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Ignition coil

 
Ignition Coil

 
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Ignition coil
 
 
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An ignition coil (also called a spark coil
Coil

A coil is a series of wiktionary:loops. A coiled coil is a structure where the coil itself is in turn also looping....
) is an induction coil
Induction coil

An induction coil or "spark coil" is a type of disruptive discharge coil. It is a type of electrical transformer used to produce high-voltage pulses from a low-voltage Direct current supply....
 in an automobile
Automobile

An automobile or motor car is a wheeled motor vehicle for transportation passengers, which also carries its own car engine or motor. Most definitions of the term specify that automobiles are designed to run primarily on roads, to have seating for one to eight people, to typically have four wheels, and to be constructed principally f...
's ignition system
Ignition system

An ignition system is a system for igniting a fuel-air mixture. It is best known in the field of internal combustion engines but also has other applications, e.g....
 which transforms
Transformer

A transformer is a device that transfers electrical energy from one electrical network to another through inductive coupling conductors — the transformer's coils or "windings"....
 the battery's
Car battery

A car battery is a type of rechargeable battery that supplies electric energy to an automobile. Usually this refers to an SLI battery to power the starter motor, the lights, and the ignition system of a vehicle?s internal combustion engine....
 12 volt
Volt

The volt is the SI SI derived unit of electric potential difference or electromotive force, commonly known as voltage. It is named in honor of the Lombard physicist Alessandro Volta , who invented the voltaic pile, possibly the first chemical battery ....
s (6 volts in some older vehicles) to the thousands of volts needed to spark the spark plug
Spark plug

A spark plug is an electrical device that fits into the cylinder head of some internal combustion engines and ignites compressed Particulate gasoline by means of an electric spark....
s.

This specific form of the autotransformer
Autotransformer

An autotransformer is an electrical transformer with only one coil#Electromagnetic. The winding has at least three electrical connection points called Tap ....
, together with the contact breaker
Contact breaker

A contact breaker is a type of electrical switch, and the term typically refers to the switching device found in the distributor of the ignition systems of spark-ignition internal combustion engines....
, converts low voltage from a battery into the high voltage
High voltage

The term high voltage characterizes electrical circuits, in which the voltage used is the cause of particular safety concerns and insulation requirements....
 required by spark plugs in an internal combustion engine
Internal combustion engine

The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs in a combustion chamber inside and integral to the engine. In an internal combustion engine it is always the expansion of the high temperature and pressure gases that are produced by the combustion which apply force to the movable component of the engine, such as...
.

lder vehicles a single (large) coil would serve all the spark plugs via the ignition distributor
Distributor

A distributor is a device in the ignition system of an internal combustion engine that routes high voltage from the ignition coil to the spark plugs in the correct firing order....
.






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Igncoil
An ignition coil (also called a spark coil
Coil

A coil is a series of wiktionary:loops. A coiled coil is a structure where the coil itself is in turn also looping....
) is an induction coil
Induction coil

An induction coil or "spark coil" is a type of disruptive discharge coil. It is a type of electrical transformer used to produce high-voltage pulses from a low-voltage Direct current supply....
 in an automobile
Automobile

An automobile or motor car is a wheeled motor vehicle for transportation passengers, which also carries its own car engine or motor. Most definitions of the term specify that automobiles are designed to run primarily on roads, to have seating for one to eight people, to typically have four wheels, and to be constructed principally f...
's ignition system
Ignition system

An ignition system is a system for igniting a fuel-air mixture. It is best known in the field of internal combustion engines but also has other applications, e.g....
 which transforms
Transformer

A transformer is a device that transfers electrical energy from one electrical network to another through inductive coupling conductors — the transformer's coils or "windings"....
 the battery's
Car battery

A car battery is a type of rechargeable battery that supplies electric energy to an automobile. Usually this refers to an SLI battery to power the starter motor, the lights, and the ignition system of a vehicle?s internal combustion engine....
 12 volt
Volt

The volt is the SI SI derived unit of electric potential difference or electromotive force, commonly known as voltage. It is named in honor of the Lombard physicist Alessandro Volta , who invented the voltaic pile, possibly the first chemical battery ....
s (6 volts in some older vehicles) to the thousands of volts needed to spark the spark plug
Spark plug

A spark plug is an electrical device that fits into the cylinder head of some internal combustion engines and ignites compressed Particulate gasoline by means of an electric spark....
s.

