verification of the occurrence of a short circuit, clearance measurement is performed to check whether or not the inner peripheral part of the general part of the sheath tube 7 and the outer peripheral part of the general part of the control coil 10 are in contact with each other from the X-ray photograph of each sample. At the same time, the presence of a short circuit was determined by energizing and checking the current value.

  In the verification of the heater temperature rise characteristics, a test was performed on each sample by applying a constant voltage of 11 V DC and measuring the temperature reached after 4 seconds from the start of energization, and the variation with respect to the average value of 850 ° C. was examined.

  Regarding Examples S1, S2, and S3 in which the control coil-insulator clearance B is 0.15 mm or less, the insulator 11 is relatively thicker than the control coil 10, and the control coil-insulator clearance B is small. The swaging process did not cause a large bend or eccentricity in the control coil 10 or the like, and no short-circuited sample was confirmed. For this reason, with regard to the heater temperature rise characteristics, the temperature reached 4 seconds after the start of energization averaged 850 ° C. ± 30 ° C. in Example S1, and averaged 850 ° C. ± 40 ° C. in Examples S2 and S3. It was relatively small.

  On the other hand, regarding the comparative examples S4, S5, and S6 in which the control coil-insulator clearance B was set to be larger than 0.15 mm, a sample in which a short circuit occurred was confirmed. This is because the insulator 11 is relatively thin with respect to the control coil 10 and the control coil-insulator clearance B is large, so that the control coil 10 or the like is bent or decentered due to swaging. Was the cause. For this reason, with regard to the heater temperature rise characteristics, the temperatures reached after 4 seconds from the start of energization are 850 ° C. ± 50 ° C. on average in Comparative Examples S4 and S5 and 850 ° C. ± 60 ° C. on average in Comparative Example S6. , The variation in heat generation temperature was larger than that of S3.

  As can be seen from the above results, in order to reduce the occurrence of non-uniform deformation in the vicinity of the tip of the heating coil 9, the outer diameter D1 of the insulator 11 is made relatively small, and the heating coil 9 is tapered. It can be seen that the distal end portion 11a of the insulator 11 is inserted to the inside of the diameter portion 9a, and the deformation amount in the vicinity of the distal end portion of the heating coil 9 during the swaging process can be suppressed to a small value.

  Conversely, in order to reduce the occurrence of a short circuit between the tube and the coil, the outer diameter D1 of the insulator 11 may be made relatively large to suppress the bending and eccentricity of the control coil 10 and the like.

  That is, in order to manufacture the glow plug 1 having both performances while using the straight rod-shaped insulator 11 having a constant outer diameter with a high yield, the heating coil-insulator clearance A is set to 0 as in this embodiment. .05 mm or more and the control coil-insulator clearance B is set to 0.15 mm or less, so that the insulator 11 is connected to the heating coil 9 while keeping the control coil-insulator clearance B relatively small. The distal end portion 11a of the insulator 11 is positioned further to the distal end side than the distal end side end position Z in the section W to be machined in the direction of the axis C where swaging is performed. It should be set so that.

  By doing in this way, the malfunction of an early disconnection can be suppressed, the durability of the glow plug 1 can be improved, and variations in the heater temperature rise characteristics can be suppressed. Even if the insulator 11 is broken into pieces in the sheath tube 7 during the swaging process, the insulator 11 is inserted into the heating coil 9 and the control coil 10 during the process, so that The influence on the heat generating coil 9 and the like due to processing is suppressed as much as possible.

  Further, in the present embodiment, since the wire diameter K1 of the heating coil 9 is larger than the wire diameter K2 of the control coil 10, the rigidity of the heating coil 9 is further increased. Uneven deformation and the like can be more reliably suppressed.

  In this embodiment, since the straight rod-like insulator 11 is used, for example, the tip of the insulator 11 is tapered in accordance with the tapered diameter-reduced portion 9a of the heating coil 9, or is thinner than the general portion. Since it is not necessary to perform processing such as making the diameter, an increase in manufacturing cost can be suppressed. As a result, when the insulator 11 is inserted into the heating coil 9 or the like, the direction selection operation of the insulator 11 such as confirmation of the tapered portion or the narrow diameter portion is not necessary, so that workability is reduced. It is suppressed.

  In addition, it is not limited to the description content of embodiment mentioned above, For example, you may implement as follows.

  (A) Various configurations such as the shape of the glow plug 1 are not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the sheath tube 7 may have a straight shape in which the large-diameter portion 7b is omitted and the outer diameter is substantially constant. Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the coil member is comprised by the two coils of the heat generating coil 9 and the control coil 10, not only this but this invention is provided with the coil member by which three or more coils were connected in series. Also applicable to other configurations.

  (B) The dimensions of the sheath tube 7, the heating coil 9, the control coil 10, and the insulator 11 are not limited to the above-described embodiment, and those having different dimensions may be used.

  For example, in the above embodiment, the heating coil 9, the control coil 10, and the insulator are set so that the heating coil-insulator clearance A is 0.05 mm or more and the control coil-insulator clearance B is 0.15 mm or less. Eleven dimensions are set. Not limited to this, at least the outer diameter D1 of the insulator 11 is smaller than the maximum inner diameter (inner diameter of the general portion of the heating coil 9) D2 of the tapered reduced diameter portion 9a and smaller than the minimum inner diameter D3 of the tapered reduced diameter portion 9a. As long as it is set larger, any combination may be used. However, in order to obtain the above-described effects while using the straight rod-like insulator 11 having a constant outer diameter, it is preferable that either one of the relational expressions (1) and (2) is satisfied. Of course, it is more preferable to satisfy both.

