Abstract: A novel integration of practice management and photo management systems that also integrates patients' electronic medical records to provide a complete software solution for a medical practice. The present invention includes a method of patient image management comprising importing an image having an assigned date, filtering a patient list by appointments that occur on the assigned date, associating the image with a patient from the patient list, retrieving procedure information associated with the patient's appointment, and tagging the image with the procedure information. A corresponding computer system adapted to manage patient images is also provided.

Abstract: A novel integration of practice management and photo management systems that also integrates patients' electronic medical records to provide a complete software solution for a medical practice. The present invention includes a method of patient image management comprising importing an image having an assigned date, filtering a patient list by appointments that occur on the assigned date, associating the image with a patient from the patient list, retrieving procedure information associated with the patient's appointment, and tagging the image with the procedure information. A corresponding computer system adapted to manage patient images is also provided.

Abstract: A novel integration of practice management and photo management systems that also integrates patients' electronic medical records to provide a complete software solution for a medical practice. The present invention includes a method of patient image management comprising importing an image having an assigned date, filtering a patient list by appointments that occur on the assigned date, associating the image with a patient from the patient list, retrieving procedure information associated with the patient's appointment, and tagging the image with the procedure information. A corresponding computer system adapted to manage patient images is also provided.

Abstract: A tire pressure monitor apparatus comprising a vehicle body, four vehicle wheels including tires disposed at four comers of the vehicle body, four position sensors, one mounted between each wheel and the corresponding corner of the vehicle body and a microprocessor controller, wherein the microprocessor controller receives signals from the four relative position sensors and determines, responsive thereto, for each tire, a signal indicative of a pressure of air within the tire.

Abstract: A method of controlling a vehicle suspension system including a real time continuously variable damper comprising the steps of: (a) determining a present actuator command for controlling damping force of the damper; (b) comparing the present actuator command to a previous actuator command to determine a difference value of the actuator commands; (c) if the difference value is positive, limiting the difference value to a positive threshold; (d) if the difference value is negative, limiting the difference value to a negative threshold, wherein the negative threshold has a magnitude greater than a magnitude of the positive threshold; (e) determining an output actuator command responsive to the difference value; and (f) outputting the output actuator command to the damper to control damper force, wherein the limiting of the difference value to the positive threshold reduces suspension harshness and audible noise and wherein the limiting of the difference value to the negative threshold reduces suspension audible

Abstract: A vehicle has a real time suspension control which requires, as inputs, a set of absolute body modal velocity signals. Accurate estimates of these signals are derived from relative position sensors at the body suspension points by converting the relative vertical position signals from these sensors to relative body modal (e.g. heave, pitch and roll) velocity signals and passing each of these signals through a second order low pass filter including an additional phase inversion for compensation of the 180 degree filter phase lag. Thus, the necessity of absolute body accelerometers is eliminated, for a significant cost reduction. In a vehicle having significant front to rear flexing or flexing within the front or rear suspension that can affect the accuracy of the estimated absolute body roll velocity, the normal roll velocity transformation equation is modified to include only the front or the rear pair of relative velocity signals.

Abstract: A method of determining the trim set value of a vehicle body leveling system comprising the steps of: receiving a trim set command; responsive to the trim set command, retrieving a sensor output from a vehicle height sensor; determining a difference value between the sensor output and a predetermined offset, wherein the offset is indicative of an effect an average sized operator would have on the vehicle height as measured by said height sensor; and programming the difference value into a memory of a level control system, wherein the programmed value is the trim set value for the level control system.

Abstract: An active vibration control (AVC) system is disclosed for attenuating vibrational frequency components generated by an engine and transferred through an engine mounting unit to vibrate a motor vehicle body. The motor vehicle is characterized by sprung mass and unsprung mass natural resonant frequencies at which the body also vibrates when the vehicle is driven over an undulating road surface. The AVC system operates by generating input signals representing different vibrational frequency components generated by the engine based upon sensed changes in engine rotation. Each input signal is filtered by an adaptive filter to produce a respective output signal. The output signals are summed to produce a canceling signal for driving an inertial mass shaker mounted on the body. The shaker inversely vibrates the body with respect to the different vibrational frequency components transferred to the body from the engine.

