Vehicle having aerodynamic fan elements
원문보기
IPC분류정보
국가/구분 |
United States(US) Patent
등록
|
국제특허분류(IPC7판) |
|
출원번호 |
UP-0491751
(2009-06-25)
|
등록번호 |
US-7695050
(2010-05-20)
|
발명자
/ 주소 |
|
대리인 / 주소 |
Gifford, Krass, Sprinkle, Anderson & Citkowski, P.C.
|
인용정보 |
피인용 횟수 :
3 인용 특허 :
7 |
초록
▼
A vehicle is provided with fan housings having inlets and an outlets. Fan are rotatably supported in the housings. The inlets intersect an airflow path along outer surfaces of the vehicle body such that a portion of the airflow is directed through each housing, causing the fans to rotate. A flow of
A vehicle is provided with fan housings having inlets and an outlets. Fan are rotatably supported in the housings. The inlets intersect an airflow path along outer surfaces of the vehicle body such that a portion of the airflow is directed through each housing, causing the fans to rotate. A flow of spinning air exits each outlet and is directed toward a central plane of the vehicle.
대표청구항
▼
I claim: 1. A vehicle comprising: a vehicle body being generally symmetrical about a central plane, the body having a front portion, a mid portion and a rear portion, a passenger compartment being defined inside at least the mid portion of the body; the vehicle having a longitudinal axis extending
I claim: 1. A vehicle comprising: a vehicle body being generally symmetrical about a central plane, the body having a front portion, a mid portion and a rear portion, a passenger compartment being defined inside at least the mid portion of the body; the vehicle having a longitudinal axis extending from the front portion to the rear portion, the vehicle having an outer surface including a roof surface facing upwardly and a pair of opposed side surfaces extending downwardly from the roof surface, a vehicle cross section being defined in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, the area of the cross section in the rear portion being less than the area of the cross section in the mid portion; an airflow path being defined along at least a portion of the roof surface and each side surface of the body such that when the vehicle moves along the longitudinal axis in a forward direction, air flows along the airflow paths, at least a portion of each airflow path being generally parallel to the longitudinal axis; a fan housing having an inlet and an outlet, the fan housing inlet disposed so as to intersect the of airflow path along one of the surfaces of the body, a portion of the air flow flowing into the inlet, through the housing and out of the outlet; at least one passive, unpowered fan supported in the fan housing between the inlet and outlet such that as the portion of airflow flows through the housing, the fan is caused to spin about a fan axis, thereby creating a flow of spinning air that generally rotates about an outlet axis as the air flows out of the outlet, the outlet axis being directed inwardly towards the central plane of the vehicle body such that the flow of spinning air from the outlet converges inwardly. 2. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein a laminar flow zone is defined along at least a portion of the side surface of the vehicle body where the flow of air is generally laminar and a turbulent flow zone is defined adjacent the rear portion of the vehicle body where the flow of air is generally turbulent, the inlet of the fan housing receiving a flow of air from the laminar zone and the outlet of the fan housing directing the spinning outlet flow towards the turbulent zone. 3. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the fan housing is disposed on the vehicle body and the fan housing inlet extends at least partially from the side surface of the vehicle so as to intersect the air flow path. 4. The vehicle of claim 3, wherein the fan housing is curved and the outlet is directed inwardly toward the central plane. 5. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the fan housings are integral with the vehicle body. 6. The vehicle of claim 5, wherein the inlet is an opening in the side of the vehicle body and the outlet is an opening in the rear portion of the vehicle. 7. The vehicle of claim 5, wherein the vehicle has a buttress extending from adjacent the roof surface downwardly and rearwardly to the rear portion, the inlet being an opening under the front of the buttress and the outlet being an opening at the rear of the buttress. 8. The vehicle of claim 5, wherein the fan housings are integral with the rear portion of the vehicle body. 9. The vehicle as set forth in claim 5, wherein the fan is disposed behind a grill-covered inlet integral with a rear quarter panel of the vehicle. 10. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the fan housing includes a side-mounted scoop that forms the inlet for directing airflow into the housing. 11. The vehicle as set forth in claim 1, wherein the fan housing is defined below a spoiler mounted to the rear end of the vehicle. 12. The vehicle as set forth in claim 1, wherein the fan axis is nonparallel with the longitudinal axis of the vehicle. 13. The vehicle as set forth in claim 12, including a pair of fan housings disposed on opposite sides of the vehicle in a generally symmetrically opposite manner, the fan axes each extending rearwardly and inwardly toward the central plane. 14. The vehicle as set forth in claim 1, including a plurality of fans each supported on the same fan axis. 15. The vehicle as set forth in claim 1, wherein the vehicle body has an area where the cross sectional area is greatest, the fan housing being disposed rearwardly of the area of largest cross sectional area. 16. The vehicle as set forth in claim 1, wherein the fan housing is disposed above a belt line of the vehicle.
이 특허에 인용된 특허 (7)
-
Masoero Marco (Fiano ITX) Garrone Angelo (Cascine Vica-Rivoli ITX), Device for preventing the rear light units of motor vehicles from becoming dirty.
-
Lechner Anton,DEX, Device for reducing the aerodynamic resistance of a vehicle preferably a utility vehicle.
-
Johnson Nikia Deshawn, Exhaust pipe extension.
-
Geropp Dieter (Wilnsdorf/Obersdorf DEX), Process and device for reducing the drag in the rear region of a vehicle, for example, a road or rail vehicle or the lik.
-
Shahbazi,Khosrow, Systems, methods, and media for reducing the aerodynamic drag of vehicles.
-
Townend Lionel Henry,GBX ITX GU 336NS, Vehicle aerodynamic stability device.
-
Garcia,Martin Lee, Vehicle spoiler with spinner mechanism.
이 특허를 인용한 특허 (3)
-
Wolf, Thomas, Air guiding device and method for operating the same.
-
Praskovsky, Alexander; Praskovskaya, Eleanor; Praskovsky, Andrew, Device, assembly, and system for reducing aerodynamic drag.
-
Prentice, Michael, Dynamically-supported movable downforce-generating underbody in a motor vehicle.
※ AI-Helper는 부적절한 답변을 할 수 있습니다.