Passively deployable air dam for a vehicle

• Main Authors: CHARNESKY SCOTT P, MACKENZIE STEVEN K, LUTTINEN JAMES L
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 29.05.2012
• Subjects: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TOTRANSPORTATION; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; LAND VEHICLES FOR TRAVELLING OTHERWISE THAN ON RAILS; MOTOR VEHICLES; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; REMOVABLE EXTERNAL PROTECTIVE COVERINGS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FORVEHICLES; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS; TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINSTCLIMATE CHANGE; TRAILERS; TRANSPORTING; VEHICLES IN GENERAL; VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISEPROVIDED FOR; WINDOWS, WINDSCREENS, NON-FIXED ROOFS, DOORS, OR SIMILARDEVICES FOR VEHICLES

An air dam assembly mounted under a front end of a vehicle includes a passively deployable air dam assembly. The passively deployable air dam assembly includes a passively deployable air dam having a front surface at least partially exposed to ram air when the vehicle is traveling in a forward direction, and a passive deployment assembly including at least one spring biasing the passively deployable air dam into a retracted position, with the passive deployment assembly engaging the passively deployable air dam to allow the passively deployable air dam to move, against the bias of the spring, from the retracted position to a deployed position closer to ground under the vehicle when a forward speed of the vehicle reaches or exceeds a predetermined activation speed.