Abstract: A method for manufacturing a multilayer ceramic electronic component includes a first substep of depositing precipitates primarily made of a specific metal on an end of each of internal electrodes exposed at a predetermined surface of a laminate and growing the precipitates to coalesce into a continuous plated sublayer, and a second substep of heat-treating the laminate including the plated sublayer at a temperature of at least about 800° C., wherein a plated layer including a plurality of plated sublayers is formed by continuously performing at least two cycles of the first substep and the second substep.

Abstract: When an external terminal electrode of a ceramic electronic component such as a laminated ceramic capacitor is formed by plating, plating growth may be also caused even in an undesired location. The ceramic surface provided by a component main body is configured to include a high plating growth region of, for example, a barium titanate based ceramic, which exhibits relatively high plating growth, and a low plating growth region of, for example, a calcium zirconate based ceramic, which exhibits relatively low plating growth. The plating film constituting a first layer to define a base for an external terminal electrode is formed in such a way that the growth of a plated deposit deposited with conductive surfaces provided by exposed ends of internal electrodes as starting points is limited so as not to cross over a boundary between the high plating growth region and the low plating growth region toward the low plating growth region.

Abstract: A power generator starts an engine by overcoming an inrush current occurs. A calculator (21) retrieves an outputtable current of a generator according to an engine speed. A calculator (23) calculates the lacking amount of the outputtable current relative to a load current. When the remaining battery level is sufficient, a DC/DC converter controller (24) supplies a current corresponding to the lacking amount from the battery (4) to a DC part (52). If the battery (4) starts supplying a power, FETs (Qa to Qf) of a rectifying part (51) are powered off and an output of the power generator (3) is stopped. When an engine frequency stability deciding part (27) decides the engine frequency is stable the rectifying part (51) restarts the output of the generator (3) and the current supply from the battery (4) to the DC part (52) is stopped.

Abstract: A method for manufacturing a monolithic ceramic electronic component includes a plating substep of depositing precipitates primarily composed of a specific metal on an end of each of internal electrodes exposed at a predetermined surface of a laminate and growing the precipitates to coalesce into a continuous plated layer, wherein the specific metal is different from that of the internal electrodes, and the same or substantially the same metal that defines the internal electrodes is distributed throughout the plated layer.

Abstract: In order to prevent the ingress of moisture into a void section of a component main body of a ceramic electronic component, at least the component main body of the ceramic electronic component is provided with water repellency using a water repellent agent. The water repellent agent is dissolved in a supercritical fluid such as, a supercritical CO2 fluid, as a solvent to provide at least the component main body with water repellency. After providing the water repellency, the water repellent agent on the outer surface of the component main body is removed. As the water repellent agent, a silane coupling agent may be used.

Abstract: A power generator has a battery and an alternator driven by an engine. The battery assists a power energy of the alternator. An inverter circuit is connected to an output of a rectifying circuit. A DC/DC converter boosts a voltage of the battery and inputs the boosted voltage into a constant power regulator. The constant power regulator boosts an input voltage and secures a certain power. An output voltage of the rectifying circuit is monitored by a monitoring means and an output voltage of the battery is monitored by a monitoring means. When the output voltage of the rectifying circuit is equal to or less than a rated voltage, an auxiliary power value corresponding to the remaining amount of the battery is set as a power target value of the constant power regulator.

Abstract: Starting and stopping an engine is automatically controlled based on a load without using a relay. An inverter engine-driven power generator has an alternator, a rectifying circuit, a DC/DC converter, and an inverter circuit. A load detection circuit is connected to an output of the inverter circuit in parallel. A load detection line of the load detection circuit is connected to an output line of the inverter circuit in parallel via resistors. A power supply formed of a battery is connected to the load detection line. A decision circuit outputs a load detection signal when a current having a preset value or more flows through the load detection line. A drive/stop CPU starts the engine in response to the load detection. The resistors are set at a resistance value which does not influence a load to which a generator output is supplied.

Abstract: Suppresses noise due to high engine speed and improves emission and fuel consumption of a hybrid generator. A difference computing unit 29 computes a first difference between an alternator output and a load output. A difference computing unit 31 computes a second difference between a battery output and the load output. When the battery output is greater than a battery output stopping threshold, the alternator output is fixed and the first difference is compensated for by the battery output. When the battery output is less than the battery output stopping threshold, the engine speed is increased to compensate for the second difference by the output of the alternator 3. To compensate for the second difference, a target engine speed is determined using a relationship of the second difference and the target engine speed. The engine speed is converged at the target engine speed.

Abstract: Usability is improved and noise and fuel consumption are lowered by preventing stopping of a generator output. A hybrid power generator 1 includes a battery 4, an alternator 3, a rectifier unit 51, a DC-DC converter 9 stepping up an output of the battery 4, and an inverter unit 53 converting outputs of the rectifier unit 51 and the DC-DC converter 9 to AC and outputting the AC as a generator output. At a time when a load output reaches an upper limit of an allowable power range of the DC-DC converter 9, the engine 2 is started and power supplying from the battery 4 is switched to power generation by the alternator 3. A generated power restricting unit 27 suppresses the output of the inverter unit 53 during the starting of the engine so that the generator outputs allowable power range of the DC-DC converter 9.

