Coachbuilder
A coachbuilder or body-maker manufactures bodies for passenger-carrying vehicles. Coachwork is the body of an automobile, horse-drawn carriage, or railroad passenger car; the word "coach" was derived from the Hungarian town of Kocs. Custom or bespoke coachbuilt bodies were made and fitted to another manufacturer's rolling chassis by the craftsmen who had built bodies for horse-drawn carriages and coaches. Separate coachbuilt bodies became obsolete when vehicle manufacturers found they could no longer meet their customers' demands by relying on a simple separate chassis mounted on leaf springs on beam axles. Unibody or monocoque combined chassis and body structures became standardised during the middle years of the 20th century to provide the rigidity required by improved suspension systems without incurring the heavy weight, consequent fuel, penalty of a rigid separate chassis; the improved more supple suspension systems gave vehicles better roadholding and much improved the ride experienced by passengers.
As well as true bespoke bodies the same coachbuilders made short runs of more-or-less identical bodies to the order of dealers or the manufacturer of a chassis. The same body design might be adjusted to suit different brands of chassis. Examples include Salmons & Sons' Tickford bodies with a patent device to raise or lower a convertible's roof, first used on their 19th century carriages, or Wingham convertible bodies by Martin Walter. Coachbuilt body is the British English name for the coachbuilder's product. Custom body is the standard term in North American English. Coachbuilders are: carrossiers in French, carrozzeria in Italian, Karosseriebauer in German and carroceros in Spanish. Coachbuilt body is the British English name for mass produced vehicles built on assembly lines using the same but simplified techniques until more durable all-steel bodies replaced them in the early 1950s. Unless they were for mass produced vehicles justifying the cost of tooling up dies and presses coachbuilt bodies were made of hand-shaped sheet metal alluminium alloy.
Pressed or hand-shaped the metal panels were fastened to a wooden frame of light but strong timber. Many of the more important structural features of the bespoke or custom body such as A, B and C pillars were cast alloy components; some bodies such as those alloy bodies fitted to many Pierce-Arrow cars contained little or no timber though they were mounted on a conventional steel chassis. The coachbuilder craftsmen who might once have built bespoke or custom bodies continue to build bodies for short runs of specialised commercial vehicles such as luxury motor coaches or recreational vehicles or motorhome bodied upon a rolling chassis provided by an independent manufacturer. A conversion is built inside an existing vehicle body. A British trade association the Worshipful Company of Coachmakers and Coach Harness Makers, was incorporated in 1630; some British coachmaking firms operating in the 20th century were established earlier. Rippon was active in the time of Queen Elizabeth I, Barker founded in 1710 by an officer in Queen Anne's Guards.
Brewster, the oldest in the U. S. was formed in 1810. The maker would provide the coachworks with a chassis frame, brakes, steering system, lighting system, spare wheel and rear mudguards and bumpers and dashboard; the easily damaged honeycomb radiator enclosed and protected by a shell became the main visual element identifying the chassis' brand. To maintain some level of control over the final product, chassis manufacturers' warranties would be voided by mating them with unapproved bodies; when popular automobile manufacturers brought body building in-house, larger dealers or distributors of ultra-luxury cars would pre-order stock chassis and the bodies they thought most to sell, inventory them in suitable quantities for sale off their showroom floor. In time, the practice of commissioning bespoke coachwork dwindled to a prerogative of wealth. All ultra-luxury vehicles of automobiling's Golden Era before World War II sold as chassis only. For instance, when Duesenberg introduced their Model J, it was offered as chassis only, for $8,500.
Other examples include the Bugatti Type 57, Cadillac V-16, Ferrari 250, Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8, all Rolls-Royces produced before World War II. Delahaye had no in-house coachworks, so all its chassis were bodied by independents, who created some of their most attractive designs on the Type 135. Most of the Delahayes were bodied by Chapron, Franay, Figoni et Falaschi and many more carrossiers; the practice remained in limited force after World War II, with both luxury chassis and high-performance sports cars and gran turismos, waning by the late 1960s. Rolls-Royce acquiesced, debuting its first unibody model, the Silver Shadow, in 1965, before taking all R-R and Bentley bodying in-house. Independent coachbuilders survived for a time after the mid-20th century, making bodies for the chassis produced by low-production companies such as Rolls-Royce and Bentley. Producing body dies is expensive, only considered practical when large numbers are involved—though, the path taken by Rolls-Royce and Bentley after 1945 for their own in-house production.
