Compagnie Generale Des Etablissements Michelin

Trailer Aerodynamics LLC

Michelin North America, Inc.

Parker Baxter

Calvin Rhett Bradley

Justin Kane Morgan

Chinglin Pan

Charles Andrew McPillan

John Anthony Hutz

Ellen MacDonald Williams

John Spooner

Charles Andrew Mcpillan

Aerodynamic skirt bending member

Embodiments of the disclosure include a mud flap for a vehicle having a mounting section and a barrier section. The barrier section is configured to deflect matter discharged from a tire during vehicle operation. The width of the mounting section is greater than the width of the barrier section. The mounting section optionally includes a first set of mounting features, each of the mounting features forming a recess or aperture. One mounting feature of the first set of mounting features is arranged at and/or beyond a widthwise extent of the barrier section width. The one mounting feature is also arranged at least partially within a portion of the mounting section width extending outwardly from a widthwise extent of the barrier section width. Further embodiments include mounting a single wide mud flap on a vehicle configured to receive a dual wide mud flap.

Mud flap with adaptable mounting section

Embodiments include a mud flap having a barrier section configured to intercept and deflect matter discharged from the tire when rotating during vehicle operation. The barrier section including a plurality of horizontal louvers, each horizontal louver forming an elongate member having a length extending primarily in a direction of the mud flap width, where the plurality of horizontal louvers are spaced apart in the direction of the mud flap height in the form of an array, where the plurality of horizontal louvers are configured to intercept and deflect matter of a minimum size traveling along any linear trajectory path from the outer circumference of the tire/wheel assembly towards the front side of the mud flap while substantially maximizing the spacing between adjacent louvers to minimize aerodynamic drag. Other embodiments provide a method of using the mud flap.

Aerodynamic mud flap

An fairing for a trailer is provided that has a transition zone with a corrugation receiving feature that defines a corrugation receiving void that increases in size forward to rearward in a longitudinal direction of the fairing. The corrugation receiving void receives a corrugation of the trailer. A main portion is also present and extends rearward from the transition zone in the longitudinal direction. The transition zone and the main portion define an aerodynamic surface of the fairing.

Trailer fairing with leading edge design for trailer corrugations

Embodiments provide a gap reducer and a method of mounting the gap reducer to a vehicle. Such method includes attaching operably a bi-modulus bending member to a first vehicle in a cantilevered configuration along a vertical side of the first vehicle, where a cantilevered end of the bi-modulus bending member is arranged to extend within a gap arranged between the first vehicle and a second vehicle when the first and second vehicles are coupled. The bi-modulus bending member comprises an elongate bending element configured to elastically buckle and bend to a buckled configuration when a force component exceeds a threshold buckling force, and to elastically return to an unbuckled configuration when the force component is reduced below the threshold buckling force. A gap reducer panel is operably coupled to the bi-modulus bending member, the gap reducer panel having a length extending primarily in a vertical direction.

Resilient gap reducing support structures and methods

Tire

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Greenville, SC, United States of America

Parker Baxter