Author: claimsbot

What is claimed is:

1. In an air intake apparatus for an internal combustion engine comprising a rotating shaft which is installed to an opening and closing valve for shielding the air intake supplied to an internal combustion engine as one body, a drive shaft for rotating said rotating shaft, and a connection portion for connecting said rotating shaft and said drive shaft and for transmitting a move from said drive shaft to said rotating shaft,
the air intake apparatus for the internal combustion eigne, wherein
on an end portion of one of said rotating shaft and said drive shaft, a sphere portion and a projection portion are provided;
on an end portion of one of said rotating shaft and said drive shaft, a cup portion and a faucet portion are provided; and
said sphere portion is inserted into said cup portion and further said projection portion is engaged with said faucet portion,
thereby a universal joint is formed.
2. An air intake apparatus for an internal combustion engine according to claim 1, wherein
an inner portion of said faucet portion is formed with a dent shape, and further an outer portion of said projection portion is formed with a raise portion.
3. An air intake apparatus for an internal combustion engine according to claim 1, wherein
said drive shaft is arranged in a resin housing, and to said drive shaft a ball bearing member is fixed; and
to said resin housing a part of said ball bearing member is stopped, and further said ball bearing member is fixed to said resin housing by a stopper ring having a spring operation.
4. An air intake apparatus for an internal combustion engine, wherein
a drive shaft is arranged in a resin housing;
a shaft of an opening and closing valve and said drive shaft are connected with a universal joint construction;
to said drive shaft a ball bearing member is fixed; and
to said resin housing a part of said ball bearing member is stopped, and further said ball bearing member is fixed to said resin housing by a stopper ring having a spring operation.
5. In an air intake apparatus for an internal combustion engine comprising a rotating shaft which is installed to an opening and closing valve for shielding the air intake supplied to an internal combustion engine as one body, a drive shaft for rotating said rotating shaft, and a connection portion for connecting said rotating shaft and said drive shaft and for transmitting a move from said drive shaft to said rotating shaft,
the air intake apparatus for the internal combustion eigne, wherein
on an end portion of said rotating shaft, a sphere portion and a projection portion are provided;
on an end portion of said drive shaft, a cup portion and a faucet portion are provided; and
said sphere portion is inserted into said cup portion and further said projection portion is engaged with said faucet portion,
thereby a universal joint is formed.
6. In an air intake apparatus for an internal combustion engine comprising a rotating shaft which is installed to an opening and closing valve for shielding the air intake supplied to an internal combustion engine as one body, a drive shaft for rotating said rotating shaft, and a connection portion for connecting said rotating shaft and said drive shaft and for transmitting a move from said drive shaft to said rotating shaft,
the air intake apparatus for the internal combustion eigne, wherein
on an end portion of said drive shaft, a sphere portion and a projection portion are provided;
on an end portion of said rotating shaft, a cup portion and a faucet portion are provided; and
said sphere portion is inserted into said cup portion and further said projection portion is engaged with said faucet portion,
thereby a universal joint is formed.

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 anchor system in combination with a floating decoy, the combination comprising:
the floating decoy simulating a waterfowl;
a tether attached to the floating decoy at a first end, the tether having a second end located distally from the first end, the tether having an intermediate portion between the first and second ends;
a weight mounted on the tether and slidable to a position substantially adjacent to the floating decoy, the weight defining a bore extending axially therethrough which slidably receives the tether;
a first stop mounted near the first end and adjacent to the floating decoy adapted to prevent the weight from damaging the decoy, the first stop having a diameter larger than a diameter of the bore;
a first loop formed in the tether at the first end, the first loop formed by the first end being directed toward the second end and then secured in generally parallel relation to the intermediate portion of the tether by the first stop;
a second loop formed in the tether at the second end, the second loop formed by the second end being directed toward the first end and then secured in generally parallel relation to the intermediate portion of the tether by a second stop, the second stop is located along the tether between the second loop and the weight, the second stop having a diameter larger than the diameter of the bore, the weight being slidable between the first and second stops; and
a rotatable fastener mounted to the first end at the first loop, the tether is releasably attached to the floating decoy by the rotatable fastener, the rotatable fastener has a joint that allows free rotation of the tether relative to the floating decoy, the fastener includes a clip that releasably attaches the fastener to the floating decoy.
2. The anchor system of claim 1, wherein the tether has a length of at least 12 inches.

