GB2191160A

GB2191160A - Motor vehicle mud wings

Info

Publication number: GB2191160A
Application number: GB08706147A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Thomas Philip Charlesworth
Original assignee: NEVILLE CHARROLD Ltd
Current assignee: NEVILLE CHARROLD Ltd
Priority date: 1986-05-30
Filing date: 1987-03-16
Publication date: 1987-12-09
Also published as: GB8706147D0; GB8613235D0

Abstract

The mud wing comprises an arched underside panel 14 in which there are formed apertures 15 to allow water thrown up from the wheels to pass upwardly through the underside panel and along the top of the underside panel within a through-flow housing 16. The housing 16 is formed of three sections, a forward section (17, Figures 1 and 3) having an air inlet, a rear section (18) having a downwardly directed air/water outlet, and an intermediate section (19) of a length sufficient to interconnect the other sections. The apertures may be formed by slits (20, Figure 5) extending across the width of the panel 14. The width of the housing 16 may decrease in the downstream direction (Figure 4). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Mud wings This invention relates to mudwingsforfitting over the road wheels of motor vehicles in order to reduce spray thrown up by the wheels in wet weather.

It is a well known hazard in wet weather, aand es peciallyon motorways, that the wheels of a heavy lorrythrow-up very large quantities of spray behind and also laterally of the lorry, and this causes sub stantial problems to following and overtaking traffic, since the sudden impact of additional water on a windscreen can overload the clearing capacity ofthe windscreen wiper system, which may already be heavily loaded with direct rainfall on the windscreen.

There have been attempts to minimizetheform ation of foilowing spray curtains behind lorries, and these have involved the use of impact absorbing flaps, suspended from a wheel mud wing, which are arranged in the path of water ejected from the lorry tyres and which absorb some of the energy ofthe spray and direct the spray downwardly towards the road surface. However, it will be well recognised by all motoriststhatthese flaps only minimise the gene- ration of spray, and certainly do not completely solve the problem. Further, some of these flaps are formed by "mats" having projections or pips on theirsurfaces, but these do not prevent lateral dispersion of spray, and also tend to become clogged with debris in service, thereby reducing their effectiveness.

Furthermore, most flaps are made of rubber, and the arduous operating environment tends to age the flaps prematurely, so that all or part of a flap is liable tofall-offbyfailurealong a fatigue line of stress.

Therefore, there exists a need to provide a means for minimising wheel generated spray from motor vehicles in an effective manner, andyetwhich can be achieved relatively cheaply and simply and with a longer service life than is possible with existing designs of wheel flap.

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a method of converting an existing mud wing of a motorvehiclewhich includes a panel which extends over at least two wheels of the vehicle, so asto reduce the tendency for spray to be thrown-up by the wheels during wet weather, the method comprising forming apertures in the panel, and fitting a through-flow housing on the panel so as to define therewith a duct extending fore-and-aft along the panel and having an inlet opening which is enlarged as compared with the cross section ofthe remainder of the duct so that, during forward motion ofthevehicle, an airflowthrough the duct is ableto entrain water entering the duct via the apertures and to discharge the water as a downwardly directed stream via an open rear end ofthe duct, in which the housing is formed as three separate portions, a first ofwhich forms an inlet portion ofthe duct, a second of which forms an outlet portion ofthe duct and a third of which forms an intermediate portion of a length sufficient to intercobnectthe first and second portions.

Thus, the housing can be fabricated of modular form, in regard to thefirstand second portions, whereas the third portion will have a size dependent upon the particular mud wing to which the housing is to be attached. Thus, some vehicles have tandem rear axles, whereas other vehicles have triple axles, and the modular nature of the housing enables the housing to be fitted to either types of mud wing, in that the only variable item is the third (intermediate) portion. Therefore, the manufacturer of a conversion "kit", can provide a common design ofinlet (and outlet) portion to be used with all existing mud wings, and a range of intermediate portions of different lengths to suit the different types of mud wing, i.e.

two orthree wheeled versions.

