A sheathed heater and a temperature self-regulating type glow plug

Abstract: A sheathed heater (1) having a heater element (2) disposed in a sheath tube (11) filled with an insulating powder (14), the heater (2) comprising a heat resistor (21) connected in series with a current regulation resistor (22). The current regulation resistor (22) is made from a cobalt-copper alloy which contains a copper component in the range from 1.0% to 14% by weight.

Description: This invention relates to a sheathed heater and a temperature self-regulating type glow plug which is to be disposed in a combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine such as diesel engine so as to help start the engine. When upon starting a diesel engine, it is desirable to arrange a preheating time period to be as short as possible. According to a prior proposal, a quick heating type glow plug has been introduced in which a large magnitude of current is provided to the glow plug to instantly raise the temperature of an outer surface of a sheathed heater while avoiding disconnection of the heater due to an excessive amount of heat production. This type of temperature self-regulating glow plug serves as a two-piece heater having a heat resistor connected in series with a current regulation resistor. The latter has a greater positive temperature coefficient characteristic in its relationship between resistance and temperature. In general, the temperature self-regulating glow plug has a sheathed heater which provides a heat-resistant sheathed tube whose front end is closed to enclose a heater having a heating resistor connected in series with a current regulation resistor each resistor being in the form of helix. Within the sheathed tube, an insulating powder (e.g., ceramic powder) is provided to firmly support the sheathed heater. The sheathed heater is disposed in a front end of a cylindrical metallic shell so that it projects forward. The heating resistor of the sheathed heater is usually made of iron-chromium alloy, and the current regulation resistor made of nickel-plated iron or cobalt-iron alloy, each of which has a higher temperature coefficient. While the temperature coefficient of the nickel-plated iron may be adequate, its oxidation resistant property, is insufficient and its temperature coefficient deteriorates especially when the temperature reaches 700°C or more. When the cobalt-iron alloy is employed, its weld strength to the heating resistor is poor, although the cobalt-iron alloy maintains its great temperature coefficient even in a high temperature environment. EP-A-0 355 431 discloses a sheathed heater of this type comprising a heater element disposed in a sheath tube, the heater element comprising a heat resistor connected in series with a current regulation resistor, the current regulation resistor comprising a cobalt-iron alloy. Therefore, it is one of the objects of the invention to provide a sheathed heater and a temperature self-regulating type glow plug which has a current regulation resistor superior in oxidation resistant property, weld strength/durability and temperature coefficient even in a high temperature environment. According to the present invention, there is provided a sheathed heater comprising: a heater element disposed in a sheath tube, said heater element comprising a heat resistor connected in series with a current regulation resistor; and wherein the current regulation resistor is made from a cobalt-copper alloy which contains a copper component in the range from 1.0% to 14% by weight. The invention also provides a temperature self-regulating type glow plug in which such sheathed heater is incorporated into a front end of a metallic shell having a thread to be mounted on a cylinder head of an internal combustion engine. In some forms the heating resistor and the current regulation resistor are each in the form of helix, and these resistors are welded in series with each other. Preferably, a low value resistor is connected between the heating resistor and the current regulation resistor in order to control heat transmission. This makes it possible to instantly raise the temperature of the heating resistor so as to maintain it approximately at 800°C during an after-glow period upon starting the engine. The current regulation resistor made of the cobalt-copper based alloy which contains a copper component in the range from 1.0% to 14% by weight can possess a superior oxidation resistant property, and exhibit a good weld-integrity against the iron-chromium based alloy which is adopted as the heating resistor. Additionally, it can exhibit a disconnection resistant property in spite of repeated on-off actuation while maintaining a temperature coefficient nearly twelve times higher than at room temperature in such a severe environment as 900°C or more. The copper component of the current regulation resistor is determined to be more than 1.0% by weight because an addition of 1.0% copper component changes the close-packed hexagonal lattice structure of pure cobalt to a face-centered cubic lattice structure which is deformable so as to be readily machined. The copper component of the current regulation resistor is determined to be less than 14% by weight because its liquid phase line, i.e. melting point against composition, remains above 1400°C to satisfactorily compensate an upper limit of the operating temperature of the temperature self-regulating type