Gas sensor control method

A gas sensor control method applied to an exhaust gas purifying device of an internal combustion engine, which includes:

• a catalyst that is installed in an exhaust device of the internal combustion engine and purifies nitrogen oxide (NOx), which is a lean component of an exhaust gas of the internal combustion engine, and hydrocarbon (HC) and carbon monoxide (CO), which are rich components of the exhaust gas;
• and
• a gas sensor that is installed at a location, which is in an intermediate portion of the catalyst or on a downstream side of the catalyst, to sense a gas component of the exhaust gas, which serves as a sensing subject, after purification of the exhaust gas with the catalyst, wherein:
• the gas sensor includes an electromotive force cell, which has a solid electrolyte body and a pair of electrodes, to generate an electromotive force in response to an air-to-fuel ratio of the exhaust gas;
• a catalytic conversion characteristic of the catalyst, which indicates a relationship between the air-to-fuel ratio and a catalytic conversion efficiency of the catalyst, includes a second air-to-fuel ratio point, which is a point of starting an outflow of the NOx from the catalyst and is located on a rich side of a first air-to-fuel ratio point that forms an equilibrium point for the rich components and oxygen, while the rich side of the first air-to-fuel ratio point is a side of the first air-to-fuel ratio point at which concentrations of HC and CO serving as the rich components are increased in the exhaust gas in comparison to a lean side of the first air-to-fuel ratio point, and the lean side of the first air-to-fuel ratio point is a side of the first air-to-fuel ratio point at which a concentration of the NOx serving as the lean component is increased in the exhaust gas in comparison to the rich side of the first air-to-fuel ratio point;
• the pair of electrodes of the electromotive force cell includes a reference side electrode, which becomes a positive side at a time of outputting the electromotive force from the electromotive force cell, and an exhaust side electrode, which becomes a negative side at the time of outputting the electromotive force from the electromotive force cell, the gas sensor control method comprising:
• setting a current value of an electric current, which flows from the exhaust side electrode to the reference side electrode through the solid electrolyte body in the electromotive force cell, based on a difference between the first air-to-fuel ratio point and the second air-to-fuel ratio point at the catalyst to place an equilibrium point of a gas reaction around the exhaust side electrode of the electromotive force cell at the second air-to-fuel ratio point or an adjacent point that is adjacent to the second air-to-fuel ratio point, wherein the equilibrium point of the gas reaction around the exhaust side electrode of the electromotive force cell is an equilibrium point for the rich components and the oxygen around the exhaust side electrode of the electromotive force cell;
• and
• inducing a flow of the electric current from the exhaust side electrode to the reference side electrode through the solid electrolyte body in the electromotive force cell, based on the set current value of the electric current.