Optical: systems and elements – Prism – With reflecting surface
Reexamination Certificate
2001-11-19
2003-07-08
Cherry, Euncha (Department: 2872)
Optical: systems and elements
Prism
With reflecting surface
C359S872000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06590725
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a sideview mirror for vehicles and an angle adjusting device thereof, and more particularly, a sideview mirror for vehicles and an angle adjusting device thereof by which a driver can accurately and easily see the view at the rear of a vehicle at unit magnification with respect to the movement direction of the vehicle, and the angle of the sideview mirror can be automatically or manually adjusted according to the physical conditions of the driver.
Generally, a vehicle has a pair of sideview mirrors externally protruded at the driver's side and passenger's side of each front side window frame of the vehicle, so that a driver can view the rear of the left and right side roads against the movement direction of the vehicle.
A conventional sideview mirror for vehicles of the planar reflector type having an almost plane reflecting surface is protruded beyond the front body of the vehicle horizontally with respect to a forward-backward axis of the vehicle body, which causes an air resistance.
Such an air resistance increases fuel consumption of the vehicle, and resultantly causes air pollution.
In addition, this planar reflector type sideview mirror has a relatively small rear viewing angle, for example, less than 20 degree., and it may be exposed to water drops, moisture and frost in bad weather such as rainy or snowy weather, thereby making it difficult for the driver to view the rear. As a result, there is a danger of an accident.
Furthermore, while driving at night, the ray emitted from the headlights of the following vehicle is directly reflected at the sideview mirror (at the reflection factor of 50%), making the driver's view unclear. As a result, there is a problem that the conventional type sideview mirror is lacking in safety.
Considering these problems, a sideview mirror capable of reducing the length thereof protruded beyond the body of the vehicle and increasing the rear view angle using an optical element is disclosed in PCT Application No. WO96/31365 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,559,640, respectively.
Firstly, in the aforesaid PCT Application WO96/31365, as disclosed in the specification and drawings thereof, the driver can see the view at the rear of the vehicle through a sideview mirror constructing of two reflectors and four lenses.
However, in the PCT Application WO096/31365, since the four lenses are arranged upwardly and downwardly, and the two reflectors are arranged between the lenses, it is difficult to adjust an optical axis passed and reflected through each of the lenses and reflectors due to vibration of the vehicle. In addition, an eye lens (screen lens) through which the driver finally view the rear of the vehicle is installed at a lower portion of a so-called “A pillar”. As a result, there is a problem that the construction and installation of the sideview mirror is complicated.
In addition, in the construction according to the above PCT application, it is difficult to focus on an object at a long distance and at a short distance at the same time, and moreover the sideview mirror is difficult to be designed to see the rear view at the unit magnification. Thus, the sideview mirror of the PCT application has almost not been put into practical use yet.
Meanwhile, in the sideview mirror according to the U.S. Pat. No. 5,559,640, as disclosed in the specification and drawings thereof, a relatively small convex mirror is arranged outside the vehicle, and a reflector by which an image reflected from the convex mirror is magnified to be reflected on the convex lens is arranged between the convex mirror and the convex lens which the driver look at, thereby making it possible for the driver to view the rear of the vehicle.
In the sideview mirror for vehicles according to the above U.S. Patent Application, however, the image of a magnifier directed toward the driver's eye is greatly distorted in a vertical direction and in a horizontal direction. As a result, there is a problem that the function as a sideview mirror for vehicles cannot be substantially implemented.
Accordingly, a “sideview mirror for vehicles” directed to solve these conventional problems is disclosed in Korean Utility Model Publication No. 76588 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,264,962 by the applicant of the present invention.
Since the aforesaid sideview mirror for vehicles proposed by the applicant includes two lens groups, that is, an object lens system and an eye lens system, and a planar reflector inserted between these systems, it provides a relatively wide field of view toward the rear of the vehicle and a relatively short optical axis for thereby making it easy for the driver to view the rear of the vehicle.
However, in this sideview mirror for vehicles proposed by the applicant, it is not easy for the image incident upon the object lens system to be passed through the eye lens system to have an unit magnification. In particular, there is a problem that the driver's eye is not easily made consistent with the axis of the eye lens system in the housing installed adjacent to the driver's side.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a sideview mirror for vehicles and an angle adjusting device thereof, and more particularly, to a sideview mirror for vehicles and an angle adjusting device thereof by which a driver can accurately and easily see the view at the rear of a vehicle at unit magnification with respect to the movement direction of the vehicle, and the angle of the sideview mirror can be automatically or manually adjusted according to the physical conditions of the driver.
To achieve the above object of the invention, there is provided a sideview mirror for vehicles which includes: a housing connected to a forward portion of the driver's seat of the vehicle so that an aperture formed at one side is directed to an outer rearward portion of the vehicle and an aperture at the other side is arranged inside the vehicle; an object lens system having at least one object lens for refracting a ray from the outer rearward portion of the vehicle to be converged, an upper reflecting unit arranged in the housing at a predetermined angle within the focal length of the object lens so as to reflect the ray passing through the object lens to the interior of the vehicle and adapted to reflect the ray passing through an upper side of the horizontal center line of the object lens, and a lower reflecting unit arranged in a lower portion the upper reflecting unit so that the upper reflecting unit is at a right angle with a reciprocal internal angle and a reciprocal contact line corresponds to the horizontal center line of the object lens and adapted to reflect a ray passing through a lower side of the horizontal center line of the object lens; and an eye lens system having a third reflecting unit arranged beyond the focal length of the object lens and adapted to reflect the ray reflected by the upper reflecting unit and lower reflecting unit to an inner aperture portion of the housing and at least one eye lens connected to the inner aperture portion of the housing and adapted to magnify and refract the ray reflected by the third reflecting unit to form an image having either an unit magnification or a predetermined magnification for thereby forming an afocal system.
The object lens, upper reflecting unit, and lower reflecting unit are Amici type prisms integral with one another.
The third reflecting unit is a planar reflector.
The third reflecting unit and the eye lens are integral with each other.
The third reflecting unit is a prism.
The eye lens includes a plano-convex lens arranged in an inner aperture portion of the housing and a concave-convex lens arranged between the plano-convex lens and the third reflecting unit.
The housing includes an outer tubular unit having a spherical unit at one end exposed to the interior of the vehicle to be connected thereto and an inner tubular unit pivotably connected to the spherical unit.
At the circumference of the outer tubular unit, the s
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld L.L.P.
Cherry Euncha
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