Abstract: A matched pair of vibrating beam force transducers for use in an instrument such as an accelerometer, to provide enhanced linearity and common mode tracking, while decreasing the possibility of lock in or cross-talk between the transducers. In a preferred embodiment, first and second transducers are provided, the transducers producing respective first and second output signals having respective first and second frequencies. The transducers are connected in an arrangement in which for a given acceleration, one frequency increases and the other frequency decreases. The first transducer comprises a pair of first beams, and the second transducer comprises a pair of second beams.

Abstract: First and second Hall-effect proximity sensors are arranged in combination with a magnet so that when the magnet is moved under the influence of an accelerative force or the like the output of one sensor increases while the other decreases. The magnitude of the difference between the two outputs is indicative of the force while the effects of temperature on the individual signals mutually offset one and other.

Abstract: An accelerometer is provided with a pendulum having a coil, a support for the pendulum to swing in a magnetic field, and a control circuit electrically connected to the coil and responsive to detection of a swing motion of the pendulum for supplying a control current to the coil to suppress the swing motion, wherein the value of the control current is taken as information representing the acceleration acted on the pendulum, wherein the coil is formed by a printing technique on a sheet member which constitutes part of the pendulum.

Abstract: A device for detecting the amount of intake air for an internal combustion engine, which comprises a detect control circuit provided on the outer periphery of a member which forms an intake air path and which detects the amount of the intaken air, the detect control circuit having a pressure sensor and a second waveform shaping circuit which shapes and produces a difference between the output signal of the pressure sensor and the output signal of a low-pass filter. A pressure take-out port of the pressure sensor is so located as to detect the pressure in the outer periphery of the member which forms an air path, and the member and the detect control circuit are contained in the air cleaner.

Abstract: An apparatus for producing signals indicative of both a Coriolis rate and an acceleration along a preferred axis while decoupling extraneous vibration and motion that would introduce errors into the signals, and a driving mechanism for vibrating the apparatus at a dither frequency. The apparatus includes a parallelogram frame (50) including two accelerometer support surfaces (24, 26) on which are mounted two accelerometers (20 and 22) having their sensitive axes in parallel alignment. A driving mechanism (64) is connected to the parallelogram frame and is operative to drive the accelerometers at a desired frequency, causing them to vibrate back and forth in a direction substantially transverse to their sensitive axes. The driving mechanism includes a mounting plate (72) and a coil frame (66) on which are mounted two electromagnetic coils (70) having a "C" shaped core (80).

Abstract: A wheel attached to a vehicle body via a suspension mechanism including an unsprung member is placed on and rotated by a rotating drum. A phase detector detects the rotational phase of the rotating wheel. A support table positioned adjacent the rotating drum is movable on three mutually perpendicular axes. A spring plate mounted on the support table is placed in resilient contact with a measuring surface of the unsprung member. The spring plate vibrates in response to vibration of the unsprung member in the longitudinal direction which in turn vibrates in response to wheel unbalance. A displacement detector on the support table includes a light source and light receiving elements which detect vibration of the spring plate caused by movement of the unsprung member in the longitudinal direction and thus detect wheel unbalance.

Abstract: An apparatus for testing the surface properties of a material is disclosed. The apparatus includes an indentor which is suspended above the surface of a sample and dropped onto the sample. Several testing methods are also disclosed. Surface toughness is measured by dropping the indentor from a variable height and inspecting the surface for failure. Thin film strength is tested by making several drops from various heights and inspecting the surface for flaking of the layer. In addition, damping capacity can be measured by comparing the kinetic energy of the resulting from the drop of the indentor to the strain energy measured by a probe on the opposing surface of the sample.

Abstract: An ultrasonic device for measuring the rate of flow of fluid in a duct employs an ultrasonic signal transmitter and two ultrasonic signal receivers operating simultaneously, and the respective energy paths joining the receivers with the transmitter form predetermined angles of inclination with respect to the axis of the duct. Phase differences between the signals received by the receivers, and the pressure of the fluid in the duct, are used to form an output signal indicative of the mass flow rate of fluid in the duct.

