Vehicle sun visor

Abstract

To provide a sun visor which can properly guide a slide of a mirror lid.SOLUTION: A sun visor 1 includes a visor body 10 which includes plate-like first and second core materials 12, 13 that are superimposed on each other. A mirror opening 2 is formed in the first core material 12. Upper and lower guide rails 4, 5 are formed on an inner side surface of the first core material 12 such that the upper and lower guide rails 4, 5 are along the upper and lower edges of the mirror opening 2 and extend to one of the left and right sides beyond the mirror opening 2. Upper and lower rail openings 4c, 5c are formed in the midway of the upper and lower guide rails 4, 5. A mirror lid 3 is inserted to the upper and lower guide rails 4, 5 from the upper and lower rail openings 4c, 5c. The mirror lid 3 is supported by the upper and lower guide rails 4, 5 so as to be slidable between the close position of closing the mirror opening 2 and the open position of opening the mirror opening. A mirror 6 is fit to a mirror holding part 8 formed on rear surfaces of the upper and lower guide rails 4, 5 of the first core material 12.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle sun visor.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a vehicle sun visor in which a mirror unit is assembled to a plate-shaped visor body. The mirror unit includes a frame-shaped mirror trim into which a mirror is fitted, and a plate-shaped mirror lid slidably attached to the mirror trim.

[0003] The mirror trim is formed with a mirror-side rail for slidably holding the mirror lid. The visor body is also formed with a visor-side rail for slidably holding the mirror lid. When the mirror trim is assembled to the visor body, the mirror-side rail and the visor-side rail are aligned linearly. As a result, the mirror lid slides from the mirror-side rail to the visor-side rail, and slides from the closed position covering the mirror to the open position exposing the mirror.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, if the mirror unit is not assembled to the visor body at the correct position, the mirror-side rail and the visor-side rail will be misaligned. When misalignment occurs, there is a concern that rattling or abnormal noise may occur when the mirror lid slides. Therefore, there has been a need for a sun visor that can appropriately guide the sliding of the mirror lid.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] According to one feature of the present disclosure, a vehicle sun visor has a visor body including first and second plate-shaped core materials that are overlapped with each other. A mirror opening is formed in the first core material. Upper and lower guide rails are formed on the inner surface of the first core material along the upper and lower edges of the mirror opening and extending beyond the mirror opening to either the left or the right. Each of the upper and lower guide rails has an upper and lower rail opening formed in the middle thereof. A mirror lid is inserted into the upper and lower guide rails from the upper and lower rail openings. The mirror lid is slidably supported by the upper and lower guide rails between a closed position covering the mirror opening and an open position opening the mirror opening. A mirror is fitted into a mirror holding portion formed on the back surface of the upper and lower guide rails of the first core material.

[0007] Therefore, the upper and lower guide rails are formed only in the first core material. That is, the upper and lower guide rails are not formed across two members of the visor body and the mirror unit as in the prior art. Therefore, there are few steps in the middle of the upper and lower guide rails. And the mirror lid can be easily inserted from the upper and lower rail openings formed in the middle of the upper and lower guide rails. Therefore, the sliding of the mirror lid is properly guided in the first core material.

[0008] According to another feature of the present disclosure, it has a mirror cover for holding a mirror. The mirror cover is attached to the mirror holding portion. Therefore, the mirror is held by the mirror cover and held by the upper and lower guide rails via the mirror holding portion.

[0009] According to another feature of the present disclosure, the mirror lid has a knob protruding to the front side along either one of the left and right ends of the mirror lid. The vertical length of the knob is a length positioned between the vertical widths of the mirror opening. The first core material has a slope for guiding the insertion of the mirror lid into the upper and lower guide rails on the back surface corresponding to the upper and lower rail openings. Therefore, the mirror lid is easily inserted into the upper and lower guide rails from the upper and lower rail openings using the slope. Moreover, the mirror lid is inserted into the upper and lower guide rails without the knob interfering with the upper and lower guide rails.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0010]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0011] As shown in Figure 1, the sun visor 1 is mounted on the ceiling surface 20 near the windshield 21 in the vehicle interior. The sun visor 1 has a visor body 10 and a mirror unit 11 provided on the front side of the visor body 10.

