Abstract:
A vehicle drag reducer. Implementations may include an upper portion attached or integrated within a top of a vehicle and having four air ducts configured to receive air from a front end of the top of the vehicle and transmit it towards a rear end of the top of the vehicle; and two back portions located at a back of the vehicle each including two air ducts and six exit ports, each back portion being configured to receive air from two of the four air ducts of the upper portion and exit the air from the back portion through the six exit ports. The upper portion may include one of a U joint, a Z joint, and an L joint connecting the upper portion to the vehicle. The back portion may include one of a U joint and a Z joint. Methods of reducing vehicle drag are disclosed.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation-in-part application of the earlier U.S. Utility Patent Application to Robert Campbell entitled “System for the Reduction of Aerodynamic Drag On Vehicles,” application Ser. No. 12/069,843, filed Feb. 11, 2008, now pending, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated entirely herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     Aspects of this document relate generally to drag reducers for land vehicles. More specific implementations involve drag reducers for trucks, semi-trailers, box-type trucks (such as common moving trucks), full truck vans, and similar vehicles, and trailers hauled by the same. 
     2. Background Art 
     Land vehicles such as automobiles, trucks, semi-trailers, box-type trucks, full truck vans, and similar vehicles, and trailers hauled by the same, experience drag—a retarding force acting on them parallel and opposite to the direction of motion of the vehicle caused by air resistance. Many conventional devices and systems have been devised to reduce the air resistance and the drag on a vehicle or trailer. 
     SUMMARY 
     Implementations of vehicle drag reducers may include: an upper portion that is one of attached to and integrated within a top of a vehicle, the upper portion including four air ducts configured to receive air from a front end of the top of the vehicle and transmit the air towards a rear end of the top of the vehicle; and two back portions located at a back of the vehicle each including two air ducts and six exit ports, each back portion being configured to receive air from two of the four air ducts of the upper portion and exit the air from the back portion through the six exit ports. 
     Implementations of vehicle drag reducers may include one, all, or any of the following: 
     The upper portion may include one of a U joint, a Z joint, and an L joint connecting the upper portion with the vehicle. 
     The back portion may include one of a U joint and a Z joint connecting a first plate of the back portion to one of a second plate of the back portion and a rear door of the vehicle. 
     The upper portion may include an extension extending forward towards a front of the vehicle over a portion of one of a cab and an air dam of the vehicle across an entire width of the vehicle. 
     The vehicle drag reducer may include a rounded portion at a juncture of the upper portion and the back portion, configured to direct the air from the upper portion towards the back portion. 
     The upper portion may include three Z joints and two U joints connecting the upper portion with the vehicle, and the back portion may include four U joints and two Z joints connecting a first plate of the back portion to one of a second plate of the back portion and a rear door of the vehicle. 
     Implementations of vehicle drag reducers may include: an upper portion that is one of attached to and integrated within a top of a vehicle, the upper portion including one of a U joint, a Z joint, and an L joint connecting the upper portion to the vehicle; the upper portion being configured to receive air from a front of the top of the vehicle and transmit the air towards a rear end of the top of the vehicle; and a back portion located at a back of the vehicle including an exit port and including one of a U joint and a Z joint, the back portion being configured to receive air from the upper portion and exit the air from the back portion through the exit port. 
     Implementations of vehicle drag reducers may include one, all, or any of the following: 
     The upper portion may include four air ducts configured to receive air from a front end of the top of the vehicle and transmit the air towards a rear end of the top of the vehicle. 
     The back portion may include two air ducts. 
     The back portion may include six exit ports. 
     The vehicle drag reducer may include two back portions and each back portion may include two air ducts and each may be configured to receive air from two of four air ducts of the upper portion and exit the air from the back portion through six exit ports of the back portion. 
     The upper portion may include an extension extending forward towards a front of the vehicle over a portion of one of a cab and an air dam of the vehicle across an entire width of the vehicle. 
     The vehicle drag reducer may further include a rounded portion at a juncture of the upper portion and the back portion, configured to direct the air from the upper portion towards the back portion. 
     The upper portion may include three Z joints and two U joints connecting the upper portion to the vehicle, and the back portion may include four U joints and two Z joints connecting a first plate of the back portion to one of a second plate of the back portion and a rear door of the vehicle. 
