Patent ID: 7255083

Claim:
A sliding structure comprising: a sliding member which comprises a first sliding surface; and a lubricant applied to the first sliding surface so that the first sliding surface can make sliding contact with a second sliding surface on a counterpart member via the lubricant, wherein at least one of the first sliding surface and the second sliding surface comprises a hard carbon film, and the hard carbon film has a thickness of 0.3 to 2.0 μm, a Knoop hardness of 1500 to 4500 kg/mm 2 , a surface roughness Ry (μm) satisfying the following equation: Ry<{(0.75−Hk/8000)×h+0.07/0.8} where h is the thickness (μm) of the hard carbon film; and Hk is the Knoop hardness (kg/mm 2 ) of the hard carbon film.