Abstract: A fall detection device that is allowed to reduce the processing load put when making a determination using software, to reliably determine the start of a fall, and to make a fall prediction as necessary, and a magnetic disk drive and a portable electronic apparatus that each include the fall detection device are configured. Accelerations are obtained in three orthogonal axis directions (ax, ay, az), and an evaluation value is obtained with respect to each of the accelerations (ax, ay, az) on the basis of an evaluation function, by which an evaluation value is increased as the difference increases between accelerations (ax0, ay0, az0) at a steady time and accelerations (ax, ay, az) at a fall determination time, and whether a fall has started is determined on the basis of whether this evaluation value exceeds a predetermined value.

Abstract: A machine includes a chassis, a linkage having a first end pivotally attached to the chassis at a first pivot point, and a bucket pivotally attached to a second end of the linkage at a second pivot point and rotatable about the second pivot point from a first position where gravity resists rotation of the bucket to a second position where gravity assists rotation of the bucket. A tilt actuator rotates the bucket about the pivot point and one or more sensors provide physical data of the bucket. A processor of the machine receives the physical data, determines from the physical data an equilibrium position of the bucket, determines a location of the center of gravity of the bucket with payload from the physical data and the equilibrium position, and estimates the weight of the payload based on the physical data and the location of the center of gravity.

Abstract: Methods and systems for using force measurements to determine the amount of material in a container and/or the rate at which material is discharged from a container are disclosed. A container for storing a desired material is positioned so that the center of gravity of the container shifts horizontally with changes in level of the material in the container. A plurality of load sensors are symmetrically arranged at a base of the container and are used to monitor the amount of materials in the container.

Abstract: In a vehicle control device capable of sufficiently exhibiting the effect of vehicle control, a selection section selects a value greater than an intermediate value of a vehicle weight in a range restricted by a range restriction unit as the value of the vehicle weight and selects a value greater than an intermediate value of the height of the center of gravity in the range as the value of the height of the center of gravity. For stability, the greater the height of the center of gravity of the vehicle is, the stricter the conditions that are imposed. For fuel consumption, the greater the vehicle weight is, the stricter the conditions that are imposed. The selection section selects the values which become conditions stricter than at least an intermediate value in the range restricted by the range restriction section, and the range restriction section restricts the range.

Abstract: A method for judging directionality of a housing having two parallel panels by a gravity sensor is disclosed. The method is used for a handheld apparatus to judge which of the panels is upward. The method first obtains a set of component quantity of gravity on three coordinate axes from a three dimensional gravity sensor. When ?0.5 g>gz??1 g and 1 g?gz>0.5 g, a first direction status and a second direction status is acquired, respectively. When 0.5 g?gz??0.5 g, the method further reposes on two parameters, polarity of gz and magnitude of the component quantity on y-axis (gy), to judge. When gz>0 and ?0.5 g>gy??1 g or when gz<0 and 1 g?gy>0.5 g, the judging result is the first direction status. When gz<0 and ?0.5 g>gy?1 g or when gz>0 and 1 g?gy>0.5 g, it is the second one. The rest will be judged to be “don't care”.

Abstract: A roundness measuring device includes: an eccentric position calculation unit calculating, based on a measured distance and a measured angle, a distance between a axis of the measured object and a rotation axis as an eccentric distance, and calculating an angle formed between the detection line and a line segment connecting the rotation axis and the axis of the measured object as an eccentric angle; and a measurement correction unit correcting the measured distance based on the eccentric distance, the eccentric angle, the measured angle, a radius of the measured object, and a length from the center to the surface of the detector unit, and correcting the measured angle by adding a correction angle to the measured angle, the correction angle being formed between the detection line and a line segment connecting the rotation axis and a contact point where the measured object and the detector unit come in contact with one another.

Abstract: An approach controller (234) of a coordinate measuring instrument enables a position control loop (RP) and drives an actuator (133) so that a force sensor (1) is brought to a close position under a position control. When recognizing that the force sensor (1) reaches the close position, a contact controller (235) controls a switch (227) to enable a force control loop (RF) and drives the actuator (133) to bring the force sensor (1) into contact with a workpiece under a force control.

Abstract: A wafer stage countermass assembly generally includes a base supporting one or more stages and first and second countermasses. The first and second stages move in one or more degrees of freedom. The countermasses move in at least one degree of freedom and, under ideal conditions, move to counter the movement of the stages in operation and thus preserve the systems center of gravity to avoid unwanted body motion. However, under actual conditions the countermasses may under travel or over travel their ideal trajectory. To more closely track the ideal trajectory, a controller actuates trim motors to apply small forces to the countermasses to push them towards a reference position in the Y direction. A second embodiment also takes into account the X position the stage(s) to cancel torque.

Abstract: A signal acquisition section 19 acquires, for example, a vehicle velocity pulse signal, which is generated from a vehicle velocity sensor 8 in accordance with the movement of a vehicle that is a mobile body. A distance information acquisition section 20 acquires distance information concerning the movement distance of the vehicle from a GPS receiver 2. A distance factor computing section 21 computes a distance factor value based on the acquired vehicle velocity pulse signal and distance information. A change detection section 23 then compares this computed distance factor value and a distance factor reference value stored in a reference value storage section 30 to detect a continuous change of the distance factor value. That is, change detection section 23 detects a change of tire outer diameter due to a change of the pneumatic pressure of the vehicle's tire or tire exchange, etc.

