Illumination – Supported by vehicle structure – Automobile
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-31
2001-08-07
Cariaso, Alan (Department: 2875)
Illumination
Supported by vehicle structure
Automobile
C362S141000, C362S142000, C362S511000, C362S560000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06270240
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a structure for illuminating a sunvisor.
In general, a sunvisor is, as shown in
FIGS. 10 and 11
, structured such that a horizontal shaft portion
3
b
of an L-shape pipe stay
3
having a vertical shaft portion
3
a
supported rotatively around the vertical shaft by a stay holder
2
joined to a roof panel
1
in a vehicle is inserted into a visor holder
5
of a sunvisor body
4
. Thus, the sunvisor body
4
is supported movably in the vertical direction around a horizontal shaft.
The sunvisor body
4
having a vanity mirror
6
is provided with a vanity lamp (an illuminating member)
7
. When a cover (not shown) of the vanity mirror
6
is opened, a switch is switched on so that the vanity lamp
7
is turned on.
Ends of a pair of electric wires
8
are connected to the vanity lamp
7
. The electric wires
8
are allowed to pass through the inside portion of the stay
3
. A sunvisor-body-side connector
9
joined to other ends of the electric wires
8
is, in the roof panel
1
, connected to a car-body-side connector
11
connected to an electric wire
10
extended from a battery. Thus, the battery in the car body and the vanity lamp
7
of the sunvisor body are electrically connected to each other.
When each of vertical movement of the sunvisor body
4
around the horizontal shaft of the stay
3
and lateral movement (when the sunvisor is used) of the sunvisor body
4
around the vertical shaft is performed, each of the electric wires
8
is twisted to permit the movement of the sunvisor body
4
.
An operation for joining the stay holder
2
, which supports the stay
3
of the sunvisor body
4
, to the roof panel
1
is performed as follows: an operator holds the car-body-side connector
11
by either hand thereof while holding the sunvisor body
4
under the operator's arm in a state in which the car-body-side connector
11
has been drawn into the car body through adjoining hole
1
a
of the roof panel
1
. Then, the sunvisor-body-side connector
9
is held by the other hand so that the sunvisor-body-side connector
9
and the car-body-side connector
11
are connected to each other. Then, the sunvisor-body-side connector
9
and the electric wires
8
are pushed inwards into the inside portion of the roof panel
1
through the joining hole
1
a
while the car-body-side connector
11
and the electric wire
10
are being pushed inwards into the inside portion of the roof panel
1
through the joining hole
1
a.
Then, the stay holder
2
makes contact with the roof panel
1
so as to be secured with screws.
The electric wires
8
of the vanity lamp
7
, which must be allowed to pass through the L-shape stay
3
, however, require a complicated operation for passing the electric wires. Since the sunvisor-body-side connector
9
must be connected to the other ends of the electric wires
8
, also the operation for connecting the sunvisor-body-side connector becomes too complicated.
What is worse, the operator must connect the connectors
9
and
11
with two hands while holding the sunvisor body
4
under the operator's arm in a state in which the operator faces the roof portion. Therefore, the operation for connecting the connectors is too complicated. Since the electric wires
10
and
8
and the connectors
9
and
11
must be pushed inwards into the inside portion of the roof panel
1
through the joining hole
1
a,
the operation for joining the sunvisor becomes too complicated. As described above, there arise a variety of problems.
To overcome the foregoing problems experienced with the conventional technique, an object of the present invention is to provide a structure for illuminating a sunvisor with which a variety of operations concerning illumination which is performed by an illuminating member provided for a sunvisor body can be simplified.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To solve the foregoing problems, according to aspect 1 of the present invention, there is provided a structure for illuminating a sunvisor structured such that a horizontal shaft portion of an L-shape stay having a vertical shaft portion supported rotatively around the vertical shaft by a stay holder joined to a roof panel in a vehicle is inserted into a visor holder of a sunvisor body so that the sunvisor body is supported movably in the vertical direction around a horizontal shaft and the sunvisor body is provided with an illuminating member, the structure for illuminating a sunvisor comprising:
a stay-side light guide insert-molded into the stay; a lamp socket which holds a lamp, the light from which is made incident on an incident end of the stay-side light guide and which is disposed opposite to an end of the vertical shaft portion of the stay; and a sunvisor-side light guide provided for the sunvisor body and arranged to introduce, to an illuminating light guide, light emitted from an emission end of the stay-side light guide at the end of the horizontal shaft portion of the stay.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, illuminating light emitted from the lamp of the lamp socket disposed in the roof panel is made incident on the incident end of the stay-side light guide at the end of the vertical shaft portion. Illuminating light emitted from the emission end of the stay-side light guide at the end of the horizontal shaft portion of the stay is introduced into the illuminating light guide through the sunvisor-side light guide. Thus, the illuminating light guide performs the illumination. Therefore, the necessity of passing the electric wires of the vanity lamp into the L-shape pipe stay can be eliminated. Hence it follows that the operation for passing the electric wires can be eliminated.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, the illuminating light guide is a frame-shape member which surrounds the outer surface of a vanity mirror joined to the sunvisor body, whereby illumination outward of the vanity mirror occurs.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, the incident end of the sunvisor-side light guide is joined to the visor holder of the sunvisor body so that the emission end of the stay-side light guide at the end of the horizontal shaft portion is made to be opposite to the incident end of the sunvisor-side light guide when the horizontal shaft portion of the stay is inserted into the visor holder. In the foregoing case, the operation for inserting the horizontal shape portion of the stay into the visor holder can simply be completed by only making the emission end of the stay-side light guide at the end of the horizontal shaft portion to be opposite to the incident end of the sunvisor-side light guide. Therefore, the operation for connecting the connectors required for the conventional technique can be omitted. The vertical movement of the sunvisor body around the horizontal shaft does not require the sunvisor-side light guide to be rotated around the horizontal shaft.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the lamp socket, to which an electric wire extended from a battery is connected, is joined to a car-body member disposed in the roof panel so that the incident end of the stay-side light guide is made to be opposite to the lamp of the lamp socket when the stay holder which supports a stay-side end of the vertical shaft portion is joined to the roof panel. In the foregoing case, the operation for joining the socket holder to the roof panel can simply be completed by making the incident end of the stay-side light guide at the end of the vertical shaft to be opposite to the lamp of the lamp socket. Therefore, the operation for connecting the connectors required for the conventional technique can be omitted. The longitudinal movement of the sunvisor body around the vertical shaft does not require the lamp socket of the car body to be rotated around the vertical shaft.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the car-body member is provided with the socket holder to which the lamp socket can be inserted and joined from an axial direction or a direct
Cariaso Alan
Harness Systems Technologies Research, Ltd.
Oliff & Berridg,e PLC
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