The invention concerns a method (200) and system (100) for encoding a video signal. The method includes the steps of receiving (212) a progressive video signal and encoding (214) the progressive video signal into at least one group of pictures having at least one prediction source picture and at least one non-prediction source picture. All the non-prediction source pictures are predicted from the prediction source picture such that no non-prediction source picture is predicted from another non-prediction source picture. The method can also include the step of, in response to a forward trick mode command, modifying (217, 218) at least the number of non-prediction source pictures in the group of pictures to convert the progressive video signal to a trick mode video signal.

1. Technical Field
The inventive arrangements relate generally to video systems and more particularly to video systems that record or play back digitally encoded video sequences.
2. Description of Related Art
Devices that facilitate the playback of video are gaining popularity in today's consumer electronics marketplace. For example, many consumers have purchased digital video disc (DVD) recorders or players for purposes of viewing previously recorded programs or recording their favorite programs. A DVD recorder or player typically contains a Moving Pictures Expert Group (MPEG) decoder to decode the digitally encoded multimedia data that is stored on the discs that the recorder or player plays. The MPEG video signal to be decoded is comprised of a plurality of groups of pictures (GOP), each of which typically contain an intra (I) picture, a plurality of predictive (P) pictures and a plurality of bidirectional predictive (B) pictures.
During playback of a video signal, some viewers may wish to perform certain trick modes. A trick mode can be any playback of video in which the playback is not done at normal speed or in a forward direction. As an example, a fast-forward trick mode can be initiated to allow the viewer to move through portions of video rather quickly. To effectuate a fast-forward trick mode on an MPEG video signal, the decoder of the DVD may skip a number of pictures in each GOP of the video signal. The faster the trick mode, the greater the number of pictures in each GOP that need to be skipped. Generally, the B pictures are skipped first in successive GOPs until none of them remain, followed by the P pictures until they are exhausted as well. With respect to the P pictures, it is necessary to skip first the P picture at the end of the GOP (this is typically the last picture in display order in a GOP) followed by the immediate prior P picture in display order. This process may continue such that the P picture to be skipped is the last P picture in the GOP (in display order) until no P pictures remain. If desired, the I picture may also be skipped, at which point the entire GOP is skipped.
The principle behind this particular algorithm, in which B pictures are skipped first and P pictures are skipped next in view of their display order, is based on the prediction schemes employed in a typical GOP. Specifically, B pictures are not used to predict other pictures, and it is useful to skip them for a moderate or lower speed-up. In contrast, the I picture is used, both directly and indirectly, to predict all the other pictures in the GOP; if it is the only I picture in the GOP, it must be retained if any of the other pictures in the GOP are not skipped. If the I picture were to be skipped without skipping any of the other pictures, it would be impossible to accurately predict any of the remaining pictures. Similarly, P pictures are used to predict other P pictures and skipping a P picture other than the currently last P picture in the GOP would adversely affect the display of any pictures that follow in display order the skipped P picture.
Although acceptable, the algorithm described above necessitates additional microprocessor programming to conform to the particular order in which pictures are to be skipped. In addition, this skipping algorithm does not permit pictures to be skipped to produce an optimal playback. For example, if a viewer wished to play video back at twice the normal playback speed, the most desirable way to skip pictures in the video would be to skip every other picture. In a typical GOP structure, however, skipping pictures in this manner is unavailable because of the limitations described above.

Forward trick modes on progressive video using special groups of pictures


A method of imaging a patient and an X-ray dosimetry system are provided. The X-ray dosimetry system includes a support platform configured to support an object to be imaged and a digital X-ray dosimeter mounted on a surface of the support platform, the X-ray dosimeter configured to receive incident radiation prior to the incident radiation having passed through the object to be imaged, the X-ray dosimeter comprising a thickness of less than about four millimeters.

This description relates to radiation detectors, and, more particularly, to a system and method for measuring peak skin dose of a patient directly on a patient examining table.
During fluoroscopic medical imaging procedures, injury to a patient and/or doctor may occur due to excessive exposure to radiation, and skin damage is a risk to both doctors as well as patients. To minimize a dose of radiation during such procedures, it is important to measure the peak dose delivered to the skin during fluoroscopic procedures. However, measurement of the peak skin dose has been challenging, and at least some known imaging systems do not include methods for tracking peak skin dose. Systems which include skin dose monitoring commonly employ calculation and estimation techniques in order to estimate peak skin dose. The estimate involves tracking the patient position and the X-ray tube output to track the peak skin dose delivered to the skin. Those systems do not typically include changes due to an examining table on which a patient is positioned or the patient geometry, for example, a size and a weight of the patient. The examining table may include operating, surgical, or other patient or workpiece support table.
Additionally, dose information for fluoroscopic procedures is also projected or modeled based on the position of the patient and the characteristics of the X-ray tube.
Commercial systems do not exist for the active measurement of peak skin dose across the full area of exposure. Dosimeters are available for personal exposure at a fixed point. Currently dosimeters are available for personal exposure at fixed points and a peak skin dose is estimated from the fixed point exposure, the known properties of the X-ray tube output, the known properties of the examining table on which the patient is positioned, and patient geometry. However, such dose calculations are merely estimates, which are not totalized in real-time.

Method and system for integrated patient table digital X-ray dosimeter


A charger is operable in a normal mode such that output power matches a provided electric power command value CHPW, and limits the output power to a limit value PS in a saving mode if the electric power command value CHPW exceeds the limit value PS. A charging ECU performs feedback-control for compensating for the electric power command value CHPW such that a charging power monitor value PM sensed by a charging power sensing unit matches a target value PR, and in addition, limits an increase in the electric power command value CHPW such that the electric power command value CHPW does not significantly deviate from the target value PR. As a result, in a vehicle charging system on which an add-on charger having a power saving function is mounted, stabilization of the behavior when the add-on charger returns from a saving operation to a normal operation is allowed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle charging system, and in particular, to a vehicle charging system including a charger configured to be supplied with electric power from a power supply external to a vehicle for charging a vehicle-mounted power storage device.
2. Description of the Background Art
In an electric vehicle and a hybrid vehicle, it is under consideration to mount a plurality of power storage devices thereon to extend the distance that can be traveled without operating an engine (EV travel distance). When the plurality of power storage devices are mounted in this manner, electric power distribution to each power storage device is a problem.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2008-109840 discloses a power supply system for a vehicle on which a plurality of power storage devices are mounted. In this power supply system, a discharge share ratio calculation unit determines, for each of the plurality of power storage devices, a remaining electric power quantity before a state of charge (SOC) is reached with respect to which an allowable discharge electric power is restricted, and determines a discharge power share ratio according to a ratio of the remaining electric power quantity between the plurality of power storage devices.
A charge share ratio calculation unit determines, for each of the plurality of power storage devices, a chargeable quantity before SOC is reached with respect to which an allowable charge electric power is restricted, and determines a charge power share ratio according to a ratio of the chargeable quantity between the plurality of power storage devices. When electric power is supplied from the power supply system to a drive force generation unit, a plurality of converters are controlled according to the discharge power share ratio. When electric power is supplied from the drive force generation unit to the power supply system, the plurality of converters are controlled according to the charge power share ratio.
In recent years, in the hybrid vehicle, it is under consideration to configure a mounted power storage device to be externally chargeable as well. Such a vehicle will also be referred to as a plug-in vehicle hereinafter.
In order to implement the plug-in vehicle, it is desirable to increase the capacity of the power storage device and increase the amount of electric power that can be externally charged. In addition to the power supply system (the system for power running during operation of the vehicle and charge/discharge during regeneration) as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2008-109840, it is easy to mount a charger when the vehicle is externally charged. Such an additional charger is also referred to as an add-on charger.
Generally, a charger for a power storage device such as a battery often has a power saving function of anticipating that the charger may overheat and limiting charging power so as to prevent the overheating caused by an excessive current flowing through the charger. When the add-on charger whose charging power is limited by the power saving function returns to a normal state, however, care must be taken to prevent excessive electric power flowing through the add-on charger or an unstable state of the charging power caused by hunting and the like. Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2008-109840 described above does not disclose such a problem.


Disclosed are a polymer electrolyte having improved hot water resistance and radical resistance, a proton conductive membrane comprising the polymer electrolyte, and a membrane-electrode assembly including the proton conductive membrane.

