Author: claimsbot

1. A method for estimating a remaining operational life of a functional article after life-reducing utilization of the article has occurred which is at least partially attributable to loaded operation of the article, said method comprising:
monitoring a functional article utilizing an operation in which at least two parameters associated with the article are assessed, said two parameters comprising a first parameter that causes operational life shortening degradation to the article and a second parameter that influences the rate of operational life shortening degradation caused by said first parameter, but alone does not cause operational life shortening degradation to the article;
measuring, repeatedly, at least one of said parameters during operation of the functional article capable of assessing a total load in the article, wherein the total load represents a combined operational life shortening degradation of the article because of an interaction between the first and second parameters’ combined influence on the article; and
estimating the remaining operational life of the article based at least in part on a calculation including a product of values of the two parameters, the calculation representing an adjusted total load attributable to the article.
2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the adjusted total load is calculated a plurality of times during a time period during which the measuring of the at least one parameter is conducted.
3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the adjusted total load is calculated after each measurement of the at least one parameter.
4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein calculated adjusted total load values are summed, and the result is stored in a first field of a memory unit.
5. The method as recited in claim 4, wherein summation of the adjusted total load values is carried out after each measurement of the at least one of said parameters.
6. The method as recited in claim 4, wherein, for subsequent calculations of the adjusted total load, the second parameter is assumed to be constant for a plurality of measurements of the first parameter, the adjusted total load is calculated with the second parameter at the constant value, and the calculated values for the adjusted total load are summed and the result is stored in a second field in the memory unit.
7. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein a number of load cycles of the first parameter is measured and a matrix in a memory unit is populated therefrom, said matrix comprising a plurality of different positions which each corresponds to a specific operational state and a specific operational condition, and the number of load cycles are cumulatively collected.
8. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein at least one of the first and the second parameters are described as an exponential function.
9. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein during the calculation of the adjusted total load, the first parameter is related to a condition between a measured second parameter and a reference value for the second parameter.
10. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein the reference value is based on actual tests of the article.
11. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein a plurality of first parameters are measured in parallel, and the adjusted total load is calculated utilizing a function in which the life influence of each and everyone of the first parameters at the conditions are summed.
12. The method as recited in claim 1, remaining operation life of the article is calculated based on total load which is defined by total load relative to an initial damage tolerance of the article.
13. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein after a certain period of time, a total life influencing damage of the article is calculated as the sum of each of the previously calculated the adjusted total loads.
14. The method as recited in claim 13, wherein a value of the remaining life of the article is calculated based on total life influencing damage.
15. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the adjusted total load on the article is calculated based on linear partial damage theory.
16. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the adjusted total load on the article is calculated based on the Palmgren-Miner’s partial damage theory.
17. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the first parameter is measured with a higher frequency than the second parameter.
18. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the article is a rotating object.
19. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the article is arranged in a vehicle.
20. The method as recited in claim 19, wherein the article is a component in a gear box of the vehicle.
21. The method as recited in claim 19, wherein the article is a portion of a cardan shaft that defines an angular shift in the longitudinal direction of the shaft.
22. The method as recited in claim 19, wherein a result of the calculation of the adjusted total load is stored in a position in a memory unit of the vehicle.
23. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the first and the second parameters are calculated from only one measured value and utilizing a mathematical algorithm.
24. The method as recited in claim 23, wherein the mathematical algorithm is representative of the Rainflow method.
25. The method as recited in claim 23, wherein the adjusted total load is calculated by means of a function which adjusts for the influence of the average tension on the effect of the amplitude of the tension.
26. The method as recited in claim 23, wherein the article is a part of a supporting structure of a vehicle.
27. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:
controlling subsequent use of the article based on the estimated remaining operational life of the article.
28. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:
valuing the article based on the estimated remaining operational life of the article.
29. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:
utilizing the estimated remaining operational life of the article as the basis for dimensioning future articles which are intended to be exposed to similar operation.
30. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:
utilizing the estimated remaining operational life of the article for validating a simulation model of the article in operation.
31. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:
utilizing a difference in the estimated remaining operational life of the article between delivery and return of the article to a user for calculating charges to user for utilization of the article.
32. The method as recited in claim 31, wherein a signal comprising information about the parameters and estimated remaining operational life of the article is transmitted from a transmitter associated with the article to a receiver associated with a base station located remotely from the article, said signaled information being utilized for decision making regarding measures to be taken with respect to the article.
