Off-road vehicle

• US 10,308,115 B2
• Filed: 10/20/2016
• Issued: 06/04/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/16/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kawasaki Motors
• Original Assignee: Kawasaki Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Kawakatsu, Hitoshi, Tsumiyama, Yoshinori
• Primary Examiner(s): Ilan, Ruth
• Application Number:
  US15/298,673
• Publication Number:
  US 20170036542A1
• Time in Patent Office: 957 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 28/10 responsive to conditions relating to the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 31/02 including electrically actuated servomechanism including an electric control system or a servomechanism in which the vehicle velocity affecting element is actuated electrically
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2022/4808 Sensing means arrangements therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2022/4816 for sensing locking of buckle
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 22/48 Control systems, alarms, or interlock systems, for the correct application of the belt or harness
• CPC Class Codes: B60Y 2200/20 Off-Road Vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60Y 2300/02 Control of vehicle driving stability

Abstract

An off-road vehicle with a driver'"'"'s seat; a seat belt apparatus provided for the driver'"'"'s seat; a seat belt detecting device for detecting the set state of the seat belt apparatus provided for the driver'"'"'s seat; and a controller for controlling the off-road vehicle. The controller has a rotation speed control mode for controlling the rotation speed of the engine to a predetermined rotation speed or less, and the controller releases the rotation speed control mode when the seat belt detecting device detects the set state of the seat belt apparatus provided for the driver'"'"'s seat.

Claims

1. An off-road vehicle comprising:

a driver'"'"'s seat;

a seat belt apparatus provided for the driver'"'"'s seat;

a driver'"'"'s seat belt detecting device for detecting the set state of the seat belt apparatus provided for the driver'"'"'s seat;

a controller for controlling the off-road vehicle; and

a GPS receiver, wherein;

the controller calculates the speed of the off-road vehicle on the basis of the position information obtained from the GPS receiver,

the controller is equipped with a speed control mode in which the calculated vehicle speed is controlled to a predetermined speed or less, and

when the driver'"'"'s seat belt detecting device detects the set state of the seat belt apparatus provided for the driver'"'"'s seat, the controller releases the speed control mode, and

while the off-road vehicle is travelling at a vehicle speed exceeding the predetermined speed, if the driver'"'"'s seat belt detecting device detects that the set state of the seat belt apparatus provided for the driver'"'"'s seat has been released, the controller gradually decreases the vehicle speed, and when the vehicle speed is decreased to the predetermined speed or less, the mode is shifted to the speed control mode.

2. The off-road vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising passenger seats positioned on the side of the driver'"'"'s seat and seat belt apparatuses provided for the passenger seats, and passenger'"'"'s seat belt detecting devices for detecting

the set states of the seat belt apparatuses provided for the passenger seats,

wherein, when the driver'"'"'s seat belt detecting device detects the set states of the seat belt apparatus provided for the driver'"'"'s seat and the passenger'"'"'s seat belt detecting devices detect the seat belt apparatuses provided for the passenger seats, the controller releases the speed control mode.

3. The off-road vehicle according to claim 2,

further comprising rear passenger seats positioned behind the driver'"'"'s seat and seat belt apparatuses provided for the rear passenger seats, and rear passenger'"'"'s seat belt detecting devices

detect the set states of the seat belt apparatuses provided for the rear passenger seats,

wherein, when the driver'"'"'s seat belt detecting device detects the set states of the seat belt apparatus provided for the driver'"'"'s seat, the passenger'"'"'s seat belt detecting devices detect the set states of the seat belt apparatuses provided for the passenger seats and the rear passenger'"'"'s seat belt detecting devices detect the set states of the seat belt apparatuses provided for the rear passenger seats, the controller releases the speed control mode.

4. An off-road vehicle comprising:

a driver'"'"'s seat;

a seat belt apparatus provided for the driver'"'"'s seat;

a seat belt detecting means for detecting the set state of the seat belt apparatus provided for the driver'"'"'s seat;

a controller for controlling the off-road vehicle; and

a GPS receiver, wherein;

the controller calculates the speed of the off-road vehicle on the basis of the position information obtained from the GPS receiver,

the controller is equipped with a speed control mode in which the calculated vehicle speed is controlled to a predetermined speed or less, and

when the seat belt detecting means detects the set state of the seat belt apparatus provided for the driver'"'"'s seat, the controller releases the speed control mode, and

in a case that the predetermined speed is a first speed and while the off-road vehicle is travelling at a vehicle speed equal to or less than the first speed, if the driver'"'"'s seat belt detecting means detects that the set state of the seat belt apparatus provided for the driver'"'"'s seat has been released, the controller gradually decreases the vehicle speed to a second speed, which is a predetermined speed lower than the first speed, and when the vehicle speed is decreased to the second speed or less, the controller shifts to the speed control mode.