Invalidity dossier
US 5114204
Collapsible interior sun shade for unoccupied motor vehicle
Current assignee: Individual
Added 9/23/2026, 9:14:37 PM
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Patent summary
Title, assignee, inventors, filing/issue dates, abstract, and a plain-language overview of the claims.
Patent Overview — US 5,114,204
Title: Collapsible interior sun shade for unoccupied motor vehicle
Patent number: US5114204A
Application number: US07/405,943
Inventor: Alfredo P. Bernardo
Assignee: Individual (original and current assignee listed as Individual)
Priority/filing date: 1989-09-12
Publication (grant) date: 1992-05-19
Legal status: Expired – Fee Related; anticipated expiration listed as 2009-09-12
Purpose: The invention shields the interior of an unoccupied vehicle from sunlight. The text states that sunlight causes discoloration, deformation, and cracking of plastic, vinyl, leather, and cloth parts — notably the dashboard and seats — and that equipment such as stereo speakers and telephones also needs protection. It further aims to keep interior parts from becoming excessively warm to human contact, and to prevent heat from the less-insulated upper interior from reaching the more-insulated lower interior.
Plain-language scope: A flexible cover (canvas, nylon, rayon, or similar ultraviolet-resistant, insulating material) held taut by a support frame positions horizontally across the vehicle's interior. The cover includes a steering wheel hood, a headrest hood (an envelope-style cover over the headrest and upper seat backrest), and a belt on top of the headrest for height adjustment. The frame uses elongated arms along the cover edges; rear arms fold clockwise at elbows or hinges for installation and storage. Sewing, gluing, or other adhesives may join the hoods and belt to the flat cover. The stated objects are continuous protection regardless of the sun's position, convenient folding, and reduced susceptibility to theft and vandalism. Alternative embodiments appear in FIGS. 7–13, including fixed and sliding arms.
Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/US5114204/en
What the excerpt does not establish: It does not state the number or exact wording of the claims, the full specification, the complete list of cited prior art or its teachings, examination history, or the specific alternative-embodiment details where the text is marked as omitted. It also does not establish ownership transfers, validity, or litigation.
Generated 10/1/2026, 9:40:51 PM
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Litigation summary
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Proceedings on file (0)
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PTAB challenges
AIA trial proceedings at the USPTO Patent Trial and Appeal Board — IPR, PGR, and CBM. Petitioners, judge panels, claim-level invalidation outcomes from Final Written Decisions, and Federal Circuit appeals. The single most important defensive datapoint after litigation history.
Assignment history
Inventors, original assignee, and the chain of ownership recorded with the USPTO — including the correspondent attorney who recorded each assignment, since shell-LLC chains often share one repeat-player attorney even when the entity names look unrelated. Surfaces NPE / patent-troll patterns: shell-entity transfers, known asserters in the chain, repeat correspondent fingerprints, pre-litigation assignments, and bankruptcy fire-sales.
Prior art
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Obviousness
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Extensions
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Derivative works
Defensive disclosure: derivative variations of each claim designed to render future incremental improvements obvious or non-novel.