Patent Application
20240217318
The present disclosure relates to shading, and more particularly, to automotive shading devices having extendable portions.
Sun glare is an ongoing challenge for automobile users. Accordingly, improved devices and techniques for reducing or managing sun glare remain desirable.
An anti-glare sun screen may comprise at least one extendable and retractable panel of glare-reducing material. The panel may be coupled to the sun visor of an automobile or integrated into a sun visor for use on an automobile.
The contents of this section are intended as a simplified introduction to the disclosure and are not intended to limit the scope of any claim. The foregoing features and elements may be combined in various combinations without exclusivity, unless expressly indicated otherwise. These features and elements as well as the operation thereof will become more apparent in light of the following description and the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, the following description and drawings are intended to be exemplary in nature and non-limiting.
The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the present disclosure and are incorporated in, and constitute a part of, this specification, illustrate various embodiments, and together with the description, serve to explain exemplary principles of the disclosure.
The detailed description of various embodiments herein makes reference to the accompanying drawings, which show various embodiments by way of illustration. While these various embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the disclosure, it should be understood that other embodiments may be realized and that logical structural, materials, or mechanical changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Thus, the detailed description herein is presented for purposes of illustration only and not of limitation.
For example, the steps recited in any of the method or process descriptions may be executed in any suitable order and are not necessarily limited to the order presented. Furthermore, any reference to singular includes plural embodiments, and any reference to more than one component or step may include a singular embodiment or step. Also, any reference to attached, fixed, connected, or the like may include permanent, removable, temporary, partial, full, and/or any other possible attachment option. Additionally, any reference to without contact (or similar phrases) may also include reduced contact or minimal contact.
In the context of the present disclosure, methods, systems, and articles may find particular use in connection with automobiles. However, various aspects of the disclosed embodiments may be adapted for performance in a variety of other systems, including internal combustion heavy-duty commercial vehicles, internal combustion or electric medium-duty vehicles, passenger vehicles, off-road vehicles, trains, watercraft, aircraft, or any other mobile or stationary system where sun glare may be an issue. As such, numerous applications of the present disclosure may be realized.
A sun screen 100 may be coupled to a vehicle visor that comprises one or more panels made of a light-reducing or glare-reducing material (such as polycarbonate, tempered class, or the like). The sun screen 100 comprising a panel or panels may be coupled to (or comprise a portion of) a vehicle visor of an automobile. Sun screen 100 may be original equipment on an automobile; alternatively, sun screen 100 may be a retrofit or add-on component to an existing automobile. The sun screen 100 may be integrated in a vehicle visor or may be removably coupled to a vehicle visor.
The panel or panels of the sun screen 100 may be extended and retracted, for example in order to reduce glare for a driver or other vehicle occupant. The panel or panels of the sun screen 100 may be manually operated (for example via a sliding mechanism, gears, ratchets, levers, and/or any other suitable manual components) or electrically operated. In various embodiments, where the panel or panels of the sun screen 100 is/are electrically operated, the sun screen 100 may comprise suitable gears, electric motors, integrated circuits, power supplies or interfaces, and/or the like. Moreover, control circuitry for sun screen 100 (for example, switches, buttons, integrated circuits, and/or the like) may be placed on or in a vehicle visor, overhead console, key fob, dashboard, driver and/or passenger door, central control pod, and/or any other suitable location in a vehicle. A sun screen 100 may be sized and shaped to be compatible with a particular vehicle sun visor and/or windshield or window; alternatively, a particular sun screen 100 may be configured to be compatible with a plurality of vehicles.
In some exemplary embodiments, sun screen 100 comprises a single panel or layer. In other exemplary embodiments, sun screen 100 comprises multiple panels or layers which may overlap in a stored/retracted position but at least partially extend past one another in an extended position (i.e., a telescoping or similar manner), in order to provide an increased area for glare reduction or shading.
In various exemplary embodiments, a method comprises coupling a sun screen 100 to an existing vehicle sun visor. The method may further comprise extending a panel of the sun screen to provide glare reduction for a vehicle occupant. The method may further comprise retracting the panel of the sun screen, when desired, to allow for storage of the sun screen.
In various embodiments, a sun screen 100 is coupled to a vehicle. The sun screen 100 may be positioned above the driver's seat of a vehicle to prevent a driver's vision from being impaired by glare while operating the vehicle. The vehicle visor may be a custom visor installed in a vehicle. In various embodiments, the sun screen may attach to an existing visor with which a vehicle is manufactured and sold. Referring to
Vehicle visor hinge 200 may movably couple the sun screen 100 to the roof of a vehicle. The vehicle visor hinge 200 may allow the vehicle visor to swing toward the driver's side door of a vehicle. In various embodiments, the vehicle visor hinge 200 may be removably coupled to the vehicle. In various embodiments, the vehicle visor hinge 200 may be permanently coupled to the vehicle. In various embodiments the vehicle visor hinge 200 may be on the top left side of the sun screen 100. In various embodiments, the vehicle visor hinge 200 may be on the top right side of the sun screen 100.
In various embodiments, manual operation tab 300 may be a protrusion on a horizontal retractable panel or on a vertical retractable panel 600 that protrudes through a manual operation tab slot 400, as illustrated in
The manual operation tab slot 400 may be a horizontal or vertical channel in the sun screen 100 that allows the manual operation tab to protrude from the inner layer 1900. The vertical channel embodiment is illustrated in
In various embodiments, a horizontal retractable panel may extend from the right side 1700 or the left side 1800 of the sun screen 100. In various embodiments, the horizontal retractable panel may be enabled to extend from the right side 1700 and the left side 1800. In various embodiments, the horizontal retractable panel is extended by moving the manual operation tab 300 horizontally through the manual operation tab slot 400. In various embodiments, the horizontal retractable panel may be made of a transparent material. In various embodiments, the horizontal retractable panel may be made of a tinted or polarized material. In various embodiments, the horizontal retractable panel may be made of one or more materials.
Vertical retractable panel 600 extends from the top or the bottom of the sun screen 100. Referring to
The screen slot 700 may be an opening in which the vertical retractable panel 600 or horizontal retractable panel may be stowed when retracted. The screen slot 700 is visible in
In various embodiments, the sun screen 100 may also have a vehicle-visor stowing clip 800. The vehicle-visor stowing clip 800 may removably couple to a clipping element on the vehicle. The vehicle-visor stowing clip 800 may enable the sun screen 100 to move about the axis extending from the vehicle-visor stowing clip 800 and the vehicle-visor hinge 200 when the vehicle-visor stowing clip is coupled to the clipping element on the vehicle.
The sun screen 100 may further comprise a first gear 900, a second gear 1000, a bracket 1100, a motor 1200, and wiring 1300. Referring to the embodiment illustrated in
In various embodiments, the automation system 1500 may be activated to extend or retract the vertical retractable panel 600 or the horizontal retractable panel using a control 1400. The control 1400 may be a button on the sun screen 100. The control may be a remote activation device, such as a key fob, phone activation, or button integrated into the interior of a vehicle.
Benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems have been described herein with regard to specific embodiments. Furthermore, the connecting lines shown in the various figures contained herein are intended to represent exemplary functional relationships and/or physical couplings between the various elements. It should be noted that many alternative or additional functional relationships or physical connections may be present in a practical system. However, the benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any elements that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become more pronounced are not to be construed as critical, required, or essential features or elements of the disclosure. The scope of the disclosure is accordingly to be limited by nothing other than the appended claims, in which reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless explicitly so stated, but rather “one or more.” Moreover, where a phrase similar to “at least one of A, B, or C” is used in the claims, it is intended that the phrase be interpreted to mean that A alone may be present in an embodiment, B alone may be present in an embodiment, C alone may be present in an embodiment, or that any combination of the elements A, B and C may be present in a single embodiment; for example, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C. Different cross-hatching may be used throughout the figures to denote different parts but not necessarily to denote the same or different materials.
Methods, systems, and articles are provided herein. In the detailed description herein, references to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, “various embodiments”, etc., indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described. After reading the description, it will be apparent to one skilled in the relevant art(s) how to implement the disclosure in alternative embodiments.
Furthermore, no element, component, or method step in the present disclosure is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether the element, component, or method step is explicitly recited in the claims. No claim element herein is to be construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. 112(f) unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for.” As used herein, the terms “comprises”, “comprising”, or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus.
This application claims priority to, and the benefit of, U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/477,572 filed Dec. 29, 2022, entitled “RETRACTABLE ANTI-GLARE SUN SCREEN”, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety, including but not limited to those portions that specifically appear hereinafter, but except for any subject matter disclaimers or disavowals, and except to the extent that the incorporated material is inconsistent with the express disclosure herein, in which case the language in this disclosure shall control.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63477572 | Dec 2022 | US |
