JP2017529656A - Improved spark plug - Google Patents

Abstract

The plug includes a nut portion, a connecting portion configured to extend from the nut portion and configured to receive an ignition wire, and an insulating portion extending from the nut portion so as to be separated from the connecting portion. The anode extends through the insulating portion. A tubular metal part with a male screw surrounds the insulating part and extends from the nut part so as to terminate before the end of the insulating part in a cap part provided at a distance from the insulating part. The cap portion defines a void. The void comprises a central portion from which the anode extends, an annular channel surrounding the central portion, and a plurality of lobes each disposed relative to the central portion similar to the arrangement of the planetary gear relative to the sun gear in the planetary gear set. Yeah. The cap portion has a central surface that is spaced apart from the insulating portion in the axial direction, and a convex upper surface that surrounds the central surface and extends to the central surface.

Description

  The present invention relates to a spark ignition internal combustion engine.

  In an internal combustion engine, combustion is generally generated using a spark plug. Conventional spark plugs are provided with a body defining a longitudinal axis. The body has a metal ring adjacent to one end thereof and oriented coaxially with the longitudinal axis. The body further has a metal tube with a male thread oriented coaxially with the longitudinal axis and extending from the ring toward the other end of the body and engaging a corresponding threaded bore in the engine block in use. . The insulator insulator also forms part of the body. The insulator has a portion provided in the tube. This portion has an elongated void extending axially from the inside of the tube over the ring and extending axially therethrough. An elongate anode occupies the void and extends axially beyond the insulator to a terminal end defining one end of the body. Conventional spark plugs also have electrode legs. The electrode leg has two arms coupled to intersect each other, one arm extending axially from the ring beyond the electrode and the other arm spaced axially from the end. Extending radially inward from one arm so as to terminate at the end to be provided. The spark gap in this conventional plug is a space defined between the anode and the electrode legs.

  Spark plugs form an aspect of the present invention. The plug is used in an engine block / cylinder head having a threaded hole, and is also used in a spark plug wrench and an ignition wire, and includes a nut portion, a connecting portion, an insulating portion, an anode, and a ground electrode. The nut portion is configured to be rotated by a wrench. The connecting portion extends from the nut portion and is configured to receive an ignition wire. The insulating portion extends from the nut portion and extends to an end portion away from the connecting portion. The anode extends past the end of the insulation. The ground electrode includes a tubular metal part and a cap part from which the tubular metal part extends. The tubular metal portion extends from the nut portion so as to surround the insulating portion, terminates so that the portion of the insulating portion extends beyond the tubular metal portion, and is oriented coaxially about the longitudinal axis. And has an external thread that engages the aforementioned engine block threaded hole in use. The cap portion is provided at a distance from the insulating portion and defines a void. The void comprises a central portion from which the anode extends, an annular channel surrounding the central portion, and a plurality of lobes each disposed relative to the central portion similar to the arrangement of the planetary gear relative to the sun gear in a planetary gear set. Yeah. The cap portion also has a central surface axially spaced from a portion of the insulating portion that protrudes beyond the tubular metal portion and a convex upper surface that extends around the central surface to the central surface.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, the center plane may be substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis and directed substantially flush with the end of the anode.

  According to another aspect of the invention, the plurality of lobes may consist of 3 to 7 lobes.

According to another aspect of the invention,
R1 is the radius of each planetary gear,
R2 is the distance from the axis of each planetary gear to the axis of the sun gear,
R3 is the outer radius of the ground electrode,
If R4 is the outer radius of the annular channel,
R1: R2: R3: R4 may be about 0.12: 0.305: 0.475: 0.25.

  According to another aspect of the invention, the plurality of lobes may consist of seven lobes.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, the cap portion may include a plurality of finger-like portions provided radially inwardly separating the lobes from each other, and each finger-like portion has an end extending from each finger-like portion. And the thickness measured in the axial direction of the finger at the end may be substantially equal to the length of the portion extending beyond the insulating portion of the anode.

  Other advantages, functions, features, methods of operation of the present invention, the function of the elements related to the structure, and the economics of the combination of components and manufacture, will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings briefly described below. It will become more apparent upon consideration of the detailed description and the appended claims.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a spark plug according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the enclosed region 2 of FIG.

  3 is an end view of the structure of FIG.

  FIG. 4 is a side view of the structure of FIG.

  FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 in FIG.

  FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5 useful for explaining a typical manufacturing method.

  FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the enclosed region 7 of FIG.

  FIG. 8 is a plan view of the structure of FIG.

  9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 9-9 in FIG.

  FIG. 10 is a side view of the structure of FIG.

  First, the spark plug 20 of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-4 is used with an engine block / cylinder head having a threaded hole, and with a spark plug wrench and ignition wire, all of which are conventional. It is.

  The plug 20 also includes a nut portion 22, a connecting portion 24, an insulating portion 26, an anode 28, and a ground electrode 30 as is conventional.

  As is conventional, the nut portion 22 is configured to be rotated by a wrench, the connecting portion 24 extends from the nut portion 22, is configured to receive an ignition wire, and the insulating portion 26 is separated from the connecting portion 24. Extending from the nut portion 22 toward the end, the anode 28 extends past the end of the insulating portion 26. In addition, the ground electrode 30 includes a tubular metal portion 32 as is conventional. The tubular metal portion 32 extends from the nut portion 22 so as to surround the insulating portion 26, and terminates so that a portion 33 of the insulating portion 26 extends beyond the tubular metal portion 32, about the longitudinal axis XX. With a male thread that is oriented coaxially, defines a longitudinal axis XX, and engages the threaded hole of the aforementioned engine block in use.

  However, the spark plug is provided with a cap portion 34 in which a tubular metal portion 32 extends and is connected in the circumferential direction.

The cap part 34 is
A gap 36 is defined by being spaced apart from the insulating portion 26. The cavity 36 is disposed with respect to the central portion 38, similar to the arrangement of the planetary gear relative to the sun gear in the planetary gear set, with a central portion 38 into which the anode 28 extends and an annular channel 40 surrounding the central portion 38. A plurality of lobes 42.
A plurality of fingers 44 provided radially inwardly separating the lobes 42 from each other, each finger 44 having a distal end from which each finger 44 extends, and the axis of the finger 44 at the distal end the thickness X ₁ measured in the direction substantially equal to the length X ₂ of the portion extending beyond the insulating portion 26 of the anode 28.
(I) spaced apart in the axial direction from the portion of the insulating portion 26 protruding beyond the tubular metal portion 32, substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis XX and substantially flush with the end of the anode 28 And (ii) a convex upper surface 48 extending from the tubular metal portion 32 to the central surface 46.

  The cap portion 34 has a configuration in which R1 is the radius of each planetary gear, R2 is the distance from the axis of each planetary gear to the axis of the sun gear, R3 is the outer radius of the ground electrode 30, and R4 is the outer radius of the annular channel 40. The shape is such that R1: R2: R3: R4 is approximately 0.12: 0.305: 0.475: 0.25.

The example spark plug has proven to be quite advantageous in many of the tests performed.

Table 1 shows the results of a dynamo test performed using a CRA Super Series Template 360 Chevrolet Racing Engine with a compression ratio of 9: 1. The timing was set at 34. The carburetor used was a Holy 390 with 77 jets. The oil used had a viscosity of 15/40. The octane number was 110. The load factor was set to 1.21. The left column shows the torque and horsepower generated between 5500 and 8000 rpm when using a new set of standard Autolite AR3932X plugs. The middle column shows a similar set of data using a similar plug modified by the cap of the present invention. The column on the right shows that the torque and horsepower increase at all measured revolutions.

Table 2 shows the results of a dynamo test performed using an NASC certified NCATS series 1 1/8 inch limited engine with a compression ratio of 10: 1. The timing was set at 30. The carburetor used was a Holy 390 with a 64/64 jet. The oil used had a viscosity of 15/40. The octane number was 94. The load factor was set to 1.21. The left hand column (OE) shows the torque and horsepower generated between 4500 and 6500 rpm with a new set of standard autolight AR473 plugs. The middle column shows a similar set of data using a similar plug modified by the cap of the present invention. The column on the right shows that the torque and horsepower increase at all measured revolutions.

Table 3 shows the results of a dynamo test performed using a Chevrolet big block with a compression ratio of 12: 1. The timing was set at 32. The carburetor used was a Holy 850 with 77 jets. The oil used had a viscosity of 15/40. The octane number was 110. The load factor was set to 0.77. The left column shows the torque and horsepower generated between 4500 and 7000 rpm with a set of new, standard Autolite AR3932X plugs. The middle column shows a similar set of data using a similar plug modified by the cap of the present invention. The right column shows that the torque and horsepower increase at all measured rotational speeds except 5500 to 5700 rpm.

