GB2465600A

GB2465600A - A motor vehicle of ovoid or tapered shape

Info

Publication number: GB2465600A
Application number: GB0821420A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Charles Geoffrey Bazeley
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2008-11-22
Filing date: 2008-11-22
Publication date: 2010-05-26
Also published as: GB0821420D0

Abstract

The invention relates to a motor vehicle, namely a motor car, being more or less oval rather than rectangular in plan view, with or without protruding front wheels and suspension designed to shear off on impact. The vehicle may have a body shell formed from a moulded polymer or similar lightweight resilient material exploiting the inherent rigidity of an ovoid form such that it combines the fuel economy advantages of light weight and improved aerodynamics with the ability to glance off obstacles in a collision. The invention also relates to commercial vehicles of similarly rounded and/or tapered front and rear plan and thus enjoying similar advantages in road safety and fuel economy. Both types of vehicle may have a central driving position.

Description

A motor vehicle of novel form and using a novel combination of existing technologies to improve both fuel economy and road safety

Description.

The invention relates to a novel body shape for road-going passenger and/or goods vehicles and to exploiting the inherent properties of that shape to allow the use of a combination of elements of known form in order to achieve radical improvements in the aerodynamics, directional stability, primary and secondary safety and fuel consumption of motor vehicles whilst retaining levels of performance, carrying capacity, manoeuvrability and manufacturing costs which compare favourably with those of existing vehicles.

Road-going motor vehicles (e.g: cars, vans, lorries, buses, articulated lorry tractor units eto) of known form are almost invariably more or less rectangular in plan (fig 1) with a wheel more or less at each corner and seating arranged in one or more transverse rows within a predominantly metal shell.

This known form has a number of intrinsic properties, namely: 1) A rectangle is a relatively unstable geometrical form capable of distortion under moderate load.

Consequently, it retains its shape solely through the use of rigid materials and suitable reinforcement which adds weight to the vehicle.

2) A square frontal profile ensures that in any head-on collision, including a partial or oblique one, the vehicle will be subjected to the fill force of the impact generated by that collision. In order to protect the occupants of the vehicle from that impact, the shell must incorporate an impact absorbing structure which adds further weight and complexity to the vehicle.

3) A square frontal profile presents a flat surface to oncoming air thereby creating wind resistance, for example in known forms of heavy goods vehicle. When attempts are made to reduce wind resistance by sloping the bonnet andlor windscreen of the vehicle, as for instance in known forms of car, the oncoming air is deflected above and below the vehicle in such a way that the vehicle tends to behave as an aerofoil and lift is created at speed which reduces the stability and roadholding ability of the vehicle. Vehicles of this form also suffer from directional instability, particularly where the oncoming air is affected by wind or turbulence.

4) The predominant seating plan of known form requires the driver to sit to one side of the vehicle, thereby obliging manufacturers to produce left and right-hand drive versions of the same vehicle for use in different countries.

5) Whilst steel is relatively cheap and easy to form initially, it is heavy. It also requires a protective coating to prevent corrosion and does not easily regain its original shape when deformed making accident damage time and energy consuming to repair.

The primary object of a vehicle is to transport occupants and goods from one location to another and, whilst moving people and objects does in itself require energy, a significant porportion of the energy used in moving people and objects using vehicles of known form is expended in moving the mass of the vehicle itself. In addition, in the event of an accident, the impact forces generated are a function of the mass of the vehicle as well as its velocity at the time of impact. Reducing the weight of the vehicle would therefore benefit both safety and economy.

Description. (continued)

The forces generated in an impact could also be substantially reduced in many cases if vehicles were designed to glance off obstacles instead of hitting them squarely. An example of this is Formula One racing cars which have been known to hit trackside walls and other obstacles at speeds of up to 150mph (24Okph) without injury to the driver. The above detailed properties (1 to 5) may therefore be seen as disadvantages, both from an ecological and from a safety standpoint.

The current invention provides that, in examples such as cars or vans, the floorplan should be more or less oval in shape with the narrower end forward (example: fig 2) and the body shell should be more or less egg-shaped (example: fig 3). This would allow a number of advantages over the above known forms, namely: 1) Using a geometrically stable shape would allow the body shell to be moulded from polypropylene or a similar lightweight elastic material with minimal reinforcement since the shape is intrinsically rigid. This in turn would allow the use of lighter running gear and a correspondingly smaller engine without reducing the vehicle's power-to-weight ratio.The use of such lightweight materials and components in conjunction with the design are particularly but not exclusively included within the scope of this invention 2) Particularly but not exclusively when used in conjunction with protruding front wheels and front suspension of a form similar to that used on modern Formula One racing cars and designed to shear off on impact, such a design could combine the handling advantages of having a wheel at each corner with the benefits of presenting a minimal frontal area, thereby greatly increasing the likelihood that the vehicle would glance off any obstacle with which it collided. Any impact that did occur would also be substantially reduced by the relative lack of mass of the vehicle.