33. The method as recited in claim 31, wherein the article is arranged in a vehicle.
34. The method as recited in claim 1, information regarding remaining operational life of the article is presented to a driver of the vehicle.
35. A system for communication between a base station and at least one remotely positioned stationary or mobily fixed machine via transmitting and receiving means for checking the operational status of the machine, with the machine comprising an object that is susceptible to damage and wherein the system further comprises a control unit, means for measuring a number of operational parameters of the object, and means for calculating damage done to the object based on the measured operational parameters.
36. The system as recited in claim 35, wherein the system further comprises a unit arranged to take steps for the future operation of the machineobject based on the calculation.
37. The system according to claim 36, wherein the unit for taking the steps is a station for spare parts, maintenance or restoration.
38. The system according to claim 36, wherein the unit for taking steps or measures is a facility for producing new objects.
39. The system according to claim 36, wherein the unit for taking steps or measures is an actuator arranged for influencing the operational condition of the object.
40. The system according to claim 35, wherein the system comprises means for storing a result of the damage calculation.
41. The system according to claim 35, wherein the machine is arranged in a vehicle, a vessel or a transport means which uses rails.
42. The system according to claim 35, wherein the transmitting and receiving means are arranged for transmitting information relating to the status of the machine via a transmission signal in the form of radio waves or via satellite communication.
43. A system for estimating a remaining operational life of a functional article after life-reducing utilization of the article has occurred which is at least partially attributable to loaded operation of the article, said system comprising:
means for monitoring a functional article utilizing an operation in which at least two parameters associated with the article are assessed, said two parameters comprising a first parameter that causes operational life shortening degradation to the article and a second parameter that influences the rate of operational life shortening degradation caused by said first parameter, but alone does not cause operational life shortening degradation to the article;
means for repeatedly measuring at least one of said parameters during operation of the functional article capable of assessing a total load in the article, wherein the total load represents a combined operational life shortening degradation of the article because of an interaction between the first and second parameters’ combined influence on the article; and
means for estimating the remaining operational life of the article based at least in part on a calculation including a product of values of the two parameters, the calculation representing an adjusted total load attributable to the article.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. An eye-tracking driving system comprising:
a display device disposed in front of a user to look at;
an eye-tracking device having a fixing band portion and a transparent goggles portion, said transparent goggles portion having a video capturing device for obtaining a human pupil area image and an auxiliary light for providing enough brightness of said human pupil area image;
a calculating device to input said human pupil area image via an image capturing interface card and then to calculate a center point of a pupil of said human pupil area image that is defined as a pupil center and to determine staying times and staying positions of said pupil center, and finally to output one of corresponding operation commands, said operation commands at least including: a left turn command, a right turn command, a forward command, a reverse command, and a stop command; wherein said human pupil area image is divided into nine zones substantially consisting by three columns and three rows so as to form a upper left zone, a top zone, a upper right zone, a left zone, a central zone, a right zone, a lower left zone, a bottom zone, and a lower right zone, said central zone, upper left zone, upper right zone, lower left zone, lower right zone are corresponding to said stop command, said left zone, right zone, top zone, and bottom zone are corresponding to said left turn command, right turn command, forward command and reverse command respectively;
a controller to convert said operation command that is an output from said calculating device into a left wheel driving command and a left wheel driving command and a right wheel driving command;
a powered vehicle including a seat, a left driving system, a left wheel, a right driving system, and a right wheel, wherein said left wheel driving system can drive said left wheel according to said left driving command, and said right wheel driving system can drive said right wheel according to said right driving command.
2. The eye-tracking driving system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the left driving system further comprises a left motor, a left gear box and a left clutch; the right driving system further comprises a right motor, a right gear box and a right clutch.
3. The eye-tracking driving system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said video capturing device obtains a lower left corner, an upper left corner, and a upper right corner of said human pupil area image so as to define a horizontal axis and a vertical axis for an coordinate system calibration.
4. The eye-tracking driving system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said vehicle is a recreational vehicle.
5. The eye-tracking driving system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said vehicle is a device of virtual reality game.