Solid polymer electrolytes are solid polymeric materials having electrolyte groups, such as sulfonic acid or carboxylic acid groups, in their polymer chains. They are capable of forming strong bonds with specific ion species and have selective permeability to cations or anions. With such properties, those solid polymer electrolytes are used as polymer electrolyte membranes in polymer electrolyte fuel cells and water electrolysis cells.
The polymer electrolyte fuel cells have a proton conductive solid polymer electrolyte membrane and a pair of electrodes sandwiching the electrolyte membrane. They produce electricity when a fuel gas, which is pure or modified hydrogen gas, is supplied to one electrode (fuel electrode) and an oxidizing agent, which is oxygen gas or air, is delivered to the other electrode (oxygen electrode). The water electrolysis is the reverse reaction of the fuel cell reaction; it produces hydrogen and oxygen by electrolyzing water using a solid polymer electrolyte membrane.
The practical fuel cell reactions and water electrolysis involve side reactions, typically generation of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Radical species derived from the hydrogen peroxide cause deterioration of the solid polymer electrolyte membranes.
The solid polymer electrolyte membranes of conventional use, due to their excellent chemical stability, are those perfluorosulfonic acid electrolyte membranes commercially available under the trademarks of Nafion (Dupont), Aciplex (Asahi Kasei Corporation) and Flemion (Asahi Glass Co., Ltd).
However, those perfluorosulfonic acid electrolyte membranes are difficult to produce and thus are very expensive. This cost problem has been one of the big impediments to civilian applications including automobiles and household fuel cells. Accordingly, their use has been limited to specific applications. Further, when discarded after use, the perfluorosulfonic acid membranes cause serious environmental problems since they contain large amounts of fluorine atoms in their molecules.
As such, solid polymer electrolyte membranes that are less expensive and fluorine free have been developed. Those membranes comprise polymers such as polyetheretherketone, polyethersulfone and polyphenylenesulfide that have been sulfonated in an aromatic ring in the main chain. However, such polymers with a sulfonated aromatic ring in the main chain have high water absorption property, are poor in hot water resistance, and have insufficient Fenton's reagent resistance (radical resistance) that is a measure of the service durability in electricity generation.

Polymer electrolyte, proton conductive membrane and membrane-electrode assembly

Abstract: The polymer electrolyte comprises at least one polymer selected from polyether, polyketone, polyetherketone, polysulfone, polyethersulfone, polyimide, polyetherimide, polybenzimidazole, polybenzothiazole, polybenzoxazole and the like. The polymer comprises a repeating structural unit with either or both of an aromatic ring and a heterocyclic ring, and a repeating structural unit represented by the formula (1):

Abstract: wherein X is a single bond, an electron-withdrawing group or an electron-donating group; R is a single bond, —(CH2)q— or —(CF2)q— where q ranges from 1 to 10; m is from 0 to 10; k is from 0 to 5; l is from 0 to 4; and k+1≧1.


A rewritable phase-change type optical information recording medium having a recording film made of a material containing Te or In as a major component and further containing B or C.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical information recording medium for use in an information recording/reproducing apparatus making use of a laser beam, particularly to a rewritable optical disk.
2. Description of the Related Art
A phase-change type optical disk has been known having a recording film made of chalcogenide which enables recording, reproduction and erasing of information signals.
In ordinary erasable phase-change type optical disk apparatus, signals are recorded in a recording medium in an amorphous state, while a crystalline state of the medium is obtained after erasing of signals.
Materials containing Te or In as major components have been practically and broadly used as the material of recording films on recording mediums of the kind described. In particular, a thin film of a Ge-Sb-Te type ternary alloy can be crystalized in quite a short period of 100 nsec or shorter upon irradiation with light together with heat, provided that the composition is suitably selected This type of alloy is disclosed in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 62-209742. In general, a shorter crystallization time, i.e., a shorter erasing time, contributes to a higher signal transfer rate. Thus, theoretically, a very short crystallization time enables over-writing with a single beam, namely, simultaneous writing and erasing of signals by a single laser beam with a suitable intensity modulation. In fact, a phase-change type optical disk having a recording film of a Ge-Sb-Te type ternary alloy of a suitable composition enables over-writing with a single beam, by virtue of its very high crystallization speed, as discussed in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 62-209742.
The number of repetition of recording and erasing of information in a phase-change type optical disk can be increased by suitably selecting and optimizing conditions such as the material of the recording film construction of the disk, levels of the recording power and erasing power, and so forth. However, optical disks are not always used under optimum conditions. In particular, optical disks for personal use are used under various conditions. Thus, it is desirable that optical disks are used with high reproducibility of operation characteristics even when used under a varying condition such as offset of the power from an optimum level.
The present inventors have conducted experiments for the purpose of examining how the performance of optical disks having recording films mainly composed of Te or In are influenced by deviation of the recording and erasing power levels. As a result, the inventors have found that the deviation of the power levels from optimum levels tends to lead to destruction of the recording film and limitation in the number of cycles of repetition of recording and erasing.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A fuel injection system for an internal combustion engine is disclosed, the fuel injection system including a plurality of injectors, wherein each of the injectors is adapted to inject at least one of an alternative fuel and a fossil fuel over a full range of operating conditions of the engine.

The automotive industry is continually researching the combustion process of an internal combustion engine to improve a fuel economy and emissions thereof. To optimize performance of the engine, it is important to be able to control the engine on a cycle-to-cycle basis. For engines operating without a conventional spark ignition, commonly known as the homogenous charge compression ignition (HCCI) mode, the main challenge is to maintain a stable start of combustion (SOC) when the engine is operated at steady state and transient conditions. The instability of the SOC is mainly due to difficulties in the control of in-cylinder air-to-fuel mixture temperature on a cycle-to-cycle basis.
Presently, prior art engines utilize an intake heater to control intake air temperature and/or an amount of residual exhaust gas (REG) to regulate engine in-cylinder air-to-fuel mixture temperature. However, a disadvantage of using the intake heater is its slow response time caused by a large time constant of the heater and a transportation delay from the heater to the cylinder. The slow response time results in inaccurate temperature regulation during the transient operation of the engine. On the other hand, using REG provides expeditious regulation for in-cylinder air-to-fuel mixture temperature control. However, a rate of in-cylinder residual exhaust gas is uncontrollable, leading to SOC and indicated mean effective pressure (IMEP) variation.
Furthermore, advancements have been made in the various forms of fuel delivery to provide a desired amount of fuel for combustion in each cylinder of the engine. Such advancements include the introduction of multi-injection fuel systems. One multi-injection fuel system is the dual-injection single-fuel system. The dual-injection single-fuel system includes two fuel injectors for each cylinder. One is a direct injector and the other is a port fuel injector. The dual-injection single-fuel system is designed to improve full load performance of the engine at high engine speed operating conditions.
Another multi-injection fuel system is the dual-injection dual-fuel system. The dual-injection dual-fuel system utilizes two different, but comparable fuels. Typically, due to its high octane quality, ethanol has been used in conjunction with gasoline in a dual-injection dual-fuel system. The benefit of the dual-injection dual-fuel system is the capability to increase the combustion efficiency, while suppressing engine knock. The benefit is derived from directly injecting higher octane ethanol fuel into a combustion chamber of the engine. The ethanol has substantial air charge cooling, resulting from its high heat of vaporization. However, the prior art dual-injection dual-fuel system is limited to injecting gasoline into an intake port of the engine.
It is desirable to produce an internal combustion engine including a plurality of fuel injectors adapted to inject a fossil fuel and an alternative fuel, wherein an efficiency thereof is maximized, and emissions and knock thereof are minimized.

Multi-fuel multi-injection system for an internal combustion engine


A hand-held electronic pipettor includes menu driven software for controlling the information displayed on the user interface display, for inputting information to program the pipettor and for controlling the operation of the pipettor.

