Abstract: Provided are a method and a device for efficiently decomposing gas hydrate pellets and extracting gas. That is, provided is a method for decomposing gas hydrate characterized by supplying gas hydrate pellets to a decomposition vessel, damming and gathering densely the pellets on a downstream side in the decomposition vessel, and passing hot water through this pellet layer which is in a densely gathered state, to thereby decompose the pellets into water and gas.

Abstract: An ink supply apparatus includes a first ink tank, a second ink tank, a first flow path configured to connect the first ink tank and the second ink tank, a volume change unit disposed on the first flow path, configured to be able to change an internal volume of its own, and allow ink to flow thereinto from the first flow path when the internal volume is expanded and to flow out to the first flow path when the internal volume is reduced, a first opening and closing unit disposed between the first ink tank and the volume change unit, and a second opening and closing unit disposed between the second ink tank and the volume change unit.

Abstract: To improve assembly precision of a fuel cell by improving a sealing property. A first gasket 12 is integrally formed with a first gas diffusion layer 11 and a second gasket 14 is integrally formed with a second gas diffusion layer 13, and a hinge portion 15 connects the first gasket 12 to the second gasket 14. The gas diffusion layer incorporated gasket sandwiches a membrane-electrode from both sides in the thickness direction. A seal protrusion 12c is formed in a surface of the first gasket 12 or the second gasket 14 and comes into close contact with the membrane-electrode.

Abstract: A fixing device includes a first rotary member; a second rotary member that is in contact with the first rotary member and presses a recording medium passing therethrough; a heating member that heats a contact area; a first support member supporting the first rotary member from inside so as to be in contact with the second rotary member; a second support member supporting the first support member and switchable between states in which it is in contact with and separated from the first support member; a first urging-force applying member attached to the second support member and urging the second and first support members against the second rotary member; a second urging-force applying member disposed between the first and second support members; and a switching member via which the first and second support members are switched between states in which they are in contact with and separated from each other.

Abstract: In a fuel battery seal structure, a gasket has a base portion fitted in a non-bonded manner to a seal installation groove of a separator, and a seal protrusion brought into close contact with a seal groove of a separator. Presser projections and clearance grooves are formed in both sides in a width direction of the seal groove. The presser projections are brought into contact with the base portion of the gasket, and the clearance grooves are positioned in an opposite side to the seal groove as seen from the presser projections. Sum of widths of the seal groove and the presser projections in both sides thereof is smaller than a width of the seal installation groove, and sum of widths of the seal groove, and the presser projections and the clearance grooves in both sides thereof is larger than the width of the seal installation groove.

Abstract: In order to inexpensively provide gaskets which have good sealing performance, and which fulfill various applications by simply stamping out sheet-like gaskets in accordance with specifications, a gasket is obtained by integrally forming, with a sheet-like base material, a gasket part made of a rubber-like elastic material on at least one surface of the base material, said gasket part being composed of continuous protrusions provided with a fixed pattern. The sheet-like gasket parts produced in this manner are capable of inexpensively providing gaskets which fulfill various applications by simply stamping out the sheet-like gasket parts in accordance with various specifications.

Abstract: A first ink tank, and a second ink tank including a first chamber having an ink inlet port and a second chamber having a sensing unit are provided. The ink inlet port is provided at a position so that a volume of the second ink tank above a second height does not become smaller than an amount of ink volume change in the second chamber when the ink volume is changed from a first height which is a height of the ink surface when a minimum volume of ink is in the second ink tank under normal usage to a second height which is a height of the ink inlet port.

Abstract: A first ink tank, and a second ink tank including a first chamber having an ink inlet port and a second chamber having a sensing unit are provided. The ink inlet port is provided at a position so that a volume of the second ink tank above a second height does not become smaller than an amount of ink volume change in the second chamber when the ink volume is changed from a first height which is a height of the ink surface when a minimum volume of ink is in the second ink tank under normal usage to a second height which is a height of the ink inlet port.

Abstract: Provided is an intake noise reduction device that can suppress an occurrence of noise in an intake pipe. An intake noise reduction device (100) disposed on a downstream side of a throttle valve in an intake pipe and including a flow-guiding net (110) that guides an air flow, wherein the flow-guiding net includes a mesh that is configured to be fine in a vicinity of a center of a flow passage in the intake pipe and to become coarser with distance from the vicinity of the center. For example, the mesh flow-guiding net (110) is formed of a plurality of radial portions (111) extending radially outward from the vicinity of the center of the flow passage in the intake pipe and a plurality of concentric portions (112) provided concentrically from the vicinity of the center.

Abstract: Provided is a fixing device including a heating rotating body that heats a toner image formed on a recording medium, a pressurizing rotating body including an endless belt that is placed in such a manner that an outer circumferential surface thereof faces the heating rotating body, a first pressurizing member that is placed on a side of an inner circumferential surface of the endless belt and forms a fixing nip portion between the endless belt and the heating rotating body, and a second pressurizing member that guides the recording medium so that the recording medium comes into contact with the heating rotating body on an upstream side of the fixing nip portion in a transportation direction of the recording medium, and a releasing unit that releases pressure contact of the pressurizing rotating body that is in pressure contact with heating rotating body.

Abstract: The purpose of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a carbon plate-integrated gasket with which, when forming a carbon plate-integrated gasket using a cure-in-place gasket (CIPG), gaskets with a selected lip shape can be obtained with good precision without damage to the carbon plate and with good material yield while maintaining favorable material properties. For this purpose, in the method for manufacturing a carbon plate-integrated gasket having a lip-shaped section in which an uncured liquid rubber is applied on the surface of a carbon plate to produce an uncured seal protrusion and the seal protrusion is then compressed and cured between a forming mold and the carbon plate, a burr-collecting section for discharging excess seal protrusion rubber from the gasket-forming space is configured between the forming mold and the carbon plate so as to communicate with said forming space via a rubber-squeezing section.

