Title: Sun visor for use with vehicles
Abstract: A sun visor includes a lock device (30) that is operable to lock a sun visor body (20) in a storage position adjacent to a vehicle cabin ceiling (1). The lock device (30) is operable to release the sun visor body (20) and to force the sun visor body (20) towards a light-shielding position by a predetermined angle when a locked sun visor body (20) is pressed towards the vehicle cabin ceiling (1). The lock device (30), including a cam ring (50), a spring engaging roller (80), a spring (90), and a lock member (70), may be axially movably fitted on a horizontal rod portion (12) of a support rod (10). The lock device (30) may be used for many types of sun visors, including sliding type sun visors and non-sliding type sun visors.
Patent Number: 7,000,972 Issued on 02/21/2006 to Asai
| Inventors:
|
Asai; Takashi (Toyota, JP)
|
| Assignee:
|
Kyowa Sangyo Co., Ltd. (Aichi-Ken, JP)
|
| Appl. No.:
|
069648 |
| Filed:
|
March 1, 2005 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
| Mar 02, 2004[JP] | 2004-057569 |
| Current U.S. Class: |
296/97.11; 296/97.9 |
| Current Intern'l Class: |
B60J 3/00 (20060101) |
| Field of Search: |
296/971,971.1,979,971.2,971.3
|
References Cited [Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
| 6220644 | Apr., 2001 | Tiesler et al.
| |
| Foreign Patent Documents |
| 2-114513 | Sep., 1990 | JP.
| |
Primary Examiner: Pape; Joseph D.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Conley Rose, P.C.
Claims
This invention claims:
1. A vehicle sun visor comprising:
a support rod having a horizontal rod portion and adapted to be mounted to a
vehicle cabin ceiling:
a sun visor body rotatably mounted on the horizontal rod portion of the support
rod to pivot between a storage position and a light-shielding position, wherein
the sun visor body in the storage position extends along the vehicle cabin ceiling,
and the sun visor body in the light-shielding position extends along a windshield;
a lock device disposed between the horizontal rod portion and the sun visor body
and arranged and constructed to lock the sun visor body in the storage position
and wherein further pressing the sun visor body towards the ceiling releases the
sun visor body from the lock condition and pivots the sun visor body by a predetermined
angle towards the light-shielding position,
wherein the lock device comprises:
a cam ring fitted on the horizontal rod portion so as to not rotate relative
thereto and having a circulation path including a lock recess defined therein,
a spring engaging roller rotatably fitted on the horizontal rod portion;
a spring having a first end engaged with the cam ring, a second end engaged with
the spring engaging roller, and an intermediate portion defined as a spring force
accumulation portion for generating a biasing force to pivot the sun visor body
by the predetermined angle toward the light-shielding position,
a lock member movable relative to and along the circulation path of the cam ring,
wherein the lock member engages the lock recess in order to lock the sun visor
body in the storage position and is disengaged from the lock recess in order to
release the lock condition.
2. The vehicle sun visor as in claim 1,
wherein the cam ring and the spring engaging roller of the lock device are slidably
movable along an axial direction of the horizontal rod portion of the support rod; and
wherein the sun visor body is movable so as to be withdrawn along the axial direction
of the horizontal rod portion.
3. A vehicle sun visor comprising:
a bracket adapted to be mounted to a vehicle cabin ceiling;
a sun visor having a horizontal rod portion rotatably supported by the bracket
so that the sun visor is pivotable at least between a storage position and a light-shielding
position, wherein the sun visor body in the storage position extends along the
vehicle cabin ceiling, and the sun visor body in the light-shielding position extends
along a windshield;
a lock device disposed between the bracket and the horizontal rod portion and
arranged and constructed to lock the sun visor body in the storage position and
wherein further pressing the sun visor body towards the ceiling releases the sun
visor body and pivots the sun visor body by a predetermined angle towards the light-shielding position,
wherein the lock device comprises:
a cam ring fitted on the horizontal rod portion so as to not rotate relative
thereto and having a circulation path including a lock recess defined therein,
a spring engaging roller rotatably fitted on the horizontal rod portion;
a spring having a first end engaged with the cam ring, a second end engaged with
the spring engaging roller, and an intermediate portion defined as a spring force
accumulation portion for generating a biasing force to pivot the sun visor body
by the predetermined angle toward the light-shielding position,
a lock member movable relative to and along the circulation path of the cam ring,
wherein the lock member engages the lock recess in order to lock the sun visor
body in the storage position and is disengaged from the lock recess in order to
release the lock condition.
