Optical: systems and elements – Mirror – Automatically adjustable in response to vehicle position,...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-09-11
2002-07-02
Spyrou, Cassandra (Department: 2872)
Optical: systems and elements
Mirror
Automatically adjustable in response to vehicle position,...
C359S874000, C248S481000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06412960
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mirror surface angle adjusting device which can adjust the angle of mirror surfaces of external mirror devices (mirrors), such as door mirrors or fender mirrors of a vehicle, in order to confirm the rear field of vision, and to a detector which is incorporated into the mirror surface angle adjusting device and can detect the angle of the mirror surfaces.
2. Description of the Related Art
There have been two types of external mirror devices (mirror surface angle adjusting devices) for a vehicle: an external mirror device which has a mirror surface angle detector and an external mirror device which does not have a mirror surface angle detector. Due to reasons of design or complexity of structure, each type of external mirror device has generally been produced separately with respectively different designs. That is, main parts have not been shared in practice.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a compact and economical mirror surface angle adjusting device in which the mirror surface angle detector is made compact and rational, a mounting structure for the mirror surface angle detector is designed, which has compatibility in that main component parts thereof are made compatible with those of a mirror surface angle detector, and which can quickly accommodate various needs.
In order to solve the aforementioned problems, an external rear-view mirror device for a vehicle in accordance with the present invention includes a holder having opposite sides, one side being a mirror mounting surface on which a mirror is mounted; a base disposed at the side of the holder opposite the mirror mounting surface, the base being adapted for mounting to a vehicle; a spherical bearing portion connecting the holder to the base so that the holder is pivotable around two axes that are substantially orthogonal to one another; and a detector detachably mounted on the base and operable for producing mirror position information relative to each of the axes.
Another external mirror device in accordance with the present invention includes a holder having opposite sides, one side being a mirror mounting surface on which a mirror is mounted; a base disposed at the side of the holder opposite the mirror mounting surface, the base being adapted for mounting to a vehicle; a spherical bearing portion connecting the holder to the base so that the holder is pivotable around two axes that are substantially orthogonal to one another; a driving section having two rods for driving the holder in a pivotal manner, each rod having opposite ends, one end of each of the rods being connected to the holder and the other end being engaged with the base; and a detector for detecting mirror position relative to each of the axes, the detector comprising a body, electrical resistors, and two shafts, the two shafts being slidably supported with respect to the body of the detector, one end of each of the shafts being engaged with the holder and the other end being engaged with a corresponding electrical resistor provided at the detector body.
A further aspect of the present invention provides a detector for detecting mirror position in an external rear-view mirror device of a vehicle. The rear-view device has a base connected to the vehicle, and a mirror in a holder, with the holder pivotally supported on the base, thereby permitting mirror movement around substantially orthogonal axes. The detector includes: (a) a body adapted for detachable mounting to the base of the rear-view mirror device; (b) two electrical resistors provided at the body; and (c) two shafts supported slidably relative to the body, each shaft having opposite ends with one end of each shaft being engageable with the holder, and the other end of each shaft being engaged with one of the resistors, wherein each shaft is engaged with a different resistor.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4678295 (1987-07-01), Fisher
patent: 4915493 (1990-04-01), Fisher et al.
patent: 5993018 (1999-11-01), Hattori et al.
patent: 6254242 (2001-07-01), Henion et al.
Nakaho Jun-ichi
Ogasawara Morihiko
Sakamoto Masato
Yoshida Shigeki
Amari Alessandro V.
Cole Thomas W.
Kabushiki Kaisha Tokai-Rika-Denki-Seisakusho
Nixon & Peabody LLP
Spyrou Cassandra
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