Author: claimsbot

1. An air conditioning device comprising:
a PTC heater in which, in a stable region, when a temperature of the PTC heater is increased, a resistance of the PTC heater is decreased or is substantially constant whereas, in a rise region, the resistance is rapidly increased when the temperature exceeds a rise temperature;
a heater control portion that controls a duty ratio of the PTC heater;
a temperature detection portion that detects a temperature within a room; and
an air blower that generates an air current which exchanges heat with the PTC heater,
wherein a heating operation is performed by discharging air heated by the PTC heater into the room,
when the temperature within the room is within a low temperature range including a region whose temperature is lower than a set temperature, the duty ratio is set at 100%, and the PTC heater is driven in the rise region,
when the temperature within the room is within a high temperature range whose temperatures are higher than the set temperature, the PTC heater is stopped, and
when the temperature within the room is within an intermediate temperature range between the low temperature range and the high temperature range, the duty ratio is set at a predetermined duty ratio, and the PTC heater is driven in the stable region.
2. The air conditioning device of claim 1,
wherein the intermediate temperature range is further divided into a plurality of auxiliary temperature ranges, and, when the temperature within the room is within a high temperature-side auxiliary temperature range, the duty ratio of the PTC heater is set lower than a duty ratio at the time of a low temperature-side auxiliary temperature range.
3. The air conditioning device of claim 2,
wherein, when the temperature within the room is within the high temperature-side auxiliary temperature range, a number of revolutions of the air blower is changed such that the number of revolutions of the air blower is lower than a number of revolutions of the air blower at the time of the low temperature-side auxiliary temperature range.
4. The air conditioning device of claim 1,
wherein, when the temperature within the room is within the high temperature range, a number of revolutions of the air blower is changed such that the number of revolutions of the air blower is lower than a number of revolutions of the air blower at the time of the low temperature range.
5. The air conditioning device of claim 1, further comprising:
a current detection portion that detects a current which flows through the PTC heater,
wherein processing in which, in an early stage after the temperature within the room enters the low temperature range, the duty ratio is set higher than a duty ratio at the time of the intermediate temperature range, and in which, when the current detected by the current detection portion is lower than a predetermined value, the duty ratio is increased by a predetermined amount is repeated until the duty ratio reaches 100%.
6. The air conditioning device of claim 5,
wherein, in the early stage after the temperature within the room enters the low temperature range, the air blower is driven at a first number of revolutions,
until the duty ratio of the PTC heater reaches 100%, the number of revolutions of the air blower is gradually decreased from the first number of revolution, and
when the duty ratio of the PTC heater reaches 100%, the air blower is driven at a second number of revolutions that is larger than the first number of revolution.
7. The air conditioning device of claim 5,
wherein, when the current detected by the current detection portion is higher than a predetermined value, the duty ratio of the PTC heater is decreased by a predetermined amount.
8. The air conditioning device of claim 1, further comprising:
a compressor that operates a refrigeration cycle; and
a heat exchanger that exchanges heat with the air current generated by the air blower in a high temperature part of the refrigeration cycle,
wherein the air conditioning device can switch between a heating operation performed by driving of the compressor and a heating operation performed by driving of the PTC heater, and
when the heating operation by driving of the compressor is performed and the temperature within the room is lower than a predetermined temperature, the heating operation is switched to the heating operation by driving of the PTC heater.
9. The air conditioning device of claim 8,
wherein, when the heating operation is started, the heating operation by driving of the PTC heater is performed, and
when the temperature within the room becomes higher than a predetermined temperature, the heating operation is switched to the heating operation by driving of the compressor.

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. An epoxy-terminated polymer of the formula (I)
where R1 is a divalent radical of a carboxyl-terminated butadieneacrylonitrile copolymer CTBN after removal of the terminal carboxyl groups;
R2 is a radical of a polyol P which has n OH groups, after removal of n OH groups;
R3 is a diglycidyl ether DGE after removal of the two glycidyl ether groups;
Y1 is H or methyl;
and n is 2 to 4.
2. The epoxy-terminated polymer as claimed in claim 1, wherein R1 has the formula (IV)
where the broken lines represent the attachment sites of the two carboxyl groups; b and c are the structural elements which originate from butadiene, and a is the structural element which originates from acrylonitrile; R is a linear or branched alkylene radical having 1 to 6 carbon atoms, which is optionally substituted by unsaturated groups; q is 40 to 100; x=0.05-0.3, m=0.5-0.8, p=0.1-0.2; with the proviso that x+m+p=1.
