Abstract: Buckling of a vitreous silica crucible 12 or inward fall of a sidewall 15 is effectively suppressed. The vitreous silica crucible 12 includes the cylindrical sidewall 15 having an upward-opening rim, a mortar-shaped bottom 16 including a curve, and a round portion 17 connecting the sidewall 15 and the bottom 16. In the vitreous silica crucible 12, the per-unit area thermal resistance in the thickness direction of the sidewall 15 is higher than that of the round portion 17.

Abstract: The present invention provides a vitreous silica crucible which can suppress buckling and sidewall lowering of the crucible and the generation of cracks. According to the present invention, a vitreous silica crucible is provided for pulling a silicon single crystal having a wall, the wall including a non-doped inner surface layer made of natural vitreous silica or synthetic vitreous silica, a mineralizing element-maldistributed vitreous silica layer containing dispersed island regions each containing a mineralizing element, and wherein the vitreous silica of the island regions and the vitreous silica of a surrounding region of the island regions is a combination of mineralizing element-doped natural vitreous silica and non-doped synthetic vitreous silica, or a combination of mineralizing element-doped synthetic vitreous silica and non-doped natural vitreous silica, and the inner surface layer is made of vitreous silica of a different kind from that of the island region.

Abstract: A method for measuring a three-dimensional shape of an inner surface of a vitreous silica crucible which enables the measurement of the three-dimensional shape of the inner surface of the crucible without contaminating the inner surface of the crucible, is provided. According to the present invention, a method for measuring a three-dimensional shape of a vitreous silica crucible, including a fogging step to form a fog onto an inner surface of the vitreous silica crucible, a three-dimensional shape measuring step to measure a three-dimensional shape of the inner surface, by measuring a reflected light from the inner surface irradiated with light, is provided.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method for evaluating a vitreous silica crucible which can measure a three-dimensional shape of the inner surface of the crucible in a non-destructive manner.

Abstract: The purpose of the present invention is to provide a crucible which has high viscosity at high temperature, can be used for a long time, and can be manufactured at low cost, and a method of manufacturing the crucible. The present invention provides a composite crucible including a vitreous silica crucible body having a sidewall portion and a bottom portion, and a reinforcement layer provided on an outer surface side of an upper end portion of the vitreous silica crucible body, wherein the reinforcement layer is made of mullite material whose main component is alumina and silica.

Abstract: The purpose of the present invention is to provide a crucible which has high viscosity at high temperature, and can be used for a long time, and can be manufactured at low cost, and a method of manufacturing the same. The composite crucible 10 is characterized in the use of mullite (3Al2O3.2SiO2) as the basic material of the crucible. The composite crucible 10 has the crucible body 11 made of mullite material whose main component is alumina and silica, and a transparent vitreous silica layer 12 formed on the inner surface of the crucible body 11. The thickness of the transparent vitreous silica layer 12 is smaller than that of the crucible body 11. The crucible body 11 can be formed by the slip casting method, and the transparent vitreous silica layer 12 can be formed by the thermal spraying method.

Abstract: The present invention provides a vitreous silica crucible which can suppress buckling and sidewall lowering of the crucible and the generation of cracks. According to the present invention, a vitreous silica crucible is provided for pulling a silicon single crystal having a wall, the wall including a non-doped inner surface layer made of natural vitreous silica or synthetic vitreous silica, a mineralizing element-maldistributed vitreous silica layer containing dispersed island regions each containing a mineralizing element, and wherein the vitreous silica of the island regions and the vitreous silica of a surrounding region of the island regions is a combination of mineralizing element-doped natural vitreous silica and non-doped synthetic vitreous silica, or a combination of mineralizing element-doped synthetic vitreous silica and non-doped natural vitreous silica, and the inner surface layer is made of vitreous silica of a different kind from that of the island region.

Abstract: Provided is a vitreous silica crucible, which is resistant to deformation and corrosion even when heated at high temperature for a long time. There is provided a vitreous silica crucible of the present invention including a substantially cylindrical straight body portion, a curved bottom portion, and a corner portion smoothly connecting the straight body portion and the bottom portion, wherein a wall of the vitreous silica crucible includes, from an inner surface side, a transparent layer and a bubble-containing layer, and a ratio of a thickness of the bubble-containing layer with respect to a thickness of the transparent layer at an intermediate position between an upper end and a lower end of the straight body portion is 0.7 to 1.4.

Abstract: There is provided a sliding bearing, which can continuously enhance conformability even when deformation by high oil film pressure in the vicinity of a central part of the sliding bearing occurs. The sliding bearing includes crownings which are each formed in an inclined shape toward an outer peripheral surface from an inner peripheral surface, at end parts in an axial direction, of an inner peripheral surface of a sliding bearing, so that even when the region in the vicinity of the central part of the sliding bearing 1 receives the oil film pressure and deforms in the recessed shape so as for both the end parts in the axial direction to locally contact a shaft, conformability can be enhanced not only at an early stage of use of the sliding bearing but also continuously by relief by the crownings.

Abstract: A plain bearing comprising a housing and two plain bearing halves forming a cylindrical shape in combination and fixed in the housing. Each of the plain bearing halves has crush reliefs formed at both ends of an inner circumferential surface thereof in a circumferential direction, an oil groove formed on the inner circumferential surface thereof and extending in the circumferential direction, a central crown portion at substantially central position in the circumferential direction and in communication with the oil groove, and inflow preventing portions formed between the crush reliefs and the oil groove.

Abstract: There is provided a sliding bearing, which can continuously enhance conformability even when deformation by high oil film pressure in the vicinity of a central part of the sliding bearing occurs. The sliding bearing includes crownings which are each formed in an inclined shape toward an outer peripheral surface from an inner peripheral surface, at end parts in an axial direction, of an inner peripheral surface of a sliding bearing, so that even when the region in the vicinity of the central part of the sliding bearing 1 receives the oil film pressure and deforms in the recessed shape so as for both the end parts in the axial direction to locally contact a shaft, conformability can be enhanced not only at an early stage of use of the sliding bearing but also continuously by relief by the crownings.

Abstract: A plain bearing comprising a housing and two plain bearing halves forming a cylindrical shape in combination and fixed in the housing. Each of the plain bearing halves has crush relieves formed at both ends of an inner circumferential surface thereof in a circumferential direction, an oil groove formed on the inner circumferential surface thereof and extending in the circumferential direction, a central crown portion at substantially central position in the circumferential direction and in communication with the oil groove, and inflow preventing portions formed between the crush relieves and the oil groove.

Abstract: There is disclosed a plain bearing comprising: a back metal; and a bearing alloy layer bonded onto the back metal which bearing alloy layer is provided at a surface side thereof with a cylindrical bearing face extended in the direction of the axis of the plain bearing, the bearing alloy face being provided at each of axial terminal portions thereof with an inclination face inclined radially outwardly from a location defined between both of axially terminal ends of said bearing face toward said axially terminal ends thereof, the inclination face having an axial length varying along the circumference of the inclination face.

Abstract: There is disclosed a plain bearing comprising: a back metal; and a bearing alloy layer bonded onto the back metal which bearing alloy layer is provided at a surface side thereof with a cylindrical bearing face extended in the direction of the axis of the plain bearing, the bearing alloy face being provided at each of axial terminal portions thereof with an inclination face inclined radially outwardly from a location defined between both of axially terminal ends of said bearing face toward said axially terminal ends thereof, the inclination face having an axial length varying along the circumference of the inclination face.