1908results about "Aerodynamics improvement" patented technology

An apparatus for reducing the aerodynamic drag of a wheeled vehicle in a flowstream, the vehicle having a vehicle body and a wheel assembly supporting the vehicle body. The apparatus includes a baffle assembly adapted to be positioned upstream of the wheel assembly for deflecting airflow away from the wheel assembly so as to reduce the incident pressure on the wheel assembly.

Systems and methods are provided for monitoring, diagnosis and condition-based maintenance of mechanical systems. The disclosed systems and methods employ intelligent model-based diagnostic methodologies to effectuate such monitoring, diagnosis and maintenance. According to exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, the intelligent model-based diagnostic methodologies combine or integrate quantitative (analytical) models and graph-based dependency models to enhance diagnostic performance. The disclosed systems and methods may be employed a wide variety of applications, including automotive, aircraft, power systems, manufacturing systems, chemical processes and systems, transportation systems, and industrial machines / equipment.

An airflow control device comprises a body and an active material in operative communication with the body. The active material, such as shape memory material, is operative to change at least one attribute in response to an activation signal. The active material can change its shape, dimensions and / or stiffness producing a change in at least one feature of the airflow control device such as shape, dimension, location, orientation, and / or stiffness to control vehicle airflow to better suit changes in driving conditions such as weather, ground clearance and speed, while reducing maintenance and the level of failure modes. As such, the device reduces vehicle damage due to inadequate ground clearance, while increasing vehicle stability and fuel economy. An activation device, controller and sensors may be employed to further control the change in at least one feature of the airflow control device such as shape, dimension, location, orientation, and / or stiffness of the device. A method for controlling vehicle airflow selectively introduces an activation signal to initiate a change of at least one feature of the device that can be reversed upon discontinuation of the activation signal.

A cab extender assembly (200) for selectively manipulating an aerodynamic drag of a vehicle (100) is provided. The cab extender assembly includes a dynamic cab extender (206a) and a control system (208) coupled to the dynamic cab extender. The control system is adapted to selectively position the dynamic cab extender between a stowed position, a deployed position in which the dynamic cab extender is substantially aligned with a side of the vehicle, and a braking position in which the dynamic cab extender is at least partially disposed into an airstream passing along the side of the vehicle to increase a drag coefficient of the vehicle. The cab extender assembly may also include a fixed cab extender (204a) substantially aligned with the dynamic cab extender when the dynamic cab extender is in the deployed position. A method of operating a cab extender assembly is also disclosed.

A method of determining a machine for operating at an actual site includes establishing a three-dimensional geographical model representing the actual site, determining at least one operation characteristic relating to the operation of each of a set of machines in relation to the model, and predicting at least one performance characteristic for each machine based on the at least one operation characteristic and at least one respective characteristic of the different machines. The method further includes comparing the predicted performance characteristics for the different machines, and determining a target machine based on the comparison.

A microcontroller comprising a central processing unit and a further fault processing unit suitable for performing validation of operations of said central processing unit. The further fault processing unit is external and different with respect to said central processing unit and said further fault processing unit comprises at least a module for performing validation of operations of said central processing unit and one or more modules suitable for performing validation of operations of other functional parts of said microcontroller. Validation of operations of said central processing unit is performed by using one or more of the following fault tolerance techniques: data shadowing; code&flow signature; data processing legality check; addressing legality check; ALU concurrent integrity checking; concurrent mode / interrupt check. The proposed microcontroller is particularly suitable for application in System On Chip (SoC) and was developed by paying specific attention to the possible use in automotive System On Chip. The invention also includes a method for designing and verify such fault-robust system on chip, and a fault-injection technique based on e-language.

Disclosed are methods and devices, among which is a device that includes a finite state machine lattice. The lattice may includes a programmable Boolean logic cell that may be programmed to perform various logic functions on a data stream. The programmability includes an inversion of a first input to the Boolean logic cell, an inversion of a last output of the Boolean logic cell, and a selection of an AND gate or an OR gate as a final output of the Boolean logic cell. The Boolean logic cell also includes end of data circuitry configured to cause the Boolean logic cell to only output after an end of data signifying the end of a data stream is received at the Boolean logic cell.

An improved method and device for the reduction of aerodynamic drag and for increased fuel economy of ground vehicles by increasing the pressure on the rear surface of the vehicle with a plurality of vortices generated along the top and side surfaces of the ground vehicle that flow in to the base wake region of the vehicle. The invention is comprised of a minimum number of small surfaces that attach to the side and top exterior surfaces of a ground vehicle. The spacing and orientation of the small surfaces, comprising the device, are dependent upon the vehicle geometry and vehicle operating conditions. The plurality of small surfaces are located forward of the vehicle base area. The plurality of adjacent small surfaces and are distributed circumferentially over the side and top surfaces of the ground vehicle.