GB2035932A - Method and apparatus for restricting spray from vehicles - Google Patents

Abstract

A road vehicle has wheels 2 and mudguards 4 each with an mited outer valance 6 carrying a perforate panel 8 positioned to intercept water spray attempting to emerge sideways of the vehicle from the gap between a wheel and its associated mudguard during wet weather running. The panel 8 includes gauze or mesh material 12 of rubber, plastics, metal or textile fabric. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Method and apparatus for restricting spray from vehicles This invention concerns a method and apparatus intended to restrict water spray from the wheels of vehicles.

In wet weather water spray tends to emerge from the sides of motor vehicles particularly in the vicinity of the wheels, and when the vehicles are commercial vehicles with large wheels, the spray is considerable and tends to obscure the vision of other road users and coat their vehicles with a film of dirty water.

The sideways emerging spray is in addition to any thrown rearwardly by the wheels. The sideways emergent spray is apparently due, at least in part, to the wheels throwing off from their rotating peripheries water drops which strike surfaces disposed above and/or around at least part of each wheel periphery. This smashes the drops which are scattered as fine droplets, some which emerge from the side of vehicle in directions transversely to the plane of rotation of the wheel. The surfaces in question can be the inner surfaces of mudguards disposed above and in some cases extending part way around the peripheries of wheels, or in the case of wheels on some platform trailers, merely an undersurface of the trailer.

With a view to restricting such spray there is provided according to a first aspect of the invention, a method comprising disposing, at or adjacent to an outer side of a vehicle, a perforate screen adjacent a road wheel of the vehicle, at least part of said screen being positioned adjacent to the plane of rotation of the wheel, at least part of the screen being positioned adjacent an upper peripheral portion of the wheel, the screen thus positioned providing an obstruction to or a retarding effect on, at least some water droplets, in the vicinity of the upper part of wheel, attempting to emerge from the side of vehicle in an outwards direction transversely to the direction of vehicle travel.

According to a second aspect of the invention a vehicle with road wheels comprises a perforate screen disposed at or adjacent an outer side of the vehicle, at least part of said screen being located adjacent a said road wheel and extending alongside the plane of rotation of the wheel, at least part of said screen being positioned adjacent to an upper part of the wheel, the arrangement being such that when the vehicle travels through water or in wet weather, the screen provides an obstruction to or retarding effect on, at least some water droplets, in the vicinity of the upper part of the wheel, attempting to emerge from the side of the vehicle in an outwards direction transversely to the direction of travel of the vehicle.

A screen of perforate material is provided at or adjacent to an outer side of a road vehicle.

The screen may be substantially planar and may be disposed in a substantially vertical plane adjacent a vertical plane of rotation of a road wheel of the vehicle. At least part of the screen is located adjacent an upper part of wheel, preferably masking, at least part of the space immediately above the wheel so that fine droplets of water moving from this space, or from the upper part of the wheel, outwardly of the vehicle are intercepted on the screen although some may pass through the perforations. The perforations are preferably fairly small, for example, of approximately of the same size order as water drops. The area of a perforation can be about 2.5 sq. mm.It is believed that the screen has the effect of consolidating fine droplets intercepted on the screen, into larger drops which, although they can pass through the screen, are slowed and therefore the cloud of spray does not extend so far from the vehicle. It also appears that the perforate nature of the screen reduces the chance of water droplets being reflected by the screen back onto the wheel.

The perforate screen may be comprised by a variety of perforate sheet or gauze materials, for example, a perforate sheet of rubber or plastics, metal gauze, for example, aluminium gauze or steel suitably protected by, for example, a zinc coating, textile gauze which may be knitted or woven formed from natural and/or synthetic fibres or long synthetic filaments. The synthetic textile material can be plastics material for example nylon or polyethylene.

The screen can be in the form of a panel in which the perforate sheet material is carried by a support structure, for example, a frame over or across which the sheet material extends. If desired the perforate sheet material can be used as a substitute for an outer valance of a mudguard or disposed in one or more openings in an outer valance of a mudguard.

Textile gauze may be formed into a tube and slipped over a polygonal or other shaped frame with spaced side members and then the or each open end of the tube closed by, for example, stitching, adhesive or, if the material is of plastics it may be welded.

If desired the frame can be comprised by a rod, tube or strip slipped through a tubular passage formed by hemming the textile gauze. This rod, tube or strip, can be arcuate or U-shaped to form a panel of generally segment shape.

Because of resistance to corrosion, gauzes woven or knitted from synthetic plastics filaments are particularly suitable and when mounted on a frame to form a screen panel, the gauze can be rendered fairly taut and stretched flat by heat treatment. Holes for securing bolts to pass through such gauze can be formed by displacing to one side or another the gauze forming yarns or filaments.

Each aspect of the invention will now be further described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a tractor road vehicle formed according to the second aspect of the invention to carry out the method according to the first aspect of the invention; Figure 2 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a vehicle mudguard of another embodiment of a vehicle formed according to the second aspect of the invention to carry out the method according to the first aspect; Figures 3 and 4 show in elevation two further embodiments of screens provided on mudguards for two more embodiments of vehicles according to the second aspect of the invention for carrying out the method according to the first aspect;; Figure 5 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a trailer vehicle formed according to the second aspect of the invention to carry out the method according to the first aspect, and Figure 6 is an enlarged diagrammatic perspective view of the screen in Fig. 5 in combination with mounting brackets.

