AU2021202062A1

AU2021202062A1 - Vehicle mirrors

Info

Publication number: AU2021202062A1
Application number: AU2021202062A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Shane Miles
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2020-05-26
Filing date: 2021-04-01
Publication date: 2021-12-16
Also published as: AU2021107651B4; AU2021107651A4; AU2022100051A4; AU2022201814A1

Abstract

A towing mirror including a mount adapted to be mounted to the cabin of a vehicle, a first extension component extending from said mount, said first extension component including an upper arm and a lower arm spaced below said upper arm, a second extension component including an upper first sleeve (or sleeve portion) and a lower first sleeve (or sleeve portion) spaced from said upper first sleeve such that said upper and lower first sleeves may slide along said upper and lower arms in unison between a retracted position and an extended position, a third extension component including an upper second sleeve (or sleeve portion) and a lower second sleeve (or sleeve portion) connected to said upper second sleeve in spaced apart relationship such that said upper and lower second sleeves may slide along said upper and lower first sleeves respectively between a retracted position and an extended position and a mirror component operatively connected to said third extension component. leg

Description

leg

VEHICLE MIRRORS

This invention relates to vehicle mirrors and in particular

mirrors of the type which are mounted outside the cabin and more

particularly those mirrors known as "towing mirrors". The

invention is briefly described in the applicants earlier

Australian applications No. 2020901710 and No. 2020902716 which

are included herein in their entirety by way of reference.

Towing mirrors are typically fitted to vehicles when towing

caravans, fifth wheelers or other vehicles in order to extend

the rearward line of sight of the driver beyond the caravan or

other vehicle being towed. Towing vehicles may be a two wheel

drive vehicle such as a sedan but in recent years with the advent

of larger caravans and off-road destinations, the towing vehicle

is typically a large four-wheel-drive vehicle such as a Toyota

Landcruiser, Nissan Patrol, Ford F250 or the like and the caravan

is typically significantly wider than the towing vehicle.

Historically, the caravanning public temporarily mounted

towing mirrors to the driver side door of the towing vehicle for

the journey to a holiday destination so that the driver could

see following traffic and then removed them when the destination

was reached so that the vehicle could be used at the destination

or left them on if the vehicle was not needed. If the mirrors

are removed upon reaching the desired destination they would

have to be refitted for the return journey which might be some

two or three weeks later. However, nowadays, people seem to

holiday by way of continual travel so that the caravan might be

unhitched for only one or two days in many cases while the towing

vehicle is used for local sightseeing. Consequently, the

temporary towing mirrors are removed and replaced much more often that used to be the case and consequently the older style temporary towing mirrors are generally unsatisfactory. Moreover, nowadays there is considerably more traffic on the roads travelling at a greater speed than in earlier years and towing mirrors need to be more stable and more structurally sound. In that respect, the wind turbulence created by trucks and semi trailers travelling on the highways causes shock loads and vibration which sometimes causes damage to passing vehicles, especially components which extend from the vehicle cabin such as mirrors.

In recent years, permanent towing mirrors have been

developed which allow the mirror to be easily moved from a non

towing position to a towing position and vice versa. However,

while such mirrors provide easier movement of the mirror, they

sometimes do not meet the requirements of government

authorities.

In that respect, Government authorities in some countries

specify the maximum extent of a towing mirror beyond the cabin

of the towing vehicle in the situation when the vehicle is not

towing and a greater maximum extent when it is towing. For

example, the maximum extent of the mirror beyond the widest part

of the cabin might be 150 mm when the vehicle is not towing

anything and 390 mm when the vehicle is towing a caravan which

might be necessary in order to give the driver vision beyond the

caravan being towed. However, some of the permanent towing

mirrors which are presently available and suitable for vehicles

when towing cannot be easily retracted or repositioned to meet

the specifications when not towing.

In this specification, the term "permanent towing mirror"

is to be understood as referring to a towing mirror which is

movable from a non-towing position to a towing position and vice

versa even though it may be removed entirely from the vehicle

and replaced by the vehicle's own factory mirror when the vehicle

is no longer being used to tow a caravan or the like.

The present invention is aimed at providing permanent

towing mirrors which are adjustable from a non-towing (or

retracted or stowed) position in which the mirror is closer to

the vehicle cabin and a towing (or extended) position in which

the mirror provides the desired rearward vision. There might be

a number of extended positions such as partially or fully

extended.

