GB2480473A - A rear view mirror assembly positionable in two different operational orientations - Google Patents

Abstract

A rear view mirror assembly 3 for a motor vehicle door 4 comprises a support 6 and a mirror 5 attached pivotably / rotatably relative to the support about a substantially horizontal axis (generally parallel to vehicle's longitudinal axis), the mirror being rotatable from a first operational position to a second operational position so as to reduces the distance it projects, in use, from a vehicle it is attached to. The mirror is ideally a vehicle wing mirror which can be swivelled between a horizontal and a vertical position, manually or by a motorised mechanism. The support may be provided with a securing means, preferably a spring and pin arrangement, to hold the mirror in the predefined operational positions / preselected orientations. In the horizontal position, the pivot P is preferably located at a position on the mirror which is generally closer to the vehicle. The mirror provides a rear view in both positions, and is more protected when vertical.

Description

A REAR VIEW MIRROR ASSEMBLY FOR A MOTOR VEHICLE

This invention relates to motor vehicles and in particular to an improved rear view mirror assembly for a motor vehicle.

It is well known to mount a rear view mirror on a door of a motor vehicle so as to provide vision for a driver of the vehicle to the rear of the vehicle.

It is a problem with such prior art mirror assemblies that the mirror extends outwardly from the vehicle a considerable distance and is therefore liable to damage in congested driving conditions such as city centre driving or in parking garages.

It is also known to provide a hinge mechanism to allow the mirror to be folded so as to lie adjacent the motor vehicle so as to prevent damage occurring to the mirror. It is a problem with such an arrangement that it is only when the mirror is in an extended position that it can be used by a driver to view objects to the rear of the vehicle.

It is an object of this invention to provide a mirror assembly that allows a driver of a motor vehicle to view objects to the rear of the vehicle at all times while providing a retracted position in which damage to the mirror assembly is minimised.

According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a rear view mirror assembly for a motor vehicle comprising a mirror and a support to attach the mirror to a door of the motor vehicle wherein the mirror is rotatable relative to the support about a substantially horizontal axis from a first operational position to a second operational position so as to reduce the distance the mirror projects from the motor vehicle.

It is an advantage of a rear view mirror assembly according to this invention that the mirror may still be used in congested spaces with reduced risk of damage.

It is a further advantage of a rear view mirror assembly according to the invention that even in the second operational position where the mirror is retracted the mirror can still be used to assist with reversing out of/ in to a parking place in a garage.

The mirror may extend substantially outwardly from the support in the first operational position and may extend substantially upwardly from the support in the second operational position.

The mirror may be an elongate mirror having a longitudinal axis wherein, in the first operational position, the longitudinal axis of the mirror may be arranged substantially horizontally and, in the second operational position, the longitudinal axis of the mirror may be arranged substantially vertically.

The mirror may be pivotally connected to the support near to one end for rotation about the substantially horizontal axis.

The mirror assembly may include a securing means to selectively hold the mirror in at least the first and second operational positions.

The securing means may provide two predefined rotational positions for securing the mirror corresponding to the first and second operational positions.

According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a motor vehicle having a front door adjacent a driver of the motor vehicle and a mirror assembly constructed in accordance with said first aspect of the invention attached to the front door.

The motor vehicle may have two front doors and each of the front doors may have a mirror assembly constructed in accordance with said first aspect of the invention attached to it.

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawing of which:-Fig.1 is a schematic plan view of a motor vehicle according to a second aspect of the invention having two mirror assemblies according to a first aspect of the invention; Fig.2 is a schematic front view of one of the mirror assemblies shown in Fig.1 in an extended position; Fig.3 is a schematic front view similar to Fig.2 but shown the mirror assembly in a retracted position; Fig.4 is a pictorial view of one embodiment of a mirror assembly according to the first aspect of the invention showing the mirror in an extended or first operational position; Fig.5 is a pictorial view of the mirror assembly shown in Fig.4 but showing the mirror assembly in a retracted or second operational position; Fig.6 is a cross section through a securing mechanism for a mirror assembly according to the invention; and Fig.7 is a view in the direction of arrow E' on Fig.6 of a mirror frame and securing boss forming part of the securing mechanism shown in Fig.6.

