U.S. patent number RE37,068 [Application Number 08/424,247] was granted by the patent office on 2001-02-27 for windshield shade assembly for motor vehicles.
Invention is credited to Annetta Beatty.
United States Patent |
RE37,068 |
Beatty |
February 27, 2001 |
Windshield shade assembly for motor vehicles
Abstract
A shade assembly for a vehicle windshield includes an axle
secured at its ends to two side brackets attachable at the
windshield top at two opposite sides of the windshield. The axle is
also supported at its middle portion by an intermediate bracket
secured to the top of the windshield. Two hollow cylindrical shafts
are arranged between the intermediate bracket and the two side
brackets, respectively, for rotation about respective sections of
the axle. Two flexible shade members made of a tinted and polarized
flexible plastic material are secured to the two hollow shafts,
respectively, at one of their opposite longitudinal edges so as to
be unwound and rewound upon respective rotation of the hollow
shafts.
Inventors: |
Beatty; Annetta (Bronx,
NY) |
Family
ID: |
26894259 |
Appl.
No.: |
08/424,247 |
Filed: |
April 17, 1995 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
|
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198904 |
Feb 18, 1994 |
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Reissue of: |
728647 |
Jul 11, 1991 |
05135279 |
Aug 4, 1992 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
296/97.1;
160/171; 160/323.1; 160/370.22; 296/97.11; 296/97.2; 296/97.8;
359/488.01; 359/490.03 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B60J
1/205 (20130101); B60J 1/2069 (20130101); B60J
1/2077 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B60J
1/20 (20060101); B60J 003/02 () |
Field of
Search: |
;296/97.1,97.2,97.4,97.8,97.11 ;160/37.2A,323.1,324,DIG.3 ;362/19
;359/493,501 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Kramer; Dean
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Darby & Darby
Parent Case Text
.Iadd.This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/198,904,
filed Feb. 18, 1994, now abandoned, which is a Reissue of
application Ser. No. 07/728,647, filed Jul. 11, 1991, which issued
into U.S. Pat. No. 5,135,279..Iaddend.
Claims
What is claimed is: .[.
1. A shade assembly for a vehicle windshield comprising:
at least two brackets attachable at a top of the windshield at
respective spaced apart locations of the windshield; and
at least one flexible shade member, said shade member being made of
a transparent plastic polarized material that blocks a substantial
portion of sunlight; and
a shade winding mechanism secured between said at least two
brackets, said shade winding mechanisms including a non-rotatable
axle having opposite ends securable in said brackets and a
cylindrical shaft rotatably mounted about said axle, said shade
member being fastened by one longitudinal edge to the shaft so as
to extend across at least a portion of said windshield and block
sunlight when in an unwound position and be wound upon the shaft
when in a wound position..]. .[.
2. A shade assembly as in claim 1 wherein said shade winding
mechanism further includes
a spring member that is tensioned when the shade member is moved to
the unwound position and acts to bias the shade member into the
wound position, and
a holding member, for holding the shade member in the unwound
position against the tension of the spring member until
released..]. .[.
3. A shade assembly for a vehicle windshield comprising:
two side brackets attachable at a top of the windshield at
respective sides of the windshield and an intermediate bracket
attachable at the top of the windshield in a middle region of the
windshield;
a shade winding mechanism including a non-rotatable axle having
opposite ends securable in respective side brackets, said axle
being supported in a middle portion thereof by said intermediate
bracket, and two hollow cylindrical shafts located, respectively,
between said intermediate bracket and respective side brackets and
supported for rotation about said axle; and
two flexible shade members made of a transparent plastic polarized
material that blocks a substantial portion of sunlight, said two
shade members being fastened at one longitudinal edge thereof to
said two hollow shafts, respectively, to be unwound and rewound on
said two shafts upon selective rotation of said two shafts in
respective directions by said shade winding mechanism so as to
cause said shade member to extend across said windshield and block
sunlight when in an unwound position, and to be wound on said two
shafts when in a wound position..]. .[.
4. A shade assembly as set forth in claim 3 wherein each of said
two shade members comprises a trapezoidal shade member secured to a
respective hollow shaft at its shorter longitudinal edge..]..[.
5. A shade assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein the shade
member is made of a tinted plastic polarized material..]..[.
6. A shade assembly as set forth in claim 3 wherein the shade
member is made of a tinted plastic polarized material..]..[.
