Patent Publication Number: US-2011074178-A1

Title: Glare shield apparatus

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     The present invention relates to a glare shield apparatus that allows attachment of a glare shield to a sun visor provided above the driver&#39;s seat of an automobile, for example. 
     For example, at least the front side, the right side, and the left side of the driver&#39;s seat of a vehicle (e.g., automobile) are covered with transparent glass in order to ensure the driver&#39;s view. Safe driving may be hindered when sunlight (daytime) or a light beam emitted from the headlights of the oncoming car or the following car (nighttime) comes into the driver&#39;s view either directly or via a rear view mirror. Therefore, vehicles are normally equipped with a sun visor that reduces the effects of external light (e.g., sunlight). 
     However, a standard sun visor is not necessarily satisfactory when sunlight almost horizontally comes into the driver&#39;s view in the morning or evening, or a light beam emitted from the headlights of the oncoming car or the following car comes into the driver&#39;s view either directly or via a rear view mirror. 
     In order to solve this problem, various glare shield apparatuses have been proposed (see JP-A-2003-112524, JP-A-2002-362156, and JP-A-2002-127744, for example). 
     However, the fixtures disclosed in these documents have a complex configuration and are expensive. In particular, the mechanism disclosed in JP-A-2003-112524 and JP-A-2002-362156 that automatically changes the direction of the fixture corresponding to a relative change in the incident direction of sunlight further increases complexity and cost. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present invention was conceived in view of the above situation. An object of the present invention is to provide a glare shield apparatus that has a simple configuration, can be produced at low cost, allows the direction of the glare shield to be arbitrarily changed corresponding to the incident direction of sunlight, and is suitable for a vehicle sun visor. 
     According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a glare shield apparatus that allows a glare shield to be removably attached to a sun visor provided in a vehicle such as an automobile, the glare shield apparatus comprising: 
     a clip that removably attaches the glare shield to the sun visor so that the glare shield can be rotated between a rest position and a use position; 
     a guide frame that is fitted to the glare shield from an upper long side of the glare shield to a halfway position of each short side of the glare shield, a portion of the guide frame that is fitted to each short side of the glare shield being formed as a guide section that guides a movement of the glare shield; and
         positioning means that is included in at least one of the guide section and the glare shield, and positions the glare shield at a withdrawn position or a pull-out position.       

