Patent Application
20130020040
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a sunshade assembly, and more particularly to a sunshade assembly that is adapted to be installed on a side window of a vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
To prevent sunlight from directly radiating into an interior of a vehicle, a layer of insulating film is generally adhered to the window of the vehicle. Some vehicle owners install a sunshade assembly on the side window to further shade the interior of the vehicle from sunlight. Hence, a variety of sunshade assemblies have been developed and sold in the market. Some are motor-operated sunshade assemblies, and others are manually-operated sunshade assemblies. Some include a combination of motor- and manually-operated sunshade assemblies. The unwinding operation may be performed manually, while the winding operation may be performed automatically.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a sunshade assembly having a novel structure and that is easy to use.
According to this invention, a sunshade assembly comprises a housing having a top opening, a winding shaft mounted rotatably in the housing, a sunshade cloth wound around the winding shaft, a pull rod connected to one end of the sunshade cloth that is distal from the winding shaft and disposed outside the top opening, a guide unit, and a locking mechanism. The guide unit includes a base seat disposed below the housing and extending in a top-bottom direction, and a guide rod mounted to and slidable upward and downward along the base seat and having a top end connected to the pull rod. The locking mechanism includes a push-push lock mounted on the base seat, and a latch unit fixed to the guide rod and having an engaging tongue engageable releasably with the push-push lock. When the sunshade cloth is pulled upward by the pull rod from a wound position to a stretched position, the guide rod is moved upward by the pull rod so that the engaging tongue pushes and engages the push-push lock. When the guide rod is moved further upward, the engaging tongue pushes again the push-push lock and disengages therefrom, thereby permitting the sunshade cloth to be wound automatically by the winding shaft from the stretched position to the wound position.
The advantages of this invention reside in that through the push-push locking configuration of the locking mechanism, the sunshade cloth can be moved manually to and positioned at the stretched position. Afterwards, by moving the guide rod further upward so that the engaging tongue can push again the push-push lock and disengage therefrom, the sunshade cloth can be wound automatically by the winding shaft from the stretched position to the wound position. Hence, use of the present invention is relatively easy.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:
Referring to
The sunshade unit 1 includes a housing 11 having a top opening 111, a rewindable winding shaft 12 mounted rotatably in the housing 11, a sunshade cloth 13 extendably wound around the winding shaft 12, and a pull rod 14 connected to one end of the sunshade cloth 13 that is distal from the winding shaft 12 and disposed outside the top opening 111. The sunshade unit 1 may further include at least one spring element (not shown) having one end that is fixed, and another end connected to the winding shaft 12. The spring element is rotatable along with the winding shaft 12 to provide a winding biasing force to the winding shaft 12 along a winding direction. In the absence of an external force, the sunshade cloth 13 may be automatically wound into the housing 11 by the winding shaft 12. Alternatively, the sunshade unit 1 may have other constructions.
The guide unit 2 includes a base seat 21 disposed below the housing 11 and extending in a top-bottom direction, a guide rod 22 mounted to and slidable upward and downward along the base seat 21 and having a top end connected to the pull rod 14, a slide piece 23 bolted to a bottom end of the guide rod 22, and two pulleys 24 connected respectively to two opposite sides of the slide piece 23 and contacting rollably the base seat 21. The base seat 21 includes a mounting plate 211, and a clamping body 212 bolted to an outer side of the mounting plate 211. However, the structure of the base seat 21 is not limited to the aforesaid disclosures. The base seat 21 further includes a guide groove 213 formed in the outer side of the mounting plate 211 and extending in a top-bottom direction, and a slide hole 214 extending in a top-bottom direction and communicating with the guide groove 213 and an inner side of the mounting plate 211. The guide rod 22 is disposed between the clamping body 212 and the mounting plate 211, and is received slidably in the guide groove 213. The slide piece 23 is slidable in the slide hole 214. The connecting configuration between the guide rod 22 and the guide groove 213 or between the slide piece 23 and the slide hole 214 can be altered, and is not limited to the aforesaid disclosures. Further, although the provision of the slide piece 23, the slide hole 214, and the pulleys 24 is to guide and restrict the guide rod 22 so that the guide rod 22 can slide smoothly, but it is not an important aspect of this invention, so that a detailed description thereof is dispensed herewith.
