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US 10,369,861 B2Granted
Side-by-side vehicle
AssigneePolaris Industries Inc.
InventorsAaron D. Deckard, Adam J. Schlangen, Alex R. Scheuerell, Aaron J. Nysse, Anthony J. Ripley, Daniel L. Goffman, Andy T. Ives, Donovan L. Fredrickson, Gordon J. Steinmetz, Corrie S. Roytek, Shawn D. Peterson, Dennis J. Lutz
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A utility vehicle includes a plurality of ground-engaging members, a frame assembly, a cab frame assembly, a front suspension assembly, a rear suspension assembly, a power steering assembly, and a powertrain assembly, all of which may be configured to lower the center of gravity of the vehicle.
Claims38
A utility vehicle, comprising:
- a plurality of front ground engaging members;
- a plurality of rear ground engaging members positioned rearward of the front ground engaging members;
- a frame assembly supported by the front and rear ground engaging members;
- a powertrain assembly operably coupled to the front and rear ground engaging members;
- a front suspension assembly operably coupled to the front ground engaging members, the front suspension assembly including upper alignment arms, lower alignment arms, shock absorbers, and a front torsion bar;
- and
- a steering assembly operably coupled to the front ground engaging members, the steering assembly including a steering wheel, a steering rack, and steering arms, wherein the front torsion bar is positioned intermediate the upper alignment arms and the lower alignment arms.
4 more elements
A utility vehicle, comprising:
- a plurality of front ground engaging members;
- a plurality of rear ground engaging members;
- a frame supported by the front and rear ground engaging members, the frame including a front frame portion and a rear frame portion, the front frame portion including upstanding members defining a front plane of the utility vehicle;
- a powertrain assembly operably coupled to the front and rear ground engaging members;
- a steering assembly operably coupled to the powertrain assembly;
- a front suspension assembly operably coupled to the front ground engaging members, the front suspension assembly including upper alignment arms and lower alignment arms, the upper alignment arms including a forward arm and a rearward arm, the forward arm being angled and bent inwardly toward the rearward arm, and the rearward arm being angled and bent upwardly over a portion of the steering assembly;
- and
- a rear suspension assembly operably coupled to the rear ground engaging members, wherein the front ground engaging members extend forward beyond the front plane of the utility vehicle.
5 more elements
A utility vehicle, comprising:
- a plurality of ground engaging members;
- a frame assembly supported by the ground engaging members and being comprised of a first material;
- a powertrain assembly operably coupled to the ground engaging members and supported on the frame assembly;
- and
- a cab frame assembly coupled to the frame assembly, the cab frame assembly being comprised of a second material, and a weight of the first material being greater than that of the second material.
2 more elements
A cab frame assembly configured to extend above an operator area of a utility vehicle, comprising:
- a front upstanding member;
- a rear upstanding member positioned rearward of the front upstanding member;
- and
- a longitudinal member coupled to front and rear upstanding members, wherein at least one of the front upstanding member, the rear upstanding member, and the longitudinal member includes at least one structural reinforcement member.
1 more element
A utility vehicle, comprising:
- a plurality of ground-engaging members;
- a frame assembly supported by the plurality of ground-engaging members, the frame assembly including a front end and a rear end;
- a cab frame assembly coupled to the frame assembly and extending above the frame assembly to define an operator area;
- at least one seat positioned within the operator area and including a seat bottom and a seat back;
- a front suspension assembly coupled to the front end of the frame assembly and including a shock absorber, an alignment arm, and a torsion bar;
- and
- a rear suspension assembly coupled to the rear end of the frame assembly and including a shock absorber, an alignment arm, and a torsion bar, wherein a center of gravity of the utility vehicle is configured to be lowered by at least one of including a recess on the seat back, extruding the cab frame assembly, positioning the torsion bar of the front suspension assembly approximately 5 inches from a bottom of the frame assembly, and positioning the torsion bar of the rear suspension assembly approximately 6 inches from a bottom of the frame assembly.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.