4. A vehicle sun visor comprising:
a sun visor body;
a support member adapted to be mounted to a vehicle cabin ceiling and arranged
and constructed to rotatably support the sun visor body, wherein the support member
forms a pivotal axis so that the sun visor body can at least pivot between a first
position and a second position about the support member;
a lock device arranged and constructed to temporarily lock the sun visor body
in a first position and to permit movement of the sun visor body toward the second
position when unlocked;
a biasing device arranged and constructed to bias the sun visor body toward the
second position so that when the lock device is unlocked the sun visor body pivots
from the first position toward the second position by a biasing force, the biasing
device comprising:
a spring comprising:
a first spring end, and
a second spring end;
a first engaging member engaging the first spring end and mounted to the support
member so as to not rotate relative to the support member; and
a second engaging member engaging the second spring end and rotatably mounted
to the support member, and
a rotary stopper member configured so as to not rotate relative to the sun visor
body and engageable with the second engaging member with respect to at least a
part of a rotational direction so as to cause deformation of the spring for accumulating
the biasing force.
5. The vehicle sun visor as in claim 4, wherein the first and second engaging
members are mounted to the support member such that the first and second engaging
members are slidable along the support member in the direction of the pivotal axis.
6. The vehicle sun visor as in claim 4, wherein the lock device and the biasing
device are disposed within the sun visor body so as to not be readily visible from
the exterior of the sun visor body.
7. The vehicle sun visor as in claim 4, further comprising a casing fixedly mounted
to the sun visor body and arranged and constructed so as to rotatably support the
first and second engaging members relative to the casing, and fixedly support the
first and second engaging members in an axial direction relative to the casing.
8. The vehicle sun visor as in claim 7, wherein the rotary stopper member is
disposed on the casing opposing the second engaging member in the rotational direction.
9. The vehicle sun visor as in claim 8, wherein the rotary stopper member is
integrally formed with the casing.
10. A vehicle sun visor as in claim 4,
wherein the lock device comprises:
a cam member mounted to the support member so as to not rotate relative to the
support member; and
a lock member comprising:
a first lock member end, and
a second lock member end,
wherein the first lock member end is fixed in position relative to the sun visor body;
wherein the cam member has a cam recess including a lock recess formed therein;
wherein the second lock member end engages the cam recess so that the second
lock member end moves relative to and along the cam recess as the sun visor pivots
at least between the first and second positions,
wherein the second lock member end is temporarily fixed in position by the lock
recess when the sun visor is positioned in the first position.
11. A vehicle sun visor as in claim 10, wherein the cam member and the first
engaging member are integrally formed with each other.
12. A vehicle sun visor as in claim 11,
wherein the support member comprises a support rod adapted to be mounted to the
vehicle cabin ceiling;
wherein the support rod includes a horizontal rod portion having the pivotal axis;
wherein the cam member and the first engaging member comprise a cam ring fitted
on the horizontal rod portion so as to not rotate relative thereto;
wherein the second engaging member comprises a spring engaging roller rotatably
fitted on the horizontal rod portion; and
wherein the first position is a storage portion where the sun visor body extends
along the vehicle cabin ceiling, and the second position is a light-shielding position.
13. A vehicle sun visor comprising:
a bracket adapted to be mounted to a vehicle cabin ceiling;
a sun visor body;
at least one support member fixed to the sun visor body and rotatably mounted
to the bracket such that the sun visor body can at least pivot between a first
position and a second position about a pivotal axis formed by the support member;
a lock device arranged and constructed to temporarily lock the sun visor body
in a first position and to permit movement of the sun visor body towards the second
position when unlocked;
a biasing device arranged and constructed to bias the sun visor body toward the
second position so that when the lock device is unlocked the sun visor body pivots
from the first position toward the second position by a biasing force, the biasing
device comprising:
a spring comprising:
a first spring end, and
a second spring end,
a first engaging member engaging the first spring end and mounted so as to not
rotate relative to the support member; and
a second engaging member engaging the second spring end and rotatably mounted
to the support member, and
a rotary stopper member mounted so as to not rotate relative to the bracket and
to be engageable with the second engaging member with respect to at least a part
of a rotational direction to cause deformation of the spring for accumulating the
biasing force.
14. The vehicle sun visor as in claim 13, wherein the lock device and the biasing
device are disposed within the bracket so as to not be readily visible from the
exterior of the bracket.
15. The vehicle sun visor as in claim 13, further comprising a casing fixedly
mounted to the bracket and arranged and constructed so as to rotatably support
the first and second engaging members relative to the casing, and fixedly support
the first and second engaging members in an axial direction relative to the casing.
16. The vehicle sun visor as in claim 15, wherein the rotary stopper member is
disposed on the casing to oppose the second engaging member in the rotational direction.
17. The vehicle sun visor as in claim 16, wherein the rotary stopper member is
integrally formed with the casing.
18. A vehicle sun visor as in claim 13,
wherein the lock device comprises:
a cam member mounted to the support member so as to not rotate relative to the
support member; and
a lock member comprising:
a first lock member end, and
a second lock member end,
wherein the first lock member end is fixed in position relative to the bracket;
wherein the cam member has a cam recess including a lock recess formed therein;
wherein the second lock member end engages the cam recess so that the second
lock member end moves relative to and along the cam recess as the sun visor pivots
at least between the first and second positions,
wherein the second lock member end is temporarily fixed in position by the lock
recess when the sun visor is positioned in the first position.
