Motor vehicle with air flow deflector

Claim 2

In an over-the-highway vehicle including a cab having a roof, front wall and two side windows, the improved roof structure comprising: a. a roof panel; b. two roof scoop means each secured to the panel and including structure defining a forwardly oriented inlet opening and an outlet opening oriented downwardly toward a space adjacent a respective one of said side windows; and, c. said roof scoop means including a deflector vane for deflecting air entering said inlet openings to said outlet openings.

Claim 3

In an over-the-highway vehicle including a cab having a roof, front wall and a side window, the improved roof structure comprising: a. a roof panel; b. a scoop means secured to the panel and including structure defining a forwardly oriented inlet opening and an outlet opening oriented downwardly toward a space near said side window; and, c. said roof scoop means including a plurality of arcuately curved vanes for deflecting air entering the inlet to the outlet.

Claim 4

In an over-the-highway vehicle including a cab having a roof, front wall and a side window, the improved roof structure comprising: a. a roof panel; b. a scoop means secured to the panel and including structure defining a forwardly oriented inlet opening and an outlet opening oriented downwardly toward a space near said side window; and, c. said roof scoop means including a plurality of arcuately curved vanes for deflecting air entering the inlet to the outlet.

Claim 5

The vehicle of claim 2 wherein said roof structure includes panel above and below said deflector whereby the air passage formed by said roof scoop is integral of said roof structure.

Claim 6

In a vehicle having a cab structure including at least two sidewindows and a roof, the improvement of a device for improving visibility through the sidewindows comprising air direction means associated with said roof for directing a stream of air from the region of said roof downwardly over a substantial portion of the exterior of said sidewindows, said air direction means including at least one forwardly facing inlet opening for receiving air flowing along the region of said roof, and at least one separate downwardly directed outlet opening being provided substantially adjacent the exterior portion of each of said side windows.

Claim 7

In a vehicle having a cab structure including at least two sidewindows and a roof, the improvement of a device for improving visibility through the sidewindows comprising air direction means associated with said roof for directing a stream of air from the region of said roof downwardly over a substantial portion of the exterior of said sidewindows, said air direction means including at least one forwardly facing inlet opening for receiving air flowing along the region of said roof, and at least one separate downwardly directed outlet opening being provided substantially adjacent the exterior portion of each of said side windows.

Claim 8

The vehicle of claim 4 wherein said air direction means defines separate air flow passages for each of said side windows.

Claim 9

In combination with a vehicle including a cab having a roof, a front wall and a side window, deflector means to direct a stream of air downwardly alongside a substantial portion of the exterior surface of the side window to cleanse the side window and to oppose the upward flow of dirt-laden air from the roadway and to thereby minimize the deposit of foreign matter on the side window, said deflector means including means forming an air duct having an air inlet facing the front of the vehicle and an air discharge opening extending along a substantial portion of the upper edge of the side window and having a downwardly extending side for directing air downwardly across the exterior surface of the side window, said means forming said air duct further including a top duct wall having an end portion at said inlet extending forwardly of the front wall of the cab.

Claim 10

In combination with a vehicle including a cab having a roof, a front wall and a side window, deflector means to direct a stream of air downwardly alongside a substantial portion of the exterior surface of the side window to cleanse the side window and to oppose the upward flow of dirt-laden air from the roadway and to thereby minimize the deposit of foreign matter on the side window, said deflector means including means forming an air duct having an air inlet facing the front of the vehicle and an air discharge opening extending along a substantial portion of the upper edge of the side window and having a downwardly extending side for directing air downwardly across the exterior surface of the side window, said means forming said air duct further including a top duct wall having an end portion at said inlet extending forwardly of the front wall of the cab.

Claim 11

In combination with a vehicle including a cab having a roof, a front wall and a side window, deflector means to direct a stream of air downwardly alongside a substantial portion of the exterior surface of the side window to cleanse the side window and to oppose the upward flow of dirT-laden air from the roadway and to thereby minimize the deposit of foreign matter on the side window, said deflector means including means forming an air duct having an air inlet facing the front of the vehicle and an air discharge opening extending along a substantial portion of the upper edge of the side window and having a downwardly extending side for directing air downwardly across the exterior surface of the side window, said means forming said duct further including a hood member disposed over the roof of the cab such that said hood member and the roof form top and bottom walls of said duct, said hood extending forwardly and rearwardly of the front wall of the cab.

Claim 12

In combination with a vehicle including a cab having a roof, a front wall and a side window, deflector means to direct a stream of air downwardly alongside a substantial portion of the exterior surface of the side window to cleanse the side window and to oppose the upward flow of dirT-laden air from the roadway and to thereby minimize the deposit of foreign matter on the side window, said deflector means including means forming an air duct having an air inlet facing the front of the vehicle and an air discharge opening extending along a substantial portion of the upper edge of the side window and having a downwardly extending side for directing air downwardly across the exterior surface of the side window, said means forming said duct further including a hood member disposed over the roof of the cab such that said hood member and the roof form top and bottom walls of said duct, said hood extending forwardly and rearwardly of the front wall of the cab.

