Installation Environment Research Articles

405 飲料用自販機の運用高度化システムの構築に関する検討 : パシフィコ横浜における最適配置運用評価の実証(省エネルギー(1))

Recent years, global environmental problems have become aggravated, and various energy-saving functions and methods been introduced in vending machines. However, it is reported that useless energy is consumed because the amount of power consumption changes greatly by the installation environment in actual operation. We aim to improve over concentration of vending machines by considering demands, conveniences, and environmental impact of vending machines. In this study, our team cooperates with Pacifico Yokohama and vending machine companies. We tried to make reduction of power consumption in Pacifico Yokohama by using our system of Conservation of energy setting at vending machine.

Interaction-based shape understanding using virtual objects

A virtual reality environment is now available using one of the special display systems. For example, a user can get a high immersive feeling with staying in a screen booth of CAVE, changing the user’s viewpoints and controlling visualised objects. However, because of its installation environment and its cost, it is not suitable for casual applications. This paper proposes a marker-based viewpoint recognition method, which calculates the position and direction of the viewpoint of a user who is looking at a virtual object. The virtual object can then be located in such a way that the user’s view could follow its position and orientation. The viewpoint can be dynamically calculated using a marker which is attached to the user’s head. This method was implemented and a prototype system was installed using a rear projection system. A user standing in front of the system can interactively review the shape of the object from different angles simply by moving the head, and even can check the internal view of the object. This paper presents the method and its demonstration, and discusses the feasibility of the proposed approach for casual applications.

Development of Ontology Building Service ONTOMO Evaluation of Ontology Recommendation Agent Using Proper Noun Extraction

Ontology-enabled services are rapidly increasing in the Web. However, those are sort of ``lighter'' ontologies compared with ontologies used in design and diagnosis. In this paper, we propose ONTOMO that enables internet users to take part in building those ontologies. ONTOMO is designed not for ontology experts, but for general users of the light-weight ontology. So we focused on easy-use, no installation, and cooperative work environment. Also, it has an agent function which recommends instances and properties belong to ontology classes to boost the users' input. In the recommendation agent, we built our own proper noun extraction mechanism based on bootstrapping. Furthermore, ONTOMO provides a ontology-based blog search as a sample application to motivate the users' ontology building. After the ONTOMO overview, we present the instance and property recommendation agent with experimental evaluation.

3407 設置環境の違いによる高速道路トンネル内設備老朽化の解析(OS5-3 交通物流の安全・環境技術,OS5 安全・安心・防災,オーガナイズド・セッション(OS))

3407 設置環境の違いによる高速道路トンネル内設備老朽化の解析(OS5-3 交通物流の安全・環境技術,OS5 安全・安心・防災,オーガナイズド・セッション(OS))

DOA ESTIMATION USING TIME-FREQUENCY CONVERSION PRE-PROCESSING METHOD

In many cases, the study of DOA estimation techniques is developed based on ideal condition of signal sources and array sensor antennas. But, there are much more errors as a result of signal shadow efiects from noise contribution and interference of installation environment in real system. In this paper, the DOA estimation algorithm using the de-noising pre-processing based on time-frequency conversion analysis was proposed, and the performance was analyzed. This is focused on the improvement of DOA estimation at a lower SNR and interference environment.

404 飲料用自販機の運用高度化システムの構築に関する検討 : 大学構内における最適配置運用評価の実証(省エネルギー(1))

Recent years, global environmental problems have become aggravated, and various energy-saving functions and methods been introduced in vending machines. However, it is reported that useless energy is consumed because the amount of power consumption changes greatly by the installation environment in actual operation. We aim to improve over concentration of vending machines by considering demands, conveniences, and environmental impact of vending machines. In this study, our team cooperates with Waseda University and vending machine companies. We tried to make reduction of power consumption in Waseda University by using our system of Conservation of energy setting at vending machine.