[0012]

[0013] As shown in Figure 2, the visor body 10 is substantially rectangular plate-shaped. The visor body 10 includes a flat first core material 12 and a second core material 13 stacked in the thickness direction. The support shaft 14 is a substantially L-shaped round bar and has a horizontal shaft 14a and a vertical shaft 14b. The vertical shaft 14b extends upward from the right end of the horizontal shaft 14a and is substantially orthogonal to the horizontal shaft 14a. The tip of the vertical shaft 14b is mounted in the mounting hole 15a of the bracket 15.As shown in FIG. 1, the bracket 15 is attached to the ceiling surface 20 of the passenger compartment. A support shaft 14 that rotatably supports the visor main body 10 is attached to the visor main body 10 via a clip 17 assembled to a case 18. The sun visor 1 does not have a skin covering the visor main body 10. Therefore, the visor main body 10 forms the design surface of the sun visor 1 that is exposed to the outside.

[0014] As shown in FIG. 1, the support shaft 16 is detachably held by a hook 19 fixed to the ceiling surface 20. By attaching the support shaft 16 to the hook 19, the visor main body 10 rotates between a use position P along the windshield 21 and a storage position K along the ceiling surface 20 about the support shaft 16 and the horizontal axis 14a.

[0015] As shown in FIG. 4, the first core material 12 is substantially rectangular. The first core material 12 is formed of a single member such as resin. The first core material 12 has a mirror opening 2 that penetrates in the thickness direction slightly to the right of the center. On the back surface of the first core material 12, an upper guide rail 4 and a lower guide rail 5 that extend left and right along the upper and lower edges of the mirror opening 2 are formed. On the back surface of the first core material 12, a connecting portion 9 that stands up along the right side of the mirror opening 2 is formed. The right end of the upper guide rail 4 and the right end of the lower guide rail 5 are connected to the connecting portion 9.

[0016] As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the upper guide rail 4 is substantially L-shaped, extends inward in the thickness direction from the first core material 12, and has an overhanging portion that projects downward from its tip. The upper guide rail 4 has a mirror adjacent portion 4a adjacent to the upper edge of the mirror opening 2 and an extended portion 4b that extends leftward beyond the mirror opening 2. An upper rail opening 4c is formed in the middle of the upper guide rail 4. The upper rail opening 4c opens to the back side of the upper guide rail 4 between the mirror adjacent portion 4a and the extended portion 4b. In other words, the upper guide rail 4 does not have an overhanging portion that projects downward from the tip at the upper rail opening 4c.

[0017] As shown in Fig. 5, the upper guide rail 4 has a slope 4d for guiding the mirror lid 3 when assembling the mirror lid 3 to the upper guide rail 4. The slope 4d is formed at the right end of the extended portion 4b adjacent to the upper rail opening 4c. The slope 4d is inclined obliquely from the extended portion 4b toward the front side. The upper guide rail 4 has stoppers 4e for holding the mirror lid 3 in the closed position S and the open position T (see Fig. 9). The stoppers 4e are provided at both the left and right portions of the mirror adjacent portion 4a. The stopper 4e projects downward in a curved shape from a wall standing up with respect to the first core material 12.

[0018] As shown in Fig. 4, the lower guide rail 5 is substantially L-shaped, extends inward in the thickness direction from the first core material 12, and has an overhanging portion that projects upward from its tip. The lower guide rail 5 has a mirror adjacent portion 5a adjacent to the lower edge of the mirror opening 2 and an extended portion 5b extending leftward beyond the mirror opening 2. A lower rail opening 5c is formed in the middle of the lower guide rail 5. The lower rail opening 5c opens to the back side of the lower guide rail 5 between the mirror adjacent portion 5a and the extended portion 5b. In other words, the lower guide rail 5 also does not have an overhanging portion that projects upward from the tip at the lower rail opening 5c. The lower guide rail 5 also has a slope 5d similar to the upper guide rail 4. The lower guide rail 5 has stoppers 5e for holding the mirror lid 3 in the closed position S and the open position T. The stopper 5e projects upward in a curved shape from a wall standing up with respect to the first core material 12.

