Abstract: Provided is a combined oil ring that further reduces engine oil consumption. A combined oil ring attached to an oil ring groove of a piston includes: a pair of upper and lower side rails each formed into a flat annular shape, and having a slide contact part that comes into sliding contact with a cylinder; and a spacer expander arranged between the pair of upper and lower side rails. In at least the upper side rail of the pair of upper and lower side rails, a cross-sectional shape of the slide contact part along an axial direction of the piston is a tapered shape linearly spreading from upper to lower parts of the piston; the tapered shape is at an angle of 5 to 30 degrees with respect to a central axis of the spacer expander, and has a vertex of the tapered shape within 0.15 mm from a lower end of the side rail; and a part closer to the lower end than the vertex is formed into a curved shape having a curvature of R0.01 to 0.5.

Abstract: A sliding member (10) including a coating film (1) composed of a hard carbon layer on a sliding surface (16) of a base material (11). The coating film has, when a cross section thereof is observed by a bright-field TEM image, a thickness within a range of 1 ?m to 50 ?m, and is configured by repeating units including black hard carbon layers (B), relatively shown in black, and white hard carbon layers (W), relatively shown in white, and laminated in a thickness direction, and comprise an inclined region, provided on a base material side, where thicknesses of white hard carbon layers (W) of the repeating units gradually increase in a thickness direction, and a homogeneous region\, provided on a surface side of the sliding member, where thicknesses of the white hard carbon layers (W) of the repeating units are the same or substantially the same in the thickness direction.

Abstract: A titanium alloy includes 15 to 27 atomic % (at %) of tantalum (Ta) and 0 to 8 at % of tin (Sn), the balance being titanium (Ti) and unavoidable impurities, when the entire 5 amount of the titanium alloy is taken as 100 at %. Therefore, the titanium alloy provided has characteristics suitable for medical device materials, biocompatible materials, etc.

Abstract: To provide a piston ring comprising a hard carbon film that is easy to form and exhibits excellent wear resistance. The above-described problem is solved by having a hard carbon film 4 formed on at least an outer peripheral sliding surface 11 of a piston ring base material 1, wherein the hard carbon film 4 is a laminated film comprising a plurality of layers, and is configured so as to contain boron within a range of an atomic density of 0.2×1022 atoms/cm3 to 2.0×1022 atoms/cm3 inclusive. This hard carbon film 4 may be configured to have an sp2 component ratio within a range of 40% to 80% inclusive, measured in a TEM-EELS spectrum formed by combining electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) with a transmission electron microscope (TEM), and a hydrogen content within a range of 0.1 atom % to 5 atom % inclusive. Further, a total thickness of this hard carbon film 4 may be configured to be within a range of 0.5 ?m to 20 ?m inclusive.

Abstract: A valve seat insert made of an iron-base sintered alloy is configured to have a structure in which the base matrix phase is a fine carbide precipitation phase in which a fine carbide being 10 ?m or less in size is precipitated and which has a hardness of 550 HV or more in Vickers hardness; and in the base matrix phase, hard-particles having a hardness of 650-1200 HV in Vickers hardness are dispersed in an area percentage of 20-40%, a diffusional phase is formed in an area percentage of more than 0% and not more than 5%, and solid-lubricant particles are dispersed in an area percentage of 0-5%. Even if a valve having a high face hardness of 400 HV or more, or 600 HV or more is used, a facing valve seat insert wears only slightly, improving valve train durability.

Abstract: There is provided an implant that is safe for the living body. An angular plate as the implant includes a bone supporting plate part and a blade part. The blade part is integrally formed with the bone supporting plate part, and extends from one end of the bone supporting plate part at a predetermined angle ? (0°<?<180°) relative to the bone supporting plate part. The angular plate is formed from a titanium-tantalum-based alloy containing tin. The angular plate is preferably formed from a titanium-tantalum-based alloy containing tin in which a Young's modulus is decreased by increasing the reduction ratio thereof.

Abstract: To provide a piston ring comprising a hard carbon film that is easy to form and exhibits excellent adhesion and wear resistance, and a manufacturing method therefor. The above-described problem is solved by means of a piston ring comprising a hard carbon film 50 formed on at least an outer peripheral sliding surface 11 of a piston ring base material 1, wherein the hard carbon film 50 is a laminated film comprising a plurality of layers, including an upper layer 5 with a lamination pitch within a range of 3 nm to 50 nm inclusive, a middle layer 4 with a lamination pitch less than that of the upper layer 5, and a lower layer 3 with a lamination pitch within the same range as that of the upper layer 5 and greater than that of the middle layer 4.

