What is claimed is:
1. A ceramic capacitor comprising:
at least one ceramic capacitor element having terminal electrodes at two side end surfaces facing opposite each other; and
at least a pair of metal plate terminals each connected to one of said terminal electrodes at the front end thereof and each provided with a folded portion in a middle area thereof and a terminal portion to be connected to the outside to the rear of said folded portion.
2. The ceramic capacitor of claim 1, wherein:
said folded portion of each of said metal plate terminals includes at least one bent portion; and
said metal plate terminals are each connected to one of said terminal electrodes at an area between a first bent portion of said folded portion and said front end.
3. The ceramic capacitor of claim 2, wherein:
said folded portion of each of said metal plate terminals includes two bent portions.
4. The ceramic capacitor of claim 3, wherein:
said folded portion of each of said metal plate terminals includes a first bent portion and a second bent portion; and
said folded portion is bent away from said terminal electrode at said first bent portion and, at said second bent portion, is bent so as to face opposite said end surfaces over a distance from said first bent portion.
5. The ceramic capacitor of claim 2, wherein:
said folded portion of each of said metal plate terminals is constituted of one bent portion and is bent at an acute angle.
6. The ceramic capacitor of claim 5, wherein:
the maximum distance between two portions facing opposite each other formed through bending at each of said metal plate terminals is 300 m or less.
7. The ceramic capacitor of claim 2, wherein:
said folded portion of each of said metal plate terminals is bent in an arc.
8. The ceramic capacitor of claim 1, wherein:
said terminal portion is provided with at least one hole.
9. The ceramic capacitor of claim 1, wherein:
said metal plate terminals are each connected to one of said terminal electrodes at said front end and provided with a folded portion in a middle area thereof and a terminal portion to be connected to the outside to the rear of said folded portion, with a coefficient of average linear expansion thereof over a range of 55 C. to 125 C. set at 13106 or lower.
10. The ceramic capacitor of claim 9, wherein:
said metal plate terminals are constituted of an alloy with Fe accounting for 55 wt % to 70 wt % and Ni accounting for 30 wt % to 45 wt %.
11. The ceramic capacitor of claim 1, wherein:
said metal plate terminals and said terminal electrodes are connected via a solder.
12. The ceramic capacitor of claim 11, wherein:
said solder has a melting point within the range of 200 C. or higher and 400 C. or lower.
13. The ceramic capacitor of claim 1, wherein
said terminal portion is located under a ceramic capacitor element positioned at a lowermost layer among said ceramic capacitor elements over a distance.
14. The ceramic capacitor of claim 1, wherein:
the length of a path in each of said metal plate terminals extending from said terminal portion to a mounting portion at which said terminal electrode is mounted is larger than a component height relative to said terminal portion.
15. The ceramic capacitor of claim 1, wherein:
the apex of said folded portion is located at a position that is lower than the apex of said ceramic capacitor element.
16. The ceramic capacitor of claim 1, wherein:
said metal plate terminals are each provided with a bent portion between said folded portion and said terminal portion; and
each of said metal plate terminals is bent between said folded portion and said terminal portion in a direction such that said terminal portion approaches said ceramic capacitor element.
17. The ceramic capacitor of claim 1, wherein:
said metal plate terminals are each provided with another bent portion in an area extending from said front end thereof to a first bent portion of said folded portion, with a portion extending from said another bent portion to said first bent portion facing opposite said side end surface over a distance and a portion between said front end and said another bent portion connected to said terminal electrode.
18. The ceramic capacitor of claim 1, wherein:
a plurality of said ceramic capacitor elements are sequentially laminated, with said terminal electrodes thereof connected in parallel.
19. The ceramic capacitor of claim 18, wherein:
said metal plate terminals are each connected to at least one of said terminal electrodes of said plurality of ceramic capacitor elements.
20. The ceramic capacitor of claim 19, wherein:
a portion between said front end and said another bent portion is located between two terminal electrodes of two ceramic capacitor elements and is connected to said two terminal electrodes.
21. The ceramic capacitor of claim 20, wherein:
a portion between said front end and said another bent portion is provided to support a terminal electrode of a ceramic capacitor element at a lowermost layer among said plurality of ceramic capacitor elements and is connected to said terminal electrode.
22. The ceramic capacitor of claim 1, provided with a plurality of internal electrodes inside a ceramic dielectric base body, wherein:
said internal electrodes are each connected to one of said terminal electrodes at one end, with another end thereof set at a distance from said other terminal electrode and said distance set at a length that ensures that a vertical line drawn from said other end in a direction of the thickness of said ceramic dielectric base body does not intersect said terminal electrode.
23. The ceramic capacitor of claim 1, wherein:
said terminal electrodes are formed only at said side end surfaces.
24. The ceramic capacitor of claim 1, wherein:
said ceramic capacitor element satisfies 1<2 with 1 representing a coefficient of average linear expansion thereof over a temperature range of 25 C. to 55 C. and 2 representing a coefficient of average linear expansion thereof over a temperature range of 25 C. to 125 C.; and
said metal plate terminals satisfy <1.3 2 and >0.7 1 with representing a coefficient of average linear expansion thereof over a temperature range of 55 C. to 125 C.
25. The ceramic capacitor of claim 24, wherein:
said ceramic capacitor element, with a main constituent of a dielectric body thereof constituted of barium titanate, satisfies 17106 and 29106.
26. The ceramic capacitor of claim 24, wherein:
said ceramic capacitor element, with a main constituent of a dielectric body thereof constituted of lead type combined perovskite, satisfies 12106 and 23106.
