Abstract: In a cogeneration system having a power plant that includes a generator and an internal combustion engine for driving the generator such that exhaust heat of the engine is supplied to a thermal load, there are provided a battery, a controller that controls operation of the thermal load, a main switch disposed to be operable by an operator, a microprocessor that controls operation of the power plant when the main switch is turned on by the operator, and an external terminal adapted to transmit an activation signal to the controller upon manipulation by the operator when the main switch is kept off. In the system, the microprocessor is operated by power supplied from the battery in response to the activation signal so as to activate the power plant. With this, even when the operator stays at a place away from the main switch, the power plant can be activated to supply power to electrical loads.

Abstract: An exhaust system for a motorcycle includes exhaust pipes extending from exhaust ports of an engine, a first muffler chamber for receiving the exhaust pipes, a second muffler chamber arranged parallel to and operatively connected with the first muffler chamber, and a silencer disposed in the second muffler chamber. The exhaust system is distributively arranged in a vehicle width direction such that the first muffler chamber is situated on a left side of a center line of the motorcycle defined along longitudinal direction of the motorcycle, and the second muffler chamber is situated on a right side of the center line. The first and second muffler chambers are disposed at a position below the engine. The exhaust gas from the engine is emitted outside the engine via, in sequence, the exhaust pipes, the first and second muffler chambers and the silencer.

Abstract: In a motorcycle engine, an air-intake port is opened upwardly, a throttle body is arranged so as to be inclined toward the front, and an idle-adjusting apparatus having an idle-adjusting lever is arranged at a position above a cylinder head and close to a cylinder head cover. The idle-adjusting lever is arranged at a relatively high position where a driver's hand reaches easily, thereby improving operability thereof. A fuel injection apparatus integrally includes the throttle body, an injector, and the idle-adjusting lever. The idle-adjusting lever is ergonomically arranged at a position substantially surrounded by the cylinder head cover, the throttle body and the injector, such that the idle-adjusting lever is arranged in a compact space, by which a compact layout of the engine is achieved.

Abstract: In a general-purpose engine having a throttle valve installed in an air intake passage connected to a combustion chamber, sucked air mixing with fuel to generate an air-fuel mixture to be ignited to drive a piston to rotate a crankshaft connected to a load, a first warm-up time period during which the engine is warmed up and a second warm-up time period which is longer than the first time period are determined based on detected engine temperature and a fuel quantity is increased during the first time period. The operation of the motor is controlled such that a change rate of throttle valve opening is limited within a range until the measured time exceeds the second warm-up time period after it exceeded the first time period. With this, it becomes possible to complete warm-up operation in a short period of time, while improving rate of fuel consumption and emission performance.

Abstract: A key ring apparatus is designed to provide visual evidence of tampering. The key ring apparatus includes a main loop member having adjacent end portions with substantially equal diameters. The key ring apparatus also includes a hollow tubular sleeve that receives the main loop end portions, and is crimped into place thereon after keys have been placed on the main loop member. The tubular sleeve may have a pair of crimping indication indicators thereon, to show where to crimp the sleeve onto the main loop of the key ring apparatus. One or both of the main loop member and the sleeve may have a unique serial identification number thereon.

Abstract: A electric motor is disclosed in which torque ripple is reduced. The electric motor includes a single motor shaft. Rotors are disposed so as to be mutually offset in phase, and the rotors are secured to the motor shaft. Stators are arranged so as to individually correspond to the rotors, and the stators are disposed so as to be matched in phase. The phases of torque ripple generated in each motor unit, which is comprised of a combination of a single rotor and a single stator, are offset.

Abstract: A multi-plate clutch system includes an outer clutch member having a plurality of first clutch plates thereon, a central spool having a plurality of second clutch plates thereon interspaced with the first clutch plates. The clutch system also includes a cam mechanism including a protruding cam and a recessed cam. The protruding cam and the recessed cam respectively include first inclined faces and second inclined faces, which are inclined in the same direction with respect to the circumferential direction. The protruding cam is thus brought into a point contact with the recessed cam during clutch engagement. As such, the multi-plate clutch system can maintain constant variable characteristics of the clutch capacity even when there is a variation in processing accuracy at the time of the production.

Abstract: A headlight optical axis adjustment apparatus for motorcycle includes an ECU for adjusting an optical axis of a headlight in accordance with a vehicle body attitude. The apparatus includes a center kickstand switch and a side kickstand switch for detecting respective positions of a center kickstand and a side kickstand of the motorcycle. When either of the kickstands is in a deployed position thereof, the ECU is operated to adjust the optical axis of a headlight to a previously set initial direction, regardless of detection outputs from a front vehicle height sensor and a rear vehicle height sensor. The front vehicle height sensor and the rear vehicle height sensor respectively detect the vehicle heights at the front part of the vehicle body and the rear part of the vehicle body. The vehicle heights are represented by compression and decompression amounts of suspensions.

Abstract: In an interactive driving simulation apparatus for a two-wheeled vehicle, a real-time test drive performance by a student operator around a simulated driving route sequence is recorded. The recorded performance is later replayed for the benefit of the student, to provide real-world simulation, education, and performance evaluation. During the simulated driving, pre-recorded performance evaluation comments are selected and stored, corresponding to the student's specific performance at a traffic driving situation on the driving route sequence. Then, upon displaying of a replay screen image of the simulated driving on a display unit, when a particular traffic driving situation is arrived at, a simulated operating environment of the traffic driving situation and the selected performance evaluation comments are automatically superimposed and displayed together as a replay screen 154.

