Eye-shading means for automotive vehicle operators

• US 3,961,181 A
• Filed: 02/18/1975
• Issued: 06/01/1976
• Est. Priority Date: 02/18/1975
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Eddie R. Golden
• Original Assignee: Eddie R. Golden
• Inventors: Golden, Eddie R.
• Primary Examiner(s): La Roche, Eugene
• Application Number:
  US05/550,213
• Time in Patent Office: 469 Days
• Field of Search: 250/215, 250/237 R, 250/200, 250/208, 250/209, 250/204, 250/216, 250/225, 250/229, 250/578, 350/160 LC, 350/276 R, 315/77, 315/149, 315/153, 315/154
• US Class Current: 250/208.2
• CPC Class Codes: B60J 3/04 adjustable in transparency
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13318 Circuits comprising a photodetector

Abstract

An eye shade is provided for vehicle drivers which separately but simultaneously shields the two eyes of the driver against the blinding glare of direct sunlight in the daytime or of approaching vehicle headlights at night, while leaving the space between and outside the shielded zones clear. The eye shade desirably consists primarily of a laterally extending series of contiguous substantially vertically disposed, electrically darkenable cells or zones such as liquid crystals, each of which cells or zones has the characteristic that it is transparent when no voltage is applied to it, but that it becomes progressively opaque with increase of applied voltage. The applied voltage is controlled by a laterally extending array of contiguous photosensitive sensor cells, each characterized by the fact that its electrical resistance increases as intensity of light exposure diminishes. The sensor cells are individually cross-associated electrically with several electrically darkenable, liquid crystal cells or zones of the eye shield. In one embodiment, pairs of electrically darkenable cells or zones are rendered opaque by the shielding of their associated sensors against exposure to sunlight or to approaching headlights. Alternatively, spaced pairs of electrically darkenable cells or zones may be rendered temporarily opaque by the exposure of their associated sensor cells to light. In the first instance the associated sensor cell and light darkenable eye-shading zone are connected electrically in parallel; in the other instance, which is preferred, they are connected in series.

Claims

1. A structure for individually but simultaneously shading the eyes of a vehicle driver against the blinding effect of the sun and of approaching vehicle headlights, consisting of

a. a linear eye-shading screen composed of a series of contiguous, normally transparent but electrically darkenable zones adapted to be situated between the driver'"'"'s eyes and the sun, each such zone being wide enough when darkened, effectively to obviate the glaring effect of the sun upon one eye of the driver,

b. a linear array of contiguous photosensitive sensor cells equal in number to the number of electrically darkenable zones of the eye-shading screen and disposed physically in parallelism with the eye-shading screen and in positions in which they may be exposed to the sun and to approaching headlights,

c. sensor shielding means located in front of the array of sensor cells in position selectively to differentiate uniformly spaced sensor cells and uniformly spaced pairs of adjacent sensor cells from the remainder of the sensor cells as to shading, and

d. electrical control means electrically cross-associating individual sensor cells of the sensor cell array and individual electrically darkenable zones of the eye-shading screen in such manner that the differentiated electrically darkenable zones of the eye-shading screen will be selectively darkened to shade the respective eyes of the driver.

2. A structure for individually but simultaneously shading the eyes of a vehicle driver as set forth in claim 1 in which the mounting means is provided for the eye-shading screen constructed and arranged to enable the screen to be shifted between an active position and an inactive, out-of-the-way position.

3. A structure for individually but simultaneously shading the eyes of a vehicle driver as set forth in claim 1, in which provision is made of means for adjusting the sensor shielding means fore-and-aft to accommodate the eye-shading effect of the eye-shading screen to the distance between the eye-shading screen and the eyes of the driver.

4. A structure for individually but simultaneously shading the eyes of a vehicle driver as set forth in claim 1 in which all sensor cells are of the same width and all eye-shading zones are of the same width.

5. A structure for individually but simultaneously shading the eyes of a vehicle driver as set forth in claim 1 in which the sensor cells are all of uniformly reduced width as compared to the uniform width of eye-shading zones, the distance of the sensor shielding means from the sensors is proportionately reduced as compared to the distance of the driver'"'"'s eyes from the eye-shading screen, and the sensor shielding means disposed in front of the array of sensor cells is proportionately reduced in its lateral spacing and lateral dimensions.

6. A structure for normally individually but simultaneously shading the eyes of a vehicle driver against the blinding effect of the sun and of approaching vehicle headlights as set forth in claim 1 which includes a vehicle carried battery, an oscillator connected to furnish electrical energy from the battery to normally high potential main electrical output conductors, branch circuits through which the main output conductors communicate electrically with one another in which branch circuits individual sensor cells are associated with individual electrically darkenable zones of the eye-shading screen, said oscillator being constructed and arranged normally automatically to increase radically the voltage applied to the individual electrically darkenable zones required to shade the eyes as compared with the voltage applied to the electrically darkenable zones not currently required to shade the eyes, and photosensitive means interposed in at least one of said main output conductors for radically reducing the potential applied to all such branch circuits when the vehicle is shaded from the sun by a building or other structure, thereby temporarily to render all the electrically darkenable zones of the eye-shading screen incapable of producing any eye-shading effect.

7. A structure for individually but simultaneously shading the eyes of a vehicle driver as set forth in claim 1 in which the sensor shielding means disposed in front of the sensor cells consists of a pair of upstanding spaced posts;

and the electrical means through which individual sensors and individual electrically darkenable zones of the eye-shading screen are associated comprise the vehicle battery, an oscillator energized by the battery and a multiplicity of branch circuits conductively interposed between the oscillator output terminals, in each of which a sensor cell and an electrically darkenable zone are included in parallel relation.

8. A structure for individually but simultaneously shading the eyes of a vehicle driver as set forth in claim 1 in which the sensor shielding means disposed in front of the sensor cells consists of an opaque shield having spaced slots through which only selected, suitably spaced sensor cells are exposed to the direct light of the sun or of approaching headlights and in which electrical energy is furnished from a vehicle battery through an oscillator having opposed main output conductors, each paired associated sensor cell and electrically darkenable zone of the eye-shading screen being series connected in one of a multiplicity of parallel branch circuits between the oscillator terminals, the construction and arrangement being such that each sensor cell exposed to bright sunlight or bright headlights has its resistance radically reduced, thereby causing the associated zone of the eye-shading screen to draw relatively large current and as a consequence to become relatively opaque.