Abstract: The aim is to extend the life of actuators of a production machine, or a machine tool, or an automated handling unit, in particular a knitting machine. Provision is made for this purpose for it to be possible to set the drive voltage for an actuator device (2) of a rotating device (1), which can be rotated at different rotational speeds, of the production machine, or the machine tool, or the automated handling unit as a function of the rotational speed of the rotating device (1). In the case of knitting machines, the piezoceramic actuators, for example, are then driven using a DC voltage which is dependent on the rotational speed of the needle cylinder. As a result, the DC voltage which is continuously applied to the actuators can on average be reduced and the number of breakdowns brought about by, for example, the formation of crystals in lubricating oils can be reduced.

Abstract: An electronic control apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention includes serial-parallel converters, a serial data bus, an electronic processing unit, and assignment mechanisms. Each of the serial-parallel converters is connected to at least one group of mechanical actuation elements of a textile machine. Further, the plurality of serial-parallel converters is connected sequentially to the serial data bus. The electronic processing unit forms pattern data blocks from textile pattern data and transmits the pattern data blocks to the serial-parallel converters. The pattern data blocks are output in transmission cycles, by the assignment mechanisms, to mechanical actuation elements in the groups of mechanical actuation elements.

Abstract: A reinforcement for a cast material for the fabrication of walls and ceilings of a structure which has two latticework beams interconnected by spaces using plastic plugs extending through aligned bores of the spacers and the longitudinal chords of the beams. The beams themselves have the longitudinal chords connected together by zig-zag strips and the longitudinal chords, zig-zag strips and spacers are all formed from galvanized sheet steel.

Abstract: From two-dimensional displacement vectors of features of objects in successive two-dimensional images, computing a fuzzy focus of expansion and determining qualitative relationships among the features of the scene and motion parameters of the objects in the images and thereby constructing a qualitative three-dimensional representation of the scene captured in two-dimensional images.

Abstract: Determining the self-motion in space of an imaging device (e.g., a television camera) by analyzing image sequences obtained through the device. Three-dimensional self-motion is expressed as a combination of rotations about the horizontal and vertical camera axes and the direction of camera translation. The invention computes the rotational and translational components of the camera self-motion exclusively from visual information. Robust performance is achieved by determining the direction of heading (i.e., the focus of expansion) as a connected region instead of a single location on the image plane. The method can be used to determine when the direction of heading is outside the current field of view and when there is zero or very small camera translation.