One-piece sunshade assembly having an integrated handle recess and guide rails

The subject invention relates to an integrated one-piece sunshade assembly for covering a sunroof of a vehicle.

Sunshade assemblies are known in the art. Conventional sunshade assemblies include a sunshade panel that covers the sunroof of the vehicle, and other added parts for guiding and sliding the assembly within guide rails between an open and closed position. A conventional sunshade assembly as shown in FIG. 1 includes a clip-on metal guide 10 for guiding the assembly within the guide rails. The conventional sunshade assembly as shown in FIG. 2 also includes a snap-in cup 12 used as a handle recess for sliding the assembly between the open and closed positions.

In the prior art, the added parts, such as the clip-on metal guide and the snap-in cup, are assembled to the sunshade panel. It is costly to separately assemble such parts to the panel. Also, the parts frequently become loose and are a primary source of vibration, rattling, and even breaking in the vehicle. Further, these separate parts increase inventory costs and concerns for manufacturers of the sunshade assemblies.

It would be desirable to introduce an integrated one-piece sunshade assembly having guide flanges and a handle recess molded into a sunshade panel to form the one-piece sunshade assembly and eliminate separate parts added to the assembly.

A sunshade assembly for covering a sunroof is mounted within guide rails in a roof of a vehicle for sliding between open and closed positions. The sunshade is mounted beneath a moonroof/sunroof.

The inventive sunshade assembly is a one-piece sunshade assembly including a panel for covering the sunroof, and other parts that are integrated into the sunshade panel for sliding the sunshade between the open and closed positions and for guiding the sunshade panel as it slides. More specifically, guide flanges and a handle recess are integrated into the sunshade panel by being molded in the same process that forms the sunshade panel. The guide flanges are molded into the sunshade panel for guiding the sunshade assembly within the guide rails. The handle recess is molded into the sunshade panel to provide a grasping surface for an occupant of the vehicle to slide the sunshade assembly into the open and closed positions. Since the guide flanges and the handle recess are molded into the sunshade panel, these parts are formed of the same molded plastic material as the sunshade panel and are integral with the panel.

Accordingly, the subject invention provides an integrated one-piece sunshade assembly that eliminates the separate parts of the prior art thereby eliminating sources of vibration and rattling in the vehicle, and also reducing the costs associated with separately assembling these ‘loose’ parts to the sunshade panel.

Other advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is an enlarged perspective view of a prior art sunshade assembly with a separate clip-on metal guide;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a prior art sunshade assembly with a separate snap-in cup;

FIG. 3 is a top view of an integrated one-piece sunshade assembly;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the sunshade assembly of the subject invention illustrating first and second projections of the guide flange;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the sunshade assembly taken along line A—A in FIG. 4 illustrating the second projection extending into the guide rail; and

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the sunshade assembly taken along line B—B in FIG. 3 illustrating the handle recess of the subject invention molded into an underside of the sunshade panel.

As shown in FIG. 3, a sunshade assembly 20 covers a sliding glass panel, such as a sunroof 21 (FIG. 5 ), of a vehicle. The sunshade assembly 20 is slidable within guide rails 22 that are mounted to a roof of the vehicle. A complete sunshade guidance system is formed by the sunshade assembly 20 of the subject invention and the guide rails 22 .

As shown in FIG. 5, the guide rails 22 include first and second channel sets 24 , 26 . The sunroof 21 of the vehicle is mounted within the first channel set 24 of the guide rails 22 to open or close. To open or close, the sunroof 21 can either slide, manually or automatically, or can be of a ‘pop-up’ design. The guide rails 22 are only represented schematically in the Figures and may be configured in manners other that as shown without affecting the scope of the subject invention. The sunshade assembly 20 is slidable in the guide rails 22 between an open position, where the sunroof 21 is visible to an occupant of the vehicle, and between a closed position, where the sunroof 21 is covered when viewed from a passenger compartment of the vehicle.

Referring primarily to FIG. 5, the sunshade assembly 20 includes a sunshade panel 28 . The sunshade panel 28 is slidably mounted within the second channel set 26 of the guide rails 22 to slide between the open and closed positions to cover the sunroof 21 . The sunshade panel 28 has first and second facings 30 , 32 , respectively.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a peripheral edge 34 extends between the facings 30 , 32 . The peripheral edge 34 defines four corners of the sunshade panel 28 . Of course, it is to be understood that the corners may be sharp (i.e., 90 degree) corners or smooth, rounded corners without varying the scope of the subject invention. Also, for descriptive purposes, the sunshade panel 28 is defined to include a central segment 36 and first and second lateral segments 38 . As appreciated by those skilled in the art, the first facing 30 defines an underside of the sunshade panel 28 .

The subject invention incorporates at least one guide flange 40 to guide the sunshade panel 28 between the open and closed positions. More specifically, the guide flange 40 is formed along with the sunshade panel 28 in a molding process to be molded into the panel 28 . In the preferred embodiment of the subject invention, there are four guide flanges 40 with one guide flange 40 at each corner of the sunshade panel 28 . That is, a first guide flange 40 is molded into the sunshade panel 28 at the first corner of the panel 28 , a second guide flange 40 is molded into the sunshade panel 28 at the second corner of the panel 28 , and so on. The guide flanges 40 are molded into the sunshade panel 28 at the first and second lateral segments 38 .

