Patent Application
20170151861
The present invention relates to sunshades or sunshields for automobiles, and more particularly to sunshades that can be easily secured on the windows or windshields of the automobiles to shield the light and heat from the sun.
It is well known that the heat built-up within a closed automotive vehicle can reach very high temperatures particularly in the warrner areas of the country having intense sunshine. Not only is interior vehicular heat uncomfortable for people who must enter such vehicles, the heat places a very heavy load on vehicular air conditioning equipment, which shortens the life of the equipment and, of course, increases the operating costs. In addition, prolonged exposure to ultra-violet light and the heat itself, can damage, and sometimes destroy the plastic, fabric, and other materials within the vehicle. Thus, sunscreening devices for automobiles have been developed to not only increase the comfort level for the passengers in the automobiles, but also protect the interiors thereof.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,024,262 to Huang, U.S. Pat. No. 4,815,784 to Zheng, U.S. Pat. No. 5,732,759 to Wan, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,553,908 to Shink all teach about sunshades for automobiles, however, these sunshades are solely for the purpose of blocking sunlight at a window or windshield when the vehicle is parked. None of these sunshades are capable of being used when the vehicle is in motion. U.S. Pat. No. 8,342,226 to Zheng discloses a collapsible sunshade which can be used when the vehicle is in motion. However, the collapsible sunshade needs a suction cup to attach it to the inner surface of the vehicle window. The suction cup, which is usually made by plastic materials, will most likely be deformed or deteriorate if it is constantly exposed in a high temperature environment, and the collapsible sunshade may then fall off from the vehicle window.
Therefore, there remains a need for a new and improved sunshade for automobiles that can be easily secured on the vehicle windows without using any additional equipment, suction cups or adhesives that may damage or deteriorate the vehicle windows.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a sunshade that can be quickly snapped onto the window and easily removed when not in use.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a sunshade, the size of which can be adjusted to perfectly fit onto the window.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a sunshade that can be snapped onto the window without any additional equipment, suction cups, or adhesive.
In one aspect, a car sunshade may include a supporting frame and a sunscreening fabric enclosed by the supporting frame. In one embodiment, the supporting frame of the car sunshade is made of a predetermined polygonal shape, depending on the shape of the car window. The supporting frame can be made by a resilient material, so it can be slightly bent to snap on the car window.
More specifically, the supporting frame may have an upper and a lower side. A plurality of receiving grooves may be formed between a car window and the inner portion of the car door. In one embodiment, the user can align and insert the lower side into the lower receiving groove, slightly bend the sunshade to insert the upper side into the upper receiving groove, and slight move the sunshade to the side groove. Since the supporting frame is made by resilient materials, the sunscreening fabric can be extended and the sunshade can be perfectly secured in the frame of the car window without using any additional equipment, suction cups, or adhesive.
The sunshade can be easily removed from the frame of the car window. In one embodiment, the user can push the sunshade away from the side groove, and remove it from the lower side from the lower receiving groove, and the entire sunshade can be taken out from the window. In another embodiment, the user can also remove it from the upper receiving groove first.
The detailed description set forth below is intended as a description of the presently exemplary device provided in accordance with aspects of the present invention and is not intended to represent the only forms in which the present invention may be prepared or utilized. It is to be understood, rather, that the same or equivalent functions and components may be accomplished by different embodiments that are also intended to be encompassed within the spirit and scope of the invention.
Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood to one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Although any methods, devices and materials similar or equivalent to those described can be used in the practice or testing of the invention, the exemplary methods, devices and materials are now described.
All publications mentioned are incorporated by reference for the purpose of describing and disclosing, for example, the designs and methodologies that are described in the publications that might be used in connection with the presently described invention. The publications listed or discussed above, below and throughout the text are provided solely for their disclosure prior to the filing date of the present application. Nothing herein is to be construed as an admission that the inventors are not entitled to antedate such disclosure by virtue of prior invention.
As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “a”, “an”, and “the” includes reference to the plural unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Also, as used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the terms “comprise or comprising”, “include or including”, “have or having”, “contain or containing” and the like are to be understood to be open-ended, i.e., to mean including but not limited to. As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “in” includes “in” and “on” unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and, similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of the embodiments. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
In one aspect, referring to
More specifically, the supporting frame 110 may have a first side 111, a second side 112, a third side 113 and a fourth side 114. As shown in
Still referring to
In another aspect, a sunshade 300 may include a supporting frame 310 and a sunscreening fabric 320 enclosed by the supporting frame 310. In one embodiment, the supporting frame 310 of the car sunshade 300 is made of a predetermined polygonal shape, depending on the shape of the car window, as shown in
As discussed above in
More specifically, the supporting frame 310 may include a first side 311, a second side 312, a third side 313 and a fourth side 314, and a plurality of receiving grooves (not shown) may be formed between the rear windshield 330 and the inner portion of the car close to rear windshield 330. As shown in
Having described the invention by the description and illustrations above, it should be understood that these are exemplary of the invention and are not to be considered as limiting. Accordingly, the invention is not to be considered as limited by the foregoing description, but includes any equivalents.
This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 (e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/260,726, filed on Nov. 30, 2015, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62260726 | Nov 2015 | US |
