Bombardier Recreational Products Inc.

Bombardier Inc.

Yves Berthiaume

Daniel Mercier

Alain Massicotte

Rick Adamczyk

Sam Spade

Dominic Dagenais

Tom Bucaccio

Richard Simard

Daniel Nadeau

Normand Lebreux

Jean Daunais

Normand Beauregard

Gilles Pesant

Robert Bourret

Renald Plante

Martin Talbot

Martin Pelletier

Rénald Plante

John Huberty

St&eacute;phane Proulx

Eric Quellette

Jean-Fran&ccedil;ois Forest

Rémy Biron

Remy Biron

A personal watercraft (PWC) is disclosed that is convertible between a stand-up type watercraft, and at least one of a straddle-type watercraft, a sit-down type watercraft or a kart-type position watercraft. The PWC includes a hull supporting a power source, and a deck, the deck supporting a steering handle support assembly. A kart-type seat assembly is removably supported by the deck, such that the seat assembly can be selectively removed by the user so that the personal watercraft can be operated with and without the kart-type seat assembly.

Personal watercraft

A three-wheeled vehicle having a pair of front wheels and a single rear wheel is provided with a roll-related reactive system. The roll-related reactive system provides braking of at least one of the front wheels independent of braking initiated by an operator of the vehicle.

Roll-related reactive system

A vehicle is described with a frame having a plurality of frame members. An engine and a straddle seat are disposed on the frame, the straddle seat accommodating a rider. A handlebar is disposed on the frame for steering the vehicle. A front suspension with at least one front wheel is disposed on the frame. A rear suspension is also disposed on the frame, the rear suspension having a rear swing arm pivotally connected to the frame and a shock absorber disposed between the frame and the rear swing arm. At least one rear is wheel disposed on the rear swing arm. A continuously variable transmission operatively connects the engine to the rear wheel. The continuously variable transmission includes a housing that acts as one of frame members.

CVT frame member

A watercraft is disclosed that includes a hull, a deck supported by the hull, a propulsion system that is mounted to at least one of the hull and the deck, and a helm that is connected to the deck and configured to control the direction of the watercraft. A pole is mounted to the deck and a compensation device is operatively connected to at least one of the deck and the hull. A controller is in communication with the compensation device, and a sensor is operatively connected to the pole and in communication with the controller. The sensor is configured to sense a pulling force exerted on the pole and communicate a signal regarding the force to the controller. The controller is configured to send a signal to the compensation device based on the signal from the sensor to reposition the watercraft.

Watercraft compensation system

A watercraft includes a watercraft control mechanism that is capable of steering, decelerating, and/or trimming a watercraft without causing the stern to elevate and the bow to dive; steers or assists steering in off-power situations; steers, trims and/or decelerates a watercraft, or assists in steering, trimming, and/or decelerating a watercraft that can be stowed or retracted to minimize hydrodynamic drag at high speeds; steers, trims and/or decelerates a watercraft, or assists in steering, trimming, and/or decelerating a watercraft that does not become clogged or jammed by seaweed or flotsam or foreign objects floating in the water; and decelerates or assists in decelerating a watercraft in a smooth and stable manner when the watercraft is travelling at high speeds.

Watercraft control mechanism

A personal watercraft (PWC) is disclosed that is convertible between a stand-up type watercraft, and at least one of a straddle-type watercraft and a sit-down type watercraft. The PWC includes a hull supporting a power source, and a deck, the deck supporting a steering handle support assembly. A seat assembly is removably supported by the deck, such that the seat assembly can be selectively removed by the user so that the personal watercraft can be operated with and without the seat assembly.

Convertible personal watercraft

A watercraft has a pivoting, shock absorbing component that absorbs forces applied to its hull. The watercraft includes a hull, a deck coupled to the hull, an engine, and a jet propulsion system movably coupled to the engine. In one embodiment, a forward hull portion couples to the deck and a rearward hull portion movably couples to the deck and/or the forward hull portion. The jet propulsion system mounts to the rearward hull portion, while the engine mounts to the deck. A suspension element is disposed between the hull rear portion and either the deck or the hull forward portion. In another embodiment, the hull and deck are movably coupled to each other.