glow plug. The invention will be more clearly understood from the following description which is given by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a longitudinal cross sectional view of a sheathed heater according to a first embodiment of the invention; Fig. 2 is a partial cross sectional view of a temperature self-regulating type glow plug; Fig. 3 is a graph showing temperature rise characteristics; Fig. 4 is a graph showing a durability experimental test result; and Fig. 5 is a longitudinal cross sectional view of a sheathed heater according to a second embodiment of the invention. Fig. 1 shows a sheathed heater 1 according to a first embodiment of the invention. The sheathed heater 1 has a heater 2 disposed in a sheath tube 11 made of a heat resistant metal such as e.g. stainless steel. The sheath tube 11 has an open rear end 13 and a front closed end 12 having a semi-spherical configuration. Within the sheath tube 11, an electrical insulation powder (e.g. ceramic powder) 14 is supplied to firmly support the heater 2. Through the rear end 13 of the sheath tube 11, a center electrode 3 is inserted coaxially to the sheath tube 11. The heater 2 electrically connects a front end 31 of the center electrode 3 to an inner wall of the front end 12 of the sheath tube 11 by way of a heat resistor 21 and a current regulation resistor 22. The open rear end 13 of the sheath tube 11 is filled with silicon based seal 15 so as to prevent entry of contaminants such as liquids and oil additives. The heat resistor 21 and the current regulation resistor 22 are each in the form of a helix, and the resistors 21, 22 are connected in series with each other to form the heater 2 by means of welding. The heat resistor 21 is made of an iron-chromium alloy whose front end is arc welded to the inner wall of the front end 12 of the sheath tube 11. The rear end of the heat resistor 21 is arc welded to a front end of the current regulation resistor 22 as designated by numeral 23. The current regulation resistor 22 is made of a cobalt-copper alloy whose front end is welded to the rear end of the heat resistor 21, and the rear end of the current regulation resistor 22 is welded to the front end 31 of the center electrode 3. The current regulation resistor 22 is made of a cobalt-copper alloy wire which contains a copper component in the range of 1.0% to 14% by weight. With an addition of the copper component of 1.0% or more by weight, the hexagonal lattice structure of pure cobalt changes to a face-centered cubic lattice structure which is deformable to be readily machined into a helical shape configuration. The liquid phase line for a resistor 22 containing 14% by weight copper component corresponds to around 1400°C, at about which temperature the strength of the resistor rapidly deteriorates. The liquid phase line increases (i.e. the melting point rises) with the decrease of the copper component. So long as the operating temperature of the sheathed heater and the self-regulating glow plug has an upper limit of 1400°C or less, all the operating conditions are satisfied. It is to be noted that the copper component may preferably be in the range of 3.0% to 12% by weight. The current regulation resistor 22 is made of cobalt-copper alloy wire because its temperature coefficient is maintained high even in a high temperature environment such as 700°C or more while keeping a good weld integrity with the iron-chromium alloy and the nickel-chromium alloy. In comparison to a cobalt-iron alloy, the cobalt-copper alloy wire is further superior in durability in terms of cyclic heat-cool operation. In Fig. 2 which shows a temperature self-regulating glow plug (A), a rear portion of the sheathed heater 1 is connected to a front portion 43 of a cylindrical metallic shell 4 by means of a silver soldering or press-fit. Into a rear portion 45 of the metallic shell 4, an insulator ring 41 is interfit to coaxially support the center electrode 3. The self-regulating glow plug (A) is to be energized by a battery cell or generator (V) by way of a key switch (K). The metallic shell 4, which serves as a ground electrode, has a diameter-reduced front portion 43 having a male thread 42 to mount the glow plug (A) on a cylinder head of an internal combustion engine. Further, the metallic shell 4 has the diameter-increased rear portion 45 whose rear end has a hexagonal rear portion 44. The center electrode 3 has the diameter-reduced front portion 31 and a diameter-increased rear portion 32 on whose outer surface is provided a male thread. To the rear portion 32 of the center electrode 3, nuts 33, 34 are screwed respectively. The former nut 33 fastens the insulator ring 41, and the latter nut 34 fixes a wire harness (not shown). The insulator ring 41 has a cylinder portion 46 interfit into the hexagonal portion 44 of the metallic shell 4, and at the same time having a flange 48 firmly interposed between the nut 33 and a rear end surface 47 of the metallic shell 4. Fig. 3 shows a graph illustrating a relationship between an energization time period (sec) and a temperature rise (°C). In the graph of Fig. 3, the self-regulating type glow plug (A) contains the copper component by 10% by weight. A first prior art counterpart (B) adopts a Co-8Fe alloy wire as a current regulation resistor. The Co-8Fe alloy means to contain 8% iron and 92% cobalt by weight as a balance. A second prior art counterpart (C) adopts a Ni-plated pure iron wire as a current regulation resistor. The temperature rise of Fig. 3 represents an outer temperature of a diameter-reduced portion lla of the sheath tube 11 when each of the glow plugs was energized respectively by closing the key switch (K). As apparent from Fig. 3, it was found that the glow plug (A) had as good a self-regulating function of the temperature as the first prior counterpart (B) since they exhibited a rapid resistance rise beyond 800°C. Although the second prior counterpart (C) exhibited a high temperature coefficient (approx. 