Abstract: An anode and a secondary battery capable of improving the charge and discharge efficiency are provided. The anode includes an anode current collector, and an anode active material layer provided on the anode current collector. The anode active material layer has a plurality of anode active material particles containing at least one of a simple substance of silicon, a compound of silicon, a simple substance of tin and a compound of tin, and has a coat containing an oxo acid salt in at least part of the surface of the anode active material particles.

Abstract: The invention provides a reactive polymer-supporting porous film for use as a battery separator which comprises a porous substrate film and a partially crosslinked reactive polymer supported on the porous substrate film, the partially crosslinked reactive polymer being obtained by the reaction of a crosslinkable polymer having at least one reactive group selected from the group consisting of 3-oxetanyl group and epoxy group in the molecule with a monocarboxylic acid.

Abstract: A battery with a high battery voltage at charging and improved energy density is provided. A cathode (12) and an anode (14) are laminated with a separator (15) sandwiched therebetween which is impregnated with an electrolyte. The cathode (12) has a cathode active material including a lithium composite oxide which contains lithium, at least either cobalt or nickel, and oxygen. The battery voltage at charging is 4.25 V or more. The total amount of lithium carbonate and lithium sulphate in the cathode (12) to the cathode active material is 1.0 wt % or less, a concentration of protic impurities in the electrolyte, which is converted to a mass ratio of protons to the electrolyte, is 20 ppm or less, or moisture content in the electrolyte is 20 ppm mass ratio or less to the electrolyte. This inhibits metal eluting from the lithium composite oxide even at high voltages.

Abstract: An electronic watermark embedding apparatus and an electronic watermark embedding method can severally deal with both of the resistance property of an electronic watermark and the prevention of image quality deterioration. Electronic watermark information of a high importance level is embedded in a component having a strong resistance property, and electronic watermark information of a low importance level is embedded in a component exerting little influence on an image quality. As a result, the electronic watermark information to be embedded in the component having a strong resistance property is limited to that of a high importance level. Moreover, the image quality deterioration can be suppressed in comparison with the case of embedding all pieces of information, and the electronic watermark information of low importance level is embedded in the component having a weak resistance property but exerting little influence on an image quality.

Abstract: A cathode active material for nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery is provided. The cathode active material includes: composite oxide particles containing at least lithium and cobalt; a coating layer disposed on at least a part of the surface of said composite oxide particles and including an oxide containing lithium and at least one coating element selected from nickel and manganese; and a surface layer disposed on at least a part of said coating layer and including an oxide containing at least one element selected from among lanthanoids.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus, a printing apparatus and an image processing method are provided which can perform quantization processing on image data at high speed based on an error diffusion method while at the same time avoiding degradations in a quality of printed images. When an error value represented by error data is a particular value, the error data is converted into compressed error data with a data volume less than that of the original error data.

Abstract: A negative electrode for a secondary battery includes a negative electrode current collector and a negative electrode active material layer provided in the negative electrode current collector and which is alloyed with the negative electrode current collector at least at a part of an boundary face between it and the negative electrode current collector, wherein the negative electrode current collector has a first surface on which the negative electrode active material layer is formed and a second surface on which the negative electrode active material layer is not formed, the negative electrode having a portion in which the second surfaces of the negative electrode current collector are opposed to each other.

Abstract: A method and an apparatus for fixing a part and a part support for mounting the part by use of adhesive via an intermediate member are disclosed. The adhesive is implemented by photocuring adhesive while the intermediate member is formed of a material transparent for light. The intermediate member is free from coloring and deformation when illuminated by light for curing the adhesive. The adhesive is prevented from dropping or turning round to other portions during assembly.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus, a printing apparatus and an image processing method are provided which can perform quantization processing on image data at high speed based on an error diffusion method while at the same time avoiding degradations in a quality of printed images. When the error value represented by the error data is equal to or less than the reference value, at least a part of the data portion that can represent an error value in excess of the reference value is eliminated to compress the error data.

Abstract: The invention provides a battery, which can improve battery characteristics such as high temperature storage characteristics. The battery comprises a battery device, wherein a cathode and an anode are wound with a separator in between. The anode contains an anode material capable of inserting and extracting Li as an anode active material. An electrolytic solution is impregnated in the separator. The electrolytic solution contains a solvent, and an electrolyte salt such as Li[B(CF3)4] dissolved in the solvent, which is expressed by a chemical formula of Li[B(RF1)(RF2)(RF3)RF4]. RF1, RF2, RF3, and RF4 represent a perfluoro alkyl group whose number of fluorine or carbon is from 1 to 12, respectively. Consequently, high temperature storage characteristics are improved.

