Abstract: A surgical instrument, in particular a laminectomy rongeur or a conchotome, with a shaft and with a one-piece sliding part, longitudinally displaceable relative to the shaft, with which for longitudinal displacement a grip part is associated which is pivotable about a pivot axis, wherein the sliding part is able to be transferred from a working position, in which the sliding part is guided longitudinally displaceably on the shaft in a guide, into a cleaning position, in which the sliding part is freed from the guide and is pivotable relative the shaft about a rotation axis oriented perpendicularly to the longitudinal extent of the shaft. The rotation axis is aligned perpendicularly to the pivot axis of the pivotable grip part.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for controlling the steering of an automatic guided vehicle (AGV) includes simultaneously correcting the vehicle's heading and position errors. The vehicle may include first and second steering control loops that determine the vehicle's position and heading errors, respectively. Separate commands are generated from these control loops to steer the vehicle in a manner that tends to reduce these errors. The vehicle may include a forward and a rearward pair of wheels. For correcting position errors, the first control loop issues the same steering command to both the forward and rearward pair of wheels. For correcting heading errors, the second control loop issues a steering command to the rearward pair of wheels that is summed together with the first control loop's steering command prior to being applied to the rearward pair of wheels.

Abstract: A size of an area extending along a planned route is changed in accordance with a detected vehicle's speed. Map information corresponding to the extending area is extracted from the map information stored in map information storage means. The extracted map information is displayed, along with vehicle's current location, on display means.

Abstract: An automated terrain awareness and avoidance system includes a transmitter located in a region to be protected from controlled flight into terrain accidents. The transmitter transmits an identification value to an aircraft. In response, a safety checking routine on the aircraft identifies a danger zone around the transmitter, and determines whether the aircraft has (or will) enter the danger zone. If the safety checking routine determines that the aircraft has (or will) enter the danger zone, the safety checking routine determines a safe route and engages the autopilot, which steers the aircraft along the safe route. The safety checking routine also causes a password to be transmitted to an air route traffic control center (ARTCC). The autopilot is disengaged if the safety checking routine determines the aircraft is no longer on course to enter the danger zone, or when the password, which must be received from the ARTCC, is entered.

Abstract: A terminal Global Positioning System (TGPS) adopting a real-time self Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) is developed for positioning a moving station in a local area. This TGPS enables not only to minimize the error ranges without any additional expensive transmitting-receiving equipment, but also to calculate an accurate correcting value through a TGPS server.

Abstract: The present invention is directed toward head-up display based safety devices for use in motor vehicles. The first aspect of the present invention is directed towards facilitating accurate driver operation of a driver operable device deployable in a motor vehicle without the need for a driver to turn his eyes downwards toward its control panel. This can be achieved by either providing an icon representative of the position of a driver's fingertip positioned for operating the driver operable device for superimposition on a head-up display image of the layout of its control panel, or employing a speech recognition module to issue output control signals in accordance with spoken commands. The second aspect of the present invention is directed toward projecting a head-up display image of a driver's rear field of vision including wireframe images of objects located therein.

Abstract: Disclosed is a control device for a fuel cell vehicle which prevents that a fuel cell vehicle cannot run immediately after an abnormal condition of a fuel cell occurs. A current supply limiting unit 54 permits output current limiting means 30 to interrupt a current supplied from a fuel cell 2 to a capacitor 3 and a motor driver 5 when an upper limit amount of generated electric energy (Ifc_LMT) outputted from a fuel cell control unit 16 and indicative of an upper limit amount of electric energy generated by the fuel cell 2 is equal to a predetermined amount of generated electric energy or lower.

