Denso Corporation

Plasma Applications Co., Ltd.

The University of Tokyo

Denso Corpora Tion

Tokyo Keiki Inc.

Daisuke Tanaka

Fumiaki Aoki

Akimitsu Sugiura

Tetsuya Miwa

Kanechiyo Terada

Ryota Wakasugi

Shota Kinoshita

Naoto Hayashi

Daisuke Shimamoto

Yuuki Kawata

Masashi Kando

Jan Husarik

Kaori Doi

Satoru Nakayama

Noriaki Nishio

Mitsuhiro Tsue

Shinji Nakaya

Takaaki Sato

Shintaro Itoh

Hiroshi Okajima

Masaaki Kono

In an ignition apparatus, an ignition plug is provided. In the ignition plug, a tubular outer conductor surrounds an inner conductor, and a dielectric member is disposed in the tubular outer conductor to define a plasma formation region between the inner conductor and the dielectric member. The plasma formation region has opposing first and second ends in the axial direction of the tubular outer conductor, and the first end of the plasma formation region communicates with the combustion chamber. A power source is connected between the inner and tubular outer conductors. A controller causes a power source to apply electromagnetic power pulses with intervals therebetween across the inner and tubular outer conductors during an ignition cycle of an engine. Each of the electromagnetic power pulses forms at least a corresponding plasma in the plasma formation region.

Ignition apparatus

An ignition apparatus is provided which ignites a mixture of air and fuel gas by plasma to generate an initial flame. The apparatus includes: a spark plug that includes an inner conductor, a cylindrical outer conductor that holds the inner conductor thereinside, and a dielectric that is provided between the inner conductor and the outer conductor, and that generates plasma in a plasma formation space between the inner conductor and the outer conductor; an electromagnetic wave power supply that generates an electromagnetic wave to apply electromagnetic wave power to the spark plug; an evaluation section that evaluates a state of formation of the plasma; a determination section that determines a matching object of the electromagnetic wave based on an evaluation result by the evaluation section; and a coupled state control section that controls a matching condition of the electromagnetic wave so that the electromagnetic wave matches the matching object.

Ignition apparatus including spark plug that generates plasma

A spark plug includes a housing, an insulator, a center electrode, and an earth electrode. The earth electrode has a gap-forming surface which forms a discharge gap between the gap-forming surface and a tip surface of the center electrode. The insulator includes an insulator protrusion protruding on the tip side of the housing in a plug axial direction. At least one of cross-sections passing through a plug center axis and parallel to the plug axial direction is referred to as an axial parallel cross-section. The outer peripheral surface of the insulator protrusion includes an insulator inclined surface extending inward toward the tip in the plug axial direction, in a straight line or a curve that is convex inward, in the axial parallel cross-section. In the axial parallel cross-section, a virtual straight line passing through both ends of the insulator inclined surface passes through the gap-forming surface.

Spark plug for internal combustion engines

A spark plug has a tubular ground electrode, an insulator, and a center electrode. The insulator has an insulator protruding portion protruding to a tip end side in a plug axial direction with respect to the ground electrode. The center electrodehas an exposed portion exposed through a tip end of the insulator protruding portion. The exposed portion of the center electrode has a first part covering the insulator protruding portion from the tip end side in the plug axial direction, and a second part extending from the first part to a base end side in the plug axial direction and covering the entire circumference of an outer peripheral surface of the insulator protruding portion from an outer peripheral side in a plug radial direction.

Spark plug for internal combustion engine

In a spark plug for an internal combustion engine, a cylindrical insulator is arranged radially inside a cylindrical ground electrode, and includes an insulator protruding portion protruding further toward a distal end side in an axial direction than a distal end of the ground electrode. A center electrode is held radially inside the insulator, and includes an exposed portion exposed from a distal end of the insulator protruding portion. The spark plug generates a discharge from the exposed portion to the ground electrode, in a discharge gap formed along a surface of the insulator protruding portion. At least one of the exposed portion and the insulator protruding portion includes a flow inlet that is open on an outer circumferential surface thereof, a flow outlet that is open toward the discharge gap, and a communication passage communicating between the flow inlet and the flow outlet.

An ignition apparatus for an internal combustion engine includes a center electrode, a ground electrode, an insulator, a housing, and an insulator protective wall portion. The ground electrode is disposed such that a discharge gap is formed between the ground electrode and the center electrode. The insulator holds the center electrode on an inner side of the insulator. The housing holds the insulator on an inner side of the housing. The insulator protective wall portion is arranged to surround an outer circumference side of a distal end portion of the insulator. A distal end of the insulator protective wall portion is positioned further towards a distal end side than a distal end of the insulator is and further towards a proximal end side than a distal end of the center electrode is. The insulator protective wall portion includes an inward protruding portion that protrudes towards a side surface of the center electrode.