The use of hand-held electronic pipettors is widespread in laboratories. Electronic pipettors are typically controlled by small microprocessors located within the pipettor housing and are programmed through the use of a user interface on the pipettor itself. Such interfaces typically include keys pads, switches or dials, and many electronic pipettors have a small screen display as well. Generally speaking, users program electronic pipettors to aspirate a selected volume of liquid reagent or sample and to dispense the aspirated volume sometimes as a series of aliquots in successive dispensing operations. Programmable electronic pipettors can also be configured to do more complex operations such as mixing, repeat pipetting, diluting, etc.
The electronics industry has seen many advances in recent years. For example, small-scaled LCD displays with improved clarity and enhanced color graphic capability, improved processing and memory capabilities, wireless communication devices, etc., are all prevalent.
With advancements in electronics such as improved computing and processing capabilities, it has become desirable to program a wide variety of pipetting procedures directly into the pipettor. On the other hand, the addition of such capabilities adds a significant amount of complexity for the users of such pipettors.
An object of the invention is to provide a pipettor operating system with a practical user interface that is intuitive, even for first time users, yet sufficiently powerful to allow users to accomplish a wide range of laboratory pipetting procedures.
Another object of the invention is to facilitate programming, and in particular, one-handed programming of electronic pipettors.
A further object of the invention is to provide software tools that ease pipettor programming, and provide operational feedback to the user.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


The present invention relates to a control apparatus for a vehicle equipped with an electronic throttle control unit (drive by wire) as electronic throttle control means and an automatic transmission, and the object of the invention is to provide a control apparatus for a vehicle which is capable of ensuring stable travel even in the case where a throttle valve is stuck by a failure of an electronic throttle control unit. In a control apparatus for a vehicle equipped with electronic throttle control means for electrically driving a throttle valve by drive means and an automatic transmission having a plurality of speed change gear stages, the control apparatus is provided with sticking judgment means for judging whether or not the throttle valve has been stuck, and speed change regulation means for inhibiting use of a predetermined gear stage among the speed change gear stages of the automatic transmission in the case where the throttle valve is judged to have been stuck by the sticking judgment means.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a control apparatus for a vehicle equipped with an electronic throttle control unit (also called a drive by wire) and an automatic transmission, and more particularly to a vehicle control apparatus adapted to be employed when the electronic throttle control unit has failed.
2. Description of Related Art
In engines such as automobile engines, a drive by wire (hereinafter referred to as a DBW) connecting an accel pedal and a throttle valve together by an electrical signal has hitherto been developed. In a DBW such as this, the accel pedal and the throttle valve are not mechanically connected, and based on a variety of parameters in addition to an operational quantity of the accel pedal (accel opening angle), a virtual accel opening angle ("pseudo" accel opening angle) is set by a computer. In correspondence with this, the throttle valve can be controlled, and the DBW is also referred to as an electronic throttle control unit.
Therefore, for example, during idling where the accel pedal has not been operated (i.e., the accel opening angle is less than a small predetermined value), idling engine speed can be controlled, while the throttle valve is being adjusted finely. Also, in accordance with the traveling state of the vehicle and the operating state of the engine, the accel opening angle (driver's operation) is corrected in order to set a pseudo accel opening angle. With the control of the throttle valve based on this, engine running with a feeling of smoothness is realizable.
On the other hand, a spark ignition type in-cylinder injection internal combustion engine (hereinafter referred to as an engine), which is an internal combustion engine igniting sparks by spark plugs (generally, a gasoline engine) and injects fuel directly into cylinders, has been put to practical use in recent years. In such an engine, an enhancement in the engine fuel consumption performance and an enhancement in the output performance are compatible with each other by making use of the characteristic that fuel injection timing can be freely performed and also the formed state of an air-fuel mixture can be freely controlled.
In other words, in this spark ignition type in-cylinder injection engine, fuel is injected on the compression stroke, and with this, an operation in a state in which fuel is extremely lean (i.e., a super-lean combustion operation in which an air-fuel ratio is extremely higher than a stoichiometric air-fuel ratio) can be performed by stratified-charge combustion. The engine is provided with a super lean operating mode (compression stroke injection mode or lean compression operating mode) as the combustion form and can realize a considerable enhancement in the fuel consumption ratio.
Of course, the spark ignition type in-cylinder injection engine can also perform a premixed combustion operation in which fuel is injected primarily on the intake stroke. In this case, fuel is injected directly into the combustion chamber (cylinder), whereby the greater part of fuel injected at each combustion cycle can be burned with reliability within the combustion cycle. The engine, therefore, can also enhance the engine output.
A premixed combustion operation such as this can also set as combustion form a lean operating mode (lean intake operating mode) which performs operation in a fuel-leaned state which is not so lean as the super lean operating mode (i.e., in a state in which an air-fuel ratio is higher than a stoichiometric air-fuel ratio), a stoichiometric operating mode (stoichiometric feedback operating mode) which performs feedback control on the basis of O.sub.2 -sensor information so that an air-fuel ratio reaches a stoichiometric air-fuel ratio, and an enriched operating mode (open-loop operating mode) which performs operation in a fuel-enriched state (i.e., in a state in which an air-fuel ratio is lower than a stoichiometric air-fuel ratio).
In general, if a requested output to the engine is small, i.e., if the revolution speed of the engine is low and also the engine load is low, the lean compression operating mode will be selected in order to enhance fuel consumption. As the engine revolution speed and the engine load increase further, the lean intake operating mode, the stoichiometric operating mode, and the enriched operating mode are selected in the recited order.
In the case of the supper lean combustion operating mode (lean compression operating mode), incidentally, there is a need to supply more air to the combustion chamber in order to make an air-fuel ratio high. However, in this lean compression operating mode, since operation is performed in an area where engine load is low, i.e., in an area where the stepping-on quantity of the accel pedal (accel opening angle) is small, the opening angle of the throttle valve corresponding to the accel opening angle cannot satisfy a required air-fuel ratio.
Hence, a technique where an electronically controlled valve (air bypass valve) is arranged in an air bypass passage bypassing an intake-air passage equipped with the throttle valve has been developed. In this technique, when intake air is insufficient at the opening angle of the throttle valve corresponding to the accel opening angle, the air bypass valve is opened in correspondence with a required air volume, thereby performing air supply.
Incidentally, applying the aforementioned DBW to the above-mentioned spark ignition type in-cylinder injection engine is also considered. In other words, in the DBW, since the opening angle of the throttle valve can be controlled without corresponding to the accel opening angle, more air than a quantity corresponding to the accel opening angle can be supplied to the combustion chamber. Therefore, for example, in the lean compression operating mode of the spark ignition type in-cylinder injection engine, even if the accel opening angle is small, a necessary quantity of air can be supplied to the combustion chamber.
However, in the case where such a DBW is adopted, it is desirable to prepare a counter plan against an unlikely failure of the DBW as well.
As failure causes of this DBW, it is considered that the throttle valve which is controlled by the DBW is stuck by catching foreign material, such as dust, contained in blow-by gas or exhaust gas recirculated by an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system, etc.
For example, if the throttle valve is stuck in a nearly fully opened state, the opening angle of the throttle valve cannot be controlled by the DBW. Consequently, even in the case where the driver does not request engine output, i.e., even in the case where the stepping-on quantity of the accel pedal is small, the engine output torque is not reduced. For this reason, in this case, if a low speed gear stage is selected, the vehicle driving torque will not be reduced and therefore engine output against the driver's intention will be produced, resulting in a problem that stable travel cannot be ensured.
In such a case, if a high speed gear stage is selected, the vehicle driving torque will be considerably reduced and therefore the engine output will be insufficient when the vehicle is started. Likewise, there is a problem that stable travel cannot be ensured.
On the other hand, if the throttle valve is stuck in a nearly fully closed state, the opening angle of the throttle valve cannot be controlled by the DBW. Consequently, even in the case where the driver is requesting engine output, i.e., even in the case where the stepping-on quantity of the accel pedal is great, the engine output torque is not raised. For this reason, in this case, if a high speed gear stage is selected, the vehicle driving torque will be considerably reduced and therefore there will be a problem that stable travel corresponding to the driver's request cannot be ensured.
In Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. HEI 2-195070, there is disclosed a technique which controls the speed change stages of an automatic transmission in the case where the operating state of a throttle valve is judged to be abnormal.
However, this technique is one which adjusts the speed change stage of the automatic transmission to a predetermined speed change stage corresponding to either vehicle speed or engine revolution speed in the case where the operating state of a throttle valve is judged to be abnormal, and no consideration has been given to the failure state of the throttle valve.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. HEI 6-249332 discloses a technique which controls the position of the speed change gear stage of the automatic transmission in consideration of the failure state of the throttle valve. In this technique, in order to obtain sufficient driving force when the throttle control unit is in a state which cannot open the throttle valve, the highest stage position of an allowed speed change gear stage is decided based on the acceleration intention of the driver, and from among speed change gear stage positions equal to or less than this highest stage position of the speed change gear, a speed change gear stage position is selected so that the maximum driving force is obtained. However, this technique has taken neither an enhancement in safety nor an ensurance of stable travel into consideration.

