Background of the Invention

The present invention relates to a glare-reducing visor and in particular to a glare reducing visor for use in a vehicle.

Background of the Invention

The reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as an acknowledgment or any form of suggestion that the prior art forms part of the common general knowledge.

When driving a motor vehicle, certain safety precautions need to be taken to minimise risks to other road users. One such risk is glare, which can impede a driver's view of the road conditions ahead. It is preferable to provide some form of mechanism for reducing glare, either from sun-light, or other sources, such as on-coming traffic, street lighting, or the like.

The visors that currently exist in motor vehicles are not adequate for blocking out potentially harmful glare. In particular, the majority are completely opaque and therefore act only to completely block out glare. However, as this also blocks the driver's view of regions surrounding the source of the glare, this is not always a feasible solution. Thus, for example, when the sun is at a low angle, it is not feasible to block the sun's glare as this will also block the driver's view of the road ahead. As a result, opaque visors provided in cars are only of limited dimensions, and consequently are not effective against the sun when it is close to the horizon.

US 5,842,748 describes a sun visor for a motor vehicle which provides two tinted panels which may be retracted into an existing car visor. The tinted panels are extended if the visor member does not provide adequate glare protection. In this case, a first panel provides a limited degree of glare protection, with a second panel, slidably mounted over the first panel being used to provide additional protection over a limited area. Thus, in use, the second panel is aligned with the sun, thereby further increasing the effectiveness of the glare reduction. However, this has a significant disadvantage in that the second panel has to be constantly adjusted as the relative orientation of the car and sun change, which on windy roads can result in an almost constant need to reposition the second panel. This in itself represents a further hazard to the driver who must concentrate on adjusting the panel position as required, as well as driving the car.

Summary of the Invention

In a first broad form the present invention provides a glare reducing visor, for use in a vehicle, the visor including:

(a) A first panel having first optical transmission properties;

(b) A second panel having second optical transmission properties, the second panel being pivo tally attached to a first edge of the first panel; and

(c) A mounting for pivotally coupling a second edge of the first panel to the vehicle, the mounting being arranged to allow the first panel to be selectively positioned with respect to the vehicle.

Typically but not necessarily, the first optical transmission properties are different to the second optical transmission properties.

The mounting may couple the second edge of the first panel to a vehicle visor, the vehicle visor forming part of the vehicle, in which case the mounting typically allows a user to selectively position the first panel with respect to the vehicle visor.

Alternatively, the glare reducing visor may form an integral part of the vehicle visor.

The glare reducing visor can be removably mounted to the vehicle visor.

The first panel may be attached to the vehicle visor by clips. The first edge of the first panel can be substantially parallel and in opposition to the second edge of the first panel.

The second panel can be removably mounted to the first panel.

The panels can be fully or partially opaque.

The second panel is typically more transmissive to light than the first panel.

The first and second panels may be pivotally attached by a hinge which allows a user to selectively position the second panel with respect to the first panel.

Typically the panels can be selectively moved between retracted and extended positions.

Brief Description of the Drawings

An example of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an example of a glare reducing visor;

Figure 2 is a schematic perspective view of an example of the glare reducing visor of Figure 1;

Figures 3 A to 3F are schematic side views of examples of the glare reducing visor of Figure 1 in use;

Figures 4A to 4C are schematic close up views of an example of the glare reducing visor of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is side elevation of a clip. Best Mode and Other Embodiments of the Invention

Figures 1 and 2 show an example of a glare reducing visor for use in a motor vehicle.

For the purpose of this example only, the motor vehicle, shown generally at 90 includes an existing opaque visor 10, attached for example to the vehicle's interior roof 80, in front of a windshield 70, and above a steering wheel 60, as shown.

The glare reducing visor is formed from a first panel 20 and a second panel 30, which is pivotally attached to a first edge 40 of the first panel 20. In this example, a second opposing edge 45 of the panel 20 is attached to the existing car visor 10 by a mounting 50.

In particular, in this example, the mounting 50 is adapted to be sufficiently stiff to allow the relative angle 0 between the visor 10 and the fist panel 20 to be set by the user. In contrast, the second panel 30 pivoted such that it hangs substantially vertically from the first panel 20, so that the angle 0 depends on the position of the first panel 20. It will be appreciated that by adjusting the position of the first panel 20, with respect to the visor 10, this allows a range of different use configurations to be provided.

Furthermore, in this example, the first and second panels 20, 30 have different optical properties, to thereby provide different degrees of glare reduction, which coupled with the relative positioning of the panels 20, 30, allows the driver of the vehicle to control the level of glare reduction provided.

The operation of the glare reducing visor will now be described with respect to Figures 3 A to 3E.

