DESC:FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[001] The invention generally relates to a sun visor assembly for a vehicle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[002] Sun visors are employed in the interior of a vehicle to block sunlight from falling on an occupant’s face. Typically, sun visor comprises of a rod pivotably mounted on a ceiling or headliner of the vehicle, and a visor body mounted on the rod such that the visor body is rotatable about the pivot point towards front windshield or a side window between A-pillar and B-pillar of the vehicle, as per requirement.
[003] While the visor body is movable between the front windshield and the side window, position of the visor body is fixed, and coverage area of the visor body is fixed. The effectiveness of the visor body in blocking sunrays entering the vehicle via certain portions of the front windshield or the side window is thus limited. Sunlight directly falling on faces of the occupants of the vehicle is undesirable as it creates discomfort. It also raises safety concerns as the glare might hinder the driver’s vision.
[004] Thus, there is a need in the art for a sun visor assembly, which addresses at least the aforementioned problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[005] In one aspect the present invention provides a sun visor assembly of a vehicle. The sun visor assembly includes a rod and a visor body mounted on the rod. The rod is pivotally mounted on a ceiling of the vehicle, and the visor body is mounted on the rod such that the visor body is movable along with the rod about the pivot point towards a windshield or a side window. Further, the visor body is rotatably mounted on the rod enabling the visor body to rotate about the rod to be deployed with respect to the windshield or the side window depending upon position of the rod. The visor body is also slidably mounted on the rod enabling the visor body to slide along the rod between a retracted position and an extended position, allowing a user to adjust the position of the visor body on the windshield or the side window as per requirement.
[006] In an embodiment, the visor body includes a front panel and a rear panel. The front panel and the rear panel are affixed to each other forming the visor body.
[007] In another embodiment, the visor body includes a locking mechanism adapted to lock position of the visor body on the rod in the retracted position or the extended position.
[008] In yet another embodiment, the visor body includes a slot between the front panel and the rear panel of the visor body. The slot is disposed towards a top end of the visor body and configured to accommodate the locking mechanism. Alternately, a housing is provided between the front panel and the rear panel, and the locking mechanism is disposed in the housing.
[009] In an embodiment, the locking mechanism includes a first bracket disposed in the slot between the front panel and the rear panel of the visor body, a second bracket disposed in the slot to be spaced apart from the first bracket, and a locking member mounted on the rod. The locking member is adapted to slide along with the rod and engage with the first bracket in the extended position or the second bracket in the retracted position.
[010] In another embodiment, slidable distance of the visor body on the rod is defined by distance between the first bracket and the second bracket.
[011] In yet another embodiment, the locking member snap-fits with the first bracket or the second bracket.
[012] In a further embodiment, the locking member has a lug on its each side. The first bracket has a groove to receive and engage the lug on one side of the locking member and the second bracket has a groove to receive and engage the lug on the other side of the locking member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[013] Reference will be made to embodiments of the invention, examples of which may be illustrated in accompanying figures. These figures are intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Although the invention is generally described in context of these embodiments, it should be understood that it is not intended to limit the scope of the invention to these particular embodiments.
Figure 1 shows a schematic view of a sun visor assembly in a retracted position in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
Figure 2 shows a schematic view of a sun visor assembly in an extended position in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
Figure 3 shows an exploded view of a locking mechanism for a sun visor assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[014] The present invention provides a sun visor assembly for a vehicle that is adjustable to cover a wider area of a front windshield or a side window of the vehicle as per a user’s convenience.
[015] Figure 1 shows a sun visor assembly 10 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The sun visor assembly 10 comprises a rod 30, a visor body 20 and a locking mechanism 100.
[016] The rod 30 is an L shaped rod with a proximal end 32 and a distal end 34. The rod 30 is pivotally mounted on a headliner or ceiling of a vehicle at the proximal end 32 of the rod 30. When mounted on the headliner or ceiling of the vehicle, the rod 30 can move about its proximal end 32 between a windshield and a side widow of the vehicle. The visor body 20 is mounted on the rod 30, and the visor body 20 is movable along with the rod 30 about the pivot point towards the windshield or the side window. In an embodiment, the visor body 20 is movable between a front windshield and a side window between A-pillar and B-pillar of the vehicle, as per requirement.
[017] The visor body 20 comprises a front panel 22 and a rear panel 24. The front panel 22 and the rear panel 24 of the visor body 20 are affixed opposing one another to form the visor body 20. The visor body 20 has a slot towards its top end between the front panel 22 and the rear panel 24. The slot is provided to accommodate the locking mechanism 100.
