Structure for illuminating sunvisor

• US 6,270,240 B1
• Filed: 08/31/1999
• Issued: 08/07/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Autonetworks Technologies, Ltd. (Sumitomo Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Harness System Technologies Research, Ltd. (Sumitomo Corporation), Sumitomo Electric Industries Limited (Sumitomo Corporation), Sumitomo Wiring Systems Limited (Sumitomo Corporation)
• Inventors: Inoue, Takuya
• Primary Examiner(s): CARIASO, ALAN B
• Application Number:
  US09/386,340
• Time in Patent Office: 707 Days
• Field of Search: 362/135, 362/136, 362/140-144, 362/492, 362/511, 362/551, 362/577, 362/560
• US Class Current: 362/492
• CPC Class Codes: B60J 3/0217 Brackets for mounting the sun visor support arm to the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60J 3/0282 specially adapted for a courtesy mirror
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 3/252 Sun visors
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 3/64 for a single lighting device

Abstract

Illuminating light of an illuminating lamp 32 of a lamp socket 31 in a roof panel 1 is made incident on an incident end of a light guide 17 for the stay 16 at an end of a vertical shaft portion 16b of a stay 16. Illuminating light emitted from the emission end of the light guide 17 for the stay 16 at the end of the horizontal shaft portion 16a of the stay 16 is guided to an illuminating light guide 15 through a sunvisor-side light guide 19 so that the sunvisor is illuminated with the illuminating light guide 15.

Claims

1. An apparatus for illuminating a sunvisor wherein a horizontal shaft portion of an L-shape stay having a vertical shaft portion rotatively connected via by a stay holder to a roof panel of a vehicle is inserted into a visor holder of a sunvisor body so that said sunvisor body is supported movably in the vertical direction around a horizontal shaft and said sunvisor body has an illuminating member,

said apparatus for illuminating a sunvisor comprising:

a stay-side light guide insert-molded into said stay;

a lamp socket which holds a lamp, the light from which is made incident on an incident end of said stay-side light guide and which is disposed proximal to an end of the vertical shaft portion of said stay; and

a sunvisor-side light guide integrally connected to said sunvisor body and arranged to introduce, to an illuminating light guide, light emitted from an emission end of said stay-side light guide at the end of the horizontal shaft portion of said stay.

2. The apparatus for lighting a sunvisor according to claim 1, wherein

said illuminating light guide is a frame-shape member which surrounds an outer surface of a vanity mirror joined to said sunvisor body.

3. The apparatus for illuminating a sunvisor according to claim 1, wherein

the incident end of said sunvisor-side light guide is joined to said visor holder of said sunvisor body so that the emission end of said stay-side light guide at the end of the horizontal shaft portion is made to be proximal to and facing the incident end of said sunvisor-side light guide when the horizontal shaft portion of said stay is inserted into said visor holder.

4. The apparatus for illuminating a sunvisor according to claim 1, wherein

said lamp socket, to which an electric wire extended from a battery is connected, is joined to a car-body member disposed in said roof panel so that the incident end of said stay-side light guide is made to be proximal to and facing said lamp of said lamp socket when said stay holder which supports a stay-side end of the vertical shaft portion is joined to said roof panel.

5. The apparatus for illuminating a sunvisor according to claim 4, wherein

said car-body member has a socket holder to which said lamp socket can be inserted and joined from any one of an axial direction and a direction perpendicular to the axial direction, and displacement of a joining portion of said socket holder in the direction perpendicular to the axial direction is permitted.

6. The apparatus for illuminating a sunvisor according to claim 5, wherein

an insertion portion is integrally connected to said car-body member, and said socket holder is inserted and joined to the insertion portion.