Glow plug for an internal combustion engine

Details

Inventors: Ito, Novuei; Atsumi, Kinya; Mizuno, Naohito; Kikuchi, Tetsuro;
Assignee: Nippon Soken, Inc. (Nishio, JP)
Primary Examiner:
Assistant Examiner:
Attorney, Agent or Firm:

A glow plug for an internal combustion engine is disclosed. The glow plug of the present invention comprises a heater support member projecting into a combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine, the heater support member being formed of an electric insulating material; a heater member affixed to the outer surface of the heater support member, the heater member being formed of an electrically conductive, heat- and oxidation-resistant ceramic material; at least three lead wires for power supply embedded in the heater support member, one end of the lead wires being connected each independently to the heater member; and a power switching means interposed between the other ends of those lead wires and a power source for connecting the power source selectively between the lead wires. By the selective connection between the lead wires performed by the power switching means, a plurality of heater elements having different resistance values are formed within the heater member.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a glow plug for an engine superior in the rapid heating characteristic.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a glow plug for an engine free from wasteful power consumption.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a glow plug for an engine capable of appropriately controlling the quantity of generated heat according to the state of preheating and that of after-glow.
In the glow plug of the present invention, a heater member formed of an electrically conductive ceramic material superior in heat- and oxidation-resistance is affixed to the surface of an electrically insulative heater support member projecting into a combustion chamber of an engine.
In the heater support member are embedded at least three lead wires for power supply, one ends of which are each independently connected to the heater member and the other ends of which are connected to a power source through a power switching means.
The power switching means has a contact for connecting the power source selectively between the lead wires according to the state of preheating in an engine combustion chamber.
Through this switching operation of the power switching means there are formed plural heater elements having different resistance values in the heater member.

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