Abstract: A vehicle speed control apparatus includes a detecting unit for detecting that a road holding ability relating to tires of an automotive vehicle during running operation has changed to be lower than a reference value, and a control unit for performing a vehicle speed control process when the change of the road holding ability is detected by the detecting unit, so as to prevent the vehicle speed from being excessively increased when the road holding ability is reduced.

Abstract: An automatic method of critical path prediction in a computer system used with a network model representative of a circuit. Gate delays are determined for each cell used for each of the drivers in the combinational block. Load delays are also determined for each cell used for each of the drivers in the combinational block. Estimated delays may then be determined for each path between each of the drivers in the combinational block and sinks coupled to each of the drivers in the combinational blocks. Static timing analysis on the combinational block is performed by using the gate delays, the load delays, and the estimated delays to determine estimated required times and total capacity for each primary output of the sinks of the combinational block, and to determine estimated arrival times for each primary input of the drivers of the combinational block.

Abstract: A system and process for operating a track trencher excavation machine includes multiple mode propulsion and steering controls that perform a plurality of functions depending on a selection of one of a plurality of operational modes. A computer modifies the functions of the multiple mode propulsion and steering controls depending on a selected operational mode, and coordinates propulsion of the engine and track drives of a track trencher in response to signals produced by the propulsion and steering controls. A display communicates status, fault, and other information to an operator during track trencher operation. Operator presence within a control area of the track trencher is monitored. Excavation and track trencher operation is interrupted upon detection of an operator leaving the control area. Automatic shutdown of the engine preferably occurs upon detection of one of a plurality of severe anomalous operating conditions.

Abstract: Disclosed is a load-setting device for railway cars which is installed on each such railway car and which sends an output to at least one of a power-running control unit and a brake control unit. The output is sent in the form of a load signal corresponding to an actual load applied on such railway car. The device comprises a preset-value generator which sets an initially preset pseudo-load signal corresponding to such railway car; a load-calculation circuit; and a load signal generator. The load calculation circuit is connected to receive the pseudo-load signal, at least one of power-running command and braking command as determined by acceleration-deceleration signals, an actual acceleration and deceleration signal on the basis of a railway car speed signal, and a slip-sliding detection signal. The load-calculation circuit modifies the pseudo-load signal in response to such at least one of such power running command and such brake command and such acceleration and deceleration signal.

Abstract: The feature distinguishing part distinguishes feature modes from the traffic volume data detected by the traffic volume detecting part or from the traffic volume data estimated from the detected traffic volume data by the traffic volume estimating part, and the control parameter setting part sets the optimum control parameter according to the distinction results, further the drive controlling part controls the drive of cars on the control parameters. The distinction function constructing part constructs and modifies the distinction function of feature modes by learning prepared plural feature modes or the distinction results of past feature modes, furthermore the control result detecting part detects the control results or the drive results of cars, and corrects the control parameters. The control results or the drive results are exhibited on the user interface, and the control parameters are set and corrected from the outside by referring the results.

Abstract: A navigation device which is operative to navigate a user along a selected route, utilizing displays of relevant map sections and the selected route. The relevant map section is updated by a control unit in accordance with changes in user's present position. The control unit includes a picture processor which controls the display unit to show in a distinctive manner within a relevant map section the route segment already travelled and the segment yet to be travelled. The resulting display can therefore be very quickly interpreted by the user.

Abstract: In a read only memory, compression data of original data are stored in a storage unit, a read address which is given from the outside in order to read original data is converted into a storage address of the compression data in the storage unit which corresponds to the original data, the compression data which is read out in accordance with the converted storage address is expanded to restore the original data, and the restored original data is read out to the outside. In order to make it difficult for an unauthorized person to use the ROM, dummy address conversion data are mixed with address conversion data.

