1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to automotive vehicles, and more particularly to a special curtain for demountable attachment to the inside of a vehicle's windshield to inhibit heat transfer therethrough.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As is well known, the heat build-up within a closed automotive vehicle which is parked in the sun, can reach very high temperatures particularly in the warmer areas of the country having intense sunshine. Not only is interior vehicular heat build-up uncomfortable for people who must enter such vehicles, the heat build-up places a very heavy load on vehicular air conditioning equipment, which shortens the life of the equipment and, of course, increases the operating costs. In addition, prolonged exposure to ultra-violet light and the heat itself, can damage, and sometimes destroy the plastic, fabric, and other materials within the vehicle.
Many windshield covers have been suggested and developed for attachment to the outer surface of the windshield to inhibit ice formation thereon, and these covers are often transparent sheets or plastic film. Such covers are, of course, not intended to be used to prevent heat build-up within the vehicle and would be virtually useless if used for that purpose due to their being transparent. Examples of such windshield covers are disclosed in U.S. Patent Nos. 3,140,115, 3,338,293 and 3,874,437.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,266,560 discloses a transparent windshield cover which is for attachment to the inside of the vehicle's windshield. The transparent cover is spaced from the vehicle's windshield for receiving air from the vehicle's heating system, for defrosting and defogging purposes. As above, this inside mounted cover is virtually useless in preventing interior heat build-up due to it being transparent.
A window cover system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,209,197, for mounting on the exterior surfaces of all of the windows of the automotive vehicle. The covers of this system are opaque and are intended to be used for preventing ice formations in the winter and heat build-up in the summer. As is the case in all exterior mounted covers, there can be problems with displacement due to wind, the weight of snow, and the like, and further, there are problems with theft when being used and storage when not being used.
The curtain structure of U.S. Pat. No. 4,109,957 is removably mounted on the interior surfaces of vehicular windshields and the two adjacent side windows. The curtain is of an opaque cloth material to provide privacy for the occupants of recreational vehicles, vans, and the like. Due to the fact that the privacy curtain disclosed in this patent is formed of an opaque cloth, it will inherently reduce heat build-up somewhat if used for that purpose. However, since this cover was not intended for use in reducing heat build-up in vehicles, it is less than ideal for that purpose. Cloth materials while being affective in providing privacy are not effective barriers to block solar radiation due to the porosity of cloth. Therefore, if such a curtain were used for reducing heat build-up, it would help, but some solar radiation would still pass through the cloth and it would not do much to prevent heat transfer by conduction. This privacy curtain is designed to be completely removed during operation of the vehicle, and therefore requires storage space, and can be time consuming and cumbersome to repeatedly install.
Therefore, a need exists for a new and improved vehicular windshield curtain for inhibiting heat transfer which overcomes some of the problems and shortcomings of the prior art.