1. Publishing an idea for an invention on a public forum essentially nullifies the patent claim. If you want to patent something, you need to keep it close to your chest until filed.
2. Fuel efficiency is not the only factor in a truck. Weight is an issue. The heavier the truck, the less payload it can carry because there is an absolute maximum weight. Size is an issue. Trailers are boxes because they fill the legally mandated maximum dimensions. If you streamline a trailer, they can't carry as much. I used to work at UPS during college and I filled those d@mned things to the roof from front to back.
3. If your fairing is only used when bobtailing, where does it go when a trailer is picked up? Their not cruising for the scenery. They are going someplace to pick up a trailer so they can make money. If they drop off the fairing, who gets it back to its original location? You've created a whole new logistics tail requiring flatbed trucks to move the fairings around. This can only be considered by major fleet operators and has to be proven to be cheaper than buying more fuel. It is useless to the owner-operators.
The big tractor manufacturers have come a long way in terms of aerodynamics over the old cubical cab over design that was ubiquitous during the '70s. But trailers are boxes. This will be even more difficult to deviate from as more and more trailers are actually shipping containers. Actually, the real solution for truck fuel efficiency is not aerodynamics but more shipping containers. Getting trucks out of the long haul business in favor of containers on trains and even barges and coastal ferries would be much more efficient.
|