Aerodynamic trailer system with dual stiffness skirt

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10994791-B2
Application number	US-201716339620-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 14, 2017
Priority date	Nov 22, 2016
Publication date	May 4, 2021
Grant date	May 4, 2021

Abstract

An aerodynamic trailer system is provided that has a skirt support member with a trailer attachment that attaches the skirt support member to a trailer. The skirt support member has a skirt attachment that attaches the skirt support member to a skirt. The skirt has a height that extends in a vertical direction of the aerodynamic trailer system. The skirt has an upper side, a lower side, a front side, and a rear side. The skirt also has a lower section that extends in the vertical direction from the lower side to an attachment location with the skirt attachment. The skirt has an upper section that extends in the vertical direction from the attachment location to the upper side. The lower section has a higher bending stiffness than the upper section.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An aerodynamic trailer system, comprising:
a skirt support member, wherein the skirt support member has a trailer attachment that attaches the skirt support member to a trailer, wherein the skirt support member has a skirt attachment that attaches the skirt support member to a skirt; and
the skirt that has a length and a height, wherein the height extends in a vertical direction of the aerodynamic trailer system, wherein the skirt has an upper side, a lower side, a front side, and a rear side, wherein the skirt has a lower section that extends in the vertical direction from the lower side to an attachment location with the skirt attachment, wherein the skirt has an upper section that extends in the vertical direction from the attachment location to the upper side, wherein the lower section has a higher bending stiffness than the upper section such that the upper section from the attachment location to the upper side in the vertical direction is more flexible than the lower section from the attachment location to the lower side in the vertical direction, wherein the upper section is above the lower section;
wherein the difference in bending stiffness between the lower section and the upper section is achieved by a difference in size between the upper section and lower section, a difference in material composition between the upper section and lower section, or a combination of both difference in size and difference in material composition;
wherein the skirt support member has an elongate element that slides relative to the skirt attachment such that a bottom end of the elongate element is a free end and is free from engagement with the skirt attachment and slides below the skirt attachment so as to be located completely below both the skirt attachment and the attachment location in the vertical direction.

2. The aerodynamic trailer system as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the sizes are different such that a thickness of the lower section is greater than a thickness of the upper section.

3. The aerodynamic trailer system as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the material compositions are different such that the material making up the upper section has a lower bending stiffness than the material making up the lower section.

4. The aerodynamic trailer system as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the skirt support member has a length that extends in a longitudinal direction of the aerodynamic trailer system, wherein the length of the skirt extends in the longitudinal direction of the aerodynamic trailer system, wherein the lower section and upper section have lengths in the longitudinal direction of the aerodynamic trailer system that are the same distances as the length of the skirt support member.

5. The aerodynamic trailer system as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the lower section extends from the front side to the rear side, and wherein the upper section extends from the front side to the rear side.

6. The aerodynamic trailer system as set forth in claim 1 , further comprising multiple additional skirt support members that are attached to the trailer and that are attached to the skirt.

7. The aerodynamic trailer system as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the skirt is made of multiple skirt central panels, a rear trailer skirt panel, and a front trailer skirt panel, wherein the lower section and the upper section are located at one of the multiple skirt central panels.

8. The aerodynamic trailer system as set forth in claim 1 , wherein a length of the upper section in the vertical direction is greater than a length of the lower section in the vertical direction.

9. The aerodynamic trailer system as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the upper section and the lower section define a single planar section that extends from the upper side to the lower side through the upper section and the lower section in the vertical direction.

10. The aerodynamic trailer system as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the upper section has a smaller radius of curvature before plastic deformation of the upper section than the lower section's radius of curvature before plastic deformation of the lower section.

11. The aerodynamic trailer system as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the elongate element extends from the trailer attachment to the skirt attachment, wherein the skirt attachment is a bracket through which the elongate element slides when the skirt is impacted and deflected, wherein when the skirt is impacted and deflected the elongate element moves to a location lower than the attachment location in the vertical direction.

12. The aerodynamic trailer system as set forth in claim 11 , wherein the elongate element resists bending by having a first bending modulus, wherein when sufficient force is applied to overcome the first bending modulus the elongate element buckles without plastic deformation to a buckled configuration at which time the elongate element resists additional bending by having a second bending modulus.

13. An aerodynamic trailer system, comprising:
a skirt support member, wherein the skirt support member has a trailer attachment that attaches the skirt support member to a trailer, wherein the skirt support member has a skirt attachment that attaches the skirt support member to a skirt; and
the skirt that has a length and a height, wherein the height extends in a vertical direction of the aerodynamic trailer system, wherein the skirt has an upper side, a lower side, a front side, and a rear side, wherein the skirt has a lower section that extends in the vertical direction from the lower side to an attachment location with the skirt attachment, wherein the skirt has an upper section that extends in the vertical direction from the attachment location to the upper side, wherein the lower section has a higher bending stiffness than the upper section such that the upper section from the attachment location to the upper side in the vertical direction is more flexible than the lower section from the attachment location to the lower side in the vertical direction, wherein the upper section is above the lower section;
wherein the difference in bending stiffness between the lower section and the upper section is achieved by a difference in size between the upper section and lower section, a difference in material composition between the upper section and lower section, or a combination of both difference in size and difference in material composition;
wherein the skirt support member has an elongate element that extends from the trailer attachment to the skirt attachment, wherein the skirt attachment is a bracket through which the elongate element slides when the skirt is impacted and deflected, wherein when the skirt is impacted and deflected the elongate element moves to a location lower than the attachment location in the vertical direction;
wherein the elongate element comprising a plurality of sheets of spring steel that are V-shaped wherein at least some of the plurality of sheets are open towards one another.

14. The aerodynamic trailer system as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the sizes are different such that the lower section has ridges that are not present at the upper section.

Assignees

• Michelin & Cie

Inventors

• Bradley Calvin Rhett

Classifications

• B62D35/001 Primary

  For commercial vehicles or tractor-trailer combinations, e.g. caravans · CPC title

• B62D35/008

  Side spoilers (B62D35/001 takes precedence) · CPC title

• B60R19/565

  on vehicle sides · CPC title

• F16M13/02

  for supporting on, or attaching to, an object, e.g. tree, gate, window-frame, cycle · CPC title

• B62D35/02

  Streamlining the undersurfaces {(B62D35/005, B62D35/007, B62D35/008 take precedence)} · CPC title