19. A vehicle sun visor as in claim 18, wherein the cam member and the first
engaging member are integrally formed with each other.
20. A vehicle sun visor as in claim 19,
wherein the support member comprises a horizontal rod portion fixedly mounted
to the sun visor body;
wherein the cam member and the first engaging member comprise a cam ring fitted
on the horizontal rod portion so as to not rotate relative thereto; and
wherein the second engaging member comprises a spring engaging roller rotatably
fitted on the horizontal rod portion; and
wherein the first position is a storage portion where the sun visor body extends
along the vehicle cabin ceiling, and the second position is a light-shielding position.
Description
This application claims priority to Japanese patent application serial number
2004-57569, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to sun visors for use with vehicles, such as automobiles.
In particular, the present invention relates to sun visors that have a support
rod mounted to a ceiling of a vehicle cabin, and a sun visor body that is pivotally
mounted to a horizontal rod portion of the support rod. The sun visor body can
pivot between a storage position, where the sun visor body is positioned along
the vehicle cabin ceiling, and a light-shielding position, where the sun visor
body is positioned along a window glass.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a sun visor of a type described above is known to
have a sun visor body that is stored within a recess formed in a vehicle cabin
ceiling. The sun visor body can then be stored in a position along the vehicle
cabin ceiling while providing a good appearance of the sun visor body in the stored position.
For such a sun visor, in order to further improve the appearance, it may be advantageous
that the potential clearance between the circumferential wall of the recess of
the vehicle cabin ceiling and the outer peripheral edge of the sun visor body is
set to be as small as possible.
However, if the clearance between the circumferential wall of the recess
of the vehicle cabin ceiling and the outer peripheral edge of the sun visor body
is set too small, it then becomes difficult for a driver or a passenger to insert
a finger or fingers in order to pivot the sun visor body to a light-shielding position.
Therefore, Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Publication No. 2-114513 (Utility
Model Registration No. 2541273) proposes a sun visor that has a lock device disposed
between the horizontal rod portion of a support rod and a sun visor body. When
the sun visor body is positioned in a storage position and is pressed towards the
vehicle cabin ceiling, the lock device is released and the sun visor body is biased
so as to pivot the sun visor body by a predetermined angle toward the light-shielding position.
However, in the case of the sun visor of this publication, a spring for
producing the biasing force is fitted on the horizontal rod portion of the support
rod in a position within the sun visor body. A spring engaging member secured to
the horizontal rod portion engages one end of the spring. A retainer member provided
on the sun visor body engages the other end of the spring. It is very difficult
to incorporate this type of construction to a type of sun visor known as a sliding-type
sun visor, in which a sun visor body can be slidably withdrawn along a horizontal
rod portion of a support rod.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to teach improved sun visors
that can be configured as either sliding type sun visors or non-sliding type sun
visors by utilizing shared components of lock devices.
According to one aspect of the present teachings, vehicle sun visors are
taught that include a support rod, a sun visor body, and a lock device. The support
rod has a horizontal rod portion and is adapted to be mounted to a vehicle cabin
ceiling. The sun visor body is rotatably mounted on the horizontal rod portion
of the support rod so as to pivot between a storage position and a light-shielding
position. In the storage position the sun visor body extends along the vehicle
cabin ceiling. In the light-shielding position the sun visor body extends along
a windshield. The lock device is disposed between the horizontal rod portion and
the sun visor body. The lock device serves to lock the sun visor body in the storage
position and releases the sun visor body from a lock condition so as to pivot the
sun visor body by a predetermined angle towards the light-shielding position when
the sun visor body is pressed toward the vehicle cabin ceiling. The lock device
includes a cam ring, a spring engaging roller, a spring, and a lock member. The
cam ring is fitted on the horizontal rod portion so as to not rotate relative thereto.
The cam ring has a circulation path including a lock recess defined therein. The
spring engaging roller is rotatably fitted on the horizontal rod portion. The spring
has a first spring end engaged with the cam ring, a second spring end engaged with
the spring engaging roller, and an intermediate portion defined as a spring force
accumulation portion for generating a biasing force used to pivot the sun visor
body towards the light-shielding position by a predetermined angle. A lock member
is movable relative to and along the circulation path of the cam ring. The lock
member engages the lock recess in order to lock the sun visor body in the storage
position and is disengaged from the lock recess in order to release the locked
condition when the sun visor body is forced to move towards the vehicle cabin ceiling.
With this construction, the locking of the sun visor body in a storage position
is released when the sun visor body is pressed towards the vehicle cabin ceiling.
The sun visor body is then pivoted by a predetermined angle toward the light-shielding
position by the biasing force accumulated in the spring force accumulation portion.
Due to this pivotal movement of the sun visor body, a clearance may be provided
between the circumference of the sun visor body and the vehicle cabin ceiling.
