Patent Application
20230363560
A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. 37 CFR 1.71(d).
This invention relates generally to sun shades, and more specifically to a sun shade apparatus that is collapsible and shaped to form an enclosure adapted to surround a drinking vessel, block solar radiation, and keep liquids therein cool.
Prior art sun shades are formed as foldable panels that are shaped to be placed adjacent a car window to block solar radiation from passing into a compartment of a vehicle. These prior art sun shades are not designed or adapted to form an enclosure to surround an item and keep the item and any liquids therein cool. As such, drinking vessels retaining chilled liquids in an outdoor environment are not properly protected from solar radiation and will be exposed to solar radiation and heated over time. Accordingly, the present invention overcomes the disadvantages associated with the prior art, by providing a collapsible sun shade apparatus that includes a plurality of panels hinged to one another along respective edges and adapted to form a collapsible enclosure to thereby surround a drinking vessel, block solar radiation, and keep liquids therein cool.
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of sunshades in the prior art, the present invention provides a collapsible sun shade apparatus that is adapted to form an enclosure that can surround a drinking vessel. As such, the general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a collapsible sun shade apparatus that includes a plurality of panels hinged to one another along respective edges thereof and is adapted to form a collapsible enclosure to thereby surround a drinking vessel, block solar radiation, and keep liquids therein cool, with all the advantages of the prior art and none of the disadvantages.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention 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.
Numerous objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon a reading of the following detailed description of presently preferred, but nonetheless illustrative, embodiments of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of descriptions and should not be regarded as limiting.
The figures which accompany the written portion of this specification illustrate embodiments according to the teachings of the present invention.
The various embodiments of the present invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings.
The embodiments of the present disclosure described below are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise forms disclosed in the following detailed description. Rather, the embodiments are chosen and described so that others skilled in the art may appreciate and understand the principles and practices of the present disclosure.
The following embodiments and the accompanying drawings, which are incorporated into and form part of this disclosure, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, certain illustrative aspects of the invention are described herein in connection with the following description and the annexed drawings. These aspects are indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principles of the invention can be employed and the subject invention is intended to include all such aspects and their equivalents. Other advantages and novel features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the drawings.
Turning now descriptively to drawing, referring to
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The collapsible sun shade may further comprise light fixtures 150 attachable to the top panel and side panels and adapted to provide light within the enclosure, and a power source 160 electrically connected to and adapted to provide electric power to the light fixtures. In the preferred embodiment the light fixture are formed as LED lights, and the power source as a battery. The power source may also be formed as an electric wire releasably connected to an external power source.
In the preferred embodiment, the collapsible sun shade apparatus is made from a rigid material that is adapted to thermally insulate the enclosure. In some embodiments a waterproof material can be incorporated. Materials that may also be used include plastics, corrugated plastics, ABS plastic, fiberglass, aluminum, polyesters, vinyl coated polyesters, high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polyethylene, polycarbonate, bronze, nylons, synthetic nylons corrugated and non-corrugated cardboard with plastic coatings, combinations thereof, and any similar or the like.
The pivotal connections between the panels of the collapsible sun shade apparatus can be formed as weakened seams or perforations within the collapsible sun shade apparatus material, or in more complicated embodiments can be formed as metallic or fabric hinges or the like.
The size and the rectangular shapes of the panels may also vary depending on the size and shape of the desired enclosure. Furthermore, other attachment means may be used to releasably connect the side panels to the top panel, such as hook and loop material or bendable snaps. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the bottom edges of the side panels may also be releasably attached to the bottom panel using releasable attachment means
Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that any arrangement, which is calculated to achieve the same purpose, may be substituted for the specific embodiment shown. This application is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of the present invention.
Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
