LOS ANGELES, CA — December 10, 2019 — NULL WINDS Technology™ today announced US Patent 10,502,656 for an automatic speed-adjusting rolling road for wind tunnels or premium bicycle trainers, enabling the accurate measure of aerodynamic efficiency of open-wheel vehicles, and adding to a broad portfolio of drag reduction IP for open-wheel vehicles — from bicycles to Formula race cars — including the first utility patent in history for an aerodynamic wheel fender.
'Servo Apparatus Supporting Self-Propelled Vehicle' teaches the use of a speed-adjusting rolling road supporting a self-propelled vehicle driven freely unrestrained as on an actual roadway. Placed in a wind tunnel, the invention can more accurately measure true aerodynamic efficiency of vehicles, said Inventor Garth Magee, founder of NULL WINDS Technology.
The apparatus automatically adjusts the speed of a moving road belt to maintain a fully unrestrained and freely self-propelled vehicle supported thereon entirely stationary, enabling the direct measure of power being dissipated in drag on the driven vehicle, including the highly magnified power loss from the upper wheel. Overcoming modeling inaccuracies otherwise inherent to traditional aircraft drag force measurement techniques, the invention determines directly the vehicle power loss in drag alone.
This new treadmill technology also provides an enhanced experience in the growing bicycle trainer market, the premium Tacx (subsidiary of Garmin) Magnum treadmill being a recent example, currently marketed only outside the U.S.
With the invention, existing Formula racing wind tunnels can simply upgrade their existing high-speed rolling roads with minimal additional instrumentation to more accurately optimize vehicle design for maximum aerodynamic efficiency.
And by measuring power being delivered directly into the rolling road, no modifications to the vehicle itself are required. Thus, the true aerodynamic performance of most any open-wheeled vehicle can be readily determined using this revolutionary approach.
Inventor Garth Magee, founder of NULL WINDS Technology, currently holds numerous related vehicle drag-reduction IP for open-wheeled vehicles, including the 'first utility patent for a simple aerodynamic wheel fender in history' (US 9,878,745 and US 15/593,996 issuing January, 2020).
NULL WINDS Technology is now seeking the immediate sale or license of this technology and related IP (https://www.nullwinds.com/pages/patents), including previous patents directed for use inside wind tunnels: US 9,766,153 and EU 3152541. Interested parties can contact Garth Magee at 310-675-4111.