The operator can therefore insert his or her finger(s) into the clearance in order
to engage the sun visor body, and manually rotate the sun visor body to a desired
light-shielding position. As a result, it is possible to minimize the potential
clearance between the circumference of the sun visor body and the circumference
of a recess that may be formed in the vehicle cabin ceiling in order to accommodate
the sun visor body. It is therefore possible to improve the stored appearance of
the sun visor.
In particular, a lock device configured as described above can be easily applied
to a non-sliding type of sun visor that is designed such that the sun visor body
cannot be slid relative to a horizontal rod portion of a support rod.
In addition, the same lock device can be applied to a sliding-type sun visor
by
fitting the cam ring and the spring engaging roller of the lock device so that
they are axially slidable along the horizontal rod portion of the support rod.
Thus, with this configuration, the cam ring, the spring engaging roller, the spring,
and the lock member, can be fixed in position relative to the sun visor body during
a sliding movement in the axial direction. Consequently, the elements of the lock
device can be shared for use among different types of sun visors.
In another aspect of the present teachings, the cam ring and the spring engaging
roller of the lock device are slidably movable in an axial direction of the horizontal
rod portion of the support rod. The sun visor body is movable so as to be able
to be withdrawn along the axial direction of the horizontal rod portion. With this
configuration, the lock device can be readily applied to sliding-type sun visors.
In a further aspect of the present teachings, vehicle sun visors are taught that
include a bracket, a sun visor having a horizontal rod portion, and a lock device.
The bracket is adapted to be mounted to a vehicle cabin ceiling. The bracket rotatably
supports the horizontal rod portion so that the sun visor is pivotable between
a storage position and a light-shielding position. In the storage position the
sun visor body extends along the vehicle cabin ceiling. In the light-shielding
position the sun visor body extends along a windshield or window. The lock device
is disposed between the bracket and the horizontal rod portion and serves to lock
the sun visor body in a storage position. The sun visor body is released from the
lock condition and pivots by a predetermined angle toward the light-shielding position
when the sun visor body is pressed towards the vehicle cabin ceiling. The lock
device includes a cam ring, a spring engaging roller, a spring, and a lock member.
The cam ring is fitted on the horizontal rod portion so as to not rotate relative
thereto. The cam ring has a circulation path including a lock recess defined therein.
The spring engaging roller is rotatably fitted on the horizontal rod portion. The
spring has a first spring end engaged with the cam ring, a second spring end engaged
with the spring engaging roller, and an intermediate portion defined as a spring
force accumulation portion for generating a biasing force used to pivot the sun
visor body by a predetermined angle towards the light-shielding position. The lock
member is movable relative to and along the circulation path of the cam ring. The
lock member engages the lock recess in order to lock the sun visor body in a storage
position. The lock member is disengaged from the lock recess in order to release
the lock condition when the sun visor body is forced to move toward the vehicle
cabin ceiling from the storage position.
Also with this construction, when the sun visor body is pressed toward the vehicle
cabin ceiling, the locking of the sun visor body in the storage position is released.
The sun visor body is then pivoted by a predetermined angle towards the light-shielding
position by the biasing force accumulated in the spring force accumulation portion.
Due to this pivotal movement of the sun visor body, a clearance may be provided
between the circumference of the sun visor body and the vehicle cabin ceiling.
An operator can then insert his or her finger(s) into the clearance in order to
engage the sun visor body and to manually rotate the sun visor body to a desired
light-shielding position. As a result, it is possible to minimize the potential
clearance between the circumference of the sun visor body and the circumference
of a recess that may be formed in the vehicle cabin ceiling in order to accommodate
the sun visor body. It is therefore possible to improve the appearance of the sun
visor in a stored position.
In addition, the lock device can be shared for different types of sun visors,
such as those sun visors described in the previous aspects.
According to the above various aspects of the present invention, some of
the components of the lock device can be shared for either sliding-type sun visors
or non-sliding type sun visors. Therefore, the manufacturing costs for different
types of sun visors can be reduced.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a broken-away front view of a sun visor body of a vehicle sun visor
according to a first representative embodiment of the present invention; and
FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing a state where the vehicle sun visor is
mounted to a vehicle cabin ceiling; and
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the vehicle sun visor and shows the relationship
between the sun visor body, a support rod, and a lock device; and
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV—IV in FIG. 3; and
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line V—V in FIG. 3; and
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI—VI in FIG. 3; and
FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view showing the mounting state of the lock
device to a horizontal rod portion of the support rod; and
FIG. 8 is an enlarged perspective view showing the relationship between the
heart-shaped cam of a cam ring and a lock member of the lock device; and
FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of the support rod and its associated
bearing member and a clip; and
FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of various components of the lock device; and
FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the relationship between a support rod,
a sun visor body, a lock device, a bearing member, and a clip of a sun visor according
to a second representative embodiment of the present invention; and
FIG. 12 is an explanatory view showing the relationship between a center bracket,
a horizontal rod portion, a sun visor body, and a lock device of a sun visor according
to a third representative embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Each of the additional features and teachings disclosed above and below may
be utilized separately or in conjunction with other features and teachings to provide
improved sun visors, and methods of manufacturing such sun visors. Representative
examples of the present invention, which examples utilize many of these additional
features and teachings both separately and in conjunction with one another, will
now be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. This detailed
description is merely intended to teach a person of skill in the art further details
for practicing preferred aspects of the present teachings and is not intended to
limit the scope of the invention. Only the claims define the scope of the claimed
invention. Therefore, combinations of features and steps disclosed in the following
detailed description may not be necessary to practice the invention in the broadest
sense, and are instead taught merely to particularly describe representative examples
of the invention. Moreover, various features of the representative examples and
the dependent claims may be combined in ways that are not specifically enumerated
in order to provide additional useful embodiments of the present teachings.