With the foregoing in view, the invention in one aspect

resides broadly in a towing mirror including:

a mount adapted to be mounted to the cabin of a vehicle;

a first extension component extending from said mount, said

first extension component including an upper arm and a lower arm

spaced below said upper arm;

a second extension component including an upper first

sleeve (or sleeve portion) and a lower first sleeve (or sleeve

portion) spaced from said upper first sleeve such that said

upper and lower first sleeves may slide along said upper and

lower arms in unison between a retracted position and an extended

position;

a third extension component including an upper second

sleeve (or sleeve portion) and a lower second sleeve (or sleeve

portion) connected to said upper second sleeve in spaced apart relationship such that said upper and lower second sleeves may slide along said upper and lower first sleeves respectively between a retracted position and an extended position; and a mirror component operatively connected to said third extension component.

Preferably, said upper arm and said lower arm define a

passage therebetween.

Preferably, each of the sleeves or sleeve portions have a

generally constant inner cross-sectional shape along their

lengths although the outer cross-sectional shape may vary. For

example, the inner shape may be circular, square, rectangular.

elliptical, ovular, obround etc and is generally of constant

shape and diameter along its length. However, the sleeves may

be incomplete in that the walls may be formed by spaced apart

ribs or the like or they may be incomplete by way of slots,

perforations or the like.

In one form of the invention it is preferred that said

second extension component includes a bridging component or

portion extending between said upper and lower first sleeves,

said bridging component or portion and said upper and lower

first sleeves being constructed such that distortion of said

upper and lower first sleeves is inhibited or preferably

prevented and in particular twisting and bending relative to

each other is substantially inhibited or prevented so that they

are maintained in the same plane and are substantially parallel

thereby allowing sliding movement between the extended and retracted positions to be readily achieved by the driver of the vehicle to which the mirror is attached.

In another form of the invention it is preferred that said

third extension component includes a bridging component or

portion extending between said upper and lower second sleeves,

said bridging component or portion and said upper and lower

second sleeves being constructed such that distortion of said

upper and lower second sleeves is inhibited or preferably

prevented and in particular twisting and bending relative to

each other is substantially inhibited or prevented so that they

are maintained in the same plane and are substantially parallel

thereby allowing sliding movement between the extended and

retracted positions to be readily achieved by the driver of the

vehicle to which the mirror is attached. In one such preferred

form, the mirror component includes a cowl about the mirror lens

and the upper and lower sleeves of the third extension component

are formed with the cowl. In such form, it is preferred that the

upper and lower sleeves extend substantially across the width

of the cowl and are moulded therewith to have support

substantially along the full length of the sleeves.

It will be appreciated that the mirror component may be

moved from a fully retracted position to a fully extended

position by moving the second extension component from the

retracted position to the extended position relative to the

first extension component and then the third extension component

from its retracted position to its extended position or vice

versa. It will also be appreciated that the mirror component can

be locked in any intermediate position between the fully

retracted position and the fully extended position. It will also be appreciated that in some forms of the invention, the mirror component may be moved to a half-extended position by moving either the second extension component relative to the first extension component or the third extension component relative to the second extension component. Advantageously, moving the third extension component relative to the second components allows the second extension component to be fully retracted thereby allowing the first extension component to reinforce the first extension component. Such an arrangement may give better performance and less vibration on rough terrain such as corrugated gravel roads.

In one form of the invention, movement of the third extension component relative to the second extension component is not dependent upon the position of the second extension component relative to the first extension component or the mount. Thus, the mirror may be moved away from the mount in a generally horizontal direction by moving the third extension component from a stowed position to an extended position relative to the second extension component and/or by moving the second extension component from a stowed position to an extended position relative to the first extension component. Suitably, the maximum distance the mirror may be spaced from the mount will be achieved when both the second and third extension components are in their extended positions.

Preferably, the towing mirror includes locking means for locking the second extension component to the first extension component in a desired relative position. In one form of the invention the locking means includes a clamp on each of the upper and lower first sleeves which are adapted to force a dog against the upper and lower respective arms. In another form, the clamp is arranged to squeeze a segmented end portion of the sleeves so that they grip the respective upper and lower arms to lock them in any desired position. Suitably, similar arrangements are made with respect to locking the third extension component to the second extension component.

In another form of the invention, means are provided for

preventing movement of the third extension component relative

to the second extension component until the second extension

component has reached its extended position relative to the

first extension component.

In an alternative form of the invention, the reverse is the

case and similar means are provided for preventing movement of

the second extension component relative to the first extension

component until the third extension component has reached its

extended position relative to the second extension component.

