Patent ID: 7740303

Claim:
An aerodynamic device for reducing drag on a ground vehicle, comprising: a first pair of rigid panels attached to the left side of the bottom surface of the vehicle and extending downward from the vehicle, including an outer panel substantially coplanar with the left surface of the vehicle and an inner panel located inboard of the outer panel, wherein the first pair of rigid panels is configured with each panel extending downward from the vehicle a desired first vertical distance and having a lower edge that is aerodynamically sharp and wherein the outer panel is separated from the inner panel at the lower edges by a first horizontal distance; a second pair of rigid panels attached to the right side of the bottom surface of the vehicle and extending downward from the vehicle, including an outer panel substantially coplanar with the right surface of the vehicle and an inner panel located inboard of the outer panel, wherein the second pair of rigid panels is configured with each panel extending downward from the vehicle a desired second vertical distance and having a lower edge that is aerodynamically sharp and wherein the outer panel is separated from the inner panel at the lower edges by a second horizontal distance; and wherein the first and second pairs of rigid panels are configured so as to form a first and second inverted U-shaped channel open to the downward direction, with the panels configured to generate a vortex within the channel when the ground vehicle is in motion, wherein the vortex has an axis of rotation aligned with the direction of motion of the ground vehicle, and wherein at least a portion of at least one inner panel is inclined inwardly as it extends downward so that the horizontal distance between the inner and outer panels at the lower edge of the panels is greater than the horizontal distance between the inner and outer panels proximate to the bottom surface of the vehicle.