According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided a mud wing for fitting over at least one road wheel of a motor vehicle and comprising an arched portion formed by an underside panel arranged to extend over the wheel and to leave the outer side face of the wheel su bstantiai Iy uncovered, apertures formed in the underside panel to allow, in use, waterthrown-up by the rotary wheel over which the mud wing is fitted to pass upwardly through the underside panel, and an upperthrough-flow housing fitted on the underside panel so as to form therewith a duct extending fore-and-aft along the panel so that, during forward motion ofthe vehicle, an airflow through the duct is able to entrain water entering the duct via the apertures and to discharge the water as a downwardly directed stream via an open rear end of the duct, in which the housing is formed asthreesep- arate poritions, one of which forms an inlet portion of the duct and another of which forms an outlet portion ofthe duct, and a third of which forms an intermediate portion of a length sufficientto interconnect the first and second portions.

The apertures maytake the form of a number of small holes, but preferably they comprise a number of slits each extending across the width of the panel, each slit being preceded by a flap formed by pressing the edge of the panel adjacent the slit upwardly and towards the rear of the panel.

The housing may be of uniform width along its length, but preferably its width decreases towards the rear of the housing.

The invention will now be described in more detail, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which: Figure lisa perspective view, from one side and facing slightly towards the rear of a mud wing according to the invention and mounted overatandem rear axle of a motorvehicle; Figure2 is a side view of the mud wing; Figure 3 is an exploded view ofthe component parts ofthe mud wing shown in Figures 1 and 2, but mounted over a triple axle; Figure 4 is a perspective view of the housing forming part of an alternative embodiment ofthe mud wing; and Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of a further alternative embodiment of the mud wing.

Referring nowt the drawing, a mud wing according to the invention is designated generally by reference 10 and is mounted on the chassis of a lorry, as indicated diagrammatically by reference 11. A tandem rear axle has a pair of wheels 12 over which extends an arched portion 13 ofthe mud wing and which includes a underside panel 14 (the purpose of which will be described in more detail below) which extends in a generally horizontal, but slightly upwardly curved configuration over the wheels 12. A flap 14a may be provided on the trailing edge ofthe panel 14 in known manner.

Aswill be described in more detail below,thereis disclosed herein a method of converting an existing mud wing of a motor vehicle which includes a panel which extends over at least two wheels of the vehicle, so asto reducethetendencyfor sprayto be thrown-up by the wheels during wet weather.The method comprises forming apertures in the panel, and fitting a through-flow housing on the panel so as to define therewith a duct extending fore-and-aft along the panel and having an inlet opening which is enlarged as compared with the cross section of the remainder ofthe duct so that, during forward motion ofthe vehicle, an airflow through the duct is able to entrain water entering the duct via the apertures and to discharge the water as a downwardly directed stream via an open rear end ofthe duct. Furthermore, the housing is formed as three separate portions, a first of which forms an inlet portion ofthe duct, a second of which forms an outlet portion of the duct and a third of which forms an intermediate por tion of a length sufficient to interconnect the first and second portions.

Thus,themidwing 13, and the panel 14maycom- prise an existing mud wing of a motor vehicle, which is required to be converted so asto generate less spray during wetweather. Apertures areformed in the underside panel 14, and then a through-flow housing 16 is fitted on the mud wing 13 so as to overlie the panel 14. These apertures may take the form of holes 15 as shown in Figure 3, oralternatively slits, 20 each extending across the width ofthe panel 14 and being preceded by a flap 21 which is formed by the edge ofthe panel adjacenttheslit being forced upwards so that itfaces towards the rear ofthe panel.The housing 16 forms a throughflow duct with the underside panel 14, and comprises a first portion 17 which forms the inlet portion ofthe duct, a second portion 18 which forms the outlet portion of the duct, and a third portion 19which forms the intermediate portion which interconnects the first and second portions 17 and 18. In view ofthe enlarged opening provided by the first portion 17, a venturi effect is created within the duct, during forward motion ofthe vehicle in the direction of the arrowX, and this causes water thrown upwardly by thewheels 12to passthroughtheapertures 15or21 into the duct, and then to be conveyed rearwardly along the ductfor discharge via the outlet portion 18.