Abstract: A combined oil ring in which carbon sludge and the like are not deposited between side rails and a spacer expander even if an internal combustion engine is operated for a long period of time. The combined oil ring includes an outer circumferential end portion of a space forming part and a continuous part that are closed and not open toward the outer circumferential side, thereby reducing carbon sludge deposits.

Abstract: A method for producing a piston ring for a cylinder that moves in a sliding direction includes providing a piston ring base material having an upper surface, a lower surface and an outer circumferential surface having a first recess between the upper surface and the lower surface, forming a hard film in the first recess and on a cylindrical surface at a predetermined thickness, and removing, by performing a polishing process on the sliding surface, the hard film formed on the cylindrical surface and a part of the piston ring base material disposed adjacent to the removed hard film, to form a second recess. The second recess is formed by removing an area of the removed part of the piston ring base material as a result of polishing the sliding surface due to a difference in the hardness of the hard film and the piston ring base material.

Abstract: A medical member of the present invention includes a knitted body knitted with a linear member formed in a linear shape, at least a part of the knitted body is constituted of an alloy containing titanium, tantalum, and tin, and the alloy is constituted of 15 at % to 27 at % of tantalum and 1 at % to 8 at % of tin, where the total is 100 at %, with remainder being titanium and unavoidable impurities. The knitted body is formed in a sheet shape by plain weaving, twilled weaving, plain dutch weaving, twilled dutch weaving, or stockinette stitch. Thus, there can be provided a medical member capable of dispersing a load applied to a treating site of a soft tissue.

Abstract: Provided are a coating film, a manufacturing method for the same, and a PVD device that not only sufficiently improve the balance of low-friction properties and wear resistance, but also improve chipping resistance and peeling resistance. This film is coated on a substrate surface, wherein the coating film has a hard carbon that presents relatively black and white when observed in a cross-sectional bright-field TEM image, a mesh-shaped hard carbon layer is formed using a PVD method, said layer having white-colored hard carbon in a mesh shape extending in the thickness direction and black-colored hard carbon dispersed into the cavities in the mesh, and the ID/IG ratio is 1-6 when the mesh-shaped hard carbon layer is measured using Raman spectroscopy, said ratio being the ratio of the Raman spectrum D band peak area intensity and G band peak area intensity.

Abstract: Provided are a coating film, a manufacturing method for the same, and a PVD device that not only sufficiently improve the balance of low-friction properties and wear resistance, but also improve chipping resistance (defect resistance) and peeling resistance. This coating film coats a substrate surface, wherein a hard carbon layer is formed extending in columns-shape perpendicular to the substrate when observed in a cross-sectional bright-field TEM image, the hard carbon layer is formed using a PVD method, and the ID/IG ratio is 1-6 when the hard carbon layer is measured using Raman spectroscopy, said ratio being the ratio of the Raman spectrum D band peak area intensity and G band peak area intensity.

Abstract: A highly wear-resistant valve seat insert for an internal combustion engine, having a material composition in which hard-particles are uniformly and finely dispersed in the matrix phase, and which is excellent in wear-resistance and radial crushing strength, based on a blended fine powder and a matrix forming powder with a particle size approximately equal to that of the hard-particles so as to prevent the hard-particles from aggregating and thus coarsely dispersing as a hard-particle phase.

Abstract: Provided is a piston ring (10) comprising a sliding surface (11) covered with a Cr—B—V—N alloy film (3), wherein a B content is within a range of 0.1-1.5 mass % inclusive, a V content is within a range of 0.05-1 mass % inclusive, and a ratio [B content/V content] is within a range greater than 1 and 30 or less, thereby achieving a piston ring (10) having higher wear resistance, cracking resistance, and peeling resistance. This alloy film (3) preferably further includes Ti, the Ti content being within a range greater than 0 mass % and 8 mass % or less. Such a piston ring (10) is preferably mounted on an engine that uses an alcohol fuel or an alcohol-containing fuel.

