Ngk Spark Plug Company, Limited

Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

Seiji Oya

Tomohiro Wakazono

Mineji Nasu

Yuta Oishi

Toshiya Oya

Koji Shiotani

Tomonori Kondo

Satoshi Okazaki

Hiroshi Kubota

Shin Yoshida

Kazuo Yanada

Koichi Awano

Hiroaki Nakanishi

Hiroshi Inagaki

Hiroshi Watanabe

Takeshi Mitsuoka

Tatsuya Suzuki

Kuniharu Tanaka

Kentaro Mori

Satoshi Teramoto

Yasuyuki Okimura

Shigeki Mori

Takeshi Kawai

Masaki Onkawa

Shinji Ban

Shigehiro Otsuka

Akio Mori

Toshinori Nishi

Yasumitsu Shimizu

Tomoki Yamaguchi

Seiya Matsuda

Yuko Yamada

A temperature sensor includes: a temperature sensing element including a temperature sensing portion, electrical characteristics of which vary depending on temperature, and an electrode wire for outputting an electric signal from the temperature sensing portion to the outside; and a sheath core wire (signal wire) electrically connected to the electrode wire. The electrode wire is made of a platinum-rhodium alloy. The platinum-rhodium alloy is composed of 0.1 to 1.5 mol % of Sr, 22 to 40 mol % of Rh, and a remainder composed of Pt and unavoidable impurities. The platinum-rhodium alloy has a second-phase mainly composed of Sr and Pt whose precipitated grains are dispersed in a matrix phase. An area ratio of the second phase at a cross section is not greater than 25%.

Temperature sensor

A temperature sensor () including: a temperature sensing element () including a temperature sensing portion () having an electrical characteristic which varies depending on temperature, and an electrode wire () for outputting an electrical signal from the temperature sensing portion (); and a sheath core wire (signal wire) () electrically connected to the electrode wire (). The electrode wire () is formed from a platinum-palladium-rhodium alloy containing Pt, Pd and Rh. The alloy contains a total of 0.1 to 1.2 mol % of at least one alkaline-earth metal selected from the group consisting of Ca, Sr and Ba; 0.1 to 43.0 mol % of Pd; and 1.0 to 43.0 mol % of Rh, and the balance is Pt and incidental impurities. In the platinum-palladium-rhodium alloy, second-phase precipitated grains mainly containing Pt, Pd and the alkaline-earth metal are dispersed in a matrix phase.

A temperature sensor includes a temperature sensitive element, a sheath portion, a surrounding portion, and a holding member. This temperature sensor has a void formed forward of a temperature sensitive body. When the void is projected in an axial direction of the surrounding portion from a forward end side of the surrounding portion, the void contains at least a forward end surface of the temperature sensitive body.

Temperature sensor with improved sheath

Provided are: an electrode for a gas sensor formed as a porous electrode so as to stably allow reduction in electrode resistance for excellent low-temperature activity; and a gas sensor. The electrode () for the gas sensor is adapted for use on a surface of a solid electrolyte body (), which is predominantly formed of zirconia, and contains particles () of a noble metal or an alloy thereof, first ceramic particles () of stabilized zirconia or partially stabilized zirconia and second ceramic particles () of one or more selected from the group consisting of AlO, MgO, LaO, spinel, zircon, mullite and cordierite, wherein the second ceramic particles are contained in an amount smaller than that of the first ceramic particles.

Electrode for gas sensor, and gas sensor

In a manufacturing method for a thermistor element () including: a thermistor portion () which is a sintered body formed from a thermistor material; and a pair of electrode wires () which are embedded in the thermistor portion () and at least one end portion of each of the electrode wires projects at an outer side of the thermistor portion (), the resistance value of the thermistor element () is adjusted by performing a removal processing of removing a part of the thermistor portion ().

Thermistor element and manufacturing method therefor

A gas sensor element () configured as a laminate of an oxygen pump cell () and an oxygen concentration detection cell () with a spacer () sandwiched therebetween. The spacer () has a gas detecting chamber () formed therein and electrodes () and () of the cells () and (), respectively, facing the chamber (). A leakage section () is faces the gas detecting chamber () (measuring chamber).

Gas sensor element and gas sensor

A temperature sensitive element in a temperature sensor includes a covering member formed from alumina and aluminosilicate glass, and the volume ratio of the alumina to the aluminosilicate glass (the alumina/the aluminosilicate glass) in the covering member is 30 vol %/70 vol %. The aluminosilicate glass contained in the covering member is high heat-resistant glass having a softening point of 900&#xb0; C. or higher. The covering member can hold output lines and pads and can restrain separation of the output lines from the pads and separation of the pads from a ceramic substrate even in an environment of higher temperature as compared with the case where the covering member is formed of the aluminosilicate glass only.

