Claims
- 1. An off-road vehicle comprising a frame, a plurality of wheels arranged to support the frame, an internal combustion engine having a crankshaft configured to rotate, a transmission arranged to transmit the rotation of the crankshaft to at least one of the wheels, and a housing configured to house at least a portion of the transmission, the housing having an air inlet duct through which ambient air enters the housing and an air outlet duct through which the air leaves the housing, the air inlet duct having an inlet opening, the outlet duct having an outlet opening, the inlet and outlet openings positioned higher than the wheels.
- 2. The off-road vehicle as set forth in claim 1 additionally comprising a seat that defines a surface onto which a driver or passenger of the vehicle sits, the seat surface positioned higher than the wheels, and the outlet opening being positioned at an elevation close to an elevation of the seat surface.
- 3. The off-road vehicle as set forth in claim 2, wherein the outlet opening is faces rearward.
- 4. The off-road vehicle as set forth in claim 1 additionally comprising a seat that defines a surface onto which a driver or passenger of the vehicle sits, the seat surface positioned higher than the wheels, and a portion of the outlet duct extending next to the seat.
- 5. The off-road vehicle as set forth in claim 4, wherein the portion of the outlet duct that extends next to the seat is an uppermost section of outlet duct.
- 6. The off-road vehicle as set forth in claim 4, wherein the seat has a slant surface, and the portion of outlet duct has a configuration that corresponds to the slant surface such that the seat and the portion of the outlet duct generally nest together.
- 7. The off-road vehicle as set forth in claim 4, wherein another portion of the outlet duct extends upwardly along at least a front section of the housing at a location not more than just forward of the seat.
- 8. The off-road vehicle as set forth in claim 1 additionally comprising at least two seat assemblies disposed side by side on the frame, and the outlet duct having a portion extending between the seat assemblies.
- 9. The off-road vehicle as set forth in claim 8, wherein the outlet opening is directed rearward.
- 10. The off-road vehicle as set forth in claim 8, wherein each one of the seat assemblies comprises a seat and a pedestal configured to support the seat, the portion of the outlet duct extends along one of the seats and has a configuration corresponding to a configuration of the seat.
- 11. The off-road vehicle as set forth in claim 8, wherein the housing at least in part is positioned between the seat assemblies.
- 12. The off-road vehicle as set forth in claim 1 additionally comprising a seat that defines a surface on which a driver or passenger of the vehicle sits, the surface being positioned higher than the wheels, and the inlet opening being positioned at generally the same elevation as the surface or at a location higher than the surface.
- 13. The off-road vehicle as set forth in claim 1 additionally comprising a seat unit, the inlet opening is positioned at a location generally behind the seat unit.
- 14. The off-road vehicle as set forth in claim 1 additionally comprising a seat unit, the seat unit defining a surface on which a driver or passenger of the vehicle sits, the seat unit including a seat back against which the driver or passenger leans, the seat back having a top, the inlet opening of the air inlet duct being positioned at a location higher than the surface and lower than the top of the seat back.
- 15. The off-road vehicle as set forth in claim 1 additionally comprising at least two seat assemblies, wherein the air inlet duct at least in part is positioned between the seat assemblies.
- 16. The off-road vehicle as set forth in claim 1, wherein the inlet opening is faces forward.
- 17. The off-road vehicle as set forth in claim 1, wherein the inlet opening is faces rearward.
- 18. The off-road vehicle as set forth in claim 1, wherein the transmission comprises a belt-transmission mechanism, and the housing houses the belt-transmission mechanism.
- 19. The off-road vehicle as set forth in claim 18, wherein the belt transmission mechanism includes a drive pulley coupled to the crankshaft, an output shaft, a driven pulley coupled to the output shaft, and a belt extending around the drive and driven pulleys.
- 20. The off-road vehicle as set forth in claim 1, wherein at least one of the inlet and outlet ducts is a member formed separately from the housing and is coupled to the housing.
- 21. An off-road vehicle comprising a frame, a plurality of wheels arranged to support the frame, an internal combustion engine having a crankshaft configured to rotate, a transmission arranged to transmit the rotation of the crankshaft to at least one of the wheels, a housing configured to house at least a portion of the transmission, and means for introducing ambient air into the housing and discharging the air from the housing and for inhibiting water from entering the housing.
- 22. An off-road vehicle comprising a frame, a plurality of wheels arranged to support the frame, an internal combustion engine having a crankshaft configured to rotate, a transmission arranged to transmit the rotation of the crankshaft to at least one of the wheels, a housing configured to house at least a portion of the transmission, the housing having an air inlet duct through which ambient air enters the housing and an air outlet duct through which the air leaves the housing, the air inlet duct having an inlet opening, the air outlet duct having an outlet opening, and a seat defining a sitting surface on which a driver or passenger of the vehicle sits, the inlet opening being positioned at generally the same elevation as or higher than the sitting surface, the outlet opening being positioned generally close to the elevation of the sitting surface.
- 23. The off-road vehicle as set forth in claim 23, wherein the sitting surface is positioned higher than the wheels.
PRIORITY INFORMATION
[0001] The present application is based on and claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/459,946, filed on Apr. 2, 2003, under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e).
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60459946 |
Apr 2003 |
US |