Abstract: A recording medium stores contents and contents keys to be used for encrypting the contents, in a plurality of storage formats. The storage formats include a storage format (a first format) for delivered contents acquired through a network, and a storage format (a second format) for local contents acquired by a method other than the delivery. The intrinsic storage formats of the contents to be stored in the recording medium are determined according to the kinds of the contents. The recording medium stores not only the contents and the contents keys but also original storage format information (an import flag) (851) which is information indicating the intrinsic storage formats of the contents. With reference to the original storage format information, a reproduction device selects a reproduction method in accordance with the intrinsic storage formats of the contents.

Abstract: In an image forming device, images of originals up to an upper limit number of stapling are read (S1 to S5) and image data thereof are processed (S6 to S8). If a paper sensor has detected a subsequent original even when the number of pages of the read images reaches NS0 (S1, S2), a finisher discharges a bundle of printed papers without stapling. Consequently, the number of the printed papers included in the discharged bundle is made less than the upper limit number. In a case where the number of the printed papers sent to the finisher (S12, S13) is less than a set number NS1 (S15), the bundle is discharged without being stapled after the number of the printed papers reaches NS1 (S17).

Abstract: Area management information is cached in a cache memory by controlling the access size when an information processor accesses the area management information in an information recording medium. When the processing content of the information processor is to retrieve a free area from the area management information, a physical management block size determined from the physical characteristics of the information recording medium is used. When the processing content is to acquire a link destination from the area management information, minimum access unit of the information recording medium is used. Consequently, overhead can be lessened when the area management information is accessed.

Abstract: To combine thrifty power consumption with up-to-dateness of displayed information, an information processing apparatus (100) includes: a battery unit (114); a remaining amount determining unit (113) which determines a remaining battery amount; a display unit (111) having a memory characteristic; a power-off determining unit (116) which specifies an amount of power to be supplied from the battery unit to the information processing apparatus that is equal to or less than a predetermined amount; a timer unit (115) which controls a start of supplying power at a predetermined time; and a control unit (110) which (i) causes the timer unit to set the predetermined time, and causes the amount of the power to be equal to or less than the predetermined amount, and (ii) displays, on the display unit, information about the remaining battery amount when the timer unit starts the supply of the power to the information processing apparatus.

Abstract: To provide a hydrogen storage alloy for an alkaline storage battery that improves output power by pulverization of the alloy in the initial stage of partial charge and discharge cycles and that maintains its surface condition to improve the amount of lifetime work (Wh), and an alkaline storage battery and battery system. A hydrogen storage alloy for an alkaline storage battery includes a composition expressed by LaxReyMg1-x-yNin-m-vAlmTv (Re; rare earth element(s) including Y; T: Co, Mn, Zn; 0.17?x?0.64, 3.5?n?3.8, 0.06?m?0.22, v?0), and a main phase of an A5B19 type crystal structure. A ratio of X/Y of the concentration ratio X of Al to Ni in a surface layer and the concentration ratio Y of Al to Ni in a bulk layer is 0.36?X/Y?0.85. An alkaline storage battery includes the hydrogen storage alloy in its negative electrode. An alkaline storage battery system performs partial charge and discharge control.

Abstract: The current-collecting lead for being welded to a collector welded to an upper portion of an electrode group and also to a sealing assembly of an cylindrical secondary battery includes: a flat surface part welded to the collector, and a top part formed to be curved and protrude approximately in the shape of a dome from the flat surface part and welded to the sealing assembly. A central opening is formed at a central portion of the top part. Around the central opening, a plurality of welding projections are formed to protrude toward the sealing assembly. The welding projections serve as welding spots to the sealing assembly. The top part is deformed by a pressing force from the sealing assembly to be brought into surface contact with a corner portion of a convex portion formed on a lower surface of the sealing assembly.

