| US 7,487,855 B2 | ||
| Engine control method and apparatus including a tilt angle sensor | ||
| Hiroyuki Kakinuma, Wako (Japan) | ||
| Assigned to Honda Motor Co., Ltd., Tokyo (Japan) | ||
| Filed on Sep. 07, 2005, as Appl. No. 11/220,858. | ||
| Claims priority of application No. 2004-265229 (JP), filed on Sep. 13, 2004. | ||
| Prior Publication US 2006/0054375 A1, Mar. 16, 2006 | ||
| Int. Cl. B60K 28/14 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 180—283 | 13 Claims |
| 1. An engine control apparatus for a vehicle engine supported by a vehicle body in a vehicle of a type adapted to be used
for off-road traveling and having a vehicle body cover, said engine control apparatus comprising:
an engine drive section to drive the engine,
a control section to control said engine drive section, and
a tilt angle sensor operatively connected to said control section, the tilt angle sensor being operable to detect a tilt angle
of said vehicle body and to transmit a tilt angle signal corresponding to the detected tilt angle to the control section;
wherein said control section is operable to stop driving said engine drive section when said control section receives a tilt
angle signal having a value greater than or equal to a predetermined value from said tilt angle sensor;
wherein the vehicle body comprises a pair of main frames which are disposed to the upper left and the upper right of the engine,
respectively, and the engine is supported beneath said main frames at a central portion of the vehicle body between front
and rear wheels of the vehicle;
wherein the engine comprises a cylinder head, a throttle body, and a fuel injector,
and wherein the cylinder head, the throttle body, the fuel injector, the control section and the tilt angle sensor are disposed
adjacent to each other directly beneath a central portion of the vehicle body cover.
|