Abstract: A method is described for compensating for a voltage offset in a voltage-lambda characteristic curve of a two-point lambda sensor in relation to a reference voltage-lambda characteristic curve of the two-point lambda sensor, the two-point lambda sensor being situated in an exhaust duct of an internal combustion engine. It is provided that the slope of the voltage-lambda characteristic curve is determined for an output voltage of the two-point lambda sensor and is compared to the slope of a reference voltage-lambda characteristic curve at equal output voltage, and the voltage offset is determined from a deviation of the determined slope of the voltage-lambda characteristic curve from the slope of the reference voltage-lambda characteristic curve. Also described is a control unit for carrying out the method. The method and the control unit enable the determination of and compensation for a voltage offset of a two-point lambda sensor caused by aging or manufacturing tolerances.

Abstract: A monitoring cell, used to perform a measurement in an NMR spectrometer of a reaction fluid produced by a reaction vessel, has a body having inlet and outlet transport coaxial capillaries for transporting the reaction fluid between the body and the reaction vessel. Cooling lines are also positioned coaxially with the transport capillaries to transport cooling liquid between the body and the reaction vessel. The cell further has a hollow sample probe for insertion into the NMR spectrometer and a coupler section that removably connects the sample probe to the body so that the inlet transport capillary extends through the body into the interior of the sample probe and the outlet transport capillary is sealed to the sample probe to allow reaction fluid that enters the sample probe via the inlet transport capillary to exit the sample probe via the outlet transport capillary.

Abstract: A protective shield fits onto a fuel cylinder that is mounted on a propane-powered or LNG-powered vehicle, with a cylindrical flange on the tank surrounds a tank valve. The protective shield is formed of a cylindrical wall of a rubber-like material that fits snugly onto the cylindrical flange of the fuel tank, and has a window affixed into its upper end of the cylindrical wall. The window can be a disk of transparent plexiglass. There are openings in the cylindrical wall to access the tank valve. The shield provides visibility of the tank valve but prevents any spray of the fuel that may escape from the tank valve from reaching the worker's face or other exposed skin.

Abstract: A protective shield fits onto a fuel cylinder that is mounted on a propane-powered or LNG-powered vehicle, with a cylindrical flange on the the tank surrounds a tank valve. The protective shield is formed of a cylindrical wall of a rubber-like material that fits snugly onto the cylindrical flange of the fuel tank, and has a window affixed into its upper end of the cylindrical wall. The window can be a disk of transparent Plexiglas. There are openings in the cylindrical wall to access the tank valve. The shield provides visibility of the tank valve but prevents any spray of the fuel that may escape from the tank valve from reaching the worker's face or other exposed skin.

Abstract: A monitoring cell, used to perform a measurement in an NMR spectrometer of a reaction fluid produced by a reaction vessel, has a body having inlet and outlet transport coaxial capillaries for transporting the reaction fluid between the body and the reaction vessel. Cooling lines are also positioned coaxially with the transport capillaries to transport cooling liquid between the body and the reaction vessel. The cell further has a hollow sample probe for insertion into the NMR spectrometer and a coupler section that removably connects the sample probe to the body so that the inlet transport capillary extends through the body into the interior of the sample probe and the outlet transport capillary is sealed to the sample probe to allow reaction fluid that enters the sample probe via the inlet transport capillary to exit the sample probe via the outlet transport capillary.

Abstract: A method for setting a temperature of a sensor element, which is heatable with the aid of a heating device, for detecting at least one property of a gas in a measuring gas chamber includes at least one regulation of the heating device, the regulation including: (a) detecting at least one actual value of at least one controlled variable of the sensor element, (b) ascertaining a setpoint value of the at least one controlled variable, (c) generating at least one manipulated variable of the heating device with the aid of a comparison of the setpoint value and the actual value, and (d) in a monitoring step, checking at least one parameter used to set the temperature, and the at least one manipulated variable being influenced as a function of the check.

Abstract: A multiple resonance sample coil for a magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance probe is comprised of a solenoid coil that resonates at low frequencies and a resonator that resonates at high frequencies. The ends of the low frequency solenoid coil are electrically connected to the high frequency resonator to eliminate arcing and allow the solenoid coil to extend the full width of the resonator. In some embodiments, the high frequency resonator is constructed from the outermost turns of the solenoid coil in the form of a birdcage resonator. In another embodiment, the solenoid coil is electrically connected to one turn of the resonator and the other turn is used as part of a trap to shunt the resonator at low frequencies.

