A windscreen wiper device comprising an elastic, elongated carrier element, as well as an elongated wiper blade of a flexible material, which can be placed in abutment with a windscreen to be wiped, which wiper blade includes opposing longitudinal groove on its longitudinal sides, in which grooves spaced-apart longitudinal strips of the carrier element are disposed, wherein neighboring ends of said longitudinal strips are interconnected by a respective connection piece, which windscreen wiper device comprises a connecting device for an oscillating arm, wherein said oscillating arm is pivotally connected to said connecting device about a pivot axis near one end, with the interposition of a joint part, wherein said joint part comprises at least one resilient tongue engaging in a correspondingly shaped hole provided in said oscillating arm, and wherein said resilient tongue is rotatable along an hinge axis between an outward position retaining the wiper blade onto the oscillating arm and an inward position releasing the wiper blade form the oscillating arm, characterized in that said resilient tongue is forced in the outward position under the influence of a moment in case a force is exerted on the wiper blade in a direction away from the oscillating arm.

Sorting an array consisting of large number of elements. The present invention provides an apparatus for executing a multiway merging process which generates one output sequence from N input sequences on an array consisting of a large number of elements. The apparatus includes: an execution unit configured to execute the multiway merging process on N input sequences without rearranging the elements based on a plurality of input sequences; and a generation unit configured to rearrange the elements constituting the input sequences according to an output sequence that has been generated by the multiway merging process in the execution unit so as to generate a sorted array of elements.

Sorting an array consisting of large number of elements. The present invention provides an apparatus for executing a multiway merging process which generates one output sequence from N input sequences on an array consisting of a large number of elements. The apparatus includes: an execution unit configured to execute the multiway merging process on N input sequences without rearranging the elements based on a plurality of input sequences; and a generation unit configured to rearrange the elements constituting the input sequences according to an output sequence that has been generated by the multiway merging process in the execution unit so as to generate a sorted array of elements.

A local extremum calculator detects a local maximum sample and a local minimum sample of a digital audio signal. A number-of-sample detector detects a sample interval between the local maximum sample and the local minimum sample. A difference value calculator calculates difference values between adjacent samples. A correction value calculator calculates a first correction value by multiplying the difference value between the local maximum sample and a first adjacent sample by a coefficient and calculates a second correction value by multiplying the difference value between the local minimum sample and a second adjacent sample by the coefficient. When a periodic signal detector detects that the digital audio signal is a single sine wave, an adder/subtractor does not add the first correction value to the first adjacent sample, and does not subtract the second correction value from the second adjacent sample.

A local extremum calculator detects a local maximum sample and a local minimum sample of a digital audio signal. A number-of-sample detector detects a sample interval between the local maximum sample and the local minimum sample. A difference value calculator calculates difference values between adjacent samples. A correction value calculator calculates a first correction value by multiplying the difference value between the local maximum sample and a first adjacent sample by a coefficient and calculates a second correction value by multiplying the difference value between the local minimum sample and a second adjacent sample by the coefficient. When a periodic signal detector detects that the digital audio signal is a single sine wave, an adder/subtractor does not add the first correction value to the first adjacent sample, and does not subtract the second correction value from the second adjacent sample.

Apparatuses, methods of operating apparatuses, and corresponding computer programs are disclosed. In the apparatuses input circuitry receives input data comprising at least one data element and shift circuitry generates, for each data element of the input data, a bit-map giving a one-hot encoding representation of the data element, wherein a position of a set bit in the bit-map is dependent on the data element. Summation circuitry generates a position summation value for each position in the bit-map, wherein each position summation value is a sum across all bit-maps generated by the shift circuitry from the input data. Maximum identification circuitry determines at least one largest position summation value generated by the summation circuitry and output circuitry to generate an indication of at least one data element corresponding to the at least one largest position summation value. The statistical mode of the data elements in the input data is thereby efficiently determined.

Apparatuses, methods of operating apparatuses, and corresponding computer programs are disclosed. In the apparatuses input circuitry receives input data comprising at least one data element and shift circuitry generates, for each data element of the input data, a bit-map giving a one-hot encoding representation of the data element, wherein a position of a set bit in the bit-map is dependent on the data element. Summation circuitry generates a position summation value for each position in the bit-map, wherein each position summation value is a sum across all bit-maps generated by the shift circuitry from the input data. Maximum identification circuitry determines at least one largest position summation value generated by the summation circuitry and output circuitry to generate an indication of at least one data element corresponding to the at least one largest position summation value. The statistical mode of the data elements in the input data is thereby efficiently determined.

Systems and methods for acquiring magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images of a subject are provided. The method includes performing a pulse sequence to elicit spin echoes, wherein the pulse sequence includes a radio frequency (RF) excitation pulse and a series of RF refocusing pulses that refocus echoes with flip angles in the series of RF refocusing pulses that are varied. The method also includes scaling MRI data associated with each echo by a correction factor that is determined for each echo to create scaled MRI data and that is not the same for all echoes. The method then includes reconstructing an image of the subject using the scaled MRI data.

Systems and methods for adaptively optimizing a performance function for operating a system. A performance function for a system is adaptively optimized, and utilized for the operation of the system, by selecting a first value for a first independent variable that determines an operating state of the system described by a performance function; establishing a first range of values for the first independent variable; selecting a first number of values in the first range of values to test the first independent variable; selecting first random values within the first range of values for the first independent variable based on the first number of values; evaluating the performance function at the first random values; optimizing the performance function by selecting the first value of the first independent variable from the first random values that provides a first extremum value for the performance function.

Systems and methods for adaptively optimizing a performance function for operating a system. A performance function for a system is adaptively optimized, and utilized for the operation of the system, by selecting a first value for a first independent variable that determines an operating state of the system described by a performance function; establishing a first range of values for the first independent variable; selecting a first number of values in the first range of values to test the first independent variable; selecting first random values within the first range of values for the first independent variable based on the first number of values; evaluating the performance function at the first random values; optimizing the performance function by selecting the first value of the first independent variable from the first random values that provides a first extremum value for the performance function.