Abstract:
The embodied invention is a large, horizontal sunshade with vertical shading curtains around the perimeter that is securely attached to the roof of a vehicle. The attachment means comprises a semi-permanent magnetic vehicle mount assembly that is attached to the vehicle roof and a matching snap ring that secures the sunscreen in place. The snap ring is magnetically attached to the car mount assembly using strong magnets that prevent the sunscreen from blowing away in the event of a wind. The sunscreen assembly incorporates reinforcing ribs in a way that allows the sunscreen assembly to be folded and stored compactly. The sunscreen assembly is removable by a simple rotation.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    Not applicable. 
       STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    Not applicable. 
       REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING 
       [0003]    Not applicable. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    (1) Field of the Invention 
         [0005]    This invention is directed toward sunshades and sunscreens useful for protecting a vehicle from the sun&#39;s rays. It is particularly directed toward external sunscreens attached to the roof or top of a vehicle. 
         [0006]    (2) Description of Related Art 
         [0007]    Internal sunscreens are a popular way to lower the internal temperature of a vehicle that is parked in the sun. The screens are typically installed just behind the front windshield and provide a way to keep the dashboard, steering wheel, and front seats from being too hot for a person to enter and sit down to operate the vehicle. The reduction in heat in the front of a vehicle provides for a faster cool down when the air conditioner is used, as the system does not have to cool down air conditioning ductwork first. Also, the vehicle driver can usually hold the steering wheel which can be too hot to comfortably touch when the sun directly shines on it. 
         [0008]    The internal sunscreens fold into a compact shape such as by an accordion method, rolling up, or folding. This makes it convenient to store in the vehicle by setting it aside on the back seat or other area. 
         [0009]    Internal sunscreens provide only a measure of protection from heating the vehicle interior. They are usually designed for the front windshield, and do not completely put the interior in a shady condition. A casual observation of parking lots in the southwest (where the sun in more intense) shows that it is desirable to obtain more complete shading. Vehicles are intentionally parked under shades from trees to obtain additional sun protection and lower the interior temperature, even though it may require a longer walk to a store or place of business. 
         [0010]    Additionally, the sun will move and the effectiveness of a windshield sunscreen will be reduced when the sun&#39;s rays come in through the side windows of the vehicle. 
         [0011]    Others have attempted to provide sunshades and external umbrellas for vehicles. For example US 20050242610 describes a sun cover that is magnetically attached to a car roof to cover all the vehicle windows. However, a fitted cover is needed for each car type in order for the magnetic attaching system to work. A single cover design that will shade a wide variety of vehicle models is not practical. 
         [0012]    U.S. Pat. No. 6,012,759 describes a relatively permanent attachment on the vehicle roof that provides a pull out shade for the vehicle. This option is less desirable as the externally attached cover has a number of mechanical parts that will be exposed to the weather making reliability questionable. Also, there is no provision for shading side windows. 
         [0013]    One embodiment of US20020139403 describes a center pole mount for a vehicle umbrella. This style of vehicle shade is less desirable as the umbrella is subject to wind and only provides shade for part of the vehicle. The other embodiment uses multiple attaching points. 
         [0014]    U.S. Pat. No. 4,805,654 describes a rectangular sun shade with telescoping poles. The telescoping poles are not convenient to utilize and are awkward to collapse and store the shade in a compact space. The pole mount is unattractive and utilitarian, and fails to provide any sort of aesthetic appeal. Also, the shape of the shade does not provide for shading when the sun is at a low angle. 
         [0015]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,795,012 describes a sun shade that is installed on top of a center mount. The center mount includes reinforcing ribbing for the sun shield that is permanently attached. This makes the installation of the shield is awkward and time consuming. Also, the deployment mechanisms used are overly complex for the simple need. 
