Method for manufacturing an electrode for an ignition device

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an electrode for an ignition device, in particular for a spark plug, comprising the steps of: placing a metallic electrode material (2) on a joining surface (8) against a metallic support material (1), pressing the support material (1) and the electrode material (2) against each other at the joining surface (8) with a predetermined surface pressure, placing the support material (1) and the electrode material (2) in a chamber in which a reduced pressure, in particular a vacuum, and / or a predetermined atmosphere is generated, generating a reduced pressure and / or a predetermined atmosphere in the chamber, and heating the joining surface (8), in particular the support material (1) and the electrode material (2), at a joining temperature (T F ) so that a bond is formed between the support material (1) and the electrode material (2) at the bonding surface (8) and the support material (1) and the electrode material (2) form a flat and uniform connection, in particular a completely flat connection, with each other based on the bonding surface (8). F ) to the bonding time (t F According to the present invention, the junction temperature (T F ) is the melting temperature (T S ) lower.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an electrode for an ignition device described in the preamble part of claim 1, a method for manufacturing a spark plug described in the preamble part of claim 18, a spark plug described in the preamble part of claim 19, and an ignition device described in the preamble part of claim 21.

Background Art

[0002] Prior art documents disclose various ignition devices that ignite a flammable medium or a flammable mixture by the ignition of a spark from an electrode. The gas that expands immediately upon ignition causes a change in pressure conditions, which is usually converted into mechanical work. Such ignition devices are used, for example, in automobiles, gas engines, or other devices known from the prior art.

[0003] Prior art documents also disclose methods for manufacturing such ignition devices. In methods known from the prior art, for example, in the case of a spark plug, an ignition gap is formed between two electrodes composed of noble metal electrodes, for example, between a center electrode and a ground electrode. Thereafter, a potential difference is applied between the noble metal electrodes, and a spark is generated across the ignition gap. The noble metal electrodes usually consist of a platinum alloy, an iridium alloy, or other alloys disposed on a nickel carrier. In the prior art, the joining between the nickel carrier and the noble metal electrode is brought about by laser welding. By laser welding proceeding from the surface of the object, an agglomerated linear joint is formed between the noble metal electrode and the carrier, with the joint thickness being thin at the center of the contact region.

[0004] EP2738890A1 (TANAKA PRECIOUS METAL IND), published on June 4, 2014, DE112019000377T5 (NGK SPARK PLUG CO), published on September 17, 2020, US6750597B1 (SAKURA, A.), published on June 15, 2004, EP3139457A1 (NGK SPARK PLUG CO), published on March 8, 2017, and DE112016006310T5 (NGK SPARK PLUG CO), published on October 11, 2018, each disclose a method and a spark plug in which a noble metal electrode is fixed on a carrier material by welding.

[0005] However, a drawback of the methods known from the prior art is that corrosion is likely to occur at the joint between the noble metal electrode and the carrier at the weld seam, and thus special protection is required. Such a method for manufacturing a spark plug using a welding method is known, for example, from EP3694684A1, and post-treatment is performed on the formed weld seam to protect it from corrosion.

[0006] Another drawback of the joining methods known from the prior art is that cavities often occur in the weld seam during the welding process, reducing the strength of the joint. Also, cracks often occur in the heat-affected zone at the welded joint, which can also reduce the strength of the welded joint. Therefore, in practice, it has been found that ignition devices according to the prior art usually have a short lifespan, with a very significant tendency to exhibit severe wear, serious corrosion, and, in many cases, peeling of the noble metal plate. Thus, in the prior art, it is necessary to regularly inspect or replace the spark plugs at short time intervals, resulting in a high maintenance frequency, frequent downtime, and significantly hindering economic operation.

[0007] Similarly, when an uneven joint is formed between two materials by a weld seam, the two materials only undergo spot melting, and thus, warping and / or internal stress due to uneven dissipation of heat introduced along the weld seam or heat-affected zone occur. During operation, this results in uneven removal of heat and spot overheating of the joint site, and also mechanical stress is generated by thermal expansion in the joint zone, promoting delamination of the noble metal plate. Summary of the Invention Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0008] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing an ignition device that enables the ignition device to have a long service life, particularly for an ignition device in the form of a spark plug.

[0009] This object is achieved by the structural features described in the characterizing part of the claim, in the method described in the preamble part of claim 1. In the present invention, it is assumed that the joining temperature is lower than the melting temperatures of the carrier material and the electrode material.

[0010] When the joining temperature is lower than the melting temperatures of the carrier material and the electrode material, for example, by causing diffusion of individual atoms or ions of the material from the carrier material to the electrode material or from the electrode material to the carrier material to the other material, a special joint occurs between the electrode material and the carrier material. In this way, a particularly strong planar joint is formed along or within the joint surface by the diffusion process.

[0011] According to the structural features of the present invention, it is possible to establish a joint having high strength as a result of the planar joint between the carrier material and the electrode material. The planar joint in the form of a metallic bond further reduces the occurrence of cracks and corrosion in the joint area, and thus the cost of spark plug replacement or component replacement is avoided, or the cost of the entire ignition device or the spark plug is reduced, and the maintenance frequency that is not specifically scheduled or is overly frequent is further reduced. By uniformly heating the joint surface, the introduction of thermal stress to the joint surface is also avoided, so that stress cracks, internal stress, and warping of the components in the planar joint between the electrode material and the carrier material are avoided.

[0012] The uniform temperature rise to the joining temperature and the absence of a punctiform or linear molten bath on the joint surface as in the case of fusion welding also make it possible to better control the heat supply, and thus to make the components, especially the electrode material, smaller or thinner. In particular, since the electrode material is made of or may be made of an expensive noble metal, this leads to a significant reduction in material costs. Therefore, the method according to the present invention can be used even when the thickness of the electrode material is less than 0.5 mm, in contrast to laser welding known from the prior art.

[0013] Furthermore, studies of ignition devices manufactured by the method of the present invention have shown that the service life of these devices is significantly longer compared to the prior art.

[0014] Regarding the present invention, the bonding time is defined as the period during which the bonding temperature is maintained and / or is above a threshold temperature, which is in particular 30% of the melting temperature of the carrier material and / or the electrode material. There may be a further temperature profile on the bonding surface before and / or after the bonding time. For example, there may be a preceding or subsequent heating stage and / or a cooling stage, and / or the bonding temperature may be varied within a certain range. In the description of the present invention, the bonding temperature may not only be regarded as a constant temperature, but may also be varied during the bonding time. The bonding temperature means one or more temperatures at which the electrode material and the carrier material can be bonded. In the research underlying the present invention, surprisingly, it has been found that the bonding temperature in most of the tested materials is higher than 30% and lower than 50% of their melting temperature, in particular the melting temperature of the material with the higher melting temperature. Furthermore, it has been found that the higher the temperature, the more the bonding process can be promoted, and thus the bonding time can be shortened depending on the temperature.

[0015] In the description of the present invention, planar bonding means that the carrier material and the electrode material form a planar and uniform bond in the form of a metallic bond over the entire bonding surface, i.e., over the entire area where the carrier material and the electrode material are in contact, in particular over the entire surface. Thus, the electrodes produced by the manufacturing method of the present invention not only have linearly bonded portions at the edge zones of the bonding surface as in the case of welded joints, but are also joined to each other planar or over the entire surface and uniformly, at least in most of the bonding surface, in particular over the entire bonding surface.