Ignition apparatus for internal combustion engine

In a spark plug for an internal combustion engine, a discharge gap is formed between a central electrode and a ground electrode in an axial direction of the spark plug. An insulator of a cylindrical shape has an axial hole and an insulator front end part. The axial hole is formed in the insulator, into which the central electrode is arranged and supported. The insulator front end part projects further toward a front side of the insulator in the axial direction of the spark plug than a location of an opening part formed at a front end side of the axial hole. The discharge gasp is formed in an auxiliary combustion chamber. The outer peripheral side of the auxiliary combustion chamber is covered with the insulator front end part.

Spark plug of internal combustion engine

An ignition device ignites a mixture of air and fuel gas by plasma to generate an initial flame. The ignition device includes a spark plug having an inner conductor, a cylindrical outer conductor that holds the inner conductor inside, and a dielectric provided between the inner conductor and the outer conductor, and the spark plug configured to emit an electromagnetic wave to a plasma formation space between the inner conductor and the outer conductor to generate a plasma. The ignition device includes an electromagnetic wave power supply that generates the electromagnetic wave by inputting the electromagnetic wave power Ps to the spark plug and a power supply control unit that controls the electromagnetic wave power supply. The electromagnetic wave power supply is configured to generate high frequency power at a number of different frequencies. The power supply control unit outputs at least one of the plurality of high frequency powers generated by the electromagnetic wave power supply as the electromagnetic wave power.

Ignition device

An ignition apparatus includes a plasma device, a first circuit, a second circuit, and a control unit. The plasma device produces a plasma discharge in an air-fuel mixture before an arc discharge is produced. The first circuit causes an ignition plug to start the arc discharge. The second circuit energizes a primary coil in a direction opposite to the direction of the energization by the first circuit during the arc discharge, to maintain energization of the secondary coil in the same direction as the direction of the energization started by an operation of the first circuit, to cause continuation of the arc discharge. The control unit controls operations of the first circuit, the second circuit, and the plasma device.

A spark plug for an internal combustion engine includes a housing, an insulator, and a center electrode. The center electrode includes an inside electrode portion and an outside electrode portion. The housing includes a ground electrode projecting from a distal end portion of the housing toward the distal end side of the plug at a part in a plug circumferential direction. The outside electrode portion projects along a surface of the insulator tip in a direction away from a boundary with the inside electrode portion and includes a projection, which is capable of causing an electrical discharge between the ground electrode and the outside electrode portion. The projection is formed in a region in the plug circumferential direction. The projection and the ground electrode are located at positions different from each other in the plug circumferential direction.

An ignition control apparatus applied to an internal combustion engine including a spark plug includes an in-cylinder pressure acquisition section, a frequency signal transmitting section which transmits a frequency signal having a predetermined frequency to a switching element, and a weak discharge generating section which causes the frequency signal to be transmitted during an intake stroke and controls the frequency signal such that a weak discharge is generated at the spark plug a plurality of times. The weak discharge generating section controls the frequency signal so as to cause a duty ratio of the switching element to be changed in accordance with the in-cylinder pressure, such that the frequency of generating weak discharges during a time period in which the frequency signal is transmitted becomes higher than a predetermined frequency.

Ignition control apparatus

In a spark plug, a discharge gap is formed between a ground electrode and a central electrode. The ground electrode has a rod-shaped part and an opposing part. The opposing part faces the central electrode, and has a flat surface part and a slope surface part. The slope surface part is formed on a part of the opposing part in an extending direction of the ground electrode, and formed on the opposing part and gradually separated from the central electrode along a width direction of the opposing part. The spark plug has a ratio V/W within a range of 0.5&#x3c;V/W&#x3c;2.0. V indicates a length of the opposing part measured in a gap formation direction in which the central electrode, the discharge gap and the opposing part are arranged in order. W indicates a length of the opposing part in the ground electrode width direction.

A spark plug for an internal combustion engine is provided which has a center electrode and a ground electrode. The ground electrode includes an upright portion extending in a lengthwise direction of the spark plug and an extension bent from the upright portion in a radial direction of the spark plug. The extension has a slant surface which is shaped to be inclined away from the center electrode downstream in a flow of air-fuel mixture within a combustion chamber when the spark plug is mounted in the engine. This results in an increase in in distance by which a starting point on the ground electrode where a spark is created is moved on the slant surface, thereby increasing a length of time the spark is moved downstream and then blown out to increase the probability of successful ignition of the air-fuel mixture.

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Nisshin, Japan

Daisuke Tanaka