Abstract: In a vehicle steering control system, an actuating torque is applied to steerable wheels according to a steering torque applied to a steering wheel in a conventional manner, and an additional actuating torque is applied to the steering wheel by an electric motor according to lateral dynamic conditions of the vehicle so as to control the lateral stability of the vehicle even in the presence of external interferences such as crosswind. Such external interferences are detected as a lateral dynamic condition of the vehicle such as the yaw rate of the vehicle, and the steering control system produces a steering reaction which counteracts such a lateral dynamic condition by applying the additional actuating torque to the steerable wheels so that the vehicle may maintain a straight course in spite of such external interferences without requiring any intentional efforts by the vehicle operator.

Abstract: A device executing intervisibility calculation includes a mechanism executing a radial spoke scan pattern where individual radials are traversed beginning at a threat installation and extending outward along a radial to a distance corresponding to threat range capability. Intervisibility calculation is simplified to allow implementation in a simple, dedicated hardware engine to provide rapid execution time while ensuring accurate intervisibility results. The intervisibility engine includes lookup tables to provide precalculated data and advantageously avoids divide operations whereby the intervisibility calculation may be executed by use of a series of adds, subtracts, and multiplies relative to intervisibility data developed while traversing a given radial. The engine calculates a slope for each data post visited in traversing a radial, and identifies a data post as being visible when its associated slope is greater than a previously encountered greatest magnitude slope.

Abstract: A vehicle having learning control includes a running condition detecting device for detecting a driving condition of the vehicle, a running characteristic control device for controlling a control gain to change a running characteristic of the vehicle and a gain control device for learning the running characteristic of the vehicle to change the control gain. The running characteristics of the vehicle can be controlled corresponding to various running conditions.

Abstract: An improved method is used to determine speed variation between wheels of different axles of a vehicle. The difference between the speeds of the rear wheels and the speeds of the front wheels is formed, and a correction is determined which compensates for the variations between the speeds of the front wheels and the rear wheels arising because of the vehicle geometry.

Abstract: A computer-based system and method is provided for building subsets of a hierarchical circuit design. A VLSI circuit design component is stored in computer memory. The design component identifies a leaf design entity in the hierarchical circuit design. A set of placements is determined representing positions in the hierarchical circuit design where the VLSI circuit design component appears. The placements form a subset of instances of the leaf design entity. A set of links is created. The links are associated in memory with both the VLSI circuit design component and the placements, and connect various ones of the placements to one another to further denote placement of the VLSI circuit design component within the hierarchical circuit design. A subset list is appended to the VLSI circuit design component in computer memory. The subset list denotes the previously-determined subset and includes placements where the VLSI circuit design component is identified in the hierarchical circuit design.

Abstract: An airport safety logic system includes a target state machine, a prediction engine, light-control logic, and alert logic. The target state machine receives a plurality of tracks, each of which includes information about an airport target object including a track number, position, velocity, acceleration, and a measure of the size of the airport target object. The target state machine also determines, for each track, a state of the airport target object at an airport including whether the object is stopped, taxi-ing, arriving, landing, aborting a landing, departing, or aborting a departure. The prediction engine utilizes, for each track, at least the position and the velocity of the object to predict a variety of things. The predictions include a maximum and a minimum distance the airport target object could travel in a period of time, and a maximum distance path and a minimum distance path the object could follow in that time period.

Abstract: An active suspension system uses a closed-loop feedback controller to with tunable feedback gains to produce a control signal which minimizes a cost function formed by the weighted sum of system outputs including body acceleration and wheel displacement error. The feedback gains are adaptively varied by incremental amounts which are calculated based on the "pseudo-sensitivities" of those gains to system outputs, the pseudo-sensitivities being generated by a fixed-gain model of the suspension system and being combined using weighting factors which insure convergence in accordance with the predetermined cost function. The adaptive control provides long-term compensation for varying road conditions, variations from vehicle-to-vehicle, and changes in vehicle performance.

