2247results about "Vehicle body stabilisation" patented technology

A device for a vehicle with a pair of swinging rear doors, which converts flat sheets of pliable material hinged to the sides of the vehicle adjacent the rear thereof into effective curved airfoils that reduce the aerodynamic resistance of the vehicle, when the doors are closed by hand, utilizing a plurality of stiffeners disposed generally parallel to the doors and affixed to the sheets and a plurality of collapsible tension bearings struts attached to each stiffener and the adjacent door.

A skirt panel is provided herein for interconnection to another abutted similar skirt panel for attachment beneath a lower, outer longitudinally-extending edge of a trailer including a rear wheel assembly of a tractor-trailer rig, thereby to provide a continuous fairing extending downwardly from the trailer. The skirt panel includes a monolithic, generally-rectangular composite reinforced thermoplastic structure, having vertical lateral side edges configured and arranged for connection to associated vertical lateral side edges of abutting similar skirt panels. This provides a longitudinally-extending fairing for extending contiguously on each side of the trailer, a front face of the thermoplastic structure being provided with a plurality of longitudinally-extending, vertically-spaced-apart arcuate protrusions. The outer face of the thermoplastic panel preferably also is provided with dimples. The reinforcing comprising a panel secured to an inner face of the skirt panel and is provided with laterally-extending means whereby abutting skirt panels are secured to one another; whereby, when said fairing is secured to a lower portion of said trailer, the fairing extends downwardly from the trailer to from 60% to 80% of the distance to the road, so that a portion of any impinging air is directed laterally around the wheels of the rear wheel bogeys to reduce the aerodynamic drag of the trailer and of the wheel assembly.

A transporter that includes a platform for supporting a load and at least one primary ground-contacting element. The transporter includes an actuator for applying torque to the at least one primary ground-contacting element for propelling the transporter with respect to a surface. The transporter also includes a controller for controlling the actuator, the controller includes an input for receiving specification by a user of a desired direction of travel based on a position of a member with respect to a fiducial axis, a differentiator for calculating a rate of change of the position of the member with respect to the fiducial axis, and a processor for generating a yaw command signal based at least on the position of the member and the rate of change of the position of the member which is weighted based on the level of experience of the user.

A device for reducing vehicle aerodynamic resistance for vehicles having a generally rectangular body disposed above rear wheels, comprising a plurality of load bearing struts attached to the bottom of the rectangular body adjacent its sides, a plurality of opposing flat sheets attached to the load bearing struts, and angled flaps attached to the lower edge of the opposing sheets defining an obtuse angle with the opposing flat sheets extending inwardly with respect to the sides of the rectangular body to a predetermined height above the ground, which, stiffen the opposing flat sheets, bend to resist damage when struck by the ground, and guide airflow around the rear wheels of the vehicle to reduce its aerodynamic resistance when moving.

An apparatus for reducing the aerodynamic drag of a wheeled vehicle in a flowstream, the vehicle having a vehicle body and a wheel assembly supporting the vehicle body. The apparatus includes a baffle assembly adapted to be positioned upstream of the wheel assembly for deflecting airflow away from the wheel assembly so as to reduce the incident pressure on the wheel assembly.

The present invention relates to an aerodynamic drag reducing system for land vehicles, in particular semi-tractor trailers. The drag reducing system includes a selectively removable frame and a drag reduction member. The selectively removable frame can adapt to conform to at least one of the width or height of the land vehicle, and can be secured thereto by a securement assembly. In one embodiment, the drag reducing system can be folded and collapsed for compact storage. The drag reducing system can be easily and quickly secured to the back end of a semi-tractor trailer without tools and without requiring that any permanent modifications be made to the trailer. In one embodiment, drag reducing system includes a hinge joint assembly to facilitate installation, removal, and repositioning of drag reducing system.

An apparatus and method for transporting a payload over a surface is provided. A vehicle supports a payload with a support partially enclosed by an enclosure. Two laterally disposed ground-contacting elements are coupled to at least one of the enclosure or support. A motorized drive is coupled to the ground-contacting elements. A controller coupled to the drive governs the operation of the drive at least in response to the position of the center of gravity of the vehicle to dynamically control balancing of the vehicle.

A controller for providing user input of a desired direction of motion or orientation for a transporter. The controller has an input for receiving specification by a user of a value based on a detected body orientation of the user. User-specified input may be conveyed by the user using any of a large variety of input modalities, including: ultrasonic body position sensing; foot force sensing; handlebar lean; active handlebar; mechanical sensing of body position; and linear slide directional input. An apparatus that may include an active handlebar is provided for prompting a rider to be positioned on a vehicle in such a manner as to reduce lateral instability due to lateral acceleration of the vehicle.