11.5 fold at 900°C), the counterpart (C) was poor in an instant temperature rising property since its temperature rise beyond 800°C was gradual so as to take a long time to reach at 800°C, the temperature which is necessary to ensure a smooth start of the engine. Fig. 4 shows an experimental test result of a disconnection resistant property on the glow plugs (A), (B) and (C). Each of the glow plugs (A), (B) and (C) was cyclically energized (14 volt) for 300 seconds and deenergized for 60 seconds alternately. It was found that the glow plug (A) exhibited no disconnection when the on-off energization exceeded 10,000 cycles. While on the other hand, the glow plug (b) exhibited a disconnection at 7,000 cycles, and the glow plug (C) exhibited a disconnection at 2,000 cycles. Fig. 5 shows a second embodiment of the invention in which a low value resistor 20 is connected between the heat resistor 21 and the current regulation resistor 22 so that the resistors 21, 22 are positioned remote from each other. In the second embodiment of the invention, the low value resistor 20 prevents a release of Joule's heat from the resistor 21 directly to the current regulation resistor 22 via the weld spot 23. By way of illustration, an electrical resistance of the low value resistor 20 is smaller than a resistance (approx. 0.17Ω) of the current regulation resistor 22 which is generally half a resistance (0.33Ω) of the heat resistor 21. This means that the resistance ratio of the resistor 22 to the resistor 21 is predetermined substantially to be 1 : 2. For this reason, it is possible to determine the resistance of the low value resistor 20 to be approximately 0.10 Ω. The provision of the low value resistor 20 enables a quick temperature rise of an outer surface of the sheath tube 11 due to the Joule's heat of the resistor 21, while delaying the temperature rise of the current regulation resistor 22 to retard its current regulating function to reduce the after-glow heat generation so as to improve a durability of the glow plug. In this instance, the low value resistor 20 is made of nickel or nickel-chromium based alloy wire which is in the form of a helix. On the other hand, a nickel-based alloy may be used for the heat resistor 21 in order to be firmly welded to the low value resistor 20. It is appreciated that instead of use in a glow plug, the sheathed heater 1 may be incorporated into a heating source for a toilet washer and a hand cleaning water to instantaneously heat a small batch of water. It is also appreciated that the resistors 20, 21 and 22 may be approximately formed other than in a helix. By way of examples, these resistors 20, 21 and 22 may be in the form of spiral, serpentine or meander.

Claims: A sheathed heater (1) comprising: a heater element (2) disposed in a sheath tube (11), said heater element (2) comprising a heat resistor (21) connected in series with a current regulation resistor (22); and wherein the current regulation resistor (22) is made from a cobalt-copper alloy which contains a copper component in the range from 1.0% to 14% by weight. A sheathed heater as recited in claim 1, wherein the heat resistor (21) and the current regulation resistor (22) are respectively in the form of a helix. A sheathed heater as recited in claim 1 or 2, wherein a low value resistor (20) is connected between the heat resistor (21) and the current regulation resistor (22) so as to delay the current regulating action of the current regulation resistor by a limited period of time. A sheathed heater as recited in claim 3, wherein the electrical resistance of the low value resistor (20)is smaller than that of the current regulation resistor (22). A sheathed heater as recited in claim 3 or 4, wherein the low value resistor (20) is made of nickel or nickel-chromium based alloy. A sheathed heater as recited in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the current regulation resistor (22) has an electrical resistance approximately half that of the heat resistor. A sheathed heater as recited in claim 6, wherein the current regulation resistor (22) has an electrical resistance of approximately 0.17Ω, and the heat resistor (21) 0.33Ω. A sheathed heater according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein an insulation powder (14) is contained within the sheath tube (11) to firmly support the heater element (2). A temperature self-regulating type glow plug in which a sheathed heater (1) as recited in any one of the preceding claims is incorporated into a front end (43) of a metallic shell (4) having a thread (42) to be mounted on a cylinder head of an internal combustion engine.

Inventors: KUMADA CHIAKI, KUMADA, CHIAKI, Kumada, Chiaki, c/o NGK Spark Plug Co. Ltd.
Applicants: NGK SPARK PLUG CO, NGK SPARK PLUG CO., LTD
Application year: 1996
Main classification: F23Q7
IPC codes: H05B3, F23Q7, F02P19, H01C3