In the molding process for forming the integrated one-piece sunshade assembly 20 of the subject invention, the sunshade panel 28 and guide flanges 40 are formed of a molded plastic material, preferably polypropylene. More specifically, as represented schematically in FIG. 4, the central segment 36 of the sunshade panel 28 is formed of a fiber-reinforced molded plastic material 42 , and the lateral segments 38 of the sunshade panel 28 are formed to have a lower fiber content 44 than the central segment 36 . Preferably, the central segment 36 is formed of a fiberglass-reinforced molded plastic material, and the lateral segments are formed of a fiberglass-free molded plastic material. Reinforcing the molded plastic material with fiberglass contributes additional support to the sunshade panel 28 as desired. Alternatively, it is desirable that the lateral segments 38 , where the guide flanges 40 are molded, remain somewhat flexible so that the sunshade panel 28 can ‘give’ and can properly slide within the guide rails 22 .

Referring primarily to FIG. 4, the first guide flange 40 is shown in detail. For descriptive purposes only, the subject invention will be described below in detail with respect to only the first guide flange 40 . The guide flange 40 is molded with the sunshade panel 28 to project outwardly from the peripheral edge 34 of the panel 28 and extend into the guide rails 22 for guiding the sunshade panel 28 between the open and closed positions to cover the sunroof 21 . More specifically, the guide flange 40 extends into the second channel set 26 of the guide rails 22 .

The guide flange 40 is further defined by first and second projections 46 , 48 respectively. The first and second projections 46 , 48 are molded into the sunshade panel 28 such that they will extend into the guide rails 22 for guiding the panel 28 . As shown in FIG. 4, the projections extend from panel 28 to be continuous with the peripheral edge 34 . The first projection 46 extends from the sunshade panel 28 toward a back end 50 of the panel 28 in opposition to the second projection 48 which extends from the sunshade panel 28 toward a front end 52 of the panel 28 . The projections 46 , 48 curve outwardly from the peripheral edge 34 and taper to a distal tip 54 . The distal tips 54 of the first and second projections 46 , 48 are adjacent, yet spaced from, one another. It is to be understood that the projections 46 , 48 may extend outwardly from the peripheral edge 34 of the panel 28 in a curved manner, or otherwise, such as rigidly angled, without varying the scope of the subject invention.

The projections 46 , 48 define an integral slot 56 of the guide flange 40 . Further, at the point where the projections 46 , 48 define the integral slot 56 , the sunshade panel 28 is preferably formed of the fiberglass-free molded plastic material 44 , as described above. As such, the integral slot 56 , and the fiberglass-free material 44 provide flexibility to the sunshade panel 28 . As the panel 28 slides between the open and closed positions, the integral slot 56 allows the projections 46 , 48 , which are spaced apart, to flex. Therefore, the sunshade panel 28 can still slide relatively effortlessly in the guide rails 22 even if the occupant is opening or closing the panel 28 with unevenly applied force.

As shown in FIG. 5, a fabric material 58 is disposed, preferably adhered via the molding process, on the first facing 30 of the sunshade panel 28 . As such, the first facing 30 , including the fabric material 58 , is relatively continuous with a headliner 60 of the vehicle. In the preferred embodiment of the subject invention, the fabric material 58 adhered to the first facing 30 of the sunshade panel 28 is the same fabric material 58 included with the headliner 60 . Therefore, when the sunshade assembly 20 is in the closed position, the sunshade assembly 20 and the headliner 60 define an interior roof of the passenger compartment. The fabric material 58 spans the integral slot 56 and is disposed on the first and second projections 46 , 48 . As such, it is the fabric material 58 that actually slides on the guide rails 22 as the panel 28 slides between the open and closed positions. By sliding the fabric material 58 directly on the guide rail 22 , excessive noise is eliminated.

Referring to FIG. 6, the integrated one-piece sunshade assembly 20 also molds a handle recess 62 into the underside of the sunshade panel 28 . The handle recess 62 protrudes upwardly from the underside into the sunshade panel 28 to establish grasping surfaces 64 . The occupant handles the grasping surfaces 64 to slide the sunshade panel 28 between the open and closed positions. As a result, the handle recess 62 can be molded into the sunshade panel 28 where it is convenient and comfortable for the occupant to manipulate the sunshade panel 28 . Because the handle recess 62 is formed in the same molding process, the handle recess 62 is formed of the same molded plastic material as the sunshade panel 28 and the guide flanges 40 , preferably polypropylene. The handle recess 62 can be molded into the sunshade panel 28 either in the central segment 36 (i.e., the fiberglass-reinforced segment) as in the preferred embodiment, or in the lateral segments 38 (i.e., the fiberglass-free segments) depending on the amount of support and rigidity required.

The handle recess 62 has generally C-shaped cross-section. The cross-section defines a ceiling portion 66 of the handle recess 62 , and first and second sides 68 , 70 , respectively The first and second sides 68 , 70 protrude downwardly from the ceiling portion 66 at lateral edges 72 of the ceiling portion 66 to establish the grasping surfaces 64 . Although the ceiling portion 66 is offset from the first facing 30 to form the handle recess 62 , the ceiling portion 66 is continuous with the first facing 30 . The second side 70 of the handle recess 62 is preferably used as the grasping surface 64 to slide the sunshade panel 28 into the open position. Alternatively, the first side 68 of the handle recess 62 is used as the grasping surface 64 to slide the panel 28 into the closed position. Finally, as FIG. 6 illustrates, the fabric material 58 is disposed on the underside of the sunshade panel 28 to border a rim portion 74 of the handle recess 62 which is molded to project downwardly from the underside of the sunshade panel 28 in the same molding process. A section of the fabric material 58 is cut-out, to provide access to the integrated handle recess 62 . As appreciated, the cut-out can be performed before, during, or after the molding process.

The invention has been described in an illustrative manner, and it is to be understood that the terminology which has been used is intended to be in the nature of words of description rather than of limitation.

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, wherein reference numerals are merely for convenience and are not to be in any way limiting, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.