Table 4 shows the results of a dynamo test performed using a Chevrolet big block with a compression ratio of 12: 1 and a gap of 0.045. The timing was set at 32. The carburetor used was a Holy 850 with 77 jets. The oil used had a viscosity of 15/40. The octane number was 110. The load factor was set to 0.77. The left column shows the torque and horsepower generated between 4500 and 7000 rpm with a set of new, standard Autolite AR3932X plugs. The middle column shows a similar set of data using a similar plug modified by the cap of the present invention. The right column shows that torque and horsepower increase at all measured rotational speeds except 5500 to 5800 rpm.

  Tables 5 and 6 show the results of the Chevrolet Big Block Dynamo test. The timing was set at 32. The carburetor used was a Holy 850 with a 77/77 jet. The oil used had a viscosity of 15/40. The octane number was 110. The load factor was set to 0.77. In Table 5, the three columns on the left (OE) show the horsepower generated between 4500 and 7000 rpm with a set of new AR3932X plugs. The three columns on the right (NS) show a similar set of data using similar plugs modified by the cap of the present invention. Horsepower increased at all measured revolutions except 5600 rpm. In Table 6, the three columns on the left (OE) show the torque generated between 4500 and 7000 rpm when using a set of new AR3932X plugs. The three columns on the right (NS) show a similar set of data using similar plugs modified by the cap of the present invention. Torque increased at all measured rotational speeds except 5600 rpm.

  In each embodiment, reference is made to a plug improved by the cap portion of the present invention. In this regard, the reference plug mentioned in each case was improved by grinding the electrode legs of the plug and welding a ring (cap part) to the plug, as shown in FIG. Will be understood.

A typical ring (cap) is shown in FIGS. This ring (cap portion) is made of 3042B stainless steel and is dimensioned as follows.
A Radius 0.060 inch B 0.13 inch C Radius 0.07 inch D Curvature radius 0.076 inch E 0.031 inch F 0.028 inch G 0.47 inch H 0.05 inch I 0.24 inch J 0.47 inch K 0.13 inch

  However, it should be understood that these dimensions were chosen so that the distance between the anode and the ring (cap) was the distance specified by the manufacturer of the vehicle using the improved plug. It is possible to change these dimensions, and in fact, the dimensions will change when other engines are applied to meet the specifications of the manufacturer of the engine.

  Although the structure of seven lobes is disclosed, the plurality of lobes may be composed of three to seven lobes.

  In addition, it should be understood that the invention is limited only by the appended claims when construed for purpose.

Claims (6)

A spark plug used with an engine block / cylinder head having a threaded hole, and further used with a spark plug wrench and an ignition wire,
A nut portion configured to be rotated by a wrench;
A coupling portion configured to extend from the nut portion and receive an ignition wire;
An insulating portion extending from the nut portion and extending to an end away from the connecting portion;
An anode extending past the end of the insulating portion;
With a ground electrode,
A male screw extending from the nut portion so as to surround the insulating portion and coaxially oriented about a longitudinal axis to define the longitudinal axis and engage with a screw hole of the engine block in use A tubular metal part with a cap part extending from the tubular metal part and spaced from the insulating part,
The cap portion defines a void, and the void is a central portion where the anode extends, an annular channel surrounding the central portion, each similar to the arrangement of the planetary gear with respect to the sun gear in a planetary gear device. Comprising a plurality of lobes arranged relative to the center,
The cap portion has a center plane that is axially spaced from a portion of the insulating portion that protrudes beyond the tubular metal portion, and a convex upper surface that surrounds the center plane and extends to the center plane. ,
Spark plug.   The spark plug of claim 1, wherein the center plane is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis and is coplanar with the end of the anode.   The spark plug of claim 1, wherein the plurality of lobes comprises 3-7. R1 is the radius of each planetary gear,
R2 is the distance from the axis of each planetary gear to the axis of the sun gear,
R3 is the outer radius of the ground electrode,
When R4 is the outer radius of the annular channel,
The spark plug according to claim 3, wherein R1: R2: R3: R4 is 0.12: 0.305: 0.475: 0.25.   The spark plug of claim 4, wherein the plurality of lobes consists of seven.   The cap portion includes a plurality of fingers provided radially inwardly separating the lobes from each other, each finger having a distal end from which the finger extends, and the finger at the end. The spark plug of claim 1 wherein the axially measured thickness is equal to the length of the portion of the anode extending beyond the insulating portion.

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