Because dies for pressing metal panels are so costly, from the mid 20th century, many vehicles, most notably the Chevrolet Corvette, were clothed with large panels of fiberglass reinforced resin, which only require inexpensive molds. Glass has since been re
Backup camera
A backup camera is a special type of video camera, produced for the purpose of being attached to the rear of a vehicle to aid in backing up, to alleviate the rear blind spot. It is designed to avoid a backup collision; the area directly behind vehicles has been described as a "killing zone" due to the associated carnage. Backup cameras are connected to the vehicle head unit display; the design of a backup camera is distinct from other cameras in that the image is horizontally flipped so that the output is a mirror image. This is necessary because the camera and the driver face opposite directions, without it, the camera's right would be on the driver's left and vice versa. A mirrored image makes the orientation of the display consistent with the physical mirrors installed on the vehicle. A backup camera sports a wide-angle or fisheye lens. While such a lens spoils the camera's ability to see faraway objects, it allows the camera to see an uninterrupted horizontal path from one rear corner to the other.
The camera is pointed on a downward angle, to view potential obstacles on the ground as well as the position of approaching walls and docks, rather than straight back. Backup cameras are common on vehicles, such as motorhomes. With the rise in popularity of in-dash DVD players and GPS navigation systems which aid in justifying the expense of adding a color LCD to the driver's seat, they have become much more common available as optional factory accessories on standard passenger trucks and sport utility vehicles, as well as aftermarket accessories. Inside the vehicle, the display is wired to automatically sense when the transmission is set in reverse, showing the backup view while in reverse, showing the map at all other times. Backup cameras are produced in different varieties depending on the application. Backup or Reversing Cameras can be added as aftermarket additions to vehicles that do not come with factory-fitted systems, they are available in wireless versions. For large vehicles such as motorhomes, camera systems with built-in servomechanisms allow the driver to remotely pan and tilt the camera.
Wireless Backup Cameras come with a wireless camera and receiver, which make it easier and cheaper to install them. Built-in audio intercoms are used in addition to the camera system for communicating with a spotter outside the vehicle - common when backing large trailers or launching boats. Night vision cameras use a series of infrared lights for backing in the dark, when the positioning or the intensity of the vehicle's white reverse lights are insufficient for this purpose. Portable or semi-permanent all-in-one camera systems are sold for vehicles that don't have displays permanently installed in the dash; such systems consist of a small portable screen that hangs from the sun visor above or on rearview mirror, a length of wire to reach the cameras, including a backup camera. So, some backup or rear cameras are connected to displays on the rearview mirror and are used in vehicles to detect activity behind the car to "avoid the tooling, software and testing costs associated with integrating the display/feature in other areas of the vehicle."
License-plate-frame versions permit permanent installation without any permanent vehicle modifications. Custom cameras: brake light cameras are combination devices that contain a camera, while still illuminating as a brake light; the first backup camera was used in the 1956 Buick Centurion concept car, presented in January 1956 at the General Motors Motorama. The vehicle had a rear-mounted television camera that sent images to a TV screen in the dashboard in place of the rear-view mirror; the 1972 Volvo Experimental Safety Car had a backup camera. However, the camera element did not make it into the following Volvo 240 model; the first production automobile to incorporate a backup camera was the 1991 Toyota Soarer Limited, only available in Japan and not on its U. S. counterpart, the Lexus SC. The Toyota system used a colour EMV screen, with a rear-spoiler-mounted CCD camera; the system was discontinued in 1997. In April 2000, Nissan's Infiniti luxury division introduced the RearView Monitor on the 2002 Q45 flagship sedan at the 2000 New York International Auto Show.
Introducing coloured onscreen guide lines as a parking distance parameter, the RearView Monitor operated from a license-plate-mounted camera in the trunk that transmitted a mirrored image to an in-dash LCD screen. It was available as optional equipment upon North American market launch in March 2001; the 2002 Nissan Primera introduced the RearView Monitor backup camera system to territories outside Japan and North America. Aftermarket options for cars have been available for some time. Electronics manufacturers have made multiple car upgrades available that can be installed by professionals without replacing the car's center console. Other types of camera systems can give a more comprehensive view. In 2007 Nissan introduced their "Around View Monitor" on the 2008 Infiniti EX35, which uses four cameras to give a bird's eye view of the vehicle. Other automobile manufacturers have since offered similar systems. BMW introduced their competing system called Surround View in 2009 on the F10 5 Series.
Wireless Backup Camera This is an advanced type of reversing camera that does not require the use of cables between the camera itself and the display. It functions remotely. Wireless rear-view cameras have separate sources of power from the display; the cameras are powered by the same power source as the brake and thus switch
Backbone chassis
Backbone tube chassis is a type of automobile construction chassis, similar to the body-on-frame design. Instead of a two-dimensional ladder-type structure, it consists of a strong tubular backbone that connects the front and rear suspension attachment areas. A body is placed on this structure, it was first used in the English Rover 8hp of 1904 and the French Simplicia automobile in 1909. The backbone chassis was extensively developed by Hans Ledwinka who used it in greater numbers on the Tatra 11 and subsequent vehicles. Ledwinka used backbone frame with central tube and axles with swinging driveshafts on Tatra trucks, became known as Tatra-concept; the truck backbone chassis is a design feature of Czech Tatra heavy trucks. Hans Ledwinka used this style of chassis for the Tatra 11 car in 1923, he developed the design on trucks with 6x4 model Tatra 26, which had excellent off-road abilities. This type of chassis has been used in numerous sports cars, it does not provide protection against side collisions, thus has to be combined with a body that would compensate for this shortcoming.
Examples of cars using a backbone chassis are Simplicia, De Tomaso Mangusta, DMC DeLorean, Lloyd 600, Lotus Elan, Lotus Esprit and Europa, Škoda Popular, Škoda Rapid, Škoda Superb, Tatra 77, Tatra 87, Tatra 97 etc. and TVR S1. Trucks with a backbone chassis include the Tatra 111, Tatra 148 and Tatra 815; some cars use a backbone as a part of the chassis to strengthen it. Examples include the Volkswagen Beetle; the Locost may appear to be using a backbone in addition to the outer space frame. But examination shows that, in standard form, it is adding negligible stiffness and only serves as a convenient support structure for the sheet metal panels forming the transmission tunnel; the Triumph Herald and Triumph Vitesse used a twin flanged box section backbone carrying the main torsional and bending loads, with light channel section side rails to stiffen the body, while the Triumph Spitfire and Triumph GT6 sports cars used only the twin-box section backbone, with separate side members in the body, rear suspension fore and aft loads were taken by the floor, not the backbone chassis directly.
A standard-conception truck's superstructure has to withstand the torsion twist, subsequent wear reduces vehicle's lifespan. The half-axles have better contact with the ground; this has little importance on roads. The vulnerable parts of the drive shaft are covered by a thick tube; the whole system is reliable. However, if a problem occurs, repairs are more complicated; the modular system enables configurations of 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, 6-, or 8-axle vehicles with various wheel bases. Manufacturing the backbone chassis is more costly. However, the more axles with all-wheel drive are needed, the cost benefit turns in favor of backbone chassis; the backbone chassis is heavier for a given torsional stiffness than a uni-body. The chassis gives no protection against side impacts. Comparison of standard ladder chassis and backbone chassis with half axles on off-road testing track with emphasis on the twist of superstructure: Ladder chassis Backbone chassis
Automotive safety
Automotive safety is the study and practice of design, construction and regulation to minimize the occurrence and consequences of traffic collisions involving motor vehicles. Road traffic safety more broadly includes roadway design. One of the first formal academic studies into improving motor vehicle safety was by Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory of Buffalo, New York; the main conclusion of their extensive report is the crucial importance of seat belts and padded dashboards. However, the primary vector of traffic-related deaths and injuries is the disproportionate mass and velocity of an automobile compared to that of the predominant victim, the pedestrian. According to the World Health Organization, 80% of cars sold in the world are not compliant with main safety standards. Only 40 countries have adopted the full set of the seven most important regulations for car safety. In the United States, a pedestrian is injured by a motor vehicle every 8 minutes, are 1.5 times more than a vehicle's occupants to be killed in a motor vehicle crash per outing.
Improvements in roadway and motor vehicle designs have reduced injury and death rates in all first world countries. Auto collisions are the leading cause of injury-related deaths, an estimated total of 1.2 million in 2004, or 25% of the total from all causes. Of those killed by autos, nearly two-thirds are pedestrians. Risk compensation theory has been used in arguments against safety devices and modifications of vehicles despite the efficacy of saving lives. Coalitions to promote road and automotive safety, such as Together for Safer Roads, brings together global private sector companies, across industries, to collaborate on improving road safety. TSR brings together members’ knowledge, data and global networks to focus on five road safety areas that will make impact globally and within local communities; the rising trend of Autonomous Things is driven by the move towards the Autonomous car, that both addresses the main existing safety issues and creates new issues. The autonomous car is expected to be safer than existing vehicles, by eliminating the single most dangerous element - the driver.
The Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School claims that "Some ninety percent of motor vehicle crashes are caused at least in part by human error". But while safety standards like the ISO 26262 specify the required safety, it is still a burden on the industry to demonstrate acceptable safety. Work-related roadway crashes are the leading cause of death from traumatic injuries in the U. S. workplace. They accounted for nearly 12,000 deaths between 1992 and 2000. Deaths and injuries from these roadway crashes result in increased costs to employers and lost productivity in addition to their toll in human suffering. Truck drivers tend to endure higher fatality rates than workers in other occupations, but concerns about motor vehicle safety in the workplace are not limited to those surrounding the operation of large trucks. Workers outside the motor carrier industry operate company-owned vehicles for deliveries and repair calls, client visits, etc. In these instances, the employer providing the vehicle plays a major role in setting safety and training policy.
As in non-occupational driving, young drivers are at risk. In the workplace, 45% of all fatal injuries to workers under age 18 between 1992 and 2000 in the United States resulted from transportation incidents; the terms "active" and "passive" are important terms in the world of automotive safety. "Active safety" is used to refer to technology assisting in the prevention of a crash and "passive safety" to components of the vehicle that help to protect occupants during a crash. Crash avoidance systems and devices help the driver — and help the vehicle itself — to avoid a collision; this category includes: The vehicle's headlamps and other lights and signals The vehicle's mirrors The vehicle's brakes and suspension systems A subset of crash avoidance is driver assistance systems, which help the driver to detect obstacles and to control the vehicle. Driver assistance systems include: DADS:' DADS: Driver Alertness Detection System System to prevent crashes caused by fatigue Automatic Braking systems to prevent or reduce the severity of collision.
Infrared night vision systems to increase seeing distance beyond headlamp range Adaptive headlamps control the direction and range of the headlight beams to light the driver's way through curves and maximize seeing distance without blinding other drivers Reverse backup sensors, which alert drivers to difficult-to-see objects in their path when reversing Backup camera Adaptive cruise control which maintains a safe distance from the vehicle in front Lane departure warning systems to alert the driver of an unintended departure from the intended lane of travel Tire pressure monitoring systems or Deflation Detection Systems Traction control systems which restore traction if driven wheels begin to spin Electronic Stability Control, which intervenes to avert an impending loss of control Anti-lock braking systems Electronic brakeforce distribution systems Emergency brake assist systems Cornering Brake Control systems Assured Clear Distance Ahead measurement and speed governance systems Precrash system Automated parking system Obstacle detection sensor systems notify a driver how close their vehicle is to an object - providing a distance measurement, to the inch, as to how close they are.
Crashworthy systems and devices prevent or reduce the severity of injuries when a crash is imminent or happening. Much research is carried out using anthropomorphic crash test dummies. Seatbelt
Curved mirror
A curved mirror is a mirror with a curved reflecting surface. The surface may be either concave. Most curved mirrors have surfaces that are shaped like part of a sphere, but other shapes are sometimes used in optical devices; the most common non-spherical type are parabolic reflectors, found in optical devices such as reflecting telescopes that need to image distant objects, since spherical mirror systems, like spherical lenses, suffer from spherical aberration. Distorting mirrors are used for entertainment, they have concave regions that produce deliberately distorted images. A convex mirror, diverging mirror, or fish eye mirror is a curved mirror in which the reflective surface bulges toward the light source. Convex mirrors reflect light outwards, therefore they are not used to focus light; such mirrors always form a virtual image, since the focal point and the centre of curvature are both imaginary points "inside" the mirror, that cannot be reached. As a result, images formed by these mirrors cannot be projected on a screen, since the image is inside the mirror.
The image gets larger as the object approaches the mirror. A collimated beam of light diverges after reflection from a convex mirror, since the normal to the surface differs with each spot on the mirror; the passenger-side mirror on a car is a convex mirror. In some countries, these are labeled with the safety warning "Objects in mirror are closer than they appear", to warn the driver of the convex mirror's distorting effects on distance perception. Convex mirrors are preferred in vehicles because they give an upright, though diminished and because they provide a wider field of view as they are curved outwards; these mirrors are found in the hallways of various buildings, including hospitals, schools and apartment buildings. They are mounted on a wall or ceiling where hallways intersect each other, or where they make sharp turns, they are useful for people accessing the hallways at locations having blind spots or where visibility may be limited. They are used on roads and alleys to provide safety for motorists where there is a lack of visibility at curves and turns.
Convex mirrors are used in some automated teller machines as a simple and handy security feature, allowing the users to see what is happening behind them. Similar devices are sold to be attached to ordinary computer monitors. Convex mirrors make everything cover a larger area of surveillance. Round convex mirrors called Oeil de Sorcière were a popular luxury item from the 15th century onwards, shown in many depictions of interiors from that time. With 15th century technology, it was easier to make a regular curved mirror than a flat one, they were known as "bankers' eyes" due to the fact that their wide field of vision was useful for security. Famous examples in art include the Arnolfini Portrait by Jan van Eyck and the left wing of the Werl Altarpiece by Robert Campin; the image on a convex mirror is always virtual and upright. As the object gets closer to the mirror, the image gets larger, until reaching the size of the object, when it touches the mirror; as the object moves away, the image diminishes in size and gets closer to the focus, until it is reduced to a point in the focus when the object is at an infinite distance.
These features make convex mirrors useful: since everything appears smaller in the mirror, they cover a wider field of view than a normal plane mirror. A concave mirror, or converging mirror, has a reflecting surface, recessed inward. Concave mirrors reflect light inward to one focal point, they are used to focus light. Unlike convex mirrors, concave mirrors show different image types depending on the distance between the object and the mirror; these mirrors are called "converging mirrors" because they tend to collect light that falls on them, refocusing parallel incoming rays toward a focus. This is because the light is reflected at different angles, since the normal to the surface differs with each spot on the mirror. Concave mirrors are used in reflecting telescopes, they are used to provide a magnified image of the face for applying make-up or shaving. In illumination applications, concave mirrors are used to gather light from a small source and direct it outward in a beam as in torches and spotlights, or to collect light from a large area and focus it into a small spot, as in concentrated solar power.
Concave mirrors are used to form optical cavities. Some dental mirrors use a concave surface to provide a magnified image; the mirror landing aid system of modern aircraft carriers uses a concave mirror. Most curved mirrors have a spherical profile; these are the simplest to make, it is the best shape for general-purpose use. Spherical mirrors, suffer from spherical aberration—parallel rays reflected from such mirrors do not focus to a single point. For parallel rays, such as those coming from a distant object, a parabolic reflector can do a better job; such a mirror can focus incoming parallel rays to a much smaller spot. A toroidal reflector is a form of parabolic reflector which has a different focal distance depending on the angle of the mirror; the Gaussian mirror equation known as the mirror and lens equation, relates the object distance d o {\displaystyle d_
Parking sensor
Parking sensors are proximity sensors for road vehicles designed to alert the driver of obstacles while parking. These systems use either ultrasonic sensors; these systems feature ultrasonic proximity detectors to measure the distances to nearby objects via sensors located in the front and/or rear bumper fascias or visually minimized within adjacent grills or recesses. The sensors emit acoustic pulses, with a control unit measuring the return interval of each reflected signal and calculating object distances; the system in turns warns the driver with acoustic tones, the frequency indicating object distance, with faster tones indicating closer proximity and a continuous tone indicating a minimal pre-defined distance. Systems may include visual aids, such as LED or LCD readouts to indicate object distance. A vehicle may include a vehicle pictogram on the car's infotainment screen, with a representation of the nearby objects as coloured blocks. Rear sensors may be activated when reverse gear is selected and deactivated as soon as any other gear is selected.