3. The epoxy-terminated polymer as claimed in claim 1, wherein R2 is a divalent aliphatic, cycloaliphatic or aromatic organic radical which optionally has oxygen, nitrogen or sulfur atoms.
4. The epoxy-terminated polymer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the polyol P is a polyoxyalkylenediol.
5. The epoxy-terminated polymer as claimed in claim 1, wherein R3 has the formula (VI) or (VI\u2032)
where R\u2032, R\u2033 and R\u2032\u2033 are each independently H, methyl or ethyl, z is 0 or 1 and s is 0 or 0.1-12.
6. The epoxy-terminated polymer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the diglycidyl ether DGE is bisphenol F diglycidyl ether.
7. The epoxy-terminated polymer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the diglycidyl ether DGE is an aliphatic or cycloaliphatic diglycidyl ether
8. The epoxy-terminated polymer as claimed in claim 7, wherein the diglycidyl ether DGE is ethylene glycol diglycidyl ether, butanediol diglycidyl ether or hexanediol diglycidyl ether.
9. A carboxyl-terminated polymer of the formula (II)
where R1 is a divalent radical of a carboxyl-terminated butadieneacrylonitrile copolymer CTBN after removal of the terminal carboxyl groups;
R2 is a radical of a polyol P which has n OH groups, after removal of n OH groups; and
n is 2 to 4.
10. The carboxyl-terminated polymer as claimed in claim 9, wherein R1 has the formula (IV)
where the broken lines represent the attachment sites of the two carboxyl groups;
b and c are the structural elements which originate from butadiene, and a is the structural element which originates from acrylonitrile;
R is a linear or branched alkylene radical having 1 to 6 carbon atoms, which is optionally substituted by unsaturated groups;
q is 40 to 100;
x=0.05-0.3, m=0.5-0.8, p=0.1-0.2;
with the proviso that x+m+p=1.
11. An amine-terminated polymer of the formula (XI) or (XI\u2032) or (XI\u2033)
where R1 is a divalent radical of a carboxyl-terminated butadieneacrylonitrile copolymer CTBN after removal of the terminal carboxyl groups;
R2 is a radical of a polyol P which has n OH groups, after removal of n OH groups;
and n is 2 to 4.
12. A (meth)acrylate-terminated polymer of the formula (XII) or (XII\u2032)
where R1 is a divalent radical of a carboxyl-terminated butadieneacrylonitrile copolymer CTBN after removal of the terminal carboxyl groups;
R2 is a radical of a polyol P which has n OH groups n OH groups;
R7 is H or methyl;
R8 is a divalent radical, and
n is 2 to 4.
13. A process for preparing a carboxyl-terminated polymer as claimed in claim 9 by a reaction of a polyol P of the formula R2(OH)n with a carboxyl-terminated butadieneacrylonitrile copolymer CTBN of the formula HOOC\u2014R1\u2014COOH, wherein R2(OH)n and HOOC\u2014R1\u2014COOH are used for this reaction in an amount relative to one another which corresponds to a stoichiometric ratio of the COOH groups to OH groups COOHOH of \u22672.
14. A process for preparing an epoxy-terminated polymer as claimed in claim 1 by a reaction of a carboxyl-terminated polymer of the formula (II)
where R1 is a divalent radical of a carboxyl-terminated butadieneacrylonitrile copolymer CTBN after removal of the terminal carboxyl groups;
R2 is a radical of a polyol P which has n OH groups after removal of n OH groups,
n is 2 to 4,
with a diglycidyl ether of the formula (III),
wherein the polymer of the formula (II) and the diglycidyl ether of the formula (III) are used for this reaction in an amount relative to one another which corresponds to a stoichiometric ratio of the glycidyl ether groups to COOH groups
of \u22672.
