Adjustable spoiler for Motorcycle helmet

Abstract

The present invention relates to a spoiler for motorcycle helmet which is adjustable. The position of the spoiler of the present invention can be adjusted horizontally, vertically or in a circular motion depending upon speed and tilt of the biker as well as the air pressure.

Claims

1. An adjustable spoiler for motorcycle users/bikers, on an outer surface of the helmet having a semi-circular shape, and located behind a centre of a longitudinal width of the helmet comprising: a wing portion; and a skirt portion, wherein, the said wing portion protrudes backwards from the helmet and extends behind the helmet; and the said skirt portion is a thin plate member disposed at a left rear side and a right rear side of the helmet engaging around the rear part of the helmet.

2. The adjustable spoiler of claim 1, wherein the said spoiler is engaged with the helmet via pivot, allowing the spoiler to be adjusted in variable positions from upper to lower depending upon the driving speed and the tilt of the head.

3. The adjustable spoiler of claim 1, wherein the said spoiler is housed within a housing within which it slides.

4. The adjustable spoiler of claim 3, wherein the said spoiler slides both vertically and horizontally depending upon the speed and the tilt of the head of the biker.

5. The adjustable spoiler of claim 1, wherein the said spoiler is spring loaded, wherein the spring automatically extends or retracts depending upon the pressure of the air.

6. The adjustable spoiler of claim 1, wherein the said spoiler is controlled by an electronic actuator which receives inputs from the speed sensor and processor.

7. The adjustable spoiler of claim 1, wherein the spoiler is made from any one of materials including stainless steel, aluminium, polyurethane, polycarbonate, carbon fiber.

8. The adjustable spoiler of claim 1, wherein the spoiler may be manufactured by any one of the methods including injection molding, rotational molding, compression molding, die casting, laser cutting and 3D printing.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031] FIG. 1 shows Velocity contours for different spoiler's position;

[0032] FIG. 2 shows the Turbulence kinetic energy contours for different spoiler's position.

[0033] FIG. 3 shows Helmet models for bottom spoiler's position optimization.

[0034] FIG. 4 shows velocity contours of a flow around the helmet without a spoiler and with different spoiler angles.

[0035] FIG. 5 is the perspective view of the helmet with the adjustable spoiler of the present invention, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

[0036] FIG. 6 is the side view of the helmet with the adjustable spoiler of the present invention, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

[0037] FIG. 7 is the perspective view of the helmet with the spoiler in a disengaged position, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

[0038] FIG. 8 is the rear view of the helmet with the adjustable spoiler of the present invention, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

[0039] FIG. 9 is an illustrative representation of an adjustable helmet with spoiler, in side view, with spoiler sliding both horizontally and vertically within a housing, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0040] In the detailed description, several associated principles and effects comes into play in the functioning of the adjustable helmets spoiler which are elaborated hereupon, followed by elaboration of the novel aspects of the said spoiler.

[0041] The force acting on the occupant wearing the helmet while the motorcycle is travelling is roughly classified into air resistance (drag) from the front of the motorcycle, lateral force due to the lateral wind, and lift force that causes the helmet to float.

[0042] Drag can be defined as the fluid pressure in the direction opposite to the direction of travel, that is, air resistance, when the motorcycle travels, and it obstructs the movement of the motorcycle to follow. Appears as resistance. Therefore, the higher the drag, that is, the greater the air resistance of the helmet, the greater the load on the occupant's neck, causing fatigue.

[0043] The lateral force can be defined as a force that causes the helmet to sway from side to side due to the wind blowing from the side of the motorcycle or the wind generated when the vehicle moves with a large vehicle. Such lateral forces affect the entire helmet worn by the occupant and in some cases can pose considerable danger.

[0044] Lift can be defined as the force acting perpendicular to the direction of travel of the motorcycle to float the helmet in the air. Due to the effect of lift, when the helmet floats from the occupant's head, the occupant's consciousness is distracted, and in some cases, the handling stability is lost.

[0045] The adjustable, helmet spoiler of the present invention, separates the backflow behind the helmet from the main flow decreasing the drag. In addition, it directs the air after the helmet tangentially to the spoiler decreasing eddies formation behind the helmet.

[0046] The main objective of the adjustable spoiler design is to choose the proper spoiler angle according to rider's speed. Since, different spoiler angles have a significant influence on the flow above the helmet and behind it in low and high speeds.

[0047] In addition, individual characteristics of bikers should be considered, such as forward tilt of head. Hence, the spoiler of the present invention has three fixed positions: upper, middle and bottom. The upper spoiler position should be used without forward tilt of head. Bottom spoiler position is used with forward tilt of head up to 30 degrees.

[0048] The different position of spoilers viz. Upper, middle and bottom were tested and simulated and the following results were found.

[0049] For optimizing the initial upper position of the spoiler, three additional spoiler angles were examined with 5 degrees step. Simulation results show that increasing the spoiler's position to the top of the helmet increases the flow velocity above the helmet. However, in case when the spoiler reaches its highest position the wake after the helmet begins to increase. Turbulence kinetic energy considerably increases in the position of Initial plus 5 degrees (optimization bottom position) and reaches its optimal values in the position Initial minus 5 degrees. Hence the optimum upper spoiler's position should be Initial minus 5 degrees. This is diagrammatically represented in FIGS. 1 and 2.