[0019] As shown in Fig. 4, a mirror holding portion 8 is formed on the upper guide rail 4 and the lower guide rail 5. The mirror holding portion 8 stands up on the back surfaces of the mirror adjacent portions 4a and 5a. The mirror holding portion 8 has a corner contact portion 8a, a side contact portion 8b, and an upper and lower surface contact portion 8c. The corner contact portion 8a is substantially L-shaped and is formed at the left portion of the mirror adjacent portions 4a and 5a. The side contact portion 8b projects from the connecting portion 9 to the back side. A plurality of, for example, three upper and lower surface contact portions 8c are formed side by side in the left-right direction on the mirror adjacent portions 4a and 5a. A claw fitting portion 8d is formed on each upper and lower surface contact portion 8c.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 3, the mirror unit 11 has a mirror lid 3, a mirror 6, and a mirror cover 7. The mirror lid 3 is in the shape of a substantially rectangular plate. As shown in FIG. 4, the mirror lid 3 has an upper edge rib 3c that projects rearward along the upper edge and a lower edge rib 3d that projects rearward along the lower edge. On the right portions of the upper edge rib 3c and the lower edge rib 3d, outward projecting portions 3e that project outward in a curved shape are respectively formed. On the right surface region of the mirror lid 3, a knob 3a that projects forward is formed. The knob 3a extends vertically along the right edge 3b. The vertical length of the knob 3a is a length that is positioned between the vertical widths of the mirror opening 2.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 3, the mirror 6 is in the shape of a substantially rectangular plate. The mirror cover 7 is in the shape of a substantially rectangular plate. The mirror cover 7 has three fitting holes 7a arranged in the left - right direction along each of the upper and lower edges, and fitting claws 7b provided in each of the fitting holes 7a.

[0022] As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the mirror lid 3 is guided from the right - edge 3b side to each of the slopes 4d and 5d and is obliquely inserted into the upper rail opening 4c and the lower rail opening 5c. By this insertion, the mirror lid 3 is mounted between the upper guide rail 4 and the lower guide rail 5 such that the knob 3a projects forward from the mirror opening 2. The mounted mirror lid 3 is slidably supported between the upper guide rail 4 and the lower guide rail 5 between a closed position S and an open position T. As shown in FIG. 8, the mirror lid 3 is moved to the right until the right edge 3b abuts against the connecting portion 9, and is thereby arranged at the closed position S. By this movement to the closed position S, each of the outward projecting portions 3e of the mirror lid 3 is elastically held by the stoppers 4e and 5e on the right portions of the upper guide rail 4 and the lower guide rail 5. Thereby, the mirror lid 3 is held at the closed position S.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 2, the mirror lid 3 is arranged at the open position T by moving it to the left until the knob 3a abuts against the left end of the mirror opening 2. By moving to this open position T, as shown in FIG. 9, each outwardly projecting portion 3e of the mirror lid 3 is elastically held by the stoppers 4e and 5e on the left portions of the upper guide rail 4 and the lower guide rail 5. Thereby, the mirror lid 3 is held at the open position T.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 8, the mirror 6 is attached to each mirror adjacent portion 4a and 5a from the back side. By this attachment, the mirror 6 is fitted into the mirror holding portion 8. The left end corner portion of the mirror 6 is supported by each corner abutting portion 8a. The right end of the mirror 6 is supported by the side surface abutting portion 8b. The upper and lower ends of the mirror 6 are supported by each upper and lower surface abutting portion 8c. The mirror 6 attached to the mirror holding portion 8 is covered from the front side by the mirror lid 3 that has moved to the closed position S.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 9, the mirror cover 7 is attached to the mirror holding portion 8 from the back side. Each fitting hole 7a of the mirror cover 7 fits into each upper and lower surface abutting portion 8c of the mirror holding portion 8. By this fitting, each fitting claw 7b of the mirror cover 7 snap-fits into the claw fitting portion 8d of the mirror holding portion 8 respectively. Thereby, the mirror cover 7 holds the mirror 6 attached to the mirror holding portion 8 from the back side. In this way, the mirror unit 11 is attached to the first core material 12.

