Abstract: A semiconductor device that comprises a conductive pad that is provided on the insulating film and that is obtained by forming a main conductive film and a surface conductive film harder than the main conductive film in that order.

Abstract: A developing device which can stably supply a developer to a latent image carrier by preventing the scattered developer from being discharged and thereby preventing the developer from being discharged despite that the amount of developer within the developing device does not increase, and an image forming apparatus using the developing device. A block member serving as a scattered developer discharge prevention member is provided so as to block a path through which the developer scattered as a result of a conveyance operation of a supply screw serving as a developer conveying member moves toward a developer discharge port. Accordingly, the scattered developer is prevented from reaching the developer discharge port and being discharged therefrom.

Abstract: The storage characteristics in a charged state are improved in a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery containing a lithium cobalt oxide as a positive electrode active material. The non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery includes a positive electrode containing a positive electrode active material; a negative electrode containing a negative electrode active material other than metallic lithium; and a non-aqueous electrolyte. The positive electrode active material contains a lithium cobalt oxide as its main component. The non-aqueous electrolyte contains 0.1 to 10 volume % of a compound having an ether group. The positive electrode active material and the negative electrode active material are contained so that the charge capacity ratio of the negative electrode to the positive electrode is from 1.0 to 1.2 when the battery is charged until the potential of the positive electrode reaches 4.4 to 4.5 V (vs.

Abstract: A nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery includes a positive electrode containing a positive active material, a negative electrode containing a negative active material and a nonaqueous electrolyte. Characteristically, the positive active material comprises a mixture of a lithium transition metal complex oxide A obtained by incorporating at least Zr and Mg into LiCoO2 and a lithium transition metal complex oxide B having a layered structure and containing at least Ni and Mn as the transition metal.

Abstract: Low-temperature charge-discharge performance is improved in a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery that employs flake graphite as a negative electrode active material. A non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery includes a positive electrode containing a positive electrode active material capable of intercalating and deintercalating lithium ions, a negative electrode containing a negative electrode active material capable of intercalating and deintercalating lithium ions, and a non-aqueous electrolyte. The negative electrode includes a mixture layer (1) containing, as the negative electrode active material, a graphite material having flake-shaped primary particles, a current collector (3) made of Cu or a Cu alloy, and an intermediate layer (2) disposed between the mixture layer (1) and the current collector (3) and composed of a material that intercalates and deintercalates lithium ions at a nobler potential than the graphite material.

Abstract: A nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery in which a lithium transition metal complex oxide containing at least Ni and Mn as transition metals and having a layered structure is used as a positive active material, the lithium transition metal complex oxide containing at least Ni and Mn as transition metals and having a layered structure further containing zirconium.

Abstract: A nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery which has a positive electrode containing lithium cobalt oxide as a positive active material, a negative electrode containing a graphite material and a nonaqueous electrolyte solution containing ethylene carbonate as a solvent and which is charged with an end-of-charge voltage of at least 4.3 V. Characteristically, the battery uses, as the positive active material, lithium cobalt oxide obtained by firing a mixture of a lithium salt, tricobalt tetraoxide (Co3O4) and a zirconium compound and having particle surfaces onto which the zirconium compound adheres.

Abstract: A nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery including a negative electrode containing a graphite material as the negative active material, a positive electrode containing lithium cobalt oxide as a main component of the positive active material and a nonaqueous electrolyte solution, the battery being characterized in that the lithium cobalt oxide contains a group IVA element and a group IIA element of the periodic table, the nonaqueous electrolyte solution contains 0.2-1.5% by weight of a sulfonyl-containing compound and preferably further contains 0.5-4% by weight of vinylene carbonate.

Abstract: A nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery wherein a material capable of occludeing/discharging lithium is used as a negative electrode material and a lithium-trasition metal composite oxide which contains Ni and Mn as the transition metal and has a layered structure is used as a positive electrode material is characterized in that a lithium-transition metal composite oxide having a BET specific surface area less than 3 m2/g and a pH of 11.0 or less when 5 g of the lithium-transition metal composite oxide is immersed in 50 ml of purified water is used as the positive electrode active material.

Abstract: A non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery including a positive electrode containing a positive active material, a negative electrode containing a negative active material and a non-aqueous electrolyte, characterized in that lithium transition metal complex oxide A formed by allowing LiCoO2 to contain at least both of Zr and Mg and lithium transition metal complex oxide B having a layered structure and containing at least both of Mn and Ni as transition metals are mixed and used as said positive active material, and vinylene carbonate and divinyl sulfone are contained in said non-aqueous electrolyte.

