Automotive vehicle with adjustable aerodynamic accessory and control therefor

An aerodynamic accessory for an automotive vehicle comprising:

• a spoiler member capable of projecting from an external surface of a vehicle body for reducing the lift coefficient of the vehicle body while the vehicle is moving, said spoiler member being movable between a first position in which it projects from said external surface of the vehicle body, and a second position in which it is enclosed substantially within the contours of the vehicle body whereby said spoiler member has no aerodynamic effect;
• an actuator associated with said spoiler member for actuating said spoiler member to either of said first and second positions;
• sensor means for monitoring vehicle driving speed and producing a vehicle speed indicative signal and for monitoring an environmental condition and producing an environmental condition indicative signal;
• and
• a controller responsive to said vehicle speed indative signal for deriving a control signal to control operation of said actuator and thereby control the position of said spoiler member, said controller comparing said vehicle speed indicative signal value with a first and a second reference value, wherein the first reference value represents a high speed criterion and the second reference value represents a low speed criterion, said controller outputting said control signal for controlling the movement of said spoiler member to said first position when said vehicle speed indicative signal value is greater than said first reference value, and for controlling the movement of said spoiler member to said second position when said vehicle speed indicative signal value is smaller than said second reference value,
• wherein said controller produces said control signal for controlling the movement of said spoiler member to one of said first and second positions in accordance with said environmental condition indicative signal while said vehicle speed indicative signal value lies between said frist and second reference values.

A method for controlling the position of an adjustable-position air-spoiler for an automotive vehicle comprising the steps of:

• monitoring vehicle speed and producing a vehicle driving condition indicative signal;
• monitoring environmental conditions of the moving vehicle and producing an environmental condition indicative signal;
• electronically judging the operating conditions of the moving vehicle on the basis of said vehicle driving condition indicative signal and said environmental condition indicative signal;
• and
• adjusting the spoiler position between a first position in which said spoiler projects from the external surface of the vehicle body in order to reduce the lift coefficient of the vehicle and a second position in which said spoiler has minimal aerodynamic effect, said spoiler being adjusted to said first position when said vehicle speed is higher than a first higher speed criterion, and being adjusted to said second position when said vehicle speed is lower than a second lower speed criterion, and when said vehicle speed is between said first and second speed criteria, said spoiler being adjusted to said first position when said electronically judged condition indicates a need for increased tire/road traction.

An aerodynamic accessory for an automotive vehicle comprising:

• a first spoiler member capable of projecting from an external surface of the front of a vehicle body for reducing the lift coefficient of the vehicle body while the vehicle is moving, said first spoiler member being movable between a first position, in which it projects from said external surface of the front of the vehicle body, and a second position, in which it is enclosed substantially within the contours of the vehicle body;
• a second spoiler member capable of projecting from an external surface of the rear of the vehicle body for reducing the lift coefficient of the vehicle body while the vehicle is moving, said second spoiler member being movable between a first position, in which it projects from said external surface of the rear of the vehicle body, and a second position, in which it is enclosed substantially within the contours of the vehicle body;
• means, connected to said first and second spoiler members, for moving said spoiler members to either of said first and second positions;
• sensor means for monitoring vehicle driving speed and producing a driving condition indicative signal, said sensor means also detecting environmental conditions outside the moving vehicle and producing an environmental condition indicative signal;
• and
• a controller responsive to said vehicle driving condition indicative signal and said environmental condition indicative signal for deriving a control signal to control operation of said moving means and thereby control the position of said first and second spoiler members, said controller producing a control signal for controlling the movement of each of said spoiler members to their respective said first positions when at least either of a predetermined vehicle driving condition, as indicated by said vehicle driving condition indicative signal, or an environmental condition, as indicated by said environmental condition indicative signal, are satisfied, and otherwise producing a control signal for controlling the movement of each of said spoiler members to their respective said second positions.