Abstract:
An exterior windshield visor for motor vehicles, a method for manufacturing a windshield visor, a motor vehicle having a windshield visor, and a method for attaching a windshield visor to a motor vehicle are provided according the invention. The visor includes a double walled construction that defines a cavity therein. The visor is sufficiently rigid to prevent unacceptable levels of visor flutter due to wind forces and can be manufactured efficiently without the need to use a large amount of raw material and/or expensive manufacturing steps. In addition, the visor according to the invention can be securely attached to a wide variety of different vehicles with little or no modification.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates to an exterior windshield visor for a motor vehicle, a method for manufacturing a windshield visor, a motor vehicle having a windshield visor, and a method for attaching a windshield visor to a motor vehicle.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     Visors are fairly common and are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,099,065 to Lund; U.S. Pat. No. 6,099,064 to Lund; U.S. Pat. No. 5,108,142 to Lund; U.S. Pat. No. 4,966,404 to Lund; U.S. Pat. No. 4,842,320 to Kingsley; U.S. Pat. No. 4,726,619 to Haugestad; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,758,040 to Kingsley et al. Visors including those described in the above-listed patents have been attached to vehicles to shield against sun and rain.  
         [0003]     Visors generally project from the roof of the vehicle towards the front of the vehicle to provide shielding without decreasing the effective viewing area of the windshield. During high speed travel the air that flows across the visors can impart forces strong enough to rip poorly designed visors from the motor vehicle. In addition, differences in air pressure across the visor can cause “flutter,” which can be seen as a bending and/or twisting of the visor or heard as a buzzing or flapping noise emanating from the visor. The occurrence of flutter is not only distracting to the vehicle occupants, but it can also fatigue the visor and eventually cause it to rip off of the vehicle roof. Accordingly, the aerodynamic characteristics and the structural strength and rigidity of the visors are important consideration in the design and manufacture of windshield visors.  
         [0004]     Prior art windshield visors, including the windshield visors listed above, are generally either single walled visors or double walled visor that are constructed by joining single wall starting materials. Though double walled visors can be relatively more rigid than single walled visors and also can exhibit other preferred aesthetic and aerodynamic qualities, they are usually more difficult and therefore expensive to manufacture. An object of the invention is to provide an improved double walled visor that is easier and less expensive to manufacture.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     The invention relates to a molded windshield visor for a vehicle. The visor includes a double walled construction that defines a cavity therein. The visor according to the invention is sufficiently rigid to prevent an unacceptable level of visor flutter even under high wind conditions, which commonly results when the vehicle that the visor is mounted thereto moves at a high rate of speed. The visor according to the invention can be manufactured via a cavity molding process in which the raw material and/or labor cost are less than in prior art methods of manufacturing double wall visors. In addition, the visor according to the invention is constructed such that it can be conveniently attached to a wide variety of different vehicles. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0006]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a windshield visor according to the principles of the present invention mounted to a vehicle;  
         [0007]      FIG. 2  is the windshield visor of  FIG. 1  in an assembly view;  
         [0008]      FIG. 3  is a top view of the windshield visor of  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0009]      FIG. 4  is a front elevation view of the windshield visor of  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0010]      FIG. 5  is an end elevation view of the windshield visor of  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0011]      FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view of the windshield visor of  FIG. 3  along the line  6 - 6 ; and  
         [0012]      FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view of the windshield visor of  FIG. 3  along the line  7 - 7 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0013]     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a windshield visor in accordance with the present invention is depicted at reference numeral  10  mounted to a vehicle  12  projecting from the vehicle roof  14  over the windshield  8 . According to the present invention, a windshield visor is a device that is attachable to a vehicle to provide some shielding of the windshield from sunlight and/or precipitation. The windshield visor  10  preferably projects over the windshield  8  as to not interfere with the effective viewing area of the windshield  8 . The windshield visor  10  of the present invention may hereinafter be referred to as the visor  10 .  