7. A shade assembly for a windshield of a vehicle comprising:
two coaxial winding shaft means extending between opposite sides of
the windshield at a top of the windshield, each said shaft means
including a non-rotatable axle having opposite ends and a
cylindrical shaft rotatably mounted about said axle
bracket means for supporting the opposite ends of the axles of each
of said two winding shaft means for allowing rotation in opposite
directions of the cylindrical shafts; and
two flexible shade members secured at one longitudinal edge thereof
to the cylindrical shafts of said two coaxial winding shaft means,
respectively, to be unwound and rewound upon rotation of said two
cylindrical shafts in respective directions, said two shade members
being made of a flexible transparent plastic tinted and polarized
material..]. .Iadd.
8. A shade assembly for a vehicle window comprising:
at least three brackets attachable near the window;
at least two flexible shade members, said at least two shade
members being made of a transparent plastic polarized material that
can block a substantial portion of sunlight; and
a first and a second shade winding mechanism secured to said at
least one bracket, said shade winding mechanism including a common
non-rotatable axle having opposite ends and being securable to said
at least three brackets, a first one of said at least three
brackets secures said non-rotatable axle intermediate of said
opposite ends, at least two cylindrical shafts rotatably mounted
about said common axle, said at least two shade members being
fastened by one longitudinal edge thereof to one of the at least
two shafts so as to be vertically extendable such that a vertical
dimension of said at least two shades varies upon rotation of said
respective shaft, and that when said at least two shades are fully
extended a substantial portion of a vertical dimension of said
window is covered for blocking sunlight when in an unwound position
and when in a wound position said at least two shades are wound
upon one of the at least two shafts, one of said at least two
shafts and one of said at least two shade members being disposed on
each side of said first one of said at least three
brackets..Iaddend..Iadd.
9. The shade assembly in accordance with claim 8, wherein said
common axle includes a first outer threaded section extending on a
first side of said first one of said at least three brackets, and a
second outer threaded section extending on a second opposite side
of said first one of said at least three
brackets..Iaddend..Iadd.
10. The shade assembly in accordance with claim 9, wherein said
first outer threaded section is oppositely handed than said second
outer threaded section..Iaddend.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a windshield shade assembly to be
used in motor vehicles instead of sun visors.
Windshield shade assemblies for use in motor vehicles are known.
Thus, U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,775 discloses a shade assembly for a
vehicle windshield. This assembly comprises two brackets attachable
at two opposite sides of the vehicle windshield at the top thereof,
adjacent to respective side windows of the vehicle. A common
intermediate bracket is supported at the top of the windshield in
the middle region thereof. The assembly further includes two hollow
cylindrical winding shafts supported, respectively, between the
intermediate bracket and the respective side brackets. A
trapezoidal shade member is secured to each of the shafts at its
shorter longitudinal edge. As a result, the shade member can be
unwound or rewound upon rotation of the shaft in a respective
direction.
Each hollow winding shaft is supported for rotation at one end by a
threaded spindle, which is non-rotatably secured in the
intermediate bracket, and at the other end thereof, by a trunnion
secured in a respective side bracket. The one end of the respective
shaft and the respective spindle have matching inner and outer
threads that enable axial displacement of the respective hollow
shaft upon its rotation. The amount of the axial displacement of
the hollow shaft is selected so that the oblique edge of the shade
member is located closely adjacent to the respective adjacent
oblique side of the windshield.
The shade in this prior arrangement is apparently opaque so that it
acts like a standard and completely blocks the sun from entering
the driver's eyes, but also limits the driver's vision. It would be
advantageous to have a sun visor that protects the driver's eyes
from the glare of the sun, while not limiting his vision.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to provide a windshield
shade assembly for use in motor vehicles which assures enhanced
protection for the driver's eyes from sunlight, without limiting
his range of vision. The object of the invention is achieved by
providing shade members made of a transparent polarized plastic
material. Using the polarized plastic material permits to
substantially reduce light reflections, thus protecting the
driver's eyes from the glare of sunlight, while not restricting his
field of view. Shades, according to this invention, also limit the
total amount of sunlight entering the vehicle, which reduces the
heat generated in the vehicle, particularly on the seats and
steering wheel.
