Abstract: A method for manufacturing a piston ring includes the following steps: (A) a step of supplying an arc current to a cathode formed of a carbon material having a density of 1.70 g/cm3 or more, to ionize the carbon material; and (B) a step of applying a bias voltage in an environment where hydrogen atoms are substantially absent to form a DLC film on a surface of a base material for a piston ring. The step (A) is continuously carried out, subsequently the step (A) is interrupted, and then the step (A) is restarted, which sequence is repeated thereby to form the DLC film having an extinction coefficient of 0.1 to 0.4 as measured using light having a wavelength of 550 nm and a nanoindentation hardness of 16 to 26 GPa.

Abstract: The present disclosure is a combination of a cylinder and a piston ring, the combination including a cylinder of an internal combustion engine and a piston ring sliding on an inner peripheral surface of the cylinder. The piston ring has an outer peripheral surface sliding on the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder, and the outer peripheral surface is formed of a substantially hydrogen-free amorphous carbon coating. The Vickers hardness Hd of the amorphous carbon coating and the Vickers hardness Hb of the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder satisfy Hd+Hb?2500 HV. The ratio ID/IG of the peak intensity of the D band to the peak intensity of the G band in a Raman spectrum obtained by measuring the amorphous carbon coating by Raman spectroscopy is 0.60 or more and 1.33 or less.

Abstract: A sliding member includes a base material and an amorphous hard carbon film formed on a surface of the base material, and the amorphous hard carbon film has a graded structure in which a sp2 ratio increases from an inner surface side corresponding to the base material side toward an outer surface side. A piston ring includes the sliding member.

Abstract: A sliding member includes a base material and an amorphous hard carbon film formed on a surface of the base material, and the amorphous hard carbon film has a graded structure in which a sp2 ratio increases from an inner surface side corresponding to the base material side toward an outer surface side. A piston ring includes the sliding member.

Abstract: The provided sliding member has both excellent wear resistance and excellent coating adhesion even under harsh sliding conditions. The disclosed sliding member (100) is used in the presence of a lubricating oil and includes a base member (10), a metal intermediate layer (12) formed on the sliding surface (10A) side of the base member, a layered carbon coating (18) formed on the metal intermediate layer and having a first carbon coating (14) and a second carbon coating (16) layered alternately therein, and a hard carbon coating (20) formed on the layered carbon coating. Under bright-field observation with a transmission electron microscope, an image of the first carbon coating (14) is brighter than an image of the second carbon coating (16). Furthermore, 10 nm<T2?1000 nm and 0.010?T1/T2?0.60, where T1 and T2 are the thicknesses of the first and second carbon coatings (14, 16).

Abstract: The provided sliding member has both excellent wear resistance and excellent coating adhesion even under harsh sliding conditions. The disclosed sliding member (100) is used in the presence of a lubricating oil and includes a base member (10), a metal intermediate layer (12) formed on the sliding surface (10A) side of the base member, a layered carbon coating (18) formed on the metal intermediate layer and having a first carbon coating (14) and a second carbon coating (16) layered alternately therein, and a hard carbon coating (20) formed on the layered carbon coating. Under bright-field observation with a transmission electron microscope, an image of the first carbon coating (14) is brighter than an image of the second carbon coating (16). Furthermore, 10 nm<T2?1000 nm and 0.010?T1/T2?0.60, where T1 and T2 are the thicknesses of the first and second carbon coatings (14, 16).

Abstract: A combination of a cylinder 62 of an internal combustion engine and a piston ring 40 for sliding an inner periphery of the cylinder, wherein at least a sliding face of the cylinder is composed of an aluminum alloy including 8 mass % to 22 mass % of Si and at least one or more particles selected from the group consisting of Si, Al2O3 and SiO2 particles each having a diameter of 3 ?m or more, and at least an outer periphery of the piston ring is coated with a hard carbon coating 14 composed only of hydrogen and carbon.

Abstract: An image recording device includes a maintenance mechanism that conducts maintenance of recording head and a maintenance mechanism control unit that makes the maintenance mechanism conduct the maintenance at termination or start of one of process-target jobs for which cumulative number of sheets of the media that received printing processes by the recording head after immediately previous maintenance will reach lower limit of the cumulative number of sheets, which represents earliest start timing of the maintenance, and will not reach an upper limit of the cumulative number of sheets, which represents latest start timing of the maintenance, during printing process, and makes the maintenance mechanism conduct the maintenance before start of printing of a process-target job when priority on image quality, which requires high quality printing, is set in the process-target job and the cumulative number of sheets reaches the lower limit during a printing process of the process-target job.

Abstract: To provide a combination of a cylinder bore and a piston ring having excellent scuffing resistance and wear resistance with low friction loss even under severe sliding conditions with a high load applied to an engine, by a thermal spraying technique of a cylinder bore enabling the use of a usual die-cast aluminum alloy, a thermally sprayed iron-based coating formed on a piston-ring-sliding surface of a cylinder bore, which has Rpk of less than 0.20 ?m in a surface roughness profile, is combined with a hard carbon coating formed on an outer peripheral sliding surface of the piston ring, which has Rpk of less than 0.15 ?m in a surface roughness profile, in an internal combustion engine.

Abstract: An image recording device includes a maintenance mechanism that conducts maintenance of recording head and a maintenance mechanism control unit that makes the maintenance mechanism conduct the maintenance at termination or start of one of process-target jobs for which cumulative number of sheets of the media that received printing processes by the recording head after immediately previous maintenance will reach lower limit of the cumulative number of sheets, which represents earliest start timing of the maintenance, and will not reach an upper limit of the cumulative number of sheets, which represents latest start timing of the maintenance, during printing process, and makes the maintenance mechanism conduct the maintenance before start of printing of a process-target job when priority on image quality, which requires high quality printing, is set in the process-target job and the cumulative number of sheets reaches the lower limit during a printing process of the process-target job.

