VEHICLE SPLASH APRON

Abstract: Splash apron, which is attached behind the tyre with respect to the driving direction, to the frame construction or equivalent of the vehicle. The purpose of splash aprons is to prevent loose material, hurled off the road surface by the vehicle tyres, from flinging around, so that no harm or damage is caused to other passengers on the road. The splash apron of the invention is formed of vertical or roughly vertical, fibrous and/or ribbon-like or lamellated (7, 8) flaps, which flaps are located in a line adjacently or roughly adjacently. The flaps of the splash apron are made of a flexible and facile material, such as rubber or a suitable type of plastic. They are arranged to bend in the driving draft so that every second flap is bent more than the rest. Thus there are formed vertical gaps in the splash apron, in which case for instance air drag is diminished. In a particularly advantageous embodiment of the splash apron, every second flap has a downwards narrowing shape (8) and the intermediate flaps have a downwards widening shape (7).

Description: VEHICLE SPLASH APRON The present invention relates to a vehicle splash apron which is adjusted behind the tyre to the frame structure or equivalent of the vehicle. Splash aprons are designed for preventing pebbles and other loose material, hurled off the road surface by the vehicle tyres, from flinging around, so that no annoyance, harm or damage is caused for other passen¬ gers of the road. The use of splash aprons in vehicles improves road safety. The currently us'ed splash aprons have a uniform and stationary structure. Such splash aprons cause harm¬ ful air flows and whirls, which send fine dust or fog from the road surface onto the windscreens of other vehicles moving on the road. The pebbles flinged from the tyres towards the splash guards do not loose enough of their dynamic energy, but continue their motion af¬ ter bouncing off the splash aprons and consequently cause a danger for other vehicles. Stationary splash aprons ' increase the body draft of the vehicle, and thus also increase fuel consumption. Moreover, the average service life of splash aprons is comparatively short. The object of the present is, among other things, to eliminate the aforementioned drawbacks and to realize a splash apron v.-hich has a simple structure and low manufacturing costs . This is achieved by means of the characteristic features of the invention enlis¬ ted mainly in the Patent Claim 1. Among the advantages of the lowing can be pointed out. 2 apron are made of an elastic and flexible material. They are arranged to bend in the driving draft in such a fashion that every, second flap is bent more than the rest. Thus there are formed vertical gaps in the splash apron and the air drag is considerably reduced. Such separate flaps yield effectively when hit by a pebble hurled from the tyre so that the pebble imme¬ diately looses speed and falls on the road. During win¬ ter time the formation of icy lumps in the splash aprons is prevented explicitly owing to their flexible fibrous and/or lamellated structure. Thus the strain directed towards the splash aprons is also diminished and their wear resistance is increased. In the following the present invention is described in detail with reference to the appended drawings. Figure 1 is an illustration of a preferred embodiment- of the present invention seen from the back of the vehicle. Figure 2 is an illustration of the splash apron of Fi¬ gure 1, seen from the side, when driving draft is not effective. Figure 3 is an illustration of the splash apron of Figure 1, seen from the side, when driving draft is effective. Figure 4 is an illustration of another preferred em¬ bodiment of the splash apron of the invention. Figures 5 and 6 show details of a third embodiment of the splash y apron of the In the preferred embodiment of the splash apron accor¬ ding to Figures 1 and 2, the splash apron 1 is formed of straight, fibrous flaps 2, 3, which are attached adjacently in a row to a suitable supporting neπber 4. The said supporting member can further be attached by means of conventional methods behind the tyre 5, seen 3 from the driving direction, to the frame structure or equivalent of the vehicle, which is not illustrated in the drawing. The fibrous flaps of the splash apron are in turns long 2 and short 3. The difference in length in comparison with the total length of the splash apron is not great, preferably about 5-15 ., which depends on the material to be used. Profitably the flaps 2, 3 are manufactured of a flexible and facile, water-repellent • artificial fiber material, which should be particularly resistant to corrosion. When a vehicle provided with the aforementioned splash aprons moves forward, the air flow separates the shor¬ ter and lighter flaps 3 from the longer and heavier .flaps 2, as is seen in Figure 5. Thus there are for¬ med vertical air gaps in the splash apron. In t.he previous embodiment, the fibrous flaps can also be suitably divided into alternating groups of short and long flaps. The air gaps in the splash apron of the invention can also be created so that at the lower end of every se¬ cond flap or group of flaps there is attached a sui¬ table leaden weight or equivalent, in which case the lighter flaps move more easily in accordance to the air flow. In the embodiment of Figures 1-3 the fibrous flaps of the splash apron fall directly downwards from the sup¬ porting member. They can also be arranged to fall downwards in a fan-shaped fashion, in which case the air gaps are arranged without any further measures between the flaps 2, 5 of equal length. In Figure 4 is presented another splash apron according to the invention, which splash apron consists 4 cent ribbon-like or la ellated flaps 7, 8. Every se¬ cond flap 7 becomes wider when moving downwards from the supporting member 4 or its immediate neighbourhood, and respectively the remaining flaps 8 become narrower. Owing to the effect of driving draft, the flaps 7 which are wide at the bottom are bent backwards and thus se¬ parated - due to greater air resistance - from the flaps 8 which are narrow at the bottom. Now the desired ver¬ tical or roughly vertical air gaps are formed in the splash apron. The splash apron of Figure 4 can also be realized so that the ribbon-like or lamellated flaps are partly arranged in overlapping or roughly adjacent fashion. In that case the first alternating flaps 8, located partly at the front, .could be of equal width, whereas the second alternating flaps 7, located partly at the back, could still become wider towards the bot- torn. The splash apron is attached in a conventional fashion to a suitable supporting member, and by means of the said member further behind the tyre or directly to the body of the car. In Figures 5 and 6 are illustra¬ ted details of a splash apron of the invention, where a certain type of supporting member is utilized. The fibrous, ribbon-like or lamellated ' flaps 0 f the splash apron can be pressed in between the supporting pieces 41 , 42 by means of bolted joints 9 or similar joints. In the supporting pieces there are respective¬ ly arranged grooves 10 and brackets 11 to match those alternating flaps or groups of flaps, which are direc¬ ted slightly backwards from the plane of the splash apron (Figure 6) in order to create or reinforce the air gaps. Figure 5 represents a side-elevation view of a similar point as described above, and Figure 6 5 represents a respective view for example at the next flap of the splash apron where the said grooves and brackets do not exist and where the said flap of the flash apron falls directly downwards when in the res¬ ting position. The splash apron of the invention can be manufactured of any flexible and durable material, such as rubber or a suitable type of plastic. The whole of the splash apron can be made of one piece of material by suitably cutting the fibrous, ribbon-like or lamellated flaps therefrom and by leaving the upper part unbroken as is seen in Figure 4. On the other hand, the said flaps can also be manufactured separately, and what is more, of different materials. They can be arranged for ins¬ tance so that every second flap is made of a more fle¬ xible material than the rest. In the above the present invention has been described with reference to a few preferred embodiments only. It is, however, by no means intended to limit the scope of the invention to include only the said embodiments, but several modifications thereto are possible within the inventional idea specified in the following patent claims. --.

