Abstract: A deviation amount of a downstream air-fuel ratio sensed with a downstream air-fuel ratio sensor, which senses an air-fuel ratio of exhaust gas downstream of a catalyst, from a target air-fuel ratio is integrated during a period in which the downstream air-fuel ratio continuously shows deviations from the target air-fuel ratio while main feedback control and sub feedback control are performed based on outputs of an upstream air-fuel ratio sensor and the downstream air-fuel ratio sensor respectively. The thus-calculated continuous deviation amount of the downstream air-fuel ratio (deterioration degree of exhaust gas purification rate) is compared with an abnormality determination value to determine existence/nonexistence of an abnormal state where the exhaust gas purification rate is deteriorated by an air-fuel ratio variation among cylinders (i.e., state where control center of main feedback control has shifted).

Abstract: In order to provide a method of producing a gel negative electrode for an alkaline battery for preparing a gel negative electrode in which a zinc powder, a gelling agent and an electrolyte are disposed uniformly, by an agitator including a cylindrical agitation container disposed so that the center axis X of the cylinder is parallel to the horizontal direction, the agitation container is rotated around the center axis X and the left and right portions of the agitation container are swung around an axis Y, which is orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the agitation container, thereby agitating and mixing the alkaline electrolyte and the dry mixture.

Abstract: In order to provide an alkaline dry battery which enables to improve the operational stability of digital equipment by suppressing the progress of polarization during heavy load pulse discharge while maintaining the excellent heavy load discharge characteristics, and has an excellent reliability in terms of the leakage resistance and the safety under short-circuit conditions, the alkaline dry battery includes a positive electrode including a nickel oxyhydroxide powder and a manganese dioxide powder as positive electrode active materials, and including graphite as a conductive material; a negative electrode including zinc or a zinc alloy as a negative electrode active material; a separator interposed between the positive electrode and the negative electrode; a negative electrode current collector inserted in the negative electrode; an aqueous alkaline solution included in the separator; a battery case housing the positive electrode, the negative electrode, the separator, the negative electrode current collecto

Abstract: Provided is an alkaline dry battery allowing suppression of polarization in pulse discharge under heavy load to improve discharge characteristics, and having high reliability in safety in case of short circuit. In the positive electrode, a calcium compound having a content of iron element of 150 ppm or less is added in an amount of 0.1 to 10 mol % with respect to a positive electrode active material, a nickel oxyhydroxide powder having 2.95 or more of an average nickel valence and 8 to 18 ?m of an average particle diameter is used, the weight ratio of the nickel oxyhydroxide powder and a manganese dioxide powder is in the range of 20:80 to 90:10.

Abstract: A computer calculates an estimated cylinder-intake-air amount based on outputs from an airflow meter and a throttle position sensor, and then calculates a reference cylinder-intake-air amount based on an air-fuel ratio in an exhaust gas and fuel injection amount. An error of the estimated cylinder-intake-air amount is calculated by comparing the reference cylinder-intake-air amount with an estimated cylinder-intake-air amount base value. The error is low-pass filtered. The estimated cylinder-intake-air amount base value is corrected to obtain the final estimated cylinder-intake-air amount.

Abstract: Abstract Provided is an alkaline dry battery allowing suppression of polarization in pulse discharge under heavy load to improve discharge characteristics, and having high reliability in safety in case of short circuit. In the positive electrode, a calcium compound having a content of iron element of 150 ppm or less is added in an amount of 0.1 to 10 mol % with respect to a positive electrode active material, a nickel oxyhydroxide powder having 2.95 or more of an average nickel valence and 8 to 18 ?m of an average particle diameter is used, the weight ratio of the nickel oxyhydroxide powder and a manganese dioxide powder is in the range of 20:80 to 90:10.