Abstract: A sintered substrate is configured such that pores having a pore size (pore radius) of from 5 ?m to 7 ?m have a peak volume fraction with respect to the total pore volume of the sintered substrate, and pores having a pore radius of greater than 8.5 ?m has a volume fraction of 11% or less with respect to the total pore volume of the sintered substrate. The sintered substrate has a smaller number of large-sized pores than conventional sintered substrates and a more uniform pore size distribution, and therefore shows a sufficient strength even when the porosity is increased. In addition, a cadmium negative electrode employing the sintered substrate shows excellent gas absorption capability and therefore can reduce the internal pressure of the battery during charge.

Abstract: A method for performing a high-speed search for a content key associated with encrypted content for a key-separation-type content management method where content keys and pieces of encrypted content are correlated by ID information and stored in different recording media. An external recording medium stores content files including: pieces of encrypted content that are encrypted with different encryption keys; and content IDs, each associated with a corresponding piece of encryption content, and a semiconductor recording medium stores a list including: encryption key storage location information, each indicating where a corresponding encryption key is stored; and content IDs, the list sorted in accordance with the content IDs. When encrypted content is played back, the list is searched to find encryption key storage location information associated with content ID that matches the content ID of the encrypted content, and the encryption key is read based on the encryption key storage location information.

Abstract: In an image forming device, images of originals up to an upper limit number of stapling are read (S1 to S5) and image data thereof are processed (S6 to S8). If a paper sensor has detected a subsequent original even when the number of pages of the read images reaches NS0 (S1, S2), a finisher discharges a bundle of printed papers without stapling. Consequently, the number of the printed papers included in the discharged bundle is made less than the upper limit number. In a case where the number of the printed papers sent to the finisher (S12, S13) is less than a set number NS1 (S15), the bundle is discharged without being stapled after the number of the printed papers reaches NS1 (S17).

Abstract: Area management information is cached in a cache memory by controlling the access size when an information processor accesses the area management information in an information recording medium. When the processing content of the information processor is to retrieve a free area from the area management information, a physical management block size determined from the physical characteristics of the information recording medium is used. When the processing content is to acquire a link destination from the area management information, minimum access unit of the information recording medium is used. Consequently, overhead can be lessened when the area management information is accessed.

Abstract: An access device 1 internally includes a logical-physical empty capacity management part 16 for obtaining information of a remaining capacity on a write once memory from a write once recording device 2A. In addition, the write once recording device 2A internally includes a physical empty capacity management part 27 for managing a remaining capacity on the write once memory and notifying the access device of the capacity. Prior to recording of file data, the access device 1 can know an accurate remaining capacity of the write once recording device by: obtaining a remaining capacity of the write once memory from the write once recording device 2A; and comparing the capacity with a remaining capacity on an FAT to decide an actually-recordable remaining capacity for file data.

Abstract: An alkaline storage battery system according to an aspect of the present invention, with which a partial charging-discharging is performed, includes an alkaline storage battery 10 including an electrode group having a nickel positive electrode 11, a hydrogen storage alloy negative electrode 12, a separator 13; an alkaline electrolyte; and an outer can 14 accommodating the electrode group and the alkaline electrolyte, and further includes a partial charge-discharge control unit for controlling charging-discharging of the battery 10. In addition, zinc (Zn) is added to nickel hydroxide that is a main positive electrode active material in the nickel positive electrode 11 with an addition amount of 5% by mass or less with respect to the mass of nickel in the positive electrode active material. The concentration of the alkaline electrolyte is 6.5 mol/L or less and the content of lithium in the alkaline electrolyte is 0.3 mol/L or more.

Abstract: Provided is a method that, in the case of managing areas of a non-volatile memory of an information recording module by a file system, increases the speed of processing for writing file data and file system management information, and furthermore prevents a decrease in the rewriting lifetime of the non-volatile memory. The information recording module (2) is provided with a page cache control unit (217) that stores page cache information (224) in the non-volatile memory (22) of the information recording module (2) and performs control such that a specific physical block is used as a cache when writing small-sized data. Also, an access module (1) is provided with a page cache information setting unit (104) that sets information necessary for page cache control in the information recording module (2).