Abstract: In a method for detecting the operational readiness of a jump lambda sensor associated with an internal combustion engine the internal resistance of the sensor is determined as the criterion for the operational readiness of the sensor. The internal resistance is measured by applying a pulsed current to the sensor, the frequency of the current being selected as a function of the state of the sensor (1, 2, 3, 4).

Abstract: The invention relates to a method and device for diagnosing deviations in a single cylinder lambda control in an internal combustion engine having at least two cylinders and an exhaust gas sensor designed as a broadband lambda sensor, wherein a pump current is evaluated by means of a pump cell and said pump current is used at least temporarily for an individual cylinder lambda control. According to the invention, a pump voltage or a pump voltage change is determined via the pump cell in addition to the pump current and said value is transmitted to a diagnosis apparatus. Deviations in the single cylinder lambda control can thus be better diagnosed without additional material expense according to the invention, which provides advantages in particular in respect of tightened rulemaking in on-board diagnosis. A preferred application of the method is the use in internal combustion engines having multi-bank exhaust systems.

Abstract: A procedure for detecting manipulations at lambda comprises the following steps; the lambda probe is excited by at least one electric excitation signal; at least one electric response signal of the probe is detected; the at least one response signal is compared to at least one default electric response signal that characterizes a not manipulated probe; the deviation of the detected at least one electric response signal from the at least one default electric response signal is used for detecting a manipulation of the probe.

Abstract: A fully automatic, parameter free MR interpretation system is based on human logic emulation. Information is derived mainly from an MR spectrum with maximum confidence and in a similar way as a human expert. This is achieved by the combination of different expert systems that interpret certain MR spectral features as well as features from a proposed structure. The expert systems are dynamically linked to each other and the analysis is performed iteratively in all directions in a way that the expert systems can utilize all of the interpretations of all expert systems at all times. The expert system may generate not just a single result but rather lists of probability weighted hypotheses.

Abstract: A procedure for detecting manipulations at lambda comprises the following steps; the lambda probe is excited by at least one electric excitation signal; at least one electric response signal of the probe is detected; the at least one response signal is compared to at least one default electric response signal that characterizes a not manipulated probe; the deviation of the detected at least one electric response signal from the at least one default electric response signal is used for detecting a manipulation of the probe.

Abstract: A fully automatic, parameter free MR interpretation system is based on human logic emulation. Information is derived mainly from an MR spectrum with maximum confidence and in a similar way as a human expert. This is achieved by the combination of different expert systems that interpret certain MR spectral features as well as features from a proposed structure. The expert systems are dynamically linked to each other and the analysis is performed iteratively in all directions in a way that the expert systems can utilize all of the interpretations of all expert systems at all times. The expert system may generate not just a single result but rather lists of probability weighted hypotheses.

Abstract: A sample vessel (80) made of material with magnetic susceptibility ?2, for containing a sample substance (87) with magnetic susceptibility ?3??2 to be analyzed in a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer, has an inner interface G2 toward the sample substance and an outer interface G1 toward the environment (85) that exhibits magnetic susceptibility ?1. The shape of the interface toward the sample substance and the interface toward the environment are coordinated to match the discontinuities in susceptibility at the interfaces in such a way that on introduction of the sample tube filled with sample substance into the previously homogeneous magnetic field of an NMR spectrometer, the magnetic field inside the sample substance remains largely homogeneous.

Abstract: A flow-through microfluidic NMR-chip comprising a substrate (5) which is planar in an yz-plane with a sample chamber (2) within the substrate (5), the sample chamber (2) being elongated and having walls which run parallel to the z-direction, the substrate (5) having a thickness in x-direction of a Cartesian xyz-coordinate system between 100 ?m and 2 mm, and at least one planar receiving and/or transmission coil (1, 1?) with conductor sections (11) the coil (1, 1?) being arranged at least on one planar surface of the substrate (5), wherein the extension of the sample chamber (2) along the z-direction exceeds the extension of the coil (1) along the z-direction is characterized in that the extension of the coil (1, 1?) along the z-direction is larger than its extension along the y-direction. The inventive NMR-chip facilitated NMR-spectroscopic measurements with improved resolution, sensitivity as well as B1 homogeneity.