     Implementations of methods of reducing vehicle drag may include: one of attaching an upper portion of a vehicle drag reducer to a top of a vehicle and integrating an upper portion of a vehicle drag reducer within a top of a vehicle; the upper portion including four air ducts configured to receive air from a front end of the top of the vehicle and transmit the air towards a rear end of the top of the vehicle; and locating two back portions of the vehicle drag reducer at a back of the vehicle, the back portions each including two air ducts and six exit ports, each back portion being configured to receive air from two of the four air ducts of the upper portion and exit the air from the back portion through the six exit ports. 
     Implementations of methods of reducing vehicle drag may include one, all, or any of the following: 
     Connecting the upper portion to the vehicle with one of an L joint, a Z joint, and a U joint. 
     Connecting a first plate of the back portion to one of a second plate of the back portion and a rear door of the vehicle with one of an L joint, a Z joint, and a U joint. 
     Extending an extension of the upper portion forward towards a front of the vehicle over a portion of one of a cab and an air dam of the vehicle across an entire width of the vehicle. 
     Directing the air from the upper portion towards the back portion through a rounded portion at a juncture of the upper portion and the back portion. 
     Connecting the upper portion to the vehicle with three Z joints and two U joints and connecting a first plate of the back portion to one of a second plate of the back portion and a rear door of the vehicle with four U joints and two Z joints. 
     The foregoing and other aspects, features, and advantages will be apparent to those artisans of ordinary skill in the art from the DESCRIPTION and DRAWINGS, and from the CLAIMS. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Implementations will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings, where like designations denote like elements, and: 
         FIG. 1  is a side view of a vehicle in motion, with the arrows depicting the motion of air around the vehicle; 
         FIG. 2  is a side view of the vehicle of  FIG. 1  with a vehicle drag reducer; with arrows showing the movement of air around the vehicle and the dashed arrows showing the movement of air within the vehicle drag reducer; 
         FIG. 3A  is a front view of an upper portion a vehicle drag reducer; 
         FIG. 3B  is a front view of a U joint and a Z joint of the upper portion of  FIG. 3A ; 
         FIG. 3C  is a back view of the upper portion of  FIG. 3A ; 
         FIG. 3D  is a side view of the upper portion of  FIG. 3A ; 
         FIG. 3E  is a top cross sectional view of the upper portion of  FIG. 3D  taken along line A-A (this top cross sectional view is also the equivalent of the top view of the upper portion of  FIG. 3A  with the top plate removed); 
         FIG. 4A  is a front view of an extension of a vehicle drag reducer; 
         FIG. 4B  is a side view of a vehicle with a vehicle drag reducer in place; 
         FIG. 5A  is a front view of two back portions of a vehicle drag reducer; 
         FIG. 5B  is a top view of the two back portions of  FIG. 5A , with dashed lines indicating where the U joints and Z joints exist behind the first plate of the back portion; 
         FIG. 6  is a side view of a vehicle with a vehicle drag reducer installed on top of the vehicle—with arrows indicating the movement of air, dashed arrows indicating the movement of air through the vehicle drag reducer, and the dashed line indicating where the vehicle drag reducer attaches to the top of the vehicle; 
         FIG. 7A  is a side view of a vehicle with a vehicle drag reducer integrated within the top of the vehicle—with the dashed line indicating where a bottom plate of the upper portion resides behind the vehicle&#39;s wall; 
         FIG. 7B  is a front cross section view of the vehicle and vehicle drag reducer of  FIG. 7A  taken along line B-B; and 
         FIG. 7C  is a front view of an L joint. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION 
     This disclosure, its aspects and implementations, are not limited to the specific components or assembly procedures disclosed herein. Many additional components and assembly procedures known in the art consistent with the intended vehicle drag reducers and/or assembly procedures for vehicle drag reducers will become apparent for use with particular implementations from this disclosure. Accordingly, for example, although particular implementations are disclosed, such implementations and implementing components may comprise any shape, size, style, type, model, version, measurement, concentration, material, quantity, and/or the like as is known in the art for such vehicle drag reducers and implementing components, consistent with the intended operation. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 1 , a vehicle in motion is subject to drag caused by displacement of the air at the front of the vehicle. Arrows in  FIG. 1  depict the movement of air around a vehicle illustrating the various air flows. For ease of description, wherever the word “vehicle” is used throughout this disclosure, it may refer to either or both the driving and trailing portions. For instance, with a semi-trailer, the driving portion (truck) is considered a vehicle and the trailer is also considered a vehicle. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 2 , an implementation of a vehicle drag reducer  100  is illustrated. The vehicle drag reducer  100  includes an upper portion  102  located at a top of the vehicle and a back portion  103  located at a back of the vehicle. The vehicle drag reducer  100  in this illustration also includes an extension  5  extending forward over a portion of the air dam  16  and cab  15  of the vehicle. The extension  5  may channel air from outside the vehicle into the upper portion  102  as the vehicle drives. The extension  5  may also be configured to make a clean cut through the air stream, minimizing the air flow disturbance. Arrows in this figure depict the movement of air around the vehicle, and the dashed arrows indicate the movement of air inside the vehicle drag reducer  100 . The extension  5  may be manufactured as an integral part of the upper portion  102  or it may be fabricated separately and attached to the upper portion  102 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 3A , the upper portion  102  of the drag reducer may include a top plate  1  and several structural members. In this implementation the structural members include U joints  2  and Z joints  3 .  FIG. 3B  shows a front view of both a U joint  2  and a Z joint  3 . The U joints  2  and Z joints  3  give structure and support to the upper portion  102  and are used to attach the upper portion  102  to the vehicle.  FIG. 3C  is a back view of the upper portion  102 , indicating that the back end of the upper portion  102  is not open but is closed off with a back plate  20 . In the area of the extension  5 , the U joints  2  and Z joints  3  may have the bottom portions removed, such as a bottom flange, to reduce air flow turbulence (essentially transforming them all into L joints  12  over the length of the removed bottom portion). A front view of such an extension implementation is illustrated in  FIG. 4A . Any of the U joints  2 , Z joints  3 , and L joints  12  of this disclosure may be joists. 
     Referring back to  FIG. 3A , in this implementation of an upper portion  102  there are two U joints  2  on opposite ends of the width of the upper portion  102  and three Z joints  3  between the two U joints  2 , all of the joints being spaced evenly apart. In other implementations, there could be any number of U joints  2  and Z joints  3  in any configuration and relationship to each other. 
       FIG. 3D  again illustrates a side view of an implementation of an extension  5  extending forward over a portion of the air dam  16  or cab  15  of the vehicle. Also shown in  FIG. 3D  is a rounded portion  4  located at a rear end of the upper portion  102  (in this case, coinciding with the back plate  20 ) which is at a juncture of the upper portion  102  with a back portion  103  (not shown in  FIG. 3D ). The rounded portion  4  directs the air flowing through the upper portion  102  towards the back portion  103 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 3E  (which is a top cross-section view of the upper portion  102  of  FIG. 3D  taken along sectional line A-A; and which equivalently is a top view of the upper portion  102  of  FIG. 3A  with the top plate  1  removed) the U joints  2  and Z joints  3  divide the upper portion  102  into four air ducts  104 . When a vehicle is in motion, the air enters into a front end of the upper portion  102  ( FIG. 3A ) and travels along towards a back of the upper portion  102 , towards the back plate  20  and, in this case, towards the rounded portion  4 . Also shown is a splitter  17 . The splitter  17  is a split in the central support member, in this case the central Z joint  3 , which splits the two central air ducts  104 . In other implementations the other support members could be split or bent so that one, all, or any number of the air ducts  104  are split from one another and/or experience a reduction in cross sectional area towards the back of the upper portion  102 . Also, depending upon the configuration of the various U joints and Z joints, the air ducts  104  may not all be the same size. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 4B , a vehicle is shown with a vehicle drag reducer  100  in place. In this implementation, the vehicle drag reducer  100  is installed along the top and the back sides of the vehicle trailer. The extension  5  can be seen extending forward above the cab  15  and air dam  16  of the vehicle. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 5A , two identical back portions  103  of a vehicle drag reducer  100  are shown.  FIG. 5A  is a top view of the two back portions  103  and indicates that they are open on top. The open portion of the top of each back portion  103  aligns and/or couples with an open portion on the rear end of the upper portion  102  (not shown) in order to create a continuous passage for air to travel through the vehicle drag reducer  100  from the upper portion  102  to the back portion  103 . In some implementations the rounded portion  4  is an integral part of the upper portion  102 , in which case the upper portion  102  would resemble  FIG. 3D . In other implementations the rounded portion  4  could be an integral part of the back portion  103  and the back end of the upper portion  102  would be left open for the rounded portion  4  to align with and/or couple with the upper portion  102  in order to create a continuous passage for air to travel through the vehicle drag reducer  100  from the upper portion  102  to the back portion  103 . In yet other implementations the rounded portion  4 , the upper portion  102 , and the back portion  103  may be three individual parts with the rear end of the upper portion  102  being open, and the top portion of the back portion  103  being open, and the rounded portion  4  being configured to align and/or couple with both the opening in the rear of the upper portion  102  and the opening in the top of the back portion  103  to create a continuous passage for air to travel through the vehicle drag reducer  100 . 