6. The eye-tracking driving system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said calculating device being to determine an operation command by means of said nine zones within a predetermined time, after actually operating by a user for a while, said calculating device being to determine an operation command by means of a circular incremental system, said circular incremental system includes:
(a) an inner circle zone as said stop command when said pupil center falls in;
(b) an left incremental zone as said left turn command when said pupil center falls in and an output of said left turn command being proportional to a distance between said pupil center and said inner circle zone;
(c) an right incremental zone as said right turn command when said pupil center falls in and an output of said right turn command being proportional to a distance between said pupil center and said inner circle zone;
(d) an top incremental zone as said forward command when said pupil center falls in and an output of said forward command being proportional to a distance between said pupil center and said inner circle zone; and
(e) a bottom incremental zone as said right turn command when said pupil center falls in and an output of said right turn command being proportional to a distance between said pupil center and said inner circle zone.
7. An eye-tracking driving system comprising:
an eye-tracking device having a fixing band portion and a transparent goggles portion, said transparent goggles portion having a video capturing device for obtaining a human pupil area image and a auxiliary light for providing enough brightness of said human pupil area image;
a calculating device to input said human pupil area image via an image capturing interface card and then to calculate a center point of a pupil of said human pupil area image that is defined as a pupil center and to determine staying times and staying positions of said pupil center, and finally to output one of corresponding operation commands, said operation commands at least including: a left turn command, a right turn command, a forward command, a reverse command, and a stop command;
a controller to convert said operation command that is an output from said calculating device into a left wheel driving command and a right wheel driving command; wherein said human pupil area image is divided into nine zones substantially consisting by three columns and three rows so as to form a upper left zone, a top zone, a upper right zone, a left zone, a central zone, a right zone, a lower left zone, a bottom zone, and a lower right zone, said central zone, upper left zone, upper right zone, lower left zone, lower right zone are corresponding to said stop command, said left zone, right zone, top zone, and bottom zone are corresponding to said left turn command, right turn command, forward command and reverse command respectively;
a powered vehicle including a seat, a left driving system, a left wheel, a right driving system, and a right wheel, wherein said left wheel driving system can drive said left wheel according to said left driving command, and said right wheel driving system can drive said right wheel according to said right driving command.
8. The eye-tracking driving system as claimed in claim 7, wherein said left driving system further comprises a left motor, a left gear box and a left clutch; said right driving system further comprises a right motor, a right gear box and a right clutch.
9. The eye-tracking driving system as claimed in claim 7, wherein said vehicle is a recreational vehicle.
10. The eye-tracking driving system as claimed in claim 7, wherein said vehicle is a device of virtual reality game.
11. The eye-tracking driving system as claimed in claim 7, wherein said calculating device being to determine an operation command by means of said nine zones within a predetermined time, after actually operating by a user for a while, said calculating device being to determine an operation command by means of a circular incremental system, said circular incremental system includes:
(a) an inner circle zone as said stop command when said pupil center falls in;
(b) an left incremental zone as said left turn command when said pupil center falls in and an output of said left turn command being proportional to a distance between said pupil center and said inner circle zone;
(c) an right incremental zone as said right turn command when said pupil center falls in and an output of said right turn command being proportional to a distance between said pupil center and said inner circle zone;
(d) an top incremental zone as said forward command when said pupil center falls in and an output of said forward command being proportional to a distance between said pupil center and said inner circle zone; and
(e) a bottom incremental zone as said right turn command when said pupil center falls in and an output of said right turn command being proportional to a distance between said pupil center and said inner circle zone.

1. A device for documentary assistance of at least one operator of an aircraft, in particular a pilot of the aircraft, for assisting said operator in the execution on the aircraft of at least one of a plurality of different tasks, said documentary assistance device being carried on board said aircraft and comprising:
a plurality of sources of computer data comprising at least data relating to said aircraft, to elements of the latter, as well as to the outside environment;
an activatable interrogation means, serving as interface between said operator and said documentary assistance device and capable of being activated by said operator so as to generate a request for information relating to the execution of at least one of said tasks;
an information presentation means; and
a central processing unit linked to said data sources, to said interrogation means and to said information presentation means and capable of searching said data sources, in response to the creation of a request for information by said interrogation means, for data relating to the execution of the corresponding task, of collecting the data thus searched for and of transmitting them, in the form of information, to said information presentation means with a view to their presentation to the operator,
wherein said sources of computer data comprise systems existing on the aircraft and associated with elements of said aircraft, wherein said central processing unit is capable of searching all said sources of computer data for all the data relating to the execution of a task and of collecting them into a plurality of groups exhibiting levels of details which differ, and wherein said information presentation means present at least one of these levels to the operator, said operator being able to select the other levels by way of said interrogation means so as to display the level which he wishes to consult.