Abstract: A wireless, in-road traffic sensor system using sensors that are small, low-cost, and rugged. The sensors may be capable of measuring the speed of passing vehicles, identifying the type of passing vehicle and measuring information about roadway conditions, e.g., wet or icy. The sensor includes a wireless transmitter and may be configured for installation beneath a roadway surface. The sensors may be configured as a traffic sensor system including distributed sensors across a roadway system, concentrators for receiving the sensor broadcasts and a central computer for accumulating and organizing the sensed information. The sensed information may also be made available responsive to user requests via the Web through such reports as traffic delays, alternate route planning and travel time estimates. Alternatively, the sensed information may also be used to control traffic through a traffic control means, such as a traffic signal.

Abstract: A control system for an electric motor for driving an electric vehicle comprising lock state judgment means to judge that the electric motor is in a lock state when a state where a rotational speed of a brushless DC motor has a value equal to or less than a set lock start rotational speed while an opening degree of an accelerator is equal to or more than a predetermined judgment opening degree continues during predetermined judgment time and lock time drive current control means to perform such a control as to gradually reduce a drive current of the motor to a lock-time limit value. Thus, when the rotational speed of the vehicle is lowered until the motor gets the lock state while the vehicle is driven in the state where the accelerator is opened with the opening degree being equal to or more than the judgment opening degree, the drive current is decreased whereby a temperature of armature coils is prevented from abnormally rising.

Abstract: A digital card of a highway network is provided in the form of a traffic file in a traffic data control center and in a terminal. Sections of streets or lanes or groups of streets or lanes are each represented as a segment in the digital card. Data pertaining to a chain of segments which follow each other in a numerical sequence in the highway network are combined in the control center into traffic data packets. Each traffic data packet contains (a) an identifier symbol representing the identity of the segment at one end of the chain, (b) a numerical chain segment symbol representing the total number of segments in numerical sequence in the chain, and (c) at least one condition symbol representing the condition of at least one of the segments in the chain The traffic data packets are transmitted to the terminal, where they are decoded and route information is output to a terminal user.

Abstract: In method and apparatus for controlling a vehicular velocity of a host vehicle to follow a preceding vehicle which is running ahead of the host vehicle, a control target is switched between an inter-vehicle distance control in which the vehicular velocity of the host vehicle is controlled to make a detected value of the inter-vehicle distance substantially equal to a target value of the inter-vehicle distance and a vehicular velocity control in which the vehicular velocity of the host vehicle is controlled to make a detected value of the vehicular velocity of the host vehicle substantially equal to a target value of the vehicular velocity of the host vehicle according to a result of a detection of a variation of a gradient of a road segment which is forward of the vehicle and on which the host vehicle is to run.

Abstract: A generation section for root guide information 25 retrieves a plurality of information elements from an information data storage section 23 and creates root guide information. Then, a generation part for guide information data blocks 26 reorganizes the root information into a plurality of guide information data blocks including at least one information element from the root guide information. The guide information data blocks generated through reorganizing are sequentially transmitted from a radio communication unit 27 to an in-vehicle device 30. When it becomes impossible to execute route guidance using one type of guide information because of a breakdown in communication or the like, route guidance can still be executed by using guide information already received.

Abstract: To obtain good approximate solutions of a combinatorial optimization problem such as traveling salesman problem and to enable its processing apparatus in form of massively parallel exclusive devices, an information carrier corresponding to the distribution of a plurality of points given on an n-dimensional space (n is an integer not smaller than 2), and time development and time reversal of the information carrier are used to process the information. The information carrier may be the density of particles or optical intensity corresponding to the distribution of the given points, and a diffusion process of the particles or a defocusing process is used as changes with time. The traveling salesman problem is solved by using this method.

Abstract: A size of an area extending along a planned route is changed in accordance with a detected vehicle's speed. Map information corresponding to the extending area is extracted from the map information stored in map information storage means. The extracted map information is displayed, along with vehicle's current location, on display means.