Claim 13

In an over-the-highway vehicle including a cab having a roof, a front wall disposed generally perpendicular to the path of forward movement of the vehicle and at least one side window disposed generally parallel to the path of forward movement of the vehicle, the improved roof structure comprising: a. roof panel means carried by the roof of the cab at a position spaced thereabove; b. deflector means interposed between said roof panel and the cab roof; c. said roof panel means, said deflector means, and the cab roof cooperating to define at least one air passage comprising: i. a forwardly facing air inlet opening for receiving air approaching the front wall as the vehicle traverses a path of forward movement; ii. a downwardly directed air discharge opening for discharging air downwardly across the side window; and, iii. a passage interconnecting said inlet opening and said discharge opening which directs the air flow across the roof of the cab in a smooth arcuate path so as to change its direction from a direction generally paralleling the path of forward movement of the vehicle to a direction which is generally perpendicular to the forward path of movement so as to discharge downwardly through said discharge opening and across the side window.

Claim 14

In an over-the-highway vehicle including a cab having a roof, a front wall disposed generally perpendicular to the path of forward movement of the vehicle and at least one side window disposed generally parallel to the path of forward movement of the vehicle, the improved roof structure comprising: a. roof panel means carried by the roof of the cab at a position spaced thereabove; b. deflector means interposed between said roof panel and the cab roof; c. said roof panel means, said deflector means, and the cab roof cooperating to define at least one air passage comprising: i. a forwardly facing air inlet opening for receiving air approaching the front wall as the vehicle traverses a path of forward movement; ii. a downwardly directed air discharge opening for discharging air downwardly across the side window; and, iii. a passage interconnecting said inlet opening and said discharge opening which directs the air flow across the roof of the cab in a smooth arcuate path so as to change its direction from a direction generally paralleling the path of forward movement of the vehicle to a direction which is generally perpendicular to the forward path of movement so as to discharge downwardly through said discharge opening and across the side window.

Claim 15

The vehicle of claim 8 wherein said roof panel means, said deflector means, and the cab roof cooperate to define an air flow passage which initially directs the air flowing therethrough along an arcuate path through an arc of approximately 90* across the top of the cab roof, and subsequently deflects the air flow through a second arc so as to turn it downwardly across the side window.

Claim 16

In an over-the-highway vehicle including a cab having a front wall disposed generally perpendicular to the path of forward movement of the vehicle and at least one side window disposed generally parallel to the path of forward movement of the vehicle the improvement of a cab roof structure comprising upper and lower spaced apart roof panel means having air deflection means interposed between, said roof panel means and said air deflection means cooperating to define at least one air flow passage comprising: a. a forwardly facing air inlet opening for receiving air approaching the front wall as the vehicle traverses a path of forward movement; b. a downwardly directed air discharge opening for discharging air downwardly across said side window; and, c. deflector means defining a smooth arcuate passage extending from said air inlet opening to said air discharge opening for transmitting air across the roof of the cab and diverting it from a direction generally paralleling the path of forward travel of the vehicle to a direction which is generally perpendicular to the forward path of movement so as to discharge downwardly through said discharge opening and across the side window.

Claim 17

In an over-the-highway vehicle including a cab having a front wall disposed generally perpendicular to the path of forward movement of the vehicle and at least one side window disposed generally parallel to the path of forward movement of the vehicle the improvement of a cab roof structure comprising upper and lower spaced apart roof panel means having air deflection means interposed between, said roof panel means and said air deflection means cooperating to define at least one air flow passage comprising: a. a forwardly facing air inlet opening for receiving air approaching the front wall as the vehicle traverses a path of forward movement; b. a downwardly directed air discharge opening for discharging air downwardly across said side window; and, c. deflector means defining a smooth arcuate passage extending from said air inlet opening to said air discharge opening for transmitting air across the roof of the cab and diverting it from a direction generally paralleling the path of forward travel of the vehicle to a direction which is generally perpendicular to the forward path of movement so as to discharge downwardly through said discharge opening and across the side window.

Claim 18

The vehicle of claim 10 wherein said air deflection means includes a plurality of curved vanes defining separate spaced airflow passages therebetween which each serve to direct air approaching the front wall through an arcuate path across the top of the cab roof and downwardly across the side window.

Claim 21

The method of claim 12 wherein a plurality of vanes defining separate air flow passages between the roof panels are used to direct the air across the roof of the cab and discharge it downwardly over the side window.

Claim 22

The method of claim 12 wherein there are at least two side windows disposed on opposite sides of the cab, and said steps of directing and discharging air comprise directing a first portion of the air introduced between the roof panels for discharge across one of the side windows, and directing a second portion of the air introduced between the roof panels for discharge across the other side window.

Claim 23

The method of claim 14 wherein separate deflection means each comprising a plurality of vanes are interposed between the roof panels so as to direct the first and second portions of air across the roof of the cab for discharge across their respective side windows.