Representative embodiments of the present invention will now be described
with reference to the drawings.
First Representative Embodiment
A first representative embodiment will be initially described with reference
to
FIGS. 1 to 10. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a sun visor of this first representative
embodiment generally includes a sun visor body
20 and a support rod
10.
The support rod
10 has a substantially L-shaped configuration and includes
a short vertical rod portion
11 and a long horizontal rod portion
12.
The vertical rod portion
11 is mounted to one of the corner portions of
a circumferential wall of a recess
2 formed in a vehicle cabin ceiling
1.
The vehicle cabin ceiling
1 may be the cabin ceiling of an automobile. More
specifically, the vertical support portion
11 is rotatably supported by
a boss portion
16 of a bracket
15 that is attached to one of the
corner portions of the circumferential wall of the recess
2. A chamfered
and flat engaging surface
13 is formed on the outer circumferential surface
of the horizontal rod portion
12 and extends along substantially the entire
length of the horizontal rod portion
12 in an axial direction.
In this representative embodiment, the sun visor is configured as a sliding-type
sun visor. The sun visor body
20 can be withdrawn from along the horizontal
rod portion
12 of the support rod
10.
The sun visor body
20 is rotatably and axially movably fitted on the horizontal
rod portion
12 of the support rod
10. The sun visor body
20
of this embodiment can be selectively positioned to either of three primary positions
including a storage portion, a front light-shielding position, and a right or left
side light-shielding position (depending upon the mounting location). In the storage
position, the sun visor body
20 may be substantially accommodated within
the recess
2 of the vehicle cabin ceiling
1 and may extend along
the bottom of the recess
2. In the front light-shielding position, the sun
visor body
20 may extend along a window glass (not shown), in particular
the front windshield of the vehicle. In the right or left side light-shielding
position, the sun visor body
20 may extend along a side window glass (not
shown) depending on the mounting position of the sun visor.
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the sun visor body
20 has a hollow configuration
and may include a pair of shells
21 as major components. The pair of shells
21 corresponds to halves of the sun visor body
20 divided with respect
to the direction of thickness. Both shells
21 of the pair are joined to
each other in such a manner that the shells
21 are firmly and securely attached.
The shells
21 may be made of thermoplastic resin for example. A surface
layer material
25 is coated so as to cover the sun visor body
20.
Referring to FIG. 1, a lock device
30 is disposed between the horizontal
rod portion
12 of the support rod
10 and the sun visor body
20
so as to be accommodated within the sun visor body
20. The lock device
30
is operable to lock the sun visor body in a storage position. In addition, when
a sun visor body
20 in a storage position is pressed against the vehicle
cabin ceiling
1, the lock
30 is operable so as to release the sun
visor body
20 and to bias the sun visor body
20 so as to pivot the
sun visor body
20 by a predetermined distance towards a light-shielding position.
In this first representative embodiment, the lock device
30 includes a
casing
40, a cam ring
50, a spring engaging roller
80, a spring
90, and a lock member
70. The components of the lock device
30,
together with a lock device mount
31 to which the components of the lock
device
30 are mounted, are disposed within one of the corner portions of
the sun visor body
20 around the horizontal rod portion
12.
As shown in FIGS. 3,
5,
6 and
10, the lock device mount
31
includes a fixing portion
32, a support portion
33, and a fitting
and fixing portion
35, which are all integrally formed with each other.
The fixing portion
32 is fixedly clamped between a pair of retaining portions
22 that respectively extend from opposing inner walls of the shells
21
at predetermined positions. The support portion
33 is positioned above the
fixing portion
32 (to the left in FIGS. 5 and 6) and serves to support the
lower circumferential portions of the cam ring
50 and the spring engaging
roller
80. The fitting and fixing portion
35 is positioned at one
end of the fixing portion
32 or the support portion
33, and is fixedly
fitted into one end of a slide guide tube
100, which will be explained later.
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 10, the casing
40 of the lock device
30
is mounted to the lock device mount
31. The casing
40 serves to cooperate
with the support portion
33 in order to support the cam ring
50 and
the spring stopper roller
80. The casing
40 also has a pair of opposing
sidewalls
42, a cam ring guide
44, and a roller guide
45,
which are formed integrally with each other.