         [0014]     As those skilled in the art will appreciate, the dimensions of vehicles vary widely from manufacturer to manufacturer and from model to model. Accordingly, it should be understood that although the windshield visor depicted in the figures is shown attached to a pickup truck, the visor can be adapted to fit other types of vehicles, for example, cars, boats, and other types of trucks. An exemplary way of adapting the visor to fit other vehicles would include modifying the length of the visor to match the width of wider or narrower vehicles and/or modifying the profile of the visor  10  to complement the aerodynamic or aesthetic characteristics of the various vehicles.  
         [0015]     Referring to  FIGS. 2-5 , the visor  10  includes a shielding region  16  and an attachment region  18  (referenced in  FIG. 3 ). When mounted on the vehicle  12  the shielding region  16  extends forward of the roof  14  and over the front windshield  8 , thereby shielding a portion of the windshield  8  from sun and precipitation. The attachment region  18  extends rearward over the roof  14  and is configured to be used to secure the shielding region  16  to the vehicle  12 . Both of the above-identified regions will be described in greater detail below.  
         [0016]     For the purposes of description, the shielding region  16  and the attachment region  18  of the visor  10  include a top surface  20  and a bottom surface  22  (referenced in  FIGS. 2 and 5 ). When the visor  10  is installed, the top surface  20  faces away from the vehicle  12  and the bottom surface  22  faces toward the vehicle  12 . In the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 2-5 , the top of a top wall  21  defines the top surface  20  and the bottom of a bottom wall  23  defines the bottom surface  22 . The top wall  21  and the bottom wall  23  are separated by a cavity  24 , shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 . In the particular embodiment shown, the top wall  21  and bottom wall  23  are formed of a continuous sheet of molded polymer material. The above-described double wall construction results in a visor  10  that is structurally more rigid than a single wall visor constructed of the same amount and type of material.  
         [0017]     In the embodiment shown, the top surface  20  of the shielding region  16  includes a scooped region  26 , which is shown as a depressed or recessed area positioned between a first raised end portion  28  and a second raised end portion  30  of the visor  10 . The raised end portions  28  and  30  of the shielding region  16  include recesses  29  and  31  that are sized to house auxiliary lights or other types of accents including decorative pieces. In should be understood that the top surface  20  could include different features than the features shown in the depicted embodiment, i.e., the scooped region  26  and the raised end portions  28  and  30  are optional.  
         [0018]     In the embodiment shown, the top surface  20  of the attachment region  16  of the visor  10  includes six wells  32 ,  33 ,  34 ,  35 ,  36 , and  37  otherwise referred to as countersinks that are each configured to house fasteners  100 . Associated with the wells  32 ,  33 ,  34 ,  35 ,  36 , and  37  are well caps  102  that are configured to be inserted into the wells after the fasteners  100  are secured. The well caps  102  are constructed to prevent debris from entering the wells  32 ,  33 ,  34 ,  35 ,  36 , and  37  as well as to provide a smooth finished appearance across the top surface  20  of the visor  10 . The smooth appearance provides a certain aesthetic appeal as well as utilitarian advantages that include improved airflow over the visor  10 . As shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 , the top wall  21  and the bottom wall  23  are joined together at the well locations. In other words, the top wall  21  and the bottom wall  23  of the visor  10  “kiss-off” in the vicinity of the wells  32 ,  33 ,  34 ,  35 ,  36 , and  37 . The above-described construction of a double wall visor  10  having kiss-offs around the well  32 ,  33 ,  34 ,  35 ,  36 , and  37  locations results in a visor having localized regions around the fasteners that are particularly resistant to bending and breaking. Nonetheless, it should be appreciated that the visor according to the invention can include alternative features for securely engaging fasteners.  