Abstract: A nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery comprising a positive electrode containing a positive active material, a negative electrode containing a negative active material and a nonaqueous electrolyte, wherein a lithium transition metal complex oxide A formed by allowing LiCoO2 to contain at least both of Zr and Mg and a lithium transition metal complex oxide B having a layered structure and containing at least both of Mn and Ni as transition metals and containing molybdenum (Mo) are mixed and used as said positive active material.

Abstract: A nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery comprising a positive electrode containing a positive electrode active material, a negative electrode containing a negative electrode active material, and a nonaqueous electrolyte is characterized in that the positive electrode active material is composed of a lithium trasition metal oxide having a layer structure and containing Li and Co and further contains a group IVA element and group IIA element of the periodic table.

Abstract: A sealed nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery having a case which is deformed when the inner pressure is increased is characterized in that a material capable of occluding and releasing lithium is used as a negative electrode material, and a mixture of a lithium transition metal composite oxide containing Ni and Mn as transition metals and having a layered structure and a lithium cobaltate is used as a positive electrode material.

Abstract: Capacity degradation due to charge/discharge cycles is suppressed in either a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary cell provided with a positive electrode including, as a positive electrode active material, a lithium-transition metal complex oxide having a layered structure and containing at least Ni and Mn as transition metals, and a negative electrode containing a carbon material as a negative electrode active material and having a higher initial charge-discharge efficiency than that of the positive electrode, or an assembled battery having a plurality of cells each of which is the secondary cell. A control circuit incorporated in the secondary cell or the assembled battery, or in an apparatus using the secondary cell or the assembled battery, monitors the voltage of the secondary cell or each of the cells in the assembled battery so that the end-of-discharge voltage of each cell is 2.9 V or higher.

Abstract: A nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery including an airtight outer container, the shape of which can be changed by an increase of battery internal pressure; a material capable of occluding and releasing lithium as a negative electrode material; and a lithium-transition metal composite oxide having a layer structure in which nickel and manganese are contained as transition metals and containing fluorine as a positive electrode material.

Abstract: A lithium secondary battery to be mounted on a substrate including a positive electrode, a negative electrode containing an alloy of lithium and aluminum, and a non-aqueous electrolyte containing a solute and a solvent; wherein the solvent contains propylene carbonate and diethylene glycol dialkyl ether. More preferably, the solvent also contains trialkyl phosphate.

Abstract: Disclosed is a digital demodulation technique in which a reception modulated-wave signal is converted into a digital signal in synchronism with a sampling frequency, whereafter carrier regeneration/detection is carried out upon the digital signal to thereby output a detection signal. Then, the detection signal is subject to interpolation and resampling on the basis of a clock frequency established asynchronously with and independently of the sampling frequency, so that a timing component is extracted from the detection signal in synchronism with the clock frequency to thereby output a reception data. In the digital demodulation technique, since the sampling frequency and the clock frequency are established asynchronously with and independently of each other, jitter or the like produced in clock regeneration do not affect the carrier regeneration/detection. Consequently, noiseless reception data with little jitters can be regenerated.

Abstract: A carrier recovery phase-locked loop for recovering a carrier from a digitized quadrature phase shift keying modulated wave arriving on time division basis comprises a PLL circuit, first unit, responsive to the received signal, for preparing a phase comparator's characteristic adapted for a binary phase shift keying modulated wave, second unit, also responsive to the received signal, for preparing a phase comparator's characteristic adapted for the quadrature phase shift keying modulated wave and switching unit for selectively supplying output signals from the first and second units to the PLL circuit. During reception of a preamble, the carrier is recovered using the binary phase comparator's characteristic through the PLL circuit.

Abstract: A modulator for generating a burst-like modulated wave used in a multi-carrier transmission type communication system in which a plurality of modulated waves including at least one burst-like modulated wave exist on the same transmission line and the frequency band occupied by energy of each of the plurality of modulated waves is limited. Polarities of the transmission code which appear before and after either of on-timing and off-timing of the carrier on/off switched to obtain the burst-like modulated wave among the plurality of modulated waves are inverted to each other, whereby the envelope of the burst-like modulated wve can be changed gradually at the carrier on/off timing in order to reduce the interference of the modulated wave with the adjacent channels without degrading the transmission efficiency.

Abstract: A digital demodulator for separating and demodulating quadrature modulated signals to produce the inphase components and quadrature components of a baseband through simple digital processing. This digital demodulator is constructed by an A/D converter for sampling received modulated signal so as to be converted into digital signals, means for distributing every other sample signal of the sample signals from said A/D converter into two trains of the sample signals, means for inverting the polarity of every other signal of the one signal train so as to provide the inphase components of the baseband, and means for delaying the other signal sequence by one sampling period and thereafter inverting the polarity of every other signal of the delayed signals so as to provide the quadrature components of the baseband.