초록 ▼

Adjustable aerodynamic devices are controlled to control the drag on a vehicle. In one form, control is accomplished in response to pressure from a plurality of pressure sensors. In another form, control is accomplished in response to air movement measurements, such as of wind speed and direction at

Adjustable aerodynamic devices are controlled to control the drag on a vehicle. In one form, control is accomplished in response to pressure from a plurality of pressure sensors. In another form, control is accomplished in response to air movement measurements, such as of wind speed and direction at a location that a vehicle has yet to reach. In another form, the position and location of air vortices between a cab and trailer can be determined and adjusted to adjust the drag by controlling aerodynamic devices.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A vehicle comprising: a cab comprising a rear wall;at least one adjustable aerodynamic device coupled to the cab and comprising at least one movable air deflector portion movable relative to the cab to vary the air pressure behind the rear wall in response to movement of the air deflector;a defle

1. A vehicle comprising: a cab comprising a rear wall;at least one adjustable aerodynamic device coupled to the cab and comprising at least one movable air deflector portion movable relative to the cab to vary the air pressure behind the rear wall in response to movement of the air deflector;a deflector adjuster coupled to the air deflector portion and comprising at least one input for receiving pressure signals from pressure sensors that measure the pressure rearwardly of the rear wall of the cab, the deflector adjuster being responsive to the pressure signals to adjust the position of the air deflector portion relative to the rear wall of the cab in response to the pressure signals to adjust the pressure behind the rear wall and thereby adjust the drag on the vehicle;a tractor supporting the cab and a trailer coupled to the tractor for towing by the tractor, the trailer including a front surface;the pressure sensors comprising at least one array of trailer supported pressure sensors coupled to a front surface of the trailer with each pressure sensor being operable to measure the pressure of air adjacent to the location of the pressure sensor and to produce a pressure signal corresponding to the measured pressure, at least two of the pressure sensors being coupled to the front wall of the trailer on opposite sides of the longitudinal center line of the trailer; andthe deflector adjuster being responsive to the pressure signals from the array of pressure sensors to adjust the movable air deflector portion. 2. The vehicle of claim 1, further comprising at least one pressure sensor coupled to the rear wall of the cab. 3. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the front wall of the trailer has first and second corners and the array of pressure sensors comprises first and second sets of plural pressure sensors in a common horizontal plane with the first set of pressure sensors being adjacent to the first corner and the second set of pressure sensors being adjacent to the second corner. 4. A vehicle according to claim 3, wherein the first set of pressure sensors comprises a first pressure sensor positioned adjacent to a respective side of the trailer adjacent to the first corner, a second pressure sensor positioned at the front of the trailer adjacent to the first corner and a third pressure sensor positioned intermediate to the first and second pressure sensors adjacent to the first corner; and wherein the second set of pressure sensors comprises a first pressure sensor positioned adjacent to the side of the trailer adjacent to the second corner, a second pressure sensor positioned at the front of the trailer adjacent to the second corner and a third pressure sensor positioned intermediate to the first and second sensors adjacent to the second corner. 5. The vehicle of claim 3, wherein the deflector adjuster comprises a controller operable to determine a pressure distribution gradient across the respective sets of pressure sensors. 6. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the array of pressure sensors comprise plural pressure sensors coupled to the front of the trailer with at least some of the pressure sensors being at different elevations and at different transverse spacings. 7. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the array of sensors comprises plural pressure sensors in a common vertical plane intersecting the longitudinal center line of the trailer. 8. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the air deflector adjuster is operable to adjust at least one of the aerodynamic devices while the vehicle is traveling in response to changing air pressure measurements by the pressure sensors. 9. The vehicle of claim 1, comprising pressure sensors coupled to the rear wall, the pressure sensors coupled to the rear wall and the pressure sensors of the array being positioned such that the air deflector adjuster is operable to determine the position and magnitude of one or more vortices located in a gap between a front of the trailer and rear wall of the tractor. 10. The vehicle of claim 9, wherein the at least one aerodynamic device comprises first and second side extenders, the air deflector adjuster being operable to adjust the first and second side extenders to adjust the magnitudes of the vortices relative to one another and the positions of the vortices relative to the tractor and trailer. 11. The vehicle of claim 10, wherein the array of pressure sensors further comprises a plurality of pressure sensors positioned across a rear surface of the tractor and a plurality of pressure sensors positioned across the front surface of the trailer and wherein the air deflector adjuster is operable to determine and the adjust fore-aft positioning of the vortices between the front surface of the trailer and rear surface of the tractor and is also operable to determine and adjust the side-to-side positioning of the vortices. 12. A vehicle comprising: a cab comprising a rear wall;at least one adjustable aerodynamic device coupled to the cab and comprising at least one movable air deflector portion movable relative to the cab to vary the air pressure behind the rear wall in response to movement of the air deflector; andan air deflector adjuster coupled to the movable air deflector portion and comprising at least one input for receiving pressure indicating signals from pressure sensors that measure the pressure rearwardly of the rear wall of the cab, the air deflector adjuster being responsive to the pressure indicating signals to adjust the position of the air deflector portion relative to the rear wall of the cab in response to the pressure signals to adjust the pressure behind the rear wall and thereby adjust the drag on the vehicle;wherein the movable air deflector portion comprises a deformable frame supporting a skin, the deformable frame being distorted by the air deflector adjuster to deform the frame to contort the skin to thereby move the air deflector portion. 