Splash guard deflector

This invention relates to a universal splash guard deflector for use with a vehicle in the vicinity of the vehicles wheels. The deflector in use is positioned behind a vehicle wheel in respect of the vehicles primary direction of travel. The splash guard deflector is comprised of a planar central portion defined by upper and lower edge regions, as well as inside and outside edge regions. The upper edge region is adapted to be secured to a portion of the vehicle. A splash deflecting element is integrally secured to the planar central portion along a line equidistant to one of the edge regions. A plurality of openings are disposed along the equidistant line to thereby allow for the passage of air due to vehicle movement in the primary direction of travel. The splash deflecting element is configured such that a semi-fluid medium driven by the vehicle wheel will strike the central planar portion and travel along the planar portion towards the edges and thence be redirected by the splash deflecting element in a downward and forward manner to thereby minimize splashing of the medium outside of a vehicle path defined by the vehicles primary direction of travel.

TECHNICAL FIELD 
This invention relates to a splash guard deflector for use with a vehicle 
in the vicinity of the vehicle wheels. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Since the earliest days of motor driven vehicles there has been an on going 
primary concern in respect of the vehicles wheels splashing moisture 
ladden materials on the roadway onto the vehicle. A secondary concern has 
been the desire to keep the splashed material or semi-fluid medium from 
being driven by vehicle wheels onto other vehicles using the highway. In 
the case of trucks and trucks pulling trailers, the laws of many states 
require that there be provided a downwardly projecting barrier to prevent 
the splashing or the throwing of stones lodged between double sets of 
wheels. 
In the early days of motor driven vehicles when dirt roadways were more 
common than paved, the aforementioned splash problem was treated by the 
use of mud flaps. Over the years devices intended to correct splash 
problems have been variously termed, "fender extensions", "tire spray 
shields", "splash guards" and as noted above, "mud flaps". 
Typical of an early effort in this technical area of concern is the fender 
extension of W. G. Bratz, U.S. Pat. No. 2,559,755. The primary concern of 
Bratz is to provide a fender guard constructed and arranged to protect the 
fender and body surfaces against splashing and the like by the vehicle 
wheel. Bratz does not entertain nor provide for, in his design, a splash 
guard that is primarily concerned with protecting other vehicles on the 
road from splashing as will be seen to be present in the invention to be 
described hereinafter. 
The patent to Maxwell L. Earnest, U.S. Pat. No. 2,605,119 is a most 
significant contribution to the state-of-the-art in that Earnest provides 
a splash guard that surrounds the wheels of a truck and thereby prevents 
the wheels of the truck from throwing mud and water against passing or 
on-coming vehicles. The objective of Earnest identifies a problem which is 
solved by the invention to be described hereinafter by means of a splash 
guard deflector that is of a most elementary form and costing but a small 
fraction of the cost that would inherently be generated in the production 
of the Earnest splash guard. 
Another good example of a splash guard for a truck is that shown and 
described in the patent to F. L. Wenham et al U.S. Pat. No. 2,619,363. 
This patent is directed to the manner and material utilized in the 
construction of a splash guard shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 of Wenham et al. It 
is of interest to note that the splash guard configuration of Wenham et al 
is of the type seen on the great majority of trucks today. It should be 
noted that Wenham et al recognizes that with flexible splash guards there 
is a tendency for the splash guards to be flexed by air moving 
there-against. To prevent flexing, Wenham et al provides openings 14 in 
the flap 1 along the upper edge to thereby allow passage of air as shown 
by arrows in FIG. 1 of Wenham et al. 
The patent to W. C. Eaves, U.S. Pat. No. 2,940,773 provides a significant 
facet to the background prior art from which prior art the invention to be 
described is an advance. Eaves recognizes the problem of the conventional 
mud flaps acting as baffles that actually deflect stones laterally in the 
path of passing vehicles, and in severe rain storms the mud flaps 
intercept water throw from the tires creating a mist or cloud obscuring 
the vision of operators of passing vehicles. When the Eaves patent is 
studied, it will be appreciated that Eaves has merely provided a fender 
for a trailed vehicle, which fender when bolted in place acts much like a 
fender one would find on early vintage automobiles. 
The L. A. Barry et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,088,751 is directed to a vehicle tire 
spray shield having an overall rectangular configuration when viewed from 
the rear as shown in FIG. 1. The Barry et al spray shield is a relatively 
complex device that includes louvers 38, a coarse screen 40, and spring 
biased rigid flap 42, all of which features no doubt enhance spray control 
at a cost to fabricate that is significantly greater than the universal 
splash guard deflector to be described hereinafter. 
As the description of the invention to be set forth in the specification 
that follows unfolds, it will be keenly apparent that the invention is 
simpler in construction than Wenham et al, Eaves and Barry et al discussed 
above. In addition, the inventive principal which is dramatically present 
in the splash guard deflector allows the invention to be employed on both 
automobiles, as well as trucks, while the inventive contributions of 
Wenham et al, Eaves and Barry et al are limited in their use to trucks or 
truck and trailer combinations. 