Abstract: The invention is to provide an image forming apparatus, for printing an image based on image data, capable of deleting data unnecessary for the user, thereby effectively utilizing limited memory area. The invention provides an image forming apparatus for printing an image based on image data, including a memory unit for memorizing the image data; a determination unit for determining a category of the image data; and a selection unit for selecting whether to erase or to store the image data after being printed, according to a result of determination by the determination unit.

Abstract: There is provided an image processing system in which a management server, a host computer, and a printer are connected via a network, and said host computer prints image data received from said management server based on a printing parameter indicating a printing condition set by a user using said printer, wherein said host computer receives image data appended with a visible digital watermark from said management server, detects a printing parameter set in said printer, collates the detected printing parameter with a limited parameter which is set in advance for the image data, and removes the visible digital watermark from the image data in accordance with the collation result.

Abstract: The invention provides a battery, which can improve battery characteristics such as high temperature storage characteristics. The battery comprises a battery device, wherein a cathode and an anode are wound with a separator in between. The anode contains an anode material capable of inserting and extracting Li as an anode active material. An electrolytic solution is impregnated in the separator. The electrolytic solution contains a solvent, and an electrolyte salt such as Li[B(CF3)4] dissolved in the solvent, which is expressed by a chemical formula of Li[B(RF1)(RF2)(RF3)RF4]. RF1, RF2, RF3, and RF4 represent a perfluoro alkyl group whose number of fluorine or carbon is from 1 to 12, respectively. Consequently, high temperature storage characteristics are improved.

Abstract: The main object of the invention is to provide a masterbatch composition capable of increasing the dispersibility of short fibers in a rubber composition. According to the invention, this object is to solve the above-described problems by providing a masterbatch composition comprising 5 to 78 parts by weight of ?,?-ethylenically unsaturated nitrile monomer unit-containing copolymer rubber (A), 5 to 78 parts by weight of a multifunctional compound (B) and/or a plasticizer (B?) having a molecular weight of 400 or more, and 17 to 90 parts by weight of short fibers (C) of 0.1 to 12 mm in length, provided that the sum of (A), (B) and/or (B?), and (C) is 100 parts by weight.

Abstract: A heat insulating stamper is disclosed. The heat insulating stamper includes an uppermost section made of a metal material, a lowermost section made of the same material as the uppermost section, and a middle section having a heat conductivity lower than the uppermost section. The middle section includes the same metal material as the uppermost section and the lowermost section, and heat insulating portions.

Abstract: Provided is a secondary battery in which high energy density can be obtained and charging/discharging cycle characteristic can be improved. A positive electrode (13) and a negative electrode (15) are stacked with a separator (16) interposed therebetween, and are enclosed inside an exterior can (11) to which an electrolyte is injected. The negative electrode (15) contains a negative electrode material capable of occluding/releasing lithium in an ionic state. Thereby, lithium metal precipitates in the negative electrode (15) in a state where the open circuit voltage is lower than the overcharge voltage. In other words, lithium is occluded in an ionic state in a negative electrode material capable of occluding/releasing lithium in the beginning of charging, and then lithium metal precipitates on the surface of the negative electrode material thereafter during charging. The amount of precipitation of lithium metal is preferable to be from 0.05 to 3.

Abstract: The invention provides a reactive polymer-supporting porous film for use as a battery separator which comprises a porous substrate film and a partially crosslinked reactive polymer supported on the porous substrate film, the partially crosslinked reactive polymer being obtained by the reaction of a crosslinkable polymer having at least one reactive group selected from the group consisting of 3-oxetanyl group and epoxy group in the molecule with a polycarboxylic acid. The reactive polymer-supporting porous film for use as a battery separator has a separator and electrodes sufficiently bonded to each other and low inner resistance so that it is suitably used for production of battery excellent in high rate performance.

Abstract: When data transmission is to be conducted between a master station and a slave station, the master station moves the other slave stations to such a park mode (standby state) that they do not make a communication request. Thus the master station and the slave station can conduct data transmission from and to each other with priority use of a communication network. After completion of the data transmission process, the master station sends each slave station a notification of release of the communication network to return each slave station to the normal operating state.

Abstract: A lens block according to the present invention includes a lens cylinder; and at least one lens accommodated in the lens cylinder and dividing a space in the lens cylinder into a first space and a second space, wherein the lens cylinder includes at least one hole into which a tool for removing the at least one lens from the lens cylinder is inserted, wherein the at least one lens is pressed into the lens cylinder from either one of the first space and the second space, and the at least one hole is formed on the other of the first space and the second space, and wherein the at least one hole is provided in a position that enables the inserted tool to contact the at least one lens through the at least one hole.

Abstract: A battery capable of inhibiting decrease in capacity and inhibiting swollenness even in hot environment is provided. A battery comprises a cathode, an anode and an electrolyte inside a film exterior member. The electrolytic solution contains carboxylate ester or ketone, in which a third alkyl group is directly bonded to a carbonyl group. Thereby, decomposition reaction of the solvent in the cathode is inhibited.