Patent ID: 6309010
Filing Date: 2001-10-30
Classification: B62D

Abstract:
A deployable airfoil to reduce wind resistance of trucks and semi-trailers having a substantially planar rear surface defining a plane, the airfoil comprising:first and second substantially rigid frame structures supported at the plane of the rear surface;each frame structure having a proximal edge pivotally mounted adjacent to the plane of the rear surface and a distal edge movable outwardly from a location adjacent the plane of the rear surface to a location distal from the plane of the rear surface;a flexible fabric structure attached to the distal edges and extending between the first and second frame structures;a connecting structure between the first and second frame structures whereby the frame structures are connected to pivot simultaneously outwardly to move the fabric structure from a folded configuration adjacent to the plane of the rear surface to a deployed configuration where the fabric structure is substantially taut between the first and second frame structures; andwherein the distal edges of the frame structures pivot outwardly in opposite directions during movement from the folded configuration to the deployed configuration.