         [0019]     As discussed above, the bottom surface  22  of the visor  10  is molded with the top surface  20  as a single piece. As such, the bottom surface in the shielding region  16  and the attachment region  18  are shown to be continuous. In addition to providing a certain aesthetic appeal, such a profile allows air that flows up across the windshield  8  to flow underneath the visor  10  from the front edge  46  of the visor  10  to the rear edge  48  of the visor  10  without creating an unacceptable amount of wind noise. The bottom surface  22  further includes visor-mounting regions such as mounting pad receiving recesses  38  (shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 ), which are sized to receive mounting pads  44  that interface between the visor  10  and the vehicle  12 . It should be understood that the bottom surface  22  of the visor  10  according to the invention does not need to include pad receiving recesses  38 ,  40 , and  42 , and can include various additional or alternative features. It should also be understood that though the entire visor  10  in the depicted embodiment is made of a single sheet of molded material, such a construction is not necessary. For example, certain parts of the visor  10  could be attached to other parts of the visor  10  via adhesives, fasteners, and welds.  
         [0020]     Referring to  FIG. 2 , the visor  10  is shown in a perspective exploded view showing the mounting pads  44  and the fasteners  100  and the well caps  102 . The pads  44  are shown as pieces of material that are sized and shaped specifically to fit the visor  10  to specific vehicles. Pads  44  are shown as pieces of rubber having a top surface  52  and a bottom surface  50 . The bottom surfaces  50  can be contoured or otherwise constructed to fit with the contoured surface of the roof  14  of the vehicle  12 , whereas the top surfaces  52  can be contoured or otherwise constructed to fit in the mounting pad recesses  38  of the visor  10 . The mounting pads  44  at the ends of the visor  10  may be of different shape and size than the mounting pad or pads  44  at the center of the visor  10  to account for the curvature of the roof  14  of the vehicle  12 . The mounting pads  44  in some embodiments include adhesive on one or both of the top surface  52  and the bottom surface  50 . Though the use of three rubber mounting pads  44  is shown, it should further be appreciated that in alternative embodiments there may be more or less mounting pads  44  and they can be constructed from numerous other types of materials. Moreover, in some alternative embodiments, the visor  10  can be attached to the vehicle  12  via alternative means that do not involve the use of mounting pads  44 .  
         [0021]     Manufacturing the visor  10  can be accomplished using known blow molding techniques. The process may generally include the following steps: charging a mold with molten polymer; injecting gas into the mold to bias the molten polymer material against the inner sidewalls of the mold; and removing the visor from the mold once cured. In some embodiments the thickness of the top wall  21  and the bottom wall  23  are about 1/16 to ¼ of an inch and more preferably between ⅛ to 3/16 of an inch. It should be appreciated that other thicknesses are possible depending on the particular features of the visor  10  and materials used to mold the visor. In addition, other molding processes can be employed in the manufacture of the visor  10 , for example, a rotational molding process can be used where the molten polymer is biased to the side of the mold via gravitational and centrifugal forces or twin sheet thermoforming.  
         [0022]     Installing the visor  10  to a vehicle may include the steps of inserting the pads  44  into the pad receiving recesses  38  in the bottom surface  22  of the visor  10 . Positioning the visor  10  as desired on the roof  14  of the vehicle  12  such that the shielding region  16  extends over a portion of the windshield  8 . Drilling starting holes through the pads  44  and the roof  14  of the vehicle. Applying sealant to the drilled holes, and inserting a self-tapping screw through the wells  32 ,  33 ,  34 ,  35 ,  36 , and  37  of the visor  10  and the pads  44  into each of the drilled holes. Applying sealant over the top of the self-tapping screws and inserting the well caps  102  into the pairs of wells  32 ,  34 , and  36 . It should be appreciated that the above steps can occur in a number of different sequences and that the above-described mounting procedure is one of many alternative mounting procedures. For example, according to some alternative embodiments the installation may not involve perforating the roof  14  of a vehicle  12 . In such embodiments the mounting can involve clamping the visor  10  to a particular portion of the vehicle  12  or using adhesives to connect the visor  10  to the vehicle  12 .  
         [0023]     The above specification, examples and data provide a complete description of the manufacture and use of the composition of the invention. Since many embodiments of the invention can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, the invention resides in the claims hereinafter appended.