All-terrain vehicle

• US 7,093,683 B2
• Filed: 09/25/2003
• Issued: 08/22/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kawasaki Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Kawasaki Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Miguchi, Akio
• Primary Examiner(s): Fleming, Faye M.
• Application Number:
  US10/669,723
• Publication Number:
  US 20040060758A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,062 Days
• Field of Search: 180/170, 180/271, 180/274, 180/282, 180/283, 180/284
• US Class Current: 180/170
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 31/00 Vehicle fittings, acting on a single sub-unit only, for automatically controlling vehicle speed, i.e. preventing speed from exceeding an arbitrarily established velocity or maintaining speed at a particular velocity, as selected by the vehicle operator fittings acting on two or more sub-units B60W30/14; speedometers G01P; systems or devices for controlling speed in general G05D13/00 ; in traffic anti-collision system for road vehicles G08G1/16
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/04 including control of propulsion units
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/10 including control of change-speed gearings
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/101 Infinitely variable gearings
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2300/185 Off-road vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2300/362 Buggies; Quads
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/06 Direction of travel
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/16 Ratio selector position
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2710/0644 Engine speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/1819 Propulsion control with control means using analogue circuits, relays or mechanical links
• CPC Class Codes: B60Y 2200/124 Buggies, Quads
• CPC Class Codes: B62K 5/01 Motorcycles with four or more wheels specially adapted for disabled riders B62K5/003
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 2059/443 Detecting travel direction, e.g. the forward or reverse movement of the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 61/66 specially adapted for continuously variable gearings control of exclusively fluid gearing F16H61/38

Abstract

An all-terrain vehicle, which limits a speed of backward movement of the vehicle to a predetermined speed and which assures a necessary power output while limiting the backward speed, without a driver'"'"'s taking any manual trouble to operate a switch to control an engine of the vehicle, even though a high load is exerted upon the vehicle. The all-terrain vehicle includes a vehicle speed sensor device, a backward movement positional sensor device, and an engine controller for limiting the engine speed of the vehicle when the backward movement positional sensor device detects that the vehicle is running backward and when the vehicle speed sensor device detects that the vehicle speed reaches a predetermined value, thereby limiting the speed of the vehicle running backward.

Claims

1. An all-terrain vehicle having a belt converter, comprising:

a vehicle speed detection mechanism for detecting a vehicle speed of the vehicle;

a backward movement detection mechanism for detecting a backward movement of the vehicle; and

an engine control mechanism for automatically controlling an engine speed of an engine of the vehicle, so as to make the vehicle speed lower than a predetermined vehicle speed, when the backward movement detection mechanism detects the backward movement of the vehicle and when the vehicle speed detection mechanism detects that the vehicle speed reaches the predetermined vehicle speed;

wherein the engine control mechanism controls the engine speed by limiting an ignition of the engine.

2. An all-terrain vehicle having a belt converter, comprising:

a vehicle speed detection mechanism for detecting a vehicle speed of the vehicle;

a backward movement detection mechanism for detecting a backward movement of the vehicle; and

an engine control mechanism for automatically controlling an engine speed of an engine of the vehicle, so as to make the vehicle speed lower than a predetermined vehicle speed, when the backward movement detection mechanism detects the backward movement of the vehicle and when the vehicle speed detection mechanism detects that the vehicle speed reaches the predetermined vehicle speed;

wherein the engine control mechanism controls the engine speed by limiting a supply of fuel to the engine.

3. An all-terrain vehicle having a belt converter, comprising:

a vehicle speed detection mechanism for detecting a vehicle speed of the vehicle;

a backward movement detection mechanism for detecting a backward movement of the vehicle;

an engine control mechanism for automatically controlling an engine speed of an engine of the vehicle, so as to make the vehicle speed lower than a predetermined vehicle speed, when the backward movement detection mechanism detects the backward movement of the vehicle and when the vehicle speed detection mechanism detects that the vehicle speed reaches the predetermined vehicle speed; and

a gear transmission, wherein the backward movement detection mechanism is a mechanism for detecting that the gear transmission is shifted to a position for the backward movement of the vehicle.

4. The all-terrain vehicle as claimed in claim 3, wherein the backward movement detection mechanism detects a backward position of a shift rod of the gear transmission.

5. The all-terrain vehicle as claimed in claim 4, wherein the backward movement detection mechanism has an approximate switch arranged so as to oppose an edge surface of the shift rod.

6. An all-terrain vehicle having a belt converter, comprising:

a vehicle speed detection mechanism for detecting a vehicle speed of the vehicle;

a backward movement detection mechanism for detecting a backward movement of the vehicle;

an engine control mechanism for automatically controlling an engine speed of an engine of the vehicle, so as to make the vehicle speed lower than a predetermined vehicle speed, when the backward movement detection mechanism detects the backward movement of the vehicle and when the vehicle speed detection mechanism detects that the vehicle speed reaches the predetermined vehicle speed; and

a rotation member, wherein a rotational direction of the rotation member when the all-terrain vehicle moves forwards is opposite to a rotational direction of the rotation member when the all-terrain vehicle moves backward;

wherein the backward movement detection mechanism is a mechanism for detecting the rotational direction of the rotation member when the all-terrain vehicle moves backward.

7. An all-terrain vehicle having a belt converter, comprising:

a vehicle speed detection mechanism for detecting a vehicle speed of the vehicle;

a backward movement detection mechanism for detecting a backward movement of the vehicle; and

an engine control mechanism for automatically controlling an engine speed of an engine of the vehicle, so as to make the vehicle speed lower than a predetermined vehicle speed, when the backward movement detection mechanism detects the backward movement of the vehicle and when the vehicle speed detection mechanism detects that the vehicle speed reaches the predetermined vehicle speed;

wherein the predetermined vehicle speed, as a reference to execution of the control of the engine speed by the engine control mechanism, is set to be one of a first speed at which the belt converter starts an automatic shift from a state of a generally maximum reduction ratio in speed when the all-terrain vehicle accelerates backward with a throttle of the engine opening wide, and a second speed in the vicinity of the first speed.