The locking mechanism 3 includes a push-push lock 31 mounted to the clamping body 212, and a latch unit 30 fixed to the guide rod 22. In this embodiment, the latch unit 30 has a tongue seat 33, an engaging tongue 32 connected to a top end of the tongue seat 33 and engageable releasably with the push-push lock 31, and a connecting rod 34 disposed on the tongue seat 33 opposite to the engaging tongue 34 and bolted to the guide rod 22. In an alternative embodiment, the engaging tongue 32 and the tongue seat 33 may be formed integrally as one piece and may be connected directly to the guide rod 22. In this case, the connecting rod 34 may be dispensed herewith. In this embodiment, the push-push lock 31 is a resilient lock. When the engaging tongue 32 is inserted into and pushes the push-push lock 31, the engaging tongue 32 is locked to the push-push lock 31. When the engaging tongue 32 pushes again the push-push lock 31, the engaging tongue 32 is unlocked from and ejects out of the push-push lock 31. That is, by repeatedly pushing the engaging tongue 32 against the push-push lock 31, the engaging tongue 32 can be locked to and unlocked from the push-push lock 31. Since the push-push lock 31 is conventionally designed, and is not an important aspect of this invention, a detailed description of the same is dispensed herewith.
The release unit 4 is used to move upward the latch unit 30 and to disengage the engaging tongue 32 from the push-push lock 31, and includes a release arm 41 disposed rotatably on an outer side of the clamping body 212 proximate to the locking mechanism 3, a roller 42 mounted on the release arm 41, and two biasing members 43 to provide a returning force to the release arm 41. The release arm 41 has a pressed portion 411, a push portion 412 opposite to the pressed portion 411, and a pivot portion 413 between the pressed portion 411 and the push portion 412 and connected pivotally to a bottom portion of the clamping body 212. The roller 42 is journalled on the pressed portion 411. Each biasing member 43 is disposed between the clamping body 212 and a corresponding front or rear side of the pivot portion 413. The position and number of the biasing members 43 may be altered as required. For example, only one biasing member 43 may be disposed between the clamping body 212 and the center of the pivot portion 413. Further, the biasing member 43 may be a torsion or coiled spring, and is not limited to the aforesaid disclosures.
The damping unit 5 is used to dampen a downward speed of the guide rod 22, and includes a hollow damping seat 51 bolted to the clamping body 212, a wheel seat 52 connected movably to the damping seat 51, a damping wheel journalled on the wheel seat 52 and pressing resiliently the guide rod 22 against the mounting plate 211, a spring member 54 mounted between the damping seat 51 and the wheel seat 52 and biasing the damping wheel 53 to move toward the guide rod 22, and an adjustment screw 55 connected adjustably to the damping seat 53 opposite to the wheel seat 52. The spring member 54 is a compression spring.
In use, the sunshade cloth 13 can be moved relative to the housing 11 between a stretched position, as shown in
With reference to
With reference to
In summary, the sunshade assembly of the present invention is provided with the locking mechanism 3 so that when the sunshade cloth 13 is stretched, it can be positioned through engagement of the engaging tongue 32 with the push-push lock 31. Further, this invention has two operating modes for winding the sunshade cloth 13. First, by slightly pulling upward the pull rod 14 so that the engaging tongue 32 can push again the push-push lock 31 and disengage therefrom, the sunshade cloth 13 can be wound automatically by the winding shaft 12. Second, by moving the side window 6 downward to automatically rotate the release arm 41, which in turn, pushes the latch unit 30 to move upward so that the engaging tongue 32 can push again the push-push lock 31 and disengage therefrom. As such, the sunshade cloth 13 can also be wound automatically by the winding shaft 12. The use of the two operating modes is relatively easy. Hence, the present invention is simple, and has a novel structure.
While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.