     Referring back to  FIG. 5A , the back portions  103  in this implementation each include a first plate  30  and a second plate  40 . In other implementations, the second plate  40  is omitted and U joints  2  and Z joints  3  may be directly attached to the back door of the vehicle. In some implementations the second plate  40  is included and the back portion  103  may be attached to the vehicle using hinges attached to the back door of the vehicle and one of a second plate  40 , a U joint  2 , an L joint  12 , a Z joint  3 , and a first plate  30 . The U joints  2  and Z joints  3  of this implementation form two air ducts  106  in each back portion  103 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 5B , each back portion  103  of this implementation includes six exit ports  108  whereby air exits the back portion  103 . In this implementation there are four exit ports  108  (exit ports  6  and  7 ) in the first plate  30  and two exit ports  108  (exit ports  8 ) at a bottom of the back portion  103 . In other implementations the back portion  103  could comprise any number of exit ports  108  located anywhere on the back portion  103 . In this implementation the various exit ports  108  have different sizes. For instance the exit ports  6  are located about ⅓ down from the top of the first plate  30 , and the exit ports  6  are about 3 inches in height. The exit ports  7  are located further down the back portion  103  and are about 6 inches in height. The exit ports  8  are located at the bottom of the back portion  103 . Although  FIG. 5A  is a top view of the back portions  103 , it could also be illustrative of a bottom view of back portions  103  since, in this implementation, the back portions  103  have a similar cross section at their upper and lower extremities. The air ducts  106  implementations illustrated in  FIG. 5A  are thus illustrative of the size and location of the exit ports  8  at the bottom of the back portion  103 . 
     In all of the above implementations, as well as those described hereafter, some of the elements are not shown connected to one another in the drawings, though in reality they are coupled. They appear in exploded view in the drawings for ease of seeing the individual parts; for instance in  FIG. 3A , the U joints  2  and Z joints  3  would be attached to the top plate  1  in the same configuration that they are shown; likewise in  FIG. 4A  the L joints  12  are coupled to the top plate  1 ; in  FIG. 5A  the U joints  2  and Z joints  3  are each coupled to the first plate  30  and the second plate  40 ; and in  FIG. 7B  the L joints  12 , U joints  2 , and Z joints  3  are coupled to the roof  60  of the vehicle, the bottom plate  14  of the upper portion  102 , and the side walls  13  of the vehicle, according to their placement in the drawing. 
