Land vehicles: bodies and tops – Bodies – Glare screen or visor
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-29
2001-12-11
Pape, Joseph D. (Department: 3612)
Land vehicles: bodies and tops
Bodies
Glare screen or visor
C296S097900, C296S097400
Reexamination Certificate
active
06328370
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The invention pertains generally to vehicle sun visors and more particularly to a sun visor that can be continuously moved and placed in a horizontal and vertical position to shield the the eyes of a driver or passenger from the sun's rays.
BACKGROUND ART
Previously, many types of devices have been used to provide shading for a vehicle's driver and passengers from the sun or other reflective sources. Almost all automobiles and trucks available today utilize opaque sun visors, which are included as standard equipment. Prior art has attempted to extend the utility of some sun visors by improving the basic design with additions such as a transparent auxiliary glare shield or a screen located beneath or at the side of the existing standard visors. The reason for these additions is that while most visors perform adequately, it is advantageous for a vehicle to have a means by which a driver may alter the placement of a visor in order to reduce bright glare that originates from a location other than directly in front of the vehicle.
Attempts to achieve this utility have included visors with and without clip-on glare screens that pivot or slide downward beneath the visor or that swing down from a rotating joint that extends to the desired distance and are held in place by friction of the joint. Other devices position a screen inside the visor which can be pulled down, or add a side section that can slide horizontally from the visor. While these devices do solve part of the problem, they are limited in that they typically function adequately in only two positions—either in front of the person or to the side parallel with the door, depending on whether it is the driver or the passenger.
Obviously, it would be beneficial to provide a sun visor that could be moved and positioned as needed, depending on the locations from which the brightness or glare originates. For example, one of the most frequently occurring, as well as dangerous locations is at an angle of approximately 45° to the left side of a driver. With most current visors it is not possible to provide a sufficient block from this angle.
A search of the prior art did not disclose any patents that read directly on the claims of the instant invention, however the following U.S. patents are considered related:
U.S. PAT. NO.
INVENTOR
ISSUED
4,323,275
Lutz
April 6, 1982
4,792,176
Karford
December 20, 1988
5,472,255
Moore
December 5, 1995
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,323,275 patent discloses a housing attached to a visor with three auxiliary shields that may be withdrawn from slots in the visor.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,792,176 patent discloses a visor extension unit that is releasably attachable to a conventional sun visor. The unit includes a lateral visor extension panel which is movable through a horizontal guide passage in the visor extension unit so as to effectively increase the windshield area blocked on either side of the sun visor. A glare shield is movable through a separate pocket formed in the extension unit.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,472,255 patent discloses a sun visor which has a retractable sun screen. The screen is folded or rolled up into the visor for deployment beside the front window as well as the windshield.
For background purposes and as indicative of the art to which the invention relates reference may be made to the remaining cited patents.
PATENT NO.
INVENTOR
ISSUED
5,580,117
Goclowski
December 3, 1996
5,466,029
Zetterlund
November 14, 1995
4,988,139
Yamada
January 29, 1991
4,828,314
Gavagan
May 9, 1989
4,679,842
Hwang-Change
July 14, 1987
3,208,792
Martin
September 28, 1965
2,134,414
Norcross
October 25, 1938
l,806,059
Hoople
May 19, 1931
l,573,272
Phillips
February 16, 1926
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The sun visor assembly is designed to be simply attached to a vehicle by an original equipment manufacturer or to be attached after it has been purchased. In its basic design, the invention consists of a left and right sun visor assembly each being a mirror image of the other. The sun visor is slidably attached to a sun visor rod that extends from a position above and near the center of the vehicle's windshield and curves to a position above the vehicle's side window. The sun visor is designed to be placed along the rod in an upward, stowed position or in a downward position. In the downward position the sun visor can be selectively moved to block the sun's rays from the eyes of a driver or a passenger.
The sun visor rod is attached to the vehicle by means of a rod/vehicle attachment assembly which consists of three elements: an inner section, a swivel section and a locknut.
The inner section includes an attachment plate that attaches to the vehicle by means of a pair of screws and an elongated section that terminates in a ball socket. The swivel section has an inner section that terminates in a ball that is dimensioned to rotate about the ball socket. The ball socket and ball are slidably secured to each other by the locknut which is tightened after the rod is optimally positioned in a horizontal and a vertical position.
The sun visor is attached to the sun visor rod by means of a pair of visor/rod attachment assemblies. Each assembly consists of three elements: a rod slider, a swivel clamp and a locknut.
The rod slider includes an upper rod engagement section and a lower section. The engagement section is dimensioned to slide along the visor rod and the lower section terminates in a ball socket. The swivel clamp has an upper ball section which is dimensioned to rotate about the ball socket and a lower section having a visor slat which has a bolt bore therethrough. The visor slat is dimensioned to receive an upper edge of the sun visor which also includes a pair of bolt bores. To secure the sun visor, a bolt and nut combination or a rivet is inserted through the respective bolt bores.
In view of the above disclosure, it is the primary object of the invention to produce a sun visor assembly that can be easily produced and attached to a vehicle, wherein the vehicle can consist of an automobile, a ship, a tractor or any type of vehicle that can benefit from a sun visor.
In addition to the primary object of the invention it is also an object of the invention to produce a sun visor assembly that:
can utilize a sun visor made of various materials ranging from a cushioned, non-transparent sun visor to a sun-blocking transparent material,
can utilize a solid sun visor or a sun visor having a plurality of slats wherein the slats aid in moving the sun visor around a curved area of the sun visor rod,
is maintenance free and
is cost effective from both a manufacturer's and consumer's point of view.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the preferred embodiment and the appended claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4130317 (1978-12-01), Lai
patent: 4202396 (1980-05-01), Levy
patent: 4369996 (1983-01-01), Fluck
patent: 4477116 (1984-10-01), Viertel et al.
patent: 4690450 (1987-09-01), Boerema et al.
patent: 4874938 (1989-10-01), Chuang
patent: 5056854 (1991-10-01), Risen
patent: 5190339 (1993-03-01), Ceideberg
patent: 5328227 (1994-07-01), Pax, Jr. et al.
patent: 5380057 (1995-01-01), Wevers
patent: 5484183 (1996-01-01), Rosa
patent: 5538310 (1996-07-01), Frankhouse et al.
patent: 5851046 (1998-12-01), Kalkman et al.
patent: 5855405 (1999-01-01), Robles
patent: 5967587 (1999-10-01), Collet et al.
patent: 6007135 (1999-12-01), Alves
patent: 3942937 (1991-06-01), None
patent: 2088299 (1981-09-01), None
patent: 2090570 (1982-01-01), None
Cota Albert O.
Pape Joseph D.
Patel Kiran B.
LandOfFree
Horizontally and vertically positionable sun visor does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Horizontally and vertically positionable sun visor, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Horizontally and vertically positionable sun visor will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2561207