Abstract: The line oil pressure PL that is a basic pressure of a needed Pin pressure and a Pd pressure is set by line oil pressure setting device on the basis of the higher oil pressure of the oil pressure values obtained by adding reference margin values EX to the needed Pin pressure and the to Pd pressure. Therefore, a requirement minimum line oil pressure PL with respect to the needed Pin pressure needed for shifting and the Pd pressure needed for the belt clamping pressure is appropriately set so that good shifting performance and good belt clamping pressure are secured.

Abstract: A powertrain control apparatus controls a powertrain including a lock-up clutch, and an engine, in which fuel supply is cut off, directly to an automatic transmission. The control apparatus includes a control unit that controls the engine so that fuel supply resumes in the engine and a setting unit that sets a hydraulic-pressure instruction value based on a temperature of a combustion chamber of the engine so that a time required to discharge the lock-up clutch is longer when the temperature of the combustion chamber is a first temperature than when the temperature of the combustion chamber is a second temperature which is higher than the first temperature, when the lock-up clutch is controlled to be brought to the disengaged state from the engaged state and the fuel supply to the engine is resumed. The lock-up clutch is then operated by hydraulic pressure corresponding to the hydraulic-pressure instruction value.

Abstract: Actual ultrasound attenuation in tissue is used to calculate gain compensation profiles which are used to create a uniform image. Axial, lateral, elevation gain profiles are used to correct the attenuation and ultrasound variation in each direction. In addition, automatic activation of the automatic gain compensation is described.

Abstract: A powertrain control apparatus that controls a powertrain including a lock-up clutch, which connects an engine, in which fuel supply may be cut off, directly to an automatic transmission. The control apparatus includes an output unit, a control unit, and a setting unit. The output unit outputs an instruction to lower engagement pressure for the lock-up clutch from a value at which the lock-up clutch is engaged to a value at which the lock-up clutch is disengaged. The control unit resumes the fuel supply to the engine when a predetermined lag time has elapsed since the instruction is output. The setting unit sets the lag time so that the lag time is shorter when a temperature of a combustion chamber of the engine is a first temperature than when the temperature of the combustion chamber of the engine is a second temperature which is higher than the first temperature.

Abstract: A speed-ratio control apparatus for controlling a speed ratio of a continuously variable transmission of a vehicle, such that an actual input speed of the transmission coincides with a target input speed, the apparatus including an acceleration-requirement determining portion operable to determine whether non-rapid acceleration or rapid acceleration of the vehicle is required by a vehicle operator, and a target-input-speed setting portion operable, upon determination of the operator's requirement for the non-rapid acceleration, to implement an instantaneous stepping increase of the target input speed to a first transient target value, (ii) hold the target input speed at the first transient target value in a first portion of a rapid shifting period, (iii) instantaneously reduce, at the end of the first portion of the rapid shifting period, the target input speed to an initial value of a second transient target value which initial value is close to the actual input speed and lower than the first transient targe

Abstract: An ECT_ECU executes a program including the step of prohibiting a lockup clutch from engaging if the lockup clutch is disengaged and a number of revolutions or speed NE of an input shaft of a torque converter minus a number of revolutions or speed NT of an output shaft of the torque converter is smaller than a threshold value ?N (1).

Abstract: A hologram recording medium includes a first element hologram and a second element hologram. On the first element hologram, main data is recorded such that the main data is converted into a two-dimensional image, object light of the two-dimensional image is interfered with recording reference light, and an interference fringe produced as a result of the interference is recorded on the first element hologram. On the second element hologram, simplified-form data representing the content of the main data using a smaller data size than the data size of the main data is recorded such that the simplified-form data is converted into a two-dimensional image, object light of the two-dimensional image is interfered with recording reference light, and an interference fringe produced as a result of the interference is recorded on the second element hologram.

Abstract: A control device for a drive line of a vehicle, in which a drive line from a power source to drive wheel includes a wheel control for controlling the speed of the wheels, and a connection mechanism for increasing/decreasing a torque transmission capacity between the power source and the drive wheels. The control device includes a trouble detector for detecting that the wheel control is in a situation unable to control the speed of the wheels normally. A braking detector detects that a braking operation to brake the rotation of the wheels is executed. And, a torque interruption control reduces the torque transmission capacity by the connection mechanism, when it is detected by the trouble detector that the wheel control cannot control the speed of the wheels normally and when it is detected by the braking detector that the braking operation to brake the rotation of the wheels is executed.

Abstract: The invention relates to a control device for an engine able to control at least one of an intake valve and an exhaust valve via a driving mechanism actuated without a torque from an output shaft of the engine, and a transmission connected to the engine. The control device includes a torque transmitting device for reducing the torque from the engine while that torque is being transmitted to an output shaft of the transmission, and control means for controlling the torque transmitting device so as to reduce the torque transmitted from the engine to the output shaft of the transmission during an upshift, controlling a engine speed to a target speed after shifting during the unshift, and controlling the torque transmitting device so as to increase the torque transmitted to the output shaft of the transmission after the engine speed is synchronized with the speed after shifting.

Abstract: A method for detecting and enhancing edges in an ultrasound image includes the steps of applying an edge detection filter to at least one of a plurality of pixels of an ultrasound image to compute an edge detection value having a magnitude and a direction; and applying either a directional edge enhancement filter or a non-directional smoothing filter to at least one of the plurality of pixels of the ultrasound image.

