Abstract: A parallel-hybrid transmission has one or more electrical motor/generator units, at least one of which moves in an anti-engine-wise direction in certain operational modes. The motor/generators are coaxially or concentrically arranged with the transmission input and output shafts via planetary gear sets. Associated clutch closures selectively couple power to and from the sun gears and planetary carriers of the gear sets through a complex planetary gear configuration such as a Ravigneaux gear set, for switching between certain operational modes. The clutch and brake operations selectively achieve multiple ratio range operations including engine starting under electric power, high torque acceleration from a standstill, regenerative deceleration (braking), multiple ratio range operation, load sharing, rotation-matched step-less shifting and combined or individual continuously variable combustion engine and electric motor and/or generation modes.

Abstract: An electrical connection between a power source and a threaded aperture in a power device is made by means of a terminal lug and a bolt. In order to measure the current, a second electrical path is made in parallel with the bolted connection, and current in the second path is sensed. The bolt may carry the main current, or an insulating spacer may be used which prevents significant current flow in the bolt. In one embodiment, the parallel current path extends through a conductor arrangement including additional lugs through which the bolt passes, and in another arrangement the parallel path extends through traces of a printed circuit board.

Abstract: The increasing use of electrically powered vehicles has created a need for inexpensively and effectively measuring high currents for motor control, as for example digital motor control. Because the high operating voltages of traction motors, the motor current sensors should be non-contacting. A non-contacting current sensor having a rated capacity significantly less than the motor winding current is coupled to one or more of the conductors of a paralleled multiconductor motor winding for sensing the current in that conductor. The paralleled electrical motor conductors are paralleled by additional similar conductors, so that only a fraction of the current to be measured flows through the conductor(s) associated with the sensor. The current sensor elements may be mounted on a pc board, which supports the elements, and also has one or more printed patterns which define conductors associated with the sensor.

Abstract: An elongated missile launcher cell is structured to allow arraying into multiple-cell array. Each missile launcher cell of the array includes a support structure which accommodates a canisterized missile. Each cell also includes its own chimney and exhaust gas plenum, so that it may be used individually. Since each cell has its own missile exhaust capability, there is no need to keep one or more bays of a missile launcher array vacant to provide for venting of exhaust gases.

Abstract: A head restraint for a vehicle is in the form of a transparent net or membrane which is supported above and/or to the rear of the seat back, as for example by attachments to vehicle structure such as the roof, the rear shelf support structure, and/or the seat back itself.

Abstract: The increasing use of vehicles powered completely or in part by electric motors has created a need for measuring high currents in an inexpensive, reliable and convenient manner for digital motor control. Because the operating voltages of traction motors may be high, it is desirable that the motor current sensors be noncontacting. High-current sensors are commercially available, but tend to be large and costly. According to an aspect of the invention, a noncontacting current sensor having a rated capacity significantly less than the motor (or other) current to be measured is coupled to an electrical conductor for sensing the current in that conductor. The electrical conductor is paralleled by one or more additional similar conductors, so that only a fraction or portion of the current to be measured flows through the conductor associated with the sensor.

Abstract: A watchdog monitor coupled to a device bus includes in at least one executable software the ability to produce, during each frame interval, a strobe addressing a predetermined number to the monitor. The monitor responds to the interrupt and to lack of arrival of the correct predetermined number by generating a fault flag. The monitor also runs an internal counter which is reset at each interrupt signal; the count of the internal counter exceeds a threshold count if an interrupt fails to arrive. Such a timed failure results in setting of a frame fault flag. The monitor further runs an internal clock independent of the system clock. A further missing pulse detector initiates a counter at each monitor clock pulse, and raises a flag if the monitor clock counter counts a duration exceeding the monitor inter-clock-pulse interval.

