I made myself an opaque shade that installs in place permanently...you can make the roof fully opaque, or not, or can use the mesh shade too as normal, or not; IT IS BASICALLY INVISIBLE WHEN NOT IN USE and does not prevent opening or closing the glass roof....requires no drilling or modification and is easily removable if you wanted to for some reason and takes up basically none of the sunroof visibilty....you can even easily make the front of the sunroof opaque and leave the mesh shade up overhead so light filters in behind you but is not glary in front of you....and the reverse side is reflective to help keep the car cool in the summer sun

I have had this up and operational in my car for a year and have been trying to get it produced...I am trying to find a manufacturer within the MINI community who is interested in this project....I think there should be enough of a market for this, as it was even mentioned as a shortcoming of the MINI by Road and Track ( or was it car and Driver?) and have heard from others that they would buy something to address this shortcomnig it there was a fix for this.....I am not a manufacturer, just a MINI enthusiast who tinkered with a fix for my own car and came up with something that I think others will like....now if only I can find a company to produce it.....any suggestions out there??

 

I'd be interested in seeing pictures. Arizona's sun is tough and it would be nice to have a convenient sun shade for the roof.

 

I would be interested in seeing pics also. They don't call it "Hotlanta" for nothing!

 

Hi Umberto,

Take some pics and post them please, inside and out. I like the sunroof mostly for ventilation, not always for the view. You might have a good solution for us.

swizzle

 

I would love to post some pics but I am trying to get this product manufactured so pictures posted for all to see would be counterproductive to induce a manufacturer to produce this.....I would like to know if someone out there has any knowledge of a manufacturer who might want to take on a new product and any ideas as how to approach a manufacturer with a product like this

 

I WOULD LOVE TO SEE SOME PICS TOO...SOUNDS LIKE A GREAT
IDEA...I WOULD BE VERY INTERESTED IN...SAVANNAH SUMMERS ARE
A REAL SCORCHER..!!!

 

it is VERY hard to protect yourself. (I hold a patent myself...actually past tense...I sold it!!!).

if the idea has already been done in other cars, (most likely) you cannot get a patent.....sending it to a manufacurer would open the door for them to swipe it from you! At the least, you need an NDA (non disclosure agreement from them) get one on the net or pm me and I will send you a generic one!

HOWEVER..If it is not like others and is not "obvious to one skilled in the Art" (patentese crap) then perhaps you could try for a "means + function patent" assuming it is different enough, is not considered obvious, and meets certain requirements.

Having a patent, patent pending, povisional patent can afford you a certain amount of protection....enforcing it can be expensive! Maybe copyrighting it? A successful patent can change your life!!!!

see the US PATENT SITE....LOOK AT THE MANUAL...
http://portal.uspto.gov/external/portal/pair

In then manual ...on the left side of the page...look up S102 and S103 objections...Maybe you can become wealthy, but be prepared for expense and frustration!

I hope you "get something on"...I know I would buy one!

 

Pictures would be great to see for sure

 

Maybe if others chime in and voice whether or not they would buy something like this and thus drum up some interest, then maybe if one of NAM's manufacturing sponsors is also looking in, it might pique their interest .....instead of: 'if you build it they will come', it could be: 'if you come on to this thread, they will build it'

 

The lack of said item is why I did not get...or will not get...a MINI sunroof....and I'm sure I would really enjoy one!!! I'm fairly certain your offering would be a big hit...in fact it's funny how many real, simple needs MINI owners have are unknown or ignored. Seems like BMW themselves would/should/will solve this one day. In any case, but best of luck, buddy...I hope you succeed beyond your wildest dreams!!!

 

sure, if it works i'd buy one. you'd sell a lot.

 

Sounds interesting. I solved the problem with a $5 set of collapsable windshield shades. Your mysterious solution sounds more elegant than mine and I'd be interested if it worked better and was offered at a reasonable price.

Do you have a target price for this device?

 

His mysterious solution sounds like a piece of cardboard.

 

Hetmann.....you are obviously trying to get me to divulge more....OK...my opaque shade rolls up when not in use and therefore basically disappears when not in use and then when pulled across renders the sunroof fully opaque...but this stays in place permanently so you don't have to put a 'piece of cardboard' up in there each time the sun bothers you and then you don't have to remove it each time afterwards

(please notice I edited my original post with capitals to emphasize that my product does not leave the sunroof always opaque like putting a piece ofcardboard up there but lets you decide if you want the sunroof to be opaque, mesh, just tinted glass, or glass fully opened ...all in seconds)

so again, for the purpose of trying to see if there is enough interest in this getting developed, how many MINI owners out there might consider purchasing something like this, assuming the price would not be too prohibitive

 

TPIWWP

 

Umberto, I don't know any manufacturers, but I'm interested in learning more if you do go forward with this...trying to figure out a solution to this problem myself right now. I'm thinking of going the solid white decal route, but would love to get more natural light in my MINI when the sunroof isn't open.

 

I have a perforated decal on my Cooper and still find it necessary to wear a hat. The glare is greatly lessened, however, from a sunroof without any embellishment, and, yes, I can still see out.

On my S, I had a solid decal instaled. While no light gets in, the design shows through on the inside and is interesting to people who are curious, plus it adds to the inside "look".

 

Me!!!

 

I'd buy!!

 

Aren't these shades essentially what you're looking for? - http://www.stratmosphere.com/mini_interior.htm

 

That would do the trick, but I'd rather have something I didn't have to put in and take out all the time. We Americans have gotten so gosh-darned lazy...

 

umberto,

What's the status of your sunroof shade design/production? Is it available, have you posted pictures?

 

I'd buy--of course, I could go with those stratomosphere shades.

 

hi. thanks for the interest...no bites though

here is a link to thread I started with pictures from the General MINI Talk forum:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ghlight=opaque

I got something like 40 responses in one day so there is interest in a product like this...probably though its time is passed as it would need to be redsigned to fit the 2007+ MINI which has a different mesh screen frame, although I am sure it could be done easily (I just do not have a 2007 to work on)...it looks like the mesh screen in the 2007+ lets though more light than the 2002-2006 but it might be my imagination

 

Let me help you with your market research--I counted 8 responses that either said the poster would buy or would buy if the product worked. I'm not sure what kind of fisherman you are, but when eight fish are on the line, reel them in. Don't leave the line in the water waiting for the "big one."

Thanks for the link to the other post where you have an additional 40 people interested with (possibly) very little overlap. Great pictures by the way.