Abstract: A method for image processing comprising the steps of processing an image comprising a plurality of pixels each having an intensity to produce an image processed image comprising a plurality of pixels, applying a preservation filter to the image to produce at least one preservation value corresponding to at least one of the plurality of pixels of the image, computing a weight coefficient a, for each of the at least one preservation values, and using each of the at least one weight coefficients to mix the image with the image processed image to produce an output image comprising a plurality of pixels.

Abstract: An edge detection filter comprising an array of filter coefficients having an odd number of rows and columns, a first set of zero coefficients extending along a direction traversing the array through a center position to form a first and second side, a second set of positive coefficients extending away from the direction on the first side, and a third set of negative coefficients extending away from the direction on the second side.

Abstract: A driving force control apparatus for a vehicle includes an accelerator opening sensor that detects an accelerator opening for a vehicle, and an automatic transmission control device that controls an automatic transmission based on road information and the accelerator opening. The automatic transmission control device, in an interval prior to a deceleration required interval, controls an automatic transmission so as to ease a shifting operation that corresponds to a decrease in the accelerator opening.

Abstract: In accordance with the present invention, a method for reducing noise in ultrasound images comprising the steps of transmitting and receiving from an ultrasound transducer comprising a plurality of apexes a plurality of ultrasound beams from a first apex to form a first sector image comprising a plurality of image intensities, transmitting and receiving from at least one other apex of the transducer a plurality of ultrasound beams to form at least one other sector image comprising a plurality of image intensities overlapping a portion of the first sector image to form an overlap region, and combining the first sector image and the at least one other sector image to produce a compound image.

Abstract: The invention relates to a control device for an engine able to control at least one of an intake valve and an exhaust valve via a driving mechanism actuated without a torque from an output shaft of the engine, and a transmission connected to the engine. The control device includes a torque transmitting device for reducing the torque from the engine while that torque is being transmitted to an output shaft of the transmission, and control means for controlling the torque transmitting device so as to reduce the torque transmitted from the engine to the output shaft of the transmission during an upshift, controlling a engine speed to a target speed after shifting during the unshift, and controlling the torque transmitting device so as to increase the torque transmitted to the output shaft of the transmission after the engine speed is synchronized with the speed after shifting.

Abstract: A vehicle control apparatus including an automatic transmission which changes a speed of rotation of an input shaft drivingly connected to a driving source and outputs the rotation of the input shaft to an output shaft, and a shift execution device that executes shifting of the automatic transmission, including a shift control device that calculates a predetermined target input shaft rotation number based on road information and vehicle state information, and controls an input shaft rotation number such that the input shaft rotation number becomes equal to the predetermined target input shaft rotation number, by executing shifting of the shift execution device; and a shifting speed setting device that sets a shifting speed, when control based on the road information begins after switching from control based on the vehicle state information by the shift control device, to a predetermined shifting speed such that shifting is executed rapidly, and sets the shifting speed, when shifting needs to be executed durin

Abstract: A shift control apparatus for controlling a continuously variable transmission device including a continuously variable transmission mechanism having rotary elements and operable to transmit a rotary motion of a drive power source of an automotive vehicle to a drive wheel of the automotive vehicle, such that a speed ratio of said mechanism is continuously variable, the shift control apparatus includes a power-transmission-state determining device for determining whether the mechanism is placed in a non-power-transmitting state, a speed-ratio determining device for determining whether the mechanism is placed in a lowest-speed position, a rotation-stop detecting device for determining whether the rotary elements are at rest, and a compulsory-speed-ratio-change implementing device for effecting a compulsory shift-down action of the mechanism toward the lowest-speed position when the mechanism is placed in the non-power-transmitting state while the mechanism is not placed in the lowest-speed position and while th

Abstract: A control apparatus for feedback-controlling an engaging action of a clutch disposed between an engine and a transmission of an automotive vehicle, wherein an engaging force control device is operated upon an engaging action of the clutch, for determining a control amount and feedback-controlling the engaging action on the basis of the determined control amount such that the clutch is placed in a desired state of engagement, and a control amount limiting device is operated to limit the determined control amount when the determined control amount has changed to cause an engaging force of the clutch to be reduced.

Abstract: When the temperature of operating fluid of an actuator is low, a target input rotation speed lower limit value (NinL) is set. The lower limit value (NinL) is greater than a lower limit value set for a normal temperature of operating fluid. A target input rotation speed (Nint) is calculated from the state of running of a vehicle, such as the amount of operation of an accelerator, the vehicle speed, etc. If the target input rotation speed is lower than the lower limit value (NinL), the target input rotation speed is reset to the lower limit value (NinL). As a result of a control that includes the above-described steps, the speed ratio &ggr; becomes relatively high before the vehicle stops. Therefore, even if the speed ratio-changing rate is low, the speed ratio (&ggr;) can be brought to or near a maximum value (&ggr;max) before the vehicle stops. Thus, reductions in the speed ratio-changing rate caused by low temperature of the operating fluid of the actuator can be curbed.

Abstract: A method and apparatus of blood flow imaging is disclosed. The method comprises receiving a beamformed signal indicative of an ultrasound signal reflected from a target within a body, based upon the beamformed signal, imaging tissue within the body, generating thereby a tissue signal, based upon the beamformed signal, detecting blood flow within the body, generating thereby a blood flow signal and combining the tissue signal and the blood flow signal generating thereby a composite image of tissue and blood flow.