Mitsubishi Jidosha Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha


Compression of data representing waveform information is dynamically adapted to the waveform by performing a transformation on blocks of samples of the waveform to derive a plurality of coefficients representing a portion of the waveform corresponding to a block of samples and computing quantizer step sizes (quantitative increments of digitization) and quantizer sizes (number of bits for transmission of the coefficients) based on the relative magnitude and dynamic range of the coefficients and a user-specified parameter. The user-specified parameter may be used to set a lower limit on performance such as an upper limit on quantization noise or distortion (in which case data rate is automatically minimized) or a data rate for a communication link (in which case performance relative to quantization noise or distortion is maximized). Relatively insignificant coefficients and quantizer sizes smaller than the quantizer step size may be set to zero to further reduce the data rate or improve data fidelity for the bandwidth of the data link. Forward error correcting codes and gray codes are preferably employed for data transmission.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to communication employed in position locating systems and, more particularly, to data compression for reduction of communication delays.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Position locating methodologies and instruments for practicing them have been known and employed throughout the history of navigation. Many early techniques relied on multiple or timed measurements of relative position or direction to visible objects and thus were reliant upon the existence of suitable conditions such as weather to be carried out. More modern systems have exploited other communication media such as radar and radio to avoid such vulnerability. However, until very recently, the accuracy of such systems was relatively low and limited by the accuracy of measurements which could be achieved, often in noisy, long-range or otherwise adverse circumstances such as multiple transmission paths due to signal reflections.
Modern positioning systems exploit triangulation relative to a plurality of spatially separated platforms, such as geo-stationary satellites, which provide redundant coverage of the entire surface of the earth. (Three platforms are necessary to obtain a location relative to the earth's surface (e.g. latitude and longitude) and four platforms are necessary to triangulate a location in three dimensions (e.g. including altitude). Generally at least six platforms are potentially available from any location.)
In such systems, measurements are generally made by analyzing timing and/or frequency of signals transmitted between the location of interest and a suitable number of the platforms rather than measurement of direction or other parameters and results are potentially accurate to within a very few feet. In so-called global positioning systems, signals transmitted from several platforms are analyzed at a receiver which is local to the user. Somewhat similar techniques may be used to determine a position of a source (e.g. transmitter or reflector) of a signal. In these latter systems, it is generally necessary to transmit a signal from the location of interest to be received at plural platforms; the received signal being first evaluated for quality. The best three or four received signals are evaluated in pairs to derive a locus of possible locations for each pair of signals and the region of intersection of the loci corresponding to respective pairs of signals is reported as the location of the transmitter.
While numerous analysis techniques are possible, so-called time difference of arrival (TDOA) and differential doppler (DD) analyses of signals, often in combination (TDOA/DD) to develop a velocity vector if the source is moving or improve location accuracy where the source is stationary and one or more receivers are in motion, are techniques of choice. However, the performance of cross-correlation computations, the details of which are well-understood in the art and, in any case, unimportant to the practice of the invention, to obtain a location of the transmitter requires all data representing the received signals in detail to be present at a single location. Thus communication time to such a location becomes a critical factor in system performance, particularly in regard to fast-moving vehicles such as aircraft. (In this regard, it should be appreciated that the data rate for transmission will often be fixed by the communication link and possibly further limited by conditions thereon.) Specifically, to avoid distortion of signals during communication, the signals received at each platform are usually digitized and a digital representation of the received signals, together with time references (to provide functional coherence of the receivers) is transmitted from each platform to the location (usually a facility corresponding to one of the platforms) where the cross-correlation computation is to be performed.
The digital representation is usually transmitted in a serial coded (e.g. binary) bit stream. Therefore, the transmission time is, at least in part, a function of the number of bits used to represent the signal and the time references and the capacity or bandwidth of the transmission link. By the same token, the fidelity with which the digital signals represent the received signals is a function of the number of bits required to support the desired degree of resolution in representation of the signal. The accuracy of the location derived from the cross-correlation computation is a function of the resolution or fidelity of the digital representation of the signals. Accordingly, it can be readily understood that there is a trade-off between response time and location accuracy as incidents of system performance.
An additional problem is presented by the relative frequency content of the original signal and high sampling rates which may be intended to capture high frequency content. High sampling rates may result in very low or negligible values of coefficients or parameters of data representing such high frequencies if the signal has relatively little energy or power in high frequency components. In other words, a signal having little high frequency content may be "oversampled" at relatively conventional sampling rates (or sampling rates of which the platform may be capable for high resolution), and a burden placed on the communication link to transmit information which is not significant to the result if, in fact, such information exist to more than a negligible degree.
Additionally, it is customary at the present time to carry out transmission of digital information by so-called packet switching in which packets of digital information are provided with digital header information so that the original bit stream can be reassembled even when the packets may not be transmitted over the same communication link or arrive in the original order. Overall, this expedient, while requiring additional bits to be transmitted, increases transmission efficiency and reliability since some communication path can generally be found at any point in time. Nevertheless, the transmission path will generally be imperfect and the loss or corruption of a bit in the header information may defeat or severely compromise reassembly of the data bit stream and, consequently, the entire position location process for that data stream.
The only solution to this potential problem is to provide some degree of redundancy into the digital code which, in view of the numerical nature of the information in the bit string implies that even more bits be transmitted in order to implement correctability and recovery of lost or corrupted bits of the header and numerical information. Signal protocols and formats including such redundancy for signal recovery are referred to as error-correcting codes. Therefore, even though transmission can be made highly reliable in this manner, the number of transmitted bits remains a critical limitation on the speed of system response and often dictates a reduction in the number of bits representing the received signal in order to provide system response with the required timeliness. Accordingly, numerous schemes for data compression to reduce the number of data bits transmitted have been attempted.
A trivially simple method of reducing the number of transmitted bits, currently in use in the art, is to truncate the digitized data in time or amplitude resolution. (That is, fewer bits are transmitted for each sample of the received waveform than are available or fewer samples are represented than are initially quantized or both. In regard to the latter, it is fairly common for a severe mismatch to exist between the data sampling rate and the available communication data rate which, at the state of the art prior to the present invention, must be corrected by additional and often complex data processing.)
However, such truncation may severely impair the accuracy and/or resolution of the location determined from the cross-correlation computation and may increase difficulty or compromise success of the cross-correlation computation. Accordingly, it is known to perform some processing or transformation on the original data to minimize the effect of a data compression for reducing the number of bits transmitted. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,570,099 to Gerard Desjardins, assigned to the assignee of the present invention, which is hereby fully incorporated by reference describes a system in which a transformation is performed on data before transmission. (Data compression other than mere truncation, of course, implies that a complementary process must be performed after transmission in a manner similar to coding and decoding of data.) Performing a so-called wavelet transform (discussed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,561,431 to Larry Peele which, including publications cited therein, is hereby fully incorporated by reference) is another known and well-understood processing technique of choice. The wavelet transform (WT) is a digital signal processing technique that transforms N signal samples into N WT coefficients which describe the distribution of the energy of the signal simultaneously in both time and frequency.
Nevertheless, some degree of degradation of the information will be attributable to the data compression due to both the resolution at which the transformation is computed and the resolution of the data transmitted. A trade-off will thus continue to exist between the amount of compression and the amount of signal degradation that will occur. A common measure for the amount of degradation is the signal-to-quantization ratio (SQR) which is defined as the ratio of the power of the original signal to the power of the difference between the original signal and the compressed form of the signal. A low SQR corresponds to high degradation (due to the relatively larger power of the difference).
It should also be understood that the use of packet switching and error-correcting codes is done at the expense of speed of system response within the limitations thereon imposed by the data link which may also be variable with conditions such as noise. While it is known to dynamically vary data transmission rate and alter coding and decoding techniques (specified in data packet header information) to accommodate available data transmission rates and insure reliable transmission within the available transmission rate, the degree of signal degradation and hence the resolution of location determined by the system will correspondingly vary uncontrollably. Thus, while timely response of the system may generally be assured, there is no corresponding capability at the current state of the art to assure or even evaluate the performance of the system in terms of the quality/fidelity of the data utilized by the system or location resolution derived therefrom.

