GB2126181A

GB2126181A - Improved mud flap

Info

Publication number: GB2126181A
Application number: GB08224775A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Arend Wolf
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1982-08-28
Filing date: 1982-08-28
Publication date: 1984-03-21

Abstract

A mud flap for a vehicle wheel has a roughened or fibrous surface facing the curved surface of the wheel. The fibrous surface may be in the form of a pile of flexible spikes or fibres. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improved mud flap This invention relates to an improved mud flap or spatter guard. With known mud flaps or spatter guards, water from a wet road surface is entrained by the rotating surface of the vehicle wheel and thrown off the wheel centrifugally due to the rotary momentum of the wheel rim. The spray thus created impacts against the smooth surface of the mud flap or spatter guard and is broken up into a spray of fine droplets which creates the familiar vision obscuring spray mist created by large numbers of vehicles driving at speed along a wet road surface, especially but not exclusively on motorways or autobahns.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved mud flap of spatter guard for vehicle wheels which will minimise the creation of fine droplet sprays and mists with resulting improvements in visibility on wet road surfaces, and thus in road safety.

According to this invention, a mud flap, forming at least a lower portion of one or both sides of a vehicle wheel spatter guard is provided, on its surface facing the wheel, and thus receiving the impact of water thrown up by the wheel, with a roughened or fibrous surface.

The surface is preferably in the form of a pile of flexible spikes or fibres, similar to a brush.

The water thrown centrifugally by the wheel onto the mud flap, or spatter guard lower end is entrapped by the pile and is not simply bounced off again and broken into droplets. The hairs or spikes of the pile may be of such dimensions as to create capillary action between the spikes or hairs, thus retaining much impacting water, and allowing excess to drain by gravity, but need not be of such small dimensions.

A roughened matted fibrous surface may be suitable, although this would need to be raised by brushing from time to time. At a minimum bristles or fibres forming a pile or brush should probably not be less than 5 mm in length and are preferably sufficiently stiff to be self supporting substantially at right angles to the mud flap, ie.

horizontally in position of use, so that hairs do not form a smooth sleeked surface thus recreating the conditions for spray formation.

A preferred embodiment of mud flap according to the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic elevation of a vehicle wheel with a spatter guard and mud flap according to the invention, and Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross section of a part of the mud flap according to the invention.

As illustrated a vehicle wheel 10 has a substantially semi-circular spatter guard 11 with an outer shield 12, and free hanging mudflaps 13, 14 one at each side of the wheel. When the vehicle is moving rapidly in the direction of arrow A, the wheel 10 rotates in the sense of the arrows B, water is picked up by the wheel 10 from a wet road surface 1 5 and then thrown off centrifugally due to the rapid movement of the wheel rim as indicated by the arrow C.

In the upper part of the spatter guard 11, droplet spray created by impact on the guard causes no problem as it is returned by the outer shield 12. At the lower ends of the guard on the mudflaps 13, 14 however spray can eascape and as is well known causes a severe impediment to vision when numbers of cars are proceeding together at even moderate speeds. In order to obviate this, and reduce spray droplet mists, in accordance with the invention, at least the mud flap 1 3 and preferably both mudflaps 13 and 14 are provided with a pile or bristle surface 1 6 directed towards the impinging water C thrown off by the wheel 10.This surface 1 6 prevents the recoil of impacting water and the pile or bristles help to retain the water on the surface 1 6 and allow it to drain by gravity from the flap.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary cross section of the pile or bristles of one surface 1 7. This is formed with a large number of closely spaced spikes which are integral with the substrate 1 8 forming or surfacing the mudflap 13, or 14. The spikes or bristles 1 7 may be from e.g. 5-15 mm in length, and of thickness varying from filamentary dimensions, to a few millimetres.

The spikes or bristles should be sufficiently stiff to be self supporting. The bristles 1 7 and substrate 1 8 may be of a suitable plastics material such as polyethylene or polypropylene for example. Alternatively the bristles may be of hair, or synthetic fibre and set in a non integral substrate by brush making techniques.

Other possible materials are non woven fibrous mats, or raised pile fabrics. These however may become clogged and smoothed down although their absorbitive properties would be of use in the invention.

The whole spatter guard surface 11 may if desired, and particularly where the sheild 12 is ineffective or absent, be provided with a spiked, pile or bristle surface 1 6 thereby reducing spray formation further and preventing any spray emission past the shield 12.

The mud flap of the invention will substantially reduce the spray mist created by any vehicle fitted therewith, and if generally adopted the reduction in spray mist on wet roads would greatly increase visibility and thus aid road safety.

Claims (Filed on 24 August 1983) 1. A mud flap for a wheeled vehicle adapted to be mounting facing the curved surface of a vehicle wheel and having a roughened or fibrous surface facing said wheel surface.

2. A mud flap as claimed in claim 1, wherein said roughened or fibrous surface is in the form of a pile of flexible spikes or fibres.

3. A mud flap as claimed in claim 2, wherein said flexible spikes or fibres are sufficiently stiff to be self-supporting substantially at right angles to the mud flap.