Abstract: Generator output specifications according to destination are satisfied by an alternator with a single output band and a generator output voltage is made automatically adjustable in accordance with a load. An engine generator 1 includes an alternator 3, a rectifier 51, a DC-DC converter 52, and an inverter 53. A comparing unit 12 compares an output voltage of the alternator 3 with a reference. The DC-DC converter 52 decreases voltage if the output voltage of the alternator 3 is greater than the reference, and the DC-DC converter 52 increases voltage if the output voltage of the alternator 3 is less than the reference. The DC-DC converter 52 is PWM controlled at an intermediate duty ratio when the output voltage of the alternator 3 is equal to the reference, a duty ratio is increased from the intermediate value, and the duty ratio is decreased from the intermediate value.

Abstract: An image forming system is supplied which is able to prevent the record medium from being taken by other people and to improve the secrecy performance of image data.

Abstract: A method for manufacturing a monolithic ceramic electronic component includes a plating substep of depositing precipitates primarily composed of a specific metal on an end of each of internal electrodes exposed at a predetermined surface of a laminate and growing the precipitates to coalesce into a continuous plated layer, wherein the specific metal is different from that of the internal electrodes, and the same or substantially the same metal that defines the internal electrodes is distributed throughout the plated layer.

Abstract: The auxiliary board joining structure further includes a plurality of positioning holes 6 formed in the main board 1, a plurality of positioning pins 20 formed on the main board 1, wherein the plurality of positioning pins 20 extend through the corresponding positioning holes 6 so as to be oriented parallel to the axial direction of the joint pins 17. Each of the positioning pins 20 has a height regulating face 23 for regulating a distance that the positioning pins are extended through the corresponding positioning hole 6. Each of the positioning pins 20 is formed long enough to be extended through the corresponding positioning hole 6 before the joint pins 17 are extended through the corresponding through-holes 5, when the main board 1 and the auxiliary board 10 are engaged.

Abstract: A laminated electronic component includes a first plating film that defines a base for external terminal electrodes and that includes a plurality of layers including a first layer made of, for example, copper and a second layer provided on the first layer. The total thickness of the first plating film is about 3 ?m to about 15 ?m, and the thickness of the second layer is about 2 to 10 times as thick as the thickness of the first layer. The first layer is formed by electroless plating, and the second layer is formed by electrolytic plating. This formation results in a grain size of about 0.5 ?m or more of a metal grain included in the second layer, and thus makes the film less susceptible to oxidation.

Abstract: A laminate includes ceramic layers laminated to each other. Internal conductors are embedded in the laminate and include exposed portions that are exposed between the ceramic layers at a lower surface and an upper surface of the laminate. External electrodes are directly plated on the lower surface and the upper surface so as to cover the respective exposed portions. Regions of the lower surface at which the exposed portions are provided are arranged to protrude from the other regions of the lower surface, and regions of the upper surface at which the exposed portions are provided are arranged to protrude from the other regions of the upper surface.

Abstract: In a method of forming a plating layer for an external terminal electrode by applying, for example, copper plating to an end surface of a component main body with respective ends of internal electrodes exposed, and then applying a heat treatment at a temperature of about 1000° C. or more in order to improve the adhesion strength and moisture resistance of the external terminal electrode, the plating layer may be partially melted to decrease the bonding strength of the plating layer. In the step of applying a heat treatment at a temperature of about 1000° C. or more to a component main body with plating layers formed thereon, the average rate of temperature increase from room temperature to the temperature of about 1000° C. or more is set to about 100° C./minute or more. This average rate of temperature increase maintains a moderate eutectic state in the plating layer and ensures a sufficient bonding strength of the plating layer.

Abstract: An electronic component includes a laminate including a plurality of insulating layers that are laminated on each other. A capacitor conductor is embedded in the laminate and includes an exposed portion exposed between the insulating layers at a predetermined surface of the laminate. An external electrode is provided on the predetermined surface by direct plating so as to cover the exposed portion. An outer edge of the external electrode is spaced away from the exposed portion by about 0.8 ?m or more.

Abstract: Various embodiments are provided to reduce a processing time taken when plural bit lengths each assigned to plural strings are converted into plural codes. In one exemplary embodiment, in response to input of the plurality of bit lengths, a number of strings assigned each of the bit lengths, a bit length assigned to each of the strings, and a sequence number of each string in a group of strings assigned each of the bit lengths are recorded. A plurality of base codes are generated on the basis of the numbers of the strings recorded by the recording unit, the base codes each being a code used as a base for codes having the same one of the bit lengths. A plurality of codes is generated by performing in parallel a plurality of processes respectively for the plurality of strings.

Abstract: A method for manufacturing a laminated electronic component in which, when first plating layers that respectively connect a plurality of internal electrodes to each other and second plating layers that improves the mountability of a laminated electronic component are formed as external terminal electrodes, the entire component main body is treated with a water repellent agent after the formation of the first plating layers, and the water repellent agent on the first plating layers is then removed before the formation of the second plating layers. The gaps between the end edges of the first plating films on the outer surface of the component main body and the outer surface of the component main body are filled with the water repellent agent.

Abstract: A method for manufacturing a laminated ceramic capacitor includes a step of preparing a laminate which has a first principal surface, a second principal surface, a first end surface, a second end surface, a first side surface, and a second side surface and which includes insulating layers and internal electrodes having end portions exposed at the first or second end surface; a step of forming external electrodes on the first and second end surfaces such that plating deposits are formed on the exposed end portions of the internal electrodes so as to be connected to each other; and a step of forming thick end electrodes electrically connected to the external electrodes such that a conductive paste is applied onto edge portions of the first and second principal surfaces and first and second side surfaces of the laminate and then baked.