Abstract: A semiconductor memory card (101) has a plurality of areas (105, 106) based on different file systems. An adapter (102) includes: an area switching part (110) which a user can operates, a determination part (109) for determining the operation; and a card controller (108) for issuing a switching command for switching the area to be used for the semiconductor memory card (101) in accordance with the judgment result. When the switching command is issued in response to input from the area switching part (110), the command is interpreted by an area selector (107) of the semiconductor memory card (101) so as to select an area.

Abstract: Area management information is cached in a cache memory by controlling the access size when an information processor accesses the area management information in an information recording medium. When the processing content of the information processor is to retrieve a free area from the area management information, a physical management block size determined from the physical characteristics of the information recording medium is used. When the processing content is to acquire a link destination from the area management information, minimum access unit of the information recording medium is used. Consequently, overhead can be lessened when the area management information is accessed.

Abstract: A memory controller (220) that controls the writing of data into or the reading of data from a non-volatile memory (230) includes a host interface unit (210) and a host information management unit (223). The host interface unit (210) receives an application ID identifying an application used when recording user data into the non-volatile memory (230) and a device ID identifying an external device (100) that uses the stated application. The host information management unit (223) records a host information table indicating a correspondence relationship between the application ID and the device ID into the non-volatile memory. The memory controller (220) can thus easily determine by what data processing device the data stored in a non-volatile storage device (200) attachable to/removable from the external device (100) has been updated.

Abstract: In the alkaline storage battery system, zinc (Zn) is added to a nickel positive electrode 11 with an addition amount of 8% by mass or less with respect to the mass of nickel. A hydrogen storage alloy of a negative electrode 12 has an A5B19 type crystal structure, with a stoichiometric ratio (B/A) representing the molar ratio of component B to component A ranging from 3.6 to 3.9, inclusive, and is represented by a general formula of Ln1-xMgxNiy-aMa (where Ln is an element selected from rare earth elements including Y, and M is at least one kind of element selected from Al, Co, Mn, and Zn) in which the content of the element M is 1.0% by mass or less. An electrolyte has a concentration of 6.5 mol/L or less and contains Li of 0.3 mol/L or more, and the alkaline storage battery system is arranged to control partial charging-discharging.

Abstract: A negative electrode plate of a nickel hydrogen storage battery includes a nonaqueous polymer binder and has an effective surface area per unit capacity of 70 cm2/Ah or more. The density of the first and second separators between positive and negative electrode plates ranges from 450 kg/m3 to 600 kg/m3. The nonwoven fabrics of the separators are formed by combining microfibers and compound fibers through melting portions of the compound fibers. The fibers have a virtually circular cross-section. The microfibers and the compound fibers have a diameter ranging from 1 ?m to less than 5 ?m and a diameter ranging from 5 ?m to 15 ?m, respectively. The proportion of the microfibers to whole fibers ranges from 10 percent by mass to 20 percent by mass. At least one of the nonwoven fabrics of the separators is subjected to sulfonation treatment.

Abstract: In a file system such as an FAT file system, clusters are linked only in the forward direction. To perform seeks to clusters in the reverse direction, links need to be followed from the beginning side of the file data in every seeking operation. When a large amount of data is subjected to such reverse seeking, the overhead will be particularly large. A memory controller (101) for controlling data writing or reading to or from an information recording medium includes a control unit (105) that detects continuity of data in an address space of a file system managing data that is recorded into the information recording medium and a data-continuity management unit (103) that stores information about the continuity of the data as data-continuity information.

Abstract: In a target apparatus which stores at least one piece of domain key information in a first area and a plurality of pieces of content key information each associated with any one of the domain key information in a second area, a method for generating data for detecting tampering of the content key information. The method comprises the steps of encrypting the content key information associated with one of the domain key information using a chain encryption technique; extracting data at predetermined positions in the encrypted content key information, concatenating the pieces of data extracted at the predetermined positions in the encrypted content key information to obtain concatenated data, performing a hash calculation with respect to the concatenated data to obtain a hash value, storing check values corresponding to the data at the predetermined positions in plain text, in the target apparatus, and storing the hash value in the target apparatus.