Abstract: An internal combustion engine for a vehicle has a first device for generating an ignition signal causing the engine spark plug to fire at a predetermined timing schedule and at retarded timings relative to the predetermined schedule. A second device is provided for detecting all three of (1) a high engine speed condition, (2) a high load operating condition and (3) a condition in which a transmission gear arrangement is in a low speed gear position. The second device produces a signal when all three conditions are satisfied. A third device causes the first device to generate the ignition signal at the retarded timings in response to the signal from the second device, thereby effectively decreasing combustion noise due to a greater combustion pressure rise at low vehicle speeds during high engine speed and load operations.

Abstract: A rectifier rectifies the output of a sensor which senses vibrations of an engine. The output from the rectifier is supplied through a smoothing circuit to a comparator where the smoothed rectified output from the smoothing circuit and the output of the sensor are compared to obtain a signal representing knocking when the knocking occurs. This signal is used to cut off supply of the rectified signal from the rectifier to the smoothing circuit during knocking.

Abstract: A process for production of hydrocarbons useful as fuels, comprises contacting a feed stream containing acetylene with a zeolite catalyst, whereby a reaction product containing said hydrocarbons is obtained. In a preferred embodiment the feed stream contains acetylene in admixture with one or more other compounds, for example inert gases, water, hydrogen, methane, ethane, and alcohols.

Abstract: Ultrasonic echo signals are successively sampled and converted to digital echo data which are written into a first digital memory column by column and then read out row by row into a first buffer memory. The digital echo data which are derived in response to beams successively transmitted in a predetermined direction are written into columns of a second digital memory and read out of the memory in rows into a second buffer memory. The data stored in the first and second buffer memories are read out for digital-to-analog conversion and selectively applied within a television "frame" interval to control electron beam intensity of a single cathode ray tube so as to present tomographic and cardiographic images in different display areas of the tube.

Abstract: A spare-tire storage arrangement of an automotive vehicle, comprising a tire-storage pan portion forming part of the floor panel structure of the vehicle body and downwardly sunk from the upper face of the floor panel structure, the tire-storage pan portion having a bottom wall and a side wall and being formed with a concavity which is open upwardly and which is surrounded by the side wall, the tire-storage pan portion being internally sized to be suitable for having a regular-sized spare tire received on the inner surface of the side wall at least at a plurality of points of the outer perimeter of the tread portion of the tire; a receptacle member externally sized to fit the inner surface of the side wall of the tire-storage pan portion, the receptacle member having an upper face located above the upper face of the bottom wall of the tire-storage pan portion at a level equal to the difference between the depth of the concavity in the tire-storage pan portion and the width of a temporary-use spare tire.

Abstract: An electronic timepiece is provided with a photo-electric cell generating an output voltage indicative of incident illumination levels, circuit means for converting this output voltage into digital data signals, and a liquid crystal display which is driven in response to the data signals such that successive sections of the display act to progressively unmask a rear reflector plate to thereby indicate the illumination level. The circuits for converting illumination level to data signals are based on an oscillator circuit whose frequency is controlled by the photo-electric cell voltage, and digital means for measuring this frequency, so that the circuit configuration is very simple and power comsumption extremely low.

Abstract: A text processing system includes a word processor having a microprocessor controller interfacing a display unit, keyboard and memory. The word processor, in turn, is connected to a tape recording device via an interface unit permitting bi-directional transfer of data between the microprocessor and the recorder. During a first operating mode, designated text on the screen of the word processor has operator comments associated therewith which comments are recorded on the tape recorder along with address information for recovering the designated text from the word processor memory. In a second mode, comments are played back while viewing the text to which the comments pertain.

Abstract: A detecting device for detecting when the amount of toner in a dual component developing material is less than a predetermined level includes a hopper for supplying the toner, a stirring roller for stirring a carrier and the toner from the hopper, and a detector for detecting the amount of developing material provided near the stirring roller to mix the toner supplied from the hopper with the carrier. A discriminator discriminates an output signal from the detector for a predetermined interval during the rotational period of the stirring roller. An indicating element operates in response to the output signal from the discriminator to indicate when the amount of the toner in the developing material is less than the predetermined level. Since it is indicated when the toner in the developing material is less than the predetermined level, the toner is supplied according to such indication, and therefore, an undesirable deterioration of copy density is prevented.

Abstract: A method of applying a coating of polyarylene sulphide to a bearing in which an initmate mixture of a polyarylene sulphide with an aryl ester of an aryl alcohol is applied to a bearing blank and subsequently heated to evaporate the ester and cure the coating. The mixture can be a dry powder mixture, a wet powder mixture, a paste, a suspension, a liquid solution or a solid solution. The preferred mixture comprises polyphenylene sulphide and benzyl benzoate.

Abstract: A device for determining the tightness of a wedge used to close the slot of a dynamoelectric machine and firmly restrain the conductors installed in the slot, is in the form of a tapping hammer or similar tapping tool. The heat of the hammer contains an accelerometer which outputs a pulse signal having a duration representing the time the head is in contact with the wedge. The pulse signal duration is also related to the tightness of the wedge. Associated electronic circuitry measures the time duration and displays the measured value on a digital display on the hammer unless this display is inhibited. The strength of each blow is assessed by an integrating circuit which gives an output related to the strength of the blow. If this output is not within predetermined upper and lower limits, defining a "window", the display of the measured time duration is inhibited and instead the display indicates that the blow was too hard or too weak.

