Electrode material for a spark plug
AssigneeFederal-Mogul Ignition Company
InventorShuwei Ma
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An electrode material that may be used in spark plugs and other ignition devices including industrial plugs, aviation igniters, glow plugs, or any other device that is used to ignite an air/fuel mixture in an engine. The electrode material is a metal composite and includes a particulate component embedded or dispersed within a matrix component such that the metal composite has a multi-phase microstructure. In one embodiment, the metal composite includes a matrix component that includes a precious metal and makes up about 2-80% wt of the overall composite and a particulate component that includes a ruthenium-based material and makes up about 20-98% wt of the overall composite.
Claims20
A spark plug, comprising:
- a metallic shell having an axial bore;
- an insulator having an axial bore and being at least partially disposed within the axial bore of the metallic shell;
- a center electrode being at least partially disposed within the axial bore of the insulator;
- and
- a ground electrode being attached to a free end of the metallic shell;
- wherein the center electrode, the ground electrode or both includes an electrode material having a particulate component embedded within a matrix component in the form of a metal composite;
- the particulate component includes a ruthenium-based material having at least one precious metal, where ruthenium (Ru) is the single largest constituent of the particulate component on a wt % basis;
- and
- the matrix component includes a precious metal, where the precious metal is the single largest constituent of the matrix component on a wt % basis.
A spark plug electrode, comprising:
- an electrode material having a particulate component embedded within a matrix component in the form of a metal composite;
- the particulate component includes a ruthenium-based material, where ruthenium (Ru) is the single largest constituent of the particulate component on a wt % basis;
- and
- the matrix component includes a precious metal, where the precious metal is the single largest constituent of the matrix component on a wt % basis.
A method of forming a spark plug electrode, comprising the steps of:
- (a) providing a matrix component and a particulate component in powder form, wherein the matrix component includes at least one precious metal and the particulate component includes ruthenium (Ru);
- (b) blending the matrix component and particulate component powders together to form a powder mixture;
- (c) sintering the powder mixture to form an electrode material, where the electrode material is in the form of a metal composite with the particulate component embedded or dispersed in the matrix component;
- and
- (d) forming the electrode material into a spark plug electrode.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.