Abstract: A hybrid electric vehicle (10) includes an internal combustion engine (12) which drives a generator (20) to produce electrical energy for a traction motor (44) of the vehicle. The generator (20) is provided with a cooling air intake port (20i). A air mover or compressor (30) is driven from the engine (12) or from an auxiliary motor (84), to produce air under positive pressure. The air from the air mover (30) is coupled by air paths (60, 62, 64) to the cooling air input port (20i) of the generator (20) and to the combustion air aspiration or input port (16) of the engine (12). If the air mover serves the purpose of cooling the generator (20) and, if a non-positive-displacement pump, also provides an effect similar to turbocharging, and if a positive-displacement type, supercharges the engine (12).

Abstract: A computing or processing system including a microprocessor and a memory coupled together by a local bus, and also includes a north bridge providing translation to a PCI or other standard bus. The system also includes a device bus, which may or may not be coupled to the PCI bus by a south bridge. A device bus interface bypasses the north and south bridges, to provide a single-step interface to the device bus. This reduces the latency.

Abstract: A method for regeneration of particulate filters or traps in the context of a hybrid electric vehicle includes the step of measuring the back pressure of the filter, and adjusting the engine parameters when the back pressure exceeds a particular value to increase the exhaust temperature, to aid in regeneration. In one mode, the engine speed and engine load are both reset toward particular target values. In another version in which the engine load includes an energy storage device such as a battery, increasing the load includes the step of increasing the battery charge level setpoint. Additionally, for those situations in which the battery cannot accept more charge, a power-dissipating resistor is coupled to an electric source to increase the load. In yet another version, the use of the electrical resistor is made dependent upon the temperature of the filter during regeneration.

Abstract: In an electric vehicle, the traction motor is driven from a battery by way of a controllable electric power switcher. In operation of the switcher, the power losses of the switches depends upon the power being handled; during acceleration the power is high, and at constant speed on level ground the power is small. Thus, the power “dissipated” by the switches varies with time. A cooler transfers heat from the switcher. During acceleration, the cooler may not be sufficient to limit the instantaneous switch temperature. A phase-change heat “sink” coupled to the switches absorbs heat from the switches during hard acceleration, and returns the heat to the cooler under more constant-speed conditions.

Abstract: A vehicle includes an arrangement, such as an internal-combustion engine coupled with a generator, for converting the energy in fuel into electrical form, while generating exhaust. An exhaust cleaning arrangement, such as a catalytic converter, preferably operating at a high temperature, cleanses the exhaust. During deceleration of the vehicle, excess electrical energy is used to heat the exhaust cleaning arrangement.

Abstract: A &Sgr;-&Dgr; analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 210 includes a multibit &Sgr;-&Dgr; modulator 216 and a feedback loop 240, 241 including a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) 241. A nonlinear filter corrector 250 coupled to the multibit output port 216o of the modulator 216 includes a transversal filter 252, weighting multipliers 256 coupled to the taps 254 of the transversal filter 252, and a summing arrangement 258, 260 coupled to the multipliers, for creating a correction signal based on an estimate of the dynamic errors of the &Sgr;-&Dgr; ADC. A calibration arrangement 280 applies an alternating calibration signal to the input port 212 of the &Sgr;-&Dgr; ADC 210, and determines, from the output signal of the modulator 216 and from the known delays L of the delay elements of the transversal filter 252, the values of the weights required to correct dynamic errors of the DAC. In one version, the weighting multipliers are look-up tables.

Abstract: A fish resuscitating apparatus includes a container of pressurized oxygen-rich fluid medium such as a gas or liquid. A valve controllably couples the fluid medium to a dispensing tip which is dimensioned to fit within the mouth of the fish. The dispensing tip is porous or perforated to allow the fluid to enter the mouth of the fish for aiding the fish in recovering from being caught. A kit of parts includes a container, a valve, and a plurality of tips of different dimensions, for use with different types of fish.