Configurations are provided for vehicular robots or other vehicles to provide shifting of their centers of gravity for enhanced obstacle navigation. Various head and neck morphologies are provided to allow positioning for various poses such as a stowed pose, observation poses, and inspection poses. Neck extension and actuator module designs are provided to implement various head and neck morphologies. Robot control network circuitry is also provided.

A fuel-efficient tractor-trailer system for improving the fuel mileage of a tractor-trailer combination by improving the air resistance that occurs in the area between the rear of the tractor and the front of the semi-trailer. The fuel-efficient tractor-trailer system provides an improved roof extension, which automatically raises when the tractor is put into reverse gear and an improved wheel mechanism for assisting the side extensions to slide around the semi-trailer ends when the tractor-trailer is turning. The fuel-efficient tractor-trailer system requires only modification to the tractor and not the trailer.

A controller for providing user input of a desired direction of motion or orientation for a transporter. The controller has an input for receiving specification by a user of a value based on a detected body orientation of the user. User-specified input may be conveyed by the user using any of a large variety of input modalities, including: ultrasonic body position sensing; foot force sensing; handlebar lean; active handlebar; mechanical sensing of body position; and linear slide directional input. An apparatus that may include an active handlebar is provided for prompting a rider to be positioned on a vehicle in such a manner as to reduce lateral instability due to lateral acceleration of the vehicle.

A combination of vehicle fairing structures forming a fairing system having a front end structure, a rear end structure, and first and second side structures, for optimizing the aerodynamic profile of vehicles, especially tractor-trailer combinations.

A vehicle side fairing having a first fairing panel fixedly secured to the underside of a trailer box, and a second fairing panel slidable mounted to plural cylindrical bars mounted on the underside of the trailer box in a fore and aft orientation. The second fairing panel is secured to the wheel set with a mechanical fastener that selectively joins and releases the second fairing panel and the wheel set.

A traveling apparatus suitable for use in a two-wheeled traveling vehicle on which a man rides, and a method for controlling thereof, are provided. An abrupt turn, which can make a rider fall down, is prevented, and stable traveling is obtained without fail. Specifically, the apparatus and method efficiently charge regenerative energy that is generated when decelerating or traveling on a downward slope. The apparatus and method include motors for driving a plurality of wheels independently, a chassis for connecting the plurality of wheels, in which sensors for detecting a shift of barycenter of a rider are provided, and a controller for restricting a rotational velocity of each of the plurality of wheels to a predetermined limited value, wherein turning is performed in accordance with the shift of a barycentric position.

An air deflection apparatus for reduction of vehicular air drag comprises at least one air deflection element coupled to a rear portion of the vehicle but not to the rear-facing surface of the vehicle or, in other embodiments, at least one air deflection element coupled to a rear portion of the vehicle but not to any rear door which the vehicle may have. The air deflection elements are displaceable, preferably in unison, between a retracted position and at least one deployed position in which the air deflection elements intersect with the air flowing around the top and sides, and preferably also the bottom, of the vehicle, and in which they divert that airflow in a manner that enhances the aerodynamic characteristics of the vehicle and thereby improves its fuel economy, resulting in a reduction in fuel cost. The air deflection elements may be deployed and retracted manually, or remotely with powered assistance, or under microprocessor control, with the latter allowing for optimal positioning of the air deflection elements based either on pre-stored values, or on values derived, utilizing an optional feedback mechanism, from real-time vehicular speed and fuel consumption data. Vehicles equipped with the apparatus, and methods of reducing vehicular air drag using the apparatus, are also disclosed.

A wheel fairing and preferably a set of wheel fairings for reducing aerodynamic drag caused by the left-side and right side wheel sets of a rear wheel assembly supporting a trailer body at its rear end. The fairing body includes a tapered aerodynamic surface with a substantially U-shaped cross-section that tapers from a second end to a first end, and a base surface at the second end with a substantially same dimensional profile as one of the left-side or right-side wheel sets. Fasteners or other mounting devices secure each fairing body to an underside of the trailer body either upstream (as a nose fairing) or downstream (as a tail fairing) of the rear wheel assembly so that the second end is adjacent to an exposed rolling surface of the left-side or right side wheel set.

An airflow control device comprises a body and an active material in operative communication with the body. The active material, such as shape memory material, is operative to change at least one attribute in response to an activation signal. The active material can change its shape, dimensions and / or stiffness producing a change in at least one feature of the airflow control device such as shape, dimension, location, orientation, and / or stiffness to control vehicle airflow to better suit changes in driving conditions such as weather, ground clearance and speed, while reducing maintenance and the level of failure modes. As such, the device reduces vehicle damage due to inadequate ground clearance, while increasing vehicle stability and fuel economy. An activation device, controller and sensors may be employed to further control the change in at least one feature of the airflow control device such as shape, dimension, location, orientation, and / or stiffness of the device. A method for controlling vehicle airflow selectively introduces an activation signal to initiate a change of at least one feature of the device that can be reversed upon discontinuation of the activation signal.