Polymeric Profile Assembly for Vehicle Wheel Spray Elimination
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing profile arrangements for eliminating disruptive spray water from vehicle wheels are costly to produce, complex in design, and often reflect spray water back onto the wheel, leading to ineffective water removal and potential damage from mixed substances like sand and stones.
Innovation Solution
A profile arrangement using a polymeric material with a base, profile elements at an acute angle, and damping elements made of flexible polymeric material with Shore A hardness between 50 to 95, which directs spray water away from the wheel via drainage channels, preventing reflection and ensuring effective water removal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a complex profile arrangement with multiple plugs and ribs is used, then spray water can be collected and drained, but the manufacturing cost increases and the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The profile arrangement is divided into functionally distinct elements: damping elements for initial spray absorption, guide elements for water direction, and drainage channels for water removal. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for its specific function while simplifying the overall design and manufacturing process compared to complex integrated structures.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the profile arrangement have specialized properties: the damping elements have specific geometric configurations for spray absorption, the guide elements have surface characteristics for water direction, and the drainage channels have optimized cross-sections for water flow. This local optimization achieves effective spray elimination with simpler, more manufacturable components.
2Stability of the object's composition
If rigid profile elements are used, then the structure provides stable geometry, but spray water is reflected back onto the wheel causing harmful effects
Solution Approach 1:
The damping elements are designed with flexible polymeric material characteristics that allow them to deform upon spray water impact. This flexibility enables the elements to absorb and redirect spray water forward rather than reflecting it backward onto the wheel, while the overall structural geometry remains stable through the integrated design of flexible damping elements with rigid support structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The damping elements are designed with specific geometric parameters (acute angles, optimized dimensions) and material properties that change the spray water's trajectory from backward reflection to forward direction. The flexible material properties allow dynamic adaptation to spray impact while maintaining stable overall structure.
3Reliability
If the profile arrangement is positioned close to the wheel, then spray water can be effectively intercepted, but the structure is damaged by mixed substances like sand and stones
Solution Approach 1:
The damping elements made of flexible polymeric material can deform under impact from spray water mixed with solid particles, allowing the structure to absorb impact energy without permanent damage. This flexibility provides damage resistance while maintaining close positioning to the wheel for effective spray interception.
Solution Approach 2:
The damping elements are positioned and designed to absorb and cushion the impact of spray water before it can reach and damage the main structural components. This prior cushioning protection allows the profile arrangement to withstand mixed substances while maintaining its spray interception function.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides an economical and effective means to absorb and redirect spray water away from the vehicle wheel, preventing it from returning to the wheel and ensuring it does not interfere with traffic or cause damage, while withstanding mixed substances.
Implementation Method 1
The damping element is at least partially made of a soft-elastic polymeric material with a Shore A hardness according to DIN EN ISO 868 of approximately 50 to 95
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a profile arrangement for eliminating disruptive spray formation from at least one vehicle wheel, such as a car, truck, bus, trailer, or the like, which is arranged parallel to the visible surface of the vehicle wheel and spaced apart from it, parallel to the direction of travel, comprising at least one polymeric material, including at least one base, with at least one profile element projecting at an acute angle thereto, at least one guide element, and at least one damping element facing the visible surface of the vehicle wheel, characterized in that the profile element has at least one damping element arranged at an acute and/or obtuse angle to the base, and that the damping element is made at least partially of a soft-elastic polymeric material with a Shore A hardness according to DIN EN ISO 868 of approximately 50 to 95.preferably 60 to 90 and that the damping element is integrally connected to the profile element.