4. A mud flap as claimed in claim 2 or 3,

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. SPECIFICATION Improved mud flap This invention relates to an improved mud flap or spatter guard. With known mud flaps or spatter guards, water from a wet road surface is entrained by the rotating surface of the vehicle wheel and thrown off the wheel centrifugally due to the rotary momentum of the wheel rim. The spray thus created impacts against the smooth surface of the mud flap or spatter guard and is broken up into a spray of fine droplets which creates the familiar vision obscuring spray mist created by large numbers of vehicles driving at speed along a wet road surface, especially but not exclusively on motorways or autobahns. An object of the present invention is to provide an improved mud flap of spatter guard for vehicle wheels which will minimise the creation of fine droplet sprays and mists with resulting improvements in visibility on wet road surfaces, and thus in road safety. According to this invention, a mud flap, forming at least a lower portion of one or both sides of a vehicle wheel spatter guard is provided, on its surface facing the wheel, and thus receiving the impact of water thrown up by the wheel, with a roughened or fibrous surface. The surface is preferably in the form of a pile of flexible spikes or fibres, similar to a brush. The water thrown centrifugally by the wheel onto the mud flap, or spatter guard lower end is entrapped by the pile and is not simply bounced off again and broken into droplets. The hairs or spikes of the pile may be of such dimensions as to create capillary action between the spikes or hairs, thus retaining much impacting water, and allowing excess to drain by gravity, but need not be of such small dimensions. A roughened matted fibrous surface may be suitable, although this would need to be raised by brushing from time to time. At a minimum bristles or fibres forming a pile or brush should probably not be less than 5 mm in length and are preferably sufficiently stiff to be self supporting substantially at right angles to the mud flap, ie. horizontally in position of use, so that hairs do not form a smooth sleeked surface thus recreating the conditions for spray formation. A preferred embodiment of mud flap according to the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic elevation of a vehicle wheel with a spatter guard and mud flap according to the invention, and Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross section of a part of the mud flap according to the invention. As illustrated a vehicle wheel 10 has a substantially semi-circular spatter guard 11 with an outer shield 12, and free hanging mudflaps 13, 14 one at each side of the wheel. When the vehicle is moving rapidly in the direction of arrow A, the wheel 10 rotates in the sense of the arrows B, water is picked up by the wheel 10 from a wet road surface 1 5 and then thrown off centrifugally due to the rapid movement of the wheel rim as indicated by the arrow C. In the upper part of the spatter guard 11, droplet spray created by impact on the guard causes no problem as it is returned by the outer shield 12. At the lower ends of the guard on the mudflaps 13, 14 however spray can eascape and as is well known causes a severe impediment to vision when numbers of cars are proceeding together at even moderate speeds. In order to obviate this, and reduce spray droplet mists, in accordance with the invention, at least the mud flap 1 3 and preferably both mudflaps 13 and 14 are provided with a pile or bristle surface 1 6 directed towards the impinging water C thrown off by the wheel 10.This surface 1 6 prevents the recoil of impacting water and the pile or bristles help to retain the water on the surface 1 6 and allow it to drain by gravity from the flap. Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary cross section of the pile or bristles of one surface 1 7. This is formed with a large number of closely spaced spikes which are integral with the substrate 1 8 forming or surfacing the mudflap 13, or 14. The spikes or bristles 1 7 may be from e.g. 5-15 mm in length, and of thickness varying from filamentary dimensions, to a few millimetres. The spikes or bristles should be sufficiently stiff to be self supporting. The bristles 1 7 and substrate 1 8 may be of a suitable plastics material such as polyethylene or polypropylene for example. Alternatively the bristles may be of hair, or synthetic fibre and set in a non integral substrate by brush making techniques. Other possible materials are non woven fibrous mats, or raised pile fabrics. These however may become clogged and smoothed down although their absorbitive properties would be of use in the invention. The whole spatter guard surface 11 may if desired, and particularly where the sheild 12 is ineffective or absent, be provided with a spiked, pile or bristle surface 1 6 thereby reducing spray formation further and preventing any spray emission past the shield 12. The mud flap of the invention will substantially reduce the spray mist created by any vehicle fitted therewith, and if generally adopted the reduction in spray mist on wet roads would greatly increase visibility and thus aid road safety. Claims (Filed on 24 August 1983)

1. A mud flap for a wheeled vehicle adapted to be mounting facing the curved surface of a vehicle wheel and having a roughened or fibrous surface facing said wheel surface.

4. A mud flap as claimed in claim 2 or 3, wherein said flexible spikes or fibres are of such small dimensions as to create capillary action between them.

5. A mud flap as claimed in any of claims 2 to 4, wherein said flexible spikes or fibres are not less than five millimetres in length.

6. A mud flap as claimed in claim 5, wherein said flexible spikes or fibres are from five to fifteen millimetres in length.

7. A mud flap as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the roughened or fibrous surface is formed by a brush-making technique.

8. A mud flap as claimed in claim 7, wherein the bristles are of hair or synthetic fibre.

9. A mud flap as claimed in claim 1, wherein said roughened or fibrous surface is of a nonwoven fibrous mat or of a raised-pile fabric.

10. A mud flap as claimed in any of claims 1 to 7 and 9, wherein the roughened or firbous surface is of plastics material.

1 A mud flap as claimed in claim 10, wherein said plastics material is polyethylene or polypropylene.

12. A mud flap substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.