Off-road vehicle
AssigneeArctic Cat Inc.
InventorsJared Spindler, Derek Sorenson, Peter Schoenecker, Brian Eck
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A recreational off-highway vehicle includes side-by-side passenger and driver seats held within a chassis. The seats sit low in the chassis and are covered by a roll cage. Grab handles are positioned on the sides of the passenger seat. Select large round tubing protects the vehicle, while rectangular tubing frames the portions of the vehicle beneath body panels. The vehicle is powered by an engine rearward of the seats that is connected to a transaxle. A radiator is positioned above the engine. A cover with an access panel is situated between the engine and the passenger seats. The vehicle is suited for rough terrain travel.
Claims25
An off-road vehicle comprising:
- a frame having an engine mounting area and a passenger area;
- a roll cage including:
- an upper member positioned above the passenger area;
- a first vertical member positioned at the rear of the passenger area that extends downward and rearward from the upper member;
- and
- a second vertical member positioned rearward of the first vertical member and extending downwardly and rearwardly from the upper member, wherein the first vertical member and the second vertical member partially define a triangular shape;
- an engine positioned rearwardly of the passenger area;
- a continuously variable transmission operatively connected to the engine;
- and
- a radiator positioned rearwardly of the passenger area, wherein the radiator is positioned vertically above at least a portion of the continuously variable transmission when viewed from the side, and the radiator is at least partially positioned within the triangular shape when viewed from the side.
An off-road vehicle comprising:
- a frame having an engine mounting area and a passenger area having at least one seat forward of the engine mounting area, the frame including a roll-over protection portion having a top bar, a forward bar, a mid-bar, and a rear bar;
- wherein the top bar is positioned above the seats, the forward bar extends forward and downwardly from the top bar to a forward portion of the passenger area, the mid bar extends downwardly behind the passenger area and seats, and the rear bar extends downwardly from the top bar to above a rearward portion of the engine mountain area;
- an engine positioned in the engine mounting area;
- a transmission operatively connected to the engine in the engine mounting area;
- and
- a cooling element positioned rearwardly of the passenger area vertically above at least a portion of the engine, wherein the cooling element is longitudinally positioned at least partially between the mid bar and the rear bar when viewed from the side.
An off-road vehicle comprising:
- a frame having an engine mounting area and a passenger area, the frame including a roll-over protection system having a mid-bar and a rear bar, the mid bar extending upwardly behind the passenger area, the rear bar extending downwardly and rearwardly from an upper portion of the mid bar, the engine mounting area of the frame including a rearward frame member vertically above the engine extending rearward from the passenger area, the rearward frame member, the rear bar, and the mid bar generally forming a triangle;
- an engine, the engine positioned rearwardly of the passenger area;
- a continuously variable transmission operatively connected to the engine;
- and
- a radiator and cooling fan positioned rearwardly of the passenger area, wherein at least a portion of the radiator and fan are vertically above at least a portion of the continuously variable transmission when viewed from the side, the radiator and fan being at least partially within the triangle when viewed from the side.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.