The opposing sidewalls
42 of the casing
40 are fixed to opposing
side surfaces of the support portion
33 of the lock device mount
31
via suitable fixing methods, such as screws, adhesive, snap fits, and heat crush pins.
The cam ring guide
44 of the casing
40 is positioned at one end
of the casing
40. The cam ring guide
44 has a substantially inverted
U-shaped configuration, which has leg portions extending upward from the respective
sidewalls
42. The cam ring guide
44 cooperates with the support portion
33 of the lock device mount
31 in order to support the cam ring
50
such that the cam ring
50 is free to rotate, but is prevented from moving
in the axial direction relative to the casing
40.
The roller guide
45 of the casing
40 is positioned at the other
end of the casing
40 and has a substantially inverted U-shaped configuration,
which also has leg portions extending upward from the respective sidewalls
42.
The roller guide
45 cooperates with the support portion
33 of the
lock device mount
31 in order to support the spring engaging roller
80
such that the spring engaging roller
80 is free to partially rotate relative
to the casing
40, and is prevented from moving in the axial direction relative
to the casing
40. An engaging portion
46, in a form of a notch, is
formed on a part of the roller guide
45 and serves to transmit the rotation
of the sun visor body
20 about the axis of the horizontal rod portion
12
of the support rod
10 to the spring engaging roller
80.
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 10, the cam ring
50 has a large diameter portion
51 and a small diameter portion
52 that have the same central axis
and are formed integrally with each other. An annular recess
53 is formed
in the outer circumferential surface of the small diameter portion
52. The
cam ring
50 is fitted on the horizontal rod portion
12 via a D-shaped
axial hole formed in the cam ring
50 that corresponds to the general cross-sectional
shape of the horizontal rod portion
12. The cam ring
50 is prevented
from rotating relative to the horizontal rod portion
12. However, the cam
ring
50 is slidably movable along the axial direction relative to the horizontal
rod portion
12. In addition, the cam ring
50 is rotatably supported
at the annular recess
53 by the support portion
33 of the lock device
mount
31 and the cam ring guide
44.
Further, as shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, a heart-shaped cam
63 is defined
on an end surface of the large diameter portion
51 of the cam ring
50.
More specifically, a recessed circulation path
60 is formed in the end surface
of the large diameter portion
51 so as to extend along the circumferential
portion of the large diameter portion
51. The recessed circulation path
60 has an end portion including a forward path
64 and a backward
path
65 that define the heart-shaped cam
63. In addition, the end
portion of the circumferential path
60 includes a lock recess
66
defined at a concave portion of the heart-shaped cam
63. The lock recess
66 provides a boundary between the forward path
64 and the backward
path
65.
As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the lock member
70 is positioned to oppose
an
end surface of the large diameter portion
51 of the cam ring
50.
The lock member
70 is made of a wire spring that is bent to have a substantially
U-shaped configuration. One end of the lock member
70 is defined as a base
end
71 and is supported by the lock device mount
31. The other end
of the lock member
70 is defined as a lock pin
72 that extends into
the circulation path
60 for movement along the circulation path
60.
A holder
75, made of a spring plate for example, is mounted to the lock
device mount
31 in order to hold the lock member
70 such that the
lock pin
72 always extends into or engages with the circulation path
60.
According to this construction, the sun visor body
20 may be locked in a
storage position when the lock pin
72 engages the lock recess
66.
When the sun visor body
20 locked in a storage position is further pressed
against the vehicle cabin ceiling
1, the lock pin
72 may be disengaged
from the lock recess
66. Therefore the lock condition is released, as will
be explained later.
As shown in FIGS. 3,
5, and
10, a substantially annular recess
81
is formed in the outer circumferential surface of the spring engaging roller
80
in a substantially central portion with respect to the axial direction. The spring
engaging roller
80 is fitted on the horizontal rod portion
12 via
an axial hole formed in the spring engaging roller
80. The spring engaging
roller
80 is able to rotate and is slidably movable along the axial direction
relative to the horizontal rod portion
12. In addition, the support portion
33 of the lock device mount
31 and the roller guide
45 partially
rotatably support the spring engaging roller
80 at the annular recess
81.
Further, an engaging portion
84 is defined by a part of the annular
recess
81 of the spring engaging roller
80. The engaging portion
84 works together with the rotary stopper portion
46 of the roller
guide
45 for transmitting the biasing force (i.e., rotational torque) of
the spring
90 to the sun visor body
20, as will be explained later.
A plurality of engaging holes
85 are formed in the peripheral portion of
an end surface of the spring engaging roller
80 in order to enable the adjustment
of the biasing force of the spring
90.
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 10, the spring
90 may be configured as a coil
spring.
The spring
90 is fitted about the horizontal rod portion
12 in a
position between the cam ring
50 and the spring engaging roller
80.