This venturi effect is further enhanced by reducing the width of the housing 16towardsthe rear of the housing, as shown in Figure 4. Figures 1 and 2 show the arrangement of the housing 1 6for a tandem rear axle, whereas Figure 3 shows an arrangement for a triple rear axle.

The first portion 17, and also the second portion 18,willbeofcommondesignforall mudwings which are to be converted, whereas the intermediate portion 19will be provided in a range of sizes, to suit different lengths of the underside panel 14, in order to interconnect the inlet and outlet portions 17 and 18.

Itwill be noted also from Figures 1 to3thatthe mud wing 13 extends overthe wheels 12, but leaves the outer side face of the wheels substantially uncovered, in orderto permit easy access to the wheels for maintenance purposes and tyre repair.

Having regard to the above disclosure, it will be evident that the invention provides a means for minimising wheel generated spray of motorvehicles,this being achieved in an effective manner and relatively cheaply and simply, and with a longer service life than is possible with existing designs of wheel flaps.

A "conversion kit" can readily be provided, so that existing vehicles can be converted readily, in that it is only necessary to form the apertures 15 in the panel 14, and then to fitthe housing 16 thereon,the inlet and outlet components 17 and 18 being the same for all designs of mud wings, whereas a range of the intermediate portions 19 will be provided, to suitdifferent overall lengths of mud wing.

Claims

1. A method of converting an existing mud wing of a motor vehicle which includes a panel which extends over at least two wheels of the vehicle so as to reduce the tendency for spray to be thrown up by the wheels during wet weather, the method comprising forming apertures in the panel, and fitting a throughflow housing on the panel so as to define therewith a duct extending fore-and-aft along the panel and having an inlet opening which is enlarged as compared with the cross-section ofthe remainder of the duct so that, during forward motion ofthevehicle, an air flow through the duct is able to entrain water entering the duct via the aperture and to discharge the water as a downwardly directed stream via an open rear end ofthe duct, in which the housing is formed as three separate portions, a first of which forms an inlet portion ofthe duct, a second of which forms an outlet portion of the duct and a third of which forms an intermediate portion of a length sufficient to inter connectthe first and second portions.

2. A mud wing for fitting over at least one road wheel of a motor vehicle, the mud wing comprising an arched portion formed by an underside panel arranged to extend overthewheel and to leavethe outer side face of the wheel substantially uncovered, apertures formed in the underside panel to allow, in use, water thrown up by the rotary wheel overwhich the mud wing is fitted to pass upwardly through the underside panel, and an upperthrough-flow housing fitted on the underside panel so as to form therewith a duct extending fore-and-aft along the panel so that, during forward motion ofthevehicle, an airflow through the duct is able to entrain water entering the duct via the apertures and to discharge the water as a downwardly directed stream via an open rear end of the duct, in which the housing is formed as three separate portions, one of which forms an inlet portion of the duct and another of which forms an outlet portion ofthe duct and a third of which forms an intermediate portion of a length sufficient to interconnect the first and second portions.

3. A mud wing according to Claim 2, in whichthe apertures are in the form of small holes.

4. A mud wing according to Claim 2, in which the apertures are in the form of slits each extending ac ross the width of the panel and being preceded bya flap formed by pressing the edge ofthe panel adjacent the slit upwardly and towards the rear ofthe panel.

5. A mud wing according to any one of Claims 2 to 4, in which the width of the through-flow housing is substantially constant over its entire length.

6. A mud wing according to anyone of Claims 2 to 4, in which the width of the through4low housing decreases towards the rear of the housing.

7. A method of converting an existing mud wing of a motor vehicle substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

8. A method according to Claim 1 and substantially as herein described.

9. A mud wing for fitting over at least one road wheel of a motor vehicle, the mud wing being substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

10. A mud wing according to Claim 2 and sub stantiallyas herein described.