Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Takeshi Endoh

Tomoyasu Hirasawa

Toshihiko Baba

Susumu Matsusaka

Takashi Tanaka

Norihiko Aze

Kiyotada Katoh

Keisuke Ikeda

Atsuo Hirai

Katsunori Suto

Hiroki Yamasaki

Masayuki Kami

Toru Kobayashi

Kohta Shiodera

Disclosed is a loop heat pipe having an evaporator, a condenser, a vapor line connected between the evaporator and the condenser through which a vapor-phase working fluid flows, a liquid line connected between the condenser and the evaporator through which a liquid-phase working fluid flows, and a wick having an elasticity and provided inside the evaporator in a compressed and deformed state. The liquid-phase working fluid permeates into the wick, and a boundary between the liquid phase working fluid and the vapor phase working fluid is formed in the wick. A stress generated in the wick due to compressive deformation is greater than a pressure loss that occurs during circulation of the working fluid from the vapor-phase side of the boundary via the condenser back to the liquid-phase side of the boundary.

Loop heat pipe, cooling system, electronic equipment, and wick

A disclosed loop heat pipe includes an evaporator configured to absorb heat from outside by a wall to evaporate a working fluid from a liquid phase to a gas phase; a condenser configured to condense a gas phase working fluid introduced from the evaporator into a liquid phase; an elastic wick configured to contact an inner wall of the evaporator by an elastic force from the elastic wick; and a wick deformation member configured to deform the elastic wick increase a contact pressure of the elastic wick against the inner wall of the evaporator.

Loop heat pipe, cooling device, and electronic device

A loop heat pipe wick includes porous rubber.

Loop heat pipe wick, loop heat pipe, cooling device, and electronic device, and method for manufacturing porous rubber and method for manufacturing loop heat pipe wick

A fixing-unit roller includes: a core bar; and an elastic layer formed on an outer peripheral surface of the core bar. The elastic layer is formed from a porous material that contains a plurality of cells. Cells in a cross section obtained by cutting across the porous material are 0.1 &#x3bc;m or greater and 50 &#x3bc;m or less in size. A ratio of an area occupied by composite cells, which are made of partially-overlapping spherical cells, in a 200-&#x3bc;m square in the cross section to an area of the square is 60% or greater and 70% or less.

Fixing-unit roller, fixing unit, and image forming apparatus including an elastic layer

Growing community of inventors

Kanagawa, Japan

Takeshi Endoh