Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a porous liquid absorbing-and-holding member having a high absorbing capacity for a liquid owing to capillarity and having in itself a structure capable of holding a large amount of the liquid, a process for producing this member, and a member for absorbing and holding an alcohol used as a fuel for a fuel cell. The porous liquid absorbing-and-holding member provided by the present invention is that including a porous sintered product having a skeleton formed by sintering of metal powder around voids and subjected to hydrophilicity-imparting treatment. The hydrophilicity-imparting treatment is preferably the formation of one or more substances selected from the group consisting of silicon oxides, titanium oxides, chromium oxides and aluminum oxide on the skeleton.

Abstract: In a gas fuel engine, a first air-fuel mixture having a local excess air factor ? not less than 2 is combusted (a first combustion). When a target torque is not sufficiently obtained by the first combustion, a fuel is directly injected into a combustion chamber to form a second air-fuel mixture having a local excess air factor ? less than 1.1, so that a second combustion is performed. The combustion of the air-fuel mixture is switched from the first combustion to the second combustion in one combustion stroke.

Abstract: The injector includes a nozzle, a needle, a control chamber, a working fluid supply passage, an electric switching valve, a high-pressure gaseous fuel supply passage and a lubrication liquid fuel supply passage. The nozzle has an injection hole, through which high-pressure gaseous fuel is injected. The needle is axially reciprocably received in the nozzle to open and close the injection hole. The needle includes a sliding portion and a valve portion. The control chamber applies a pressure to the needle. The working fluid supply passage supplies liquid fuel to the control chamber. The electric switching valve controls an inflow/outflow of the liquid fuel to/from the control chamber. The high-pressure gaseous fuel supply passage supplies the high-pressure gaseous fuel to the injection hole. The lubrication liquid fuel supply passage supplies the liquid fuel from the working fluid supply passage to the sliding portion and the valve portion.

Abstract: A fuel injector has: an inlet port through which the high-pressure gaseous fuel is supplied; an injection hole through which the high-pressure gaseous fuel is injected; a gaseous fuel supply path that extends from the inlet port to the injection hole to flow the high-pressure gaseous fuel therethrough; a needle that opens or closes the injection hole; and an actuator that actuates the needle. The gaseous fuel supply path is provided with a first volume increase portion at which a cross-sectional area of the gaseous fuel supply path rapidly increases as going from the injection hole toward the inlet port.

Abstract: A porous sintered metal comprising voids at least partially communicating with each other, and pores provided in walls of the voids, the porous sintered metal having a BET surface area of 700 cm2/cm3 or more, and an average diameter of the pores being 1 ?m or more when measured by a mercury press-in method. The porous sintered metal is produced by blending a metal powder, a binder and resin particles to prepare a mixture in which the resin particles are dispersed; molding the mixture to provide a green body; selectively extracting the resin particles from the green body with a solvent; debinding the extracted green body by heating; and sintering the debound green body.

Abstract: A valve back pressure chamber is provided to exert a back pressure of a first valve needle. Furthermore, a hydraulic pressure passage is provided to extend through the valve back pressure chamber. A valve body is provided to a second valve needle and is driven to connect and disconnect between the hydraulic pressure passage and a fuel tank and thereby to drive the first valve needle. The second valve needle is driven by hydraulic pressure induced by an actuator.

Abstract: A porous sintered metal comprising voids at least partially communicating with each other, and pores provided in walls of the voids, the porous sintered metal having a BET surface area of 700 cm2/cm3 or more, and an average diameter of the pores being 1 ?m or more when measured by a mercury press-in method. The porous sintered metal is produced by blending a metal powder, a binder and resin particles to prepare a mixture in which the resin particles are dispersed; molding the mixture to provide a green body; selectively extracting the resin particles from the green body with a solvent; debinding the extracted green body by heating; and sintering the debound green body.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method of manufacturing plasma display panels for carrying out aging with high productivity. In an aging process for applying a predetermined voltage and driving plasma display panels 21 for display operation, each plasma display panel is set into an aging unit provided with cooling means, and the aging is carried out on the plasma display panel while cooling the plasma display panel by the cooling means provided in the aging unit. This method can thus reduce temperature rise of the panel and prevent the panel from being cracked during the aging process.

Abstract: In a fuel injection nozzle, a nozzle body is provided inside with a guide hole having a second guide portion (cylindrical hole) for slidably holding a guide shaft of a needle and a seat surface axially below the second guide portion, with first injection bores opened to the seat surface and with second injection bores opened to an inner circumference of the second portion. The needle is provided at an end thereof with a circular seat contact coming in contact with the seat surface axially above the first injection bores and inside the guide shaft with a fuel passage through which fuel is supplied to a position axially above the seat contact. With the construction mentioned above, as the second guide portion is formed axially above the sack chamber and inner diameter thereof is larger than that of the sack chamber, the second guide portion is more easily formed at lower cost.

Abstract: A porous sintered metal comprising voids at least partially communicating with each other, and pores provided in walls of the voids, the porous sintered metal having a BET surface area of 700 cm2/cm3 or more, and an average diameter of the pores being 1 &mgr;m or more when measured by a mercury press-in method. The porous sintered metal is produced by blending a metal powder, a binder and resin particles to prepare a mixture in which the resin particles are dispersed; molding the mixture to provide a green body; selectively extracting the resin particles from the green body with a solvent; debinding the extracted green body by heating; and sintering the debound green body.