     Additionally, the U joints  2 , Z joints  3 , and/or L joints  12  of various implementations may extend along most, if not all, of the length of the upper portion  102  and back portion  103 . In other implementations the U joints  2 , Z joints  3 , and/or L joints  12  may not extend the full length of the upper portion  102  and/or the back portion  103 , but may extend to a sufficient length to support the upper portion  102  and/or back portion  103  and to divide the upper portion  102  and/or back portion  103  into air ducts  104  and  106 , respectively. The length of the upper portion  102  is parallel with the direction of air flow in the upper portion  102  as indicated in  FIG. 2  and the other drawings. The length of the back portion  103  is parallel with the downward direction of air flow through the back portion  103  as indicated in  FIG. 2  and the other drawings. In implementations utilizing an extension  5 , the U joints  2 , Z joints  3 , and/or L joints  12  may extend forward, from the front wall of the van body or trailer towards the front of the vehicle, in order to support the extension  5 . The U joints  2 , Z joints  3 , and/or L joints  12  may also extend back past the rear of the van body or trailer body to support the back of the upper portion  102 , the rounded portion  4 , and/or the back portion  103 . In some implementations the U joints  2 , Z joints  3 , and/or L joints  12  extend along the full length of the upper portion  102  and into the extension  5  and/or into the back portion  103  and/or rounded portion  4 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 6 , a vehicle with an installed vehicle drag reducer  100  is shown. The extension  5  can be seen extending forward over a portion of the cab  15  and air dam  16 . The solid arrows indicate the air flow around the vehicle and show how the drag is generally reduced by the use of the vehicle drag reducer  100 . The dashed arrows indicate the flow of air into the extension  5 , through the air ducts  104  in the upper portion  102 , past the rounded portion  4  and down into the back portion  103 , and then out through the exit ports  6  and  7  on the back of the back portion  103  and out through the exit port  8  on the bottom of the back portion  103 . The dashed line below the upper portion  102  indicates where the upper portion  102  was installed on top of the roof  60  of the vehicle trailer. This, then, is an implementation wherein the vehicle drag reducer  100  is installed on the top of a vehicle or trailer. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 7A , in an alternative implementation of a vehicle drag reducer  100  the upper portion  102  is actually installed inside the top of a vehicle or trailer. This implementation is shown in  FIG. 7A , where the dashed line indicates where a bottom plate  14  is installed inside the trailer. Referring to  FIG. 7B , which is a front cross section of the vehicle trailer in  FIG. 7A  across the line B-B, the roof  60  and the side walls  13  act as the upper and side portions of the upper portion  102 , while U joints  2 , Z joints  3 , and L joints  12  run the length of the trailer and hold the bottom plate  14  in place and provide the structure for the upper portion  102 . The roof  60 , U joints  2 , Z joints  3 , L joints  12 , and bottom plate  14  also form the four air ducts  104 . 
     In this implementation, at least one opening is cut in a front wall of the vehicle to facilitate the air passing into the vehicle, and openings are cut in the rear doors of the vehicle to facilitate the air passing out of the vehicle. In this implementation the air flows from outside the vehicle through the extension  5  (which can be seen extending forward over a portion of the cab  15  and air dam  16 ), past the at least one opening cut in the front wall of the vehicle, through the upper portion  102  by way of the air ducts  104 , through the openings in the rear doors, past the rounded portion  4  and downward where it then exits the back portion  103  through the exit ports  108 .  FIG. 7C  is a front view of an L joint  12 . The upper portion  102  may extend backward from the inside of the vehicle out through the openings in the rear doors, and/or the rounded portion  4  may extend inwardly into the openings in the rear doors from outside the vehicle, and/or the back portion  103  may extend inwardly into the openings in the rear doors from outside the vehicle. 
     While any material may be used for the various elements of a vehicle drag reducer  100 , in some implementations the vehicle drag reducer  100  is constructed partially or completely of aluminum sheeting. In some implementations the vehicle drag reducer  100  is installed partially or completely with self tapping screws. In some implementations the U joints  2 , Z joints  3 , and/or L joints  12  are formed from ten inch pieces of aluminum sheeting. 
     In some implementations there are two back portions  103  and each back portion  103  is located at a rear door of the vehicle—one corresponding with each rear door. In some implementations the back portions  103  only extend downward as far as the rear door latch handles. In some implementations the existing hinges on the rear doors of the vehicle may be replaced with double-hinged hinges to allow proper opening of the doors with the system attached to the doors. For van bodies or trailers or vehicles with overhead doors, the back portion  103  may include a second plate  40  and the back portion  103  may be attached to the van body, vehicle body or trailer body using hinges (or double-hinged hinges) to allow the back portion  103  to swing away for access to the overhead door. 
     In places where the description above refers to particular implementations of vehicle drag reducers, it should be readily apparent that a number of modifications may be made without departing from the spirit thereof and that these implementations may be applied to other vehicle drag reducers.