With particular reference to Figs. 1 to 3 there is shown a motor vehicle 1 having a front end F' and a rear end R' . A longitudinal axis X-X extends in a fore-aft direction of the motor vehicle 1 along a centreline of the motor vehicle 1.

The motor vehicle 1 has two front doors 4 on each of which is attached a rear view mirror assembly 3.

Each of the mirror assemblies 3 comprises of a mirror 5 rotatably secured to a support 6 used to attached the mirror to a door 4 of the motor vehicle 1.

Each of the mirrors 5 is rotatably secured to its respective support 6 for rotation about a substantially horizontal pivot axis P' extending in a fore-aft direction of the motor vehicle as indicated by the chain dotted lines Y-Y on Fig.1.

Each of the mirrors 5 is rotatable relative to its respective support 6 between a first position in which it extends substantially outwardly from it support 6 as shown in Fig.2 to a second position in which it extends substantially upwardly from its respective support 6 as shown in Fig.3.

In both of these positions the mirror 5 continues to face towards the rear end R' of the motor vehicle 1 and can be used by an operator of the motor vehicle 1 to view objects to the rear but not directly behind the motor vehicle 1 and for this reason these two positions are referred to as operational positions' As shown in Figs.2 and 3 the mirror 5 is an elongate mirror 5 having a longitudinal axis Z-Z extending through the pivot axis P' . In this case the longitudinal axis Z-Z is arranged to be substantially horizontally arranged when the mirror 5 is in its first operational position and is arranged to be substantially vertically arranged when the mirror 5 is in its second operational position. It will however be appreciated that this is not the case with all embodiments of the invention and that the invention is not limited to the use of an elongate mirror.

However, the pivot axis P' is preferably positioned near to an inner edge of the mirror 5 when the mirror 5 is in its first operational position.

It will be appreciated that each mirror 5 comprises of a reflective part and a frame/housing and that it is the frame/housing that is used to rotatable secure the mirror 5 to the support 6.

The term near to an inner edge of the mirror' as meant herein includes a pivot axis falling within the periphery of the reflective part of the mirror 5 and also a pivot axis falling just outside the reflective part of the mirror 5 between the reflective part of the mirror 5 and the door 4.

That is to say, when the frame/housing for the reflective part of the mirror 5 extends inwardly from the reflective part of the mirror 5 it is this part of the frame that is used to rotatably connect the mirror 5 to the support 6.

In some embodiments of the invention the pivot axes P' are arranged to be substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis X-X of the motor vehicle 1 and in other embodiments the pivot axes P' converge towards the front end F' of the motor vehicle 1 or the rear end R' of the motor vehicle 1. In addition, the pivot axes P' may not be exactly horizontal so as to compensate when rotated for any inclination of the mirrors 5 with respect to the longitudinal axis X-X of the motor vehicle 1 when the mirrors 5 are in their first operational positions.

With particular reference to Figs.2 and 3, when the mirror 5 is in its first operational position an outer end of the mirror 5 extends a distance Dl' from the door 4 to which the mirror 5 is attached by its support 6 and, when the mirror 5 is in its second operational position an outer end of the mirror 5 extends a distance D2' from the door 4 to which the mirror 5 is attached by its support 6. It will be appreciated that the distance Dl' is considerably greater than the distance D2' . Therefore, when both of the mirrors 5 are in their second operational positions the overall width of the motor vehicle 1 is considerably reduced compared to the situation when the two mirrors 5 are in their first operational positions.

Referring now to Figs.4 and 5 there is shown a workinq embodiment of a rear view mirror assembly according to the invention.

A front door 14 has a waistline 17 above which is located a drop down window 18 and a quarterlight 19 and below which is located a door panel 12. The door 14 is hingedly connected at a front end to a part of a body structure of a motor vehicle (Note that the only part of the body structure shown is small part of an A' post 13) The rear view mirror assembly comprises of a support arm 16 attached to the body panel 12 near to the juncture between the drop down window 14 and the quarterlight 19 and a mirror 15 rotatably attached to the support arm 16 for rotation about a substantially horizontal axis between an extended or first operational position as shown in Fig.4 and a retracted or second operational position as shown in Fig.5. The rotational axis of the mirror 15 extends in a substantially fore-aft direction of the motor vehicle to which the mirror 15 is attached. Securing means (not shown) are provide to secure the mirror 15 in at least the first and second operational positions.

