US 5,348,366 AGranted

Drag reducing device for land vehicles

OwnerMyles L. Baker, David J. Levittinventors

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Abstract

A device for the reduction of aerodynamic drag on land vehicles and more specifically tractor-trailer trucks, Consisting of rectangular plates mounted to the after-end of said truck. The plates are mounted to the truck's structural frame by hinged truss assemblies, normal to the road and parallel to the truck body's rear end. The combined area of the plates is smaller than that of the truck's cross section. While the vehicle is moving, a vortex becomes locked between the plates and truck rear end creating a low pressure region. The suction created changes air flow patterns behind the vehicle such that base drag is reduced. The device is retractable and allows unobstructed loading.

Claims6

Dependent claims

Means to reduce the drag on a land operating vehicle when said vehicle is moving on a land surface at a predetermined speed, said vehicle comprising a body having a forward end and an after end disposed about an axis parallel to the land surface over which said vehicle is moved, said after-end of the body having a polygonal cross-section and lying in a first plane normal to said axis, the area of the after-end being of a first predetermined square footage, said means comprising:

A. a rigid polygonal plate, said plate having an area of a second predetermined square footage, said second predetermined square footage being less than the first said square footage, and said plate having a configuration similar to the polygonal configuration of the after end of the body;
and
B. strut support means secured to the after-end of the body to secure said plate in a predetermined spaced relationship congruently parallel to said after-end of the body.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.