Federal-mogul Ignition Company

Federal-mogul Corporation

Other

Kevin J Kowalski

Richard L Keller

Frederick James Quitmeyer

Nathan A Thomson

Curtis W Verhoff

Mark McMurray

Patrick M Gfell

Jeremy M Bowman

James D Lykowski

William John Walker, Jr

Shuwei Ma

John William Hoffman

Kevin Miller

James L May

Myron Jeffery Schmenk

Richard Llope

Don R Gregg

Donald R Gregg

Matthew C Ware

Brian A Bolduc

David Walker

Patrick Michael Gfell

A spark plug has a firing pad attached to a center electrode or to a ground electrode. The firing pad is attached via laser welding and has a sparking surface with an overall fused area and an unfused area. In one or more embodiments, the overall fused area is located in part or more inboard of a peripheral edge of the firing pad.

Spark plug having firing pad

A spark plug and a method of manufacturing the same, where the spark plug has a metal shell, an insulator, a center electrode, a ground electrode, and a gasket located over a threaded portion of the shell and used to seal the spark plug against a cylinder head. Once the gasket is attached on the spark plug, it is shrunk to become a post-formed gasket with an inner diameter that prevents the post-formed gasket from slipping over a threaded portion of the metallic shell. This process may be carried out with a collet type machine that produces a post-formed gasket that is flat and has a substantially uniform thickness, which can improve the sealability of the gasket. This may be important when the spark plug is installed in a cylinder head made from a lost foam casting process or other process that creates a somewhat porous sealing surface.

Spark plug gasket and method of attaching the same

A method of manufacturing a spark plug () for being threaded into a cylinder head () of an internal combustion engine is provided. The spark plug () includes a shell () with threads () disposed at a predetermined rotational position (a) relative to a shell outer surface () and ground electrode (). The position of the threads () relative to the ground electrode () places the ground electrode () in a desired position in the combustion chamber () and relative to components of the engine, thus allowing the ground electrode () to provide a robust and reliable ignition. When multiple spark plugs () are formed, the threads () in each of the shells () are repeatedly and accurately formed at the predetermined rotational position (&#x3b1;) by locating the ground electrode (), threads (), and dies () of a thread forming apparatus () in specific locations.

Spark plug having improved ground electrode orientation and method of forming

A spark plug having a metal shell, an insulator, a center electrode, a ground electrode, and a multi-layer sparking component. The multi-layer sparking component is attached at a firing end of the ground electrode and includes a thin precious metal layer formed overtop a base metal layer and, according to some embodiments, overhangs the end of the ground electrode. The precious metal and base metal layers may be pre-manufactured together as a bi-metal ribbon, sheet or laminate before the multi-layer sparking component is attached to the ground electrode.

Spark plug having multi-layer sparking component attached to ground electrode

A spark plug has a firing pad attached to a center electrode or a ground electrode by way of a fused portion. In one or more embodiments, the firing pad is composed of a precious metal material. The fused portion can be formed in such a way that a material composition thereof at a sparking surface of the firing pad has a greater percentage of the precious metal material than a material of the underlying electrode to which the firing pad is attached.

A spark plug () for being threaded into a cylinder head () includes a shell () with threads () disposed at a predetermined angled relative to the ground electrode (). The position of the threads () relative to the ground electrode () places the ground electrode () in a predetermined position in the combustion chamber () and relative to components of the engine, thus allowing the ground electrode () to provide a robust and reliable ignition. The threads () are formed by a thread forming apparatus () that includes an orientation tool () to position the ground electrode () relative to a thread forming apparatus (), allowing the thread forming apparatus () to form the threads () at the desired angle (&#x3b1;).

A spark plug has a shell, an insulator, a center electrode, a ground electrode, and a firing pad. The firing pad is made of a precious metal material and is attached to the ground electrode. The firing pad has a side surface at a peripheral edge that can be flush or nearly flush with a free end surface of the ground electrode. This construction can help improve ignitability and flame kernel growth of the spark plug during a sparking event, and can provide better thermal management at the attached ground electrode and firing pad.

A spark plug includes a metallic shell, an insulator, a center electrode, a ground electrode, and a thin firing pad. The thin firing pad is made from a noble metal and can be attached to the center electrode, the ground electrode, or to both. In some examples, the thin firing pad possesses certain geometric properties and relationships that can improve ignitability and durability of the thin firing pad.

Spark plug having a thin noble metal firing pad

A spark plug and method of construction thereof is provided. The spark plug includes a metal shell having a through cavity, a lower insulator and a plastic upper insulator. The lower insulator is received in the through cavity and has a through passage with a center electrode received therein. A ground electrode is operatively attached to the shell in spaced relation from the ground electrode to provide a spark gap. The plastic upper insulator has a distal end received in the through cavity of the shell and a terminal end extending axially outwardly from the shell. The upper insulator has a through passage extending between the terminal end and the distal end. An elongate conductive member is received in the through passage of the upper insulator and is configured for electrical communication with the center electrode.

Spark plug having a plastic upper insulator and method of construction

A spark ignition device, ground electrode therefor, and methods of construction thereof are provided. The spark ignition device includes a generally annular ceramic insulator with a metal shell surrounding at least a portion of the ceramic insulator. A center electrode is received at least in part in the ceramic insulator and a ground electrode extends from the shell to a free end portion. A firing tip is attached adjacent the free end portion of the ground electrode to provide a spark gap between the center electrode and the firing tip. The free end portion is at least partially bounded by at least one 'as laser cut' peripheral side extending adjacent the firing tip.

Spark ignition device and ground electrode therefor and methods of  construction thereof

Spark ignition device and ground electrode therefor and methods of construction thereof

A spark plug includes a metallic shell, an insulator, a center electrode body, a ground electrode body, and a ground electrode tip. In one embodiment, the ground electrode tip includes a non-precious metal piece and a precious metal piece attached to each other. The non-precious metal piece has a side surface attached to a free end surface of the ground electrode body.

Growing community of inventors

Perrysburg, OH, United States of America

Kevin J Kowalski