Thus, in the example shown in Figure 3 A, when the glare source, such as the sun 140 is near the horizon, the user can extend the visor 10 and the first panel 20, so that the visor and the panels 20, 30 are substantially aligned, as shown, such that the angles 0, 8 are each substantially 180°. As a result, the second panel 30, which in this example provides greater glare reduction than the fist panel 20, is provided in line-of-sight between the driver 120 and the sun 140, as shown by the dotted line 130.

It will be appreciated that in general, as the sun rises, as shown at 145, the effects of glare become reduced, and therefore less glare protection is required. This can be provided by retaining the panels 20, 30 and visor 10 in the position shown, so that as the sun rises and the line-of-sight shifts, as shown at 135, the panel 20 is in line-of- sight, thereby providing reduced glare protection.

In this instance, the second panel 30 can still provide useful glare protection, for example, by reducing reflections from wet and icy roads as shown at 150.

In the event that additional glare protection is required as the sun rises, the visor 10, or the panel 20 can be moved as shown in Figure 3B and 3C. In both these cases, the angle 0 is maintained at substantially 90°, such that the second panel 30 is raised into the line of sight 135, thereby increasing the glare protection.

The second panel can be even further raised as shown in Figure 3D by retracting both the visor 10 and the second panel 20.

Finally as shown in Figure 3E, and in further detail in Figures 4A and 4B, the entire glare reducing visor can be retracted by retracting both the first and second panels 20, 30 so that they lie flush with the visor 10, as shown. This allows the visor 10 to be used alone, in the normal way.

It will therefore be appreciated that as the position of the visor 10 and the glare reducing panel 20 are adjusted, the relative positions of the panels 20, 30 along the windscreen 70 can be adjusted to ensure that one of the panels 20, 30 is located within the line-of-sight between the driver and the glare source. Furthermore, by adjusting the position of the panels 20, 30, this allows different levels of glare control to be achieved. It will also be appreciated that as the glare reducing panels extend laterally across the windscreen, no adjustment is required as the glare source moves laterally, with respect to the windscreen, such as when the car is cornering, thereby minimising the amount of adjustment that is required by the driver.

A number of variations on the above described system are possible.

The first and second panels 20, 30 can have different optical properties, for reducing glare, which can vary depending on the implementation, and which can be produced in different manners. For example, the panels can be tinted, polarized, or formed from light reactive material.

Furthermore, whilst different optical properties are provided, with the first panel 20 generally providing reduced glare protection compared to the second panel 30, this is not essential. Thus, the panels may have similar optical properties, or alternatively, the second panel 30 may provide reduced glare protection compared to the first panel 20.

In general, the optical properties are determined by forming the glare reducing panels 20, 30 from suitable materials, such as plastics, or the like, with appropriate colouring to provide the required degree of tinting and hence the desired optical properties. Thus as will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art, the glare reducing panels may be formed from polycarbonates, or the like. However, alternatively, any suitable material may be used. Additionally, instead of colouring the material itself, the panels may be fanned from substantially transparent materials, with the desired optical properties being obtained by providing a film on one or more of the panel surfaces.

The mounting 50 can be of any form, such as clips, as shown in Figures 4A to 4C or 5. In this example, the clips 51 are rotatably mounted on a spine or hinge 52, attached to the first panel 20. The clips then attach to the visor 10, as shown. In this example, the clips 51 can be removably mounted to the spine 52, and attached to a similar spine or hinge 53 provided on the second panel 30, so that the first and second panels can be effectively interchanged. However, it will be appreciated that any suitable mounting may be used. As also shown in the above example, the first and second panels are connected via a hinge 55. However, again any suitable connection system may be used. In addition to this, in the example above the hinge 55 allows free movement of the first and second panels, so that the second panel 30 hangs below the first panel 20. However, again this is not essential, and alternatively, the hinge can be stiffened, to thereby allow the angle 0 between the first and second panels to be controlled, hi use, this allows the second panel 30 to be positioned behind the first panel 20, so that both of the panels 20, 30 are provided in the driver's line-of-sight 130/135, thereby providing even further enhanced glare protection, as shown in Figure 3F.

In the above examples, the glare reducing visor is attached to an existing visor 10. However, this is not essential, and the glare reducing visor may be formed as an integral part of the visor 10, or provided instead of the visor 10.

As shown in Figure 5, a clip 50 adapted for attaching an accessory like the visor of the present invention to an existing visor comprises an elongated resilient jaw 60 having equal length arms 63 that define a a main opening 61 with symmetrical piloting lips 62. Small teeth 63 line the interior of the internal clamping surface near the opening 61. An exterior surface of the clip 50 forms an integral stand-off 64 that supports a "C" shaped journal 64 having a bore around which is formed generally equally spaced detents 65. hi some embodiments the detents are spaced at about 30 degrees to one another. The clip 50 can thus accommodate normal as well as thicker visors that are found in some luxury and other vehicles and provides a mounting for the first panel 20 that allows the first panel to be placed into a variety of operative positions as defined by the detents 65.

Although the preferred embodiment has been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions, and alternations can be made by one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention.