Patent Application
20230202267
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
The disclosure relates to sunshade devices and more particularly pertains to a new sunshade device for protecting in interior of a vehicle from sunlight. The device includes a housing that is integrated into a dashboard of a vehicle and a shield that is positioned in the housing. The shield is driven upwardly along the windshield when the vehicle is turned off to inhibit sunlight from passing through the windshield when the vehicle is parked. Conversely, the shield is retracted into the housing when the vehicle is turned on to facilitate the vehicle to be driven normally.
The prior art relates to sunshade devices including a shade device that includes a collapsible frame and a canopy coupled to the collapsible frame. The prior art discloses a sunshade system which includes a pair of rods, each being comprised of a plurality of articulated joints to facilitate the rods to be flexible. The prior art discloses a vehicle sunshade device that includes a roller which is vertically oriented on a windshield and a shield that extends laterally away from the roller for shading the windshield. The prior art discloses a vehicle sunshade device that includes a roller disposed at a base of a windshield, a shield rolled around the roller which can be pulled upwardly over the windshield and a plurality of magnets for retaining the shield over the windshield. The prior art discloses a motorized vehicle sunshade device that includes a remote control for remotely deploying or storing a sunshade for a windshield.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a cylinder positioned within a dashboard of a vehicle has the cylinder extending along a windshield of the vehicle. The cylinder has a slot extending into an interior of the cylinder and the slot being directed toward the windshield. A rod is rotatably disposed within the cylinder and a pair of drive units each of the drive units engages the rod for rotating the rod in a first direction or a second direction. A shield is rolled around the rod and the shield extends outwardly through the slot in the cylinder such that the shield is directed toward the windshield. The shield is driven upwardly to cover the windshield and the shield is retracted into the cylinder for storage. Furthermore, the shield is comprised of an opaque material to inhibit sunlight from passing into the vehicle from the windshield when the shield covers the windshield.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
A rod 34 is rotatably disposed within the cylinder 12 and the rod 34 has a primary end 36, a secondary end 38 and an outside surface 40 extending between the primary end 36 and the secondary end 38. The rod 34 extends through each of the first end 22 and the second end 24 of the cylinder 12 such that each of the primary end 36 and the secondary end 38 is exposed. A pair of drive units 42 is provided and each of the drive units 42 is attached to the cylinder 12. Each of the drive units 42 engages the rod 34 and each of the drive units 42 is actuatable into a first condition having the rod 34 being rotated in a first direction. Additionally, each of the drive units 42 is actuatable into a second condition having the rod 34 being rotated in a second direction.
Each of the drive units 42 comprises a puck 44 which has a front surface 46 and a motor 48 which is positioned within the puck 44. The motor 48 is electrically coupled to a power source 50 comprising an electrical system of the vehicle 16 such that the motor 48 is in electrical communication with an ignition 52 of the vehicle 16. The motor 48 rotates in a first direction when the ignition 52 is turned off and the motor 48 rotates in a second direction when the ignition 52 is turned on. The motor 48 has a drive shaft 54 extending outwardly through the front surface 46 of the puck 44 and the drive shaft 54 has a coupling 56 which is integrated into a distal end 58 of the drive shaft 54.
The coupling 56 associated with each of the drive units 42 engages a respective one of the primary end 36 or the secondary end 38 of the rod 34. Additionally, the front surface 46 of the puck 44 associated with each of the drive units 42 abuts a respective one of the first end 22 or the second end 24 of the cylinder 12. The rod 34 is rotated in the first direction when the motor 48 rotates in the first direction. Conversely, the rod 34 is rotated in the second direction when the motor 48 rotates in the second direction. The motor 48 may comprise a two direction electric motor or other type of mechanical device. Each of the drive units 42 includes a power port 60 which is recessed into the puck 44 such that the power port 60 receives a power connection 62 in the vehicle 16. Additionally, the power port 60 is electrically coupled to the motor 48 thereby facilitating electrical communication between the power connection 62 and the motor 48.
A shield 64 is rolled around the rod 34 and the shield 64 extends outwardly through the slot 20 in the cylinder 12 such that the shield 64 is directed toward the windshield 18. The shield 64 is comprised of a resiliently deformable material, such as bistable stainless steel or other similar material, thereby facilitating the shield 64 to conform to the windshield 18 when the shield 64 is rolled outwardly from the cylinder 12. The shield 64 rolls around the rod 34 when the shield 64 is rolled inwardly into the cylinder 12. The shield 64 is driven upwardly to cover the windshield 18 when the drive units 42 are actuated into the first condition. Conversely, the shield 64 is retracted into the cylinder 12 for storage when the drive units 42 are actuated into the second condition. The shield 64 is comprised of an opaque material to inhibit sunlight from passing into the vehicle 16 from the windshield 18 when the shield 64 covers the windshield 18.
As is most clearly shown in
The shield 64 has a coupled edge 66 and a free edge 68, and the coupled edge 66 is coupled to the outside surface 40 of the rod 34. The coupled edge 66 extends along a substantial distance between the primary end 36 and the secondary end 38 of the rod 34. The shield 64 is rolled onto itself adjacent to the free edge 68 to define a roll 70 extending along a full width of the shield 64. In this way the free edge 68 is inhibited from abrading the windshield 18 when the shield 64 is driven upwardly along the windshield 18. The shield 64 has a cut-out 72 extending from the free edge 68 toward the coupled edge 66 such that the cut-out 72 accommodates a rear view mirror when the shield 64 is deployed to cover the windshield 18. Additionally, the cut-out 72 is centrally positioned along a length of the free edge 68. The shield 64 is rolled around the rod 34 when the rod 34 rotates in the first direction and the shield 64 is unrolled from the rod 34 when the rod 34 rotates in the second direction.
In use, the motor 48 in each of the drive units 42 rotates in the first direction when the ignition 52 in the vehicle 16 is turned on. In this way the shield 64 is rolled around the rod 34 for storage thereby facilitating the vehicle 16 to be driven normally. The motor 48 in each of the drive units 42 rotates in the second direction when the ignition 52 in the vehicle 16 is turned off. In this way the shield 64 is driven upwardly along the windshield 18 when the vehicle 16 is parked. Thus, the shield 64 inhibits sunlight from passing through the windshield 18 while the vehicle 16 is parked.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