Abstract: A magnetostrictive torque sensor includes a single magnetostrictive film disposed on a steering shaft, and first and second coils for detecting changes in a magnetic property of the magnetostrictive film. The single magnetostrictive film includes a first anisotropic region and a second anisotropic region, having respective magnetic anisotropies inverse to each other. The first coil is disposed in confronting relation to the first anisotropic region, whereas the second coil is disposed in confronting relation to the second anisotropic region.

Abstract: A constant-temperature type crystal oscillator includes: a crystal unit that is installed on one principal surface of a circuit substrate, and chip resistors, which function as heating elements, and which are installed on the other principal surface of the circuit substrate so as to face a principal surface of the crystal unit, the chip resistors heating up the crystal unit to keep an operational temperature of the crystal unit constant. A heating metal film facing the principal surface of the crystal unit is provided on the one principal surface of the circuit substrate. A heat conducting material is interposed between the principal surface of the crystal unit and the heating metal film to perform thermal coupling therebetween. The heating metal film is thermally coupled to electrode terminals of the chip resistors via a plurality of electrode through holes.

Abstract: An engine air intake system for an engine-powered working machine includes a lever cover which covers at least a base portion of an operation control lever mounted on an operation handle for operation by a human operator to control operation of at least one of the working machine and an engine of the working machine, a lower cover disposed inside the lever cover so as to define jointly with the lever cover a hollow space, an air intake portion having an air inlet opening and disposed in the lever cover such that at least the air inlet opening is disposed within the hollow space, and a fresh air guide hose interconnecting the air intake portion and the interior of an air-cleaner case.

Abstract: An optical semiconductor apparatus composed of a cap and a base, includes: a metal package including a plurality of openings penetrating through the base from outside to inside, a lead with its end portion protruding to the inside of the base and an insulator covering a side surface of the lead being inserted into each of the openings, and the lead being insulated from the base; an insulating film with its backside bonded to the inside of the base; and a semiconductor component placed on the base or on the insulating film. The insulating film covers the opening up to the vicinity of the side surface of the lead.

Abstract: A rear structure of a vehicle body, where a spare tire pan is supported by rear frames extending substantially in the longitudinal direction of a vehicle body, includes a plurality of arc-shaped beads that is continued in a circular arc shape and formed on the spare tire pan. The plurality of arc-shaped beads is disposed so as to be spaced apart from each other, and formed in a concave shape at substantially the same pitch toward the rear side of the vehicle body.

Abstract: An intake air passage, formed through a motorcycle body frame, reduces changes in pressure within an air routing duct member due to opening and closing of a throttle, and also reduces pipe resonance of the air routing duct member. The air routing duct member extends longitudinally from the intake air passage and directs fresh air to another air passage. The air routing duct member includes openings that communicate with hollow sections provided in a portion of an adjacent support structure, such as an instrumentation support member. When the throttle is opened rapidly, air from the hollow sections is temporarily supplied to the air routing duct member, reducing changes in internal air pressure in the air routing duct member due to throttle operation. Resonance chambers are formed above the air routing duct member, and communicate through communication pipes with a space within the air routing duct member to reduce duct pipe resonance.

Abstract: Brake apparatus includes a transmission unit for operatively connecting a brake pedal to a master cylinder, and the transmission unit is a mechanism capable of varying a ratio between an output amount of a push rod connected to a master cylinder and an operation amount of the brake pedal. Further, the transmission unit is constructed in such a manner that, in an initial operation region of the brake pedal, a ratio of the operation amount of the brake pedal to the output amount of the push rod is set to be greater than in another operation region immediately following the initial operation region.

Abstract: There is provided a vehicle having a simple and inexpensive structure that assists the driving sense. A front window shield 1 of a vehicle 100 is provided with a pair of marks 2 and 3 substantially horizontally aligned. The marks 2 and 3 are formed at the same height at the left and right sides of the front window shield 1. A driver perceives a virtual line L by the marks 2 and 3 on the front window shield 1, and trackings the line of sight W1 are induced to move such as to gather between the bottom end line (herein, a line of an instrument panel 6) and a virtual line L.

Abstract: A communication robot including: a situation change detection unit for detecting writing of information into a situation database; a rule detection unit for detecting, from a rule database, a rule corresponding to the situation indicated by the data stored in the situation database when the writing of information into the situation database is detected by the situation change detection unit; an action inducing parameter setting unit for setting the degree of interest of the detected rule to at least one of movable parts and an audio output unit independently in the situation database; a parameter changing unit for independently changing the degree of interest set for the at least one of the movable parts and the audio output unit; and a command unit for requesting the at least one of the movable parts and the audio output unit to execute the execution command indicated by the detected rule.

Abstract: A motorcycle includes a swing arm, a rear wheel mounted on a leading end of the swing arm, a drive shaft disposed in the swing arm, and a final gear transmission mechanism interposed between the drive shaft and the rear wheel. The final gear transmission mechanism includes a gear case mounted on the leading end of the swing arm for supporting a rear axle; a first end bearing and a second end bearing for supporting a first end and a second end of the rear axle, respectively, a ring gear mounted on the rear axle for transmitting the rotary drive force of an engine to the rear axle; a holding portion for holding the first end of the rear axle in the axial direction of the rear axle; and a fastening member for fastening the second end bearing to the second end of the rear axle.

Abstract: A vehicle surroundings monitoring apparatus capable of recognizing the type of object existing around a vehicle with accuracy.