         [0016]    Successful external sunscreens are more difficult to effectively design then the interior ones, as seen by a lack of common use in the marketplace. Important matters of convenience have not been addressed in current designs. An external shade should be convenient and quick to install, it should be storable in a compact manner, any permanent mounting structure should have some aesthetic appeal, and it should provide a complete shading of the interior. It is also desirable for the sun shade to be built and designed at an affordable price. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0017]    The embodied invention is an external vehicle sun cover assembly using a large, sun screen assembly that is securely attached to the roof of a vehicle via a vehicle mounting assembly. Vertical shading curtains are included around the perimeter of the sun screen assembly. The attachment means comprises a semi-permanent magnetic vehicle mounting assembly that is attached to the vehicle roof and a matching clamp ring that secures the sunscreen in place. The clamp ring is magnetically attached to the car mount assembly using strong magnets that prevent the sunscreen from blowing away in the event of a wind. The sunscreen incorporates reinforcing ribs in a way that allows the sunscreen to be folded and stored compactly. The clamp ring releases the sunscreen by a simple rotation. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S) 
         [0018]      FIG. 1  shows a prospective view of the sun cover assembly when installed on top of a vehicle. 
           [0019]      FIG. 2  shows details of the sunscreen assembly. 
           [0020]      FIGS. 3A-3B  show additional details of the sunscreen assembly.  FIG. 3B  is view BB of  FIG. 3A . 
           [0021]      FIG. 3C  shows a vehicle mounting assembly. 
           [0022]      FIG. 4  shows an exploded view of the vehicle sun cover assembly. 
           [0023]      FIGS. 5A-5B  show additional embodied vehicle mounting assemblies with improved aesthetic appeal. 
           [0024]      FIG. 6  is an example of how the sunscreen assembly is removed from the vehicle mounting assembly by rotating and lifting. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0025]    As already stated, the embodied sunscreen is attached to the top of the vehicle roof via a magnetic attachment assembly. The bottom surface of the attaching assembly is preferable a non-marring surface such as plastic, a rubber, or a padded surface. 
         [0026]      FIG. 1  shows a prospective view of the invention when installed on a vehicle, such as the exemplary car seen in the figure. A sunscreen assembly  101  is attached to the vehicle through the use of a vehicle mounting assembly  102 . Vertical side curtains  150 ,  151  are part of the sunscreen assembly and are attached around the perimeter of the horizontal sunshade. The curtains provide a more complete shade coverage. One end of a security cable  103  is attached to the sunscreen assembly and the other end is locked inside the vehicle to prevent theft. 
         [0027]      FIG. 2  shows a bottom view of a flattened, partial sunscreen assembly that is used to provide shade for a vehicle. The exact dimensions of the flattened sunshade will vary depending upon the width and length of the vehicle, and also the height of the windows. In one embodiment, the flattened sunshade is generally rectangular in shape with optionally rounded edges. 
         [0028]    The partial sunscreen assembly that is shown comprises a cutout hole  202 , various vertical curtains  203   a - d , reinforcing ribs  204 , rib attachment pockets  205 ,  206   a - b  and a horizontal sunshade  207 . The vertical curtains are attached to the outer perimeter edge of the horizontal sunshade as shown. The horizontal sunshade  207  and vertical curtains  203   a - d  are preferably manufactured from a flexible material that is UV resistant and lightweight. The material can be supplied from a variety of industrial and commercial cloths, and preferably incorporates the ability to dissipate heat quickly. The cutout hole is designed to fit inside a pair of snap rings as shown in  FIGS. 3A-3B . 
         [0029]    The use of a flexible material for the horizontal sunshade and the vertical curtains provides for convenient storage as the sunscreen assembly may be conveniently folded, rolled up, or folded and rolled up. The reinforcing ribs may be telescopic if desired, and this would allow additional ability to fold up and roll the sunscreen into a shorter, more compact space. In one simplified embodiment, the reinforcing ribs are simple plastic boards. In another embodiment, they incorporate a hinge that allows the sunshade to be smaller in length in when stored. In this case, the hinge would have a locking mechanism for use. 
         [0030]      FIG. 3A  shows details of a sunscreen clamping/mounting assembly. An upper snap ring  303  and a lower snap ring  302  are used to capture the horizontal sunshade  310 . The upper snap ring preferably includes a handle  308 . The upper and lower snap ring include four magnets  313   a - b  for attaching to a vehicle base mounting assembly. This allows the sunscreen assembly to be attached with the lower snap ring or by flipping it over to attach with the upper snap ring. Similarly, in another embodiment, only the lower snap ring includes four magnets  313   b  for attaching the vehicle base mounting assembly. Alternately, instead of magnets the snap rings include four members that are made from a magnetic material for attaching to the vehicle base mounting assembly via a magnetic force. 