Temperature sensitive element and temperature sensor

In a temperature sensitive element, a covering member containing a glass as a main component and having a thermal expansion coefficient smaller than that of output lines is provided on pads to cover at least portions of output lines located on the pads. The pads are formed of a glass-based material which contains, as main components, a metal and a glass having a thermal expansion coefficient smaller than that of a ceramic substrate, and the thermal expansion coefficient of the pads is set to be smaller than that of the output lines. Accordingly, in the case where the temperature sensitive element is exposed to a temperature change between a high temperature and ordinary temperature, compressive stress can be applied to the output lines by the covering member and the pads. Thus, the fixing force between the output lines and the pads can be increased.

In a temperature sensor, two seal members seal the open opposite ends of a cladding member (a forward end and a rear end), so that water absorption by an insulator of a sheath member can be restrained. The seal members are formed to have an insulation resistance equal to that of a conductor-fixing material. Therefore, even when the temperature sensor is used in a high-temperature environment, the insulation performance of the seal members does not become lower than the insulation performance of the conductor-fixing material, so that the formation of a leakage current path can be suppressed. According to the temperature sensor, the electrical property of a temperature sensitive element can be sensed accurately, and a reduction in the accuracy of temperature sensing can be restrained.

A gas detection element of a gas sensor has a reference gas introduction passage formed therein and extending from an opening at a radially outer perimetric surface of an element rear-end portion to a detecting section of an element forward-end portion for introducing reference gas from the opening to the detecting section. The entirety of the reference gas introduction passage is provided on a forward side in an axial direction with respect to contact portions of electrode pads and through hole conductors which are formed on and in the element rear-end portion.

Gas sensor and gas detection element

A gas sensor element of an air/fuel ratio sensor has a structure in which at least a part of an end portion of a porous electrode is sandwiched between a porous member and a solid electrolyte member. Therefore, it is possible to restrain shrinkage of the porous electrode during manufacture of the gas sensor element, which shrinkage would otherwise occur at the time of heating in a debindering step or at the beginning of a firing step, whereby occurrence of green breakage in the solid electrolyte member is restrained. Thus, cracking due to green breakage is restrained from occurring in the solid electrolyte member produced through firing. Since the end portion of the porous electrode can receive oxygen through the porous member, blackening of the solid electrolyte member can be prevented.

A heater which realizes both reduction of power consumption and improvement of durability against thermal shock. The heater includes a ceramic substrate formed of a ceramic material containing alumina as a main component; and a heat-generating resistor provided on the ceramic substrate and having a heat-generating portion and a lead portion, the heat-generating resistor containing, as a main component, one or more metals selected from the group consisting of platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd), and rhodium (Rh), or an alloy of any of these, and a ceramic material which is the same as the ceramic material of the ceramic substrate. In the heater, the ratio of the resistance of the heat-generating portion to the sum of the resistances of the heat-generating portion and the lead portion is 76 to 95%, and the heat-generating portion has a thickness of 1 to 6 &#x3bc;m.

Heater and gas sensor element

A cross-sectional shape of a gap of a gas sensor element has an end point A which is one of contact points at which the cross-sectional shape is in single-point contact with a virtual straight line parallel to a lamination direction, the one contact point being closest to one side of the laminated structure, an end point B which is one of the contact points closest to another side of the laminated structure, an end point C having the greatest separation from a straight line AB toward a solid electrolyte ceramic layer, and an end point D having the greatest separation from the straight line AB toward another ceramic layer. The distance H1 between the straight line AB and the end point C and the distance H2 between the straight line AB and the end point D satisfy 0.25&#x2266;H1/H2&#x3c;1.00 or 1.00&#x3c;H1/H2&#x2266;4.00.

Disclosed is a sensor element for detecting a specific gas component in a gas under measurement. The sensor element is plate-shaped in a longitudinal direction thereof and has a detection portion located on a front end side of the sensor element and an air introduction portion adapted as a longitudinal hole extending in the longitudinal direction to a position of the detection portion so as to introduce air thereinto. The detection portion includes a measurement electrode exposed to the gas under measurement, a reference electrode arranged in the air introduction portion and a plate-shaped solid electrolyte member held in contact with the measurement electrode and the reference electrode. The air introduction portion has a cross section with an aspect ratio of 0.0082 to 0.0800 and an area of 0.015 to 0.147 mmwhen taken perpendicular to the longitudinal direction at a position of the reference electrode.

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Niwa-gun, Japan

Seiji Oya