Patent ID: 8240127

Claim:
A method for a voltage controlled output adjustment of a sensor heater in an exhaust gas system of an internal combustion engine, the method comprising: preheating a sensor upon receiving a signal chronologically before starting of the internal combustion engine, as a result of opening a door of a vehicle or the insertion of an ignition key, wherein preheating occurs with a low actual heating voltage, selected so that any amount of water cannot lead to a destruction of the sensor element, and wherein the preheating is implemented in stages; and wherein preheating includes setting an initial heating output at a smaller fraction of a total heating output, at ⅛ of the total heating output, at the occurrence of a signal chronologically before starting of a motor; and a second higher heating output is set at a larger fraction of the total heating output, at ¼ of the total heating output, at the occurrence of a subsequent second signal before the starting of the internal combustion engine; thereafter switching a heating voltage to a maximum value greater than a constant sensor operating voltage during a heat-up phase of the heater, wherein increasing the heating voltage such that tensile stresses arising in a surface area of the sensor assume a constant value less than an intrinsic material strength of the surface area material of the sensor across the heat-up phase; immediately reducing the heating voltage from the maximum value at a linear rate to the constant sensor operating voltage, wherein increasing the heating voltage to the maximum value and reducing the heating voltage occur with the starting of the internal combustion engine; and maintaining the heating voltage at the constant sensor operating voltage.