Abstract: The steam boiler system comprises a steam boiler comprising a burner and a chimney for exhausting flue gases, a feedwater line for leading feedwater to said steam boiler for producing steam, a steam line leading from said steam boiler to at least one application heat exchanger for feeding steam to said application heat exchanger, said application heat exchanger for heating an application fluid, and a condensate line leading away from said application heat exchanger for recuperating condensate from said application heat exchanger. An economizer heat exchanger is provided in said chimney, wherein at least one of said condensate return line and said feedwater line circulates through said economizer heat exchanger for allowing at least one of said condensate and said feedwater to be in heat exchange relationship with the flue gases for simultaneously cooling the flue gases while heating at least one of the condensate and the feedwater.

Abstract: The heat exchange system is for heating water from a water source and comprises first and second flooded heat exchangers that have steam sides that are each independently fed with steam, but water sides that are serially fed with water through the first heat exchanger then through the second heat exchanger. The system also comprises first and second control valves located at or downstream of subcooled condensate outlets of the first and second heat exchangers, first and second water temperature sensors at or downstream of the heated water outlets of the first and second heat exchangers, and a control device for receiving temperature data from the first and second water temperature sensors and for controlling the first and second control valves.

Abstract: The heat exchange system is for heating water from a water source and comprises first and second flooded heat exchangers that have steam sides that are each independently fed with steam, but water sides that are serially fed with water through the first heat exchanger then through the second heat exchanger. The system also comprises first and second control valves located at or downstream of subcooled condensate outlets of the first and second heat exchangers, first and second water temperature sensors at or downstream of the heated water outlets of the first and second heat exchangers, and a control device for receiving temperature data from the first and second water temperature sensors and for controlling the first and second control valves.

Abstract: A method for the analysis of a message given by an interaction device to a system of man-machine dialog includes three consecutive steps, a first step of syntactic analysis, a second step of semantic analysis and a third step of execution analysis. The syntactic analysis assesses the conformity of a message given by the interaction device with a predefined form of dialog, the semantic analysis assesses the meaning of the request made by the operator engaging in dialog with the machine, and the execution analysis determines the performance of an action to be undertaken coming from the step of semantic analysis. The invention finds particular application in systems of man-machine dialog having many kinds of interaction such as speech, gesture, and expressions.

Abstract: A device determining the orientation of a first solid body with respect to a second or reference solid body. Each body is filled with sets consisting of an optical source and a detector of optical radiation, so as to define at least two straight lines having a direction u and v joining two pairs of sources (S.sub.mi, S.sub.fj), the sources (S.sub.mi) relating to the first solid body and the sources (S.sub.fj) relating to the reference solid body. The device includes means to compute the parameters of orientation of the first solid body with respect to the reference solid body from the coordinates of the vectors u and v. Applications: Determining the orientation of a helmet of the pilot of an aircraft or helicopter with respect to a cockpit.

Abstract: The invention concerns a system for the management of an interaction system between a man (41) and a machine (12). Data input into the system are output by interaction devices (1, 2, 3, 4) from the man to the machine. At least two functions (7, 8, 9, 10) operate simultaneously on data (24, 25, 26), data input into the system being processed by a first function (7), the result of one function forming input data for the next function. The result of the last function (10) is output to interaction devices (11) from the system to the man. Functions are synchronized with each other by an exchange protocol.

Abstract: A system of retro-illumination for optical valves integrated into a system of projection is constituted by a plane array of slotted fluorescent tubes, parallel to one another, associated with a plane array of longitudinal lenses parallel to the tubes and spaced out substantially by the same pitch. This system is a compact high-output system. It enables an easy gradation of the luminous level as well as the obtaining a trichromatic sequential retro-illumination without moving parts.

Abstract: An instrument system to make settings and verify that the pupil of an eye of a wearer of a helmet designed to receive a piece of optoelectronic equipment itself having a pupil truly coincides with the wearer's pupil, wherein the instrument system includes first and second optical devices whose position with respect to the helmet is fixed, and a first screen and a second screen E.sub.1 and E.sub.2, each including a reference-marking test pattern, the position of the helmet with respect to the wearer being accurate only if the image of the wearer's eye through the first optical means and the image through the second optical means, of a target on which the wearer's line of view is fixed, are respectively well-positioned with respect to the test patterns of the screens E.sub.1 and E.sub.2. In the preferred embodiment, the screens E.sub.1 and E.sub.2 are merged into a single screen E through an optical device partially common to the first and second optical devices.

Abstract: The device includes a source of white images, a liquid crystal matrix to control the hue and a liquid crystal matrix to control the saturation of the images displayed.

Abstract: The modulation by optical valves of three beam coming from a main or auxiliary primary beam of depolarized and collimated white light is achieved by means of two secondary beams of white light that are linearly polarized and perpendicular to each other. The undesirable color components are suppressed to constitute the three constituent color beams of the color image. Through the invention, the geometrical and spectral quality of the image is independent of the main or auxiliary primary beam and the image is as powerful as the one obtained by the standard method of projection. The auxiliary image can be used as a back-up or can be adapted to night-time projection.

Abstract: The disclosure relates to the display, by projection on a screen, of an image managed by a computer system and to the input of data into the data-processing system by the shifting of a location marker in relation to the screen. A device for display by the projection of an image on a screen incorporates a surface detector of infrared radiation positioned behind the projection objective by means of a mirror separating the visible radiation and the infrared radiation. This display device is complemented by an infrared emitter with directional radiation, with which the observer traces a location marker on the screen which may take the form of a visible pointer overprinted on the image.

Abstract: In an optical device for determining parameters that give the orientation of any solid within a given space, a first solid is fitted with at least one single-beam device producing a beam of light rays substantially parallel to a direction u.sub.i known in a coordinate system R.sub.s bound to the first solid, said beam of light rays containing an item of information that enables direction u.sub.i to be determined, and a second solid is fitted with at least one elementary sensor capable of picking up light rays originating substantially from a direction parallel to V.sub.j known in a coordinate system R.sub.o ; each sensor includes means for reading the information in the beam it has picked up when directions u.sub.i and V.sub.j correspond and the information thus read is processed to extract the parameters giving the orientation of coordinate system R.sub.s relative to coordinate system R.sub.o.

Abstract: The disclosed device is aimed at improving the light output of this type of device without impairing its homogeneity in colour and luminance while, at the same time, limiting the amount of space occupied. In such a device, three optical valves are placed before three faces of a recombiner cube. The means used to separate a beam of white light into three beams of coloured light consist of a divider cube. The intersections of the treated surfaces of the, two cubes are aligned, and these treated surfaces are in sets of two in one and the same plane. Furthermore, outside the cubes, the optical paths of the three beams are identical, so that the optical distances between the source of white light and the valves are themselves identical.