[0016] Furthermore, the overall bonding between the electrode material and the carrier material also increases the heat conduction, and thus the temperature of the electrode during use is lowered.

[0017] Spark erosion that can occur in an ignition device may occur in an undesirable form in the edge region of the electrode. In the case of linear bonding, since the bonding is limited to the edge region of the bonding surface, this leads to a shortening of the lifespan. In contrast, in the case of planar bonding, as in the case of the electrodes produced by the method of the present invention, spark erosion has little effect.

[0018] Particularly preferred embodiments in the method of the present invention are defined in detail by the features of the dependent claims.

[0019] Preferably, in the method of the present invention, the amount of heat released to the bonding surface, particularly the carrier material and the electrode material, to raise the temperature to the bonding temperature is generated by induction, radiant heat or heat conduction.

[0020] Preferably, the bonding temperature may be maintained during the bonding time so that a metal connection based on a metallic bond is formed between the carrier material and the electrode material without the formation of an intermetallic compound phase. In particular, the diffusion of atoms and / or ions of the electrode material into the carrier material and / or the diffusion of atoms and / or ions of the carrier material into the electrode material may be between 0.05 μm or more, particularly between 1 μm and 100 μm, more preferably between 20 μm and 40 μm. The "diffusion bonding" achieved results in an extremely strong metallic bond between the carrier material and the electrode material that does not produce an intermetallic compound phase between the two materials. Since no intermetallic compound phase is formed, weakening of the material or weakening of the bond between the two materials is also prevented, thereby preventing the formation of cracks, voids and other strength-reducing effects.

[0021] In this context, "diffusion" means the depth to which atoms and / or ions of the carrier material and / or the electrode material penetrate into the other material, respectively. Sometimes, this is also referred to as the diffusion depth.

[0022] Press the carrier material and the electrode material against each other at a minimum contact pressure of 10 mN / mm 2 ~2500 mN / mm 2 , particularly 100 mN / mm 2 ~600 mN / mm 2 It has been found that it is preferable.

[0023] The method according to the present invention may be carried out under vacuum, under reduced pressure, under a deoxygenated atmosphere, particularly an oxygen-free atmosphere, an inert atmosphere and / or a reducing atmosphere so as to effectively prevent the adverse effects of a destructive atmosphere and to be able to form a good joint at the joint surface. The above-mentioned vacuum, reduced pressure, deoxygenated, particularly oxygen-free, inert and / or reducing atmosphere may be changed during the method according to the present invention.

[0024] In a preferred embodiment, the joining temperature may be 30% to 100%, particularly 50% to 98%, more preferably 75% to 95% of the melting temperature of the carrier material and / or the electrode material.

[0025] By having the joining time after exceeding the threshold temperature which is 30% of the melting temperature of the carrier material and / or the electrode material be 1 minute to 24 hours, particularly 1 hour to 4 hours, more preferably 1 hour to 2 hours, two materials can be effectively joined particularly efficiently. Therefore, the joining time may be measured only after exceeding the threshold temperature, and the joining temperature may be maintained constant and / or at a temperature higher than the threshold temperature during the joining time.

[0026] In one optional embodiment of the method according to the present invention, the size of the joint surface is 1 mm 2 ~50 mm 2 , particularly 2 mm 2 ~30 mm 2 , preferably 2 mm 2 ~15 mm 2 and may be.

[0027] By the method of the present invention, it becomes possible to make the thickness of the electrode material 0.05 mm to 2 mm, particularly 0.05 mm to 0.5 mm, more preferably 0.05 mm to 0.25 mm. In this way, by forming the electrode material particularly thin, good characteristics of the electrode material can be realized at a lower material cost.

[0028] An effective joining between two materials is achieved in particular by the carrier material consisting of a material from groups 4 to 11 of the elements, i.e., the titanium group, vanadium group, chromium group, manganese group, iron group, cobalt group, nickel group or copper group, in particular a material which is nickel, iron, chromium, molybdenum, tungsten or an alloy thereof, including steel, Inconel and refractory metals, more preferably consisting of an alloy thereof which is Nickel 201 from VDM, i.e., EN 2.4068, and the electrode material consisting of a material from groups 4 to 11 of the elements, i.e., the titanium group, vanadium group, chromium group, manganese group, iron group, cobalt group, nickel group or copper group, in particular consisting of platinum, iridium, rhodium, ruthenium, rhenium or an alloy thereof, more preferably consisting of PtRh 90 / 10 or IrRh 90 / 10 from Heraeus. In the description of the present invention, the "group of elements" means each group of the periodic table, also called the main group and the transition group, and in each of these groups all elements have the same number of valence electrons. The definition of the terms "group of elements", "group of the periodic table" or "group of the periodic table of elements" in the present invention is described in the textbook "Handbuch Maschinenbau (Handbook of Mechanical Engineering), Alfred Boge, 2011, ISBN 978-3-8348-1025-0" or Wikipedia.

[0029] In one optional embodiment of the method according to the present invention, before or after positioning the electrode material on the carrier material, solder material is applied, placed or drawn onto and / or beside the bonding surface, the bonding temperature is higher than the melting temperature of the solder and lower than the melting temperature of each of the carrier material and the electrode material, and the bonding time after exceeding the melting temperature of the solder material is, in particular, from 10 seconds to 2 hours, preferably from 1 minute to 60 minutes. By drawing the solder onto and / or beside the bonding surface, both materials form an excellent planar bond via the solder material, and the effect is obtained that this bond is reliably maintained even under the action of thermal stress or internal stress and ignition force, and also when the ignition current is flowing. The bonding time in the soldering operation is understood to mean the period during which the temperature of the bonding surface, the electrode material and / or the solder material is maintained at a temperature higher than the melting temperature of the solder.

[0030] Here, the solder base material of the solder material is selected from materials of Group 9 to Group 11 of the elements, i.e., cobalt group, nickel group or copper group materials or alloys thereof, the solder base material of the solder material particularly contains alloy additives of Group 4 to Group 15 of the elements, the solder material particularly consists of silver, gold or nickel as the solder base material, and contains any additives such as, for example, chromium, silicon, iron, boron, molybdenum, phosphorus, palladium, copper or combinations thereof, and it is preferable that the solder material is preferably Ag 99.99, NiCrSiBFe or NiCrSi.

[0031] In one optional embodiment of the method, the carrier material has a recess, and when the electrode material is placed in contact with the carrier material, it is arranged in a form that at least partially sinks into the recess. By forming a plurality or one recess in the carrier material, the electrode material can be easily positioned, and in this way, it is optionally possible to extend the bonding surface beyond the side edge of the electrode material or the carrier material to the side surface of the recess.

[0032] In one of the other optional embodiments of the method according to the present invention, there is an intermediate material disposed on the carrier material or on the electrode material between the carrier material and the electrode material, a bonding surface is formed between the carrier material and the intermediate material and between the electrode material and the intermediate material, the bonding temperature is lower than the melting temperatures of the carrier material, the electrode material and the intermediate material, the carrier material forms a planar bond with the intermediate material, and the electrode material forms a planar bond with the intermediate material. In this way, it is also possible to bond materials that would otherwise form weak bonds with each other through the intermediate material, and thus, those materials form a planar bond with each other in the form of a metallic bond through the intermediate material.