Abstract: A feedforward disturbance compensation system and method for use with a spacecraft that compensates for predictable disturbances exerted on the spacecraft. The invention comprises a model of the disturbance that is to be compensated, means for knowing when the disturbance will occur, and means for applying the feedforward compensation to the spacecraft in accordance with the model (a compensation profile). The present invention reduces pointing transients through the application of open-loop, feedforward compensation of actuators used to point the spacecraft. The shape of the feedforward profile is determined by an in-orbit test or is predicted by analytical means. For the in-orbit test case that compensates for an eclipse, for example, the spacecraft is flown through the eclipse once to determine the size and shape of the thermal shock disturbance and this information is stored in a spacecraft control processor.

Abstract: A navigation supporting display apparatus makes it easy for an operator of ship to navigate with a safe passing distance between own ship and a target by indicating an exact danger area between own ship and the target ship. The apparatus has a collision point calculator which calculates a possible collision point of each of the vertexes of a polygonal safe passing region set around own ship, and the target ship, from a relative position of the target ship, a velocity vector of the target ship and a velocity of own ship. The apparatus has an own-ship-mapping-position calculator which calculates a position at which own ship would be located when each of the vertexes places on the collision point, and defines the position as a own-ship-mapping-position. The apparatus further has a danger area calculator which determines lines joining own-ship-mapping-positions corresponding to the collision points with each other to define a danger area.

Abstract: A force actuator (11) is connected between a vehicle body (15) and each vehicle wheel (16). A position sensor (66) senses displacement between the vehicle body and each vehicle wheel and provides a position signal (67) indicative thereof. An acceleration sensor (60) senses vertical inertial acceleration of the vehicle body relative to ground at each vehicle wheel and provides an acceleration signal (61) indicative of vertical inertial acceleration of the vehicle body at each vehicle wheel. A controller (70) including a digital signal processor (80) determines a velocity signal based on each acceleration signal. The controller determines a plurality of modal forces including heave, pitch, and roll modal forces which act on the vehicle body. The plurality of modal forces vary as a function of the position and velocity signals at the vehicle wheels. A force actuator control signal (94) at each vehicle wheel is produced which varies as a function of the plurality of modal forces.

Abstract: A plurality of indexes are provided for a multi-way set-associate cache of a computer system. The cache is organized as a plurality of blocks for storing data which are a copies of main memory data. Each block has an associated tag for uniquely identifying the block. The blocks and the tags are addressed by indexes. The indexes are generated by a Boolean hashing function which converts a memory address to cache indexes by combining the bits of the memory address using an exclusive OR function. Different combination of bits are used to generate a plurality of different indexes to address the tags and the associated blocks to transfer data between the cache and the central processing unit of the computer system.

Abstract: A misfire detection method is provided, which method makes it possible to accurately detect the occurrence/absence of misfire by eliminating a detection error in misfire detection. This error is caused by a vibrational increase or decrease of the rotational changing rate of a crankshaft after a misfire state occurs. A processor, which receives pulse outputs from a crank angle sensor, calculates in sequence angular accelerations D.omega..sub.n-2, D.omega..sub.n-1, D.omega..sub.n, and D.omega..sub.n+1 in crank angle areas which correspond to a preceding cylinder, two cylinders checked for misfire, and a succeeding cylinder, respectively. If the values D.omega..sub.n-1 and D.omega..sub.n n significantly decrease in comparison with the values D.omega..sub.n-2 and D.omega..sub.n-1, respectively, then it is tentatively determined that misfire has occurred in both cylinders checked. Then If the value D.omega..sub.n+1 significantly increases compared to the value D.omega..sub.

Abstract: An apparatus for determining power supply wirings of a semiconductor device includes a unit for executing a logic simulation based on both data concerning each of logic circuit blocks constituting the semiconductor device and data concerning signals for testing operations of the device, and thereby generating a respective output signal data for the logic circuit blocks, a unit for computing a respective operational frequency of the logic circuit blocks based on the generated output signal data, and a unit for computing a respective wiring width of each power supply line for supplying each of the logic circuit blocks with powers. The respective wiring width of each power supply line is determined based on the computed respective operational frequency of the logic circuit blocks and a plurality of wiring widths of respective power supply lines optimumly selected for each of a plurality of operational frequencies in advance.