     According to this configuration, the glare shield is normally placed at the rest position along the sun visor, and can be rotated to the use position, if necessary. Since the glare shield is attached to the sun visor via the clip, the attachment position of the glare shield with respect to the sun visor can be arbitrarily changed. 
     In the above glare shield apparatus, the positioning means may include a groove that is formed in the guide section, an upper stopper that is formed on the glare shield at a position corresponding to the groove and comes in contact with a lower end of the groove at the pull-out position, and a lower stopper that can move beyond the lower end of the groove in a pull-out direction and engages the lower end of the groove when the glare shield is situated at the withdrawn position. 
     In the above glare shield apparatus, the position of the glare shield with respect to the clip may be able to be adjusted in a forward/backward direction. The above glare shield apparatus may further comprise a lateral direction slide mechanism that allows the glare shield to be slidingly moved laterally with respect to the clip. 
     According to the present invention, a glare shield apparatus that has a simple configuration, can be produced at low cost, allows the direction of the glare shield to be arbitrarily changed corresponding to the direction of sunlight, and is suitable for a vehicle sun visor, can be provided. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1A  is a front view illustrative of the configuration of a glare shield apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention, and  FIG. 1B  is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a guide section of the glare shield apparatus shown in  FIG. 1A . 
         FIG. 2A  is a plan view showing a clip of the glare shield apparatus shown in  FIG. 1A , and  FIG. 2B  is a view illustrative of a ratchet mechanism for a rotating shaft. 
         FIGS. 3A to 3C  are views illustrative of a use state of a glare shield apparatus according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a view illustrative of a use state of a glare shield apparatus according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a front view showing a glare shield apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a side view showing a glare shield apparatuses according to still another embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS 
     Preferred embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the drawings. 
       FIG. 1A  is a front view illustrative of the configuration of a glare shield apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention,  FIG. 1B  is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a guide section of the glare shield apparatus shown in  FIG. 1A ,  FIG. 2A  is a plan view showing a clip of the glare shield apparatus shown in  FIG. 1A , and  FIG. 2B  is a view illustrative of a ratchet mechanism for a rotating shaft. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1A , a glare shield apparatus  1  according to this embodiment includes a clip  11  that is used to removably attach a translucent glare shield  17  that can effectively reduce external light (e.g., sunlight) and does not hinder the driver&#39;s vision to a sun visor of an automobile. 
     The glare shield  17  is preferably formed using a polarizer. The glare shield  17  according to this embodiment is formed in the shape of a rectangle having two long sides (top and bottom) and two short sides (right and left), and is rotatably attached to the clip  11  via a support member  12 . 
     The clip  11  is not limited to the configuration shown in  FIG. 1A  insofar as the glare shield  17  can be removably attached to a sun visor of an automobile. Various clips may be used as the clip  11 . 
     The support member  12  is formed approximately in the shape of the letter “U” that opens downward (see  FIG. 1A ), and is attached to the clip  11  via a horizontal rotating shaft  13  that is inserted into the center of the bottom of the support member  12  so that the support member  12  can be rotated horizontally with respect to the clip  11 . 
     A vertical rotating shaft  14  is inserted into the sidewall of the support member  12  on each side of the bottom of the support member  12 . The glare shield  17  is attached to the support member  12  via the vertical rotating shafts  14  so that the glare shield  17  can be rotated in the vertical direction (i.e., flip-up/flip-down direction). 
     A guide frame  15  is fitted to the glare shield  17 . The guide frame  15  is formed approximately in the shape of the letter “U” that opens downward, and extends from the upper long side of the glare shield  17  to a halfway position of each short side of the glare shield  17 . A fitting groove  151   a  is formed along the inner circumferential surface of the guide frame  15 . The long side and the short sides of the glare shield  17  are fitted into the fitting groove  151   a.    
     Each side of the guide frame  15  is formed as a guide section  152  that guides a slide movement of the glare shield  17 . A groove  152   a  is formed at the bottom of the fitting groove  151   a  formed in the guide section  152 . Upper and lower protrusions (i.e., upper stopper  17   b  and lower stopper  17   a ) that engage the groove  152   a  are formed on the short side of the glare shield  17 . 
     A contact section  152   b  is formed at the lower end of the groove  152   a , the contact section  152   b  coming in contact with the upper stopper  17   b  to restrict a further slide movement of the glare shield  17  so that the glare shield  17  does not come off from the guide frame  15 . 
     The end of the contact section  152   b  is formed as an arc section  152   c  so that the lower stopper  17   a  that is formed in the shape of a semicircle and is smaller than the upper stopper  17   b  causes the guide section  152  to be elastically deformed (stretched) while slidingly coming in contact with the arc section  152   c  such that the lower stopper  17   a  can move beyond the lower end of the groove  152   a . This makes it possible to bring out the glare shield  17  from the guide frame  15 . 
     The guide frame  15  is preferably formed of a resin material (e.g., silicone resin or acrylic resin), but may be formed of a metal (e.g., aluminum). 
     Two rotation support sections  16  protrude from the center of the guide frame  15  so that the support member  12  is positioned between the rotation support sections  16 . The vertical rotating shaft  14  around which the glare shield  17  is rotated in the vertical direction is inserted into the support member  12  and supported by the rotation support section  16 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 2B , the horizontal rotating shaft  13  or the vertical rotating shaft  14  can be stopped by a ratchet mechanism at an arbitrary rotational angle with respect to a through-hole  12   a  formed in the support member  12 . 
       FIGS. 3A to 3C  and  FIG. 4  are views illustrative of a use state of the glare shield apparatus  1  according to the present invention. 
     When it is unnecessary to use the glare shield  17 , the glare shield  17  is rotated upward and held along the bottom surface of the sun visor  2  (see  FIG. 3A ). 
     When it is necessary to use the glare shield  17 , the glare shield  17  is rotated downward and positioned vertically in front of a driver D (see  FIG. 3B ). 
     When the driver is of small stature, the glare shield  17  may not properly function if the glare shield  17  is normally positioned. In this case, the glare shield  17  is slidingly moved downward (see  FIG. 3C ). This makes it possible for the glare shield  17  to help such a driver. 
     When sunlight is laterally incident on the driver D, the glare shield  17  is rotated sideways with respect to the clip  11  so that the glare shield  17  faces the sunlight incident direction (see  FIG. 4 ). 
       FIG. 5  is a front view showing a glare shield apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. 
     Note that the members (sections) identical to those of the above embodiment are indicated by the identical reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted. 
     A glare shield apparatus  1 ′ according to this embodiment is configured so that the distance between the rotation support sections  16  disposed at the center of the guide frame  15  is greater than the width of the support member  12 . A single vertical rotating shaft  14 ′ is suspended between the rotation support sections  16  so that the ends of the vertical rotating shaft  14 ′ are supported by the rotation support sections  16 . Elevations and depressions are formed over the outer circumferential surface of the vertical rotating shaft  14 ′ from one end to the other end so that the support member  12  functions as a ratchet mechanism irrespective of its position with respect to the vertical rotating shaft  14 ′. 
     According to this configuration, the glare shield  17  can be slidingly moved to the right and left together with the rotation support section  16  by the distance between the support member  12  and the rotation support section  16 . 
     A glare shield apparatus according to still another embodiment of the present invention includes a mechanism that allows the glare shield  17  to be slidingly moved forward and backward. 
       FIG. 6  is a side view showing a glare shield apparatus according to this embodiment of the present invention. 
     A socket  18  is integrally provided under the clip  11 , and notches  18   a  are formed in the socket  18  at given intervals along the insertion direction. The support member  12 , the rotation support section  16 , the guide frame  15 , the glare shield  17 , and the like are provided on one end of a plug  19  that can be removably inserted into the socket  17 . A protrusion  19   a  that engages the notch  18   a  formed in the socket  18  is formed on the plug  19 . The horizontal position of the glare shield  17  with respect to the clip  11  can be adjusted by changing the engagement position of the protrusion  19   a  with the notch  18   a  while moving the plug  19  forward and backward with respect to the socket  18 . 
     Preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above. Note that the connection structure according to the present invention is not limited to those described in the above embodiments. 
     For example, the above embodiments have been described taking an example in which the positioning means that positions the glare shield  17  at the withdrawn position or the pull-out position includes the upper and lower stoppers  17   a  and  17   b  formed on the glare shield  17 , the groove  152   a , the contact section  152   b , the arc section  152   c , and the like. Note that the configuration of the positioning means is not limited thereto insofar as the same effects can be achieved. Various known mechanisms may be used as the positioning means. For example, the glare shield  17  may be positioned by utilizing friction with the guide frame, or the glare shield  17  may be gradually pulled out using a ratchet mechanism. 
     The present invention may be applied to sun visors for vehicles (e.g., passenger car, truck, bus, and train), aircraft, ships, and the like.