Abstract: The subject matter of this specification can be embodied in, among other things, a rotary vane actuator that includes a stator having at least one vane stop and a rotor having vanes projecting from a central shaft. The vane is adapted to contact said stop of the stator, and a high pressure chamber is defined by the stator and a first side of the vane and a low pressure chamber on a second side of the vane. The actuator further includes at least a first aperture connected to the high pressure chamber a second aperture connected to the low pressure chamber. A fluid flow passage connects the first aperture in the high pressure chamber to the second aperture in the low pressure chamber.

Abstract: The hydraulic pressure to be supplied to a hydraulic actuator mounted on a vehicle, such as a hydraulic cylinder for vehicle height control, is arranged to be generated by utilizing a waste heat of a power source such as an engine of the vehicle or the like. There are provided an oil chamber to be connected to a hydraulic actuator, a pressurizing chamber containing therein, in a sealed manner, a medium which varies between a gaseous state and a liquid state, and a heating device which heats and evaporates the medium inside the pressurizing chamber and through which cooling water for cooling the power source to be mounted on the vehicle flows. The hydraulic pressure is generated by compressing the oil chamber by a vapor pressure of the medium inside the pressurizing chamber. In case the hydraulic actuator is a hydraulic cylinder for a vehicle height control, there is provided a flow control valve which controls the amount of supply of the cooling water to the heating device depending on the vehicle height.

Abstract: A method of improving the effectiveness of braking a reversible four-stroke V type Diesel engine with an even number of at least ten working cylinders fitted with individual starting valves sequentially fed from an engine-driven rotary pressure air distributor, the method consisting in reducing the duration of pressure air inlet to the distributor for one bank of cylinders with respect to the other bank and optimizing such a shortened duration for each starting valve of one bank of cylinders during the braking step and possibly optimizing that for each starting valve of the other bank of cylinders for the restarting step.

Abstract: A method and a device for pneumatically braking and re-starting in the reverse direction a Diesel engine, comprising stopping the fuel supply to the engine, locking starting valves of the engine in an open position during the braking period, and then opening a main starting valve and the exhaust ports of the starting valves when the engine has slowed down to a rotary speed of a predetermined value.