1. A mechanical seal for providing a fluid-tight seal between relatively rotatable elements, comprising.
first and second seal faces for mounting in fixed rotational relationship with respective first and second relatively rotatable elements;
transmission means engaging said second seal face and extending axially therefrom in a direction away from said first seal face;
means for biasing said transmission means, and thereby said second seal face, towards said first seal face; and
drive means engaging said transmission means and for mounting in driving engagement with said second element, said drive means including at least one radially extending engagement portion which extends into an axially enclosed opening in said transmission means, said drive means further comprising at least one radially extending engagement portion having a cross-sectional engagement area which is larger than the sum of the respective material thickness of said drive means and said transmission means.
2. A mechanical seal according to claim 1 wherein said drive means comprises at least two radially extending engagement portions and said transmission means comprises at least two corresponding enclosed openings within which said engagement portions locate.
3. (canceled)
4. A mechanical seal according to claim 1 wherein said drive means comprises at least two engagement portions, at least one engagement portion of said drive means being located in an enclosed opening of said transmission means, thereafter pivoting said drive means relative to the transmission means such that the outermost radial part of a second engagement portion of the drive means is an interference fit with the innermost radial part of the transmission means adjacent to the enclosed opening for accommodating the second engagement portion.
5. A mechanical seal according to claim 4 wherein an axial end of a second enclosed slot of the transmission means terminates within close proximity of an axial end of said transmission means to provide a thin section web which elastically deforms when presented to the interference fit of the second engagement portion of said drive means.
6. A mechanical seal according to claim 1 wherein said drive means and said transmission means are made of one or more thin materials.
7. A mechanical seal according claim 4 wherein said drive means is made from relatively thick material and said drive means engagement portions are provided by a machined lug.
8. A mechanical seal assembly according to claim 1 wherein said transmission means is made from relatively thick material.
9. A mechanical seal according to claim 1 wherein said mechanical seal is in the form of a single component mechanical seal.
10. A mechanical seal according to claim 1 wherein said mechanical seal is in the form of a single cartridge mechanical seal.
11. (canceled)
12. (canceled)