2. The device as claimed in claim 1,
wherein said sources of computer data comprise databases.
3. The device as claimed in claim 1,
which furthermore comprises at least one monitoring means monitoring at least one particular parameter and capable of automatically activating said interrogation means so as to generate a request for information, as a function of the results of said monitoring.
4. The device as claimed in claim 1,
wherein said interrogation means and said information presentation means form part of one and the same dialogue interface comprising at least one screen and one keyboard.
5. The device as claimed in claim 4,
wherein said screen displays at least one navigation zone intended for creating requests for information and for selecting information to be presented and a work zone intended for presenting the selected information.
6. A process for documentary assistance of at least one operator of an aircraft, in particular a pilot of the aircraft, for assisting said operator in the execution on said aircraft of at least one of a plurality of different tasks, according to which process a request for information relating to the execution of a task is generated, and upon the generation of such a request, the following operations are carried out successively and automatically:
a) data relating to the execution of said task is searched for in a plurality of sources of computer data comprising at least data relating to said aircraft, to elements of the latter, as well as to the outside environment;
b) the data thus searched for is collected; and
c) information associated with at least some of the data thus collected is presented to said operator, by way of an information presentation means,
wherein in step a), all the data relating to the execution of said task is searched for in all said sources of computer data which comprise systems existing on the aircraft and associated with elements of said aircraft, wherein in step b), the data are collected according to several levels of details, and wherein in step c), at least one of these levels is presented to the operator, said operator being able to select the other levels so as to display the level which he wishes to consult.
7. The process as claimed in claim 6,
wherein said request for information is generated by an action of the operator.
8. The process as claimed in claim 6,
wherein said request for information is generated automatically, as a function of the result of the monitoring of a parameter.
9. The process as claimed in claim 6,
wherein said sources of computer data comprise at least some of the following data:
bibliographic data;
changing data;
data emanating from systems of the aircraft; and
data proposing actions to be undertaken.
10. The process as claimed in claim 6,
wherein in step c) at least some of the following information is presented to the operator, following the search for data:
the data themselves;
the place where the data are located;
the result of a processing carried out on the basis of the data; and
a proposal of calculation on the basis of the data.
11. The process as claimed in claim 6,
wherein a tree-like list making it possible to access the various information available is displayed.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. An image formation device, comprising:
a developer holding body having a developer holding surface which is configured to hold developer thereon and is located to be parallel with a main scanning direction; and
a developer supply unit configured to supply the developer to a first position facing the developer holding surface by carrying the developer in a developer transport direction intersecting with the main scanning direction through use of effect of an electric field,
the developer supply unit comprising a plurality of carrying electrodes each of which is formed to have a longer side extending along the main scanning direction,
the plurality of carrying electrodes being arranged along the developer transport direction to carry the developer when a drive voltage is applied to the plurality of carrying electrodes,
wherein the developer supply unit has a developer carrying area on which the developer is carried, and the developer carrying area is formed such that, in the main scanning direction, the developer carrying area becomes narrower from an upstream side in the developer transport direction toward the first position along the developer transport direction.
2. The image formation device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of carrying electrodes are formed such that in the main scanning direction, widths of the plurality of carrying electrodes become narrower from the upstream side in the developer transport direction toward the first position along the developer transport direction.
3. The image formation device according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of carrying electrodes is formed to have a triangular waveform when viewed as a plan view.
4. The image formation device according to claim 1,
wherein:
the developer supply unit comprises a plurality of guide plates each of which is formed to protrude from a developer carrying surface which faces the developer holding surface of the developer holding body and on which the developer is carried; and
the plurality of guide plates are arranged such that an interval between adjacent upstream edges of the plurality of guide plates in the developer transport direction is larger than an interval between adjacent downstream edges of the plurality of guide plates in the developer transport direction.
5. The image formation device according to claim 4,
wherein:
the number of the plurality of guide plates is three or more; and
the plurality of guide plates are formed such that intervals between adjacent ones of the upstream edges are equal to each other and intervals between adjacent ones of the downstream edges are equal to each other.