27. The ceramic capacitor of claim 1, wherein:
a plurality of said ceramic capacitor elements are laminated while maintaining a distance of 20 m or smaller between individual ceramic capacitor elements, with said terminal electrodes soldered onto said metal plate terminals.
28. A method for manufacturing a ceramic capacitor comprising a plurality of ceramic capacitor elements and at least a pair of metal plate terminals, with said ceramic capacitor elements each having terminal electrodes at two side end surfaces facing opposite each other, said ceramic capacitor elements laminated sequentially, and said metal plate terminals each soldered onto one of said terminal electrodes at a front end thereof and each provided with a folded portion in a middle area thereof and a terminal portion to be connected to the outside to the rear of said folded portion, wherein:
said plurality of ceramic capacitor elements are assembled by maintaining gaps therebetween at 20 m or smaller;
a solder paste constituted of solder particles 90% or more of which have particle sizes ranging between 35 m and 55 m and a rosin-type resin is applied to surfaces of individual terminal electrodes of said ceramic capacitor elements and surfaces of said metal plate terminals that face opposite each other; and
a soldering process is implemented in a reflow furnace with an oxygen content at 100 ppm or less.
29. The manufacturing method of claim 28, wherein:
said solder paste is constituted of solder particles and a rosin-type resin applied at an application quantity of 0.02 mgmm2 to 0.06 mgmm2;
the content of said solder particles is within the range of 70 wt % to 75 wt %;
the content of said rosin-type resin is within the range of 25 wt % to 30 wt %; and
said soldering process in said reflow furnace is implemented within a temperature range of 250 C. to 350 C.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1-15. (canceled)
16. A method comprising:
a first user device wirelessly receiving an update to software, firmware, andor content, and distribution information for distributing the update to at least a second user device;
installing the update in the first user device; and
sharing the update with the at least second user device according to the received distribution information.
17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the distribution information comprises a list of multiple user devices including the second user device, and
the first user device shares the update with fewer than all others of the multiple user devices in the list, and additionally provides the list to each other user device with which the first user device shares the update for further distributing the update among the multiple user devices.
18. The method according to claim 16, wherein the first user device receives the update and the distribution information from a programming initiator device.
19. The method according to claim 16, wherein the first user device receives the update and the distribution information from another user device.
20. The method according to claim 16, the method further comprising the first user device wirelessly providing feedback informing that the update is installed at least in the first user device.
21. The method according to claim 20, wherein the feedback is in an advertising message.
22. The method according to claim 16, the method further comprising waking the at least second user device from an idle state prior to sharing the update.
23. The method according to claim 16, wherein the distribution information comprises at least one of:
instructions to attempt to share the update with a fixed number of other user devices;
instructions to attempt to share the update with a nearest neighbor user device;
instructions to attempt to share the update with randomly selected other user devices; and
instructions to attempt to share the update with other user devices so long as a packet error rate is less than a predetermined threshold.
24-25. (canceled)
26. The method according to claim 16, wherein the distribution information identifies a channel and a list of user devices with which to share the update over the channel.
27. An apparatus, comprising:
at least one processor; and
at least one memory storing computer program code,
in which the at least one memory and computer program code are configured with the at least one processor to cause the apparatus at least to:
wirelessly receive an update to software, firmware, andor content, and distribution information for distributing the update to at least a second user device;
install the update in the at least one memory; and
share the update with the at least second user device according to the received distribution information.
28. The apparatus according to claim 27, wherein the distribution information comprises a list of multiple user devices including the second user device, and
the at least one memory and computer program code are configured with the at least one processor to cause the apparatus to share the update with fewer than all others of the multiple user devices in the list, and additionally to provide the list to each other user device with which the apparatus shares the update for further distributing the update among the multiple user devices.
29. The apparatus according to claim 27, wherein the apparatus receives the update and the distribution information from a programming initiator device.
30. The apparatus according to claim 27, wherein the apparatus receives the update and the distribution information from another user device.
31. The apparatus according to claim 27, wherein the at least one memory and computer program code are configured with the at least one processor to cause the apparatus further to wirelessly provide feedback informing that the update is installed at least in the first user device.
32. (canceled)
33. The apparatus according to claim 27, wherein the at least one memory and computer program code are configured with the at least one processor to cause the apparatus further to wake the at least second user device from an idle state prior to sharing the update.
34. The apparatus according to claim 27, wherein the distribution information comprises at least one of:
instructions to attempt to share the update with a fixed number of other user devices;
instructions to attempt to share the update with a nearest neighbor user device;
instructions to attempt to share the update with randomly selected other user devices; and
instructions to attempt to share the update with other user devices so long as a packet error rate is less than a predetermined threshold.
35. The apparatus according to claim 27, wherein the at least one memory and computer program code are configured with the at least one processor to cause the apparatus further to:
collect at the first user device distribution status information from other user devices; and
select a frequency allocation from the collected distribution status information with which to share the update.
36. The apparatus according to claim 35, wherein the distribution status information comprises, for each other user device, a status indication indicating whether the respective other user device is waiting to receive data or is engaged in active data transfer or ready for data transfer.
37. (canceled)
38. A computer-readable memory storing software program instructions, which when executed by at least one data processor results in performance of operations that comprise, in response to wirelessly receiving at a first user device an update to software, firmware, andor content, and distribution information for distributing the update to at least a second user device;
installing the update in the first user device; and
sharing the update with the at least second user device according to the received distribution information.
39. The computer-readable memory according to claim 38, wherein the distribution information comprises a list of multiple user devices including the second user device, and
the first user device shares the update with fewer than all others of the multiple user devices in the list, and additionally provides the list to each other user device with which the first user device shares the update for further distributing the update among the multiple user devices.
40-48. (canceled)