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 extracting method for extracting a road construction method, the extracting method being executed by a computer as a process comprising:
acquiring measured data of a volume of traffic on a specific road surface when extracting a candidate of a road construction method to be applied to the specific road surface out of a plurality of road construction methods including at least repair work from a foundation of a road and repair work of a surface layer of a road, by a processor; and
extracting the candidate of a road construction method to be applied to the specific road surface based on the acquired measured data, by the processor.
2. The extracting method according to claim 1, wherein a repair work method for a deeper layer of a road is to be extracted when the acquired measured data represents a heavier volume of traffic, by the processor.
3. An extracting method for extracting a road construction method executed by a computer as a process comprising:
acquiring measured data of a volume of traffic on a specific road surface and measured data of a deterioration level of the specific road surface when extracting a candidate of a road construction method to be applied to the specific road surface out of a plurality of road construction methods including at least repair work from a foundation of a road and repair work of a surface layer of a road, by a processor; and
extracting the candidate of a road construction method to be applied to the specific road surface based on the acquired measured data of the volume of traffic and the measured data of the deterioration level of the road surface, by the processor.
4. The extracting method according to claim 3, wherein the repair work from a foundation is to be extracted when the acquired measured data of the volume of traffic represents a volume of traffic that exceeds a given volume of traffic even though the acquired measured data of the deterioration level of the road surface represents a deterioration level lower than a given deterioration level, by the processor.
5. An extracting method for extracting a road construction method, the extracting method being executed by a computer as a process comprising:
acquiring facilities information on a periphery of a specific road surface from map information when extracting a candidate of a road construction method to be applied to the specific road surface out of a plurality of road construction methods including at least repair work from a foundation of a road and repair work of a surface layer of a road, by a processor; and
extracting the candidate of a road construction method to be applied to the specific road surface according to a category of facilities that the acquired facilities information represents, by the processor.
6. The extracting method according to claim 5, wherein the repair work from a foundation of a road is extracted in preference to the repair work of a surface layer when the acquired facilities information represents a category of schools, hospitals, or public offices, by the processor.
7. An extracting method for extracting a road construction method, the extracting method being executed by a computer as a process comprising:
acquiring facilities data obtainable by acquiring facilities information on a periphery of a specific road surface from map information and measured data of a deterioration level of the specific road surface when extracting a candidate of a road construction method to be applied to the specific road surface out of a plurality of road construction methods including at least repair work from a foundation of a road and repair work of a surface layer of a road, by a processor; and
extracting the candidate of a road construction method to be applied to the specific road surface based on the acquired facilities data and the measured data of the deterioration level of the road surface, by the processor.
8. The extracting method according to claim 7, wherein the repair work from a foundation is to be extracted when the acquired facilities data represents presence of facilities of a given category even though the acquired measured data of the deterioration level of the road surface represents a deterioration level lower than a given deterioration level, by the processor.
9. A recommending method for recommending a repair work method comprising:
outputting as a recommended work method a road repair work method of an appropriate level according to a combination that satisfies both a first condition and a second condition on each portion of a road included in a scope of extracting a repair point, by a processor, wherein
the first condition is that data representing a deterioration level of a road surface exceeds a given deterioration level, and
the second condition is that data representing a volume of traffic exceeds a given volume of traffic or peripheral facilities information corresponds to facilities of a given category.
10. The recommending method according to claim 9, further comprising:
receiving budget information concerning road repair, by the processor, wherein
the output recommended work method is selected such that a total cost of a recommended repair work method is in a range not exceeding a budget represented by the received budget information by referring to stored data of cost information defined for each level of road repair work, by the processor.
11. The recommending method according to claim 10, further comprising outputting a candidate of a road portion to be an object of repair out of road portions present in a given area and the total cost of repair of the road portion to be an object of repair in accordance with a plurality of combinations satisfying both the first condition and the second condition together with the received budget information, by the processor.
12. The recommending method according to claim 11, further comprising performing a process of determining an adjacent road portion to be an object of repair in preference to other candidate of a road portion to be an object of repair when the road portion adjacent to a road portion that is determined to be an object of repair is a candidate to be an object of repair, by the processor.
13. An information processing apparatus comprising:
a processor configured to execute a process including:
acquiring measured data of a volume of traffic on a specific road surface when extracting a candidate of a road construction method to be applied to the specific road surface out of a plurality of road construction methods including at least repair work from a foundation of a road and repair work of a surface layer of a road; and
extracting the candidate of a road construction method to be applied to the specific road surface based on the acquired measured data.
14. An information processing apparatus comprising:
a processor wherein configured to execute a process including:
acquiring measured data of a volume of traffic on a specific road surface and measured data of a deterioration level of the specific road surface when extracting a candidate of a road construction method to be applied to the specific road surface out of a plurality of road construction methods including at least repair work from a foundation of a road and repair work of a surface layer of a road; and
extracting the candidate of a road construction method to be applied to the specific road surface based on the acquired measured data of the volume of traffic and the measured data of the deterioration level of the road surface.
15. An information processing apparatus comprising:
a processor configured to execute a process including:
acquiring facilities information on a periphery of a specific road surface from map information when extracting a candidate of a road construction method to be applied to the specific road surface out of a plurality of road construction methods including at least repair work from a foundation of a road and repair work of a surface layer of a road; and
extracting the candidate of a road construction method to be applied to the specific road surface according to a category of facilities that the acquired facilities information represents.
16. An information processing apparatus comprising:
a processor configured to execute a process including:
acquiring facilities data obtainable by acquiring facilities information on a periphery of a specific road surface from map information and measured data of a deterioration level of the specific road surface when extracting a candidate of a road construction method to be applied to the specific road surface out of a plurality of road construction methods including at least repair work from a foundation of a road and repair work of a surface layer of a road; and
extracting the candidate of a road construction method to be applied to the specific road surface based on the acquired facilities data and the measured data of the deterioration level of the road surface.
17. An information processing apparatus comprising:
a processor configured to execute a process including:
outputting as a recommended work method a road repair work method of an appropriate level according to a combination that satisfies both a first condition and a second condition on each portion of a road included in a scope of extracting a repair point, wherein
the first condition is that data representing a deterioration level of a road surface exceeds a given deterioration level, and
the second condition is that data representing a volume of traffic exceeds a given volume of traffic or peripheral facilities information corresponds to facilities of a given category.
18. A non-transitory computer-readable computer-readable recording medium having stored therein a program that causes a computer to execute a process for decision support on a road repair, the process comprising:
acquiring measured data of a volume of traffic on a specific road surface when extracting a candidate of a road construction method to be applied to the specific road surface out of a plurality of road construction methods including at least repair work from a foundation of a road and repair work of a surface layer of a road; and
extracting the candidate of a road construction method to be applied to the specific road surface based on the acquired measured data.
19. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having stored therein a program that causes a computer to execute a process for decision support on a road repair, the process comprising:
acquiring measured data of a volume of traffic on a specific road surface and measured data of a deterioration level of the specific road surface when extracting a candidate of a road construction method to be applied to the specific road surface out of a plurality of road construction methods including at least repair work from a foundation of a road and repair work of a surface layer of a road; and
extracting the candidate of a road construction method to be applied to the specific road surface based on the acquired measured data of the volume of traffic and the measured data of the deterioration level of the road surface.
20. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having stored therein a program that causes a computer to execute a process for decision support on a road repair, the process comprising:
acquiring facilities information on a periphery of a specific road surface from map information when extracting a candidate of a road construction method to be applied to the specific road surface out of a plurality of road construction methods including at least repair work from a foundation of a road and repair work of a surface layer of a road; and
extracting the candidate of a road construction method to be applied to the specific road surface according to a category of facilities that the acquired facilities information represents.
21. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having stored therein a program that causes a computer to execute a process for decision support on a road repair, the process comprising:
acquiring facilities data obtainable by acquiring facilities information on a periphery of a specific road surface from map information and measured data of a deterioration level of the specific road surface when extracting a candidate of a road construction method to be applied to the specific road surface out of a plurality of road construction methods including at least repair work from a foundation of a road and repair work of a surface layer of a road; and
extracting the candidate of a road construction method to be applied to the specific road surface based on the acquired facilities data and the measured data of the deterioration level of the road surface.
22. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having stored therein a program that causes a computer to execute a process for decision support on a road repair, the process comprising:
outputting as a recommended work method a road repair work method of an appropriate level according to a combination that satisfies both a first condition and a second condition on each portion of a road included in a scope of extracting a repair point, wherein
the first condition is that data representing a deterioration level of a road surface exceeds a given deterioration level, and
the second condition is that data representing a volume of traffic exceeds a given volume of traffic or peripheral facilities information corresponds to facilities of a given category.