Abstract: In an electronic controller for an automatic transmission having at least one driving circuit incorporating a switching device for driving a solenoid used as an actuator, at least one monitor circuit for detecting an abnormal state of the actuator, and a control section connected to these circuits, an emergency power cutoff circuit is provided between the solenoid driving circuit and the positive terminal of a battery (solenoid driving power source). The switching operation of the emergency power cutoff circuit is freely controlled to effect fail-safe control on the basis of a signal which is output from a microcomputer if, for example, the switching device in the controller malfunctions by short-circuiting.

Abstract: A method for preparing the measurement specifications of an electronic circuit comprises the steps of preparing testing peripheral circuit diagrams for individual measurement items by adding standardized testing peripheral circuit modules to the basic peripheral circuit diagram of the electronic circuit, preparing an overall testing peripheral circuit diagram for use in making measurements corresponding to all the measurement items by synthesizing these testing peripheral circuit diagrams with one another, and preparing measurement specifications for individual measurement items for use in making measurements employing the overall testing peripheral circuit diagram, from the overall testing peripheral circuit diagram and the testing peripheral circuit diagrams.

Abstract: A fuzzy-logic controlled automatic transmission of a motor vehicle comprises a series of detectors for detecting parameters indicative of running conditions which the motor vehicle is involved in and generating a series of detector signals indicative of the parameters detected, a fuzzy-logic controller which contains a series of rules of thumb, each being expressed by a series of membership functions of the detector signals and recommending an action which the automatic transmission should take. In the fuzzy-logic controller, the series of rules of thumb are tested one after another based on the detector signals to determine the degrees to which the series of rules of thumb are satisfied, and a position which the automatic transmission should take is determined in response to the degrees determined. An output signal is generated by the fuzzy-logic controller which is indicative of the position determined.

Abstract: A system for certifying correctly accounted postage payment, the system includes an input for entering transactional mail run data and a data processor coupled to the input. Documents to be certified are fed along a document feed path, and certain parameters for the documents are determined. A printer under the control of the data processor, then places a certification imprint upon the documents after necessary accounting is done.

Abstract: A method of preparing measurement specifications is used in measuring the properties of an electronic circuit by means of a test facility which includes a measurement apparatus which operates in accordance with a measurement program including measurement specifications. The method includes the steps of preparing an overall testing peripheral circuit, an interface between the overall testing peripheral circuit and the measurement apparatus, and a measurement specification for each measurement item based on input signals, switch settings, and input/output signal paths of the overall testing peripheral circuit, activating the measurement apparatus in accordance with the measurement program to produce results for each measurement item, and correcting measurement specifications based on the result of the measurement and the measurement program.

Abstract: Engine racing is determined during shift in an automatic transmission having clutches associated with respective gear positions, by, after a shift command is issued to effect a shift in a power-on mode, detecting the input and output rotational speed ratios of previous-gear-position and next-gear-position clutches of the transmission, and determining that engine racing has occurred if the input and output rotational speed ratio of one of the clutches which is normally greater than 1.0 during a gear shift remains below a threshold value slightly smaller than 1.0 for a predetermined period of time.

Abstract: An electronic control system for scheduling gearshifts in a four speed automatic transmission includes storing in electronic memory accessible to a microprocessor, six functions relating vehicle speed to throttle position, one function being related to each upshift and downshift. Gearshifts are made by probing computer memory with current values for throttle position and vehicle speed, and determining on the basis of the stored shift schedule whether an upshift of downshift is required. Upshift points are determined also on the basis of the maximum engine speed when a wide open throttle condition is detected. Electronic memory continually accessible to the microprocessor is updated with new calculated values of the ratio NOV divided by base NOV. Vehicle speed from a stored schedule of gearshift values is corrected with the calculated ratio to account for changes in the driveline components from their condition when originally installed and differences from a calculated base NOV value.

Abstract: A fail-safe control device for an electronically controlled automatic transmission mounted on a vehicle is provided with a sensor for sensing the number of revolutions input to the transmission and a sensor for sensing the number of revolutions output from the transmission or from a car speed sensor. The actual gear ratio of the transmission is calculated in accordance with the number of revolutions input to the transmission and the number of revolutions output from the transmission or from the car speed sensor each obtained from said sensors. The time taken for changing the actual gear ratio at the time of shift initiation to the fixed gear ratio after the shift is measured. A predetermined shift time which has been stored is compared with the thus-measured time for the purpose of detecting a failure of the transmission.

Abstract: A method of in-gear tolerance (IGT) control continuously calculates the magnitude to slip or IGT to be used during a shift. The method calculates the indicated slip while the transmission is in-gear conditions and then freezing the current value for use when a shift is initiated.

Abstract: A system for topology directed subdivision of a pair of surfaces to identify intersecting portions thereof includes the steps of obtaining a pair of surfaces from a main pool of surface representations and performing a mutual point exclusion test to determine if the surfaces may have an intersection. For those pairs of surfaces possibly having an intersection, the transversality of the surface is checked. If transversal, the intersection set is computed. For those pairs which are not transversal, recursive subdivision is performed until transversality is established or until a flatness criteria is met. A parallel processing system including a master processor and a plurality of slave processors performs the subdivision operation on the surfaces in a parallel fashion.