Data compression for TDOA/DD location system


A method and apparatus for reducing cost for the backplane and system test and for speeding up the time to market of a new product are disclosed. A failure simulation based on system level Boundary Scan architecture allows the use of an already available test infrastructure for test and validation.

Each newly designed telecommunication circuit pack has to be tested in a system environment. The system test has to ensure that the behavior of the single circuit pack conforms to the requirements of the system. One kind of these tests is to check if failure, which happened on the circuit pack, will be identified by the application software and correlated into the expected consequent action. Therefore, as an example, SFPs (Small Formfactor Pluggables) have to be removed or disabled. In principle, this has to be done by hand, but from the cost- and time-to-market point of view, this kind of test has to be automated.
A common way of failure simulation in a system environment like optical module (SFP) removal or watchdog disabling is based on separate control lines from a debug or control circuit pack, which is part of the system only during system test. Via the control lines from the debug or control circuit pack, it is possible to stimulate circuit pack failures on each circuit pack at each slots of the system. When one or more of this kind of failure occurs, it will be checked during system test whether the failure has been detected by the system controller entity.
Using the common practice for failure simulation described above, it has the following disadvantages. First, additional control lines have to be designed in the system backplane. Second, the control lines will only be used for system test and are not customer relevant. Third, in order to use those control lines, additional control circuit packs (debug circuit packs) are necessary. Fourth, a test of a fully equipped shelf is not possible, because one slot is always used for the control circuit pack. Fifth, additional failure simulation forced by new circuit pack are often not possible, because new control lines can't be added to an existing backplane.

Failure simulation based on system level boundary scan architecture


A constrained layer damping assembly for a rigid base member having a substantially planar surface comprises a gas impervious damping layer disposed on the substantially planar surface of the base member, and a load element disposed on the damping layer. The damping layer defines at least one void region extending between the planar surface and the load element, and the load element defines at least one channel for coupling a low pressure to the void region relative to the pressure external to the constrained layer damping assembly to establish a pressure differential between the inside of the void region and the outside of the constrained layer damping assembly. The pressure differential keeps the damping layer under compression and secures the load element and the damping layer onto the base member.

In the prior art, damping is used to reduce the amplitude of resonant vibration in mechanical assemblies by converting a portion of the energy into low-grade heat, often with the use of elastomeric materials. Typically, such vibration damping materials use a mechanism known as hysteretic damping to dissipate energy. When these materials are deformed, internal friction causes high energy losses to occur.
FIG. 1 shows a prior art vibration damping assembly as applied to two rigid plates 24 and 26. As shown in FIG. 1, an elastomeric isolation mount as denoted by number 29, is placed between the rigid plate members 24 and 26 to absorb vibratory energy in the plates. A bolt 29A and nut 29B couple the plates 24 and 26 together while maintaining the isolation mount 29 under compression. The isolation mount is made of a material with high loss factor, for example, materials manufactured by E-A-R Specialty Composites, carrying the trademark ISODAMP®.
One disadvantage of the prior art assembly shown in FIG. 1 is that the bolt 29A used for coupling plates 24 and 26 together is made of a rigid material with low loss factor, for example, steel, for effecting a secure connection. The bolt 29A, although isolated by an isolation material 28, as shown in FIG. 1, downgrades the damping effect of the damping assembly.


Each read line in a memory array containing a plurality of alternating bit lines and read lines with columns of memory cells therebetween, is broken into a plurality of electrically isolatable segments. As a result, the capacitance associated with each read line is significantly reduced and the speed of reading information from or writing information into a memory cell is significantly increased while at the same time not decreasing the density of the array.

Extensive efforts have been made to shrink the cell size in electrically programmable read only memories, called "EPROMs". In general, the smaller the cell size the smaller the integrated circuit die or chip containing a given number of EPROM cells and therefore the higher the yield of useful semiconductor dice in the manufacturing process. Examples of these efforts include the EPROM arrays shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,267,632 and 4,639,893.
An asymmetric memory transistor which eliminates problems of read disturb and drain turn-on is disclosed in an article entitled "A 50-ns 256K CMOS Split-Gate EPROM" by Sahid B. Ali et al., published in the IEEE Journal of Solid State Circuits, Vol. 23, No. 1, February 1988, pp. 79-85. The memory cell disclosed in this article also insures uniform characteristics of each memory transistor across the memory array despite manufacturing tolerances and variations in mask placement. The high read current capable of being used in the cell disclosed in the Ali article gives a speed advantage to the memory array. Another example of an EPROM structure which results in reduced cell size is disclosed in patent application Ser. No. 07/539,657 filed Jun. 13, 1990 on an invention of Boaz Eitan entitled "EPROM Virtual Ground Array" and assigned to WaferScale Integration, Incorporated, the assignee of this invention. Application Ser. No. 07/539,657 is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. In application Ser. No. 07/539,657, an electrically programmable read only memory contains alternating metal bit lines and diffused bit lines. Each diffused bit line is broken into a plurality of segments which each comprise a virtual source. A multiplicity of floating gate transistors are arranged in rows and columns. The floating gate transistors in each column are divided into M groups of P floating gate transistors each. The floating gate transistors in the n.sup.th and the (n+1).sup.th columns, where n.sup.th is an odd integer given by 1.ltoreq.n.ltoreq.N and N+1 is the maximum number of columns in the array, are connected to the segments of one diffused bit line placed between the n.sup.th and the (n+1).sup.th columns. At least one first transfer transistor is arranged to connect one segment comprising a virtual source to a first metal bit line. The first metal bit line functions as the source for the N floating gate transistors in the (n+1).sup.th column connected to said one segment. At least one second transfer transistor connects the same one segment comprising a virtual source to a second metal bit line. The second metal bit line functions as a source for the N floating gate transistors in the n.sup.th column connected to said one segment. The removal of each select transistor from the cell where it previously resided in series with its corresponding floating gate transistor, and the combining of a plurality of select transistors into one select transistor, substantially reduces the area taken by each memory cell in the array.
In the past, to achieve a high-density EPROM array, a virtual ground has been employed. The virtual ground eliminated the space previously taken in the prior art for an electrical contact to the drain region of each transistor in the array because the virtual ground requires only a few spaced electrical contacts. Unfortunately, the virtual ground results in a relatively low speed because of the high capacitance associated with each diffused bit line comprising the virtual ground.
To make a faster array, a different approach was employed wherein a pair of transistors shared a common ground and utilized separate drain diffusions. A plurality of drain diffusions were connected to a metal bit line through contacts as disclosed, for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,868,629 issued Sep. 19, 1989, and assigned to WaferScale Integration, Inc., the assignee of this application. The resulting circuit was fast because of the use of separate drain diffusions for each of the transistors in the array, but the contacts to the drain diffusions from the overlying metal bit lines took up substantial space and thereby reduced substantially the density of the array. In addition, the diffusion source lines were contacted every eight or sixteen cells by an overlying metal source line. The contacts to the diffusion source lines, and the metal source lines both added substantial area to the array thereby further reducing the density of the array.
Furthermore, memory transistors require a high read current to be fast. To avoid a high read current and the corresponding problems associated therewith, two transistor or four transistor cells were used to generate a differential signal to represent the state of the memory. Unfortunately, two transistor or four transistor cells take substantially more area than a single transistor cell. See, for example, a paper by S. Pathak et al., entitled "A 25ns 16K CMOS PROM using a 420 transistor cell", ISSCC Dig. Tech. Papers, 1985, pp. 162-163.


One embodiment of the present invention relates to a system for lifting a vehicle. Another embodiment of the present invention relates to a method for lifting a vehicle. Another embodiment of the present invention relates to a structure with an integrated cable, strap, chain or the like for the purpose of vehicle lifting.

