Abstract: An employed rear mold is comprised of a plurality of mold pieces. The plurality of mold pieces include a first mold piece which forms a first partial internal surface of the internal surface of the rear mold along the entire circumference of the internal surface, and a second mold piece which is located axially forward of the first mold piece and forms a second partial internal surface of the internal surface of the rear mold along the entire circumference of the internal surface. Releasing the molded body includes starting to move the first mold piece rearward in relation to a rear molded portion, and, subsequently to starting to move the first mold piece, starting to move the second mold piece rearward in relation to the rear molded portion, thereby disassembling the rear mold into the plurality of mold pieces.

Abstract: A spark plug that provides an increase in the combustion speed of an engine. The spark plug includes a center electrode, a ground electrode, an insulator, and a cover portion. In a cross-sectional area of a region surrounded by an inner wall surface of the cover portion in a cross section taken along a plane perpendicular to an axial line CX of the spark plug, the cover portion includes: a narrow portion positioned on the front end side with respect to the ground electrode in the direction of the axial line CX and narrowed such that the cross-sectional area is smallest; and a cover front portion positioned on the front end side of the narrow portion and having the cross-sectional area that is larger than the cross-sectional area of the narrow portion and that is largest at the front end of the cover front portion.

Abstract: A substrate holding device includes a base body that has a flat plate-like shape and that includes gas passages that open in an upper surface of the base body, and a plurality of protrusions that protrude from the upper surface of the base body. At least an upper part of each of the protrusions has a conical frustum shape having a base angle of 70° or more and 85° or less.

Abstract: A sensor element drive circuit is a circuit including a plurality of semiconductor elements formed on a semiconductor substrate for realizing a current control function and a switching function. The current control function is a function of controlling the current flowing between electrodes such that the potential difference between electrodes becomes constant. The switching function is a function for switching between a connected state in which the electrodes are electrically connected to a sensor control apparatus and a cut-off state in which electrical continuity therebetween is broken. When one of an Ip+ terminal, a COM terminal, and a Vs+ terminal is determined to have an anomalous potential, the sensor control apparatus causes the sensor element drive circuit to perform switching from the connected state to the cut-off state, and connects the semiconductor substrate to a negative voltage lower than a ground potential applied to the sensor element drive circuit.

Abstract: An electrode embedded member includes a plate-shaped substrate having a front surface and a back surface and that is made of a ceramic, an inner electrode extending parallel to the front surface of the substrate and that is embedded in the substrate, a connection member extending parallel to the front surface of the substrate and that is disposed so as to overlap the inner electrode, and a terminal connected to the connection member. The electrode embedded member has a predetermined structure including at least one of the following: a first predetermined structure in which a thickness of at least a part of the connection member in a direction perpendicular to the front surface of the substrate is 0.2 mm or smaller; a second predetermined structure in which the connection member includes a cutout portion; and a third predetermined structure in which the connection member is composed of a mesh structure.

Abstract: A substrate is arranged above a base body such that the substrate comes into contact with an upper end of a support member. Subsequently, vacuum suction is performed on an internal space of the support member through an auxiliary vacuum suction path so that the upper end of the support member is displaced to a height position equal to the height positions of upper ends of multiple protruding portions. Then, vacuum suction is performed, through a vacuum suction path, on a space of which the top and the bottom are defined by the base body and the substrate so that the substrate is brought into contact with the upper ends of the multiple protruding portions.

Abstract: A spark plug wherein the occurrence of pre-ignition and misfires in the spark plug are suppressed. The spark plug includes a cover portion, that covers a front end portion of a center electrode and a facing portion of a ground electrode from a front end side of the spark plug to form a pre-chamber space. The cover portion has injection holes that are through-holes. A metal shell volume A (mm3) of a portion of the metal shell on the front side with respect to a rear end of the pre-chamber space and a thermal conductivity B (W/mK) of the metal shell at the normal temperature satisfy a formula (1): 3.6<A/B<98.0. The metal shell volume A (mm3) and a space volume C of the pre-chamber space satisfy a formula (2): 0.18<C/A<1.20.

