Ngk Insulators, Inc.

Koichi Iwata

Yukihisa Takeuchi

Koji Kimura

Atsushi Watanabe

Naoshi Masukawa

Tsutomu Nanataki

Shuichi Ichikawa

Masahiro Abe

Kazuhiro Yamamoto

Katsuyuki Takeuchi

Takuji Kimura

Takeshi Omori

Syuichi Ichikawa

A NOx sensoris produced by forming a stack with a ceramics paste including ceramic particles, a resin, a solvent, and one or more additives selected from additives of a first group having a first structure containing one or more selected from ether structures, urethane structures, hydroxy group-containing structures, ester structures, and acrylic structures and additives of a second group having any one or more structures of the additives of the first group and a second structure containing one or more selected from imidazoline structures, ethylenediamine structures, and amine structures. The ceramics paste contains any one of the additives of the first group and the second group and thus has an appropriate affinity for a cutting edge at the time of cutting a laminated body before the firing of the NOx sensor

Ceramics paste and laminated body

A honeycomb structurecomprising a honeycomb segment bonded bodyhaving a number of honeycomb segmentsintegrated on each bonding planes via bonding material layershas a structure so that a number of cellsproviding fluid flow channels are disposed in parallel in the direction of center axis thereof. The honeycomb structureis constructed so that the porosity of an outer portion of the bonding material layers(an area from the interface with the honeycomb segment-bonding plane to a point apart from that interface by a distance equivalent to 20% of the entire layer thickness) is smaller than the porosity of a central portion located inward of the outer portion, and so that the bonding material layershave a compression Young's modulus along the Z-axis of 5 to 100 MPa.

Honeycomb structure

There is provided a honeycomb structurecomprising a honeycomb segment joined bodyhaving a plurality of honeycomb segmentsintegrally joined with one another at a joint face of each of the honeycomb segments by means of a bonding material layerand having a plurality of cellsfunctioning as fluid passages disposed in parallel with one another in a direction of central axis. Porosity in an outside portion of the bonding material layer(portion from the interface of the joint face of honeycomb segments to the point corresponding to 20% thickness of the total bonding material layer) is smaller than that in the central portion located on the inner side of the outside portion.

A piezoelectric actuator capable of being driven with a high electric field intensity, obtaining a larger displacement and being high in electric conducting reliability of electrodes, and comprising: at least one cell defined by two side walls, a substrate and a ceiling wall; the two side walls being disposed on the substrate and being covered with the ceiling wall to define one cell, at least the two side walls comprising piezoelectric/electrostrictive devices, and the piezoelectric/electrostrictive devices being capable of changing a volume of the cell by displacement of the walls. Each of the piezoelectric/electrostrictive devices comprises a plurality of layered piezoelectric/electrostrictive bodies and electrodes which are alternately stacked, and end portions of the electrodes are embedded in the piezoelectric/electrostrictive bodies in at least the internal side of the cell.

Method of manufacturing a cell driving type piezoelectric/electrostrictive actuator

A method for controlling the shrinkage of ceramic formed bodies is provided, including performing a preliminary test to determine an average shrinkage of ceramic formed bodies made from test lots of a ceramic powder, and determining a linear correlation between the average shrinkage and measured amounts of the ground test lots removed from a ball mill during a specific milling time interval. A batch of the ceramic powder is then ground, an amount of the ground ceramic powder removed from the ball mill during the specific time interval is measured, and the linear correlation is used to estimate the shrinkage of a ceramic body made therefrom. The difference between a target shrinkage and the estimated shrinkage is determined, and one or more of the processing conditions used to form the ceramic body are changed to offset the difference.

Method for controlling shrinkage of formed ceramic body

A cell driving type piezoelectric actuator comprising: a plurality of cell driving bodies each comprising a wall portion, a cell formed by the wall portion, a piezoelectric body formed on at least one of wall portions and at least one pair of electrodes formed on the piezoelectric body; said piezoelectric operation portion being capable of changing a volume of the cell on which said piezoelectric operation portion is formed by its displacement, wherein the piezoelectric actuator comprises at least one pair of support bodies, the plurality of cell driving bodies are formed completely independent of one another and are connected to one another through at least one pair of support bodies, and the cell driving bodies and the support bodies are integrally formed by firing a green body of said piezoelectric actuator. A method for manufacturing the same is also disclosed.

Cell driving type piezoelectric actuator, and method of manufacturing cell driving type piezoelectric actuator

A piezoelectric actuatorcapable of being driven with a high electric field intensity, obtaining a larger displacement and being high in electric conducting reliability of electrodes, and comprising: at least one celldefined by two side walls, a substrateand a ceiling wall; the two side walls being disposed on the substrate and being covered with the ceiling wall to define one cell, at least the two side wallscomprising piezoelectric/electrostrictive devices, and the piezoelectric/electrostrictive devicesbeing capable of changing a volume of the cellby displacement of the walls. Each of the piezoelectric/electrostrictive devicescomprises a plurality of layered piezoelectric/electrostrictive bodiesand electrodeswhich are alternately stacked, and end portions of the electrodesare embedded in the piezoelectric/electrostrictive bodiesin at least the internal side of the cell

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Kani, Japan

Koichi Iwata