Abstract: A gas diffusion layer-integrated gasket 1 includes a first gasket 12 which is integrally molded to a periphery of a first gas diffusion layer 11 and a second gasket 14 which is integrally molded to a periphery of a second gas diffusion layer 13, and a hinge part 15 which connects the first gasket 12 and second gasket 14 to each other. The first and second gas diffusion layers sandwich a membrane-electrode assembly 2 in which catalytic electrode layers are provided on both surfaces of an electrolytic membrane from both sides, wherein a seal protrusion 12c is formed on a surface which is in tight contact with the membrane-electrode assembly 2.

Abstract: The present invention provides an inkjet printing apparatus capable of achieving thorough stirring by producing a flow in a main tank and a sub tank. The inkjet printing apparatus includes a printing head, a main tank, and a sub tank. The apparatus includes an ink reservoir unit formed of a flexible member, disposed between the sub tank and the printing head. The ink is supplied from the sub tank to the printing head by increasing the volume of the ink reservoir unit, and air in the sub tank is sent to the main tank by reducing the volume of the ink reservoir unit.

Abstract: In a method for producing a molded gasket having a surface treated layer on one surface of a substrate and integrally formed with a gasket body constructed by a rubber-like elastic body on the other surface, a first step of integrally molding the gasket body on the substrate, a second step of temporarily placing the molded piece on a placement stand, and a third step of removing a burr portion from a production portion by punching the molded piece are sequentially executed. For preventing foreign material attachment, pollution and scratching, the first step integrally forms a projecting leg portion constructed by a rubber-like elastic body at a position corresponding to the burr portion in the molded piece, the second step brings the molded piece into contact with the placement stand by the leg portion, and the third step removes the leg portion as a part of the burr portion.

Abstract: A fuel cell component integrates an attachment member 5 and a gasket 1 by using an adhesive 3. Both side portions of the gasket in the width direction of the gasket are provided with adhesive application regions W1 where the adhesive 3 is interposed, and a center portion in the width direction of the gasket is provided with an adhesive non-application region W2 where the adhesive 3 is not interposed so as to ensure an attachability.

Abstract: Provided is a fixing device that includes a first rotating member that rotates while pinching a sheet which holds an image on a first surface of the sheet and is transported, fixes the image to the sheet, and heats the image while coming into contact with the first surface. Further provided is a second rotating member that comes into contact with a second surface that is a back surface of the first surface, a third rotating member that guides the sheet by rotating while coming into contact with the first surface of the sheet fed from a gap between the first and second rotating members, and a support member that supports the first, second, and third rotating members with a space through which the heat of the first rotating member is transferred to the third rotating member interposed between the first and third rotating members.

Abstract: Provided is a fixing device including a heating rotating body that heats a toner image formed on a recording medium, a pressurizing rotating body including an endless belt that is placed in such a manner that an outer circumferential surface thereof faces the heating rotating body, a first pressurizing member that is placed on a side of an inner circumferential surface of the endless belt and forms a fixing nip portion between the endless belt and the heating rotating body, and a second pressurizing member that guides the recording medium so that the recording medium comes into contact with the heating rotating body on an upstream side of the fixing nip portion in a transportation direction of the recording medium, and a releasing unit that releases pressure contact of the pressurizing rotating body that is in pressure contact with heating rotating body.

Abstract: A fixing device includes a rotatable body; a rotatable endless belt having inner and outer peripheral surfaces; a first presser portion within the inner peripheral surface and pressing the outer peripheral surface onto the rotatable body to form a first nip, through which a recording medium passes, between the endless belt and the rotatable body; and a second presser portion within the inner peripheral surface and pressing the outer peripheral surface onto the rotatable body to form a second nip through which the recording medium passes. The first nip decreases in length in a recording-medium transport direction from a central area toward opposite ends in an axial direction. The second nip increases in length in the transport direction from a central area toward opposite ends in the axial direction, and has an upstream edge, in the transport direction, whose central area protrudes upstream relative to the opposite ends.

Abstract: A sealing structure of a fuel cell has a first gasket made of an elastomer and provided integrally on a separator, and a second gasket made of an elastomer and provided integrally on other separator. A membrane-electrode assembly is sandwiched or pinched by the first and second gaskets. The first gasket has a main lip in which a top portion brought into close contact with the membrane-electrode assembly is formed flat. The second gasket has a flat seal portion and a sub lip protruding from this flat seal portion at a position opposing the main lip. The flat seal portion and the sub lip are brought into close contact with the membrane-electrode assembly. The width of the top portion of the main lip is narrower than the width of the flat seal portion, and larger than the width of the sub lip.

Abstract: A high-purity copper sputtering target, wherein a Vickers hardness of a flange part of the target is in a range of 90 to 100 Hv, a Vickers hardness of an erosion part in the central area of the target is in a range of 55 to 70 Hv, and a crystal grain size of the erosion part is 80 ?m or less. This invention relates to a high-purity copper sputtering target that does not need to be bonded to a backing plate (BP), and aims to provide a high-purity copper sputtering target capable of forming a thin film having superior uniformity by enhancing a strength (hardness) of the flange part of the target, and reducing an amount of warpage of the target. Moreover, the uniformity of the film thickness is improved by adjusting the (111) orientation ratio of the erosion part and the flange part in the target.