Ngk Spark Plug Company, Limited

Mitsubishi Denki K.k.

Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Ngk Spark Plug So., Ltd.

Nobuhiro Hayakawa

Tetsusyo Yamada

Tessho Yamada

Kazunori Yokota

Daisuke Uematsu

Kentaro Mori

Yutaka Adachi

Akio Mizutani

Yasuo Ito

Takeshi Kawai

Yoshiro Noda

Ken Minoha

Haruhisa Shiomi

Takafumi Oshima

Noboru Ishida

Takao Kojima

Shigeru Miyata

Toyohei Nakajima

Yasushi Okada

Hideji Yoshida

Satoshi Ishikawa

Masashi Ando

Norihiko Nadanami

Satoshi Sugaya

Hiroshi Miyata

Toshitaka Matsuura

Hiroyuki Ishiguro

Masahiko Yamada

Hiroshi Isomura

Shoji Akatsuka

Noboru Matsui

Yutaka Nakayama

Takaki Otsuka

Hideki Matsubara

Toshiyuki Ishihara

Yuri Saito

Takeshi Kitano

Harumi Aiba

Syogo Kawajiri

Tetsusho Yamada

Keiichi Hayashi

Ryouma Nakayama

Yukichika Ito

Kentarou Mori

A pattern forming method which includes ejecting, through a nozzle, a liquid material containing a solvent and metal particles, and depositing droplets of the liquid material onto a pattern formation object, to thereby form a pattern thereon, wherein the viscosity of the liquid material before ejection thereof through the nozzle is lower than that of the liquid material at the time of deposition of droplets thereof onto the pattern formation object.

Pattern forming method, device, and device manufacturing method

There is provided a method for forming a conductor pattern on a substrate in such a manner that the conductor pattern has a lead portion extending in a longitudinal direction thereof, a first conductor portion located at one end of the lead portion and a second conductor portion located at the other end of the lead portion, including a printing step of printing at least the lead portion by ink-jet printing process, i.e., scanning a print head while discharging liquid ink drops from nozzles of the prink head, wherein the scanning of the print head is performed in the longitudinal direction of the conductor pattern during the printing step; and wherein the length of each of the first and second conductor portions in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the conductor pattern is larger than the diameter of the ink drop.

Conductor pattern forming method

There is provided a method for forming a conductor, including a first printing step of printing a contour part of the conductor with a first printing ink, a drying step of drying the printed contour part, and a second printing step of printing a remaining part of the conductor with a second printing ink, wherein the second printing ink contains a conductive material and has a surface tension lower than or equal to a surface tension of the first printing ink.

Conductor forming method

There is provided an ink for printing a conductor pattern on a substrate, including platinum particles, wherein 70% or more of the platinum particles have a particle size of 0.05 to 0.5 &#x3bc;m. Even when the viscosity of the printing ink is controlled to a relatively low level for use in ink-jet printing process, it is possible by such particle size distribution control to prevent sedimentation of the platinum particles and excessive shrinkage of the conductor pattern due to sintering of the platinum particles during firing so that the conductor pattern can attain improved conduction characteristics.

Conductor pattern printing ink

An ink contains at least a first solid particle, and a second solid particle formed of a base material of a different main component from that of the first solid particle. The first solid particle and the second solid particle have zeta potentials of the same polarity, or zeta potentials of 0&#xb1;5 mV. The first and second solid particles in the ink have the same surface property, specifically the same interface property in the ink. This makes it possible to use a common dispersant suited for adsorption on the first and second solid particles. In this way, more than one kind of solid particle can be stably dispersed using a sole kind of dispersant.

A high temperature sensor allowing for accurate measurement including wires running through an oxygen ion conductor and connecting to electrodes sandwiching an oxygen ion conductor substrate having an electrical resistance far smaller than the combined resistance (Rpvs) appearing across the lead wires, where Rpvs is determined by way of a pulse voltage sensing method applied across the electrodes. In the case of a two cavity sensor for NOx measurement, Rpvs is not less than 2.6 times greater, or more preferably 4 times greater than the resistance of the wires. In another embodiment, a common internal oxygen reference source cavity is formed inside the oxygen ion conductor so as to provide the same oxygen partial pressure base for other cavities.

Gas sensor with a high combined resistance to lead wire resistance ratio

An apparatus and method using a two-serial space sensor (having first and second internal spaces ) for accurately measuring NOx concentration in gas, e.g., exhausted from an internal combustion engine. Both NOx (nitrogen oxide) and oxygen are forced to be partially dissociated in the first space to an oxygen concentration level of 2&times;10 to 2&times;10 atm by pumping out oxygen from the first space . The NOx concentration is determined based on the second current measured in the second space and based on the NO dissociation percentage in the first chamber which is 0.5-50%, or preferably 2-20%. The NOx measurement accuracy is further improved when the above oxygen concentration level is maintained from 2&times;10 to 2&times;10 and the temperature drift of the sensor is maintained within &plusmn;5&deg; C. under a sensor temperature range of 700-900&deg; C.