[0033] Optionally, the intermediate material is in the form of a diffusion promoting material, in particular silver or copper, and the diffusion of the atoms and / or ions of the electrode material through the intermediate material into the carrier material and / or the diffusion of the atoms and / or ions of the carrier material through the intermediate material into the electrode material may be promoted by the intermediate material. By means of an intermediate material in the form of a diffusion promoter or acting as a diffusion promoter, it is possible to promote the diffusion of the atoms and / or ions of the electrode material through the intermediate material into the carrier material and / or the diffusion of the atoms and / or ions of the carrier material through the intermediate material into the electrode material.

[0034] Optionally, the average roughness Ra at the bonding surface of the carrier material, the electrode material and / or the intermediate material may be from 0.01 μm to 6.3 μm, in particular from 0.02 μm to 0.5 μm. Due to the excellent surface properties of these materials, an effective planar bond is formed between the materials, in particular improving diffusion or diffusion bonding.

[0035] In order to enable the simultaneous production of a plurality of electrodes, a plurality of carrier materials and a plurality of electrode materials are paired with each other to form a stacked arrangement, and the carrier material and the electrode material that are paired and joined may be separated from each other by a separation material and / or a separation layer with respect to other pairs. Since the separation material or the separation layer does not form any junction with the electrode material or the carrier material in the implementation of the method according to the present invention, the two materials can be easily lifted, removed or separated from the separation material or the separation layer, respectively.

[0036] This other aspect of the present invention provides a method for manufacturing a spark plug that has a longer lifespan and higher bonding strength between the electrode material and the carrier material compared to the prior art.

[0037] This object is achieved by the structural features described in the characterizing part of claim 18. According to the present invention, it is provided that the bonding between the carrier and the electrode plate is established by the steps of the method according to the present invention.

[0038] The method according to the present invention for manufacturing a spark plug can be easily and inexpensively implemented, and by the method according to the present invention, a strong planar bonding protected from corrosion and cracking can be established between the electrode plate and the carrier.

[0039] This other aspect of the present invention provides a spark plug, particularly for an internal combustion engine or a gas engine, having an electrode made of an electrode material that is particularly well bonded to the electrode or carrier material of the present invention.

[0040] This object is achieved by the structural features described in the characterizing part of the spark plug described in the preamble of claim 19. What the present invention intends is that the bonding between the carrier and the electrode plate is established by the method according to the present invention, where the carrier is in the form of a carrier material and the electrode plate is in the form of an electrode material.

[0041] The spark plug according to the present invention has an extremely strong joint protected from adverse effects occurring during the ignition process between the carrier and the electrode, and thus can be used with high reliability and long life even when used as a high-performance spark plug that generates a high potential difference and requires high thermal durability. The spark plug according to the present invention can withstand not only a high potential difference but also high thermal stress or cyclic stress.

[0042] In a preferred embodiment of the spark plug according to the present invention, the carrier is formed from a titanium material, a nickel material or an iron material, in particular, a nickel alloy, a chromium-nickel alloy, steel, inconel or a refractory metal, preferably, pure nickel, a nickel-based alloy, FeCrNi stainless steel or FeCrNiMo stainless steel, and the electrode plate is formed from a noble metal, in particular, platinum, iridium, rhodium, ruthenium, rhenium or an alloy thereof, in particular, a platinum / rhodium alloy, a platinum / rhenium alloy, a platinum / iridium alloy, an iridium / rhenium alloy or an iridium / rhodium alloy, more preferably, the electrode plate includes an alloy composed of PtRh 90 / 10 or an alloy composed of IrRh 90 / 10, and the carrier can be provided by including an alloy of Nickel 201 of VDM, i.e., EN 2.4068.

[0043] Another aspect of the present invention is to provide an ignition device having an excellent joint between the carrier and the electrode plate. This object is achieved by the structural features described in the characterizing part of claim 21. According to the present invention, the carrier and the electrode plate form a planar and uniform connection with each other, particularly over the entire surface. In particular, the carrier is in the form of a carrier material, the electrode plate is in the form of an electrode material, and a diffusion zone is formed in the region of the planar joint between the carrier and the electrode plate. In this diffusion zone, the concentration of the carrier material transitions from 100% to 0% in the direction from the carrier to the electrode plate, and the concentration of the electrode plate material transitions from 0% to 100% (in the direction of the electrode plate) from the carrier. In particular, an aspect is provided in which the diffusion depth is 0.05 μm or more, particularly between 1 μm and 100 μm, more preferably between 20 μm and 40 μm.

[0044] Preferably, the carrier is formed from a titanium material, a nickel material or an iron material, in particular, a nickel alloy, a chromium-nickel alloy, steel, Inconel or a refractory metal, preferably, pure nickel, a nickel-based alloy, FeCrNi stainless steel or FeCrNiMo stainless steel, and the electrode plate is formed from a noble metal, in particular, platinum, iridium, rhodium, ruthenium, rhenium or an alloy thereof, in particular, a platinum / rhodium alloy, a platinum / rhenium alloy, a platinum / iridium alloy, an iridium / rhenium alloy or an iridium / rhodium alloy, more preferably, the electrode plate comprises an alloy composed of PtRh 90 / 10, and / or the electrode plate comprises an alloy of IrRh 90 / 10, and the carrier comprises an alloy of Nickel 201 from VDM, i.e. EN 2.4068.

[0045] Other effects and configurations of the present invention will become apparent from the specification and the accompanying drawings.

[0046] Hereinafter, the present invention will be illustratively described with reference to the drawings by way of examples which are schematically shown in the drawings and which are particularly preferred but should not be considered limiting.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0047]

Figure 1

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Figure 18

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0048] Figure 1 shows a schematic view of a first electrode according to the present invention for an ignition device. This electrode is formed by joining a metallic carrier material 1 to a metallic electrode material 2 at a joining surface 8. The electrode shown in Figure 1 is manufactured by the method of the present invention. To manufacture this electrode, the metallic electrode material 2 is placed in contact with the metallic carrier material 1 at the joining surface 8 and arranged so as to be planar adjacent to the carrier material 1. The carrier material 1 and the electrode material 2 are pressed against each other at a predetermined contact pressure at the joining surface 8 and placed in a chamber capable of generating reduced pressure, vacuum, and / or a predetermined atmosphere. After arranging the carrier material 1 and the electrode material 2, reduced pressure or a predetermined atmosphere is generated in the chamber. After a predetermined atmosphere or reduced pressure is generated, the joining surface 8 is heated to a joining temperature T F up to and maintained for a predetermined joining time t F . By pressing the electrode material 2 against the carrier material 1 and heating it up to the joining temperature T F , the carrier material 1 is joined planar to the electrode material 2. The joining temperature T F in the method of the present invention is lower than the melting temperature T S of the carrier material 1 and lower than the melting temperature T S of the electrode material 2.

[0049] The electrode shown in Figure 1 is manufactured by a so-called diffusion bonding operation in which the joining temperature T F is always lower than the melting temperature T S of the carrier material 1 and lower than the melting temperature T S of the electrode material 2. The joining temperature T F is maintained for the joining time t F so that a metal connection in the form of a metallic bond is formed without the formation of an intermetallic compound phase between the carrier material 1 and the electrode material 2. The joining temperature T F for the joining time t FBy maintaining during, the effect that atoms and / or ions of the electrode material 2 penetrate into the carrier material 1, or atoms and / or ions of the carrier material 1 penetrate into the electrode material 2 can be obtained. This "diffusion effect" was surprisingly discovered in the experiments that form the basis of the present invention. Here, depending on the combination of materials, atoms or ions of the electrode material 2 diffuse into the carrier material 1, and / or atoms or ions of the carrier material 1 diffuse into the electrode material 2, reaching a diffusion depth d of at least 0.05 μm or more F It was found that it reaches.