3) Since the oncoming air would be deflected to either side of such a vehicle, it would have greater directional stability at speed. It would also have less wind resistance which would further benefit fuel economy.

4) Particularly but not exclusively, the proposed design would also allow for a chevron seating plan (3 seater cars) or a diamond seating plan (4 seater cars) in which the driver sat centrally in the nose of the vehicle in order to best utilise the space within the bodyshell. This would obviate the need for separate left-hand drive and right-hand drive versions, reduce the likelihood of the driver being distracted by a front seat passenger, and allow the driver a wider uninterrupted field of view to either side of the vehicle when carrying passengers.

5) The use of a lightweight elastic material for the bodyshell such as polypropylene or similar would provide a degree of built-in impact absorption and would obviate the need for repairs after minor impacts as the material would regain its shape automatically. Particularly but not exclusively, such a material could also be self coloured to reduce the number of processes during manufacture and to obviate the need for respraying after minor accidents.

Description. (continued)

Whilst it is recognised that weight reduction is less easy to achieve in larger commercial vehicles, it is particularly but not exclusively included within the scope of this invention that their front and rear profiles be reduced by tapering their cabs (example: fig 4) and incorporating a curved rear fender (example: fig 5) so that other vehicles are more likely to glance off them in a collision. In addition to improving road safety, the reduction in wind resistance afibrded by such a design would significantly reduce their fuel consumption.

It is a property of this invention that the benefits in safety and economy detailed above may be enjoyed irrespective of the type of motive power used to propel the vehicle and it is envisaged that using vehicles of this type instead of their equivalents of known form would substantially reduce both fuel consumption and road deaths and serious injuries, as well as manufacturing and repair costs. The introduction and use of such vehicles would therefore be a simple and practical step towards honouring our environmental obligations without compromising personal mobility.

Claims

A motor vehicle of novel form and using a novel combination of existing technologies to improve both fuel economy and road safety Claims.Iclaim: 1. A motorised road vehicle designed for the carriage of passengers and/or goods and being rounded and/or tapered so as to be more or less oval in plan and having an enclosed body shell of more or less ovoid form.
2.A motor vehicle according to claim 1 having a body shell formed from a moulded polymer or other lightweight resilient material.
3. A motor vehicle according to claim I having front and/or rear wheels and suspension protruding from the body shell and with the protruding elements designed to shear off on impact.
4. A motor vehicle according to claim 1 having a seating plan comprised of staggered forward facing seats with the driving position located centrally within the tapered nose of the vehicle.
5. A motor vehicle according to claims I and 2 having a body shell formed from self coloured material.
6. A large rigid or articulated road vehicle having a nose tapered and/or rounded in plan
7. A vehicle according to claim 6 having a rounded and/or tapered rear fender.
8. A vehicle according to claim 6 having a driving position located centrally within the tapered nose of the vehicle.AMENDMENTS TO THE CLAIMS HAVE BEEN FILED AS FOLLOWS: Claims.1 claim: 1. A motorised road vehicle designed for the carriage of passengers and/or goods and being rounded and/or tapered so as to be more or less oval in plan and having an enclosed body shell of more or less ovoid form and designed to exploit the properties of such a shape in order to reduce the vehicl&s weight and frontal area and permit the incorporation of one or more of the following: 2.A motor vehicle according to claim I having a body shell formed from a moulded polymer or other lightweight resilient material.3. A motor vehicle according to claim 1 having front and/or rear wheels and suspension protruding from the body shell and with the protruding elements designed to shear off on impact.4. A motor vehicle according to claim I having a seating plan comprised of staggered forward facing seats with the driving position located centrally within the tapered nose of the vehicle.5. A motor vehicle according to claims 1 and 2 having a body shell formed from self coloured material.6. A large rigid or articulated road vehicle having a nose tapered and/or rounded in plan and designed to deflect oncoming obstacles. 1. A vehicle according to claim 6 having a rounded and/or tapered rear fender designed to deflect ncoming obstacles.: * 8. A vehicle according to claim 6 having a driving position located centrally within the tapered nose * ttf the vehicle. * ** * * * * I. S. S * * *.