[018] Further, the visor body 20 comprises a side opening on the visor body 20, wherein the rod 30 passes through the side opening and into the slot in the visor body. The visor body 20 is rotatably mounted on the rod 30, such that the visor body 20 can rotate about the rod 30, whereby the visor body can be simply moved toward the windshield by pushing the visor body. In case the visor body 20 is required to be positioned on the side window, the rod enables the visor body to be moved and positioned adjacent to the side window.
[019] In an embodiment, the visor body is slidably mounted on the rod, and the visor body is slidable between a retracted position (shown in Figure 1) and an extended position (shown in Figure 2) on the rod 30, and the locking mechanism 100 is configured to lock the position of the visor body in the retracted position and the extended position respectively.
[020] Figure 3 shows an exploded view of the locking mechanism 100 for the sun visor assembly 10. The locking mechanism 100 comprises a locking member 110, a first bracket 120 and a second bracket 130. The first bracket 120 is affixed to the visor body 20 in the slot of the visor body 20. Alternately, a housing is provided between the front panel 22 and the rear panel 24 and the locking mechanism 100 is disposed in the housing. The first bracket 120 is provided adjacent to the side opening in the visor body. The second bracket 130 is provided spaced apart from the first bracket 120. The distance between the first bracket 120 and the second bracket 130 defines the length to which the visor body 20 can be extended. The locking member 110 is mounted to the rod 30 such that the locking member slides along with rod and engages with the first bracket 120 or the second bracket 130. In an embodiment the locking member 110 is mounted to the rod 30 preferably at the distal end 34 of the rod 30.
[021] The first bracket 120 has a first opening 122 through which the rod 30 is slidably assembled. The second bracket 130 has a second bracket opening 132 to receive the distal end 34 of the rod 30 in the retracted position of the visor assembly. The locking member 110 has an opening 112 through which the rod 30 passes when the locking member 110 is mounted or affixed onto the rod 30. Further, the side opening of the visor body 20, the opening 122 in the first bracket, the opening 132 in the second bracket and the opening 112 in the locking member are aligned.
[022] In an aspect of the present invention, the locking member 110 snap fits with the first bracket 120 or the second bracket 130. In an embodiment, the locking member 110 has a lug 114, 116 on each side, one facing the first bracket 120 and the other facing the second bracket 130. The first bracket 120 has a groove 124 and the second bracket 130 has a groove 134 to receive the respective lug 114, 116. Once the lug 114, 116 is engaged with the corresponding groove 124, 134 the visor body 20 is locked. When locked, sliding motion of the visor body 20 along the rod 30 is prevented. Further, multiple lugs can be provided on each side of the locking member 110 with corresponding grooves on the first bracket 120 and the second bracket 130 respectively to receive the lugs.
[023] In the retracted position of the sun visor assembly 10, the locking member 110 is engaged with the second bracket 130. In the extended position of the sun visor assembly 10, the locking member 110 is engaged with the first bracket 120. When the locking member 110 engages with the first bracket 120 or the second bracket 130, the position of the visor body 20 is locked temporarily. The engagement of the locking member 110 with the first bracket 120 or the second bracket 130, provides stability to the visor body 20 and prevents it from sliding on the rod 30 during vehicle movement.
[024] Further movement of the visor body 20 is permitted only after disengaging the locking member 110 from the first bracket 120 or the second bracket 130 as the case may be. The locking member 110 can be disengaged from the first bracket 120 or the second bracket 130, as the case may be, by pulling the visor body in the direction opposite to the respective bracket. The visor body 20 may be slid on the rod 30 to change between the extended or retracted positions. Engagement of the locking member 110 with the first bracket 120 or the second bracket 130 does not restrict the rotary motion of the visor body 20 about the longitudinal axis of the rod 30.
[025] In use, the visor body 20 may be deployed over the windshield or the side window in a retracted or extended position. In the retracted position, the visor body 20 will be in its normal position. In the extended position, the visor body 20 will be placed further away from the pivot point. The user is allowed to adjust the position of the visor body 20 over an improved coverage area on the front windshield or the side window as per convenience. Hence, the sun visor assembly 10 can block sunlight entering through a wider area on the windshield or the side window to shield the occupants’ eyes from exposure to glare. The locking mechanism 100 provides stability to the visor body 20 and prevents it from sliding freely on the rod 30 during vehicle movement.
[026] Advantageously, the present invention provides a sun visor assembly having a visor body which can be extended to a desired position to block sunlight as per a user’s convenience. Also, sun visor assembly of the present invention is stable, thereby avoiding any rattles which may annoy passengers of the vehicle.
[027] While the present invention has been described with respect to certain embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modification may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.
,CLAIMS:WE CLAIM:
1. A sun visor assembly (10) for a vehicle, the sun visor assembly (10) comprising:
a rod (30) pivotally mounted on a ceiling of the vehicle; and
a visor body (20) mounted on the rod (30) to be movable with the rod (30), the visor body (20) rotatably mounted on the rod (30) enabling the visor body (20) to rotate about the rod (30) to be deployed with respect to a windshield or a side window depending upon position of the rod (30), and the visor body (20) slidably mounted on the rod (30) enabling the visor body (20) to slide along the rod (30) between a retracted position and an extended position, allowing adjustment in position of the visor body (20) on the windshield or the side window as per requirement.

