Thermoplastic elastomer wheel deflector
AssigneeFord Global Technologies, LLC
InventorsDean M. Jaradi, Mohammad Omar Faruque, S. M. Iskander Farooq
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A vehicle includes a vehicle body defining a front wheel well. The vehicle includes an inflatable device that is a thermoplastic elastomer. The inflatable device is inflatable from an undeployed position to a deployed position. The vehicle body defines a cavity and the inflatable device has a forward chamber and a rearward chamber disposed in the cavity in the undeployed position. The forward chamber expands vehicle-forward from the vehicle body into the wheel well from the undeployed position to the deployed position. The rearward chamber expands vehicle-rearward along the cavity from the undeployed position to the deployed position.
Claims20
A vehicle comprising:
- a vehicle body defining a front wheel well;
- an inflatable device that is a thermoplastic elastomer, the inflatable device being inflatable from an undeployed position to a deployed position;
- the vehicle body defining a cavity and the inflatable device having a forward chamber and a rearward chamber disposed in the cavity in the undeployed position;
- the forward chamber expanding vehicle-forward from the vehicle body into the wheel well from the undeployed position to the deployed position;
- and
- the rearward chamber expanding vehicle-rearward along the cavity from the undeployed position to the deployed position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.