  (C) In the above embodiment, the heating coil 9 and the control coil 10 have different wire diameters and inner diameters. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, those having the same wire diameter or the same inner diameter are used. May be.

  (D) The material of the insulator 11 is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the insulator 11 may be formed of other insulating materials such as magnesium oxide.

  (E) Regarding the position of the distal end portion 11a of the insulator 11, in the above-described embodiment, the distal end portion 11a of the insulator 11 is the end portion on the distal end side of the section W to be machined in the axis C direction where swaging is performed. Although it is located on the distal end side of the sheath tube 7 with respect to the position Z, it is only necessary that at least the distal end portion 11b of the insulator 11 reaches the distal end side end portion position Z on which the swaging process is performed.

  (F) The method for manufacturing the glow plug 1 is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the swaging process, the sheath tube 7 may be swaged only in the distal direction without being swaged in the rear end direction.

(A) is the whole figure which shows the glow plug of this embodiment, (b) is the longitudinal cross-sectional view. It is a partial expanded sectional view for demonstrating a sheath heater. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the front-end | tip part vicinity of a sheath heater. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the front-end | tip part vicinity of the conventional sheath heater. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the front-end | tip part vicinity of the conventional sheath heater.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Glow plug, 2 ... Main metal fitting, 3 ... Sheath heater, 7 ... Sheath tube, 9 ... Heat generating coil, 9a ... Tapered diameter-reduced part, 10 ... Control coil, 11 ... Insulator, 12 ... Insulating powder, A ... Heat generation Coil-insulator clearance, B ... Control coil-insulator clearance.

Claims (6)

An arrangement step of arranging a coil member made of a resistance heating wire along the axis in a cylindrical sheath tube extending in the axial direction;
A joining step of closing the tip of the sheath tube and joining the tip of the coil member to the tip;
An insertion step of inserting a rod-shaped insulator made of an insulating material into the coil member;
A filling step of filling the sheath tube with insulating powder;
Through the swaging step of performing a swaging process on the sheath tube, as the coil member,
A first coil general portion having a constant inner diameter, and a tapered diameter-reduced portion that is reduced in diameter toward the distal end side and joined to the distal end portion of the sheath tube on the distal end side of the first coil general portion. A first coil;
A glow plug manufacturing method for manufacturing a glow plug including a second coil having a second coil general portion connected in series to a rear end side of the first coil and having a constant inner diameter,
The insulator has a straight rod shape whose outer diameter is constant in the axial direction, and the outer diameter is smaller than the maximum inner diameter of the tapered reduced diameter portion of the first coil and larger than the minimum inner diameter,
In the swaging step, the swaging process is performed so that a front end side end position of the section to be subjected to the swaging process is a position of the front end part of the insulator or a rear end side thereof. A method of manufacturing a glow plug, characterized in that When the diameter difference between the inner diameter of the first coil general portion of the first coil and the outer diameter of the insulator is A,
0.05 ≦ A
The method for manufacturing a glow plug according to claim 1, wherein the relationship is satisfied. When the difference in diameter between the inner diameter of the second coil general portion of the second coil and the outer diameter of the insulator is B,
B ≦ 0.15
The method of manufacturing a glow plug according to claim 1, wherein the relationship is satisfied.   The method for manufacturing a glow plug according to claim 1, wherein a wire diameter of the first coil is larger than a wire diameter of the second coil.   5. The glow plug according to claim 1, wherein an inner diameter of the second coil general portion of the second coil is larger than an inner diameter of the first coil general portion of the first coil. Manufacturing method. A cylindrical sheath tube extending in the axial direction and having a closed end,
A coil member formed of a resistance heating wire, arranged along the axis of the sheath tube, and joined to the tip of the sheath tube;
A rod-shaped insulator made of an insulating material and inserted through the coil member;
Having an insulating powder filled in the sheath tube;
A glow plug formed through swaging,
The coil member is
A first coil general portion having a constant inner diameter, and a tapered diameter-reduced portion that is reduced in diameter toward the distal end side and joined to the distal end portion of the sheath tube on the distal end side of the first coil general portion. A first coil;
A second coil having a second coil general portion connected in series to the rear end side of the first coil and having a constant inner diameter;
The insulator has a straight rod shape whose outer diameter is constant in the axial direction, and the outer diameter is configured to be smaller than the maximum inner diameter of the tapered reduced diameter portion of the first coil and larger than the minimum inner diameter,
When the diameter difference between the inner diameter of the first coil general portion of the first coil and the outer diameter of the insulator is A,
0.05 ≦ A
While satisfying the relationship
When the difference in diameter between the inner diameter of the second coil general portion of the second coil and the outer diameter of the insulator is B,
B ≦ 0.15
Satisfy the relationship
The tip of the insulator is inserted to the inside of the tapered diameter-reduced portion, and is located at the tip side end position of the section to be processed on which the swaging process is performed or at the tip side more than that. A glow plug characterized by

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