Abstract: The angle of fuel spray at the time of pre-injection is set to a wider angle of spray and the angle of fuel spray at the time of main injection is set to a narrower angle of spray. The pre-injection timing is set so that when fuel spray after the pre-injection is diffused in a cylinder and stratified, the stratified fuel spray is ignited by a rise in the pressure in the cylinder in association with movement of a piston from the bottom dead center to the top dead center. The main injection timing is set so that when the spray stratified by the pre-injection is burned, the fuel spray injected by the main injection passes through the combustion zone while being ignited in the combustion zone, reaches a combustion chamber of the piston, and is burned in the combustion chamber.

Abstract: In a fuel injection nozzle, a nozzle body is provided inside with a guide hole having a second guide portion (cylindrical hole) for slidably holding a guide shaft of a needle and a seat surface axially below the second guide portion, with first injection bores opened to the seat surface and with second injection bores opened to an inner circumference of the second portion. The needle is provided at an end thereof with a circular seat contact coming in contact with the seat surface axially above the first injection bores and inside the guide shaft with a fuel passage through which fuel is supplied to a position axially above the seat contact. With the construction mentioned above, as the second guide portion is formed axially above the sack chamber and inner diameter thereof is larger than that of the sack chamber, the second guide portion is more easily formed at lower cost.

Abstract: The angle of fuel spray at the time of pre-injection is set to a wider angle of spray and the angle of fuel spray at the time of main injection is set to a narrower angle of spray. The pre-injection timing is set so that when fuel spray after the pre-injection is diffused in a cylinder and stratified, the stratified fuel spray is ignited by a rise in the pressure in the cylinder in association with movement of a piston from the bottom dead center to the top dead center. The main injection timing is set so that when the spray stratified by the pre-injection is burned, the fuel spray injected by the main injection passes through the combustion zone while being ignited in the combustion zone, reaches a combustion chamber of the piston, and is burned in the combustion chamber.

Abstract: Disclosed is a sintered Ti-based material product derived from injection molding of a powder material. The outer layer region of the product comprises a lower amount of carbon than the inner layer region of the same. The inner layer region comprises a Ti-based carbide which has an average grain size of not less than 1 &mgr;m and which is dispersed in the inner structure to have an area fraction of not less than 0.1% to not more than 20%. The outer layer region comprises a lower amount of Ti-based carbide than the inner layer region. There can be observed an area fraction of less than 0.1% of the Ti-based carbide at the surface of the sintered Ti-based material product.

Abstract: The angle of fuel spray at the time of pre-injection is set to a wider angle of spray and the angle of fuel spray at the time of main injection is set to a narrower angle of spray. The pre-injection timing is set so that when fuel spray after the pre-injection is diffused in a cylinder and stratified, the stratified fuel spray is ignited by a rise in the pressure in the cylinder in association with movement of a piston from the bottom dead center to the top dead center. The main injection timing is set so that when the spray stratified by the pre-injection is burned, the fuel spray injected by the main injection passes through the combustion zone while being ignited in the combustion zone, reaches a combustion chamber of the piston, and is burned in the combustion chamber.

Abstract: The compound roll having a shell portion made of a hard, high-alloy cast steel or iron having excellent wear resistance and resistance to surface roughening and a core portion made of a tough cast iron or cast steel, the cast iron of the shell portion having a composition consisting essentially, by weight ratio, of 1.0-3.0% of C, 2.0% or less of Si, 2.0% or less of Mn, 2.0-15.0% of Cr, 10.0% or less of Mo, 2.0-8.0% of V, the balance being substantially Fe and inevitable impurities, an average diameter of crystal grains constituting a matrix of the metal structure of the shell portion being 100 .mu.m or less in a range from a surface to a depth of 50 mm when determined by an image analysis method on the crystal grains having diameters exceeding 30 .mu.m, and the crystal grains satisfying the formula: m.sub.2 .ltoreq.1.2 m.sub.1, wherein m.sub.1 is an average diameter of the crystal grains at the surface of the shell portion, and m.sub.

Abstract: The compound roll having a shell portion made of a hard, high-alloy cast steel or iron having excellent wear resistance and resistance to surface roughening and a core portion made of a tough cast iron or cast steel, the cast iron of the shell portion having a composition consisting essentially, by weight ratio, of 1.0-3.0% of C, 2.0% or less of Si, 2.0% or less of Mn, 2.0-15.0% of Cr, 10.0% or less of Mo, 2.0-8.0% of V, the balance being substantially Fe and inevitable impurities, an average diameter of crystal grains constituting a matrix of the metal structure of the shell portion being 100 .mu.m or less in a range from a surface to a depth of 50 mm when determined by an image analysis method on the crystal grains having diameters exceeding 30 .mu.m, and the crystal grains satisfying the formula: m.sub.2 .ltoreq.1.2 m.sub.1, wherein m.sub.1 is an average diameter of the crystal grains at the surface of the shell portion, and m.sub.

Abstract: The compound roll comprising a shell portion made of a hard cast iron having excellent wear resistance and resistance to surface roughening and a core portion made of a tough cast iron or cast steel, the cast iron of the shell portion having a composition consisting essentially, by weight ratio, of 2.5-3.5% of C, 0.5-1.5% of Si, 0.5-1.5% of Mn, 0.1% or less of P, 0.05% or less of S, 3.0-5.0% of Ni, 1.0-2.5% of Cr, 0.1-1.5% of Mo and balance Fe and inevitable impurities, an average diameter of primary precipitated particles constituting a matrix of the metal structure of the shell portion being 80 .mu.m or less in a range from a surface to a depth of 50 mm when determined by an image analysis method on the primary precipitated particles having diameters exceeding 30 .mu.m, and the primary precipitated particles satisfying the formula: m.sub.2 .ltoreq.1.2 m.sub.1, wherein m.sub.1 is an average diameter of the primary precipitated particles at the surface of the shell portion, and m.sub.