         [0031]      FIG. 3B  (view BB of  FIG. 3A ) shows that the upper snap ring and lower snap ring connect via an insert  312  into a matching insert groove  311 . The insert design could be continuous around the upper snap ring, or a plurality of narrow width protruding inserts. The horizontal sunshade  310  has a hole large enough to accommodate the insert method of connecting the upper and lower snap rings. In alternate embodiments, the upper and lower snap rings are connected together by other mechanical methods such as the use of screws, rivets, and threaded parts. A series of snap ring magnets  313  in the lower snap ring are used to engage with the vehicle mounting assembly. 
         [0032]      FIG. 3C  shows the vehicle mounting assembly which includes opposite polarity ring magnets  305  in the vehicle mounting base  309  to provide an attaching force. In one embodiment, the vehicle mounting base  309  is conceived as a cylindrical shape and oriented as shown with upper and lower flat surfaces. In other embodiments, it could also be rectangular with two parallel flat surfaces. See  FIGS. 5A-B  for other embodiments. A plurality of evenly spaced vehicle magnets  306  are mounted in the vehicle mounting base  309  lower flat surface. 
         [0033]    It is generally conceived that the snap rings and vehicle mounting assembly are made of plastic, wood, or a non-magnetic metal, except for the magnets. 
         [0034]    The horizontal sunshade with curtains and reinforcing rubs is inserted between the upper and lower snap rings, and the two snap rings are then locked together to create a sunscreen assembly. The snap rings are centrally located on the horizontal sunshade. The sunscreen assembly is then attached to the vehicle mounting assembly  301  when in condition of use. This is illustrated in  FIG. 1 . Two handles,  307 ,  308  are used to set the vehicle mounting assembly  301  on top of the vehicle, and also put the clamping ring on top of the sunscreen to secure it to the vehicle. The use of handles is not a strict requirement. 
         [0035]    The sunscreen assembly will be securely installed on top of the vehicle mounting assembly by action of opposite polarity magnets  313 ,  305 . The sunscreen assembly is centered on the vehicle mounting base  309  by using the centering spike  304 . To remove the sunscreen assembly, the snap rings are easily rotated 20 to 45 degrees to disengage the opposite polarity magnets. The sunscreen assembly is then removed from the top of the vehicle mounting assembly. 
         [0036]    It is conceived in an embodiment of the invention that the vehicle mounting assembly will remain on top of the vehicle when the vehicle is in motion, and magnets with sufficient attaching strength are used so that it be securely attached to the top of the vehicle during a variety of low speed driving conditions, such as a parking lot. However, this is only one embodiment. In another embodiment, the vehicle operator removes the vehicle mounting assembly, if desired, by using the handle to tip it up and lift it off. 
         [0037]      FIG. 4  shows an exploded view of the sun cover assembly. The sunscreen assembly  201  and the vehicle mounting assembly  301  are shown. An upper snap ring  401 , a horizontal sunshade with attached curtains  402 , stiffening ribs  404 , a lower snap ring  403 , and the vehicle mounting assembly  301  are shown. The sunscreen assembly  201  is shown in exploded form, but the vehicle mounting assembly  301  is not. 
         [0038]      FIGS. 5A-5B  show alternate embodied vehicle mounting assemblies. The vehicle mounting magnets are mounted in the lower flat surface on the very bottom of the mounting base  501 ,  503 . The magnets can either protrude from the bottom flat surface or be flush with it. Similarly, ring magnets  505 ,  506  are mounted on the upper flat surface  502 ,  504  of the vehicle mounting base. The ring magnets can either protrude from the top flat surface or be flush with it. 
         [0039]      FIG. 6  shows the method of removing the sunscreen assembly from the vehicle mounting assembly. In the top step  601 , the sunscreen assembly is mounted on the vehicle mounting assembly. In the middle step  602 , the sunscreen assembly is partially rotated, such as 20 to 90 degrees to release the magnets. In the bottom step  603 , the sunscreen assembly is lifted off of the vehicle mounting assembly. 
         [0040]    While various embodiments of the present invention have been described, the invention may be modified and adapted to various operational methods to those skilled in the art. Therefore, this invention is not limited to the description and figure shown herein, and includes all such embodiments, changes, and modifications that are encompassed by the scope of the claims.