More specifically, one end
91 of the spring
90 is inserted into and
engaged with an end surface of the small diameter portion
52 of the cam
ring
50. The other end
92 of the spring
90 is inserted into
and engaged with a desired one of the engaging holes
85. A spring force
accumulation portion
93 is defined by the intermediate coiled portion of
the spring
90. The spring force accumulation portion
93 serves to
accumulate the spring force that is later applied to the sun visor body
20
in order to pivot the sun visor body
20 towards the front light-shielding
position by a predetermined angle.
Further, in this first representative embodiment, one end of a slide guide
tube
100 is fixedly fitted on the fitting and fixing portion
35,
disposed at one end of the lock device mount
31. The slide guide tube
100
extends along the axial direction of the horizontal rod portion
12 and has
a tubular configuration with a non-circular cross section in this embodiment.
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 9, a bearing member
110 is fitted on one end of
the horizontal rod portion
12 such that the bearing member
110 is
rotatable relative to the horizontal rod portion
12 but is not freely movable
along the axial direction. The bearing member
110 is slidably received within
the slide guide tube
100. A clip
120, made of spring plate for example,
is attached to the bearing member
110 and is resiliently pressed against
the outer circumferential surface of the horizontal rod portion
12. The
clip
120 produces a frictional force against the horizontal rod portion
12, which frictional force provides an appropriate resistance torque required
for operating the sun visor body
20. This is typically enough frictional
force to counteract the effects of gravity and allow the visor body
20 to
remain in a desired light-shielding orientation.
With a sun visor configured according to the first representative embodiment
as described above, the rotary stopper portion
46 of the casing
40
and the engaging portion
84 of the spring engaging roller
80 are
in engagement (i.e., contacting for this embodiment) with each other as shown in
FIG. 5 when the sun visor body
20 is positioned in a storage position. The
storage position is where the sun visor body
20 is positioned along and
within the recess
2 formed in the vehicle cabin ceiling
1 as indicated
by solid lines in FIG. 2. In the storage position, the spring force necessary for
pivoting the sun visor body
20 by a predetermined angle toward the front
light-shielding position is accumulated in the accumulation portion
93 of
the spring
90. In addition, due to the engagement of the lock pin
72
with the lock recess
66 defined within the heart-shaped cam
63, the
sun visor
20 is held or locked in the storage position against the spring
force of the accumulation portion
93 of the spring
90 (see FIGS.
6 and 7).
In order to shift the sun visor from the storage position to the front light-shielding
position, the operation may press a sun visor body
20 locked in the storage
position towards the vehicle cabin ceiling
1. The lock pin
72 is
then disengaged from the lock recess
66 as defined within the heart-shaped
cam
63. As a result, the locking condition is released. The spring force
accumulated in the spring force accumulation portion
93 of the spring
90
is then applied to the sun visor body
20 via the interface between the engaging
portion
84 of the spring engaging roller
80 and the rotary stopper
portion
46 of the casing
40. As a result, the sun visor body
20
pivots by a predetermined angle towards a front light-shielding position, as indicated
by the chain lines in FIG. 2.
Because the sun visor body
20 pivots by a predetermined angle as described
above, a clearance may be provided between the outer circumference of the sun visor
body
20 and the vehicle cabin ceiling
1. The clearance may enable
the operator to insert his or her finger(s) into the resulting opening and manually
engage the sun visor body
20. Therefore, the operator can manually pivot
the sun visor body
20 to a desired front light-shielding position.
In other words, when the sun visor body
20 is in a storage position it
is not necessary to provide a wide enough clearance between the circumference of
the sun visor body
20 and the circumferential wall of the recess
2
to enable the insertion of the finger(s) of an operator. The potential clearance
between the circumference of the sun visor body
20 and the circumferential
wall of the recess
2 can therefore be minimized when the sun visor body
20 is in a storage position. As a result, the storage appearance of the
sun visor can be improved.
In addition, in this first representative embodiment, the cam ring
50
and
the spring engaging roller
80 of the lock device
30 are axially slidably
fitted on the horizontal rod portion
12 of the support rod
10. It
is therefore possible to slidably withdraw the sun visor body
20 along the
axial direction relative to the horizontal rod portion
12 while the lock
device
30 remains disposed within the sun visor body
20.
Further, because the all components of the lock device
30, i.e.,
the cam ring
50, the spring engaging roller
80, the spring
90,
and the lock member
70, are disposed within the sun visor body
20
so as to not be visible from the exterior of the sun visor body
20, the
external appearance of the sun visor can be further improved.
In order to move the sun visor body
20 from a front light-shielding position
to the right or left side shielding position, the operator may pivot the sun visor
body
20 about the vertical rod portion
11. In addition, the sun visor
body
20 in the right or left side shielding position may slide along the
horizontal rod portion
12 so that sun visor body
20 may be suitably
positioned with respect to the side window.
The sun visor body
20 may return from a right or left side light-shielding
position to the storage position, where the sun visor body
20 extends along
the recess
2 and is substantially accommodated within the recess
2,
via a front light-shielding position by the manual operation of the sun visor body
20 in a procedure opposite to the procedure described above. When the sun
visor body
20 reaches the storage position, the sun visor body
2
may again be locked in this position.