[0050] As shown in the schematic diagram of Fig. 1a, the electrode material 2 is placed in contact with the carrier material 1, and after creating a reduced pressure or atmosphere, the bonding surface 8 or the entire carrier material 1 and the entire electrode material 2 are heated. After the heating time t A After that, the bonding temperature T F is reached, and then this bonding temperature is maintained for the bonding time t F . The bonding time t F is maintained for 1 second to 24 hours, but the bonding time t F is particularly between 1 hour and 4 hours, preferably between 1 hour and 2 hours. When the bonding time t F ends, the heating process ends, and the bonding surface 8 or the electrode material 2 and the carrier material 1 are cooled during the cooling time t K . According to the present invention, the bonding temperature T F is between 30% and 100% of the melting temperature T S of the carrier material 1 and / or the electrode material 2, particularly between 50% and 98% of the melting temperature T S of the carrier material 1 and / or the electrode material 2, more preferably between 75% and 95%. Therefore, for example, depending on the combination of materials, the bonding temperature T F can be 77% of the melting temperature of the carrier material 1 and 45% of the melting temperature T S of the electrode material 2.

[0051] Fig. 1b shows another diagram of an applicable heating curve. The temperature T is increased from an initial temperature, which is, for example, room temperature, to a threshold temperature T A by applying the heating time t threshold . When the threshold temperature T threshold is reached, the bonding time tF starts, during which the temperature further rises, for example, to the melting temperature T of one of the two materials S or higher, and then decreases again. Thereafter, the temperature T of the material is kept constant for a certain period, and after the joint is formed, a cooling time t K is applied to lower the temperature again.

[0052] As shown in FIGS. 1c and 1d, the bonding temperature T F is optional, but may be variable only in a ramp-like manner exceeding the threshold temperature T threshold and may be further heated and / or cooled after being kept constant for a certain period at first.

[0053] The bonding temperature T F is in any case higher than the threshold temperature T threshold and is the temperature at which the electrode material 2 and the carrier material 1 start to form a joint. The bonding temperature T F may be constant as shown in FIG. 1a, or may be variable over the bonding time t F as shown in FIGS. 1b to 1d.

[0054] In order to form a planar joint between the carrier material 1 and the electrode material 2, in the method for manufacturing an electrode according to the present invention, these two materials are pressed against each other at a predetermined contact pressure on the joint surface 8. According to the present invention, 10 mN / mm 2 ~2500 mN / mm 2 , particularly 100 mN / mm 2 ~600 mN / mm 2 of the minimum contact pressure has been found to have a favorable effect on the bonding characteristics of the carrier material 1 and the electrode material 2.

[0055] In particular, depending on the materials used for the electrode material 2 and the carrier material 1, the method according to the present invention can be carried out under vacuum, under reduced pressure and / or in a low-oxygen atmosphere, particularly in an oxygen-free atmosphere. The applied atmosphere may optionally be an inert atmosphere or a reducing atmosphere. The size of the joint surface 8 in the method according to the present invention for manufacturing an electrode is preferably 1 mm 2 ~50 mm2 , particularly 2 mm 2 to 30 mm 2 , more preferably 2 mm 2 to 15 mm 2 .

[0056] Figure 2 shows another embodiment of the electrode of the present invention manufactured by the second embodiment of the manufacturing method according to the present invention. For the joining of the carrier material 1 and the electrode material 2, the solder material 13 is additionally applied to the joining surface 8 or placed beside the joining surface, and then the joining temperature T F is raised to be higher than the melting temperature T S of the solder and lower than the melting temperature T S of the carrier material 1 and the electrode material 2. By applying the solder material 13 and raising the joining temperature T F to be higher than the melting temperature T S of the solder material 13, particularly under reduced pressure or in a vacuum, the solder material 13 melts and is drawn into the joining surface 8, that is, between the electrode material 2 and the carrier material 1, by the capillary effect, thereby obtaining the effect that a planar joint is formed between the electrode material 2 and the carrier material 1. Surprisingly, during the formation of the joint by the solder material 13, some of the atoms and / or ions of the electrode material 2 and / or the carrier material 1, although optional, penetrate through the solder material 13, that is, across the joining surface 8, into the other material respectively, and it has been found that the joint can be improved.

[0057] The solder material 13 or the solder substrate is preferably selected from materials of Group 9 to Group 11 of the elements, that is, materials of the cobalt group, nickel group or copper group or alloys thereof. The solder substrate particularly contains alloying additives of Group 4 to Group 15 of the elements. In particular, as the solder substrate, silver, gold or nickel is preferred, and as the additives, chromium, silicon, boron, iron, molybdenum, phosphorus, palladium and / or copper and / or combinations thereof are preferred.

[0058] Figure 3 shows a schematic view of another electrode manufactured by an optional embodiment of the method according to the present invention. An intermediate material 12 positioned before the temperature rises to the joining temperature T is disposed between the electrode material 2 and the carrier material 1. The intermediate material 12 can be inserted into the joining surface 8 between the carrier material 1 and the electrode material 2 such that joining surfaces 8 are formed between the carrier material 1 and the intermediate material 12 and between the electrode material 2 and the intermediate material 12, respectively. After treatment in a predetermined atmosphere and / or vacuum or reduced pressure, the temperature of the joining surface 8, or the temperatures of the intermediate material 12, the carrier material 1, and the electrode material 2, are raised to the joining temperature T. In this case, the joining temperature T is lower than the melting temperature T of the carrier material 1, lower than the melting temperature T of the electrode material 2, and lower than the melting temperature T of the intermediate material 12. After the joining temperature T is maintained for the joining time t, a planar joining is formed between the carrier material 1 and the intermediate material 12, and a planar joining is formed between the electrode material 2 and the intermediate material 12. Optionally, atoms or ions of the electrode material 2 may diffuse through the intermediate material 12 into the carrier material 1, and / or atoms or ions of the carrier material 1 may diffuse through the intermediate material 12 into the electrode material 2. F The intermediate material 12 is optional but may be in the form of a diffusion promoter, in which case the intermediate material consists of or includes, in particular, a thin layer of copper or silver. The intermediate material 12 in the form of a diffusion promoter can promote the diffusion of atoms and / or ions of the electrode material 2 through the intermediate material 12 into the carrier material 1 and / or the diffusion of atoms and / or ions of the carrier material 1 through the intermediate material 12 into the electrode material 2. Thus, surprisingly, it has been found that a thin silver layer with a thickness of 100 nm promotes diffusion, diffusion by 40 times when the joining temperature T is around about 95% of the melting temperature of the silver material. F F S S S F F

[0059] F

[0060] ​​​​​​​​​Figure 4 shows the recess 11 formed in the carrier material 1. When the electrode material 2 is placed in contact with the carrier material 1, it is arranged in a form that partially sinks into the recess. Thus, optionally, the bonding surface 8 can extend beyond the edge of the electrode material 2, and optionally, it can facilitate the positioning of the electrode material 2 on the carrier material 1 and contribute to the improvement of the bonding strength of the bonding surface 8. Instead of this, the insertion of the recess 11 or the electrode material 2 into the carrier material 1 may also occur naturally during the manufacturing process. That is, especially in the case of the diffusion process, it is presumed that the atoms or ions of the electrode material 2 penetrate into the carrier material 1, and thus the entire electrode material 2 partially penetrates into the carrier material 1, and the recess 11 can be formed in this way.

