Crop-Tear-Drop Water Spray Shield for Wheel Well Mounting

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing water spray shielding devices for vehicles are either cumbersome, costly, prone to jamming, or susceptible to breakage due to road debris, and fail to effectively divert water spray without adding significant width or weight to the vehicle.

Innovation Solution

A lightweight, mountable water spray shield device featuring a rigid sheet with a cropped tear-drop profile, a rear insert section, and a mounting bracket system that secures within the vehicle's wheel well, allowing easy access and durability against road debris.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Object-affected harmful factors

If a complete enclosure splash guard is used to divert water spray, then spray diversion effectiveness is improved, but vehicle weight increases significantly

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvewater spray emissionVSAvoidvehicle weight

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSWeight of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The splash guard is divided into multiple vertical panels (typically three) that are spaced apart from each other, creating a segmented structure. This segmentation allows water spray to be diverted effectively while using less material than a complete enclosure, thereby reducing weight while maintaining spray diversion functionality.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of providing complete enclosure around the wheels, the invention uses partial shielding with spaced panels that cover only the critical spray generation areas. This partial action approach achieves sufficient spray diversion without the excessive weight of full enclosure structures.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #16Partial or excessive action

2Object-affected harmful factors

If motor driven panels are implemented to prevent transverse spray emission, then spray diversion effectiveness is improved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetransverse spray emissionVSAvoidpanel control system

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The splash guard panels are designed to be automatically positioned by the vehicle's motion itself. As the vehicle moves forward, the panels naturally assume their correct positions relative to the wheels, eliminating the need for motors, sensors, or control systems. The system serves itself through the inherent dynamics of vehicle operation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The complex motor-driven control system is completely removed from the design. The invention extracts the unnecessary actuation mechanism and relies solely on passive structural elements that function through their geometric configuration and the vehicle's natural motion.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

3Object-affected harmful factors

If panels are mounted to the outside portion of the trailer, then spray diversion effectiveness is improved, but vehicle width increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvespray emissionVSAvoidvehicle width

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSLength of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The splash guard panels are nested within the existing wheel well structure of the vehicle. By positioning the panels inside the wheel wells rather than extending outward, the design utilizes the existing spatial envelope of the vehicle, avoiding any increase in overall vehicle width while still achieving effective spray diversion.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #7Nested doll (Nesting)

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of extending the splash guard panels horizontally outward from the vehicle body, the design orientes them vertically within the wheel well space. This dimensional reorientation allows spray diversion to occur in the vertical and lateral directions without increasing the vehicle's horizontal width dimension.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

4Weight of moving object

If a thin material skirt is used for the splash guard, then device weight is reduced, but structural strength decreases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesplash guard weightVSAvoidskirt structural strength

Core Design Contradiction:

Weight of moving objectVSStrength

Solution Approach 1:

The splash guard is constructed as multiple separate vertical panels rather than a continuous thin skirt. This segmentation allows each panel to be structurally independent and better positioned to resist spray forces, while the spacing between panels reduces the total material required, achieving both weight reduction and improved structural performance.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The panels are designed with curved surfaces that are optimized to deflect water spray forces. The curvature is engineered to redirect spray away from the vehicle while distributing mechanical stresses more evenly across the panel structure, improving strength-to-weight ratio compared to flat thin materials.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #14Spheroidality (Curvature)

Data Source

PatentUS8944450B2Mountable water spray shield

Publication Date: 2015.02.03 HARRIS JAMES

AI summary

A mountable water spray shield device is shown herein. A rigid sheet, with an inverted, cropped tear-drop profile, is attached to a rear insert section, and is mounted to a designated vehicle within the area defined by the wheel well and between a pair of tires of the designated vehicle via a bracket secured to the undercarriage of the vehicle. During operation of the designated vehicle upon a wet roadway, the mountable water spray shield serves to divert water spray which would otherwise be emitted into the path of adjacent traffic by rotation of the tires upon the wet roadway at speed.