Abstract: A method for testing timbers, such as railway sleepers, for disconformities or decay by inducing vibrations in the timber, for example with an impactor monitored by an accelerometer mounted on it and connected to a microprocessor and a display unit to give an indication of constant impact, detecting said vibrations by one or more transducers, amplifying and digitizing the transducer output and microprocessor-processing the digitized output to give an indication of disconformity or decay. One embodiment utilizes the comparison of the first half-cycle surface vibrations and shear vibrations. Another embodiment compares frequency domain information with a memory stored standard. The apparatus, comprising transducers, impactor, microprocessor and indicator is readily portable.

Abstract: An ultrasonic flaw detector comprises channels for transmitting and receiving electrical signals. The transmission channel comprises a sync pulse generator (1) connected to a sonic pulse generator (2) and transmitting piezoelectric elements (3). The receiving channel comprises receiving piezoelectric elements (4), a radio-frequency pulse amplifier (6), a video detector (7), a control voltage generator (15), and horizontal-sweep and vertical-sweep generators (16 and 15) which are connected to a frequency divider (13). The output of the video amplifier (8) is connected to a multivibrator (10). The receiving channel also comprises three electronic switches (11, 12, and 5).

Abstract: A mass fluid flow sensor is disclosed which utilizes a sensing bridge circuit to develop a sense (control) signal related to fluid flow. A fluid temperature variable resistor, separate from said bridge circuit, is utilized to implement temperature compensation so that a desired output signal is a function of sensed fluid flow, but is less dependent on fluid temperature than the sense (control) signal provided by the bridge circuit. A resistor in the bridge circuit is selected such that the sense (control) signal provided by the bridge circuit has a rate of change as a function of flow rate substantially independent of fluid temperature, but this sense signal still varies as a function of fluid temperature. This permits fluid temperature compensation of the bridge sense signal in a noncomplex and cost effective manner.

Abstract: Apparatus 1 for sampling the contents of a pressurised vessel 2 comprises a valve 3 having an inlet 4 and an outlet 5. The inlet 4 is in communication with the interior of the vessel 2. A sample-receiving pressure receptacle 7 is connectable to the valve outlet 5 in a sealing manner, and a pressure venting line 8 is provided for equalizing the interior of the receptacle 7 with the atmosphere. When the valve 3 is open, a sample of pressurized vessel contents can enter the receptacle 7. When the valve is then closed, the sample remains in the receptacle 7. A probe 31, operable from outside the pressurized vessel 2, is provided so that, when the valve 3 is open, a sample of the vessel contents can be drawn through the valve and into the receptacle 7.

Abstract: An accelerometer is provided by a sample mass suspended in a central area of a support by pairs of resonating arms. One pair of arms lies on one axis through the sample mass. Another pair of arms lies on a second axis through the sample mass perpendicular to the one axis. Acceleration of the mass and support is detected by a measured change in resonant frequency of the arms of a pair. The measured change in resonant frequency is the magnitude of the acceleration and the axis along which the pair of arms lies provides the direction of the acceleration. Orthogonal components of acceleration are simultaneously measured by the pairs of arms lying on perpendicular axes. Electrostatic force-rebalance techniques and other known techniques for measuring acceleration in a direction perpendicular to the axes of the pairs of arms are readily incorporated to provide a third direction measurement of acceleration. The accelerometer is fabricated in a monolithic process which employs micromachining techniques.

Abstract: An apparatus for producing signals indicative of both a Coriolis rate and an acceleration along a preferred axis while decoupling extraneous vibration and motion that would introduce errors into the signals, and a driving mechanism for vibrating the apparatus at a dither frequency. The apparatus includes a parallelogram frame (50) including two accelerometer support surfaces (24, 26) on which are mounted two accelerometers (20 and 22) having their sensitive axes in parallel alignment. The accelerometer support surfaces are connected to opposite ends of a flex member (52), which includes six flexures (32, 34, 36, 38, 40, 42) having parallel bending axes. Two of the flexures (34, 38) are disposed at opposite ends of one side of each flexure member, and have a "long" axis that is substantially parallel to the sensitive axes of the accelerometers and aligned with a line connecting their centers of percussion.