Abstract: A method and system for the sensorless estimation of the states of the mechanical subsystem of a motor are disclosed. In particular, the method and system split the estimation problem into two sub-problems: the estimation of motor parameters as a function of position, and the determination of the states of the mechanical subsystem of the motor using the estimated parameters via a state observer. Motor current and PWM voltage in a polyphase system is measured or otherwise determined and converted into current and voltage in ?-? coordinates. A least square estimator is constructed that uses the voltage and current in ?-? coordinates and provides an estimate of the motor parameters, and in particular, the inductances of the motor, which are a function of the rotor position.

Abstract: The disclosure relates to the ergonomics and safety of head equipment, notably incorporating display devices, intended to be worn by aircraft crew. One of the difficulties in evaluating injury risks associated with the wearing of head equipment is to determine precisely the center of gravity of the actual user's head, since standard head models prove to be too imprecise. The invention proposes a process enabling individualized determination of the center of gravity of the user's head and therefore its precise position relative to the center of gravity of the head equipment. One preferred embodiment of said process consists in using means to establish a three-dimensional mapping of the external surface of the user's head.

Abstract: A wafer stage countermass assembly generally includes a base supporting one or more stages and first and second countermasses. The first and second stages move in one or more degrees of freedom. The countermasses move in at least one degree of freedom and, under ideal conditions, move to counter the movement of the stages in operation and thus preserve the systems center of gravity to avoid unwanted body motion. However, under actual conditions the countermasses may under travel or over travel their ideal trajectory. To more closely track the ideal trajectory, a controller actuates trim motors to apply small forces to the countermasses to push them towards a reference position in the Y direction. A second embodiment also takes into account the X position the stage(s) to cancel torque.

Abstract: A system for determining the height of the center of gravity of a vehicle includes an arrangement configured to determine a difference between wheel contact forces, an arrangement configured to determine a transverse acceleration, an arrangement configured to determine comparison values which compares the change in the difference between wheel contact forces with the change in the transverse acceleration, and an arrangement configured to evaluate a roll model which determines the height of the center of gravity from the comparison values. Furthermore, a corresponding method is for determining the height of the center of gravity of a vehicle.

Abstract: A system for determining the height of the center of gravity of a vehicle includes an arrangement configured to determine a difference between wheel contact forces, an arrangement configured to determine a transverse acceleration, an arrangement configured to determine comparison values which compares the change in the difference between wheel contact forces with the change in the transverse acceleration, and an arrangement configured to evaluate a roll model which determines the height of the center of gravity from the comparison values. Furthermore, a corresponding method is for determining the height of the center of gravity of a vehicle.

Abstract: A method for recognizing circular features and determining the true centers of the circular features calculates a fitted circle that has a radius within a small range of the known radius of a known model. This method recognizes circular contact features on electronic components such as bumps on a flip chip and pads on a substrate and other visually similar applications and employs an algorithm which is unaffected by circular feature damage, artifact illuminations or traces connecting pads and contact bumps which create distortions that typically result in inaccuracies in determining the true center of the circular feature when using conventional center of mass or “centroid” algorithms. The method for filtering out the distortions includes determining the distance from the centroid of the circular contact feature to the boundary as a function of angle. Determining the boundary data in this manner creates a signature which provides a one dimensional representation of a two dimensional boundary.

Abstract: A projective body is aligned with a surface to generate texture coordinates for the surface. The present invention includes selecting an appropriate projective body for a given surface, orienting and positioning the surface with respect to the projective body, projecting the surface onto the projective body, and then mapping the projective body onto the texture rectangle. An inertial ellipsoid is used to orient the surface and the projective body. The inertial ellipsoid can also be used as the projective body. Ellipsoidal coordinates are preferably used to project the surface onto the projective body.

Abstract: An apparatus and a related method are used to simultaneously calibrate a center-of-gravity and a moment-of-inertia. The apparatus includes: a motor rotated with a prescribed velocity; a tachometer installed at the motor for calibrating an angular velocity of the moto; a fixed plate which is installed at the upper portion of rotation axis of the motor and has a plurality of parts fixing units; a motor driver connected to the motor for controlling the driving of the motor and for calibrating a current value flowing into the motor; and a processor connected to the motor driver and the tachometer for calculating a center-of-gravity and a moment-of-inertia of a part by using the calibrated angular velocity and current value.

Abstract: A process and system for determining the flight configurations of an aircraft are disclosed. The process includes the steps of defining various possible flight configurations of the aircraft, determining a plurality of flight phases representative of the flight configurations, determining a plurality of characteristic parameters capable of being measured on the aircraft, measuring values of the characteristic parameters for each of the flight phases of the aircraft, calculating a fuzziness index for each of the flight configurations from the measured values of the characteristic parameters for the flight phases, the fuzziness index being representative of the flight configuration in a specified metric system, and defining an actual flight phase of the aircraft.

Abstract: A roundness measuring machine is described which measures the position of the surface of an object as the object is rotated on a turntable. The machine determines the circle which is the best fit to the measured points and converts the measurements to distances from the best fit circle. An improved algorithm for determining the best fit circle is used in place of the limacon fit. Calculated differences between the measured surface position and the best fit circle are corrected for the effect of measuring the difference in the direction towards the center of rotation of the turntable instead of in the direction towards the center of the circle. Data values are calculated representing points at equal angles around the center of the best fit circle rather than equal angles around the center of rotation of the turntable. The improved accuracy of correction allows the machine to tolerate greater eccentricity of the workplace relative to the turntable, reducing the necessity for accurate centering of the workpiece.