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION 
This invention, more specifically relates to a universal splash guard 
deflector for use with a vehicle in the vicinity of the vehicles wheels. 
The deflector in use is positioned behind a vehicle wheel in respect of 
the vehicles primary direction of travel. The splash guard deflector is 
comprised of a planar central portion defined by upper and lower edge 
regions, as well as inside and outside edge regions. The upper edge region 
is adapted to be secured to a portion of the vehicle. 
A splash deflecting element is integrally secured to the planar central 
portion along a line parallel to one of the edge regions. A plurality of 
openings are disposed along the parallel line to thereby allow for the 
passage of air due to vehicle movement in the primary direction of travel. 
The splash deflecting element is configured such that a semi fluid medium 
driven by the vehicle wheel will strike the central planar portion and 
travel along the planar portion towards the edges and thence be redirected 
by the splash deflecting means in a downward and forward manner to thereby 
minimize splashing of the medium outside of a vehicle path defined by the 
vehicles primary direction of travel. 
It is therefore a primary object of the invention to provide a universal 
splash guard deflector for use in both automobiles and trucks that is so 
constructed as to cause liquids and solids driven by the vehicles wheels 
against the deflector and then back towards and along side the vehicle 
wheel associated with the splash guard deflector. 
Another object of the invention is to provide a splash guard deflector that 
is provided with a plurality of openings disposed along a line equidistant 
to an edge of a central planar portion of the splash guard, such that 
under dry conditions air passes through said openings thereby reducing 
drag, while during wet conditions, or when objects encountered on the road 
surface are driven by the vehicle wheels against the splash guard, the 
wetness from the road and the objects are caused to move past the openings 
and thereafter are directed towards the road surface. 
In the attainment of the foregoing objects, the invention contemplates that 
the splash guard deflector for the vehicle will have a central planar 
portion and will be further defined by upper and lower edge regions, as 
well as what will be termed inside and outside edge regions. The lower 
edge region of the central planar region is substantially parallel to the 
roadway surface over which the vehicle travels. The upper edge region in 
the case of an automobile is secured to the auto's fender, and in the case 
of a truck/trailer, the upper edge region is secured to the truck/trailer 
frame. A splash deflecting element is integrally secured to the central 
planar portion along a line parallel to one of the edge regions. The 
splash deflecting element has a curved cross-sectional configuration and 
there are provided a plurality of openings disposed along the line that is 
equidistant from the central portion. These openings allow for the passage 
of air when the vehicle is traveling and therefor reduce drag. The 
invention contemplates that the inside, bottom and outside edge regions 
can each be provided with a splash deflecting element that has a curved 
cross-sectional configuration, as well as a plurality of openings disposed 
in the fashion noted above. 
As has been noted earlier, the planar central portion, the plurality of 
openings, and the curved splash deflecting elements all cooperate to 
minimize splashing, solid object deflection and spraying outside of the 
path defined by the vehicles primary direction of travel. 
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent upon 
reference to the accompanying description when taken in conjunction with 
the following drawings:

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION 
Reference is now made to FIG. 1 which is intended to show a typical prior 
art splash guard 11 secured to fender 11 by fasteners 13, 14. The splash 
guard 11 is positioned rearwardly or behind the vehicle wheel or tire 16, 
with the wheel 16 rolling on the pavement surface 17. 
FIG. 2 is intended to illustrate a typical highway traffic pattern 
involving vehicles 21, 22 and 23. Vehicle 21 is headed in the direction 
indicated by arrow 26, while vehicles 22 and 23 are headed in the same 
direction as indicated by arrows 27 and 28. The roadway 24 is divided in 
the middle by center line stripes 25. 
For purposes of illustration only, the vehicle 22 has shown schematically, 
conventional prior art splash guards 31, 32, 33 and 34, each of which are 
positioned behind the vehicles wheels, which wheels are not shown. 
For purposes of the discussion that follows it is to be assumed that the 
roadway is partially covered with wet snow, cinders and salt, to create a 
semi-fluid medium which will be encountered by the vehicle wheels and 
driven back against the splash guards 31, 32, 33 and 34. This semi-fluid 
medium will then be deflected as shown by arrows 36, 37, 38 and 39 into 
the pathway of vehicles 21 and 23. 
It would be a rare find in the northern latitudes to come upon a highway 
driver who has not at least once been completly blinded by the deflected 
semi-fluid medium from other vehicles using the roadway. 
The invention now to be described substantially removes the vision blinding 
situation just described. 
FIG. 3 represents a preferred embodiment of the splash guard deflector 
invention. In this embodiment the entire splash guard deflector 40 is of 
unitary construction and could be readily formed by injection molding. The 
invention also contemplates as being within its purview, the embodiments 
of FIG. 5, as well as FIG. 8, which embodiments will be explained in more 
detail hereinafter. 