Abstract: In a vehicle suspension control in which the output of a vehicle body mounted absolute vertical acceleration sensor is integrated to provide an absolute vertical velocity signal, the sensor output is high pass filtered to remove DC components but pass components in the frequency range 1-2 Hz. The filter comprises a second order digital all-pass filter embodied recursively on a 16 bit, fixed point, digital signal processor (DSP). A first stage normalized lattice two-pair network reduces to a unity gain stage; and a second stage single multiplier two-pair lattice network minimizes computational time. The 32 bit internal accumulators of the 16 bit DSP are used advantageously to prevent errors due to internal overflow of the recursive variable.

Abstract: A full vehicle suspension control for a wheeled vehicle includes a suspension actuator and an absolute accelerometer at each corner of the vehicle body. The actuators are controlled in response to vehicle body pitch and roll velocity signals which are derived from nominally vertical acceleration signals from the accelerometers by first deriving vehicle body pitch and roll acceleration signals and then integrating these signals into vehicle body roll and pitch velocity signals. The process of converting the body corner acceleration signals to pitch and roll acceleration signals reduces any non-vertical error of the signals before integration to reduce saturation of the integrator.

Abstract: A full vehicle suspension control derives the vertical wheel and vertical body corner velocities at each corner of the vehicle body and derives therefrom a set of at least three body state velocity variables descriptive of vertical body motions and attitude. These body state velocity variables may be the body heave, roll and pitch velocities or a plurality of the vertical body corner velocities. The suspension control computes desired forces between each body corner and its corresponding wheel from a linear combination of the vertical wheel velocity of that wheel and the body state velocity variables and derives control signals from the desired forces and, in a semi-active system, the sign of demand power. The control signals are applied to vertical force actuators connected to exert vertical forces between the vehicle body and wheel at the vehicle body corners and capable of response at frequencies sufficient to control wheel as well as body vibrations in real time.

Abstract: Suspension apparatus provides a real time suspension tuning control for a motor vehicle. An actuator is connected to exert a variable force between the vehicle body and wheel. A control derives a control signal for the actuator from a linear combination of vehicle state variables derived from sensed vehicle variables, the linear combination being characterized by gains determining the relative contribution of each state variable to the control signal. The control further stores in memory a plurality of alternatives sets of gains, with each stored set of gains comprising gain values tending to produce a different suspension performance. The control is responsive to one of the sensed vehicle varibles in real time to select between the alternative sets of gains in deriving the control signal. The suspension tuning characteristics are thus easily and quickly changed in emphasis between isolation, wheel control and body attitude control in real time vehicle operation.

Abstract: A controlled suspension for a wheeled vehicle includes a damper between the vehicle body and wheel, the damper being switchable, at a frequency sufficient for the control of resonant wheel vibrations, between a first mode of operation characterized by a high damping force and a second mode of operation having a low damping force. A control repeatedly derives from sensed vehicle suspension related operating variables desired force to be applied between the body and wheel in order to produce a desired suspension behavior determines whether that force result in active or dissipative suspension power.

Abstract: A vehicle suspension system has at least one leveling device with a leveling sensor. Leveling action is ordinarily initiated when a sensor indicates height out of a dead band around the calibrated level for the sensor; however, such leveling action is prevented when the vehicle is not moving but has moved since the last opening of one or more selected vehicle doors.

Abstract: A vehicle suspension system has at least one leveling device with a leveling sensor on each side of the vehicle. Leveling action is initiated when a sensor indicates height out of a dead band around the calibrated level for the sensor. Once initiated, leveling action occurs independently for all devices in closed loop to target levels, different for intake and exhaust, which allow overshoot to a common intermediate level, the intermediate level allowing settling to the calibrated level. Order of leveling is rear first with intake before exhaust and then front with exhaust before intake to prevent the rear from falling below the front. Leveling is prevented when the vehicle is not moving but has moved since the last opening of one or more selected vehicle doors.