[0050] In case when biker's head tilted forward with a head tilt angle of 30 degrees, the bottom position of the spoiler should be used. Considering, initial bottom position of the spoiler to be 15 degrees lower than initial upper position. For optimizing, the initial bottom position of the spoiler, three additional spoiler angles were examined with 5 degrees step (20, 25 and 30 degrees from upper position). Helmet models for this optimization are shown on FIG. 3.

[0051] Simulation results show that decreasing the spoiler's position to the bottom of the helmet increases the flow velocity above the helmet. Further, decreasing the spoiler's position by more than 5 degrees optimizes such flow velocity. The Turbulence kinetic energy also increases after position Initial plus 5 degrees. Hence the optimum bottom spoiler's position should be Initial plus 5 degrees.

[0052] Comparison of the forward tilted helmet with spoiler and without it gives the same result as the helmet without a tilt. The flow behind the helmet with spoiler has less low-speed (low-pressure) fields than behind the helmet without spoiler, i.e. drag decreases. Adding a spoiler decreases eddy formation for the forward tilted helmet.

[0053] Further, in case of forward tilt of the helmet, the wake after the helmet also changes. Adding a spoiler also decreases low speed areas behind the helmet, so drag also decreases as mentioned above. Hence, the optimum spoiler position is bottom, like in case of a high-speed flow.

[0054] When the driving speed is low, for example, (30 mph), the air flow is also at a low speed. Here also the effectiveness of adding a spoiler to the helmet is seen. Spoiler decreases the wake distribution behind the helmet and separates the backflows behind the helmet from the main flow. The optimal spoiler position is Middle for a low speed flow. Referring to FIG. 4, depicting velocity contours of a flow around the helmet without a spoiler and with different spoiler angles.

[0055] The spoiler (102) of the present invention is semi-circular in shape located behind a centre of a longitudinal width of the helmet (100) which comprises of two parts a wing portion (104) which protrudes backwards and a skirt portion (106) which is a thin plate member disposed at a left rear side and a right rear side of the helmet respectively and engages around the rear part of the helmet (108) as shown in FIG. The spoiler (102) is engaged with the helmet via a pivot (not shown). The spoiler position can be adjusted to provide different levels of aerodynamics. It can be adjusted to be placed in an upper position (110), in the middle position or in a bottom position (112), or in any other position ranging from (110) to (112) shown as (114) depending upon the driving speed and the tilt of the head. In one of the embodiments the pivot helps in the adjustments of the spoiler. The position adjustment is continuous, allowing the spoiler to hold any position within its movement range.

[0056] In one of the embodiments, the spoiler (102) is housed in a housing within which the spoiler (102) slides. The spoiler position can be adjusted to provide different levels of aerodynamics. It can be adjusted to be placed in an upper position (110), in the middle position or in a bottom position (112), or in any other position ranging from 110) to (112) shown as (114) depending upon the driving speed and the tilt of the head. The position adjustment is continuous, allowing the spoiler to hold any position within its movement range.

[0057] In another embodiment, the spoiler is housed within a housing within which the spoiler slides and is engaged with the helmet via a pivot which allows the spoiler to rotate and achieve the desirable angle of the spoiler as is required depending upon the driving speed and the tilt of the head. The spoiler position can be adjusted to provide different levels of aerodynamics. It can be adjusted to be placed in an upper position (110), in the middle position or in a bottom position (112), or in any other position ranging from (110) to (112) as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 9 as (114).

[0058] In still another embodiment, the spoiler is housed within a housing, and enables the sliding of the spoiler within the housing both vertically and horizontally. The motorcycle helmet (100) has a rear spoiler (102) attached. The position of the spoiler can be adjusted to provide different levels of aerodynamics. It can be adjusted to be placed in an upper position (110), in the middle position or in a bottom position (112), or in any other position ranging between (114) as illustrated in FIG. 9. The position adjustment is continuous, allowing the spoiler to hold any position within its movement range.

[0059] In some embodiments the spoiler can be spring loaded providing dynamic adjustable aerodynamics. As increased air pressure is applied to the spoiler the spring automatically extends or retracts to compensate.

[0060] In some other embodiments the spoiler may be attached to an electronic actuator. The actuator may be automatically adjusted and controlled via a speed sensor and processor. As speed increases the electronic actuator extends the spoiler, as speed decreases the electronic actuator retracts the spoiler.

[0061] The adjustable spoiler of the present invention may be of material including, but not limited to stainless steel, aluminium, polyurethane, polycarbonate, carbon fiber, or any other variations known in the art.

[0062] The adjustable spoiler of the present invention may be manufactured by any one of the methods including but not limited to injection molding, rotational molding, compression molding, die casting, laser cutting, 3D printing, or any other variations known in the art.

[0063] As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention has been described so far, embodiment of this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above. That is, other embodiments, additions, changes, deletions, and the like can be changed within the scope that can be conceived by those skilled in the art, and as long as the effects of the present invention are exhibited in any aspect, the scope of the present invention is included. It is included.