15. A process for preparing an end group-terminated polymer of the formula (XV)
comprising the following two steps:
a) pre-extension, i.e. reaction of a polyol P of the formula R2(OH)n with a stoichiometric excess of a carboxyl-terminated butadieneacrylonitrile copolymer CTBN of the formula HOOC\u2014R1\u2014COOH to give a carboxyl-terminated polymer of the formula (II) as claimed in claim 9, in such a way that the polyol P and HOOC\u2014R1\u2014COOH are used in an amount relative to one another such that the ratio of COOH groups to OH groups COOHOH is \u22672;
where R1 is a divalent radical of a carboxyl-terminated butadieneacrylonitrile copolymer CTBN after removal of the terminal carboxyl groups
R2 is a radical of a polyol P which has n OH groups, after removal of n OH groups; and
b) termination, i.e. reacting a carboxyl-terminated polymer of the formula (II) with a diglycidyl ether or with a diamine or with a (meth)acrylate-functional alcohol or with a glycidyl ether-functional (meth)acrylate in such a way that the diglycidyl ether or the diamine or the (meth)acrylate-functional alcohol or the glycidyl ether-functional (meth)acrylate and the carboxyl-terminated polymer of the formula (II) are used in an amount relative to one another which corresponds to one molecule of diglycidyl ether or diamine or (meth)acrylate-functional alcohol or glycidyl ether-functional (meth)acrylate per COOH group of a molecule of carboxyl-terminated polymer of the formula (II);
where, in formula (XV), R10 is a divalent radical and Q1 is an end group which is selected from the group consisting of the formulae (XVI), (XVI\u2032), (XVI\u2033) and \u2014NH2
with the proviso that
Q is \u2014NH\u2014 in the case
in which Q1 is \u2014NH2 or the formula (XVI\u2033), and
Q is \u2014O\u2014 or the formula (XVII) in the case
in which Q1 is the formula (XVI\u2032), and
Q is the formula (XVII) in the case
in which Q1 is the formula (XVI).
16. A method of increasing the impact resistance of a polymer matrix, comprising:
providing a carboxyl-terminated polymer of the formula (II);
where R1 is a divalent radical of a carboxyl-terminated butadieneacrylonitrile copolymer CTBN after removal of the terminal carboxyl groups,
R2 is a radical of a polyol P which has n OH groups, after removal of n OH groups, and
n is 2 to 4; and
preparing an end group-terminated polymer of the formula (XV) by the process as claimed in claim 15.
17. The method as claimed in claim 16, wherein the polymer matrix is an epoxy resin matrix.
18. A composition comprising an amine-terminated polymer of the formula (XI) or (XI\u2032) or (XI\u2033) as claimed in claim 11 or a (meth)acrylate-terminated polymer of the formula (XII) or (XII\u2032).
where R1 is a divalent radical of a carboxyl-terminated butadieneacrylonitrile copolymer CTBN after removal of the terminal carboxyl groups,
R2 is a radical of a polyol P which has n OH groups n OH groups,
R7 is H or methyl,
R8 is a divalent radical, and
n is 2 to 4.
19. A composition comprising an epoxy-terminated polymer of the formula (I) as claimed in claim 1 or a carboxyl-terminated polymer of the formula (II),
where R1 is a divalent radical of a carboxyl-terminated butadieneacrylonitrile copolymer CTBN after removal of the terminal carboxyl groups,
R2 is a radical of a polyol P which has n OH groups, after removal of n OH groups, and
n is 2 to 4.
20. The composition as claimed in claim 19, wherein the composition further comprises at least one epoxy resin A.
21. The composition as claimed in claim 20, wherein the composition further comprises a hardener B for epoxy resins, which is activated by elevated temperature.
22. A cured composition obtained from a composition as claimed in claim 20, further comprising of a hardener for epoxy resins.
23. A cured composition obtained from heating a composition as claimed in claim 21 to a temperature above the heat activation of the thermally activable hardener B.

1. A secure transaction method, comprising the steps of:
establishing an electronically accessible verification site authorized by the holder of authentication credentials;
receiving a request for goods or services at a merchant using the credentials, but wherein the credentials are not physically presented to the merchant;
accessing the verification site by the merchant to determine whether the request for goods or services is an authorized transactions;
sending an electronic authorization communication by the verification site to the holder of the credentials, the message including information indicative of the transaction; and
transmitting, by the holder of the credentials, an approval communication if the transaction is approved by the holder of the credentials.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the verification site is an electronic mail account.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein electronic mail account was established by the merchant.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein an authorization message is sent from the site to the merchant in response to the step of accessing the verification site by the merchant.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein the authorization message is automatically generated.
6. The method of claim 4, wherein the authorization message is manually generated within a predetermined period of time.
7. The method of claim 4, wherein request for goods or services, the step of accessing the verification site, the authorization message, or any combination thereof, are encrypted.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the encryption is implemented using an algorithm specific to the holder or an authorized user of the credentials.
9. The method of claim 4, wherein request for goods or services, the step of accessing the verification site, the authorization message, or any combination thereof, include routing information for future use.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of accessing the verification site by the merchant causes an icon or window to appear in a web browser.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein the verification site is wirelessly accessible.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein the site is accessible through a cellular telephone, personal digital assistant, or other mobile device.
13. The method of claim 1, wherein the information indicative of the transaction includes information identifying the merchant.
14. The method of claim 1, wherein the information indicative of the transaction includes information identifying the goods or services.