This specific form of the autotransformer
Autotransformer

An autotransformer is an electrical transformer with only one coil#Electromagnetic. The winding has at least three electrical connection points called Tap ....
, together with the contact breaker
Contact breaker

A contact breaker is a type of electrical switch, and the term typically refers to the switching device found in the distributor of the ignition systems of spark-ignition internal combustion engines....
, converts low voltage from a battery into the high voltage
High voltage

The term high voltage characterizes electrical circuits, in which the voltage used is the cause of particular safety concerns and insulation requirements....
 required by spark plugs in an internal combustion engine
Internal combustion engine

The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs in a combustion chamber inside and integral to the engine. In an internal combustion engine it is always the expansion of the high temperature and pressure gases that are produced by the combustion which apply force to the movable component of the engine, such as...
.

Use in cars

In older vehicles a single (large) coil would serve all the spark plugs via the ignition distributor
Distributor

A distributor is a device in the ignition system of an internal combustion engine that routes high voltage from the ignition coil to the spark plugs in the correct firing order....
. A notable exception is the Saab 92
Saab 92

Saab 92 is an automobile from Saab Automobile. The design was very aerodynamic for its time, and the cW value was 0.30 . Full-scale production started December 12, 1949, based on the prototype Saab 92001....
 that has one ignition coil per cylinder.

Modern ignition systems

In modern systems, the distributor is omitted and ignition is instead electronically controlled. Much smaller coils are used with one coil for each spark plug or one coil serving two spark plugs (for example two coils in a four-cylinder engine, or three coils in a six-cylinder engine). These coils may be remote-mounted or they may be placed on top of the spark plug (coil-on-plug or Direct Ignition
Distributor

A distributor is a device in the ignition system of an internal combustion engine that routes high voltage from the ignition coil to the spark plugs in the correct firing order....
). Where one coil serves two spark plugs (in two cylinders), it is through the "wasted spark
Wasted spark

A wasted spark is when in an ignition system in a four-stroke cycle internal combustion engine spark plugs fire in pairs, on both the exhaust and compression strokes....
" system. In this arrangement the coil generates two sparks per cycle to both the cylinders. The fuel in the cylinder that is nearing the end of its compression stroke is ignited, whereas the spark in its companion that is nearing the end of its exhaust stroke has no effect. The wasted spark system is more reliable than a single coil system with a distributor and cheaper than coil-on-plug.

Where the coils are automatically mounted they may all be contained in a single moulded block with multiple high-tension terminals. This is commonly called a coil-pack.

Tesla coil


The disruptive discharge Tesla coil
Tesla coil

A Tesla coil is a type of Transformer#Resonant transformers circuit invented by Serbian-American scientist Nikola Tesla around 1891. It is generally used to generate very high voltage, low Electrical current, high frequency alternating current electricity....
 is an early predecessor of the "ignition coil" in the ignition system. Tesla also gained , "Electrical Igniter for Gas Engines", on August 16, 1898. It used the principles of the ignition coil used today in automobiles. A. Atwater Kent
A. Atwater Kent

Arthur Atwater Kent was an inventor and prominent radio manufacturer based in Philadelphia. In 1921, he patented the modern form of the automobile ignition coil....
, in 1921, patented the modern form of the ignition coil.

Related coils

  • An Oudin coil
    Oudin coil

    An Oudin coil, also called an Oudin oscillator or Oudin resonator, is a disruptive discharge coil, that is a transformer designed to produce high voltage Electrical arcs and Corona discharge, similar to a Tesla coil....
     is a disruptive discharge coil.
  • Low tension coil
    Low tension coil

    A low tension coil is an electrical device used to create a spark across the points of an ignitor on early 1900s gasoline engines, generally flywheel engines, hit and miss engines, and other engines of that era....


Patents


External links

  • National High Magnetic Field Laboratory