Design of lifting provisions (e.g., for military vehicles) can present some difficult challenges. Vehicle structures in the vicinity of the lifting provisions must be strong enough and stiff enough to support the appropriate lifting loads while also providing attachment locations for the lifting provisions themselves.
Conventionally, lifting provisions are typically mounted (fastened or welded) on or near the top of the vehicle. Lifting of a vehicle using these discrete, isolated attachments typically imparts localized stresses on the vehicle structure (which often require substantial structural reinforcements). These lifting provisions and reinforcements are typically steel and may be large and very heavy.
To some degree, the weight of these lifting provisions and reinforcements raises the center of gravity of the vehicle. Of course, each increase in the height of the center of gravity also increases the likelihood of rollover during abrupt turns and/or lane changes.
Various patents related to lifting and hoisting include the following:
U.S. Pat. No. 3,021,166, entitled VEHICLE HOISTING ARRANGEMENT, which was issued Feb. 13, 1962 in the name of Kempel, et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,329,109, entitled VEHICLE LIFTING ATTACHMENT, which was issued May 11, 1982 in the name of Bleyker.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,553,719, entitled VEHICLE LIFTING SYSTEM AND METHOD, which was issued Nov. 19, 1985 in the name of Ott.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,169,197, entitled LIFT LINK FOR HELICOPTER EXTERNAL LIFT OF DUAL HMMWV'S, which was issued Dec. 8, 1992 in the name of Underbakke, et al.
DE102004026469, entitled BODY, ESPECIALLY FOR MOTOR VEHICLE HAS HOLLOW SUPPORTS WITH RECLOSABLE OPENINGS TOWARDS FLOOR OF VEHICLE FOR ACCOMMODATING JACK'S SUPPORTING ARM OF A JACK, AT LEAST ONE RECLOSABLE OPENING TOWARDS FLOOR OF VEHICLE, published Dec. 15, 2005, in the name of Klink Achim et al.
Among those benefits and improvements that have been disclosed, other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying figures. The figures constitute a part of this specification and include illustrative embodiments of the present invention and illustrate various objects and features thereof.

Systems and methods for lifting a vehicle


A push switch includes an upper movable contact, a lower movable contact, a center fixed contact, an intermediate fixed contact, and a peripheral fixed contact. The lower movable contact includes an annular portion, and four legs extending from the annular portion. One of the four legs is placed on a peripheral fixed contact. The upper movable contact faces the center fixed contact through a circular hole in the annular portion of the lower movable contact via a space between the upper movable contact and the center fixed contact. Two legs out of the four legs are located away from each other by an angular interval smaller than 90 degrees with respect to the center of the annular portion. Upon being pressed, the actuator activates two combinations of switch contacts, one combination including the movable contacts and the intermediate fixed contact and the other combination including the movable contacts and the center fixed contact, providing the push switch with a small size.

Electronic devices have been recently down-sized, and accordingly, components installed in the devices have been arranged densely. Push switches generating two-step click feel have been often used for actuating shutters of cameras, such as digital cameras and mobile telephones.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2008-041603A discloses a conventional push switch generating the two-step click feel. This push switch is adapted to be mounted onto a circuit board, and includes a first movable contact and a second movable contact provided on the first movable contact. The first movable contact includes an annular portion having a circular hole provided in the center thereof, and four legs extending from the annular portion. The second movable contact is pressed down perpendicularly to the circuit board, and causes the first movable contact to elastically deform with a click feel so as to activate first switch contacts. Upon further being pressed down, the second movable contact elastically deforms with a click feel so as to activate second switch contacts. The push switch includes a case having a square shape as seen from above.
This push switch is activated by pressing perpendicularly to the circuit board. In the case that this push switch is installed in an electronic device, such as a digital camera or a mobile telephone, which is operated from a side of the device, this switch may prevents the side of the device from having a small size since the circuit board is arranged in parallel to the side.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2007-329022 discloses another conventional push switch including switch contacts activated in a direction perpendicular to a direction in which a button moves. This push switch converts the direction of the movement of the button into the direction perpendicular to the direction of the button to activate the switch contacts.


A spectral imaging system comprises: a sequential optical system providing a temporal sequence of output light beams describing the scene; a color imager receiving the output light beams and responsively generating, for each output light beam, an image signal that is spatially resolved into a plurality of color channels. The system can also comprise an image processor that collectively process the image signals to construct a spectral image of the scene.

The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, relates to imaging and, more particularly, but not exclusively, to spectral imaging.
Spectral imaging is a technique in which a spectrum is measured for each pixel of an imager. The resulting dataset is three-dimensional (3D) in which two dimensions are parallel to the imager plane and the third dimension is the wavelength. Such dataset is known as a "spectral image" which can be written as I(x,y,λ), where x and y are the position in the imager plane, λ the wavelength, and I is the intensity at each point and wavelength.
Several spectral imaging techniques are known [Y. Garini, N. Katzir, D. Cabib, R. A. Buckwald, D. G. Soenksen, and Z. Malik, Spectral Bio-Imaging, in Fluorescence Imaging Spectroscopy and Microscopy, X. F. Wang and B. Herman, Editors. 1996, John Wiley and Sons: New York. p. 87-124; Y. Garini, I. T. Young, and G. McNamara, Spectral imaging: principles and applications. Cytometry, 69A, 735-747 (2006)]. In some systems, a set of filters is mounted on a filter wheel with a mechanism that allows capturing a set of images, each time thorough a different color filter. A tunable filter can alternatively be used to capture a set of images, each corresponding to a different color/wavelength range, modifying voltage or frequency and eliminating mechanical movements. In other systems, a spectral image is formed by means of a Fourier transform, as disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,539,517, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
Color imaging is a technique in which each pixel of the imager is represented by 3 color channels. Known color cameras employ a charged coupled device (CCD) or complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensor as the imager. These types of imagers employ a Bayer filter [U.S. Pat. No. 3,971,065, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference]. A Bayer filter is designed to be analogous to the cones of the human visual system, and has red, green, and blue color filter elements superimposed on the pixels of the imager. The Bayer filter array samples the green information on a quincunx grid and the red and the blue information on a rectangular grid, such that the green information is therefore sampled at a higher frequency. This is because the peak sensitivity of the human visual system lies in the medium wavelengths.
Also known are 3-sensor cameras employing three imagers. These include 3CCD cameras employing three CCD imagers and 3CMOS cameras employing three CMOS imagers. In a 3-sensor camera, each imager takes a separate measurement of red, green, and blue light. Light coming into the camera is split by a trichroic prism assembly, which directs the appropriate wavelength ranges of light to their respective imagers.


A 6-component load cell used for measuring triaxial force and moment components is disclosed. The load cell has a sensing unit and an external case. In the sensing unit, upper and lower rings individually have a plurality of connectors and arcuate thick parts. The sensing unit also has a cross beam, consisting of horizontal and vertical parts crossing at right angles with a plurality of vertical and transverse binocular openings being formed on the two parts. A radial slit is formed at each corner of the junction of the cross beam. A plurality of strain gauges are attached to the cross beam. The external case has upper and lower parts, individually having a plurality of arcuate openings corresponding to the arcuate thick parts of the sensing unit. The lower part of the case also has a plurality of cord lead openings at the side wall.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a 6-component load cell capable of measuring triaxial force components (Fx, Fy, Fz) and triaxial moment components (Mx, My, Mz) simultaneously.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the prior art, a load cell or a force measuring sensor is designed to measure a uniaxial force so that in order to obtain reliable sensing results, the typical load cell has to be installed in a direction where the force to be measured acts. However, due to the recent trend of both automation of mechanical systems and development of machine tools, it is necessary to precisely measure multiaxial force and moment components simultaneously. In an effort to achieve such a necessity of multiaxial measurement, a plurality of load cells may be installed in different axes. However, the above method using several cells is problematic in that it is space consuming thus being unadaptable in the event of limited space. In this regard, a force measuring sensor given the term "multi-component load cell" is proposed and used for measuring multiaxial force and moment components simultaneously.
Several-types of multi-component load cells are proposed in the prior art. Sceinman proposes a multi-component load cell, in which four deflection bars cross at right angles, with 16 semiconductor strain gauges individually being installed on each side wall of each deflection bar and being formed into a bridge. The output voltage of each strain gauge is in proportion to the force component acting in a direction perpendicular to the surface of each strain gauge. Therefore, it is possible to measure triaxial force and moment components simultaneously by appropriately doing sums of the output voltages of the 16 strain gauges. The Sceinman's load cell is advantageous in that it is somewhat easily produced through a simple process but is problematic in that it has a measuring error of about 5% thus having an inferior precision. Another problem of the Sceinman's load cell resides in that it does not directly measure the force and moment components, but arithmetically measures the components, thus being time consuming.
Yabaki proposes a multi-component load cell, in which 8 parallel leaf springs form an elastic crossing structure with 6 Wheatstone bridges constituting 24 thin strain gauges. The Yabaki's load cell directly measure the triaxial force and moment components without processing an arithmetic calculation. However, the above load cell has a measuring error of 2% while measuring the force components and 3-5% while measuring the moment components.
Hatamura proposes a 6-component load cell, which comprises a force component measuring parallel plate and a moment measuring radial plate. The Hatamura's load cell has a high precision with a measuring error of about 2% while measuring force components and about 3% while measuring moment components. However, the above load cell is problematic in that it is difficult to produce the cell.

Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science


A screwless mini fan holder is disclosed. The mount bracket of the fan holder is composed of two clips and four resilient pins projecting from opposite sides of a backplane. The clips are used to couple the fan holder onto the heat sink of a computer. The resilient pins each having a semi-circular ball head are used to attach the mini fan, where one end of each pin is permanently connected to the back side of the backplane, and the other end extends outward at an inclined angle. Such screwless design enables the fan holder without using any mechanical tools. This not only simplifies the assembly of the mini fan in a computer for most computer users, but also allows air flow to be uniformly distributed over the heat sink for maximized heat dissipation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a screwless mini fan holder, in particular to a mount bracket that is able to simplify the fan assembly in a computer without using screws, and yet the screwless structure can prevent vibration of the fan during the fan operation.
2. The Related Art
Heat dissipation is an important issue for modern computer design. The common practice is to use several mini fans in different parts of the computer to create air flow in the internal chamber so as to prevent overheating of high-frequency power components.
A typical conventional mini fan is installed by mounting four mounting screws through four corners of the fan shell. Since an industrial computer usually has several mini fans, the mounting of these fans could be a time-consuming process that considerably slows down the assembly line. Furthermore, mishandling by line workers, such as misfit screws and washed out screw heads may have screws stuck in the screw holes. Situations like these could lead to loosening of the fan during the fan operation or create other problems for the computer fans.
The mini fan producers then introduce a mount bracket to facilitate the mounting of the mini fan. The quadrangular shaped bracket is constructed with four poles at the four corners of a backplane used for coupling the mini fan onto the mount bracket to create a fan subassembly, and four clips on the other side of the backplane for attaching the fan subassembly onto the heat sink or computer chassis. The four poles are matched with the four corner holes on the fan body when the mount bracket is assembled with the mini fan. But the assembled bracket is so close to the heat sink that a large portion of the heat sink situated underneath the fan assembly is physically blocked from normal air circulation, resulting in uneven heat distribution over the heat sink and poor heat dissipation.
In these aspects, the screwless mini fan holder according to the present invention substantially reduces or obviates the limitations and disadvantages of the prior art.


An air/fuel ratio correction cylinder determining section 25 specifies, based on the peak phase, a cylinder for which an air/fuel ratio is to be corrected. A cylinder-specific air/fuel ratio correcting section in the form of respective cylinder correcting sections 31 through 34 corrects an amount of fuel to be supplied to a cylinder which becomes an air/fuel ratio correction target. A cylinder for which an air/fuel ratio deviates from the remaining cylinders is specified as a fuel amount correction target based on a change in the output value of the air/fuel ratio sensor.

