Vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12594818-B2
Application number	US-202318335202-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 15, 2023
Priority date	Jun 15, 2023
Publication date	Apr 7, 2026
Grant date	Apr 7, 2026

Abstract

A utility vehicle capable of off-road travelling includes a cabin, a floor panel including a floor tunnel, an air blower and a duct. The duct includes a first end part that is connected to the air blower, a second end part including an opening part open to a rear half portion of the cabin, and an extending part that extends between the first and second end parts. The extending part includes a first part extending in the front-rear direction. The whole duct is arranged above the floor tunnel.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1 . A utility vehicle for travelling on rough terrain, comprising:
a cabin; a floor panel that includes a floor tunnel extending in a front-rear direction that is a length direction of the vehicle, the floor panel defines a floor surface of the cabin; an air blower that is arranged in a front part of the vehicle and has an outlet to blow air into the cabin; and a duct that guides air from the air blower to a rear half portion of the cabin, wherein: the duct includes:
a first end part that is connected to the air blower,
a second end part including an opening part open to the rear half portion of the cabin, and
an extending part that extends between the first and second end parts and includes a first part extending in the front-rear direction, and
the whole duct is arranged above the floor tunnel in an up-down direction of the vehicle.

2 . The vehicle as defined in claim 1 , wherein the extending part and the second end part are exposed into the cabin.

3 . The vehicle as defined in claim 1 , wherein the whole duct is exposed into the cabin.

4 . The vehicle as defined in claim 1 , wherein the first part is placed on an upper surface of the floor tunnel.

5 . The vehicle as defined in claim 1 , wherein the first part is arranged in the center in a width direction of the vehicle.

6 . The vehicle as defined in claim 1 , wherein the extending part includes a second part that connects the first end part and the first part and is formed along a front panel that defines a front wall of the cabin.

7 . The vehicle as defined in claim 1 , wherein the first part includes an enlarged diameter part formed to have a cross section orthogonal to the front-rear direction that increases toward the second end part.

8 . The vehicle as defined in claim 7 , comprising:
a front seat part that is arranged in a front half portion of the cabin, the front seat part including first and second front seats spaced apart from each other in a width direction of the vehicle and a third front seat provided between the first and second front seats, wherein the enlarged diameter part overlaps the third front seat in plan view.

9 . The vehicle as defined in claim 4 , wherein the first part includes a flat part having a height in the up-down direction that is smaller than a width in a width direction of the vehicle.

10 . The vehicle as defined in claim 9 , comprising:
a front seat part that is arranged in a front half portion of the cabin, wherein at least part of the flat part is arranged forward of the front seat part.

11 . The vehicle as defined in claim 4 , wherein the first part includes a reinforcing wall provided inside the first part and extending in the up-down direction.

12 . The vehicle as defined in claim 4 , wherein:
the first part includes a first upper surface generally parallel to the floor surface, and the first upper surface includes a plurality of recesses or protrusions.

13 . The vehicle as defined in claim 4 , wherein:
the first part includes a pair of side walls extending in the up-down direction, and an upper wall connected to upper ends of the side walls and generally parallel to the floor surface, the first part is open at a bottom part opposed to the upper wall, lower ends of the side walls abut an upper wall of the floor tunnel, and the upper wall of the floor tunnel is opposed to the upper wall of the first part.

14 . The vehicle as defined in claim 1 , comprising:
a compressor that compresses a refrigerant and arranged in a rear part of the vehicle, and a refrigerant pipe for the refrigerant, extending in the front-rear direction within the floor tunnel and connected between the compressor and the air blower.

15 . The vehicle as defined in claim 1 , wherein the first end part is connected to at least part of the outlet of the air blower.

16 . The vehicle as defined in claim 1 , wherein the first end part includes a mounting part removably mounted to the air blower.

17 . The vehicle as defined in claim 1 , comprising:
a front pillar, a center pillar, and an upper pillar for supporting a roof, which form part of a ROPS (rollover protective structure), wherein: the extending part is arranged along the front pillar and the upper pillar, and the opening part of the second end part is arranged generally in the same position as or rearward of the center pillar in the front-rear direction.

18 . The vehicle as defined in claim 1 , comprising:
a front pillar, a center pillar, and an upper pillar for supporting a roof, which form part of a ROPS (rollover protective structure), wherein: at least the front pillar and the upper pillar are formed in a tubular shape to communicate with each other in the inside, a front end of the front pillar is connected to the air blower via the first end part such that air blown out from the air blower flows to the front pillar, the upper pillar includes an upper opening formed generally in the same position as or rearward of the center pillar in the front-rear direction and open to a rear half portion of the cabin, the front pillar and the upper pillar serve as the extending part, and the upper opening serves as the opening part of the second end part.

19 . A utility vehicle for travelling on rough terrain, comprising:
a cabin; a floor panel that includes a floor tunnel extending in a front-rear direction that is a length direction of the vehicle, the floor panel defines a floor surface of the cabin; an air blower that is arranged in a front part of the vehicle and has an outlet to blow air into the cabin; and a duct that guides air from the air blower to a rear half portion of the cabin, wherein: the duct includes:
a first end part that is connected to the air blower,
a second end part including an opening part open to the rear half portion of the cabin, and
an extending part that extends between the first and second end parts and includes a first part extending in the front-rear direction,
the whole duct is arranged above the floor tunnel in an up-down direction of the vehicle, the first part is placed on an upper surface of the floor tunnel, the first part includes a first upper surface generally parallel to the floor surface, the first upper surface includes a nonslip part having a plurality of recesses or protrusions.

20 . The vehicle as defined in claim 19 , wherein the first part, which has the nonslip part, is positioned lower than the second end part.

Assignees

• Kawasaki Motors Ltd

Inventors

• Ito Kouji

Classifications

• B60H1/00407

  for open or convertible vehicles · CPC title

• B60R21/13

  Roll-over protection (electrical circuits for triggering safety arrangements B60R21/01) · CPC title

• B60N2/01

  Arrangement of seats relative to one another · CPC title

• B60K26/02

  of initiating means or elements · CPC title

• B60R2021/137

  Reinforcement cages for closed vehicle bodies · CPC title