Cause of failure and optimization of a V-belt pulley considering fatigue life uncertainty in automotive applications

High accuracy of dimensions and strength in design requirements are required to produce reliable automotive components with consistent strength distribution. For example, a V-belt pulley is widely used to transmit power between rotational mechanical elements. However, due to defects from the manufacturing process and heterogeneity of materials, different kinds of failure damage may occur in pulleys of identical shape and material. Common applications in the automotive industry include crankshafts, water pumps, air-conditioner compressors and power steering pumps. Although the shape and the usage of pulleys are very simple, evaluating the pulley design is difficult because the loading conditions and installation environment are complicated. This paper focuses on the clutch pulley in the A/C compressor system of automotives and cause of failure was investigated. The applied stress distribution of the pulley under high-tension and torque was obtained by using finite element analysis (FEA) and based on theses results, the life of the pulley with variation in fatigue strength was estimated with a durability analysis simulator. The results for failure probabilities of 50% and 1% were compared with the fatigue life. Incidentally, the purpose of this study was to optimize the fatigue life of vehicle components from the stochastic point of view. The fatigue life was obtained by an approximation function, and the optimum design was verified by fatigue tests considering durability and validity. The design optimization of a V-belt pulley was performed using an approximation function, which improved the fatigue life. A new shape optimization procedure was presented to improve the fatigue life of the pulley in automotive applications and the shape control concept was introduced to reduce the shape design variables. Design of experiment (DOE) was employed to evaluate the design sensitivity of fatigue life with respect to shape design variables.

414 飲料用自動販売機における運用の高度化について : 設置環境の適正化と最適配置・運用評価の有効性について(省エネルギー(4),環境保全型エネルギー技術)

In recent years global environmental problems become aggravated, and various energy-saving function and method have been introduced in vending machine. However, it is reported that useless energy is consumed because the amount of power consumption changes greatly by the installation environment in actual operation. We also developed a tool which is called Best Available Allocation Supporting tool. By using this tool, we plan to propose people who operate vending machines to save vending machines energy consumption without dropping off sales. We planned advancement of the tool, especially investigated the influence of the sunshine and exhaust heat from machines to energy consumption.

Electric Switch Machine Failure Detection Using Data-Mining Technique

In order to detect equipment failures from measured values using equipment condition systems, it is necessary to establish an appropriate threshold. However, even when a threshold has been established, many cases have arisen where the equipment's installation environment was not given sufficient consideration and this has been one of the causes of erroneous detection. In this research, we examined a technique for failure detection without establishing a threshold. In addition, attempts were made to detect failures by statistical analysis, using one of the data-mining techniques, making use of switch data from an electric switch machine monitor.

Loudspeaker unit adapted to environment

A loudspeaker unit which requires no particular procedure for correction of the acoustic characteristic even if the installation environment of the loudspeaker unit changes, and which can correct, in addition to the frequency characteristic, a sound lag and a phase shift ascribable to the reverberation and an echo of a sound. The loudspeaker unit picks up a sound regenerating from the loud speaker with a microphone, and compares in real time a sound from a sound source with a regenerative sound, referring to a difference therebetween, with reference to the characteristic at an optional frequency and the characteristic of the reverberation or the echo each including the delay time, respectively, and corrects the signal to be sent to the loudspeaker by the result of arithmetic.

Specifying adjustable frequency drives for electromagnetic compatibility

Electromagnetic compatibility is the ability of electrical or electronic equipment to operate in its installation environment while neither causing nor experiencing electromagnetic interference. Here, Peter Walter of ABB Drives and Motors, New Berlin, Wisconsin, USA, provides a review of electromagnetic compatibility standards, and what specifiers of drives should recommend.