[0026] As shown in FIG. 4, the first core material 12 has an outer rib 12a that projects along the outer peripheral edge, and an inner rib 12b that projects along the outer rib 12a and is inside the outer rib 12a. On the inner surface of the inner rib 12b, ribs for enhancing the rigidity of the inner rib 12b are formed here and there.

[0027] As shown in FIG. 4, a left concave portion 12c recessed downward is formed in the upper left region of the first core material 12. A support shaft 16 is formed in the left concave portion 12c. The support shaft 16 extends along the upper edge of the first core material 12 across the left concave portion 12c. The support shaft 16 extends to the inner rib 12b beyond the outer rib 12a around the left concave portion 12c. The support shaft 16 is integrally formed with the first core material 12 so as to fill the concave groove 12p between the outer rib 12a and the inner rib 12b.

[0028] As shown in FIG. 4, a right concave portion 12r recessed downward is formed in the upper right region of the first core material 12. On the left side of the right concave portion 12r, a clip 17 for rotatably holding the horizontal shaft 14a and a case 18 to which the clip 17 is attached are provided. The case 18 is attached to a case attachment portion 12e formed on the upper right side of the first core material 12. The case attachment portion 12e is surrounded by vertical extension ribs 12f, 12g extending vertically from the upper right region to the upper guide rail 4 and a horizontal extension rib 12i extending horizontally to connect the central portions of the vertical extension ribs 12f, 12g. Support shaft support holes 12h through which the horizontal shaft 14a can be inserted are respectively formed in the upper portions of the vertical extension ribs 12f, 12g. A horizontal extension rib 12m extending rightward toward the inner rib 12b is formed on the right side surface of the vertical extension rib 12f.

[0029] As shown in FIG. 4, an intermediate rib 12j and a thick rib 12k extending downward toward the upper guide rail 4 are formed from the central portion of the lower surface of the horizontal extension rib 12i. Three intermediate ribs 12j are arranged side by side horizontally in the central right portion of the horizontal extension rib 12i. The thick rib 12k is formed in the central left portion of the horizontal extension rib 12i. The thick rib 12k extends toward the vicinity of the central portion of the mirror adjacent portion 4a of the upper guide rail 4. The vertical extension ribs 12f, 12g, the intermediate rib 12j, and the thick rib 12k can enhance the vertical rigidity from the case attachment portion 12e to the upper guide rail 4.

[0030] As shown in Fig. 4, vertical extending ribs 12n extending upward toward the lower guide rail 5 are formed from the inner ribs 12b on the lower side of the first core material 12. A plurality of, for example, six vertical extending ribs 12n are formed side by side left and right. Among them, five vertical extending ribs 12n are provided between the inner rib 12b and the mirror adjacent portion 5a of the lower guide rail 5. The remaining one vertical extending rib 12n is provided between the inner rib 12b and the extended portion 5b of the lower guide rail 5.

[0031] As described above, the first core material 12 can enhance the vertical rigidity around the mirror opening 2 by the respective vertical extending ribs 12f, 12g, the intermediate rib 12j, the thickness rib 12k, and the vertical extending rib 12n. Moreover, the ribs 12f, 12g, 12j, 12k provided on the upper part of the mirror adjacent portion 4a of the upper guide rail 4 and the vertical extending rib 12n provided on the lower part of the mirror adjacent portion 5a of the lower guide rail 5 are arranged vertically in a region that substantially overlaps in the left - right direction. Thereby, when a large force is applied from below to the first core material 12, the force can be released to the support shaft 14 through the respective ribs 12f, 12g, 12j, 12k, 12n, the clip 17, and the case 18.

[0032] As shown in Fig. 3, the second core material 13 has a substantially rectangular shape. The second core material 13 is formed of, for example, resin. On the back surface of the second core material 13, ribs 13a projecting along the outer peripheral edge are formed. A left recess 13b is formed in the upper - edge left region of the second core material 13. A left recess 13h is formed in the upper - edge right region of the second core material 13. On the left side of the left recess 13h, vertical extending ribs 13d, 13e extending downward from the upper edge are formed at intervals left and right. Each of the vertical extending ribs 13d, 13e is provided with a support - shaft support hole 13f through which the support shaft 14 can be inserted. A fitting claw 13c is formed on the upper edge between the vertical extending ribs 13d, 13e. A box - shaped portion 13g projecting in a substantially rectangular shape is formed below the support - shaft support hole 13f.