Front sensors may be activated manually and deactivated automatically when the vehicle reaches a pre-determined speed — to avoid subsequent nuisance warnings. As an ultrasonic systems relies on the reflection of sound waves, the system may not detect flat objects or object insufficiently large to reflect sound — e.g. a narrow pole or a longitudinal object pointed directly at the vehicle or near an object. Objects with flat surfaces angled from the vertical may deflect return sound waves away from the sensors, hindering detection. Soft object with strong sound absorption may have weaker detection, e.g. wool or moss. The Parking Sensor called as ReverseAid, was a spin-off from the Sonic Pathfinder, an Electronic Guidance Device for the Blind. Both devices were invented in the late 1970s by Tony Heyes while working at the Blind Mobility Research Unit at Nottingham University in the UK. After patenting the device in 1983 Heyes offered it to Jaguar Cars in Coventry. After test driving the prototype on Heyes's car they politely told him that, "You like it because you are a one-eyed driver who cannot judge distances.
Real people would not want a thing like this."Heyes teamed up with a local manufacturer and some 150 units were made and fitted to petrol tankers and delivery vehicles. Few were fitted to private cars since few people wanted to drill holes in their cars; the electromagnetic parking sensor was patented in 1992 by Mauro Del Signore. Electromagnetic sensors rely on the vehicle moving and smoothly towards the object to be avoided. Once detected, the obstacle, if the vehicle momentarily stops on its approach, the sensor continues to give signal of presence of the obstacle. If the vehicle resumes its manoeuvre the alarm signal becomes more and more impressive as the obstacle approaches. Electromagnetic parking sensors are sold as not requiring any holes to be drilled offering a unique design that discreetly mounts on the inner side of the bumper preserving the'new factory look' of your vehicle. Now they come equipped with a camera to go with the sensor. By 2018 the US is requiring back up camera with sensors on all cars.
Blind spot monitors are an option. It can include "Cross Traffic Alert," "which alerts drivers backing out of a parking space when traffic is approaching from the sides." Toyota introduced ultrasonic Back Sonar on the 1982 Toyota Corona, offering it until 1988. December 13, 1984 Massimo Ciccarello and Ruggero Lenci entered in Italy the patent request for ultrasonics Parking sensors, November 16, 1988 the Ministry of Industry granted them the Patent for industrial invention n. 1196650. BMW Technology Guide: Park Distance Control Proxel - Operating principle of Electromagnetic Parking Sensor Parking Sensors patented in Italy "The danger of blind zones The area behind your vehicle can be a killing zone". Consumer Reports. Consumers Union. March 2012. Retrieved August 10, 2013
Stressed member engine
A stressed member engine is a vehicle engine used as an active structural element of the chassis to transmit forces and torques, rather than being passively contained by the chassis with anti-vibration mounts. Automotive engineers use the method for weight mass centralization in vehicles. Applications are found in several vehicles where mass reduction is critical for performance reasons after several iterations of conventional frame/chassis designs have been employed. Stressed member engines was patented in 1900 by Joah Carver Phelon and his nephew Harry Rayner. and were pioneered at least as early as the 1916 Harley-Davidson 8-valve racer, incorporated in the production Harley-Davidson Model W by 1919. The technique was developed in the 20th century by Vincent and others, by the end of the century was common feature of chassis built by Ducati, BMW and others. Many mid-engine sport cars have used stressed engine design; the 1967 Lotus 49 is credited for establishing a solution copied by "everyone" in Formula One.
This requirement is cited as a reason the rules committee changed from an inline-four to a V-6 configuration for the 2014 Formula One season. The limited-production De Tomaso Vallelunga mid-engine car prototyped in 1963 used the engine as a stressed member. In GM's Chevrolet Bolt and Tesla Motors Model S and Roadster electric cars, the battery pack is a stressed member to increase rigidity; the Fordson tractor Model F, designed during World War I, eliminated the frame to reduce cost of materials and assembly, was influenced by the similar design of the 1913 Wallis Cub
