Optical: systems and elements – Mirror – Plural mirrors or reflecting surfaces
Patent
1997-09-09
2000-03-07
Ben, Loha
Optical: systems and elements
Mirror
Plural mirrors or reflecting surfaces
359850, G02B 508
Patent
active
060330783
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
DESCRIPTION
The present invention generally relates to an optic rear view device for use on motor vehicles, especially on road transport vehicles, although it can be adapted for use on other types of vehicles as well.
The conventional rear view system for a vehicle comprises two exterior mirrors and one supplementary interior mirror. This system obviously has many drawbacks. The conventional exterior mirrors cause aerodynamic resistance and noise at high speed, are vulnerable to damage, and may lead to conflict injuries. They also break the vehicle's entire harmony of the stream-lined round shape and smoothness. During winter or in dirty environments, both the side windows and the surface of the exterior mirrors become contaminated which makes the image difficult to see. Furthermore, the placement of the exterior mirror on the driver's side forms an angle of about 55.degree. between the longitudinal axis of the vehicle and the center of the mirror to the eyes of the driver, causing complete loss of the important front view when looking at the exterior mirror. These disadvantages of the exterior reflecting mirrors make the rear view system undesirable and may cause dangers of many kinds on the road. It also becomes more and more prominently against the concept of the modem vehicle design.
Many efforts on the optic means have been made to overcome the many problems of the conventional exterior mirrors. Almost all such devices have been concerning multiple combination of optic elements by means of both refraction and reflection. One common feature of such disclosures has been attempting to reduce the large protrusion of the exterior mirror body, while providing the rear view within a vehicle with more proximity to the driver. Among such optic devices disclosed by patent documents PCT/GB89/01505, PCT/GB92/00659 and DE 3146486 A1 applied prismatic refractors, to deflect the light from objects behind a vehicle towards a reflector, which is placed forwardly of an observer so as to be in his field of view. Other attempts, as disclosed by patent documents DE 33 35 981 A1; DE, A, 2 014 696; DE, C, 936 074 and FR, B1, 2 240 618 applied plurality of lenses, or a combination of lenses and prismatic means as refractor, plus simple or prismatic reflector or reflectors to form the rear view system. However, such devices suffer from either the optical defects which would destroy the quality of the image, or the complexity itself. Besides, many of them require improper occupation of space on the side door or within a vehicle which would have already been overstuffed by the instruments. Therefore very few of them have achieved practical and commercial significance.
It is the aims of the present invention to provide a vehicle with an optical rear view mirror unit, which would eliminate the drawbacks of the conventional exterior reflecting mirrors, also eliminate the drawbacks of the said prior arts. It is another aim of the present invention to provide such an optical mirror unit which would not require major reconstruction both on the side and within a vehicle.
The said invention embodying the said aims comprises several forms and embodiments. According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided an optical mirror unit for a vehicle, comprises plurality of converging optic elements. The said each converging optic element is either a set of converging lens or a concave mirror comprising at least one single optic component, separated from one another to capture the light from objects behind a vehicle, to form real or virtual images, as well as to diminish or magnify the images; In one form of the said mirror unit, there are provided three basic converging optic elements and at least one another converging optic element thereafter. In which the first converging optic element is a first imaging optic element located outside a vehicle, to form a first inverted image at a focal plane which at least partly coincide or near a reflecting interface of, or which is in or in the vicinity of the second converging optic element, ef
REFERENCES:
patent: 5221990 (1993-06-01), Cook
patent: 5587836 (1996-12-01), Takahashi et al.
So FukSang
Su Li
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