Splash guard

A splash guard for vehicles having a main panel of conventional splash guard form. The main panel is mounted on a vehicle behind the wheels to control splash. In association with the main panel is a secondary panel that is hinged on the back face of the main panel. The secondary panel is shorter and wider than the main panel so that the projecting ends act as wings and catch the air passing the main panel when the vehicle is in motion. The two panels carry separate indicia, with indicia on the main panel being normally hidden by the secondary panel until the air passing the main panel lifts the secondary panel to expose the indicia on the main panel. The splash guard may be used for displaying advertizing, slogans, humorous sayings or illustrations.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to splash guards for trucks or other vehicles 
and more particularly to splash guards with a novel arrangement for 
displaying indicia, for example, advertising, slogans, humorous sayings or 
illustrations. 
BACKGROUND 
Various splash guard designs have been proposed, including those described 
in: 
U.S. Pat. Nos. 
2,546,781, V. S. Rheeling, Mar. 27, 1951; 
3,241,857, F. T. Goetz, Mar. 22, 1966; 
4,061,352, B. Gabne, Dec. 6, 1977; 
4,103,918, L. Salden, Aug. 1, 1978; 
4,453,728, C. A. Verge, June 12, 1984; 
4,357,030, C. A. Verge, Nov. 2, 1982; 
4,660,846, A. Z. Morin, Apr. 28, 1987; 
U.S. Des. Pat. Nos. 
235,633, C. L. Cooper, July 1, 1975; 
202,101, M. Markson, Aug. 31, 1965. 
U.S. Pat. Nos. 413,418; 4,357,030; and 4,453,728 all relate to 
multi-component splash guards with lower parts pivotally connected to 
fixed upper panels and spring biased against pivotal movement. 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,660,846 describes a multi-part splash guard that deflects 
spray passing through the guard downwardly and to one side. 
U.S. Pat. No. 2,546,781 describes a splash guard that may be converted to 
an emergency highway danger sign. 
U.S. Pat. No. 3,241,857 describes a splash guard with an advertising pocket 
on its back face. 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,061,352 describes a splash guard molded with a decorative, 
multi-coloured design on the back face. 
U.S. Des. Pat. No. 235,633 describes a splash guard with a square dancing 
motif in relief on the back surface. 
U.S. Des. Pat. No. 202,101 illustrates a splash guard with a three 
dimensional configuration in the shape of a caricature of a human face. 
SUMMARY 
The aim of the present invention is to provide a splash guard that may be 
used for displaying advertising, slogans, humorous sayings, illustrations 
or any other desired indicia in a novel way. 
According to the present invention there is provided a splash guard for a 
vehicle comprising: 
a main panel adapted to be mounted on the vehicle so as to depend 
therefrom, the main panel having a predetermined width and a predetermined 
height; 
a secondary panel pivotally mounted on a back face of the main panel to 
pivot freely about a lateral hinge line and normally depending from the 
hinge line with a front face of the secondary panel confronting and 
covering a portion of the back face of the main panel, the secondary panel 
having a width greater than the predetermined width of the main panel and 
a height less than the predetermined height of the main panel; 
first indicia marked on a back face of the secondary panel; 
second indicia marked on that portion of the back face of the main panel 
that is normally covered by the secondary panel; 
whereby air passing by the main panel in a front to back direction will 
impinge upon exposed portions of the secondary panel and pivot the 
secondary panel upwards to the rear, thus exposing the secondary indicia 
to view. 
Thus, a two part communication is provided, the first part being that 
normally visible on the back of the secondary panel and exposed parts of 
the main panel when the vehicle is at rest. The second part of the 
communication is the indicia normally hidden by the secondary panel but 
exposed to view when the vehicle is in motion. 
Splash guards according to the present invention are especially suited for 
large transport trucks, but can also be scaled down in size for a 
passenger vehicle or even a motorcycle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
Referring to the accompanying drawings, there is illustrated a splash guard 
10 constructed according to the present invention. The splash guard has a 
main panel 12 of rectangular form, reinforced along the top edge by metal 
straps 14. Along the top edge, where the reinforcement is found, are holes 
16 used to secure the splash guard to a truck body 18 using screws 20. The 
splash guard is mounted immediately behind a set of wheels 22. The main 
panel 12 of the splash guard is essentially the same as a standard splash 
guard. 
In the present invention, the splash guard 10 includes a secondary panel 24 
that is shorter and wider than the main panel 12. A hinge 26 connects the 
top edge of the secondary panel 24 to the back face 28 of the main panel 
12 so that the secondary panel can pivot freely about a horizontal hinge 
line. The secondary panel 24 is mounted with its ends 30 and 32 projecting 
significantly beyond the side edges of the main panel 12. 
The secondary panel 24 has a back face 33 carrying indicia 34. These are 
normally visible when the vehicle is at rest as illustrated in FIG. 1. 
When the vehicle is in motion, the projecting ends at 30 and 32 of the 
secondary panel are exposed to the air passing the main panel from front 
to back, which causes the secondary panel to flip up, exposing indicia 36 
normally hidden under the secondary panel on the back face of the main 
panel 12, as illustrated in FIG. 2. The main panel may also carry 
additional indicia 38 that are on the normally exposed portions of the 
main panel and which are logically associated with the indicia on the back 
of the secondary panel 24 and on the normally covered part of the main 
panel. 
The two panels are normally made of a rubber or rubberized waterproof 
material as are conventional splash guards. 
The indicia appearing on the splash guard may be advertising, humorous 
slogans, illustrations or the like, for example. One example is 
illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. 
While one embodiment of the present invention has been described in the 
foregoing, in connection with the accompanying drawings, it is to be 
understood that other embodiments are possible within the scope of the 
present invention. The invention is to be considered limited solely by the 
scope of the appended claims.