Abstract: An abnormality detecting device for an EGR system comprises an EGR valve disposed in an EGR passage to control a flow rate of exhaust gas recirculated therethrough, a first temperature detecting device disposed in the EGR passage to detect the temperature of the same, a second temperature detecting device disposed in the intake air passage of an internal combustion engine, an operational condition detecting device to output parameters of the engine or the EGR valve as signals indicating operational conditions of the engine, an EGR abnormality determining zone discriminating device adapted to discriminate that the operational conditions are in a predetermined EGR abnormality determining zone in the operable area of the engine or the EGR valve in which recirculation of the exhaust gas is controlled by the EGR valve, and an abnormality determining device to determine abnormality in the EGR system on the basis of a quantitative relation between a value of the EGR abnormality determining temperature which is obtai

Abstract: An improved method and system for automatically generating reliability models for use with a reliability evaluation tool is described. The reliability model generator of the present invention includes means for storing a plurality of low level reliability models which represent the reliability characteristics for low level system components. In addition, the present invention includes means for defining the interconnection of the low level reliability models via a system architecture description. In accordance with the principles of the present invention, a reliability model for the entire system is automatically generated by aggregating the low level reliability models based on the system architecture description.

Abstract: The invention concerns an active clearance control for controlling clearance between a turbine and a casing in a gas turbine aircraft engine.The invention calculates the instantaneous clearance between a turbine casing and a turbine rotor, based on temperature. Two temperatures are involved. First, a steady state temperature (SSTemp) is computed for the rotor and the casing. SSTemp is a predicted, future temperature, which will be attained when the engine reaches steady state operation. Each SSTemp is computed based on presently occurring engine operating conditions, such as selected temperatures, pressures, and rotational speeds.Changes which occur in the SSTemp's indicate the second temperatures, which are the instantaneous temperatures of the casing and rotor. These changes in SSTemp are caused by changes in the present operating conditions, which occur during engine acceleration and deceleration.

Abstract: A vehicle operating and speed-regulating system for a motor vehicle having a transmission and an engine accelerated and decelerated under control of gas and brake pedals, wherein vehicle speed is maintained at a constant value preset by actuation of one of the pedals just before both pedals are released. The constant speed maintaining action of the system is effected by regulating both shifting of the transmission and optimized operation of the engine pursuant to calculations made to attain driving conditions in accordance with diagrammed characteristics of the engine.

Abstract: This invention is a computer-based engine-diagnostic method wherein there are provided lists of observable engine faults and causes for each observable engine fault. A user inputs one or more observed engine faults, and the software responds by displaying, in decreasing order by number of occurrences, causes which are common to two or more of the observed engine faults. Thus, the most probable causes for the observed engine faults appear at the head of the display. Additionally, once a probable cause is determined, the software is enabled to display other engine faults which should be observable, given the selected cause.

Abstract: This invention relates to cab signalling systems that receive various permissible maximum speed signals and decode the maximum speed signal to inform the engineman of a train of the current maximum safe speed that a train may travel. The apparatus of this invention accomplishes the foregoing by utilizing a single digital filter and a microprocessor to decode the various transmitted maximum speed signals and to verify that the decoded maximum speed signal represents one of the permissible maximum safe speeds.

Abstract: A system for diagnosing a motor vehicle has a diagnosis device including a computer having a central processing unit and a ROM. The ROM stores a plurality of programs for diagnosing an electronic control system for controlling an engine. The electronic control system has a self-diagnosis function and a nonvolatile memory for storing trouble data as a result of the self-dignosis. A communication system is provided in the diagnosis device for supplying a trouble check signal to the electronic control system. In response to the trouble check signal, the electronic control system derives the trouble data from the nonvolatile memory and sends the trouble data to the diagnosis device.

Abstract: A system for diagnosing a motor vehicle has a diagnosis device including a computer having a central processing unit and a memory, the memory having a plurality of programs for diagnosing an electronic control system for controlling an engine. An indicator section and a display are provided. The diagnosis device has a control unit. The control unit receives input and output data of an element in the electronic control system and drives the indicator to indicate operating conditions of the element in accordance with the input and output data. On the other hand, the display displays an identification code of the element.

Abstract: A system for diagnosing a motor vehicle has a diagnosis device including a computer having a central processing unit and an input/output interface, a first connector for connecting the input/output interface to the control system. A memory cartridge is detachably connected to the diagnosis device through a second connector. First auxiliary terminals are provided on the first connector for connecting the diagnosis device with the control system, and second auxiliary terminals are provided on the second connector. The first auxiliary terminals are connected with the second auxiliary terminals through communication lines provided in the diagnosis device, and the second auxiliary terminals are connected with the input/output interface through communication lines provided in the memory cartridge.

Abstract: A system for diagnosing a motor vehicle has a diagnosis device including a computer having a central processing unit and a RAM and ROM. The ROM stores a plurality of programs for diagnosing an electronic control system for controlling an engine. The ROM stores data for displaying abbreviations of an input diagnosis mode. Data for an abbreviation is derived from the ROM in accordance with the input diagnosis mode and the abbreviation is displayed on a display in accordance with the data.