[0061] In other embodiments of the method according to the invention as shown in FIG. 18, a plurality of carrier materials 1 and a plurality of electrode materials 2 are collectively arranged in a chamber for generating a predetermined atmosphere and / or vacuum or reduced pressure. In this case, the carrier material 1 is placed in contact with the electrode material 2 in any case, and the resulting paired arrangements are, for example, stacked or arranged at intervals from each other. The carrier material 1 and the electrode material 2 that are joined in pairs may be separated from each other by a support material 19 or a separation layer. The support material 19 is a material that does not bond to either the electrode material 2 or the carrier material 1, or is a material that prevents the carrier material 1 and the electrode material 2 from bonding to the counterpart material arranged in pairs.

[0062] Figure 5 is an image of the bonding surface 8 at a magnification of 70:1 recorded by an FEI Quanta 3D 200 scanning electron microscope type electron microscope of an electrode manufactured by the method according to the invention. This electrode has a carrier material 1 with the electrode material 2 placed in contact with the bonding surface 8, and a planar bond is formed by the method according to the invention. The dimensions of the electrode material 2 are 1.7 mm × 2.2 mm, and the thickness is 0.5 mm. The electrode material 2 is made of a platinum-rhodium alloy PtRh 90 / 10 from Heraeus. The carrier material 1 in this embodiment is made of Nickel 201 from VDM, a nickel alloy also known as EN 2.4068.

[0063] Figure 6 shows an enlarged image of the bonding surface 8 of the electrode shown in Figure 5 at a high resolution (1024×943@96 dpi, bit depth 24, magnification 250:1). At the bonding surface 8, as a result of the method according to the present invention, it is clear that atoms or ions of the electrode material 2 have diffused into the carrier material 1. The diffusion depth d F , that is, the maximum distance at which atoms or ions of the electrode material 2 have penetrated into the carrier material 1, is 36.8 μm. The diffusion depth d F was measured based on different contrasts or different gray colors on the bonding surface 8 with reference to an image taken by an electron microscope. This was performed using a method combining energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) of EDAX with a solid backscattered electron imaging system (SSBSED) and an ETD (secondary electron detector).

[0064] Figure 7 shows an analysis of the transition of the material concentrations of the electrode material 2 and the carrier material 1 at the bonding surface 8. In Figure 7, the concentrations of the individual elements obtained by energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) measurement show that both rhodium (indicated as "RhL" by the intensity of the rhodium L line) and platinum (indicated as "PtL" by the intensity of the platinum L line) penetrate into the nickel material of the carrier material 1 (indicated as "NiK" by the intensity of the nickel K line) while the concentration decreases from the original bonding surface 8. A diffusion zone is formed from the bonding surface 8, and nickel atoms or nickel ions, together with rhodium ions or rhodium atoms and platinum ions or platinum atoms, are present along the diffusion depth d F while the concentration decreases in the direction of the carrier material 1 from the original bonding surface 8. Figures 5 to 7 show the surprising effect achieved by the manufacturing method of the present invention, in which a diffusion zone is formed from the bonding surface 8, and atoms or ions of the electrode material 2 penetrate into the carrier material 1 in this diffusion zone, thereby forming a planar bond between the carrier material 1 and the electrode material 2.

[0065] Figures 8 to 10 show electron microscope images of the joint between the carrier material 1 and the electrode material 2 in an alternative embodiment. The carrier material 1 consists of Nickel 201 from VDM, a nickel alloy also known as EN 2.4068, and the electrode material 2 consists of the iridium-rhodium alloy IrRh 90 / 10 from Heraeus. As is apparent in Figures 8 to 10, a diffusion zone in which ions or atoms of the electrode material 2 have diffused into the carrier material 1 is formed at the joint surface 8. The measured diffusion depth d F is 22.5 μm (Figure 9). Figure 8 shows an image of the joint surface 8 with a resolution of 1024×943@96 dpi, a bit depth of 24, and a magnification of 250:1. Figure 9 shows an image of the joint surface 8 with a resolution of 1024×943@96 dpi, a bit depth of 24, and a magnification of 1400:1.

[0066] Figure 10 schematically shows the concentration profiles of the individual atoms or ions of each of the materials of the carrier material 1 and the electrode material 2. In the direction from the joint surface 8 into the carrier material 1, the concentrations of rhodium and iridium decrease, and the concentration of nickel increases. Thus, in the diffusion zone, starting from the joint surface 8, a region is formed in which rhodium atoms (indicated as "RhL" by the intensity of the rhodium L line), iridium atoms (indicated as "IrL" by the intensity of the iridium L line), and nickel atoms (indicated as "NiK" by the intensity of the nickel K line) or their ions are present and form a planar joint of the two materials within the diffusion region.

[0067] Figure 11 shows an alternative embodiment of an electrode manufactured by an optional manufacturing method using solder material 13. On the bonding surface 8, a solder material 13 applied to the bonding surface 8 during the manufacturing process is disposed between the carrier material 1 and the electrode material 2. By applying the solder, a planar bond is established between the carrier material 1 and the electrode material 2 via the solder material 13. As is apparent in Figure 11, the electrode manufactured using solder also has a highly reliable planar bond between the carrier material 1 and the electrode material 2. The solder material 13 is optional when creating a planar bond between the electrode material 2 and the carrier material 1 and may be applied before or after positioning the electrode material 2 on the carrier material 1, drawn into the bonding surface 8 during the bonding process, or placed at the edge or side of the bonding surface 8. In the electrode manufactured using the solder shown in Figure 11, the electrode material 2 is made of PtRh 90 / 10, and the carrier material 1 is made of Nickel 201 from VDM, i.e., EN 2.4068. The solder material 13 consists of silver solder, which is Ag 99.99 silver in this embodiment. The electrode material 2 is placed in contact with the carrier material 1 at a contact pressure of 65 mN / mm 2 and the solder material 13 is applied to the bonding surface. This configuration was placed in an ambient atmosphere and evacuated to a vacuum of 8×10 -5 mbar (line v in Figure 11b), after which the heating process was started. When the temperature reached 650 °C, an argon atmosphere of 10 mbar (line p in Figure 11b) was applied.

[0068] The temperature profile of the heating process shown in Figure 11a was configured such that the above-described arranged configuration was heated from room temperature to 650 °C within 50 minutes, further heated to 1010 °C at 6 °C / min, held for 5 minutes, and then cooled to room temperature. As a result, the bonding time t S,Lot from when the temperature exceeded and then fell below the melting temperature T F of the solder material 13, which is approximately 960 °C, was 14 minutes. Thus, the melting temperature T S,LotAlthough it exceeded, it did not reach the melting temperatures of the carrier material 1 and the electrode material 2. After the cooling process, a cross-section was created and inspected under high vacuum using a JEOL-JSM-IT200-LA type electron microscope equipped with an EDX unit. The image obtained by the inspection with the electron microscope is shown as Figure 11 at a magnification of 80:1.

[0069] The cross-section shown in Figure 11 was created by a polishing process in which films from Struers (grain sizes 220, 500, 800, 1000, 1200) were each used for about 1 minute, micronized with MD Largo using DiaPro Largo 9μm for about 5 minutes, polished with MD Floc using DiaPro Floc 3μm for about 3 minutes, and finally polished with MD Nap using DiaPro Nap 1μm for about 3 minutes.

