Ngk Spark Plug Company, Limited

Ippei Kato

Shigehiro Ohtsuka

Kazuma Ito

Keisuke Nakagawa

Hisashi Kozuka

Tomohiro Nishi

A gas sensor control apparatus including a gas sensor element, a heater for heating the gas sensor element, and heater energization control means for feedback controlling the supply of electric current to the heater such that the internal resistance of the gas sensor element coincides with a target resistance. The gas sensor element has a solid electrolyte member and an electrode portion including an outside electrode and an inside electrode. At least a portion of the electrode portion is formed of an electrically conductive oxide whose main component is (i) a first perovskite phase which is represented by a composition formula of LaCoNiO(0.300&#x2264;x&#x2264;0.600, 0&#x2264;d&#x2264;0.4) and has a perovskite-type crystal structure, or (ii) a second perovskite phase which is represented by a composition formula of LaFeNiO(0.450&#x2264;y&#x2264;0.700, 0&#x2264;d&#x2264;0.4) and has a perovskite-type crystal structure.

Gas sensor control apparatus

An inside lead portion of a gas sensor element has a lanthanum zirconate layer arranged between an electrically conductive oxide layer and a solid electrolyte member. Meanwhile, an inside detection electrode portion of the gas sensor element is formed such that (i) no lanthanum zirconate layer is formed between an electrically conductive oxide layer and the solid electrolyte member, or (ii) a lanthanum zirconate layer thinner than the lanthanum zirconate layer of the inside lead portion is formed between the electrically conductive oxide layer and the solid electrolyte member.

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Komaki, Japan

Ippei Kato