These and other objects of the invention will become more apparent
from the following detailed description of the preferred
embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a partial view of a windshield shade assembly according
to the invention with shade members partially unwound;
FIG. 2 is a partial view similar to that of FIG. 1, but with the
shade members completely unwound; and
FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of the winding mechanism
of a windshield shade assembly according to the invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
In the drawings, reference numeral 10 designates a windshield of a
motor vehicle, and reference numeral 12 designates adjacent side
windows of the motor vehicle (only one window is shown in the
drawings). The windshield shade assembly according to the invention
comprises (a) two side brackets 14 (of which only one is shown)
attached at the top of the windshield on its interior side adjacent
a respective side window, and (b) an intermediate bracket 16
attached at the top of the windshield in the middle region thereof.
A non-rotatable axle 18 is secured at its opposite ends in the side
brackets 14 and is supported at the middle portion by the
intermediate bracket 16. Two hollow cylindrical shafts 20, of which
only one is completely shown, are supported between the
intermediate bracket 16 and respective side brackets 14. The shafts
20 are arranged to rotate about the axle 18. A trapezoidal-shaped
flexible shade member 22 is secured to each shaft 20 at its shorter
longitudinal edge. The shade members 22 are made of a transparent
polarized and/or tinted plastic material.
A section of the axle 18 extending between the intermediate bracket
16 and a respective side bracket 14 has a threaded portion 24 with
an outer thread which cooperates with an inner thread 26 of a
respective shaft 20. These matching inner and outer threads provide
for axial displacement of the shaft 20 upon rotation thereof. The
threaded portions 24 of the two sections of the axle 18 represent a
mirror image of each other and are so selected that shaft 20 is
displaced, upon unwinding of the shade member, in a direction
toward a respective side bracket 14, and in an opposite direction,
upon rewinding of the shade member.
Each of the hollow rotatable shafts 20 may be provided with a
conventional rewind mechanism (not shown) including spring means,
or a rewind mechanism driven by an electrical motor. The shorter
longitudinal edge of the shade member 22 may be fixedly received in
a longitudinal groove, not shown, provided on the outer
circumferential surface of the shaft 20. The free longer
longitudinal edge of the member 22 may have a heavy metal or
plastic strip 28 attached thereto for grasping by the vehicle
occupant. When a spring rewind mechanism is used, the strip 28 may
include means for engaging respective hook means attached at the
bottom of the windshield, to hold the shade down.
In the middle region of the windshield 10, there remains a narrow
unprotected zone not covered with the shade members. If desired, an
independent shade assembly, which may be attached to the
intermediate bracket, can be used for screening this zone.
The operation of the windshield shade assembly according to the
invention should be clearly understood from the foregoing
description of its structure, but will be explained for
completeness of the disclosure. In the rewind condition, the shade
member 22 is wound unto the shaft 20 by appropriate spring means.
When an occupant of the vehicle wishes to protect the vehicle or
himself from sunlight, the occupant pulls the shade member down
manually by grasping the strip 28 or, when an electrically-driven
rewind mechanism is used, switches the electric motor on.
Although the present invention has been described in connection
with the preferred embodiment, many other variations and
modifications are possible. Thus, the shade member according to the
invention may be used with the structure of the windshield shade
assembly disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,775, and the hollow shaft
may be supported for rotation in the manner disclosed therein. In
another modification, instead of threaded spindles, smooth spindles
can be used. These spindles are provided with helical grooves
cooperating with pins attached to the interior surfaces of the
respective hollow shafts 20.
In use, the shade can be completely wound up on the axle when there
is no sun glare or the glare of approaching light, during the
night. However, when light is entering the windshield, the shade
may be lowered only enough to block that light, as with
conventional opaque sun visors. The shade of the present invention
provides substantially the same light blocking effort as a sun
visor because it is made of polarized and, preferably, tinted,
transparent flexible plastic. However, the transparency of the
shade provides the user with an increased angle of vision that is
missing with opaque sun visors. If necessary, the shade can be
pulled down completely, and the driver will still be able to see
through it sufficiently to drive.
Even when the vehicle is not is use, the shade may be pulled down
to prevent sunlight from heating up surfaces in the vehicle.
While particular embodiments of the invention have been shown and
described, various modifications thereof will be further apparent
to those skilled in the art and, therefore, it is not intended that
the invention be limited to the disclosed embodiments or to the
details thereof, and the departures may be made therefrom within
the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended
claims.
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