Patent ID: 8464824
Filing Date: 2013-06-18
Classification: B60K,B60W,B60Y

Abstract:
1. An off-road vehicle comprising: a frame; a cockpit area defined in the frame; a roll cage connected to the frame, the roll cage covering at least in part the cockpit area; a driver seat and a passenger seat disposed side-by-side in the cockpit area, the seats being covered by the roll cage; a driver safety belt associated with the driver seat, the driver safety belt being connected to at least one of the frame, the roll cage and the driver seat, the driver safety belt including: two lateral sides, the cockpit area being disposed between the two lateral sides, each of the two lateral sides comprising a lateral passage disposed near a corresponding one of the two seats, the lateral passages being adapted to allow ingress and egress from the cockpit area; an engine supported by the frame; two front wheels and two rear wheels supported by the frame, at least two of the wheels being operatively connected to the engine for propelling the vehicle; a driving shaft operatively connected to the engine and being driven by the engine; a driven shaft operatively connected to the at least two of the wheels being operatively connected to the engine for propelling the vehicle; a continuously variable transmission (CVT) operatively connecting the driving shaft with the driven shaft, the CVT including: a steering device disposed generally forward of the two seats, the steering device being operatively connected to at least two of the wheels for steering the vehicle; a control unit connected to the engine for controlling an operation of the engine, the control unit being connected to the one of the safety belt sensor and the safety belt switch for receiving the safety belt signal from the one of the safety belt sensor and the safety belt switch; and a vehicle speed sensor sensing a speed of rotation of a shaft driven by the driven pulley and generating a vehicle speed signal based on the speed of rotation of the shaft driven by the driven pulley, the vehicle speed sensor being connected to the control unit for transmitting the vehicle speed signal to the control unit, the control unit determining a speed of the vehicle based on the vehicle speed signal; the control unit controlling the engine in a vehicle speed limit mode when the safety belt signal is indicative that the first connecting portion is disconnected from the second connecting portion, when in the vehicle speed limit mode, the control unit controls the engine to limit the speed of the vehicle to a predetermined speed and to permit the engine to reach a torque necessary to operate the vehicle at the predetermined speed, the predetermined speed being less than a maximum speed of the vehicle, the control unit controlling the engine in a torque limit mode when the safety belt signal is indicative that the first connecting portion is disconnected from the second connecting portion and the vehicle speed sensor fails, when in the torque limit mode, the control unit controls the engine to limit the torque generated by the engine to a predetermined torque, the predetermined torque being less than a maximum torque of the engine.