13. The vehicle of claim 12, wherein the skin comprises a resilient material. 14. The vehicle of claim 12, wherein the deformable frame is deformed to contort the skin based on the cross-sectional shape of the trailer. 15. A vehicle comprising; a cab comprising a rear wall;a first side extender projecting rearwardly from the cab with at least a portion of the first side extender projecting rearwardly of the rear wall at a first side of the longitudinal axis of the cab, a second side extender projecting rearwardly from the cab with at least a portion of the second side extender projecting rearwardly of the rear wall of the cab at a second side of the longitudinal axis of the cab opposite to the first side of the longitudinal axis, the first side extender comprising a respective first movable air deflector portion and the second side extender comprising a second movable air deflector portion;an air deflector position controller coupled to the first and second air deflector portions and being operable to control the positions of the first and second air deflector portions;plural pressure sensors positioned to sense pressures between the cab and the front wall of a trailer upon towing of the trailer by the cab, the pressure sensors providing pressure signals indicating the location of first and second wind vortices that are established between the rear wall of the cab and front wall of the trailer as the cab travels in a forward direction at sufficient speed to generate the wind vortices; andthe air deflector position controller being operable to control the position of the first and second air deflectors to adjust the position of the vortices in response to the pressure signals. 16. A vehicle according to claim 15, wherein the air deflector position controller adjusts the positions of the first and second air deflectors in response to pressure signals to cause the vortices to be positioned on opposite sides of the longitudinal center line of the cab. 17. A vehicle according to claim 16, wherein the air deflector position controller adjusts the positions of the first and second air deflectors in response to pressure signals to cause the vortices to be positioned substantially the same distance from the longitudinal center line of the cab and substantially the same distance from the rear wall of the cab and the front wall of the towed trailer. 18. A vehicle according to claim 17, wherein the air deflector position controller adjusts the positions of the first and second air deflectors in response to signals to adjust the size of the vortices to be substantially the same. 19. A vehicle according to claim 15, wherein the air deflector position controller adjusts the positions of the first and second air deflectors in response to pressure signals to adjust the size of the vortices in response to pressure signals to be substantially the same. 20. A vehicle according to claim 15 in combination with a towed trailer. 21. A vehicle comprising: a first side extender coupled to the vehicle and comprising a first air deflector;a second side extender coupled to the vehicle and comprising a second air deflector;an air motion sensor coupled to the vehicle, the air motion sensor being operable to measure the speed and direction of wind at a location remote from the vehicle, the air motion sensor having an output at which at least one wind indicating output signal is provided that indicates the wind speed and direction;a control system coupled in signal communication with the first and second side extenders and the air motion sensor, the control system being operable to adjust the position of the first and second air deflectors in response to the at least one wind indicating output signal and thereby based on the measured remote air motion;wherein the control system is operable to shift one of the first and second air deflectors at the windward side of the vehicle outwardly to increase the angle between the air deflector and a line parallel to the longitudinal center line of the vehicle in response to an increase in measured wind speed. 22. The vehicle of claim 21, wherein the control system is operable to shift the one of the first and second air deflectors at the leeward side of the vehicle inwardly to decrease the angle between the air deflector and a line parallel to the longitudinal center line of the vehicle in response to an increase in the wind speed at the windward side of the vehicle. 23. The vehicle of claim 22, wherein the control system is operative to adjust the angle of the air deflector at the windward side of the vehicle to a greater extent than the angle of the air deflector at the leeward side of the vehicle in response to an increase in wind speed. 24. A trailer comprising: a front wall;a plurality of pressure sensors coupled to the front wall of the trailer; andthe pressure sensors comprising first and second sets of plural sensors at each side of the longitudinal center line of the trailer, one such set of sensors being positioned adjacent to a first front corner of the trailer and a second such set of sensors being positioned adjacent to a second front corner of the trailer. 25. A method comprising: setting one or more aerodynamic devices coupled to a tractor to a preset configuration based on the shape of a trailer coupled to the tractor and based on the length of a gap between the tractor and the trailer, the preset configuration being selected from a database correlating aerodynamic device configurations, trailer shapes and gap sizes;while the tractor and trailer are traveling, measuring one or more of the air pressure adjacent to the tractor, the air pressure adjacent to the trailer and the air motion speed and angle relative to the longitudinal axis of the tractor at a location that the tractor and trailer have yet to reach; andadjusting the position of at least one of the one or more aerodynamic devices in response to at least one of the measured one or more of the air pressure adjacent to the tractor, the air pressure adjacent to the trailer and the air motion speed and angle relative to the longitudinal axis of the tractor at a location that the tractor and trailer have yet to reach.