Abstract: A combination of a cylinder 62 of an internal combustion engine and a piston ring 40 for sliding an inner periphery of the cylinder, wherein at least a sliding face of the cylinder is composed of an aluminum alloy including 8 mass % to 22 mass % of Si and at least one or more particles selected from the group consisting of Si, Al2O3 and SiO2 particles each having a diameter of 3 ?m or more, and at least an outer periphery of the piston ring is coated with a hard carbon coating 14 composed only of hydrogen and carbon.

Abstract: A packet switch includes an ingress unit configured to divide packet data into a plurality of segments, and allocate each of segments to any one of a plurality of links, a switching fabric unit configured to include a plurality of switches, each of switches switching the segments to the links in accordance with destinations of the segments, respectively, and an egress unit configured to receive the segments, and reconstruct the segments in the packet data, wherein the ingress unit transmits the segments to the links on which no back pressure signal is transferred and another link on which the back pressure signal is transferred and on which the segment have not been transmitted in specific period, based on a back pressure signal supplied from each of switches and a transmission flag indicating whether or not the segment have been transmitted to the links.

Abstract: In a transmission apparatus, a first parity calculation controller calculates parity by the frame and inserts a calculation result into a next frame to a first frame sequence. A second parity calculation controller calculates the parity by the frame and inserts a calculation result into a next frame to a second frame sequence. The second parity calculation controller receives from the first parity calculation controller first parity data which is a parity calculation result by the first parity calculation controller and which has the same value as that of a parity calculation result to be inserted into a target frame of a parity calculation in the second frame sequence. Then, the controller calculates the parity of the target frame including the first parity data and second parity data which is a parity calculation result of a previous frame in the second frame sequence before one frame of the target frame.

Abstract: A packet relay device receives an input packet via a first communication port out of a plurality of communication ports of the packet relay device and transmits the input packet via a second communication port out of the plurality of communication ports. The packet relay device includes a learning table storage, a header adder, a discard determiner, and a packet reducer. The learning table storage stores a source address contained in the input packet, in association with an input port identifier capable of identifying the first communication port. The header adder adds an internal transfer header containing the input port identifier to the input packet to generate an internal transfer packet. The discard determiner determines whether to discard the internal transfer packet. The packet reducer reduces the internal transfer packet to preserve at least the source address and the input port identifier upon determining to discard the internal transfer packet.

Abstract: Each of the plurality of queues stores packet data of a received packet. The read concession assignor assigns one of the plurality of queues with a read concession for a predefined time period. The overdraft storage stores an overdraft amount in connection with each of the plurality of queues. The read adequacy determiner determines, in accordance with an overdraft amount stored in connection with one queue out of the plurality of queues, whether to read packet data from the one queue. The overdraft updater updates at least one of a first overdraft amount stored in connection with a first queue and a second overdraft amount stored in connection with a second queue different from the first queue upon reading packet data from the first queue during a time period while the second queue is assigned with the read concession.

Abstract: In a transmission apparatus, a first parity calculation controller calculates parity by the frame and inserts a calculation result into a next frame to a first frame sequence. A second parity calculation controller calculates the parity by the frame and inserts a calculation result into a next frame to a second frame sequence. The second parity calculation controller receives from the first parity calculation controller first parity data which is a parity calculation result by the first parity calculation controller and which has the same value as that of a parity calculation result to be inserted into a target frame of a parity calculation in the second frame sequence. Then, the controller calculates the parity of the target frame including the first parity data and second parity data which is a parity calculation result of a previous frame in the second frame sequence before one frame of the target frame.

Abstract: A control system including control devices with each control device including a control unit and a display device connected with the control unit via a dedicated communication line and being capable of display corresponding to a control state of the control unit. The display device includes a communication port connected with a control unit and a communication port connected with a data processing device, and a data processing section. Further, the data transmission method includes a dedicated protocol communication transmitting data with a processing device and a common protocol communication transmitting data with another processing device. In addition, the control-host computer used in the control system includes a control unit controlling a control target and a display device.

Abstract: Each of the plurality of queues stores packet data of a received packet. The read concession assignor assigns one of the plurality of queues with a read concession for a predefined time period. The overdraft storage stores an overdraft amount in connection with each of the plurality of queues. The read adequacy determiner determines, in accordance with an overdraft amount stored in connection with one queue out of the plurality of queues, whether to read packet data from the one queue. The overdraft updater updates at least one of a first overdraft amount stored in connection with a first queue and a second overdraft amount stored in connection with a second queue different from the first queue upon reading packet data from the first queue during a time period while the second queue is assigned with the read concession.

Abstract: A packet relay device receives an input packet via a first communication port out of a plurality of communication ports of the packet relay device and transmits the input packet via a second communication port out of the plurality of communication ports. The packet relay device includes a learning table storage, a header adder, a discard determiner, and a packet reducer. The learning table storage stores a source address contained in the input packet, in association with an input port identifier capable of identifying the first communication port. The header adder adds an internal transfer header containing the input port identifier to the input packet to generate an internal transfer packet. The discard determiner determines whether to discard the internal transfer packet. The packet reducer reduces the internal transfer packet to preserve at least the source address and the input port identifier upon determining to discard the internal transfer packet.

Abstract: A control system including control devices with each control device including a control unit and a display device connected with the control unit via a dedicated communication line and being capable of display corresponding to a control state of the control unit. The display device includes a communication port connected with a control unit and a communication port connected with a data processing device, and a data processing section. Further, the data transmission method includes a dedicated protocol communication transmitting data with a processing device and a common protocol communication transmitting data with another processing device. In addition, the control-host computer used in the control system includes a control unit controlling a control target and a display device.