Land vehicles: bodies and tops – Bodies – Glare screen or visor
Reexamination Certificate
2000-05-23
2001-09-18
Gordon, Stephen T. (Department: 3612)
Land vehicles: bodies and tops
Bodies
Glare screen or visor
C296S097900
Reexamination Certificate
active
06290280
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an auxiliary sun visor for a recreational vehicle (e.g. a motor home) which is detachably coupled to the factory installed sun visor. The auxiliary sun visor is rotatable relative to the factory installed sun visor to a deployed position along the side window of the motor home to block the transmission of sunshine and glare therethrough.
2. Background Art
Drivers of recreational vehicles and passenger vehicles share a common problem when driving in conditions of bright sunlight and/or where the sun is low on the horizon. That is to say, both the driver and his passenger may be temporarily blinded as a consequence of sunlight and glare which passes through the front and side windows of the vehicle. The typical passenger vehicle is provided with a sun visor that can be rotated between the front and side windows to provide a comfortable driving condition depending upon the location of the sun in the sky and the direction in which the passenger vehicle is traveling relative to the sun.
However, in the case of large recreational vehicles, such as a motor home, the factory installed sun visors are not adapted to be rotated from the front to the side window. Because of their relatively large size and weight, the conventional sun visor that is associated with a motor home is held in place by means of an existing support arm structure that permits the factory installed sun visor to be rotated between a downward, sun blocking position behind the front window and an upward, stowed away position above the front window. Consequently, the driver and passenger within a motor home have no simple and reliable means to shade their eyes in the event that sunlight enters the vehicle through a side window. Such a situation can negatively impact the comfort of the occupants and present a dangerous driving condition as well.
Accordingly, what is needed is an easy to use, simply to install means that is detachably coupled inside the driver and passenger compartments of a recreational vehicle to be selectively deployed by the occupants to prevent unwanted sunlight and glare from entering the recreational vehicle from the side windows thereof.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An auxiliary sun visor is disclosed having particular application for use in a recreational vehicle such as a motor home, or the like. The auxiliary sun visor is used in combination with and not as a replacement for the factory installed sun visor to enable both the driver and a passenger to block the transmission of sunlight and glare through the front and side windows of the motor home. The factory installed sun visor is suspended from a pair of existing support arms that extend outwardly from opposite ends thereof to be pivotally connected to respective receptacles at the roof of the motor home. Thus, the factory installed sun visor is capable of being rotated from a downward position at which to block the transmission of sunlight through the front window of the motor home to an upward, stowed away position above the front window. The auxiliary sun visor of this invention is coupled to one of the existing support arms of the factory installed sun visor so as to be adapted to rotate with the factory installed sun visor between its downward, sun blocking position and its upward, stowed away position. What is more, the auxiliary sun visor is also adapted to rotate independently of the factory installed sun visor to a deployed position along a side window of the motor home so that the occupants of the motor home can be advantageously shielded from unwanted sunlight through both the front and side windows.
The auxiliary sun visor includes a flat panel that is formed from a transparent plastic material that may be tinted or smoked to reduce the transmission of sunlight. Channel members run along the top and outside edges of the panel, and a bracket is affixed to the panel through the intersection of the top and side channel members. The bracket includes upper and lower plates having opposing clamping receptacles within which to receive the existing support arm of the factory installed sun visor. A rotatable locking knob carried by the upper bracket plate has a threaded shaft to be mated to a correspondingly threaded lug that is integral to the lower bracket plate.
When the locking knob is rotated in a first direction, the threaded shaft thereof is removed from its threaded lug so that the upper and lower plates of the bracket can be separated from one another to enable the existing support arm to be seated within the opposing clamping receptacles. When the locking knob is rotated in an opposite direction, the threaded shaft thereof is moved into mating engagement with its threaded lug, whereby the upper and lower plates of the bracket are tightened together to apply a clamping force against the existing support arm of the factory installed sun visor, whereby the auxiliary sun visor is now detachably coupled to the factory installed sun visor to be moved with or independently thereof depending upon the location of the sun in the sky and the direction in which the motor home is traveling.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2220429 (1940-11-01), Soderburg
patent: 2878174 (1959-03-01), Van Denburg
patent: 4195876 (1980-04-01), Timperio
patent: 4666205 (1987-05-01), Nakagawa
patent: 5649736 (1997-07-01), Jackson
Carpenter Scott
Fischer Morland C.
Gordon Stephen T.
LandOfFree
Auxiliary sun visor for a motor home does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Auxiliary sun visor for a motor home, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Auxiliary sun visor for a motor home will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2491783