Application of Open Agent Architecture and Data Mining Techniques to Transformer Condition Assessment System

The framework of transformer condition assessment system is proposed in this paper through mainly using data warehouse techniques, data mining techniques, and Open Agent Architecture. In this system, a data warehouse is used to collect transformers’ testing data, a multi-agent system is used to design the framework of the software, and data mining techniques are used to evaluate transformers’ conditions. The present framework is open and flexible, so the objective system is easy to be developed and maintained. The system can support transformers’ condition-based maintenance to reduce electric utility’s cost.Because the condition of a transformer depends on its design, present and historical operating data, and relates to its installation environment, load amounts, and so on, it is necessary to integrate all above information to evaluate transformer’s condition. However, the off-line testing results, operational data, fault records and weather conditions have been stored in different systems, so finding an effective method to utilize all this information for condition assessment is difficult. Therefore, a data warehouse has been set up to integrate all of the above data, and some data mining techniques have been used to find the pattern and trend of the condition of a transformer. Then whether it is healthy can be determined. In order to make the system open and flexible, Open Agent Architecture (OAA) is employed to compose the multi-agent system. Seven application agents are designed to evaluate transformers’ conditions synthetically. The Grey correlation method, grey theory prediction model GM(1,1), Bayesian network classifier and Bayesian network are employed in the agents.

Improvements in Real-Time Feature-Based License Plate Character Recognition

This paper presents an effective method for segmenting and recognizing license plate characters on a moving vehicle in actual outdoor environment. It is applicable to various camera conditions and installation environment and provides some effective methods to improve the rate of recognition and procedure speed. This paper is concerned not only implementations in laboratory environment but also in outdoor environment like roads, entrances of parking areas and other similar places where license recognition is needed. The digital images used can be obtained from any digital camera. The proposed vehicle license plate character recognition methods are constructed from a feature-based approach. By regulating a character, a unique structural feature for each character can be extracted. The extracted feature is insensible to changes in the outdoor environments. The proposed recognition system has two main processes: 1) to construct the feature information and 2) to segment a character image from any object image of a license plate and identify it. The relative regulations, the similarity and dissimilarity between each character, are used as recognition features.

電子装置設置環境の腐食性を評価するための腐食センサ

電子装置設置環境の腐食性を評価するための腐食センサ

Outdoor radiolinks for 2.4 GHz-frequencies: measurement results and experiences within the radio communication network “Intermobil Region Dresden"

Abstract. The radio communication network “Intermobil Region Dresden" was developed and built up for data transmission of traffic videos and other traffic data. It uses Pointto- Point (PtP) and Point-to-Multipoint (PtM) bridges, forming the backbone structure. The traffic camera radio clients link up with Accesspoints, installed at the nodal points of the backbone. This paper analyses the physical and technical conditions, building up such radio communication networks. The radio channel properties (e.g. total path loss, multipath propagation) and the technical parameters (e.g. transmission power, sensitivity, antenna gain) belong to this conditions. Based on calculation and spreading measurements it is shown, that reserves have to be considered during the planning already. As well special problems, like Fresnel-zone clearance and shadowing are discussed. The choice of the antenna plays a key role for planning and building of wireless networks. It determines decisively the range and gives an important contribution to elimination of wireless disturbances (interferences). Dependent on topological facts, installation environment and wireless distance omnidirectional-, yagi-, patch- and parabol-antennas are used. Based on antenna measurements the paper discusses the use and property of decoupling. WLANs are working in the license free 2.4 GHz-band. The number of radio systems in this band increases permanently, which leads to a lot of interferences among each other. The paper makes a classification of possible interference sources and discusses their influence on transmission quality. Technical solutions are shown for increase interference robustness.

The influence upon Coriolis mass flow meters of external vibrations at selected frequencies

Coriolis flow meters are vibrating tube devices and they are, therefore, potentially susceptible to the influence of external vibrations transmitted from the installation environment. This paper presents the results of an experimental investigation of the effects of external vibrations carried out on eight Coriolis flow meters, (from five manufacturers) covering a range of meter tube geometries and sizes. Results published by others working in this area have been very incomplete and have not revealed any insight into the underlying processes by which metering errors may occur. The present work was guided by the identification of discrete frequencies which merit experimental investigation, from our theoretical work on vibration effects (straight tube meters) and from finite element simulations of complex geometry meters. Of particular importance are vibrations at the drive frequency, at the Coriolis frequency and, for non-sinusoidal waveforms, at their respective sub-multiple frequencies. Meters were mounted in a horizontal pipe-run, using the manufacturer’s recommended orientation, and were vibrated vertically. The vibration tests were repeated following a 90° rotation (of the meter) about the axis of the pipe-run. Both uniform and non-uniform vibrations were applied. All meters displayed errors when vibrated at precisely the drive frequency; the magnitude of these errors was dependent on vibration amplitude, but appeared largely independent of flow rate. For some meters, the drive frequency induced errors appear to be due to vibration induced meter-zero offset. From current knowledge it is difficult to identify a procedure to overcome meter errors induced by energy added at the drive frequency by external vibration. Errors induced by vibrations at the Coriolis frequency and at other non-drive frequencies were found to be largely due to the nature of the algorithm implemented (by the manufacturer) for the determination of the phase difference between the two internal sensor signals. Some manufacturers using later generation algorithms have successfully overcome the problem of errors due to the addition of vibration energy at the Coriolis frequency. As predicted by the results of our theoretical and simulation work, the amplitude and sign of meters’ errors were, in general, strongly influenced by whether the vibration was applied to the meter uniformly or asymmetrically. The amplitude and, in some cases, the algebraic sign, of meter errors were different for the two planes of vibration which were tested.

鉛プラグ入り積層ゴム支承の低温下動的性能確認試験に基づく各種依存性の評価に関する一考察

It is assumed that with a chill background, when the minimun temperature of winter may be about-20 degrees and the installation environment of isolation member serves as low temperature below the freezing point. Therefore, it is also expected that the characteristics are change as the yield strength and energy absorption of Lead Rubber Bearing. In this study, we report that the examination result of dynamic performance test by the full-scale model to presume the performance of Lead Rubber Bearing, which under the normal and low temperature.

The ‘no-fire-detector’—an alternative fire detection concept?

Abstract The ‘no-fire-detector’ estimates whether the currently observed situation in terms of fire phenomena belongs to normal ambient conditions in its particular installation environment. It initiates an alarm only if the observed situation is extremely unlikely when compared with its experience. Starting with a suitable set of parameters, this concept requires the ‘no fire-detector’ to collect and store experience parameters relating to ambient conditions continuously after it has been installed. This is a significant difference as compared to the ‘classical’ fire detector, which is installed with constant parameter settings determined for the fire case either in standard fire experiments or simulations (e.g. in the smoke- or temperature-channel).

Optimization of antenna aperture distribution with ground reflection

AbstractIn general, the radiation pattern in the vertical plane of an antenna requiring a low elevation angle coverage is made to have sharp cutoff characteristics so that the reduction of the electric field intensity by ground reflection, known as “the lobbing effect,” can be avoided. However, the lobbing effect depends on the installation of height of the antenna, and therefore the determination of the optimal antenna pattern for a certain installation environment is difficult.In this paper, an aperture distribution that takes into consideration the ground reflection is optimized in the case where the height of the top of the DME/P antenna for distance measurement of MLS for aircraft landing is restricted to 3 m. The aperture distribution was evaluated by the minimum values of the electric field intensity at many sampling points around the required coverage area in the presence of ground reflection. The optimization was carried out by maximizing these minimum values using the steepest descent method. As a result, the minimum values of the electric field intensity within the covered region became uniform so that the electric field distribution was improved. In the optimized aperture distribution, the phase center of the antenna is shifted to the upper part of the aperture so that the lowest electric field intensity at the lower coverage edge was improved by 6.5 dB.

Installation of the J. L. Sersic Astronomical Observatory at 78° South

AbstractIn 1994 December we installed a Celestron CG11 Telescope at Belgrano Base (previously called Belgrano II) for site seeing measurements and variable star observations. We describe the project, logistics, installation and working environment. We present the first quantitative observations of astronomical seeing conditions at Belgrano Base.