Federal-mogul Ignition Company

Tenneco Gmbh

Continental Automotive France

Federal-mogul Ignition Gmbh

Federal-mogul Corporation

Federal-mogul Ignition Srl

Federal-mogul Italy Srl

Other

Siemens Vdo Automotive Corporation

John Antony Burrows

James D Lykowski

Kristapher I Mixell

John E Miller

Sandro Goretti

Alain Ramond

Paul Tinwell

Cyrille Patri

Keith Hampton

Bernd Last

Alfred Permuy

Michel Boucard

Robin Clarke

Andreas Zeh

Rene Trebbels

Yusuf Esmail Neemuchwala

Shuwei Ma

Richard L Keller

John William Hoffman

Nathan A Thomson

Kevin Miller

Jan Haag

Benjamin L'Henoret

Sofian Oeij

Zdenek Svimbersky

Robert Emil Ratz

Fu Xing Chan

Sam Roe

Johne Miller

Samuel Owen Roe

Malik Merke

Anthony Santana

Laura Beretta

Marcello Cino

John W Hoffman

An electrode tip assembly for a spark plug includes an electrode tip that is formed on an electrode base using an additive manufacturing process, such as a powder bed fusion technique, after which the electrode base is welded to an electrode body. The electrode base includes a welding side and an additive manufacturing side, and the electrode tip includes a plurality of laser deposition layers built on the additive manufacturing side of the electrode base.

Electrode tip assembly for a spark plug and method of manufacturing the same

A corona comprises a central electrode surrounded by an insulator, which is surrounded by a conductive component. The conductive component includes a shell and an intermediate part both formed of an electrically conductive material. The intermediate part is a layer of metal which brazes the insulator to the shell. An outer surface of the insulator presents a lower ledge, and the layer of metal can be applied to the insulator above the lower ledge prior to or after inserting the insulator into the shell. The conductive inner diameter is less than an insulator outer diameter directly below the lower ledge such the insulator thickness increases toward the electrode firing end. The insulator outer diameter is also typically less than the shell inner diameter so that the corona igniter can be forward-assembled.

Corona ignition device with improved electrical performance

A system and method for detecting resonant frequency of a corona igniter concurrent with operation of the corona igniter is provided. The method includes providing a plurality of pulses of energy to the corona igniter, each having a pulse duration and spaced from one another by a deadtime duration during which no energy is provided to the corona igniter. Each pulse duration is ceased before current flowing in the corona igniter crosses zero, and each zero crossing of the current occurs during one of the deadtime durations. The next pulse of energy is provided to the corona igniter in response to the zero crossing of the current. A resonant frequency value is then obtained based on a sum of the pulse and deadtime durations of two consecutive cycles, or the time between zero crossings. The resonant frequency values become more accurate over time, and the drive frequency is adjusted accordingly.

Concurrent method for resonant frequency detection in corona ignition systems

An insulator for a corona igniter, referred to as a barrier discharge ignition (BDI) device, for use in an internal combustion engine, is provided. A central electrode is disposed in a slot of the insulator and an electrode tip is spaced from a round insulator tip by insulating material. A shell formed of metal surrounds a portion of the insulator. The insulator has a thickness tapering between a shell firing surface and the insulator tip. The tapering insulator thickness is unidirectional and thus does not increase between a start of the taper and the insulator tip. A method of manufacturing an insulator for a corona igniter is also provided. Equations can be used to determine if a taper in the insulator thickness is needed to encourage corona propagation along a core nose projection of the insulator, and if so, the location and size of the taper.

Optimized barrier discharge device for corona ignition

A spark plug having a shell with a ground electrode recess. A ground electrode having an insertion end, a firing end, and a round cross-sectional profile toward the insertion end is inserted into the ground electrode recess of the shell. An attachment portion surrounds at least a portion of the ground electrode and includes a solidified bonding material at a connection interface between the ground electrode and the shell. In some implementations, the ground electrode can have a copper core that extends further into the shell, past the distal end of the insulator. In some embodiments, the ground electrode has a sheath surrounding the copper core that has aluminum and a high weight percentage of nickel.

