Loading patent…
AssigneeLancaster Colony Corporation
InventorsRobert E. Lightle, James R. Lockwood, Douglas F. Busch, Michael B. Mosholder
Estimating the term…
A spray controlling system is provided for vehicles that includes, for a wheel-set, a splash guard and a side shield positioned at the rear and side of a wheel set, respectively. The guard comprises a panel having a plurality of rows of conical projections and a plurality of upstanding ribs formed on a wheel-facing surface thereof in a spaced parallel relationship. Both projections and ribs are disposed in an inverted-V configuration oriented on a vertical centerline of the panel with six rows of projections interposed between adjacent ribs. The projections are disposed closely adjacent in the rows to form water flow channels between rows and ribs with the ribs being about twice the height of the projections. Vertically extending flanges are formed at each side of the panel in outwardly spaced relationship to the ends of the rows of projections and ribs forming channels to divert outwardly and downwardly flowing water from the ribs and projections for discharge in relatively large streams downwardly toward the roadway. Each side shield is of a length to extend forwardly from the splash guard to a point forward of the front of the wheel-set and a vertical height to extend downwardly from the vehicle body to a point below the top of the wheel. Each shield comprises a panel having an inwardly facing surface provided with a plurality of vertically extending, spaced parallel ribs for directing air and water flow downwardly at the side of the wheel set.
A splash guard for automotive vehicles for controlling water spray generated by the wheels when traversing a moisture covered roadway comprising a sheet-form panel having a surface adapted to be disposed in vertically extending, facing relationship to a vehicle wheel, a vertically extending edge at each side of said panel surface, transverse bottom and top edges, and a spray controlling surface conformation formed on said panel surface, said spray controlling surface conformation including a plurality of projections fixedly positioned on said sheet-form panel in outwardly projecting relationship to said panel surface to collect water thrown against said surface, said projections being arranged in a plurality of elongated rows extending generally transversely across said panel with the projections in each row disposed in sufficiently closely spaced relationship to effectively form a water directing wall, each of said rows of projections disposed in spaced relationship to an adjacent row or projections to form in cooperation therewith a channel and extending in downwardly inclined relationship toward a vertically extending side edge whereby water collected in the channels between said rows of projections will be induced to flow transversely across said panel surface in a downwardly inclined direction toward a vertical side edge of said panel.
A splash guard according to clain 23 wherein said sheet-form panel includes an elongated, vertically extending side flange disposed at each side thereof in predetermined spaced relationship to the adjacent ends of a respective set of said rows of projections and said flow-directing ribs to form a vertical flow channel therebetween, each of said side flanges projecting a distance outwardly with respect to said panel surface.
A spray controlling system for use in association with an automotive vehicle wheel including in combination,
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.