Automatic sun visors are expected to replace traditional sun visors on new vehicles. They use sensors to detect the position of the occupants’ eyes and the degree of light hitting their faces, and a motor unfolds the visor to the best position. They are especially effective when driving directly into the sun and can replace sunshades when parked. They are likely to appear first on luxury models and eventually on mid-range models.
Vehicles are equipped with sun visors located on the roof, just above the windshield, for both the driver and the front passenger. A sunshade is completely opaque and when manually rotated down from the stowed position, it can block out unwanted sun and glare. Sun visors are also commonly used with sun visor “wallets” of various types to hold papers like car registration or media like compact discs. A new visor design is the automatic visor. There are several dozen patents for automatic visors, which are expected to eventually replace standard visors on new vehicles.
Automatic sunshades have some basic and common components. The driver’s sun visor works independently of the passenger’s sun visor. A sensor detects the position of the car’s occupants’ eye and the degree of light hitting the face. When necessary, a motor unfolds the sun visor to the best position by rotating it downwards in a hidden track in the roof of the vehicle. Auto visors are more like sunglasses for your car in that the visors are a colored, transparent material. They block the sun without blocking the ability to see.
If you’ve ever traveled east at sunrise or west at sunset, you’ve experienced the hassle of driving directly into the sun. At these times, traditional parasols do not help. An automatic sun visor is especially effective when a sunset or rising sun enters the windshield just above the dash, or at an extremely low angle. It will also detect and block any blinding reflection from a bumper or rear window of a car that might stop ahead, whether in traffic or at a stop light.
Another advantage of some models of automatic sunshades is that they can replace the sunshades. When parked, the sunshades can be lowered fully to cover the entire windshield, keeping the interior cooler. The visors can also be made of transition material that can be darkened or lightened as required.
The automatic sunshade is likely to appear first on luxury models of sedans, trucks, sport utility vehicles, and motorhomes. As prices fall, they will presumably find their way to mid-range models.
In the not too distant past, many consumers evaluated the desirability of a new vehicle by quickly checking the dash for a CD player instead of a cassette player; in the same way, consumers could soon be looking up at the ceiling, taking the manual sunshade as the trademark of the model of yesteryear.
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