Aerodynamic front closing cross-member for road vehicle
AssigneeVolvo Truck Corporation
InventorsMahesh Boraiah, Stephen Gelgot
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A front closing cross-member includes a medial portion having an airfoil-like shape arranged between left and right end portions of greater height than the medial portion. The medial portion includes a trailing edge having a height less than a height of a leading edge thereof. The end portions are configured to be mounted to at least a portion of a chassis frame of a road vehicle. The cross-member may exhibit the same or greater stiffness and torsional rigidity as a conventional member, while exhibiting reduced drag and facilitating formation of a laminar airflow wake.
Claims19
A front closing cross-member for a road vehicle, the front closing cross-member comprising:
- left and right end portions;
- and
- a medial portion having a leading edge, a trailing edge, and an airfoil-like cross-sectional shape, wherein the trailing edge has a height less than a height of the leading edge, and the medial portion is arranged between the left and right end portions;
- wherein each of the left and right end portions has a height greater than a maximum height of the medial portion, and each of the left and right end portions is configured to be mounted to at least a portion of a structural frame of the road vehicle.
A front closing cross-member for a road vehicle, the front closing cross-member comprising:
- left and right end portions configured to be mounted to at least a portion of a structural frame of the road vehicle;
- left and right transition portions;
- and
- a medial portion having a leading edge, a trailing edge, and an airfoil-like cross-sectional shape, wherein the trailing edge has a height less than a height of the leading edge;
- wherein:
- the left transition portion is arranged between the left end portion and the medial portion, and the right transition portion is arranged between the right end portion and the medial portion;
- each of the left and right end portions has a height greater than a maximum height of the medial portion;
- the left transition portion comprises a height that varies with position to provide a height transition between the medial portion and the left end portion;
- the right transition portion comprises a height that varies with position to provide a height transition between the medial portion and the right end portion;
- the medial portion comprises a first average thickness extending in a front-to-rear direction;
- the left and right end portions each comprise a second average thickness extending in the front-to-rear direction;
- and
- the first average thickness is greater than the second average thickness.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.