The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 08, 2001
Filed:
Apr. 24, 1998
Kevin Lawrence Miller, Toledo, OH (US);
Cooper Automotive Products, Inc., Houston, TX (US);
Abstract
A direct injection combustion engine includes a combustion chamber, a spark plug and a shield. The combustion chamber includes a fuel intake port, an air intake port and a spark plug insertion opening. The spark plug includes a threaded shell having a firing end, a firing electrode, a ground electrode, and an insulator core nose extending substantially beyond the firing end of the threaded shell, the spark plug being installed in the opening so that the firing electrode, the ground electrode, and the insulator core nose extend into the chamber. The shield is attached to a surface of the combustion chamber and is positioned between the fuel intake port and the spark plug insertion opening and reduces the flow of fuel from the fuel intake port to the insulator core nose, including the portion of the core nose extending into the chamber, without preventing flow of fuel directly from the fuel intake port to a spark gap defined between the firing electrode and the ground electrode. The shield has a length that is sufficient to protect the insulator core nose but not an excessive length so as to block the flow of fuel from reaching the spark plug gap.