Returning now to FIG. 3 there is shown the splash guard deflector 40 which 
has a planar central portion 41 free of any openings therein to provide a 
central portion impervious to the passage there through of any elements in 
the environment through which the deflector passes. The planar central 
portion is, defined by an upper edge region 42, 43; a lower edge region 
44; an inside edge region 45, and an outside edge region 46. For purposes 
of illustration only, the edge regions noted above are defined by solid 
lines on the surface of the splash guard deflector 40. These lines as 
shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 are ornamental and their presence in the respective 
figures further aid in the explanation of the construction and operation 
of the invention. 
The upper edge region 42, 43 may be secured to a portion of the vehicle, 
such as, in the case of an automobile, the fender. The manner of 
attachment of the splash guard to the vehicle, whether by screw or clip 
fasteners, forms no part of the invention and for that reason is not 
shown. 
The splash guard deflector 40 is provided with curved cross-sectional 
splash deflecting elements 47, 49, and 51, which elements are integrally 
secured to the planar central portion 41 along lines, such as, line 48, 
which lines are equidistant to one of the edge regions, which in the case 
of element 47 and line 48, is edge region 46. 
It will be noted that in respect of element 47, there are a plurality of 
openings, such as opening 61 along said equidistant line 48. These 
openings which are also present in respect of deflecting elements 49 and 
51 allow for the passage of air due to vehicle movement in the primary 
direction of the vehicles' travel. 
Attention is now directed to FIG. 4 which is a three-dimensional of 
illustration of the invention shown in plan view in FIG. 3. In FIG. 4 the 
curved cross-sectional configuration of each of the deflecting elements 
47, 49 and 51 are readily discernible. 
An air flow arrow 60 is shown passing through opening 61. There is also 
depicted in FIG. 4, a number of broken line arrows. One of which is arrow 
63, which arrow is intended to show the path of semi-fluid medium that is 
being directed from the vehicle wheel associated with the splash guard 40. 
Arrows 65, 66, 67 and 68 depict the ultimate path of the medium that has 
been directed by the vehicle wheel and strokes the planar central region 
41. The arrow just noted, shows the medium traveling along the planar 
portion 41 towards the edge region whereafter it is redirected by the 
splash deflecting elements 47, 49 and 51 in a downward and forward manner 
to thereby minimize splashing of the medium outside of the vehicle path 
defined by the primary direction of travel of the vehicle. 
It is to be understood that the splash guard deflector embodying the 
invention when used in combination with the fender of a vehicle, is 
mounted so that the lower edge region 44 is substantially parallel to the 
roadway or surface on which the wheels of the vehicle travel. 
The splash guard deflector embodying the invention finds maximum utility in 
an automobile embodiment when the deflector is secured to a fender in a 
manner that allows a plane containing the central planar portion 41 to 
intersect at angles less than a right angle, the surface on which the 
vehicle is traveling. 
It will of course be recognized that in a truck/trailer environment next to 
be described, the splash guard deflector of the invention is secured to 
the truck/trailer in a right angle attitude in respect to the roadway. 
FIG. 5 depicts another embodiment of the invention which allows the use of 
a prior art splash guard modified to include deflecting elements 72, 73 
integrally secured to a central planar portion 71 by means of fasteners 
74, 75, such as metal screws, rivets, etc. Unreferenced openings in the 
deflecting elements 72, 73 are of course included. 
In FIG. 6 a top view of a vehicle 80 is schematically illustrated to 
include a direction of travel arrow 81 and vehicle wheels 82, 83, 84 and 
85. Associated with each of the just noted wheels are splash guard 
deflectors 86, 87, 88 and 89 that embody the invention. FIG. 6 is intended 
to demonstrate graphically the advantageous manner by which the medium 
(see arrows 90, 91, 92 and 93) is deflected in a downward and forward 
manner rather than into the pathway of other vehicles using the roadway. 
FIG. 7 illustrates a portion of a truck/trailer environment, which includes 
a truck frame 96, wheel 97, roadway 98 and splash guard 99. The splash 
guard is also shown in a wind deflected position evidenced by broken lines 
99'. 
FIG. 8 is yet another splash guard deflector 100 embodying the invention 
for use in combination with a truck/trailer. The splash guard deflector 
100 has a planar central portion 101, upper edge region 102, lower edge 
region 103, inside edge region 104 and outside edge region 105. A vehicle 
frame sprocket 106 fashioned of angle iron secures the upper edge region 
102 to the vehicle frame, not shown in this figure. A splash deflecting 
element 107 having openings, such as, opening 108 is secured to the planar 
central portion 101 by fasteners, shown but not referenced. The deflecting 
elements have curved cross-sectional configuration as can be seen in the 
drawing. The deflecting element 110 is shown in dotted outline in FIG. 8, 
and its curved cross-section 111 is shown in FIG. 9. FIG. 10 provides an 
illustration of the medium and the pathway of its movement which is 
indicated by arrow 112. 
Although this invention has been illustrated and described in connection 
with the particular embodiments illustrated, it will be apparent to those 
skilled in the art that various changes may be made therein without 
departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended 
claims.