[0070] Figure 12 shows the temperature profile in one of the manufacturing methods according to the invention for the planar joining between the carrier material 1 and the electrode material 2. In this embodiment, the electrode material 2 consists of a palladium-rhodium alloy Pt / Rh 90 / 10, and the carrier material 1 consists of Nickel 201 from VDM, a nickel material, i.e., EN 2.4068. The electrode material 2 was placed in contact with the carrier material 1 at the joining surface 8 and pressed against the carrier material 1 with a contact pressure of 310 mN / mm 2 Next, these two materials placed in contact with each other were placed in a MOV 643 type pressure reduction or vacuum drawing chamber made of PVA, and 1×10 recognizable by the v line in Figure 13 -5It was evacuated to mbar. After evacuation, the temperature in the chamber was raised from room temperature to a temperature holding level of 930 °C within 40 minutes, and after 30 minutes, it was further raised to 1120 °C within 30 minutes. This temperature was applied to the material by thermal radiation using a molybdenum heating element. After cooling, the electrode was taken out and examined by an electron microscope using a FEI Quanta 3D 200 scanning electron microscope. Before the electron microscope examination, the electrode was processed to create a cross-section and then examined with an electron microscope. For this purpose, the electrode was embedded by a hot embedding method, divided at a right angle to the joint surface by a wet splitting method, polished using a diamond suspension, and analyzed by an EDX method under high vacuum. The results of this examination are shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, and the diffusion depth reached by platinum atoms or platinum ions and rhodium atoms or rhodium ions was 36.8 μm.

[0071] The electrodes shown in FIGS. 8 to 10 were manufactured by a common operation according to the manufacturing method described above with respect to FIG. 12 together with the electrodes shown in FIGS. 5 to 7. This configuration was placed in an ambient atmosphere. The chamber was evacuated to a vacuum of 5×10 -5 mbar (line v in FIG. 13) and then heated to a holding temperature of 930 °C. After a holding time of 30 minutes, heating was continued at 6.3 °C / min to a bonding temperature of 1120 °C, and after a holding time of 4 hours, it was cooled to 830 °C under vacuum (1×10 -5 mbar), and further cooled to room temperature under a nitrogen atmosphere of 500 mbar (line p in FIG. 13). The 4-hour holding time at 1120 °C corresponds to the 4-hour bonding time t F and the bonding temperature of 1120 °C corresponds to 77% of T of Nickel 201 of VDM, i.e., EN 2.4068, S 60% of T of PtRh 90 / 10 of Heraeus, S and approximately 45% of T of IrRh 90 / 10 of Heraeus. S The electrode was similarly embedded by a hot embedding method, divided at a right angle to the joint surface by a wet splitting method, polished using a diamond suspension, and analyzed by an EDX method under high vacuum. The images obtained by the electron microscope examination are shown in FIGS. 8 to 10. The diffusion depth d of iridium atoms or ions and rhodium atoms or ions into the nickel material of the carrier material 1 Fwas 22.5 μm.

[0072] Figures 14 and 15 show a comparison between an electrode manufactured by the method of the present invention (Figure 14) and an electrode manufactured by a laser welding method known from the prior art (Figure 15, an IrRh 90 / 10 electrode plate on a nickel carrier of Bosch, manufactured by laser beam welding). As is apparent in Figure 14, the electrode manufactured by the manufacturing method of the present invention forms a full-surface joint without cracks or voids between the electrode material 2 and the carrier material 1, and a strong and permanent joint is achieved between both materials. As is apparent in Figure 15, the electrode known from the prior art does not form a full-surface joint between the carrier material 1 and the electrode material 2, and has a distinct material boundary on the joint surface 8. As shown enlarged in the lower left frame of Figure 15, the electrode known from the prior art also has a joint only in the region of the linear weld seam S, but there is no joint between the carrier material 1 and the electrode material 2 in the region extending beyond the edge zone of the joint surface 8. Therefore, inside the sample, outside the weld zone protruding about 50 μm to 100 μm inside the sample, the joint between the carrier material 1 and the electrode material 2 is not achieved. Similarly, in Figure 15, it is also clear that the electrode known from the prior art has defects due to the mechanical contact pressure of the material (in the upper right frame of Figure 15), and according to research, the corrosion tendency is high.

[0073] In the comparison between Figures 14 and 15, in the analysis by electron microscopy inspection and further inspection of the used electrode, the manufacturing method of the present invention achieves a full-surface joint between the carrier material 1 and the electrode material 2, and in contrast to the prior art, it has been found that the spark plug or ignition device manufactured from the electrode has high strength and thus a long service life. The uniform full-surface joint between the electrode material and the carrier material by the method of the present invention also achieves better heat transfer or higher thermal conductivity than the prior art, so that the removal of heat from the electrode during use is improved, and furthermore, the joint zone is hidden from spark erosion and is thus better protected.

[0074] The images of FIGS. 5 to 11, FIG. 14 and FIG. 15 were recorded using an electron microscope (FEI Quanta 3D 200 scanning electron microscope with EDAX's EDX) in combination with a solid state backscattered electron imaging system (SSBSED) and a secondary electron detector (ETD or Everhart-Thornley detector).

[0075] As shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, optionally, two or more electrode materials 2 or electrode plates 7 can be arranged on a common carrier material 1 and joined simultaneously by the method of the present invention.

[0076] Next, the electrodes produced by the method of the present invention were incorporated into spark plugs and tested under actual conditions in a test setup. After several hours of operating time, in contrast to the prior art spark plugs, no adverse effects were observed. The setup with the spark plugs installed was operated at a high average pressure and a relatively high temperature using a combustible gas without the joints in the spark plugs of the present invention being impaired.

[0077] The ignition devices and spark plugs produced by the method of the present invention achieved a service life of over 4300 hours in experiments. Spark plugs manufactured by welding according to the prior art and attached to the same test setup and thus exposed to the same process conditions throughout had a service life of less than 2000 hours until they failed due to wear or exceeded the limits of electrical and thermal loads. Some of the prior art spark plugs became unusable even after 1200 to 1800 hours.

[0078] The joint established by the method of the present invention between the electrode material 2 and the carrier material 1 was strong enough in the experiment not to be damaged by cracks, high-temperature gas corrosion, spark erosion, or other effects that cause the electrode plate 7 or the electrode material 2 to fall off and the ignition device or spark plug to fail. Also, due to the optimized heat conduction of the planar joint, the temperature of the electrode plate 7 or the electrode material 2 decreased compared to the ignition device or spark plug according to the prior art. Therefore, the burning of the electrode material 2 was delayed, and as a result, it was found that the service life was extended.

[0079] These excellent effects are based on the interaction between, on the one hand, a strong and high-strength joint and, on the other hand, the (total) surface joint between the electrode material 2 and the carrier material 1 achieved by the method of the present invention.

[0080] Figures 16 and 17 show two spark plugs in two different exemplary embodiments. The spark plug shown in Figure 16 has a first electrode 3 formed as a central electrode. This spark plug also has a second electrode 4 formed as a ground electrode. An ignition gap 6 is formed between the first electrode 3 and the second electrode 4, where a spark can be formed between the first electrode 3 and the second electrode 4. The first electrode 3 and the second electrode 4 each have a carrier 5 made of a nickel material or an iron material, Inconel, or a refractory metal. The electrode plates 7 are arranged on the carriers 5, each directed towards the direction of the ignition gap 6, and an ignition spark is generated between them. The joints between the carriers 5 and the electrode plates 7 are each established by the above-described method of the present invention. The carrier 5 is designed as the carrier material 1, and the electrode plate 7 is designed as the electrode material 2. In the embodiment shown in Figure 16, the carrier material 5 is made of a nickel material, and the electrode plate 7 is formed of an iridium-rhodium alloy, which is a noble metal. The electrode plates 7 of the electrodes 3 and 4 are integrally joined to the carrier material 5 over the entire surface by diffusion bonding as described with respect to Figures 5 to 10, but may also be established using solder or an intermediate material as described with respect to Figure 11.