Method for measuring NOx concentration and NOx concentration sensor

Disclosed is a process for the formation of an electrode for sensor element which comprises the formation of a platinum electrode on a solid electrolyte formed in a predetermined shape as a sensor element by electroless plating, wherein said electroless plating is effected in a platinum (II) complex solution as a plating solution on which a reducing agent for reducing said platinum (II) complex is acted.

Process for forming electrode for ceramic sensor element by electroless

A shaft-like heating member is inserted into and fixed to an oxygen sensing element of a hollowed shaft-like member, together with of a terminal member. A heating portion is located at a portion of the heating member closer to the extreme end thereof. The surface of the heating portion is resiliently pressed on the element inner wall in a side-abutting fashion. In this case, a guide mainly gives rise to the elastic force. With such a side-abutting structure, heat generated in the heating portion is directly transferred to the oxygen sensing element, and heats it. Heat radiated from a portion in the vicinity of its contact position additively heats the oxygen sensing element. Temperature of the oxygen sensor quickly reaches an activation temperature.

Oxygen sensor with a heater

Activation treatment for a zirconia oxygen sensor is performed by applying alternately a treating voltage, which can make an oxygen partial pressure at the electrode-zirconia interface of a sensor equal to or higher than a critical oxygen partial pressure value (10.sup.-34 atm) not to cause blackening, between a pair of electrodes of the sensor at temperatures of 500.degree. to 800.degree. C. As a result, the treatment current flowing through the sensor can always be held below the critical level, whereby the sensor can be activated without causing blackening and other physical structural changes to occur in the zirconia sensing element. If the sensor is to be used in an A/F ratio control or the like on an internal combustion engine, it can be rendered active at all times by the activation treatment during or before or after the control.

Method of activating zirconia oxygen sensor

The invention provides a method for accurately and precisely detecting deterioration of a catalyst and measuring a conversion efficiency of a catalyst for HC/CO/NOx by using an oxygen sensor and an air/fuel ratio sensor disposed on the upstream and downstream sides of the catalyst, respectively. The catalyst is determined to be deteriorating when an output amplitude of the air/fuel ratio sensor becomes greater than a predetermined value. The conversion efficiency of the catalyst is determined based on a predetermined relationship between the output amplitude and the mean converted rate of HC/CO/NOx.

Method for detecting deterioration of catalyst and measuring conversion

An oxygen sensor including, at least, a) an oxygen pump element having a solid electrolyte plate and two porous electrodes, one on each surface of the solid electrolyte plate, b) a gas diffusion chamber facing one of the porous electrodes, and c) a gas diffusion path connecting the gas diffusion chamber and the ambience of the oxygen sensor, is defined its thickness between 0.7 to 1.25 mm, and its width between 2.8 to 4.0 mm. The restricted size renders higher resistance against repeated thermal shocks, and shorter warming-up time, which leads to greater accuracy and higher responsiveness in the oxygen content measurement.

Oxygen sensor with higher resistance to repeated thermal-shocks and

The present invention provides an improved alumina sintered body on which a heater electrode is printed and which is sintered simultaneously with the heater electrode at temperatures lower than the optimum value 1,520.degree. C. The alumina sintered body includes high purity of alumina and 2 through 18% by weight partially stabilized zirconia, which further contains 2 through 6 mole percent solid solution of an oxide or oxides selected from Y.sub.2 O.sub.3, Sc.sub.2 O.sub.3, and lanthanum series metal oxides. The high purity of alumina may contain 0.1% by weight alkaline metals and/or alkaline earth metals and 1.0% by weight SiO.sub.2 at most. In the alumina sintered body of the invention, segregation and migration of impurities and chipping are effectively prevented and hence the durability of the sintered body is highly improved. Use of the alumina sintered body of the invention as a heater base makes the durability of a heater much longer.

Alumina sintered body

An air/fuel ratio sensor is described, comprising an oxygen concentration electrochemical cell and an oxygen pump disposed in a face-to-face relationship with a gap being formed therebetween, the side of said electrochemical cell opposite the side facing said oxygen pump being in contact with the atmosphere, said gap forming a gas diffusion compartment that communicates with a gas to be analyzed by a gas diffusion limiting means, wherein the gap existing between said oxygen concentration electrochemical cell and said oxygen pump has a width of no more than 0.2 mm and no less than 0.01 mm.

Method of making air/fuel ratio sensor

An air/fuel ratio sensor is described, comprising an oxygen concentration electrochemical cell and an oxygen pump disposed in a face-to-face relationship with a gap being formed therebetween, the side of said electrochemical cell opposite the side facing said oxygen pump being in contact with the atmosphere, said gap forming a gas diffusion compartment that communicates with a gas to be analyzed by a gas diffusion limiting means, wherein the gap existing between said oxygen concentration electrochemical cell and said oxygen pump has a width of no more than 0.22 mm and no less than 0.01 mm.

Air/fuel ratio sensor

Growing community of inventors

Chita, Japan

Nobuhiro Hayakawa