2. The sun visor assembly (10) of the vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the visor body (20) comprising: a front panel (22); and a rear panel (24), the front panel (22) and the rear panel (24) being affixed to each other forming the visor body (20).

3. The sun visor assembly (10) of the vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the visor body (20) comprising a locking mechanism (100) configured to lock position of the visor body (20) on the rod (30) in the retracted position or the extended position.

4. The sun visor assembly (10) of the vehicle as claimed in claims 2 and 3, wherein the visor body (20) comprises a slot or a housing between the front panel (22) and the rear panel (24) of the visor body (20), the slot or the housing disposed towards a top end (26) of the visor body (20), and the slot or the housing being configured to accommodate the locking mechanism (100).

5. The sun visor assembly (10) of the vehicle as claimed in claim 4, wherein the locking mechanism (100) comprises:
a first bracket (120) disposed in the slot or the housing;
a second bracket (130) spaced apart from the first bracket (120); and
a locking member (110) mounted on the rod (30), the locking member (110) being configured to slide along with the rod (30) and engage with the first bracket (120) in the extended position or the second bracket (130) in the retracted position.

6. The sun visor assembly (10) of the vehicle as claimed in claim 5, wherein slidable distance of the visor body (20) on the rod (30) being defined by distance between the first bracket (120) and the second bracket (130).

7. The sun visor assembly (10) of the vehicle as claimed in claim 5, wherein the locking member (110) snap-fits with the first bracket (120) or the second bracket (130).

8. The sun visor assembly (10) of the vehicle as claimed in claim 5, wherein the locking member (110) has a lug (114, 116) on each side; the first bracket (120) has a groove (124) to receive and engage the lug (114) and the second bracket (130) has a groove (134) to receive and engage the lug (116).