Abstract: An acoustic ablation catheter includes a mass cap mounted by a spring at the distal end of the catheter, to thereby form a structure capable of axial motion with a resonant frequency. The mass cap defines an aperture which may be used for a guide wire, for aspiration/infusion, or both. Acoustic motion of the resonant structure is generated by sources of laser light spaced about the distal end of the flexible portion of the catheter body, which produce laser light beams which produce microexplosions adjacent the proximal end of the mass cap. The sources of laser light beams may be laser chips located at the distal end of the body, or they may be the distal ends of optical fibers extending through the body from laser light generators outside the catheter itself. In one advantageous embodiment, relative motion is introduced between the mass cap and the light beams, so that erosion is distributed over a track. At least that portion of the mass cap upon which the laser light pulses impinge is made from titanium.

Abstract: A polyphase AC-to-AC inverter (300) for driving a polyphase load (50), which may be an unbalanced load, includes a wye-connected AC voltage source (12) having a neutral terminal (312). The source (12) is coupled to a rectifying arrangement (16) for producing direct voltage across a direct-voltage bus (22). A capacitive bridge (24) on the DC bus (22) has a tap (26) connected to the neutral (312) of the source. The capacitive bridge is isolated from the AC source harmonics by a zero sequence inductor (20). The DC bus voltage at the capacitive bridge feeds a polyphase switching bridge (40). The average voltage at the output of the switching bridge is recovered by a low-pass filter (30) connected to the load. The unbalanced load current is conducted through an inductor to the capacitive bridge tap and the source neutral, with the inductor impedance isolating the load neutral from the DC bus. The switching bridge control can introduce triplen harmonics in the output to increase line-to-line output voltage.

Abstract: An electrical switch includes a magnetically actuated switch (16), such as a reed switch, and a permanent magnet (10). A path defining arrangement (14) is mechanically coupled (by track follower 210) to the permanent magnet, for allowing the magnet to move in a defined path. A particular part of the path lies adjacent to a portion of the reed switch. The particular part (218) of the path is close enough to the reed switch to actuate the switch. Consequently, or whereby, the magnet, at a particular position along the path will cause the reed switch to assume one of first (open) and second (closed) states. In a particular embodiment of the invention, the magnet, when at the particular position along the path, causes a normally-open switch to close. An energy storage arrangement is coupled to at least the magnet, for urging the magnet toward one end (220) of the path. In the particular embodiment, the energy storage arrangement is coupled to the magnet by way of a track follower (210).

Abstract: A fish resuscitating apparatus includes a container of pressurized oxygen-rich fluid medium such as a gas or liquid. A valve controllably couples the fluid medium to a dispensing tip which is dimensioned to fit within the mouth of the fish. The dispensing tip is porous or perforated to allow the fluid to enter the mouth of the fish for aiding the fish in recovering from being caught. A kit of parts includes a container, a valve, and a plurality of tips of different dimensions, for use with different types of fish.

Abstract: A set (310) of lumen cleaning devices (310a, 310b, . . . ) is provided, with each consisting of a flexible shaft (312), a radial bristle brush (314) at one end of the shaft, and a swab (316) on the other end of the shaft. The brushes have particular brush diameters, may be stepped or tapered in diameter, and the swabs are dimensioned in conjunction with the maximum diameters of the brushes. The lumen of a medical device such as a catheter to be cleaned is first brushed with the brush end of a cleaning device selected to approximately match the lumen diameter. After brushing, the device is reversed, or preferably simply pushed through the lumen to be cleaned, and the swab end is used to remove any film remaining after the brushing. In a preferred method of cleaning, the brush end of the cleaning device is inserted into an end of the lumen to be cleaned, and pushed through only once, to avoid recontamination of the lumen by matter remaining on the brush.

Abstract: An apparatus for treating neonatal jaundice is in the form of a garment (10, 40) which has semiconductor light sources (14, 214, 314) affixed thereto for radiating toward the "inside" of the garment when the infant is dressed in the garment. A portable energy source such as batteries (318) or a fuel cell (360) powers the array of light sources. A method according to the invention vests the infant in the garment, and energizes the light sources by coupling a battery to the light sources, or fueling and starting the fuel cell. The therapy is continued for as long as desired or needed.