Abstract: In an elevator apparatus, a safety device that makes a car perform emergency stopping is mounted to the car. A rope is installed in a loop inside a hoistway. The rope is connected to the car. A tensioning sheave around which the rope is wound is disposed in a lower portion of the hoistway. A tensioning sheave displacement detecting portion detects downward displacement of the tensioning sheave that accompanies dropping of the car due to breakage of the suspending body and activates the safety device.

Abstract: An air-fuel ratio control apparatus includes an air-fuel ratio detector, an oscillation signal generator, an air-fuel ratio oscillation device, a sum/difference frequency component intensity calculator, a decision parameter calculator, and an imbalance failure determination device. The sum/difference frequency component intensity calculator is configured to calculate, while the air-fuel ratio oscillation device is in operation, at least one of a component intensity of a difference frequency and a component intensity of a sum frequency. The decision parameter calculator is configured to calculate, according to at least one of the component intensity of the difference frequency and the component intensity of the sum frequency, a decision parameter to determine a degree of imbalance of an air-fuel ratio. The imbalance failure determination device is configured to determine an imbalance failure in which the degree of imbalance of the air-fuel ratio exceeds an allowable limit using the decision parameter.

Abstract: A method reduces a sway of an elevator rope supporting an elevator car by controlling a tension of the elevator rope. The tension is controlled using a movement of the elevator sheave according to a control law of the tension of the elevator rope between two points. The first point is associated with a contact of the elevator rope with the elevator sheave. The second point is associated with a contact of the elevator rope with the elevator car or a counterweight of the elevator car. The control law is a function of one or combination of a relative position, a relative velocity and a relative acceleration between the first and the second points.

Abstract: In a signal potential converter, a capacitor receives an input signal CIN at one terminal thereof and has the other terminal thereof connected to a terminal node. A clamp circuit defines a potential (signal IN) at the terminal node within the range of a first potential to a second potential. The clamp circuit includes a level adjuster circuit configured to adjust at least one of the first and second potentials according to a supply voltage of a circuit that drives the input signal CIN.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a signal potential converter which may perform high-speed operation and which may still maintain intended signal amplitude and operate normally even while operating at a low rate or receiving a burst signal. In this signal potential converter, a capacitor receives an input signal CIN at one terminal thereof and has the other terminal thereof connected to a terminal node. A clamp circuit defines a potential at the terminal node, i.e., a signal IN, within the range of a first potential to a second potential. If a potential at the terminal node is higher than a third potential, a voltage holder circuit operates to raise the potential at the terminal node. If the potential at the terminal node is lower than the third potential, the voltage holder circuit operates to lower the potential at the terminal node.

Abstract: A control cable guide device for an elevator, which is to be mounted to a control cable suspended between a middle portion of a hoistway and a lower portion of a car, the control cable having a curved portion formed at a lower end position of the control cable, the control cable guide device including an arm to be suspended on the control cable at a position below the car in a pivotable manner. The arm is configured to be pushed upward by the curved portion when the car is caused to travel to a lowermost position within a normal traveling range, to thereby shift to a cable receiving position for receiving the control cable while being partially projected from the car in a horizontal direction.

Abstract: An elevator rope sway detection method and a detection device using the same capable of detecting an elevator rope sway, generated by a building shake caused by an earthquake or strong wind, with high accuracy by preventing incorrect detections in detecting the elevator rope sway. A rope detector including a rope sway detector sends detection information detected by the rope detector to a rope determiner. A rope sway determination mechanism includes a detection signal memorization unit, a detection signal calculation unit, and a rope sway determination unit to determine that a rope sway occurs if the detection information sent from the rope detector fulfills a predetermined condition. A result determined by the rope sway determination unit is sent to an elevator controller, which performs an operation corresponding to the determined result.

Abstract: An elevator car includes a car-platform device including a car-platform panel, anti-vibration devices, and a car-platform support frame. The car-platform panel includes a panel main body, a frame structure including a panel frame surrounding an outer peripheral portion of the panel main body, and a panel upper plate and a panel lower plate for individually covering upper surfaces and lower surfaces of the panel main body and the panel frame. The anti-vibration devices receive the frame structure by upper surfaces thereof. The car-platform support frame supports the car-platform panel through an intermediation of the anti-vibration devices. The upper surfaces of the anti-vibration devices are arranged at a height position between an upper surface and a lower surface of the car-platform panel in a vertical direction.

Abstract: An air-fuel ratio control system for an internal combustion engine, which, at the resumption of air-fuel ratio feedback control, is capable of setting the initial value of an integral term of the feedback control to a value properly learned in preceding feedback control, thereby enabling improvement of control accuracy. To feedback-control the output value of an O2 sensor to a target value, a target air-fuel ratio is calculated. During the feedback control, when it is determined that a predetermined condition in which it is estimated that exhaust gas air-fuel ratio upstream of the catalyst is excellently reflected on an exhaust gas air-fuel ratio at a location midway or downstream of the catalyst is satisfied, an adaptive law input calculated immediately before interruption of the feedback control is updated and stored as the initial value of an integral term for the following execution of the feedback control.

