Abstract: A sewing machine control device for controlling the drive of a sewing machine. The sewing machine control device is provided with a monitoring device having a display device for displaying data to identify the direction of rotation and abnormal conditions of the sewing machine.

Abstract: A printer, which is improved in print quality, comprises first storage means for storing at least data on dots adjacent to an aimed dot on a line to be printed; second storage means for storing data on aimed dots on the line immediately before the line to be printed and on the line located two line before the line to be printed, and at least data on dots adjacent to the aimed dots on the line immediately before the line to be printed and the line located two lines before the line to be printed; third storage means for storing correcting data formed according to the data stored by the first and second storage means; and control means for controlling the energization time of the aimed dot on the line to be printed, according to the correcting data.

Abstract: An apparatus for controlling the idling rotation of an engine comprises a generator driven by the engine for charging a battery for supplying DC power to electrical loads, a switching circuit for controlling an exciting current flowing through a field coil of the generator to keep the voltage of the battery substantially constant, and a control circuit for controlling an amount of suction air sucked into the engine. The control circuit includes a detection circuit for detecting a total excitation period C.sub.pr of the field coil in every predetermined crank angle cycle and a computer for computing a correction amount P.sub.E of air sucked in the engine in response to the detected total excitation period C.sub.pr.

Abstract: A knocking device for an internal combustion engine which detects the ionization current through an ignition coil just prior to the time of ignition, and judges whether or not the ionization current is above a predetermined level after a predetermined time or crank angle from the ignition. If the ionization current is above the predetermined level, it is judged that knocking has taken place. Accordingly, knocking can be detected simply and surely.

Abstract: In an electric discharge machining apparatus, a vertically movable processing tank is provided for reserving therein a processing liquid. The processing tank is variable in a vertical direction. A link mechanism is used as a unit for vertically moving the processing tank. A processing-tank vertically-moving arrangement has an air cylinder for retaining the processing tank through an entire stoke of the processing tank moving vertically and a spring operative through the entire stroke and having a retaining force which varies depending upon a position of the stroke without the necessity of control from the outside. In a second embodiment a cylindrical bellows element is used to seal a table on which the workpiece is mounted to the tank.

Abstract: A programmable controller (PC) to which fuzzy logic principles have been applied is disclosed. The controller improves operational speed by performing several of the fuzzy logic functions in the A/D and D/A converters traditionally used in PC units, thereby allowing portions of a fuzzy logic control operation to proceed in parallel and independently. The invention dispenses with the use of look-up tables and the like for fuzzy membership functions, fuzzy output functions, etc., by defining the functions in terms of (typically) three points in an orthogonal coordinate system, saving memory space. The invention also includes a fuzzy control process having the described aspects and a method of monitoring a PC or PCs having a fuzzy control function.

Abstract: In a continuously variable transmission of the type in which a speed change ratio is changed in a manner that the radius of rotation of a belt wound around a drive pulley and a driven pulley is varied by changing the width of a groove between the pulley parts of each pulley with an oil pressure. A control means for controlling an oil pressure in various control modes shifts the control mode from a hold mode to a start mode, when a driver manipulates a vehicle carrying the continuously variable transmission with his intention to start the vehicle, and an amount of discharge flow of an oil pump for generating an oil pressure exceeds a preset value. The safety factor in a stationary state is calculated using the effective tension of the CVT belt, secondary side oil pressure, and the speed change ratio.

Abstract: The invention relates to a spindle speed/position control system for use in a numerically controlled machine tool such as a lathe. To improve the measurement of spindle speed and position, detected elements are attached directly to the rotatable spindle. A waveform shaping circuit takes the outputs of speed and position detecting sensors, and outputs a variety of sinusoidal and pulse signals. The sinusoidally varying signals are employed in speed detection while the pulse signals are used for position detection and control.

Abstract: A snubber circuit for a DC chopper-type power converter having a power supply and a switching circuit connected to a load, the switching circuit comprising a switch and a diode, and the snubber circuit having a combination of capacitances, diodes and inductances to direct and store currents and voltages during the ON/OFF operation of the switch. A surge current and voltage suppressing capability is provided by the series connection of an inductor or reactor between the switch and the diode in the switching circuit, with the load circuit being connected at either end of the inductor or reactor element. Further, the snubber may be arranged as two parallel series circuits, one containing the switch, inductor and diode and another containing additional diodes and inductance. Resonance suppression may be provided by the further addition of a capacitor between the inductor in the first series circuit and the diodes in the second series circuit.

Abstract: A discharge-excited laser apparatus includes a pair of discharge electrodes extending in a direction of an optical axis; a plurality of charging capacitors charged by a power source; a plurality of peaking capacitors arranged in parallel in a longitudinal direction of the discharge electrodes and receiving energy accumulated in the charging capacitors; and a plurality of semiconductor switches arranged with conductive plates in the longitudinal direction of the discharge electrodes and connected in series and in parallel to the peaking capacitors. The construction of the semiconductor switches enables uniform shift of the energy in the charging capacitors to the peaking capacitors and reduction of inductance of a loop for capacity shifting.