Abstract: A gas sensor (1) including a first gas detection element (2) and a second gas detection element (3), a first storage portion (4) having a first internal space (4A), and a first opening (4B) establishing communication between the first internal space (4A) and the outside space thereof exposed to a detection subject atmosphere, a second storage portion (5) having a second internal space (5A) and a second opening (5B) establishing communication between the second internal space (5A) and the outside space, a first membrane (4C) allowing permeation of water vapor and substantially not allowing permeation of a detection target gas, and covering the first opening (4B), and a calculation unit (12) for calculating the concentration of a detection target gas contained in the detection subject atmosphere, based on outputs from the first and second gas detection elements (2, 3), respectively.

Abstract: A gas sensor (100) includes a sensor element (120), a metallic shell (110), a powder filler member (133), a first ceramic holder (135) in contact with the rear end of the powder filler member and from which the sensor element protrudes, and a second ceramic holder (131) in contact with the forward end of the powder filler member and from which the sensor element protrudes. The powder filler member has a higher thermal expansion coefficient than that of the first and second ceramic holders. The first ceramic holder, powder filler member, and second ceramic holder are pressed by force application means (118). A relation 0.40<(L?M)/L<0.58 holds, where L is the axial distance between the rearward-facing surface of the first ceramic holder and the forward end of the second ceramic holder, and M is the axial length of the powder filler member.

Abstract: An electrochemical reaction unit including a unit cell including an electrolyte layer, and a cathode and an anode that face each other in a first direction with the electrolyte layer intervening therebetween; and a felt member containing a ceramic material or a metal and a silica component. The felt member has an Si content of 0.9 mass % to 13.2 mass %. Also disclosed is an electrochemical reaction cell stack including a plurality of electrochemical reaction units, at least one of the units being the above-described electrochemical reaction unit.

Abstract: A spark plug including a ground electrode including a base material, a tip having a discharge surface, and a melt portion interposed over an entire area between the tip and the base material and joining the tip to the base material; and a center electrode with a spark gap formed between the center electrode and the discharge surface. The tip has, in an inner area surrounded by an outer peripheral portion of the tip, a thin portion in which a distance between the discharge surface and the melt portion is shorter than a distance between the discharge surface and the melt portion in the outer peripheral portion. The thin portion extends from a part of the outer peripheral portion to a part other than the part of the outer peripheral portion.

Abstract: A spark plug inspection method and a spark plug manufacturing method that enable evaluation for the position of a ground electrode of a tapered-seat-type spark plug. The spark plug inspection method includes: a contact step of screwing an external thread of a metal shell to an internal thread of a gauge so as to bring a part of a tapered portion of the metal shell into line-contact or point-contact with an inner edge of the gauge; and a determination step of determining whether or not a ground electrode is present within a predetermined range in a circumferential direction of the gauge when the tapered portion comes into line-contact or point-contact with the inner edge of the gauge in the contact step.

Abstract: An optical wavelength conversion member and a light-emitting device including the optical wavelength conversion member. The optical wavelength conversion member (9) is formed of a ceramic sintered body having a fluorescent phase containing fluorescent crystal grains as a main component and a translucent phase containing translucent crystal grains as a main component. Crystal grains of the fluorescent phase have a composition represented by formula A3B5O12:Ce, where the element A is selected from Sc, Y, and lanthanoids (except for Ce), and the element B is selected from Al and Ga. In the optical wavelength conversion member (9), 0.3<a<34 and 300 ?m<y<1,050 ?m are satisfied, wherein a represents the area ratio of the translucent phase to the fluorescent phase in a cross section of the optical wavelength conversion member (9), and y represents the interfacial length of the fluorescent phase.