Abstract: A malfunction detection apparatus is disclosed for a forced induction system. The system includes a compressor provided on an upstream side of a throttle valve in an intake passage of an engine, an upstream intake pressure sensor that detects intake pressure between the compressor and the throttle valve, and an atmospheric pressure sensor that detects atmospheric pressure. The malfunction detection apparatus includes a malfunction detection program that makes a comparison between the atmospheric pressure detected by the atmospheric pressure sensor and the upstream intake pressure detected by the upstream intake pressure sensor. The comparison is made in an operating state of the forced induction system in which the compressor compresses an amount of air that is approximately equal to or less than a predetermined amount to thereby determine whether the upstream pressure sensor has a malfunction.

Abstract: In order to provide a method of producing a gel negative electrode for an alkaline battery for preparing a gel negative electrode in which a zinc powder, a gelling agent and an electrolyte are disposed uniformly, by means of an agitator comprising a cylindrical agitation container disposed so that the center axis X of the cylinder is parallel to the horizontal direction, the agitation container is rotated around the center axis X and the left and right portions of the agitation container are swung around an axis Y, which is orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the agitation container, thereby agitating and mixing the alkaline electrolyte and the dry mixture.

Abstract: An alkaline battery including a positive electrode, a negative electrode and an alkaline electrolyte, wherein the positive electrode includes a positive electrode material mixture including nickel oxyhydroxide, electrolytic manganese dioxide and expanded graphite, the expanded graphite has an average particle diameter on a volume basis of 5 to 25 ?m, a BET specific surface area of 4 to 10 m2/g, and a bulk specific gravity (apparent density) measured by a static method of 0.03 to 0.10 g/cm3, the nickel oxyhydroxide has an average nickel valence of not less than 3.05, and a content of the expanded graphite in a total amount of the nickel oxyhydroxide, the electrolytic manganese dioxide and the expanded graphite that are included in the positive electrode material mixture of 3 to 15 wt %.

Abstract: To provide an alkaline dry battery that is excellent in discharge characteristics under a heavy load after storage at high temperature and suppresses polarization in pulse discharge under a heavy load, used is a nickel oxyhydroxide which is obtained by oxidizing a nickel hydroxide having a half width of a (101) face of 0.6 to 0.8 deg./2? and a half width of a (001) face of 0.5 to 0.7 deg./2? in powder X-ray diffraction, and which has an average nickel valence of 2.95 or more and an average particle diameter of 8 to 18 ?m.

Abstract: In order to provide a method of producing a gel negative electrode for an alkaline battery for preparing a gel negative electrode in which a zinc powder, a gelling agent and an electrolyte are disposed uniformly, by means of an agitator comprising a cylindrical agitation container disposed so that the center axis X of the cylinder is parallel to the horizontal direction, the agitation container is rotated around the center axis X and the left and right portions of the agitation container are swung around an axis Y, which is orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the agitation container, thereby agitating and mixing the alkaline electrolyte and the dry mixture.

Abstract: An alkaline battery of this invention includes a positive electrode containing manganese dioxide powder and nickel oxyhydroxide powder with a mean particle size of 8 to 18 ?m as positive electrode active materials and graphite powder with a mean particle size of 8 to 25 ?m as a conductive material. The positive electrode contains 5 to 9 parts by weight of the graphite powder per 100 parts by weight of the positive electrode active materials.

Abstract: A computer calculates an estimated cylinder-intake-air amount based on outputs from an airflow meter and a throttle position sensor, and then calculates a reference cylinder-intake-air amount based on an air-fuel ratio in an exhaust gas and fuel injection amount. An error of the estimated cylinder-intake-air amount is calculated by comparing the reference cylinder-intake-air amount with an estimated cylinder-intake-air amount base value. The error is low-pass filtered. The estimated cylinder-intake-air amount base value is corrected to obtain the final estimated cylinder-intake-air amount.