Abstract: In a bandpass filter having five or more resonator stages, a sub transmission line is coupled to the main transmission line at the first and fourth resonators. The first to fourth resonators provide peak attenuation points at both sides of the center frequency in the attenuation curve, while the remaining resonators following the fourth resonator further sharpen the attenuation characteristics of the bandpass filter. The main and sub transmission lines may be formed by striplines on a printed circuit board, while the sub transmission line can be capacity coupled to the main transmission line. Coupling capacitances are freely set by setting the length of each gap between adjacent striplines to a desired value. Thus, the peak attenuation points can be accurately controlled to provide a bandpass filter having superior characteristics.

Abstract: A safety device for preventing overspeed of a rotary shaft driven by an electrical motor is arranged to cut a portion of an electrical circuit feeding the motor with electrical power, by making a cutter received in a rotary member jump up or protrude by a centrifugal force acting on the cutter, so that dangerous overspeed is prevented. The cutter is movably received in a radial bore made in the rotary member, and receives a tensile force from a coil spring which is fixedly supported by the rotary member at one end of the spring. An adjusting screw, which is a cylindrical member, is provided for biasing the cutter against the tensile force from the spring. A critical rotational speed, above which the cutter jumps to break the electrical circuit, can be freely adjusted by changing the position of the adjusting screw. The change in position of the adjusting screw results in both the change of an eccentric distance of the cutter and the change of the tensile force of the spring.

Abstract: In a method for purifying a crude epoxidation product of a liquid conjugated diolefin polymer or a vegetable oil which comprises the steps of adding an aqueous washing agent to a crude epoxidation product which is obtained by the reaction of a liquid conjugated diolefin polymer or a vegetable oil with an organic peracid or an epoxidizing agent capable of generating an organic peracid in situ, stirring the mixture, leaving the mixture to stand to induce phase separation and thereafter withdrawing the organic layer, the improvement wherein 50 to 300 parts by weight, per 100 parts by weight of the crude epoxidation product, of a 10-80% by weight aqueous solution of isopropanol is used as the washing agent.

Abstract: A closure for a pipe or pressure vessel comprises a door adapted to fit into an aperture in a pipe or pressure vessel and an arcuate locking member disposed around the periphery of the door for locking the door to the pipe or pressure vessel, the ends of the locking member being movable towards and away from each other to cause radial expansion and contraction of the locking member, whereby the locking member is brought into and out of locking engagement with the pipe or pressure vessel. A seal for the closure comprises a rigid, usually annular, support having first and second flanges for engaging respective opposed faces on the closure and the pipe or pressure vessel, the first flange having a greater surface area and being less flexible than the second flange, and a flexible lining carried by the support and extending beyond the terminal edges of the flanges.

Abstract: A fishing rod comprising a first rod having a grip and tapering toward the fore end and a second rod having a tip and a connecting portion connected to the fore end of the first rod, the first rod having an ellipse-like cross sectional shape, the tip at the second rod having a round-like cross sectional shape, the connecting portion changing in cross section from an ellipse-like shape to a round-like shape. A third rod section with an elliptical cross section may be added between the first and second rod sections.

Abstract: A closed cycle in-line double-acting hot gas engine designed such that an ordinary crankshaft can be used without the need of special jigs and tools. The hot gas engine according to the present invention has regenerator/coolers which are each arranged around the respective cylinders concentrically and cylindrically with respect to the cylinders and four pairs of approximately quadrant-shaped manifolds arranged over the engine so as to form a heat exchanger with the respective heaters gathered in cylindrical shape.

Abstract: From an acrylonitrile-dimerization liquid product prepared by contacting acrylonitrile with a specific catalyst composed of a metal halide and a trialkylamine, 2-methyleneglutaronitrile is efficiently recovered by a process which comprises contacting the reaction liquid product under stirring with benzene, toluene or xylene as well as with water in specific ratios, and then separating the resulting aromatic hydrocarbon layer from the mixture to recover 2-methyleneglutaronitrile.

Abstract: A workpiece clamping apparatus for machine tools comprises a frame; a rocking sleeve member, rockably fixed to the frame; a cylindrical member, slidably inserted in the rocking sleeve member, so as to move therein; a rod member, inserted in the cylindrical member, so as to project therefrom; a swinging holding member, rockably provided at one end of the rod member; and an upper clamping jaw and a lower clamping jaw, both connected to the swinging holding member, for gripping an end of a workpiece.

Abstract: The present invention provides a modified distributed amplifier which is capable of accepting two or more independent inputs and amplifying them without giving rise to a large number of significant intermodulation products. This modified distributed amplifier effectively comprises two or more unmodified distributed amplifiers (as V.sub.11 to V.sub.18 and V.sub.21 to V.sub.28) joined so as to have a common output line (10) but individual, independent, input lines (111 and 211). The join is preferably "back-to-back" (in a parallel sense) so that the individual distributed amplifiers are in some sort of interleaved arrangement.

Abstract: A safe remote-control door opening-and-closing device for an automotive vehicle in which the door can not be opened or closed by a driver from a remote position when a passenger is in an abnormal sitting position, for instance, when he is leaning against the door or when he is getting out of the vehicle. Furthermore, in the safe remote-control device according to the present invention, it is possible to open the door which is currently being closed if the passenger is getting out of the vehicle. The safe remote-control device comprises one or two abnormal sitting position detection switches of the pressure-sensitive type, which are disposed under the trim of the seat near the door, or under the lining on an inner door panel, in addition to the conventional remote-control door opening-and-closing device.