Preheater Assembly for Aircraft Piston Engine Cylinder Head
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge in aircraft piston engines is to efficiently preheat diesel engines for cold starts without the complexity and cost of traditional glow plug installations, especially when space and sealing issues arise with cylinder heads made from different materials.
Innovation Solution
A preheating assembly featuring a glow plug and a hollow sleeve sheath that adapts to the cylinder head, with a conical seat and threaded connections for secure sealing, allowing a standard glow plug to be used even in thin bottom sole configurations, and includes a brake wire for secure attachment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a traditional glow plug is directly installed in the cylinder head, then the preheating function is achieved, but the sealing and fitting difficulty increase when the cylinder head has a thin bottom sole or is made from different materials
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an adapter component that serves as an intermediary between the glow plug and the cylinder head. This adapter includes a first portion that receives the glow plug and a second portion that engages with the cylinder head, allowing the assembly to be installed in cylinder heads with thin bottom soles or made from different materials without modifying the glow plug itself.
Solution Approach 2:
The preheating assembly is divided into separate components: the glow plug, the adapter with first and second portions, and the retaining ring. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently and facilitates installation in various cylinder head configurations.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a new glow plug is developed specifically for the new cylinder head design, then the fitting compatibility is improved, but the manufacturing cost increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The adapter component is designed to provide universal compatibility between standard glow plugs and various cylinder head designs. The second portion of the adapter can engage with different cylinder head configurations, allowing the same glow plug and adapter assembly to be used across multiple aircraft models and cylinder head designs.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of developing a new glow plug design, the patent uses an adapter that copies or replicates the threading and engagement features needed for different cylinder head designs, allowing standard glow plugs to be used without modification.
3Volume of moving object
If the glow plug body is reduced in size to fit available space, then the space utilization is improved, but the sealing reliability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The adapter acts as an intermediary that provides the necessary sealing surfaces and engagement features without requiring the glow plug body itself to be large. The adapter's first portion receives the glow plug while the second portion provides the sealing interface with the cylinder head, decoupling the size requirements.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution provides a simple, lightweight preheating system that ensures effective sealing and efficient ignition, overcoming the difficulties of fitting traditional glow plugs in aircraft engines with varying material compositions, while minimizing dead volume and maintaining mechanical strength.
Implementation Method 1
An electric current is then applied to the connection tip to heat the rod of the glow plug through the heating filament
Implementation Method 2
the body has a conical seat pressed against a conical seat of the cylinder head to guarantee the tightness of the assembly
Implementation Method 3
the body has a thread screwed to a thread of the cylinder head
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
AI summary
The present invention relates to a preheating assembly (20) for a glow plug (30) and a hollow sleeve (40) extending longitudinally from a lower extreme zone (41) to an upper extreme zone (42), said sleeve (40) extending radially from an internal surface (43) defining a cavity (60) to an external surface (44), said glow plug (30) being inserted in said cavity (60), said pencil (33) protruding from said sleeve (40) through the lower extreme zone (41), the internal surface (43) of the sleeve (40) having a second thread (45) engaging with a first thread (37) of the glow plug (30), the internal surface (43) of the sleeve (40) having a first conical seat (46) bearing against the first conical bearing surface (35). of the glow plug (30),the external surface (44) of the lower extremity zone (41) comprising a third thread (47) screwed to a cylinder head (10) and a second conical bearing surface (48) bearing against a second seat (16) of a cylinder head (10).