15. The method of claim 1, wherein the information indicative of the transaction includes the cost of the transaction.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

What is claimed is:

1. A process for producing a photovoltaic cell, which comprises
a step of forming a dopant diffusion preventing mask on a surface of a semiconductor substrate by adhering a material for the dopant diffusion preventing mask in a pattern state to the semiconductor substrate surface, and
a step of forming a first dopant layer on a portion not covered by the dopant diffusion preventing mask by a first gas phase diffusion.
2. A process according to claim 1, which further comprises
a step of removing the dopant diffusion preventing mask after the first dopant layer forming step, and
a step of forming a second dopant layer by a second gas phase diffusion on the region from which the dopant diffusion preventing mask is removed.
3. A process according to claim 1, wherein the dopant diffusion preventing mask contains a dopant so as to function as a solid phase diffusion source, and a third dopant layer is formed under the dopant diffusion preventing mask.
4. A process according to claim 1, wherein the semiconductor substrate is made of silicon, the dopant diffusion preventing mask is made of an electrically insulating material and has an opening, said process further comprises after the step of forming the first dopant layer
a step of coating a metal containing a dopant which decides a type of electroconductivity in the opening in the dopant diffusion preventing mask,
a step of converting the first dopant layer to a dopant layer having an opposite electroconductivity by firing, and
a step of forming a metallic electrode for the impurity layer having the opposite electroconductivity.
5. A process according to claim 1, wherein the semiconductor substrate is made of silicon, the dopant diffusion preventing mask is made of an electrically insulating material and has an opening, said process further comprises after the step of forming the first dopant layer
a step of coating aluminum containing a dopant which decides a type of electroconductivity in the opening in the dopant diffusion preventing mask,
a step of converting the first dopant layer to a p-type dopant layer by firing, and
a step of forming an aluminum electrode for the p-type dopant layer.
6. A process according to claim 1, wherein a dopant layer having an opposite electroconductivity to the first dopant layer is formed before the step of formation of the dopant diffusion preventing mask.
7. A process according to claim 1, wherein the semiconductor substrate has a through-hole which penetrates from a front surface to a rear surface and said process comprising
a step of forming the first dopant layer on the front surface and rear surface of the semiconductor substrate having no dopant diffusion preventing mask and inside wall of the through-hole by the first gas phase diffusion.
8. A process for producing a photovaltaic cell, which comprises
a step of forming a dopant diffusion preventing mask on a surface of a semiconductor substrate by adhering a material for the dopant diffusion preventing mask in a pattern state to the semiconductor substrate surface,
a step of forming a solid phase diffusion source layer, and
a step of forming a first dopant layer on the portion having no dopant diffusion preventing mask by solid phase diffusion from the solid phase diffusion source layer.
9. A process according to claim 8, wherein the dopant diffusion preventing mask contains a dopant so as to function as a solid phase diffusion source, and a second dopant layer is formed under the dopant diffusion preventing mask.
10. A process according to claim 1 or 8, wherein the material for the dopant diffusion preventing mask is adhered to the semiconductor substrate by a printing method.
11. A process according to claim 1 or 8, wherein the material for the dopant diffusion preventing mask contains silicon oxide or silicon nitride.
12. A process according to claim 1, wherein the material for the dopant diffusion preventing mask has a viscosity of 500,000 cp to 1,000,000 cp.
13. A process according to claim 8, wherein the material for the dopant diffusion preventing mask and a material for the solid phase diffusion source layer have a viscosity of 500,000 cp to 1,000,000 cp.
14. A photovoltaic cell comprising a semiconductor substrate, an electrically insulating material layer formed on the semiconductor substrate by a coating method, and electrodes formed on openings of the electrically insulating material layer.
15. A photovoltaic cell according to claim 14, which further comprises a first dopant layer formed on outside of the electrically insulating material layer on the semiconductor substrate, and a second dopant layer having an opposite electroconductivity to the first dopant layer and formed in the opening of the electrically insulating material layer, said second dopant layer containing p-type dopant and n-type dopant.
16. A photovoltaic cell according to claim 15, wherein the fist dopant layer is an n-type dopant layer, the second dopant layer is a p-type dopant layer, the semiconductor substate is made of silicon, the electrode is made of aluminum, and said p-type dopant layer contains aluminum and an n-type dopant.
17. A photovoltaic cell comprising a semiconductor substrate, and a dopant layer formed on the semiconductor substrate and having different heights by 10 m or more in periphery shape.
18. A photovoltaic cell according to claim 17, which further comprises a through-hole penetrating the semiconductor substrate from a front surface to a rear surface, and a dopant layer having the same electroconductivity and connecting the front surface, the rear surface and inside of through-hole.