[0081] FIG. 17 is a perspective view showing a further alternative embodiment of the spark plug of the present invention. The spark plug has two electrodes 3 and 4, the first electrode 3 is formed as a center electrode, and the second electrode 4 is formed as a ground electrode. An ignition electrode 15 extends radially outward from the first electrode 3. The second electrode 4 has two electrode plates 7 respectively arranged opposite to the ignition electrode 15. An ignition gap 6 is formed between each of the ignition electrode 15 and the four electrode plates 7 arranged on the second electrode 4. The electrode plates 7 are arranged on a carrier 5 of the ground electrode, i.e., the second electrode 4, and are joined to the carrier 5 by the manufacturing method of the present invention. The carrier 5 is in the form of a carrier material 1, and the electrode plates 7 are in the form of an electrode material 2. The full-surface joining between the electrode plates 7 and the carrier 5 is established by the method of the present invention.

[0082] As an option for the spark plugs shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, the carrier 5 may be formed from a titanium alloy, a nickel alloy or an iron alloy, in particular, a nickel alloy or a chromium-nickel alloy, stainless steel, such as a FeCrNi alloy, Inconel, such as NiCrFe, or a refractory metal, such as tungsten. The electrode plates 7 are preferably formed from a noble metal, in particular, platinum, iridium, rhodium, ruthenium or an alloy thereof.

[0083] Contrary to the spark plugs known from the prior art, the spark plug of the present invention has a longer service life due to a planar, preferably full-surface, stronger joining between the electrode material 2 and the carrier material 1 or between the carrier 5 and the electrode plates 7, thus enabling longer use time and reliable operation of the spark plug of the present invention.

[0084] As an option for the embodiments of the spark plugs shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, the spark plug of the present invention may have different shapes, in which case the spark plug of the present invention has a planar, in particular full-surface, uniform joining between the electrode material 2 and the carrier material 1.

[0085] As an alternative to the spark plug shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, other ignition devices may be manufactured by the method of the present invention. In that case, the ignition device has an electrode having a carrier material 1 and an electrode material 2 that form a planar joint by the method of the present invention. Such an ignition device may have, for example, one electrode pair or a plurality of electrode pairs. Such an ignition device may be, for example, an annular gap spark plug, an ax-type spark plug, or a crown spark plug.

[0086] Optionally, the electrodes manufactured by the method of the present invention can also be pre-treated for positioning. Thus, for example, the electrode material 2 may be spot-mounted or fixed to the carrier material 1 by spot welding or laser bonding.

[0087] Regarding each embodiment of the present invention, the amount of heat released to the joint surface 8, the carrier material 1 and / or the electrode material 2 to raise the temperature to the joining temperature T F is preferably generated by induction, radiant heat or heat conduction.

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing an ignition device, in particular an electrode for a spark plug, comprising placing a metallic electrode material (2) in contact with a metallic carrier material (1) at a joint surface (8), pressing the carrier material (1) and the electrode material (2) against each other at a predetermined surface pressure at the joint surface (8), and arranging them in a chamber in which a reduced pressure, in particular a vacuum, and / or a predetermined atmosphere is generated. Generating a reduced pressure and / or a predetermined atmosphere in the chamber. The joint surface (8), in particular the carrier material (1) and the electrode material (2), are uniformly heated to the joining temperature (T Ｆ ), and A joint is formed between the carrier material (1) and the electrode material (2) at the joint surface (8), and the carrier material (1) and the electrode material (2) form a uniform connection that is planar and in particular covers the entire surface together, starting from the joint surface (8), at the joint temperature (T Ｆ ), while maintaining the joint temperature (T) for a joint time (t Ｆ ), in a method. The bonding temperature (T Ｆ ) is lower than the melting temperatures (T Ｓ ) of the carrier material (1) and the electrode material (2), the method being characterized thereby.

2. To raise the temperature to the bonding temperature (T Ｆ ), the amount of heat released to the bonding surface (8), particularly to the carrier material (1) and the electrode material (2), is generated using induction, radiant heat, or heat conduction. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that.

3. The bonding temperature (T Ｆ ), is maintained for a bonding time (t Ｆ ), such that a metal connection in the form of a metallic bond is formed between the carrier material (1) and the electrode material (2) without the formation of an intermetallic compound phase, in particular the diffusion of atoms and / or ions of the electrode material (2) into the carrier material (1) and / or the diffusion of atoms and / or ions of the carrier material (1) into the electrode material (2) is between 0.05 μm and more particularly between 1 μm and 100 μm, more preferably between 20 μm and 40 μm, A method according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that it is.

4. The carrier material (1) and the electrode material (2) are at 10 mN / mm ２ to 2500 mN / mm ２ , in particular 100 mN / mm ２ to 600 mN / mm ２ and are pressed against each other with a minimum contact pressure of any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the method according to any one of the preceding claims.

5. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the method is carried out under vacuum, under reduced pressure, under a deoxygenated atmosphere, in particular an oxygen-free atmosphere, in an inert atmosphere and / or in a reducing atmosphere, and the vacuum, the reduced pressure, the deoxygenation, in particular the oxygen-free, and / or the inert and / or reducing atmosphere is changed during the course of the method.

6. The bonding temperature (T Ｆ ), which is 30% to 100%, particularly 50% to 98%, more preferably 75% to 95% of the melting temperature (T Ｓ ) of the carrier material (1) and / or the electrode material (2), the method according to any one of the preceding claims.

7. The melting temperature (T Ｓ ) of the carrier material (1) and / or the electrode material (2) is the threshold temperature (T ｔｈｒｅｓｈｏｌｄ ) after exceeding 30% of the melting temperature, and the bonding time (t Ｆ ) is 1 minute to 24 hours, particularly 1 hour to 4 hours, more preferably 1 hour to 2 hours. The method according to any one of the preceding claims is characterized by this.

8. The size of the joint surface (8) is 1 mm ２ to 50 mm ２ and particularly 2 mm ２ to 30 mm ２ and more preferably 2 mm ２ to 15 mm ２ The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is so.

9. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the thickness of the electrode material (2) is from 0.05 mm to 2 mm, in particular from 0.05 mm to 0.5 mm, more preferably from 0.05 mm to 0.25 mm.

10. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the carrier material (1) consists of a material from groups 4 to 11 of the elements, i.e. the titanium group, vanadium group, chromium group, manganese group, iron group, cobalt group, nickel group or copper group, in particular consists of nickel, iron, chromium, molybdenum, tungsten or an alloy thereof, and the electrode material (2) consists of a material from groups 4 to 11 of the elements, i.e. the titanium group, vanadium group, chromium group, manganese group, iron group, cobalt group, nickel group or copper group, in particular consists of platinum, iridium, rhodium, ruthenium, rhenium or an alloy thereof.