[0033] When the second core material 13 is superposed on the first core material 12, the rib 13a of the second core material 13 is engaged with the concave groove 12p between the outer rib 12a and the inner rib 12b of the first core material 12. The left concave portion 13b and the left concave portion 13h of the second core material 13 face the left concave portion 12c and the right concave portion 12r of the first core material 12, respectively. The fitting claw 13c of the second core material 13 is locked to the claw fitting portion 12d of the case attachment portion 12e shown in FIG. 6. The vertically extending rib 13d of the second core material 13 faces the right side surface of the vertically extending rib 12f of the first core material 12 from the right. The vertically extending rib 13e of the second core material 13 faces the right side surface of the vertically extending rib 12g of the first core material 12 from the right. The box-shaped portion 13g of the second core material 13 fits into the gap 12s of the case attachment portion 12e on which the case 18 shown in FIG. 4 is mounted. The box-shaped portion 13g can prevent the displacement of the case 18.

[0034] As described above and as shown in FIG. 3, the vehicle sun visor 1 has a visor body 10 including plate-like first and second core materials 12 and 13 that are superposed on each other. A mirror opening 2 is formed in the first core material 12. Upper and lower guide rails 4 and 5 are formed on the inner surface of the first core material 12 so as to extend along the upper and lower edges of the mirror opening 2 and beyond the mirror opening 2 to either the left or the right. The upper and lower guide rails 4 and 5 have upper and lower rail openings 4c and 5c formed in the middle thereof. A mirror lid 3 is inserted into the upper and lower guide rails 4 and 5 from the upper and lower rail openings 4c and 5c. The mirror lid 3 is supported by the upper and lower guide rails 4 and 5 so as to be slidable between a closed position S where the mirror lid 3 covers the mirror opening 2 and an open position T where the mirror opening is opened. A mirror 6 is fitted into a mirror holding portion 8 formed on the back surface of the upper and lower guide rails 4 and 5 of the first core material 12.

[0035] Therefore, the upper and lower guide rails 4 and 5 are formed only on the first core material 12. That is, the upper and lower guide rails 4 and 5 are not formed across two members, namely the visor body and the mirror unit, as in the prior art. Therefore, steps are less likely to occur in the middle of the upper and lower guide rails. And the mirror lid 3 can be easily inserted from the upper and lower rail openings 4c and 5c formed in the middle of the upper and lower guide rails 4 and 5. Therefore, the sliding of the mirror lid 3 is properly guided in the first core material 12.

[0036] Also, as shown in FIG. 9, the vehicle visor 1 has a mirror cover 7 that holds the mirror 6. The mirror cover 7 is attached to the mirror holding portion 8. Therefore, the mirror 6 is held by the mirror cover 7 and held by the upper and lower guide rails 4 and 5 via the mirror holding portion 8.

[0037] Also, as shown in FIG. 2, the mirror lid 3 has a knob 3a that protrudes to the front side along one of the left and right ends of the mirror lid 3. The vertical length of the knob 3a is the length located between the vertical widths of the mirror opening 2. The first core material 12 has slopes 4d and 5d on the back surface corresponding to the upper and lower rail openings 4c and 5c to guide the insertion of the mirror lid 3 into the upper and lower guide rails 4 and 5. Therefore, the mirror lid 3 is easily inserted into the upper and lower guide rails 4 and 5 from the upper and lower rail openings 4c and 5c using the slopes 4d and 5d. Moreover, the mirror lid 3 is inserted into the upper and lower guide rails 4 and 5 without the knob 3a interfering with the upper and lower guide rails 4 and 5.