In Fig. 1, a road tractor vehicle has rear wheels 2 with mudguards 4 each having an outer valance 6 to which an arcuate perforate screen 8 is secured by quick release bolts 10 to permit removal of the screen to facilitate wheel changing. The screen 8 comprises perforate material 12, for example a mesh or gauze, which may be mounted on a frame (not shown) clamped to the valance 6 by the bolts 10 acting on an arcuate plate 14 applied against the outer edge of the screen.

Fig. 2 shows a vehicle mudguard 4 in which outer valance 6 is formed with openings over or in each of which is a perforate screen 8.

Figs. 3 and 4 shows screens 8 of segmental shape comprising perforate material 1 2 which can be mounted on a frame (not shown) which can be formed by a single arcuate shaped member underlying the plate 14. If the perforate material 1 2 is mesh or gauze of a textile fabric construction, its circular periphery can be hemmed to form an arcuate shaped passage to receive the arcuate frame member. In the case where the textile fabric is formed from plastics fibres or filaments it can be heat treated to cause the fabric to shrink and become taut and flat on the frame. Either or both ends of the passage formed by the hem can be closed by stitching or adhesive, or, in the case of fabric of plastics fribres or filaments, by welding.As in Fig. 1, the screens 8 in Figs. 3 and 4 are clamped to the valances 6 of the mudguards 4 by the quick release bolts 10 acting on the plate 14 applied over the screen.

In the trailer vehicle in Fig. 5, alongside the plane of rotation of each of the two outer wheels 2 on each side of the trailer is an elongate perforate screen 8 mounted on a trailer platform 1 6 to extend below the platform and alongside the space between the underside of the platform and the tops of the wheels. With reference to Fig. 6, the screen 8 in Fig. 5 is provided with mounting brackets 1 8 onto which the screen 8 clips by means of spring clips 20 on the brackets. These clips can be lined with soft pads of, for example, foam material. The mounting brackets 18 are secured to the underside of the platform 16.

Fig. 6 shows a generally rectangular frame 22 on which the mesh or gauze material 1 2 is mounted. When the material 1 2 is of a textile character it can be formed into an open ended tube and slipped over the frame 20 and then the open end or ends of the tube closed by, for example, stitching or adhesive, or by welding if textile material is plastics. Textile fabric of plastics can be heat shrunk after location on the frame 22.

Although the screens described with reference to the drawings are shown associated with rearward wheels, it will be understood that front wheels can also have associated perforate screens.

In the case of woven textile mesh or gauze used as the perforate material 12, each perforation can be about 1.58 m.m. square, i.e.

about one sixteenth of an inch square, in which case there are 39 or 40 perforations per square cm. of fabric, i.e. 256 perforations per square inch. In tests using screens thus perforated, we have observed that a majority of water droplets moving from the space above the wheel towards the screen are not reflected back by the screen so as to fall on the wheel or brake drum associated with that wheel, and accordingly the chance of brake fade due to ingress of water into the brake drum is not increased, or at least not significantly increased, by the use of the screen.

Claims (16)

1. A method of restricting spray from the wheels of road vehicles comprising disposing, at or adjacent to an outer side of a vehicle, a perforate screen adjacent a road wheel of the vehicle, at least part of said screen being positioned adjacent to the plane of rotation of the wheel, at least part of the screen being positioned adjacent an upper peripheral portion of the wheel, the screen thus positioned providing an obstruction to or a retarding effect on, at least some water droplets, in the vicinity of the upper part of wheel, attempting to emerge from the side of vehicle in an outwards direction transversely to the direction of vehicle travel.

2. A vehicle with road wheels comprising a perforate screen disposed at or adjacent an outer side of the vehicle, at least part of said screen being located adjacent a said road wheel and extending alongside the plane of rotation of the wheel, at least part of said screen being positioned adjacent to an upper part of the wheel, the arrangement being such that when the vehicle travels through water or in wet weather, the screen provides an obstruction to or retarding effect on, at least some water droplets, in the vicinity of the upper part of the wheel, attempting to emerge from the side of the vehicle in an outwards direction transversely to the direction of travel of the vehicle.

3. A vehicle as claimed in claim 2, in which said screen comprises mesh or gauze sheet material.

4. A vehicle as claimed in claim 3, in which the sheet material is rubber, plastics, metal, or textile fabric.

5. A vehicle as claimed in any of claims 2 to 4, in which the screen is mounted in or over at least one opening through a valance of a mudguard disposed over the wheel.

6. A vehicle as claimed in any of claims 2 to 4, in which the sheet material is mounted on a frame.

7. A vehicle as claimed in any of claims 2 to 4, or in claim 6, in which the screen is of substantially arcuate shape.

8. A vehicle as claimed in any of claims 2 to 4, or in claim 6, in which the screen has substantially the shape of a segment of a circle.

9. A vehicle claimed in any of claims 2 to 4, or in claim 6, in which the screen has a substantially rectangular shape.

10. A vehicle as claimed in claim 4 and claim 6, in which the textile fabric is stretched on the frame by shrinking.

11. A vehicle as claimed in claim 4 and claim 6, in which the textile fabric is formed from synthetic filaments or fibres and is stretched on the frame by heat shrinking.

1 2. A vehicle as claimed in claim 4 and claim 6, in which the frame comprises a member located in a passageway formed by hemming the textile fabric.

1 3. A vehicle as claimed in claim 4 and claim 6, in which the textile fabric is formed into a tube fitted over the frame,

14. A vehicle as claimed in any of claims 2 to 4, or in any of claims 6 to 8, or in any of claims 10 to 12, in which the screen is mounted on a mudguard disposed over the wheel.

1 5. A method of restricting spray from the wheels of road vehicles as claimed in claim 1 and substantially as hereinbefore described.

16. A road vehicle substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 and 6 of the accompanying drawings.