The second and third representative embodiments will now be described with reference
to FIGS. 11 and 12. These representative embodiments are modifications of the first
representative embodiment. Therefore, in the second and third representative embodiments,
like members are given the same reference numerals as in the first representative
embodiment and a description of these members may not be repeated.
Second Representative Embodiment
The second representative embodiment of the present invention will now be described
with reference to FIG. 11. This embodiment relates to a sun visor configured as
a non-sliding type sun visor. Therefore, a sun visor body
220 of this representative
embodiment cannot be withdrawn along the axial direction of a horizontal rod portion
212 of a support rod
210.
As shown in FIG. 11, the horizontal rod portion
212 of the support rod
210 may have a length that is shorter than the length required for a sliding
type sun visor. In addition, a lock device mount
231 may be formed integrally
with the bearing member
110, to which the clip
120 is attached. All
of the remaining elements of the lock device mount
231 may be the same as
the elements of the lock device
31 of the first representative embodiment.
These elements may include the casing
40, the cam ring
50, the spring
engaging roller
80, the spring
90, and the lock member
70.
The cam ring
50 and the spring engaging roller
80 may be fixed in
position in the axial direction relative to the horizontal rod portion
212
of the support rod
210, if necessary.
The other construction is the same as described in the first representative embodiment.
Therefore, the second representative embodiment may provide the same operations
and effects, with the exception that the sun visor body
220 cannot slide
relative to the horizontal rod portion
212.
Third Representative Embodiment
The third representative embodiment will now be described with reference to FIG.
12. This embodiment relates to a sun visor configured as a center-bracket type
sun visor. Therefore, in this representative embodiment a center bracket
315
pivotally supports a sun visor body
320 via a pair of left and right horizontal
rod portions
312 and
313. The sun visor is able to move between a
storage position, where the sun visor body
320 extends along the vehicle
cabin ceiling
1 (e.g., in a recess
2 as formed in the previous embodiments),
and a light-shielding position, where the sun visor body
320 extends along
a windshield (not shown).
As shown in FIG. 12, a concave wall
326 is formed within the upper central
portion of the sun visor body
320 in order to accommodate the center bracket
315. The left and right horizontal rod portions
312 and
313
are fixed relative to the horizontal position of the center bracket
315.
The horizontal rod portions
312 and
313 extend from opposing wall
portions of the concave wall
326 into the space delimited by the concave
wall
326. The horizontal rod portions
312 and
313 are arranged
substantially co-axially with one another.
The lock device
30 may be disposed between the center bracket
315
and at least one of the left and right horizontal rod portions
312 and
313
(e.g., in this representative embodiment only one lock device
30 is shown
disposed between the center bracket
315 and the right horizontal rod portion
313) in order to lock the sun visor body
320 in a storage position.
The lock device
30 functions to unlock the sun visor body
320 and
pivot the sun visor body
320 by a predetermined angle towards a light-shielding
position when the sun visor body
320 (locked in a storage position) is pressed
toward the vehicle cabin ceiling
1. In this representative embodiment, the
entire lock device
30 is disposed within the center bracket
315.
In addition, a lock device mount
231 may be integrally formed with the bearing
member
110, to which the clip
120 is attached.
All of the elements of the lock device
30, including the casing
40,
the cam ring
50, the spring engaging roller
80, the spring
90,
and the lock member
70, are the same as those described in the first and
second representative embodiments.
In this representative embodiment, the cam ring
50 is fitted on the horizontal
rod portion
313 so as to not rotate relative to the horizontal rod portion
313. The spring engaging roller
80 is rotatably fitted on the horizontal
rod portion
313. In these and other respects, the third representative embodiment
is the same as the first representative embodiments.
Similar to the first representative embodiment, one end of the spring
90
is engaged with the cam ring
50 and the other end of the spring
90
is engaged with the spring engaging roller
80. The intermediate portion
of the spring
90 is defined as the spring force accumulation portion
93.
The spring force accumulation portion
93 provides the biasing force for
pivoting the sun visor body
320 towards a light-shielding position by a
predetermined angle.
Further, the lock member
70 can move along the circulation path
60
formed in the cam ring
50. The lock member
70 can engage the lock
recess
66 defined in the circulation path
60 in order to lock the
sun visor body
320 in a storage position. In addition, the locking condition
may be released when the sun visor body
320 is further pressed towards the
vehicle cabin ceiling
1.
Therefore, the operations and effects of the third representative embodiment
are the same as described in the first representative embodiment with the exception
that the sun visor
320 cannot slide along the axial direction.
In this way, the elements of the lock device
30, including the spring
90,
can be applied to the sliding-type-sun visor (e.g., the first representative embodiment),
the non-sliding type sun visor (e.g., the second representative embodiment) and
the center bracket type sun visor (e.g., the third representative embodiment).
The same lock device can therefore be shared among different types of sun visors.
As a result, the manufacturing costs can be reduced.
*