Claims: PATENT CLAIMS 1. ' A vehicle splash apron, attached behind the tyre with respect to the driving direction, to the frame structure or equivalent of the vehicle, c h a r a c ¬ t e r i z e d in that the splash apron is formed of at least partly vertical or roughly vertical fibrous (2, 3D and/or ribbon-like or lamellated C7, 8) flaps. 2. The splash apron of Claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i ¬ z e d in that the flaps thereof are located in a row adjacently or roughly adjacently. 3. The splash apron of Claim 1 or 2, c h a r a c ¬ t e r i z e d in that its flaps or groups of flaps are in turns long (2) and short (3) . 4. The splash apron of Claim 1 or 2, c h a r a c ¬ t e r i z e d in that there is -a weight located at the lower end of every second flap or group of flaps. 5. The splash apron of Claim 1, 2 or 3, c h a r a c ¬ t e r i z e d in that its members are arranged to fall downwards from its attaching point in a fan-shaped fashion. 6. The splash apron of Claim 2, 3, 4 or 5, c h a r a c - t e r i z e d in that every second flap or group of flaps thereof has a straight or downwards narrowing shape (8) and the rest of the flaps (7) have a down¬ wards widening shape. 7. ' The splash apron of any of the previous claims, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that its flaps (2, 3) are fixed in between two supporting pieces (41 , 42) , which supporting pieces contain respective grooves (10) and brackets (11) to match those alternating flans or grouns 7 of flaps which are directed to bend slightly backwards from the splash apron plane. 8. The splash apron of any of the previous claims, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the flaps (2, 3; 7, 8) are made of a flexible material such as rubber or a suitable type of plastic. 9. The splash apron of Claim 8, c h a r a c t e r i ¬ z e in that it is manufactured out of one uniform piece of material. 10. The splash apron of Claim 8, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that every second flap or group of flaps the¬ reof is manufactured of a more flexible material than the rest.

Inventors: TURUNEN PEKKA J
Applicants: TURUNEN PEKKA J
Application year: 1981
Main classification: B62D25
IPC codes: B62D25