Patent ID: 9567016
Date: 2017-02-14
CPC Classifications: B62D,Y02T

Claim:
1. A wind-diverting apparatus for reducing propulsory counterforces required to countervail drag-induced resistive forces upon a terrestrial vehicle having a vehicle body supported thereunder by a rearward wheel assembly largely exposed to headwinds impinging substantially unimpeded thereon above an axle of the wheel assembly when the vehicle is in forward motion under a range of external headwind conditions including null wind conditions, comprising: an aerodynamic deflector panel assembly attached to a nonrotatable structural member of a frame or a body of the vehicle employing the wheel assembly otherwise exposed to a headwind impinging substantially unimpeded wholly above a level of an axis of the axle directly upon a major primary vehicle-drag-inducing portion of forward-facing upper circumferential surfaces of a tire of said wheel assembly while the vehicle is in forward motion; the wheel assembly comprising a forwardmost wheel of the vehicle wherein the forwardmost wheel is any rearward wheel not immediately preceded by another wheel disposed in-line directly ahead of said forwardmost wheel within an intervening distance ahead of said forwardmost wheel that is not more than that equal to the outer diameter of the wheel assembly; the deflector panel assembly comprising one or more panels extending underneath the vehicle body while also being disposed upstream immediately in front of a trailing wheel set wherein the trailing wheel set comprises one or more of the forwardmost wheels located on one of either lateral side of the vehicle; the deflector panel assembly itself being disposed wherein all headwind-exposed wholly planar portions thereof that are also located no higher than the level of the axis of the axle are each disposed in a substantially non-horizontal orientation with respect to the ground; the deflector panel assembly itself being further disposed no further forward on the vehicle than a forwardmost vehicle landing gear extending downwards underneath the vehicle body; a critically aligned upstream section of one or more of the upstream panels consisting of each portion of said upstream panels that is disposed immediately ahead of and is aligned horizontally level with and is aligned directly in front of any forward-facing circumferential tire surface of said trailing wheel set; the critically aligned upstream section itself being disposed for a portion thereof to be aligned horizontally level with a critical vehicle-drag-inducing wheel surface of the trailing wheel set; the critical vehicle-drag-inducing wheel surface comprising a primary drag-inducing portion of a major upper drag-inducing surface of the trailing wheel set that is located forward of the axle while also being centered about the level of a critical elevation that is itself centered in elevation about the major upper drag-inducing surface wherein the major upper drag-inducing surface itself comprises a portion of circumferential upper wheel surfaces that is centered around highly sensitive vehicle drag-inducing wheel surfaces located in the forward upper quadrant of the trailing wheel set; the critically aligned upstream section spanning across the level of the critical elevation; the critical elevation being positioned not lower than a level in elevation above the ground equal to 70 percent of the outer diameter of the trailing wheel set; the critical wheel surface extending downwards nowhere lower than a minimum level in elevation above the ground equal to 60 percent of the outer diameter of the trailing wheel set; the critically aligned upstream section being further disposed for a major portion thereof further comprising a portion of the critically aligned upstream section that itself spans from in-between a top edge and a bottom edge of the critically aligned upstream section to itself further span laterally a sufficient distance across the vehicle in front of the trailing wheel set to thereby extend said major portion of the critically aligned upstream section itself laterally across distinctly more than halfway across a lateral distance equal to the full lateral width of the trailing wheel set; the critically aligned upstream section further extending nowhere lower than a downward level positioned not lower in elevation above the ground than a lowermost level that is itself located at the axis of the axle whereby forward-facing circumferential tire surfaces of the trailing wheel set that are located below the downward level remain exposed to headwinds impinging thereon; and the critically aligned upstream section being further disposed immediately adjacent to the trailing wheel set to thereby deflect a substantial portion of the headwind downward onto exposed forward-facing circumferential tire surfaces of said trailing wheel set that are located lower than the downward level, whereby the critically aligned upstream section itself can be disposed to extend no further downwards and no further forward of the trailing wheel set than to a combined forward and downward disposition thereof so that when taken all together while the vehicle is operated at 65 km/h under null wind conditions any further surface extension of the critically aligned upstream section would further increase drag induced thereon beyond a critical amount to cause a vehicle propulsory counterforce itself to increase above an amount required when the critically aligned upstream section is otherwise absent from the vehicle wherein the vehicle propulsory counterforce is the propulsive force required to countervail an overall vehicle drag force consisting of a net wheel drag force upon the trailing wheel set as magnified against the axle combined with a critical deflector drag force induced solely from headwinds impinging upon the critically aligned upstream section of the deflector panel assembly, whereby any effective reduction in drag upon said trailing wheel set as reflected through the vehicle frame and thereby as countervailed by vehicle propulsive counterforces is not less than the offsetting effective vehicle drag induced by the critically aligned upstream section itself being directly attached to the vehicle frame.