Abstract: An apparatus for detecting a misfire in an internal combustion engine for a vehicle includes a rotational speed change quantity computing unit which detects a rotational speed of the engine and computes a change quantity of the rotational speed of the engine, a misfire determination value correction coefficient setting unit which detects a load on the engine and sets a correction coefficient of a misfire determination value based on a result of detection of the engine load, a misfire determination value setting unit for setting a misfire determination value based on the set misfire determination value correction coefficient, and a misfire determining unit for determining whether a misfire has occurred in the engine by comparing the change quantity of the rotational speed of the engine from the rotational speed change quantity computing unit with the misfire determination value from the misfire determination value setting unit.

Abstract: A knock control system which detects a knock occurring in an engine, a knock detector for detecting the occurrence of the knock in accordance with a knock sensor signal produced by the sensor, a first adjuster for adjusting knock control factors so as to suppress the knock on the basis of a detected signal from the knock detector, a converter for converting the knock sensor signal so as to make the frequency distribution of the knock sensor signal equal to an exponential distribution, a standard deviation calculator for calculating the standard deviation of the exponential distribution, and a second adjuster for adjusting knock control factors so that this standard deviation reaches a predetermined value, whereby the standard deviation of the frequency distribution of the knock sensor signal can be easily detected, thus making it possible to reduce the load on the electronic control system and prevent the knock detection precision from being reduced by the characteristic change of the knock sensor, engine.

Abstract: An arrangement for tightening a stack of fuel cell elements, each cell element including a cathode, an anode and a tile sandwiched by the cathode and the anode and the cell elements being piled up one after another with separators being interposed therebetween, comprising an upper and a lower holders for holding the fuel cell stack, an upper and a lower pressure-adjusting members for sandwiching the upper and lower holders, each pressure-adjusting member including a hollow body constructed by welding two thin, metallic plates and gas enclosed in the hollow body, an upper and a lower adiabatic materials for sandwiching the pressure-adjusting members, and a pressing device for pressing the upper and lower adiabatic materials, the adiabatic materials, the pressure-adjusting members, the holders and the fuel cell stack, wherein the pressing force of the pressing device is given to the holders and the fuel cell stack through the pressure-adjusting members in the form of an uniform pressure.

Abstract: A device for locking a platform of an offshore structure wherein each of legs vertically rest on the sea floor and is provided with a rack. The platform in adapted to move upward or downward along the legs and is provided with chocks which engage with the racks, respectively, of the legs. The teeth of the chock has a whole depth deeper than that of the teeth of the rack so that when the chock engages with the rack, the deddendums of the chock is caused to deflect themselves respectively about the deddendums, which are made into engagement with the rack, so as to follow the displacement of the platform in the direction of gravity.