Abstract: A motorcycle speedometer assembly includes a casing, and a display face on the casing; a first rotary indicator at the display face and rotatable about a first axis, there being first speed indicating indicia on the display first face with which the indicator registers as it rotates about the axis; a first drive responsive to motorcycle forward speed and connected with the first indicator for rotating the indicator in proportion to motorcycle speed to register with corresponding first indicia; and a second indicator at the display face and rotatable about a second axis to indicate motorcycle engine RPM, the second axis offset from the first axis, there being second indicia on the display face with which the second indicator registers as it rotates about the second axis, the second indicia indicating tachometer increasing values of RPM; and a second drive responsive to motorcycle engine RPM and connected with the second indicator for rotating the second indicator in proportion to engine speed to register with

Abstract: A machine is presented for measuring normal and tangential belt forces versus angular position for a flat belt drive. A normal force transducer which is designed like a curved beam and the tangential force transducer which is designed like a cantilever with head are used as contact pulleys. The transducer pulley is used as either a driving pulley or a driven pulley. Each pulley is mounted on a carriage plate which slides with linear bearings. Means are provided for applying a predetermined belt initial tension through the sliding carriage plate and means are also provided for applying torque load through a torque disk.

Abstract: A cross correlation flowmeter for measuring a flow rate of a fluid comprises a conduit through which the fluid to be measured the flow rate is flowing, first and second upstream sensors disposed on the conduit along a longitudinal direction thereof for sensing passage of the disturbance, a plurality of downstream sensors disposed on the conduit along the longitudinal direction of the conduit at a downstream side relative to the first and second upstream sensors for sensing the passage of the disturbance, first flow velocity detecting circuit for detecting a first flow velocity by calculating a maximum of a cross correlation of output signals from the first and second sensors, selecting circuit for selecting one of the downstream sensors providing a maximum accuracy of the flow rate responsive to the first flow velocity, and flow rate calcualting circuit for calculating the flow rate by finding out a maximum of the cross correlation of output signals from the first upstream sensor and the selected one of the d

Abstract: Each accelerometer includes a cylindrical proof mass made of a superconducting material. Each proof mass includes annular upper and lower hollowed out portions longitudinally surrounded by a cylindrical exterior wall. Common mode and differential mode sensing coils are arranged adjacent a bottom-side surface of the proof mass in one hollowed out annular portion and a levitation coil is arranged adjacent a bottom-side surface of the proof mass in the other hollowed out annular portion. The common mode, differential mode and levitation coils are connected in respective first, second and third superconducting circuits. The first circuit produces common mode signals indicative of forces acting on both accelThis invention was made with government support under Contract No. NAS 8-36165 awarded by the National Aeroanutics and Space Administration. The government has certain rights in this invention.

Abstract: Dried load detector, for dry-cleaning machines, adapted to be arranged on the duct connecting a steam condensing assembly to a separator of the solvent and the water contained in the steam. The dried load detector is constituted by a case having an inlet conduit and an outlet conduit and defining at least one inlet chamber and one outlet chamber separated by a partition having a solvent aperture and a water aperture located at different heights. A solvent level detector is provided between the solvent aperture and the outlet conduit.

Abstract: An impact sensor for detecting a collision of a motor vehicle or the like has at least two acceleration detectors, and a signal evaluating circuit for each detector for evaluating the output signals of the respective acceleration detectors. The evaluated signals are passed through a logic signal interpreting circuit to provide a control signal for triggering passive safety devices such as an inflatable air bag. In order to trigger the passive safety devices as quickly as possible in response to an impact or collision, and in order to determine the angular direction of the impact, several acceleration detectors having oriented sensitivity axes are provided, whereby the sensitivity axes of separate detectors are oriented in different directions. The signal evaluation and interpretation to provide the triggering signal make sure that only determined output signals of the acceleration detectors cause the intended triggering preferably only for frontal impact collisions.