11. Before or after positioning the electrode material (2) on the carrier material (1), solder material (13) is applied, placed or drawn on and / or beside the joint surface (8), and the joint temperature (T Ｆ ) is higher than the melting temperature (T Ｓ ) of the solder and lower than the melting temperature (T Ｓ ) of each of the carrier material (1) and the electrode material (2), and the joint time (t Ｓ ) after exceeding the melting temperature (T Ｆ ) of the solder material (13) is, in particular, 10 seconds to 2 hours, preferably 1 minute to 60 minutes. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that.

12. The solder base material of the solder material (13) is selected from materials of Group 9 to Group 11 of elements, namely cobalt group, nickel group or copper group materials or alloys thereof, the solder base material of the solder material (13) particularly contains alloy additives of Group 4 to Group 15 of elements, the solder material (13) particularly consists of silver, gold or nickel as the solder base material, preferably contains additives of chromium, silicon, boron, iron, molybdenum, phosphorus, palladium, copper and / or combinations thereof, and the solder material is preferably Ag 99.99, NiCrSiBFe or NiCrSi. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that.

13. The carrier material (1) has a recess (11), and when the electrode material (2) is placed in contact with the carrier material (1), it is arranged in a form that at least partially sinks into the recess (11). The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that.

14. An intermediate material (12) disposed on the carrier material (1) or the electrode material (2) exists between the carrier material (1) and the electrode material (2), and the bonding surface (8) is formed between the carrier material (1) and the intermediate material (12) and between the electrode material (2) and the intermediate material (12), respectively, and the bonding temperature (T Ｆ ), which is lower than the melting temperatures (T Ｓ ) of the carrier material (1), the electrode material (2), and the intermediate material (12), and the carrier material (1) forms a planar bond with the intermediate material (12), and the electrode material (2) forms a planar bond with the intermediate material (12). A method according to any one of the preceding claims.

15. The intermediate material (12) is in the form of a diffusion-promoting material, particularly silver or copper, and the diffusion of atoms and / or ions of the electrode material (2) into the carrier material (1) through the intermediate material (12) and / or the diffusion of atoms and / or ions of the carrier material (1) into the electrode material (2) through the intermediate material (12) are promoted by the intermediate material (12). The method according to claim 14, characterized in that.

16. The average roughness Ra at the joint surface (8) of the carrier material (1) and / or the electrode material (2), particularly and / or the intermediate material (12), is 0.01 μm to 6.3 μm, particularly 0.02 μm to 0.5 μm. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that.

17. A plurality of carrier materials (1) and a plurality of electrode materials (2) are paired and stacked to form a stacked arrangement, and the paired carrier material (1) and the electrode material (2) to be joined are separated from each other by a separation material (19) and / or a separation layer with respect to other pairs. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that.

18. A method for manufacturing a spark plug, particularly for an internal combustion engine or a gas engine, comprising forming a first electrode (3), particularly a center electrode, and a second electrode (4), particularly a ground electrode. An ignition gap (6) is formed between the first electrode (3) and the second electrode (4), particularly between the central electrode and the ground electrode, and a carrier (5) composed of a carrier material (1) is formed on the first electrode (3), particularly the central electrode, and / or the second electrode (4), particularly the ground electrode. In a method of disposing an electrode plate (7) made of an electrode material (2) and oriented in the direction of the ignition gap (6) on the carrier (5). The method is characterized in that the joining between the carrier (5) and the electrode plate (7) is established by the method according to any one of claims 1 to 17.

19. Comprising a first electrode (3), particularly a central electrode, and a second electrode (4), particularly a ground electrode, with an ignition gap (6) formed between the first electrode (3), particularly the central electrode, and the second electrode (4), particularly the ground electrode. A spark plug for an internal combustion engine or a gas engine, particularly having a carrier (5), particularly a nickel carrier, on which an electrode plate (7) oriented in the direction of the ignition gap (6) is disposed, and particularly manufactured by the method according to claim 18, wherein the first electrode (3), particularly the central electrode, and / or the second electrode (4), particularly the ground electrode. The spark plug is characterized in that the joining between the carrier (5) and the electrode plate (7) is established by the method according to claims 1 to 17, the carrier (5) is in the form of the carrier material (1), and the electrode plate (7) is in the form of the electrode material (2).

20. The carrier (5) is formed from a titanium material, a nickel material or an iron material, particularly from a nickel alloy, a chromium-nickel alloy, steel, inconel or a refractory metal, preferably from pure nickel, a nickel-based alloy, FeCrNi stainless steel or FeCrNiMo stainless steel, and the electrode plate (7) is formed from a noble metal, particularly platinum, iridium, rhodium, ruthenium, rhenium or an alloy thereof, particularly a platinum / rhodium alloy, a platinum / rhenium alloy, a platinum / iridium alloy, an iridium / rhenium alloy or an iridium / rhodium alloy. More preferably, the electrode plate (7) contains an alloy composed of PtRh 90 / 10, and the carrier (5) contains an alloy of Nickel 201 of VDM, i.e., EN 2.4068, or the electrode plate (7) contains an alloy of IrRh 90 / 10, and the carrier (5) contains an alloy of Nickel 201 of VDM, i.e., EN 2.4068. The spark plug according to claim 19 is characterized by this.

21. A spark ignition device, particularly for an internal combustion engine or a gasoline engine, comprising a first electrode (3), particularly a central electrode, and a second electrode (4), particularly a ground electrode, with a spark gap (6) formed between the first electrode (3), particularly the central electrode, and the second electrode (4), particularly the ground electrode. The first electrode (3), particularly the central electrode, and / or the second electrode (4), particularly the ground electrode, has a carrier (5), particularly a nickel carrier, on which an electrode plate (7) directed in the direction of the spark gap (6) is arranged. The carrier (5) and the electrode plate (7) have a planar and uniform connection to each other, particularly a full-surface connection. The joint between the carrier (5) and the electrode plate (7) is established by the method according to claims 1 to 17. Particularly, the carrier (5) is in the form of the carrier material (1), and the electrode plate (7) is in the form of the electrode material (2). A diffusion zone is formed in the region of the planar joint between the carrier (5) and the electrode plate (7). In this diffusion zone, the concentration of the material of the carrier (5) transitions from 100% to 0% in the direction from the carrier (5) to the electrode plate (7), and the concentration of the material of the electrode plate (7) transitions from 0% to 100% in the direction from the carrier (5) to the electrode plate (7). Particularly, the ignition device is characterized in that the diffusion depth is 0.05 μm or more, particularly between 1 μm and 100 μm, more preferably between 20 μm and 40 μm.

22. The carrier (5) is formed of a titanium material, a nickel material or an iron material, in particular, formed of a nickel alloy, a chromium-nickel alloy, steel, Inconel or a refractory metal, preferably, formed of pure nickel, a nickel-based alloy, FeCrNi stainless steel or FeCrNiMo stainless steel, the electrode plate (7) is formed of a noble metal, in particular, platinum, iridium, rhodium, ruthenium, rhenium or an alloy thereof, in particular, a platinum / rhodium alloy, a platinum / rhenium alloy, a platinum / iridium alloy, an iridium / rhenium alloy or an iridium / rhodium alloy. More preferably, the electrode plate (7) contains an alloy composed of PtRh 90 / 10, the carrier (5) contains an alloy of VDM's Nickel 201, i.e., EN 2.4068, or the electrode plate (7) contains an alloy of IrRh 90 / 10, and the carrier (5) contains an alloy of VDM's Nickel 201, i.e., EN 2.4068. The ignition device according to claim 21, characterized in that.

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