Abstract: An alkaline battery includes a positive electrode mixture, a negative electrode, and a separator interposed between the positive electrode mixture and the negative electrode. The positive electrode mixture contains a nickel oxyhydroxide, manganese dioxide and a conductive agent. (1) The nickel oxyhydroxide includes at least manganese dissolved therein, and the manganese accounts for 0.5 to 10% by mole of the total amount of metal elements contained in the nickel oxyhydroxide. (2) The nickel oxyhydroxide mainly has a ?-type crystal structure. (3) The nickel oxyhydroxide has a volume-basis mean particle size of 8 to 15 ?m. The use of this positive electrode mixture makes it possible to heighten the capacity of the alkaline battery and improve its storage characteristics. Also, the above-mentioned properties of the nickel oxyhydroxide including manganese enable a significant improvement in the productivity of the nickel oxyhydroxide.

Abstract: An alkaline battery of the present invention includes a positive electrode material mixture including nickel oxyhydroxide. The nickel oxyhydroxide includes a secondary particle with a crystal structure mainly composed of ?-type at at least a portion of the surface layer of the secondary particle, and with a crystal structure mainly composed of ?-type in the inner portion of the secondary particle. Based on the present invention, the advantage of the alkaline battery, i.e., excellence in discharge performance under high-load, can be kept and the conventional problem of storage characteristics can be improved.

Abstract: This invention relates to an alkaline battery including: an electrode assembly composed of a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and a separator; a negative electrode current collector inserted in the negative electrode; an electrolyte of an alkaline aqueous solution contained in the electrode assembly; a battery can for accommodating the electrode assembly, the negative electrode current collector, and the electrolyte; and a sealing member for sealing an opening of the battery can. The ratio of the electrical capacity of the negative electrode to the electrical capacity of the positive electrode is 1.00 to 1.15. The volume obtained by subtracting the volume of the electrode assembly containing the electrolyte and the volume of the negative electrode current collector from the internal volume of the battery that is formed by the battery can and the sealing member constitutes 5 to 15% of the internal volume.

Abstract: Disclosed is an alkaline battery including a positive electrode, a negative electrode and an alkaline electrolyte, (1) the positive electrode having a positive electrode material mixture containing electrolytic manganese doxide and nickel oxyhydroxide, (2) the nickel oxyhydroxide having a crystal in which at least Mg is dissolved, and (3) the nickel oxyhydroxide having a tap density determined after 500 taps of not less than 2 g/cm3, an average particle size based on volume of 8 to 20 ?m, and an average nickel valence of 2.95 to 3.05.

Abstract: In order to obtain an alkaline dry battery low in the possibility of electrolyte leakage and excellent in discharge performance as well as an alkaline dry battery which is not likely to cause an internal short circuit even with the use of a thin separator, as a zinc powder used is one including 65 to 75 wt % of first zinc particles having a particle size of larger than 75 ?m and not larger than 425 ?m, and 25 to 35 wt % of second zinc particles having a particle size of not larger than 75 ?m.

Abstract: A malfunction detection apparatus is disclosed for a forced induction system. The system includes a compressor provided on an upstream side of a throttle valve in an intake passage of an engine, an upstream intake pressure sensor that detects intake pressure between the compressor and the throttle valve, and an atmospheric pressure sensor that detects atmospheric pressure. The malfunction detection apparatus includes a malfunction detection program that makes a comparison between the atmospheric pressure detected by the atmospheric pressure sensor and the upstream intake pressure detected by the upstream intake pressure sensor. The comparison is made in an operating state of the forced induction system in which the compressor compresses an amount of air that is approximately equal to or less than a predetermined amount to thereby determine whether the upstream pressure sensor has a malfunction.

Abstract: There is disclosed an alkaline battery including a positive electrode material mixture, a negative electrode, a separator interposed between the positive electrode material mixture and the negative electrode, and an alkaline electrolyte, wherein the positive electrode material mixture includes a first active material comprising nickel oxyhydroxide and a second active material comprising manganese dioxide, the nickel oxyhydroxide includes a ?-type crystal structure, the content of nickel in the nickel oxyhydroxide is not less than 45 wt %, and the average particle diameter on a volume basis of the nickel oxyhydroxide measured with a laser diffraction particle size distribution analyzer is 3 to 20 ?m.