Abstract: An air-fuel ratio control apparatus for an internal combustion engine includes an air-fuel ratio detector, a fuel amount controller, an operational state parameter acquiring device, an extractor, a failure determination device, a variation state parameter calculator, and a determination stopping device. The operational state parameter acquiring device is configured to acquire at least one operational state parameter. The failure determination device is configured to execute failure determination of determining a failure in an air-fuel ratio control system of the internal combustion engine based on a specific frequency component extracted by the extractor. The variation state parameter calculator is configured to calculate a variation state parameter. The determination stopping device is configured to stop the failure determination if the variation state parameter calculated by the variation state parameter calculator is equal to or larger than a predetermined threshold value.

Abstract: In an elevator apparatus, a safety device is activated using a force that is generated by a mass body that includes sheaves and a rope, if acceleration of a car reaches an abnormal acceleration set value. A tensioning sheave that can be moved vertically in order to apply tension to the rope is included among the sheaves. A vertical vibration suppressing apparatus that is connected to the tensioning sheave allows vertical displacement of the tensioning sheave during normal operation while also suppressing vertical vibration of the tensioning sheave if the acceleration of the car reaches the abnormal acceleration set value.

Abstract: An air-fuel ratio control system for an internal combustion engine has a perturbation control which oscillates the air-fuel ratio with a first frequency. A first difference signal is generated indicative of a difference between a present value and a first past value from an air-fuel ratio sensor detected at a timing of a first specific period which is set to reduce a specific frequency component corresponding to a specific frequency different from the first frequency. A first frequency component is extracted. A second difference signal is generated indicative of a difference between a present value and a second past value detected at a timing of a second specific period which is set to reduce the first frequency component. The specific frequency component is extracted. A failure of the control system is determined by a relationship between intensities of the first frequency component and the specific frequency component.

Abstract: An apparatus for controlling an air-fuel ratio of an internal-combustion engine includes an air-fuel ratio detector, a fluctuation signal generating device, an air-fuel ratio fluctuation device, a 0.5th-order frequency component strength calculator, a fluctuation frequency component strength calculator, a reference component strength calculator, and an imbalance fault determining device. The reference component strength calculator is configured to calculate strength of a reference component in accordance with strength of a first frequency component and strength of a second frequency component. The imbalance fault determining device is configured to make a determination of an imbalance fault in which air-fuel ratios of a plurality of cylinders vary beyond a tolerance limit on a basis of a relative relationship between strength of the 0.5th-order frequency component and the strength of the reference component.

Abstract: An abnormality determining apparatus includes an air-fuel ratio controller, an output change period parameter calculator, an output change amount extremum calculator, and an abnormality determining device. The abnormality determining device is configured to determine an abnormality of an air-fuel ratio sensor based on a relationship between an output change period parameter and an output change amount extremum.

Abstract: A method reduces a sway of an elevator rope supporting an elevator car within an elevator system using an elevator sheave. The method controls, using a movement of the elevator sheave, a tension of the elevator rope according to a control law of the tension of the elevator rope between a first point and a second point. The first point is associated with a contact of the elevator rope with the elevator sheave. The second point is associated with a contact of the elevator rope with the elevator car or a counterweight of the elevator car. The control law is a function of one or combination of a relative position, a relative velocity and a relative acceleration between the first and the second points.

Abstract: An air-fuel ratio control apparatus for an internal combustion engine includes an air-fuel ratio sensor having an output characteristic which is nonlinear with respect to the air-fuel ratio of exhaust gas. An output deviation converter is configured to convert an output deviation to a first predetermined value if an output value of the air-fuel ratio sensor is on a richer side of a predetermined target value and to a second predetermined value if the output value is on a leaner side of the target value. A control input calculator is configured to calculate a control input to feedback-control the output value of the air-fuel ratio sensor such that the output deviation converted by the output deviation converter is to be zero. An air-fuel ratio controller is configured to control the air-fuel ratio of exhaust gas using the control input calculated by the control input calculator.

Abstract: In an elevator apparatus, an actuating device applies a tension for suppressing a lateral vibration to a rope. A computation controller controls the actuating device by using lateral-vibration information of the rope as an input. Also, the computation controller selectively outputs, to the actuating device, a plurality of actuating commands including a first actuating command for applying the tension to the rope regardless of phase information of the lateral vibration of the rope and a second actuating command for applying a tension fluctuation for damping the lateral vibration to the rope based on the phase information.

Abstract: An oscillation signal is generated to oscillate the air-fuel ratio with a set frequency which is different from a 0.5th-order frequency (half of the frequency corresponding to a rotational speed of the engine). Air-fuel ratio perturbation control is performed to oscillate the air-fuel ratio according to the oscillation signal. An intensity of the 0.5th-order frequency component and the set frequency component contained in the detected air-fuel ratio signal are calculated. A determination parameter applied to determining an imbalance degree of air-fuel ratios corresponding to the plurality of cylinders is calculated according to the two intensities and determines an imbalance failure that the imbalance degree of the air-fuel ratios exceeds an acceptable limit. A predicted imbalance value, indicative of a predicted value of the imbalance degree, is calculated, and an amplitude of the oscillation signal is set according to the predicted imbalance value.

Abstract: A plant controller includes a feedback controller configured to calculate a control input provided to a plant so that a control output of the plant matches a target value. The feedback controller includes a controller transfer function that is a transfer function of the feedback controller. The controller transfer function is expressed by a product of an inverse transfer function of a transfer function of a control target model obtained by modeling the plant and a disturbance sensitivity correlation function defined using a sensitivity function. The sensitivity function indicates sensitivity of a disturbance to be applied to the plant with respect to the control output. The sensitivity function is defined by using a response characteristic parameter that indicates a response characteristic of the plant.