Vehicle undercarriage air deflector
First Claim
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1. An undercarriage air deflector apparatus comprising:
- an elongated panel having hinge means along a marginal edge thereof adapted to attachment to a lower portion of a vehicle ahead of a vehicle front wheel suspension member;
first bracket means connectable to the lower portion of the vehicle ahead of a front wheel suspension member and having bearing means therein;
drive shaft means supported in said bearing means and having a drive pinion thereon;
second bracket means connectable to the lower portion of the vehicle ahead of a vehicle front wheel suspension member;
rocker shaft means mounted in said second bracket means and including a rocker shaft extending parallel to said panel;
operating arm means connected to said rocker shaft means and to said panel for pivoting said panel about said hinge means as said rocker shaft means is turned; and
a drive gear on said rocker shaft means engaged by said pinion and thereby operable upon rotation of said drive shaft means to turn said rocker shaft means for pivoting said panel about said hinge means.
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Abstract
A rectangular panel is hingedly mounted to the lower edge of the front bumper of a motor vehicle of the high road clearance variety. Mechanical hand crank means, and power driven means are disclosed for raising and lowering the panel as desired. The panel is swingable upwardly and rearwardly from the hinged mounting.
117 Citations
13 Claims
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1. An undercarriage air deflector apparatus comprising:
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an elongated panel having hinge means along a marginal edge thereof adapted to attachment to a lower portion of a vehicle ahead of a vehicle front wheel suspension member; first bracket means connectable to the lower portion of the vehicle ahead of a front wheel suspension member and having bearing means therein; drive shaft means supported in said bearing means and having a drive pinion thereon; second bracket means connectable to the lower portion of the vehicle ahead of a vehicle front wheel suspension member; rocker shaft means mounted in said second bracket means and including a rocker shaft extending parallel to said panel; operating arm means connected to said rocker shaft means and to said panel for pivoting said panel about said hinge means as said rocker shaft means is turned; and a drive gear on said rocker shaft means engaged by said pinion and thereby operable upon rotation of said drive shaft means to turn said rocker shaft means for pivoting said panel about said hinge means. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. In a motor vehicle having a body with a passenger compartment therein, an underside and front and rear wheels for rolling on a road surface and supporting the body, and undercarriage having portions connecting the front wheels to the body, the improvement comprising:
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an air deflector mounted to a lower portion of said body ahead of said front wheels and having a retracted position and a deployed position, and having a first portion and a second portion and having hinge means connecting said first portion thereof to said body; said deflector being oriented in said retracted position to extend generally parallel to the underside of said body from a beginning at said first portion rearward to an end at said second portion and thereby exposing said undercarriage to headwinds; and actuator means connected to said deflector and to said body and operable, when actuated, to swing said second portion downward from said body and forward to said deployed position wherein said deflector extends non-paralel to the underside of said body and in front of said undercarriage for deflecting the air downwardly and outwardly and thereby shielding said undercarriage from headwinds. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13)
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Specification