Abstract: A particulate sensor can reduce the amount of floating ions discharged from the interior of a gas introduction pipe to the outside through a gas discharge opening, without providing an auxiliary electrode member which applies to the floating ions a repulsive force toward the gas introduction pipe to thereby assist the collection of the floating ions by the gas introduction pipe. The particulate sensor has an collection member which is connected to a gas introduction pipe to thereby be maintained at a collection potential and is disposed in the interior of the gas introduction pipe to be located between a forward end of the discharge electrode member and a gas discharge opening such that the forward end of the discharge electrode member cannot be visually recognized from the outside of the gas introduction pipe through the gas discharge opening.

Abstract: [Objective] To provide a wiring substrate for electronic component inspection apparatus which includes a first laminate of resin layers with a plurality of pads for probe provided on its front surface and a second laminate of ceramic layers disposed on the back side of the first laminate and which, despite joining by brazing of a plurality of studs to the back surface of the second laminate, is free from deformation of resin of the first laminate caused by softening or the like and from accidental formation of a short circuit between brazing material layers used for the brazing and external connection terminals formed on the back surface of the second laminate.

Abstract: The spark plug includes an insulator, a metal shell, and a buffering member. The buffering member is filled in a space that is enclosed by an inner peripheral surface of the metal shell and an outer peripheral surface of the insulator. 3 mm2?L×T is satisfied in a case where: a length in a direction of an axial line of a filled portion filled with the buffering member is defined as a filling length L; a thickness, of a screw portion of the metal shell, that is half a difference left after subtraction of the inner diameter of the metal shell from the pitch diameter of the screw portion is defined as an effective thickness; and a minimum value of the effective thickness of a portion, of the screw portion, present rearward of an inner diameter reduction portion of the metal shell is defined as a minimum thickness T.

Abstract: A spark plug includes a center electrode; a metal shell that retains the center electrode at an outer periphery of the center electrode in an insulating manner; a ground electrode disposed such that a spark gap is formed between the center electrode and an end portion of the ground electrode; and a plug cap connected to the metal shell, the plug cap covering the center electrode and the end portion of the ground electrode from front and having a through hole in a region in front of the ground electrode. An inner surface of the plug cap has at least one ridge in a first region that is in front of an inner open end of the through hole.

Abstract: Disclosed is an assessment method for making an assessment of laser welding between first and second cylindrical metal members, wherein the first and second cylindrical metal members are arranged coaxially to define an overlap range where the first and second cylindrical metal members overlap each other; and wherein the laser welding is performed on the overlap range along a circumferential direction of the overlap range. The assessment method includes: during the laser welding, carrying out a measurement of a position of a contour of at least one of the first and second cylindrical metal members; and judging the occurrence or non-occurrence of a position deviation of the at least one of the first and second cylindrical metal members based on a result of the measurement.

Abstract: A spark plug capable of facilitating the growth of a flame kernel. The spark plug including a metal shell; a center electrode retained in the metal shell in an insulated manner; a ground electrode disposed such that a spark gap is formed between the center electrode and an end portion of the ground electrode; and a plug cap that covers the center electrode and the end portion of the ground electrode from the front in a region in front of the metal shell and in which a through hole is formed. An inner surface of the plug cap in a region in front of a back end of the end portion of the ground electrode and an inner surface of the through hole each have an arithmetical mean roughness of less than or equal to 6.3 ?m.

Abstract: A spark plug includes: an insulator with an axial hole; a center electrode held in a front end side of the axial hole; a cylindrical metal shell disposed around the insulator and having a seal part brought into contact with an outer circumferential surface of the insulator; a ground electrode arranged to form a gap with the center electrode; and a cap connected to a front end part of the metal shell to define therein an auxiliary combustion space in which the gap is formed, the cap having at least one through hole formed to provide communication between the auxiliary combustion space and the outside, wherein the condition (B/A)?0.25 is satisfied where A represents a volume of an imaginary space defined at a position frontward of the seal part; and B represents a volume of parts of the ground and center electrodes located in the imaginary space.