As before, irrespective of whether the mirror 15 is in its first or second operational positions, a driver of the vehicle is able to view objects to the side/rear of the vehicle. As shown, in the first operational position the mirror 15 is substantially horizontally arranged and in the second operational position the mirror 15 is substantially vertically arranged.

With reference to Figs. 6 and 7 there is shown a securing means suitable for securing a mirror such as the mirror 15 to a support such as the support 16.

A mirror 105 comprises of a frame 116 and a reflective part 117 attached to the frame 116 by, in this case, adhesive bonding. As before the mirror 105 has a first operational position and a second operational position.

The frame 116 includes a boss 115 having a central bore in which is secured by co-moulding a pivot pin 119. An end face of the boss 115 has four recesses 118 formed therein for cooperation with four teeth 107 formed on an end portion of a support 106. A spring 108 held captive by a circlip 109 engaged with an outer end of the pivot pin 119 is used to bias the teeth 107 into engagement with the recesses 118.

The teeth 107 and the recesses 118 are located so as to define two predefined positions corresponding to the first and second operational positions of the mirror 105. In the example shown the two predefined positions are arranged at ninety degrees to one another because the mirror 105 is moved between horizontal and vertical orientations when it is moved between its first and second operational positions.

It will however be appreciated that the angle between these two predefined positions could be more or less than ninety degrees.

To move the mirror 105 between its two predefined positions a user pulls the mirror 105 so as to axially displace the mirror 105 in the direction of the arrow E' on Fig.6. This action compresses the spring 108 and releases the teeth 107 from the recesses 118. The mirror 105 can then be rotated towards the other operational position and, as soon as the mirror 105 is rotated a few degrees from the current operational position, the axial force can be removed and rotation of the mirror 105 can continue. When the mirror 105 reaches the other predefined rotational position, the teeth align with the other sets of recesses 118 and automatically re-engage under the action of the spring 108.

It is therefore a simple operation for a user of the motor vehicle to move the mirror 105 between its first and second operational positions.

It will however be appreciated that instead of manually moving a mirror between first and second operational positions it would be possible to provide a motorised drive to rotate the mirror between these two positions.

Alternatively, it is possible to provide a manual user operated device located within a passenger compartment of the motor vehicle to remotely move a mirror between the first and second operational positions.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that although the invention has been described by way of example with reference to one or more embodiments it is not limited to the disclosed embodiments and that one or more modifications to the disclosed embodiments or alternative embodiments could be constructed without departing from the scope of the invention as set out in the appended claims.

Claims (10)

1. -10 -Claims 1. A rear view mirror assembly for a motor vehicle comprising a mirror and a support to attach the mirror to a door of the motor vehicle wherein the mirror is rotatable relative to the support about a substantially horizontal axis from a first operational position to a second operational position so as to reduce the distance the mirror projects from the motor vehicle.
2. 2. An assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein the mirror extends substantially outwardly from the support in the first operational position and extends substantially upwardly from the support in the second operational position.
3. 3. An assembly as claimed in claim 1 or in claim 2 in which the mirror is an elongate mirror having a longitudinal axis wherein, in the first operational position, the longitudinal axis of the mirror is arranged substantially horizontally and, in the second operational position, the longitudinal axis of the mirror is arranged substantially vertically.
4. 4. An assembly as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3 wherein the mirror is pivotally connected to the support near to one end for rotation about the substantially horizontal axis.
5. 5. An assembly as claimed in any of claims 1 to 4 wherein the mirror assembly includes a securing means to selectively hold the mirror in at least the first and second operational positions.
6. 6. An assembly as claimed in claim 5 wherein the securing means provides two predefined rotational positions -11 -for securing the mirror corresponding to the first and second operational positions.
7. 7. A motor vehicle having a front door adjacent a driver of the motor vehicle and a mirror assembly as claimed in any of claims 1 to 6 attached to the front door.
8. 8. A motor vehicle as claimed in claim 7 wherein the motor vehicle has two front doors and each of the front doors has a mirror assembly as claimed in any of claims 1 to 7 attached to it.
9. 9. A rear view mirror assembly substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawinq.
10. 10. A motor vehicle substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawing.