Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Shuji Abe

Yuji Nakabayashi

Masahiko Hashimoto

Yuji Fujii

Akihisa Adachi

Yasuhiro Umekage

Kenzo Ohji

Fumikazu Shiba

Yukio Nagaoka

Osamu Eguchi

Haruo Terai

Shinji Kondoh

Seiji Yamaguchi

Nobuhiro Hayashi

Yumiko Hara

Tadashi Matsuyo

Hidetoshi Imai

Toshiichiro Tanaka

Masaru Moro

Seiichi Ueno

Katsunory Zaizen

Machiko Azuma

An ultrasonic flowmeter includes a transmission/reception means provided in a flow path for performing transmission/reception using a state change of fluid; repetition means for repeating the transmission/reception; time measurement means for measuring a time of propagation repeated by the repetition means; flow rate detection means for detecting a flow rate based on a value of the time measurement means; and number-of-times change means for changing to a predetermined number of repetition times. With such a structure, an influence caused by a variation of a flow can be suppressed by changing the number of repetition times so as to be suitable for a variation. As a result, reliable flow rate measurement with a high accuracy can be achieved.

Ultrasonic flowmeter

In accordance with one embodiment, a flow meter of the present invention includes: transmission/reception means provided in a flow path for performing transmission/reception using a state change of fluid; repetition means for repeating the transmission/reception; time measurement means for measuring a time of propagation repeated by the repetition means; flow rate detection means for detecting a flow rate based on a value of the time measurement means; and number-of-times change means for changing to a predetermined number of repetition times. With such a structure, an influence caused by a variation of a flow can be suppressed by changing the number of repetition times so as to be suitable for a variation. As a result, reliable flow rate measurement with a high accuracy can be achieved.

Ultrasonic flowmeter including stable flow rate calculation means based on instantaneous flow rate

An input unit for receiving a signal from an oscillator corresponds to an ultrasonic wave received by the oscillator has an input impedance significantly smaller than an impedance of an inter-electrode capacitance in the oscillator. This arrangement allows the delay of timing of the received wave to be influenced by a change in the input impedance of the input unit than by a change in the impedance of the oscillator. Since the influence of the change in the impedance of the oscillator against the delay of timing of the received wave is reduced, a flow meter can measure a propagation duration of the ultrasonic wave accurately. More specifically, the flow meter can measure the propagation duration accurately regardless of a change of the inter-electrode capacitance of the oscillator by temperature, thus measuring a flow rate of fluid correctly.

Flow meter

For the purpose of solving the above problems, the present invention includes: transmission/reception means provided in a flow path for performing transmission/reception using a state change of fluid; repetition means for repeating the transmission/reception; time measurement means for measuring a time of propagation repeated by the repetition means; flow rate detection means for detecting a flow rate based on a value of the time measurement means; and number-of-times change means for changing to a predetermined number of repetition times. With such a structure, an influence caused by a variation of a flow can be suppressed by changing the number of repetition times so as to be suitable for a variation. As a result, reliable flow rate measurement with a high accuracy can be achieved.

Ultrasonic flowmeter having sequentially changed driving method

A cooking apparatus such as a rice cooker includes means for obtaining a value or a combination of values indicative of an amount of food that is to be cooked, and a fuzzy inference section for operating on that value or combination of values to determine a level of heating power to be supplied to a heater element of the apparatus, during at least one part of the cooking process. The amount-indicating value can be obtained for example as a rate of change of temperature of the food while it is being heated to boiling point. The apparatus can further be configured to determine a plurality of cooking control parameters, by fuzzy inference operation, based on a specified degree of final hardness of the cooked food, which can be selectively inputted by the user.

Cooking apparatus providing accurate control of cooking process and

A vacuum cleaner with fuzzy control comprises a detector for detecting condition of sucking of dust, such as an amount of dust, a kind of dust and/or a kind of a surface of a floor to be cleaned. A fuzzy inference section responsive to the condition of sucking of dust determines an appropriate sucking force and controls the vacuum cleaner's sucking force through fuzzy inference.

Vacuum cleaner with fuzzy control

Washing machine

A control apparatus of an electrical appliance comprising a sensor for detecting a physical amount; and a fuzzy inferring device for determining the drive condition of a load by fuzzy inference based on a signal outputted from the sensor, and wherein the sensor has at least one normalized membership function to be used by fuzzy inference and achieves a plurality of membership functions which can be expressed by congruent curves by performing a predetermined subtraction or an addition on the signal outputted from the sensor.

Fuzzy control apparatus generating a plurality of membership functions

A concentration of a given gas is detected by a gas sensor when a command signal for turning off the gas sensor is present, the concentration is stored and the gas sensor is turned off. The invention detects the concentration of the given gas by the gas sensor when a command signal for turning on the gas sensor is present and determines a reference value by choosing either the stored concentration or the concentration detected after the gas sensor is turned on whichever is lower at an instant a predetermined interval after the gas sensor is turned on. A blower motor of an air cleaner is controlled in accordance with the difference between the reference value and the concentration detected after the gas sensor is turned on. In a second method, the concentration is stored in a nonvolatile memory just before the air cleaner is turned off. In a third method, a given value may be set as the reference value replacing the stored concentration if the given value is smaller than the stored concentration. In a fourth method, only when the stored concentration data is empty, the given value may be used for the reference.

Method of operation of air cleaner

A control circuit for an air cleaner including a gas sensor, an ultraviolet sensor and a control circuit for performing an automatic operation of the air cleaner in response to the detection of outputs of the sensors. A predetermined number of electrical pulses from the ultraviolet sensor are observed by the control circuit during a first predetermined time period after the passage of a second predetermined time period from a point of time when an initial pulse from the ultraviolet sensor has been inputted to the control circuit, the control circuit identifies the predetermined number of the pulses as a drive signal for initiating the operation of the air cleaner.

Growing community of inventors

Nara, Japan

Shuji Abe