Abstract: A fault diagnosis device and process for an exhaust gas recycle control unit of an engine, comprising a return pipe for returning the exhaust gas to an intake pipe, apparatus for opening and closing the return pipe and apparatus for detecting and storing engine operating conditions when the return pipe is opened and closed. The opening and closing apparatus is controlled so that the flow rate of the returned gas is gradually changed when the return pipe is closed from the open state or vice versa.

Abstract: A differential gear lock controller, in which it is judged that a speed sensor has failed if the throttle opening or the number of revolutions of an engine is greater than or equal to a predetermined value and if the state in which the vehicle speed is zero elapses a predetermined time or more, or if the deceleration of the vehicle speed is greater than or equal to a predetermined value. In such a case, the operation of controlling a driver for driving a mechanism for locking a rear differential gear is stopped.

Abstract: In a rectifier device in a vehicle AC generator, a pair of heat sinks are formed curved with the middle portions of the diode mounting seats thereof parallel-shifted vertically from the remaining end portions, and each of the diode mounting seats has a number of cooling fins, and the cooling fins extended from the middle portions of the diode mounting seats are longer than those extended from the other portions, whereby the heat sinks are increased in heat radiating area and decreased in length.

Abstract: A starter motor with an intermediate gear wheel. The starter motor includes an interposition member interposed between the front end of a clutch cover fitted onto an overrunning clutch and the rear end of an intermediate gear wheel, a movable connecting member including a boss portion which is loosely fitted onto the outer circumference of an extended boss portion projecting backwardly from the rear end portion of the intermediate gear wheel, and a circular-arc-shaped fitting portion which is formed integrally with the rear end portion of the boss portion to extend upwardly and which is fitted to a lower half portion of a fitting groove formed at the rear end portion of the overrunning clutch so as to be movable in the axial direction of the clutch.

Abstract: A troubleshooting system for an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) controller, which troubleshoots the EGR controller in an optimal short EGR-OFF time by not only detecting either a rate of change of an intake manifold pressure or a difference between a maximum and a minimum thereof associated with the turning on and of the EGR in accordance with an EGR flow amount using an operation condition detecting means, but also detecting a number of revolutions of an engine or the like.

Abstract: An on-board vehicle position detector includes a dead reckoning position detector 4 and a GPS receiver 6, the outputs of which are stored in the dead reckoner data memory unit 8 and the GPS data memory unit 7, respectively, at a predetermined sampling period. Usually, the position of the vehicle is determined on the basis of the data obtained via the GPS receiver 6. When, however, the vehicle travel distance between two successive sampling times as determined via the GPS receiver 6 becomes abnormally large, the position data of the dead reckoning position detector 4 is selected.

Abstract: A method and an apparatus for following a vehicle are disclosed by which the distance from a vehicle to a preceding target vehicle running ahead thereof can be exactly measured and, based on the thus measured distance, an appropriate vehicle following window can be automatically set with respect to a target image of the preceding vehicle at the start of vehicle following. Images of objects including the preceding vehicle are taken from two different points. The distance to the preceding vehicle is measured based on the images thus taken from the two points. On the basis of the measured distance, the size of an image-following window to be set within an image area displayed on a screen of a display is determined for following the preceding vehicle. The image of the preceding vehicle is found among various images of objects in the image area on the screen, and the position of the window on the screen is properly set and then temporarily stored in a memory.

Abstract: In order to provide a starter motor with an intermediate gear which can secure a good engaging performance for a pinion, an intermediate gear and a ring gear to thereby eliminate the strange sound of the intermediate gear and to reduce the wear of a bearing of the intermediate gear as well as the wear of the teeth of the pinion and intermediate gear, according to the invention, there is provided a starter motor with an intermediate gear in which the shift coefficient of a pinion is set smaller than the shift coefficient of the intermediate gear to thereby reduce a difference between two kinds of engagement pressure angles respectively obtained between the pinion and intermediate gear as well as between the intermediate gear and a ring gear.

Abstract: In a non-circular gear pair comprising two non-circular gears maintained engaged, those gears have first and second intermeshing rotation parts in such a manner that the first intermeshing rotation part forms an intermeshing pitch curve with which the speed of rotation is given to one of the two gears which changes exponentially with respect to the speed of rotation of the other non-circular gear, and the second intermeshing rotation part is extended between the start and en-d points of the first intermeshing rotation part so as to form an intermeshing pitch curve with which the rotation speed ratio and the angular acceleration ratio change continuously, whereby the rotation speed and the angular acceleration change continuously throughout the first and second intermeshing rotation parts including the connecting points thereof.

Abstract: A distance measuring device including an optical system for measuring a distance by trigonometric measurement, a display device for displaying an object, image following device for following an image of the object by a following window, first and second distance detecting device for calculating distances from the optical system to objects of which the images are present in the following window and the subwindow located adjacent thereto, image-following-condition detecting device for detecting a condition of following an image of the object by the following window, and window-setting renewal device for renewing the settings of all the subwindows on the basis of the data of the calculated distance and the detected image-following-condition.