Abstract: A method for homogenizing a static magnetic field with a magnetic field distribution B0(r) for nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy by adjusting the currents Ci through the shim coils, thus creating spatial field distributions Ci·Si(r), where r stands for one, two, or three of the spatial dimensions x, y, and z, and said magnetic field distribution B0(r) has only a field component along z, in a working volume of a magnetic resonance apparatus with one or more radio frequency (=RF) coils (5) for inducing RF pulses and receiving RF signals within a working volume, said RF coils having a spatial sensitivity distribution of magnitudes B1k(r), and with shim coils (6) for homogenizing the magnetic field within the working volume, said shim coils (6) being characterized by their magnetic field distributions per unit current Si(r) and having components only along z, includes the following steps: (a) Mapping the magnetic field distribution B0(r) of the main magnetic field, (b) calculating a simulated spectrum IS

Abstract: A nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) probe component, comprising a microfabricated planar gradient chip (1), with a substrate thickness dgc?3 mm, carrying three micromachined planar partial gradient coils (10a-10f) on each of its two outer surfaces (12a, 13a), wherein the partial gradient coils (10a-10f) of the gradient chip (1) form a three-dimensional gradient system, wherein the gradient chip (1) has a central guiding and positioning slot (15) between the two outer surfaces (12a, 13a). The probe component also has a sample chip (2) for carrying an NMR sample at a sample location, with a microfabricated planar RF coil (21), wherein the sample chip (2) fits exactly in the guiding and positioning slot (15) such that in a measurement position, the sample location coincides with the center of the gradient system. The NMR probe component has improved spatial resolution and allows good alignment of the RF coil and the gradient system.

Abstract: A method for homogenizing a static magnetic field with a magnetic field distribution B0(r) for nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy by adjusting the currents Ci through the shim coils, thus creating spatial field distributions Ci·Si(r), where r stands for one, two, or three of the spatial dimensions x, y, and z, and said magnetic field distribution B0(r) has only a field component along z, in a working volume of a magnetic resonance apparatus with one or more radio frequency (=RF) coils (5) for inducing RF pulses and receiving RF signals within a working volume, said RF coils having a spatial sensitivity distribution of magnitudes B1k(r), and with shim coils (6) for homogenizing the magnetic field within the working volume, said shim coils (6) being characterized by their magnetic field distributions per unit current Si(r) and having components only along z, includes the following steps: (a) Mapping the magnetic field distribution B0(r) of the main magnetic field, (b) calculating a simulated spectrum IS

Abstract: A sample vessel (80) made of material with magnetic susceptibility ?2, for containing a sample substance (87) with magnetic susceptibility ?3??2 to be analyzed in a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer, has an inner interface G2 toward the sample substance and an outer interface G1 toward the environment (85) that exhibits magnetic susceptibility ?1. The shape of the interface toward the sample substance and the interface toward the environment are coordinated to match the discontinuities in susceptibility at the interfaces in such a way that on introduction of the sample tube filled with sample substance into the previously homogeneous magnetic field of an NMR spectrometer, the magnetic field inside the sample substance remains largely homogeneous.

Abstract: A flow-through microfluidic NMR-chip comprising a substrate (5) which is planar in an yz-plane with a sample chamber (2) within the substrate (5), the sample chamber (2) being elongated and having walls which run parallel to the z-direction, the substrate (5) having a thickness in x-direction of a Cartesian xyz-coordinate system between 100 ?m and 2 mm, and at least one planar receiving and/or transmission coil (1, 1?) with conductor sections (11) the coil (1, 1?) being arranged at least on one planar surface of the substrate (5), wherein the extension of the sample chamber (2) along the z-direction exceeds the extension of the coil (1) along the z-direction is characterized in that the extension of the coil (1, 1?) along the z-direction is larger than its extension along the y-direction. The inventive NMR-chip facilitated NMR-spectroscopic measurements with improved resolution, sensitivity as well as B1 homogeneity.