US 11,702,151 B2
Aerodynamic vehicle side step
Arturo Guzman-Magana, Windsor (CA); Santiago Antonelli, Lake Orion, MI (US); Shawn Miller, Clinton Township, MI (US); and Robert J May, Commerce, MI (US)
Assigned to FCA US LLC, Auburn Hills, MI (US)
Filed by Arturo Guzman-Magana, Windsor (CA); Santiago Antonelli, Lake Orion, MI (US); Shawn Miller, Clinton Township, MI (US); and Robert J May, Commerce, MI (US)
Filed on Dec. 2, 2020, as Appl. No. 17/109,334.
Prior Publication US 2022/0169323 A1, Jun. 2, 2022
Int. Cl. B60R 3/00 (2006.01); B62D 35/00 (2006.01)
CPC B62D 35/008 (2013.01) [B60R 3/00 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A side step for a vehicle, comprising:
a main body having an inner side adapted to be coupled to or adjacent to a vehicle body, an outer side opposite to the inner side, a top side, a bottom side opposite to the top side and in assembly on the vehicle arranged facing a ground surface, a front end and a rear end, and the front end is adapted to be arranged closer to a front of a vehicle than the rear end, wherein an air guide is provided at one or both of the front end and the rear end, the air guide projects outwardly from one or both of the top side and bottom side relative to a central portion of the side step that is spaced from the air guide, and the air guide is thicker, in a direction perpendicular to the centerline, at said one or both of the front end and rear end than is the air guide at a location between the front end and rear end, wherein the air guide has an inward end located between the front end of the main body and the rear end of the main body, and an outward end that defines either the front end of the main body or the rear end of the main body, and wherein the inward end has a smaller width, measured in a direction extending between the inner side and the outer side of the main body, than does the outward end.