[0038] Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described with reference to the above structure, it is obvious to those skilled in the art that many alternations, improvements, and changes are possible without departing from the purpose of the present disclosure. Therefore, the embodiments of the present disclosure can include all alternations, improvements, and changes that do not depart from the spirit and purpose of the appended claims. For example, the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to the special structure and can be changed as follows.

[0039] The vehicle sun visor showed a configuration without an outer skin covering the visor body as an example, but it may also have a configuration with an outer skin as another embodiment. The visor body may have a configuration without a support shaft.

[0040] As another embodiment, the mirror opening may be rectangular, circular, or any other shape. The mirror opening may be provided on the left side or at the center in addition to being slightly to the right of the center of the first core material. The mirror may be configured to be held by the upper and lower guide rails only by fitting into the mirror holding portion. The mirror cover may be configured to be formed on the second core material. The first core material may have a configuration without a slope for guiding the mirror lid.

[0041] As another embodiment, the extended portion of the upper and lower guide rails may extend to the right beyond the mirror opening from the mirror adjacent portion. The slope may be formed on the mirror adjacent portion. The mirror lid may also be configured to be inserted into the upper and lower guide rails from the left end side. The stopper may be set as needed, and the upper and lower guide rails may have a configuration without a stopper.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0042] 1 Sun visor (vehicle sun visor) 2 Mirror opening 3 Mirror lid 3a Knob 3b Right edge 3c Upper edge rib 3d Lower edge rib 3e Outer protruding portion 4 Upper guide rail (upper and lower guide rails) 4a Mirror adjacent portion 4b Extended portion 4c Upper rail opening (upper and lower rail opening) 4d Slope 4e Stopper 5 Lower guide rail (upper and lower guide rails) 5a Mirror adjacent portion 5b Extended portion 5c Lower rail opening (upper and lower rail opening) 5d Slope 5e Stopper 6 Mirror 7 Mirror cover 7a Fitting hole 7b Fitting claw 8 Mirror holding part 8a Corner contact part 8b Side contact part 8c Upper and lower contact part 8d Claw fitting part 9 Connecting part 10 Visor body 11 Mirror unit 12 First core material 12a Outer rib 12b Inner rib 12c Left recess 12d Claw fitting part 12e Case mounting part 12f Upper and lower extending ribs 12g Upper and lower extending ribs 12h Shaft support hole 12i Left and right extending ribs 12j Intermediate rib 12k Thick rib 12m Left and right extending ribs 12n Upper and lower extending ribs 12p Concave groove 12r Right recess 12s Gap 13 Second core material 13a Rib 13b Left recess 13c Fitting claw 13d Upper and lower extending ribs 13e Upper and lower extending ribs 13f Shaft support hole 13g Box-shaped part 13h Left recess 14 Shaft 14a Horizontal shaft 14b Vertical shaft 15 Bracket 15a Mounting hole 16 Support shaft 17 Clip 18 cases 19 hooks 20 ceiling surface 21 front glass K storage position P usage position S closed position T open position

Claims

1. A sun visor for a vehicle with a mirror, comprising: A visor body having first and second plate-shaped core materials that are overlapped with each other; A mirror opening formed in the first core material; Upper and lower guide rails formed on the inner surface of the first core material along the upper and lower edges of the mirror opening and extending beyond the mirror opening to either the left or right; Upper and lower rail openings formed in the middle of each of the upper and lower guide rails; A mirror lid that is inserted into the upper and lower guide rails from the upper and lower rail openings and is supported by the upper and lower guide rails so as to be slidable between a closed position covering the mirror opening and an open position opening the mirror opening; A vehicle sun visor having a mirror that is fitted into a mirror holding portion formed on the back surface of the upper and lower guide rails of the first core material.

2. The vehicle sun visor according to claim 1, comprising: A mirror cover for holding the mirror, the mirror cover being attached to the mirror holding portion.

3. The vehicle sun visor according to claim 1 or 2, comprising: The mirror lid has a knob that protrudes to the front side along either one of the left and right ends of the mirror lid, and the vertical length of the knob is a length positioned between the vertical width of the mirror opening; The first core material has a slope on the back surface corresponding to the upper and lower rail openings for guiding the insertion of the mirror lid into the upper and lower guide rails.

Images