Abstract: A real-time integrated vehicle positioning method and system with differential GPS can substantially solve the problems encountered in either the global positioning system-only or the inertial navigation system-only, such as loss of global positioning satellite signal, sensitivity to jamming and spoofing, and an inertial solution's drift over time. In the present invention, the velocity and acceleration from an inertial navigation processor of the integrated GPS/INS system are used to aid the code and carrier phase tracking of the global positioning system satellite signals, so as to enhance the performance of the global positioning and inertial integration system, even in heavy jamming and high dynamic environments. To improve the accuracy of the integrated GPS/INS navigation system, phase measurements are used and the idea of the differential GPS is employed. However, integer ambiguities have to be resolved for high accuracy positioning.

Abstract: A method generates an operational ballistic capture transfer for an object emanating substantially at earth or earth orbit to arrive at the moon or moon orbit using a computer implemented process. The method includes the steps of entering parameters including velocity magnitude VE, flight path angle &ggr;E, and implementing a forward targeting process by varying the velocity magnitude VE, and the flight path angle &ggr;E for convergence of target variables at the moon. The target variables include radial distance, rM, and inclination iM. The method also includes the step of iterating the forward targeting process until sufficient convergence to obtain the operational ballistic capture transfer from the earth or the earth orbit to the moon or the moon orbit.

Abstract: A safety arrangement in a motor vehicle comprises a safety device (38) adapted to protect an occupant of the vehicle in the case of a roll-over accident, and a roll sensor arrangement to provide a signal (33) to trigger activation of the safety device. A sensor (30) senses an angular parameter such as angular speed about the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, or the actual angle of roll about the longitudinal axis of the vehicle. A further sensor (31) senses a velocity parameter relating to the vehicle speed, such as the total velocity of the vehicle, or the velocity of the vehicle in a predetermined direction. A processor (35) senses an angular speed in excess of a predetermined threshold, which activates a timing mechanism (36) which is associated with a processor (34) which compares angular velocity with a threshold, and provides a triggering signal if the threshold is exceeded. The threshold is a function of vehicle speed.

Abstract: A GPS receiver and associated method that embodies high-dynamic, fast acquisition, and interference-suppressing capabilities for the reception and processing of GPS signals from a plurality of GPS satellites to produce GPS signal time and frequency parameters and navigation fixes. The GPS receiver includes an antenna and an analog front-end to intercept the incoming radio-frequency signal, band-limiting amplify the signal, and to convert it to an appropriate intermediate frequency so that it may be converted to digital form. One or more high-speed digital signal processors (DSP) constitute an all digital software baseband processor that process the sampled and quantified signals to form a two-dimensional delay-Doppler map of correlation power and to extract the signal time and frequency parameters and navigation data. The baseband processor is organized into functionally identical channels, each dynamically assigned to a different satellite visible.

Abstract: When a satellite is orbiting the earth in an elliptic orbit, it has a certain inclination with respect to the earth's equator. The usual way to change the inclination is perform a maneuver by firing the rocket engines at the periapsis of the ellipse. This then forces the satellite into the desired inclination. There is a substantially more fuel efficient way to change the inclination. This is done by an indirect route by first doing a maneuver to bring the satellite to the moon on a BCT (Ballistic Capture Transfer). At the moon, the satellite is in the so called fuzzy boundary or weak stability boundary. A negligibly small maneuver can then bring it back to the earth on a reverse BCT to the desired earth inclination. Another maneuver puts it into the new ellipse at the earth. In the case of satellites launched from Vandenberg AFB into LEO in a circular orbit of an altitude of 700 km with an inclination of 34°, approximately 6 km/s is required to change the inclination to 90°.

Abstract: A method for monitoring an electronically controlled drive unit of a vehicle uses actual vehicle acceleration and a preselected vehicle acceleration. Actual acceleration is determined from any of an acceleration sensor or vehicle speed sensors. When actual acceleration is greater than the preselected acceleration, a reaction is initiated to reduce vehicle acceleration. A method for controlling vehicle acceleration is also disclosed where desired acceleration is determine from either the operator command or a cruise control system.