Watercraft suspension

A watercraft includes a towing bar that allows the tow line connection point to move with respect to the watercraft. This movement of the point of force application reduces moments created on the watercraft resulting in pitch, yaw, and roll. The towing bar can be formed as an inverted V-shape. The towing bar can also be formed as a flexible beam that bends in the lateral direction of the object being towed. The watercraft may also include a pylon that can be moved between an operative position and a stowed position. The pylon is selectively supported on one of two longitudinally and vertically displaced mounts and at an upper lateral support member formed by the grab handle.

Wakeboard pulling apparatus

A hybrid fuel/electric powered watercraft includes an electronic turning machine (ETM), and internal combustion engine, and a propulsion system, which are operatively connected to each other, preferably via one or more clutches. An electronic control unit (ECU) controls the ETM, clutch(es), and engine. At low speeds, the ECU disengages at least one clutch and solely uses the ETM to power the propulsion unit and propel the watercraft. At high speeds, the ECU engages the clutch and uses both the engine and the ETM or just the engine to power the propulsion system. When the watercraft's battery discharges, the ECU operates the ETM in a generator mode and runs the engine to charge the battery. The watercraft can also include a shore button feature that selectively limits/governs the speed of the watercraft. A clutch may be used to avoid driving the propulsion system when the engine is idling or being started.

Personal watercraft having a hybrid power source

In a system according to one embodiment of the invention, an apparatus mounted onto a vehicle receives a control signal from a key. The control signal indicates one among a plurality of discrete and unitless vehicle performance levels. The vehicle performance (e.g. engine speed or fuel supply rate) is restricted according to the indicated vehicle performance level. Vehicle performance may also be restricted in a case where the key becomes separated from the apparatus (e.g. because the operator has become separated from the vehicle).

System, method, and apparatus for controlling vehicle performance

The personal watercraft vehicle (PWC) component multiplex communication system, as described herein, is configured to accommodate the exchange of information between PWC components. The system employs an engine electronic control unit (ECU), a multipurpose ECU, and a cluster ECU. Management and monitoring data collected from the various PWC components are transmitted to the corresponding ECUs, which process and multiplex the data along with control messages into an aggregate serial data stream and supplies the aggregate data stream to a system bus. System bus interconnects each of the ECUs and accommodates the bi-directional transfer of the aggregate multiplexed data stream to the ECUs and may be configured as a 2-wire interconnection. Accordingly, the ECUs receive and de-multiplex the aggregate data stream containing the data and control messages generated by other ECUs. The control message generation, multiplexing, de-multiplexing, and aggregate data stream transmission and reception operations may be performed in accordance with the Controller Area Network (CAN) protocol. As such, PWC component multiplex communication system facilitates the exchange of data between PWC components without relying on cumbersome conventional wiring harnesses and networks.

Personal watercraft vehicle component multiplex communication system

A vehicle, including watercraft and personal watercraft, includes a hull, an engine system and a propulsion system. The engine system comprises an internal combustion engine and an air intake for receiving air to be mixed with fuel supplied to the engine. The propulsion system connects to the engine and propels the watercraft along a surface of a body of water using power from the engine. The watercraft can include a quick connect air/water separator, or air box. A fuel system is provided that has a fuel supply line and a fuel return line which are connected with a bypass line. For evacuating fuel from the supply line and the return line, the bypass line contains a valve which can be actuated to allow fuel to flow into the fuel reservoir. A lubrication system is provided that includes a filler neck comprising an oil/air separator which allows a mixture of oil and air to be separated and the oil to be returned to the oil reservoir.

Growing community of inventors

Mont St-Hilaire, Canada

Yves Berthiaume