Abstract: There is provided a highly heat conductive piston ring for an internal combustion engine capable of exhibiting a gas seal function and a heat transfer function for a long period of time in a stable manner when used in an automobile gasoline engine having a high compression ratio. The highly heat conductive piston ring for an internal combustion engine is a piston ring for an internal combustion engine having an Mn—Cr steel as a base material, the Mn—Cr steel including C in the range of from 0.52 to 0.65 mass %, Si in the range of from 0.15 to 0.35 mass %, Mn in the range of from 0.60 to 1.00 mass %, Cr in the range of from 0.60 to 1.00 mass %, P in the range of 0.04 mass % or less, S in the range of 0.04 mass % or less, a slight amount of components (total content of Al, Ni, and Cu) in the range of from 0.05 to 3.0 mass %, and a remnant being Fe and unavoidable impurities.

Abstract: A multi-piece oil ring includes an oil ring main member in which two rails are connected together by a columnar part and which has a roughly I-shaped cross section; and a coil expander disposed in an inner circumferential groove formed on the inner circumferential surface of the columnar. Each rail in the oil ring main member possesses a sliding section protuberance whose tip possesses a jutting portion. The axial length of the jutting portion is 0.02-0.18 mm. The change rate of the axial length of the individual jutting portion is in the range of 0 to 80% at least in a region of from its sliding surface to be faced to a cylinder, which is positioned at the tip of the jutting portion, to a position of 0.03 mm away from the aforementioned sliding surface in the radial direction of the oil ring main member.

Abstract: In an assembly of a hollow poppet valve and a valve seat insert, the hollow poppet valve's head is integrally formed with a stem end, a hollow part is formed from the head to a stem, and coolant is filled into the hollow part along with an inert gas. The valve seat insert is formed of iron base sintered alloy and obtained by integrating two layers of a supporting material side layer and a valve contact face side layer. The hollow poppet valve is formed of a material having thermal conductivity of 5-45 (W/m·K) at 20-1000° C. The valve seat insert includes the supporting material side layer having thermal conductivity of 23-50 (W/m·K) at 20-300° C. and a valve contact face side layer having thermal conductivity of 10-22 (W/m·K) at 20-300° C. This enables a valve temperature decrease throughout an engine's entire RPM range compared with the prior art.

Abstract: Provided is a valve seat insert made of an iron-base sintered alloy, in which a base matrix part that includes a base matrix phase and hard particles, has a base matrix part composition containing, in % by mass, 0.5%-2.0% of carbon and 10%-70% in total of one kind or two or more kinds selected from nickel, cobalt, chromium, molybdenum, vanadium, tungsten, manganese, silicon and sulfur, with the balance being iron and unavoidable impurities, and Co-base hard particles having a composition containing, 1.0% or less of C, 25%-50% of Mo, 5%-15% of Cr, Si as an impurity in a content adjusted to be 0.3% or less, with the balance being Co, and having a Vickers hardness of 500 to 1,500 HV, are dispersed as hard particles in the base matrix phase in an amount of 10%-60% by mass with respect to the total amount of the valve seat insert.

Abstract: The purpose of the invention is to provide technology, which, in addition to being capable of forming thick hard carbon films of excellent durability even using PVD, is able to establish both chipping resistance and wear resistance in the formed hard carbon film and able to improve low friction properties and peeling resistance. Provided is a coating film to be coated on the surface of a substrate, the coating film having a total film thickness of greater than 1 ?m to 50 ?m wherein: when a cross-section is observed using bright field TEM images, white hard carbon layers that are shown as relatively white and black hard carbon layers that are shown as black are alternately laminated in the thickness direction; and the white hard carbon layers have regions that have grown in a fan-shape in the thickness direction.

Abstract: A piston ring having a hard carbon film formed on at least an external peripheral sliding surface of a piston ring base material, the hard carbon film having an sp2 component ratio within a range of 40% to 80% inclusive as measured by a TEM-EELS spectrum which combines electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) with a transmission electron microscope (TEM), a hydrogen content being in a range of 0.1 at. % to 5 at. % inclusive, and an amount of macroparticles appearing on the surface being within a range of 0.1% to 10% inclusive by area ratio. The hard carbon film is formed on a hard carbon foundation film formed under low-speed film-forming conditions on the side of the piston ring base material, and the hard carbon foundation film is formed with an arc current value 80% or less of the arc current value during the formation of the hard carbon film.