This application is based on Application No. 2001-001638, filed in Japan on Jan. 9, 2001, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an air/fuel ratio control apparatus for an internal combustion engine which can detect the air/fuel ratio of a mixture in each cylinder based on the output of an air/fuel ratio sensor installed on a collective portion of an exhaust system at which exhaust gases from a plurality of cylinders are merged with each other, and uniformly control the air/fuel ratios of all the cylinders to a target value, and in particular, it concerns with such an air/fuel ratio control apparatus for an internal combustion engine which is improved in the reliability in control by the use of relatively easy determination processing.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, with an air/fuel ratio control apparatus for an internal combustion engine (hereinafter simply referred to as an engine), there has been known a method for controlling an air/fuel ratio of an air fuel mixture supplied to each cylinder of the engine in the following manner. That is, an air/fuel ratio sensor is installed on a collective portion of an exhaust system of the engine, and the control apparatus operates to take in an output (i.e., air/fuel ratio signal) of the air/fuel ratio sensor in synchronization with the timing at which exhaust gases from respective cylinders of the engine pass through the exhaust system collective portion, and correct the amounts of fuel to be injected into the respective cylinders in response to the air/fuel ratio signal from the air/fuel ratio sensor thereby to uniformly control the air/fuel ratios of the air fuel mixture supplied to the respective cylinders.
At this time, it is required to accurately detect the air/fuel ratio of an exhaust gas corresponding to each cylinder, but it is known that in actuality, the exhaust gases from a plurality of cylinders in a state of being mixed with one another pass through the exhaust system collective portion (i.e., air/fuel ratio sensor), so the air/fuel ratio detection information obtained from the air/fuel ratio sensor includes the influence of the air/fuel ratios in the respective cylinders, and hence it is difficult to accurately detect the air/fuel ratio in each cylinder.
In addition, since the extent of the influences of other cylinders on the detected value of the air/fuel ratio of a specific cylinder varies according to the engine operating state (e.g., the number of revolutions per unit time of the engine, the amount of intake air, etc.), it is even more difficult to accurately detect the air/fuel ratio corresponding to the specific cylinder.
Moreover, since the air/fuel ratio sensor has a time lag (i.e., so-called response delay) from the time when an exhaust gas has actually arrived there to the time when the air/fuel ratio of the exhaust gas detected by the sensor appears as a detection value, it is necessary to take such a response delay into consideration and thus it becomes very difficult to detect the air/fuel ratio corresponding to each cylinder in a reliable manner.
Therefore, it is difficult for the conventional apparatus to accurately detect the air/fuel ratio corresponding to a specific cylinder, thus making it impossible to achieve a high degree of air/fuel ratio control accuracy to any satisfactory extent.
To cope with such a problem, apparatuses were proposed in the past in Japanese patent Nos. 2689362 and 2717744, for example.
In the apparatuses described in the above-mentioned patents, there is constructed a mathematical model representing the behaviors of component elements such as the flow of exhaust gases to an exhaust system, an output response delay of an air/fuel ratio sensor, etc., based on which an observer is designed to estimate an air/fuel ratio in each cylinder, whereby the air/fuel ratios in the respective cylinders are made uniform.
In the case of using such a mathematical model, however, the arithmetic operations in a central processing unit (CPU) become complicated, resulting in an increased processing time and an increased software load. Moreover, since the behaviors of respective component elements of the apparatus are expressed by the mathematical expressions, the results of estimation carried out by the use of the mathematical model are liable to various influences such as a change in the operating state of the engine, variations in the manufacture of component elements, etc., and hence it is impossible to obtain a satisfactorily high degree of control accuracy.
On the other hand, it was also proposed that as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 4-8616 for instance, the output value of an air/fuel ratio sensor and the air/fuel ratios of respective cylinders can be correlated with each other easily by limiting the requirements for detecting the air/fuel ratios to an idling state of the engine alone, thereby achieving uniform control on the air/fuel ratios in the respective cylinders.
However, in the idling state of the engine, the combustion state is unstable so the engine rotation is liable to undergo great fluctuations, as a consequence of which there are a lot of factors deteriorating the accuracy in the detection of the air/fuel ratios, and there is a decreased amount of exhaust gases in that engine operation range, thus further worsening the response of the air/fuel ratio sensor.
Therefore, even if the air/fuel ratio is detected in the idling state, the width or magnitude of variations in the sensor output will become small and hence it is difficult to accurately detect the information on an air/fuel ratio corresponding to each cylinder after all.
FIG. 14 is an explanatory view illustrating a correction target cylinder determining operation performed by a conventional apparatus which adopts a method of detecting air/fuel ratios at respective prescribed crank angles, in which the abscissa represents reference crank angle positions (TDC) corresponding to the respective cylinders (#1 through #4), and the ordinate represents a change in the output value of an air/fuel ratio sensor (air/fuel ratio A/F).
In FIG. 14, arrows of broken lines indicate the air/fuel ratio detection timing of the respective cylinders, and the output value (A/F) of the air/fuel ratio sensor is read at the respective prescribed crank angles.
Herein is shown the case where the air/fuel ratio in the cylinder #3 is shifted or deviated to a rich air/fuel ratio side (hereinafter simply referred to as a rich side) as compared with those in the remaining cylinders.
According to such a method of detecting at the respective prescribed crank angles, there might be a fear that though the cylinder #3 is to be determined as a cylinder corresponding to a rich side peak phase, the cylinder #4 is mistakenly determined as a correction target cylinder, for example, in the case where the air/fuel ratio of the cylinder #4 is shifted or deviated to the rich side more than that of the cylinder #3, as indicated by solid line arrows.
In the conventional air/fuel ratio control apparatus for an internal combustion engine as described above, in the case where a variety of behavior factors are taken into a mathematical model, the load on software increases, and the apparatus is subject to influences such as a change in the engine operating state, variations in the manufacture of component parts, etc., which are difficult to represent by means of mathematical expressions, thus making it impossible to achieve sufficient reliability.
Moreover, when the air/fuel ratio detection condition is limited to an idling state of an engine, there arise the following problems: namely, in the idling state in which the combustion state of the engine is unstable and the amount of exhaust gases is limited, the rotational speed of the engine varies greatly, thus deteriorating the detection accuracy, and the variable range of the air/fuel ratio sensor output is small, as a consequence of which it is difficult to accurately detect the information on the air/fuel ratios corresponding to the respective cylinders.
The present invention is intended to obviate the problems as referred to above, and has its object to provide an air/fuel ratio control apparatus for an internal combustion engine which is capable of making the air/fuel ratios of respective cylinders uniform with high accuracy without causing an increase in the load of arithmetic operations of a CPU, and without being subject to the influence of a change in the engine operating state, etc., by specifying as a fuel amount correction target a cylinder for which the air/fuel ratio deviates from those of the remaining cylinders, based on a variation in the output value of the air/fuel ratio sensor.
Bearing the above object in mind, according to the present invention, there is provided an air/fuel ratio control apparatus for an internal combustion engine, comprising: fuel injectors respectively provided on a plurality of cylinders; an air/fuel ratio sensor disposed at a collective portion of an exhaust system at which exhaust gases from the respective cylinders are collected; a crank angle sensor for detecting a crank angle phase of each of the cylinders; an air/fuel ratio detection period setting section for setting an air/fuel ratio detection period in which exhaust strokes of all cylinders are included; a peak phase detecting section for taking in an output of the air/fuel ratio sensor during the air/fuel ratio detection period and detecting peak phases which become a maximum on a rich side or on a lean side due to variations in the air/fuel ratio; an air/fuel ratio correction cylinder determining section for specifying, based on the peak phases, an air/fuel ratio correction target cylinder for which an air/fuel ratio is to be corrected; and a cylinder-specific air/fuel ratio correcting section for correcting an amount of fuel to be supplied to the air/fuel ratio correction target cylinder. The amounts of fuel to be supplied to the respective cylinders are made uniform by means of the cylinder-specific air/fuel ratio correcting section.
In a preferred form of the present invention, the cylinder-specific air/fuel ratio correcting section corrects an amount of fuel to be supplied to the air/fuel ratio correction target cylinder in a decreasing direction when the air/fuel ratio correction target cylinder corresponds to a rich side peak phase, but in an increasing direction when the air/fuel ratio correction target cylinder corresponds to a lean side peak phase.
In another preferred form of the present invention, the peak phase detecting section detects a rich side peak phase alone, and the air/fuel ratio correction cylinder determining section specifies, based on the rich side peak phase, only that cylinder for which an output value of the air/fuel ratio sensor is assumed to deviate from those for the remaining cylinders, as the air/fuel ratio correction target cylinder.
In a further preferred form of the present invention, the peak phase detecting section detects a lean side peak phase alone, and the air/fuel ratio correction cylinder determining section specifies, based on the lean side peak phase, only that cylinder for which an output value of the air/fuel ratio sensor is assumed to deviate from those for the remaining cylinders, as the air/fuel ratio correction target cylinder.
In a yet further preferred form of the present invention, the peak phase detecting section detects a rich side peak phase and a lean side peak phase, and when it is determined that a first cylinder and a second cylinder correspond to the rich side peak phase and the lean side peak phase, respectively, and when the order of respective exhaust strokes of the first and second cylinders is consecutive, the air/fuel ratio correction cylinder determining section specifies only one of the first and second cylinders, of which the exhaust stroke is later than that of the other cylinder, as the air/fuel ratio correction target cylinder.
In a still further preferred form of the present invention, when it is determined that a first cylinder and a second cylinder correspond to the rich side peak phase and the lean side peak phase, respectively, and when the order of respective exhaust strokes of the first and second cylinders is not consecutive, the air/fuel ratio correction cylinder determining section specifies the first and second cylinders as the air/fuel ratio correction target cylinders, for which the air/fuel ratios deviate to the rich side and the lean side, respectively.
In a further preferred form of the present invention, when it is determined that a first group of cylinders and a second group of cylinders correspond to the rich side peak phase and the lean side peak phase, respectively, and when the first group of cylinders including one half of a total number of all the cylinders and the second group of cylinders including the other half of all the cylinders are detected alternately, the air/fuel ratio correction cylinder determining section specifies either one of the first and second groups of cylinders as the air/fuel ratio correction target cylinders.
In a further preferred form of the present invention, the peak phase detecting section detects a rich side peak phase and a lean side peak phase, and the cylinder-specific air/fuel ratio correcting section calculates deviations of the respective output values of the air/fuel sensor corresponding to the rich side peak phase and the lean side peak phase, and stops the fuel amount correction processing when the deviation becomes equal to or less than a predetermined value.
In a further preferred form of the present invention, the air/fuel ratio detection period setting section comprises a window setting section for setting a window corresponding to each of the cylinders for detection of the peak phases, the window being set variably according to an engine operating state.
In a further preferred form of the present invention, the window setting section sets a first window corresponding to one of the cylinders, and then sets windows corresponding to the remaining cylinders by successively adding to the first window a crank angle difference between the one cylinder and each of the remaining cylinders.
With the above-mentioned respective arrangements, there is obtained an air/fuel ratio control apparatus for an internal combustion engine which can make the air/fuel ratios of the respective cylinders uniform with high accuracy without causing an increased operation load of a CPU, while avoiding the influence of a change in the engine operating state, etc.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Air/fuel ratio control apparatus for internal combustion engine


The invention relates to novel variants of cytochrome P450 oxygenases. These variants have an improved ability to use peroxide as an oxygen donor as compared to the corresponding wild-type enzyme. These variants also have an improved thermostability as compared to the cytochrome P450 BM-3 F87A mutant. Preferred variants include cytochrome P450 BM-3 heme domain mutants having I58V, F87A, H100R, F107L, A135S, M145A/V, N239H, S274T, L324I, I366V, K434E, E442K, and/or V446I amino acid substitutions.

One of the great challenges of contemporary catalysis is the controlled oxidation of hydrocarbons (Shilov, 1997). Processes for controlled, stereo- and regioselective oxidation of hydrocarbon feed stocks to more valuable and useful products such as alcohols, ketones, acids, and peroxides would have a major impact on the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. However, selective oxyfunctionalization of hydrocarbons remains one of the great challenges for contemporary chemistry. Despite decades of effort, including recent advances (Chen et al., 2000; Hartman and Ernst, 2000; Thomas et al., 2001), the insertion of oxygen into unactivated carbon-hydrogen bonds (hydroxylation) remains difficult to achieve with high selectivity and high yield. Many chemical methods for hydroxylation require severe conditions of temperature or pressure, and the reactions are prone to over-oxidation, producing a range of products, many of which are not desired.
Enzymes are an attractive alternative to chemical catalysts. In particular, mono-oxygenases have unique properties that distinguish them from most chemical catalysts. Most impressive is their ability to catalyze the specific hydroxylation of non-activated C—H, one of the most useful biotransformation reactions, which is often difficult to achieve by chemical means, especially in water, at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. These cofactor-dependent oxidative enzymes have multiple domains and function via complex electron transfer mechanisms to transport a reduction equivalent to the catalytic heme center (Munro et al., 1996; Beratan, 1996; Moser et al., 1995).

Peroxide-driven cytochrome P450 oxygenase variants