6. The image formation device according to claim 1, wherein the developer carrying area is formed such that, in the main scanning direction, the developer carrying area becomes wider from the first position toward an downstream side in the developer transport direction.
7. The image formation device according to claim 1, wherein in the vicinity of the first position, the plurality of carrying electrodes include carrying electrodes each of which is configured to have a recessed shape opened toward the first position when viewed as a plan view.
8. A developer supply device, comprising:
a developer carrying body configured to supply developer to a first position facing a developer holding surface of a developer holding body which is configured to hold the developer thereon and is configured such that the developer holding surface is parallel with a main scanning direction, by carrying the developer in a developer transport direction intersecting with the main scanning direction through use of effect of an electric field; and
a plurality of carrying electrodes each of which is formed to have a longer side extending along the main scanning direction,
the plurality of carrying electrodes being arranged along the developer transport direction to carry the developer when a drive voltage is applied to the plurality of carrying electrodes,
wherein the developer supply device has a developer carrying area on which the developer is carried, and the developer carrying area is formed such that, in the main scanning direction, the developer carrying area becomes narrower from an upstream side in the developer transport direction toward the first position along the developer transport direction.
9. The developer supply device according to claim 8, wherein the plurality of carrying electrodes are formed such that in the main scanning direction, widths of the plurality of carrying electrodes become narrower from the upstream side in the developer transport direction toward the first position along the developer transport direction.
10. The developer supply device according to claim 8, wherein each of the plurality of carrying electrodes is formed to have a triangular waveform when viewed as a plan view.
11. The developer supply device according to claim 8,
further comprising a plurality of guide plates each of which is formed to protrude from a developer carrying surface which faces the developer holding surface of the developer holding body and on which the developer is carried,
wherein the plurality of guide plates are arranged such that an interval between adjacent upstream edges of the plurality of guide plates in the developer transport direction is larger than an interval between adjacent downstream edges of the plurality of guide plates in the developer transport direction.
12. The developer supply device according to claim 11,
wherein:
the number of the plurality of guide plates is three or more; and
the plurality of guide plates are formed such that intervals between adjacent ones of the upstream edges are equal to each other and intervals between adjacent ones of the downstream edges are equal to each other.
13. The developer supply device according to claim 8, wherein the developer carrying area is formed such that, in the main scanning direction, the developer carrying area becomes wider from the first position toward an downstream side in the developer transport direction.
14. The developer supply device according to claim 8, wherein in the vicinity of the first position, the plurality of carrying electrodes include carrying electrodes each of which is configured to have a recessed shape opened toward the first position when viewed as a plan view.
15. A developer supply device, comprising:
a plurality of carrying electrodes each of which is formed to extend in a first direction; and
a developer holding area configured to include the plurality of carrying electrodes and to carry developer in a second direction substantially perpendicular to the first direction when a drive voltage is applied to the plurality of carrying electrodes, so as to supply the developer to a developer holding member which holds the carried developer,
wherein the developer holding area has a portion where the developer holding area becomes narrower in the first direction from an upstream side in the second direction toward a downstream side in the second direction.
16. The developer supply device according to claim 15, wherein the developer holding area is formed to have a narrowest portion at a first position facing the developer holding member.
17. The developer supply device according to claim 16, wherein the plurality of carrying electrodes are formed such that widths of the plurality of carrying electrodes in the first direction become narrower from the upstream side in the second direction toward the first position along the second direction.
18. The developer supply device according to claim 15, wherein each of the plurality of carrying electrodes is formed to have a triangular waveform when viewed as a plan view.
19. The developer supply device according to claim 15,
further comprising a plurality of guide plates each of which is formed to protrude from a developer carrying surface which faces a developer holding surface of the developer holding member and on which the developer is carried,
wherein the plurality of guide plates are arranged such that an interval between adjacent upstream edges of the plurality of guide plates in the second direction is larger than an interval between adjacent downstream edges of the plurality of guide plates in the second direction.
20. The developer supply device according to claim 19,
wherein:
the number of the plurality of guide plates is three or more; and
the plurality of guide plates are formed such that intervals between adjacent ones of the upstream edges are equal to each other and intervals between adjacent ones of the downstream edges are equal to each other.