Abstract A drag reducer for a gap in a land vehicle moving through air capable of stabilizing the stagnant air in the gap which tends to rotate and form a horseshoe shaped vortex. The vortex directs the surrounding airstream around the stable vortex and thereby reduces air resistance. The drag reducer is a substantially Vshaped plate having concave sides vertically mounted midway in the gap existing between a tractor and trailer on the forward panel of the trailer. The plate stabilizes the rotating vortices and, particularly, prevents side winds from forcing the vortices out of the gap, thereby reducing operating costs by eliminating the expensive process of continuously converting high speed air to stagnant air. The drag reducer can be used on all land vehicles and is readily adaptable for use on railroad box cars, trailers in tandem, single chassis trucks, and vehicles towed by car. The drag reducer can take the form of two plates mounted in parallel on one wall or can be mounted on opposite walls substantially in the same plane. The drag reducer not only reduces operating costs, but also improves the stability of the trailing vehicles and increases car safety. The drag reducer can also take the form of an opened ended conduit that has one end located at the base of the rotating vortex and the other end either in the slip stream or connected to vacuum apparatus so that stagnant air can be sucked out of the middle of the vortex and thereby stabilize the vortex.
Inventors
👤 W Saunders
Bibliographic Details
Application Number—
JurisdictionUS
Data Sourcegoogle_patents
Last Synchronized2026-10-30 20:02
CPC Classifications
B; B62; B62D; B62D35/00; B62D35/001
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 5
Claim 1
Independent Claim
155 words
A vehicle having a gap formed by a first set of facing sides oriented perpendicular to the line of motion of the vehicle defined by a leading panel of a trailing element of said vehicle and a trailing panel of a leading element of said vehicle, and a second set of facing sides defined by slip streams along the line of motion of the vehicle; drag reducing apparatus comprising a fluid conduit for stabilizing a vortex, the periphery of which is defined by a portion of said first set of facing sides and said slip stream along at least one of said second sets of facing sides when the vehicle is moving through a fluid, one end of said conduit adapted to be located in the center of said vortex and the other end of said conduit adapted to be located in the slip stream alongside the vehicle facing towards the rear of the vehicle.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
155 words
A vehicle having a gap formed by a first set of facing sides oriented perpendicular to the line of motion of the vehicle defined by a leading panel of a trailing element of said vehicle and a trailing panel of a leading element of said vehicle, and a second set of facing sides defined by slip streams along the line of motion of the vehicle; drag reducing apparatus comprising a fluid conduit for stabilizing a vortex, the periphery of which is defined by a portion of said first set of facing sides and said slip stream along at least one of said second sets of facing sides when the vehicle is moving through a fluid, one end of said conduit adapted to be located in the center of said vortex and the other end of said conduit adapted to be located in the slip stream alongside the vehicle facing towards the rear of the vehicle.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
84 words
Drag reducing apparatus as defined in claim 1 for installation on a vehicle comprising at least two major sections, the leading section of which is substantially lower in height than the trailing section, and wherein said leading section has a fluid detecting baffle extending above the roof of said leading section for diverting the fluid flow in a manner to avoid entry of the fluid stream into said gap, said diverted fluid retaining to said trailing section at points spaced rearwardly of said gap.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
142 words
In a vehicle having a gap formed by a first set of facing sides oriented perpendicular to the line of motion of the vehicle Defined by a leading panel of a trailing element of said vehicle and a trailing panel of a leading element of said vehicle, and a second set of facing sides defined by slip streams along the line of motion of the vehicle; drag reducing apparatus comprising a conduit and suction means for stabilizing a vortex, the periphery of which is defined by a portion of said first set of facing sides and said slip stream along at least one said second set of facing sides when the vehicle is moving through a fluid, one end of said conduit located substantially at the center of said vortex, and the other end of said conduit connected to said suction means.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
142 words
In a vehicle having a gap formed by a first set of facing sides oriented perpendicular to the line of motion of the vehicle Defined by a leading panel of a trailing element of said vehicle and a trailing panel of a leading element of said vehicle, and a second set of facing sides defined by slip streams along the line of motion of the vehicle; drag reducing apparatus comprising a conduit and suction means for stabilizing a vortex, the periphery of which is defined by a portion of said first set of facing sides and said slip stream along at least one said second set of facing sides when the vehicle is moving through a fluid, one end of said conduit located substantially at the center of said vortex, and the other end of said conduit connected to said suction means.