Spark plug ground electrode configuration

An igniter assembly comprising an ignition coil assembly connected to a firing end assembly by an extension, with a valve assembly disposed in a pressure chamber of the extension, is provided. The valve assembly includes a valve stem biased toward the ignition coil assembly by a spring to seal the pressure chamber. The valve assembly is used to evacuate contents from the pressure chamber by pressing the valve stem toward the spring and allowing contents of the pressure chamber to travel through and past the valve stem and out of the pressure chamber. The valve assembly is also used to fill the pressure chamber with an insulating medium by pressing the valve stem toward the spring and allowing the insulating medium to travel through and past the valve stem and into the pressure chamber after evacuating the contents out of the pressure chamber.

Igniter assembly with improved insulation and method of insulating the igniter assembly

A spark plug, including a metallic shell, an insulator, a center electrode, and a ground electrode. The insulator includes a first outer surface at least partly along an exposed portion and a second outer surface at least partly along an unexposed portion. The first outer surface extends between the exposed-unexposed interface to a tip merge portion adjacent a distal end of the insulator. The first outer surface and the second outer surface meet at a nose surface transition. At the nose surface transition, the first outer surface is disposed at a first angle with respect to a central axis of the spark plug, and the second outer surface is disposed at a second angle with respect to the central axis of the spark plug. The first angle is larger than the second angle, and the nose surface transition is located within the unexposed portion or at the exposed-unexposed interface.

Spark plug

A spark plug is specified, having a metal shell with an axial bore and a threaded section, having an insulator with an axial bore that is located at least partially inside the axial bore of the metal shell; a center electrode that is accommodated at least partially inside the axial bore of the insulator; a ground electrode that is held by the metal shell, wherein an end region of the ground electrode forms, together with the center electrode, an ignition gap, and having a sealing ring that extends at least between an outside shoulder of the insulator and an inside shoulder of the metal shell, wherein the sealing ring has polyaryl ether ketone (PAEK), preferably polyether ether ketone (PEEK).

Spark plug with polymer sealing ring

A corona ignition system including a corona igniter, switches, and a programmable controller capable of rapidly adjusting to changes in resonant frequency is provided. Energy at a drive frequency and an output current is provided to the corona igniter. Switches provide energy to the corona igniter at the drive frequency and are activated at different times. The controller obtains the output current provided to the corona igniter, typically once every half cycle, and activates the first switch a predetermined amount of time after a first zero crossing of the output current, wherein the first zero crossing is a zero crossing of the most recent full cycle of the output current. The second switch is activated a predetermined amount of time after a second zero crossing occurring after the first zero crossing. The delay of the system is accounted for by the controller, rather than other components.

Flexible control system for corona ignition power supply

A power amplifier circuit for a corona ignition system is provided. The circuit includes an inductor and capacitor connected to one end of a secondary winding of an RF transformer. The other end of the secondary winding is connected to a current sensor which is connected to ground. The transformer also has a primary winding with one end connected to a voltage supply and the other end attached to a pair of switches. The windings are wound around a core. Current flowing from the DC voltage supply to the switches causes a magnetic flux in the core. A voltage is generated on the secondary winding by the current that flows through the igniter. This voltage is fed back to the switches, controlling on and off timing. Voltage is provided to the corona igniter or pulled from the igniter when the current traveling into or from the igniter is at zero.

Corona ignition with self-tuning power amplifier

A reversed-assembled corona igniter including an insulator, central electrode, and metal shell, wherein an outer diameter of the insulator increases adjacent a lower end of the metal shell to achieve an electrical advantage is provided. In addition, the insulator maintains strength because is not placed under tension during or after assembly, or once disposed in an engine. To achieve the increase in insulator outer diameter, the insulator includes a lower shoulder adjacent the shell firing end. An intermediate part, such as braze and/or a metal ring, is disposed between the insulator outer surface and the shell adjacent the shell firing end. To prevent tension in the insulator, the insulator can be supported at only one location between the insulator upper end and the insulator lower end, for example along the intermediate part.

Corona ignition device and assembly method

Growing community of inventors

Northwich, United Kingdom

John Antony Burrows