초록 ▼

A road haulage trailer (810) has tail deflectors (896) for directing air flow to a region (829) behind the trailer during forward movement of the trailer. The tail deflectors (896) protrude from the sides (822) of the trailer and extend beyond the rear end (825) of the trailer. The deflectors (896)

A road haulage trailer (810) has tail deflectors (896) for directing air flow to a region (829) behind the trailer during forward movement of the trailer. The tail deflectors (896) protrude from the sides (822) of the trailer and extend beyond the rear end (825) of the trailer. The deflectors (896) define a guide surface that is angled or curved towards a region (829) behind the rear end (825) of the trailer (810) and is a continuation of the side (22) of the trailer.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A road haulage trailer comprising: a roof, a front end, a rear end, and two side faces extending between the front and rear ends; wherein the trailer is provided with tail deflectors for directing air flow to a region behind the trailer during forward movement of the trailer;wherein a first of sa

1. A road haulage trailer comprising: a roof, a front end, a rear end, and two side faces extending between the front and rear ends; wherein the trailer is provided with tail deflectors for directing air flow to a region behind the trailer during forward movement of the trailer;wherein a first of said tail deflectors protrudes from one of said side faces, and a second of said tail deflectors protrudes from the other of said side faces;further wherein each tail deflector extends rearwardly beyond the rear end of the trailer, and includes an air guide surface on an outer surface of each tail deflector extending from a respective side wall of the trailer and having a rear portion angled or curved towards a region behind the rear end of the trailer;wherein a forward-most leading portion of the outer surface of each tail deflector defines a convex curved surface extending from the respective side face of the trailer, wherein a convex curve of the convex curved surface extends from a forward-most leading edge of the outer surface of each tail deflector;wherein the convex curve has a radius of curvature that increases from a minimum at the forward-most leading edge of the outer surface of each tail deflector to a maximum at a rearward-most end of the outer surface of each tail deflector;a plurality of vortex generators provided on each tail deflector, wherein each of the plurality of vortex generators defines an air flow path starting proximate the maximum radius of curvature of the convex curve and extending towards the rearward-most end of each tail deflector. 2. The road haulage trailer according to claim 1, wherein the forward most leading edge of each tail deflector defines a continuation of the respective side face of the trailer, such that there is no spacing between the side faces of the trailer and a leading edge of each tail deflector. 3. The road haulage trailer according to claim 2, wherein the trailer defines a longitudinal axis extending in a direction between said front and rear ends and parallel with said side faces, and wherein the forward-most leading edge of each tail deflector protrudes outwardly from a respective side face of the trailer in a lateral direction away from said longitudinal axis. 4. The road haulage trailer according to claim 3, wherein the rear portion of each guide surface is configured for directing air inwardly of a plane coaxial with a respective side face of the trailer. 5. The road haulage trailer according to claim 1, wherein each tail deflector protrudes in a lateral direction away from respective side wall by a distance greater than or equal to 50 mm. 6. The road haulage trailer according to claim 1, wherein each vortex generator defines a wishbone shaped duct recessed in the outer surface of each tail deflector. 7. The road haulage trailer according to claim 6, wherein each duct has a base that slopes in a direction towards the rear end of the container. 8. The road haulage trailer according to claim 1, wherein each deflector is mounted via a mechanism configured to allow the deflector to fold on to the rear end of the trailer, or configured to allow the deflector to fold on to the respective side face of the trailer. 9. The road haulage trailer according to claim 1, wherein the orientation of each guide surface is adjustable dependent upon the road speed of the trailer. 10. The road haulage trailer according to claim 1, wherein the outer surface of each tail deflector is a planar surface in a region immediately behind the convex curved surface. 11. The road haulage trailer according to claim 10, wherein the planar surface extends from the region immediately behind the convex curved surface to the rearward-most end of the tail deflector. 12. The road haulage trailer according to claim 1, wherein each tail deflector extends rearwardly beyond the rear end of the trailer by approximately 500 mm. 13. A road haulage trailer comprising: a roof, a front end, a rear end, and two side faces extending between the front and rear ends; andtail deflectors for directing air flow to a region behind the trailer during forward movement of the trailer,wherein a first of said tail deflectors protrudes from one of said side faces, and a second of said tail deflectors protrudes from the other of said side faces,wherein each tail deflector extends rearwardly beyond the rear end of the trailer, and includes an air guide surface on an outer surface of each tail deflector extending from a respective side wall of the trailer,wherein a forward-most leading portion of the outer surface of each tail deflector is curved,a planar rear portion extends immediately behind said curved leading portion, wherein the planar portion is angled towards a region behind the rear end of the trailer, andwherein a plurality of vortex generators are provided on the planar portion of each tail deflector, wherein each vortex generator extends over a full length of the planar rear portion in a forward-rearward direction, and wherein each of the plurality of vortex generators have a neck on the planar portion proximate said curved leading portion and a wider region extending towards the region behind the rear end of the trailer. 14. The road haulage trailer according to claim 13, wherein a rear end of the vortex generators terminate at a rear edge of the tail deflectors. 15. The road haulage trailer according to claim 13, wherein each vortex generator defines a wishbone shaped duct recessed in the outer surface of each tail deflector. 16. A road haulage trailer comprising: a roof, a front end, a rear end, and two side faces extending between the front and rear ends; andtail deflectors for directing air flow to a region behind the trailer during forward movement of the trailer,wherein a first of said tail deflectors protrudes from one of said side faces, and a second of said tail deflectors protrudes from the other of said side faces,further wherein each tail deflector extends rearwardly beyond the rear end of the trailer, and includes an air guide surface on an outer surface of each tail deflector extending from a respective side wall of the trailer,wherein a forward-most leading portion of the outer surface of each tail deflector is curved,a rear portion extends immediately behind said curved leading portion that is angled or curved towards a region behind the rear end of the trailer, andwherein a plurality of vortex generators are provided on each tail deflector, wherein each vortex generator extends in a forward-rearward direction over three quarters of a length of the rear portion, and wherein each of the plurality of vortex generators are recessed such that walls of the vortex generators start proximate said curved leading portion and sloped towards the region behind the rear end of the trailer. 17. The road haulage trailer according to claim 16, wherein each vortex generator defines a wishbone shaped duct recessed in the outer surface of each tail deflector.