In still another form of the invention, the second and

third extension components may be connected so that as the second

extension component moves relative to the first extension

component, the third extension component moves relative to the

second extension component.

In one preferred form, the third extension component is

arranged to slide longitudinally relative to the second

extension component to thereby move from the retracted position

to the extended position. Similarly, the second extension

component is arranged to slide longitudinally relative to the first extension component to thereby move from the fully retracted position to the fully extended position. In such forms, it is preferred that the sliding components incorporate keying means which prevent one component rotating or pivoting relative to the other through an arc about a longitudinal axis.

While the invention has upper and lower spaced apart

extension components which substantially prevent rotation of the

sleeves relative to each other, in a preferred form, the sliding

components have complementary noncircular cross-sectional

shapes such as rectangular whereby one can slide tightly inside

the other thereby further inhibiting any relative rotational

movement. In another form, one or more longitudinally extending

protrusions and a complementary longitudinal recess are provided

respectively on one component and the other component to further

prevent relative rotational movement therebetween so as to

further reduce mirror vibration.

In another aspect, the invention resides broadly in a

towing mirror including:

a mount adapted to be mounted to the cabin of a vehicle;

a first extension component extending from said mount, said

first extension component including an upper arm and a lower arm

spaced below said upper arm, said upper arm and said lower arm

defining a passage therebetween;

a second extension component including an upper first

sleeve (or sleeve portion) and a lower first sleeve (or sleeve

portion) connected to said upper first sleeve in spaced apart

relationship such that said upper and lower first sleeves may slide along said upper and lower arms respectively between a retracted position and an extended position; a mirror component operatively connected to said second extension component for pivoting movement relative thereto about a generally horizontal axis extending substantially in the intended direction of travel of the vehicle to which the towing mirror is to be mounted and spaced from said vertical axis.

In yet another aspect, the invention resides broadly in a

towing mirror including:

a mount adapted to be mounted to the cabin of a vehicle;

a first extension component extending from said mount, said

first extension component including an upper arm and a lower arm

spaced below said upper arm, said upper arm and said lower arm

defining a passage therebetween;

a second extension component including an upper first

sleeve (or sleeve portion) and a lower first sleeve (or sleeve

portion) connected to said upper first sleeve in spaced apart

relationship such that said upper and lower first sleeves may

slide along said upper and lower arms respectively between a

retracted position and an extended position;

a third extension component including an upper second

sleeve (or sleeve portion) and a lower second sleeve (or sleeve

portion) connected to said upper second sleeve in spaced apart

relationship such that said upper and lower second sleeves may

slide along said upper and lower first sleeves respectively

between a retracted position and an extended position; and

a mirror component operatively connected to said third

extension component for pivoting movement relative thereto about

a generally horizontal axis extending substantially in the intended direction of travel of the vehicle to which the towing mirror is to be mounted and spaced from said vertical axis.

In yet another aspect, the invention resides broadly in a

towing mirror including:

a mount adapted to be mounted to the cabin of a vehicle;

an extension component extending from said mount, said

extension component including an upper arm and a lower arm spaced

below said upper arm, said upper arm and said lower arm defining

a passage therebetween;

a second extension component including an upper sleeve and

a lower sleeve connected to said upper sleeve in spaced apart

relationship such that said upper and lower sleeves may slide

along said upper and lower arms respectively between a retracted

position and an extended position; and

a mirror component operatively connected to said second

extension component.

In all the different aspects of the invention described

above, the various preferred features mentioned may be included

in those aspects as desired. Similarly, specific attributes

mentioned in the description of the drawings may also be included

with any of the aspects described above.

In this specification, the terms "vertical" and

"horizontal" have been used to differentiate two degrees of

freedom or two general modes of movement. However, those terms

are intended only to express a general orientation to achieve

rotational movement forwards and backwards in the general direction of travel and inwards and outwards away from the vehicle cabin and upwards and downwards to achieve rotational movement towards and away from the vehicle cabin and are not to be construed as limiting the invention to any particular orientation.

Also, in this specification, sometimes the term "component"

is used to encompass items which might be connected in some

embodiments of the invention about might be separate in other

embodiments of the invention but work in unison. For example,

the term "extension component" in some embodiments of the

invention is used to refer to an upper arm and a lower arm which

work together in unison but may or may not be physically

connected or an upper sleeve and a lower sleeve which may or may

not be physically connected.

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood

and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the

accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. la is a pictorial representation of a towing mirror

according to the invention with a mount adapted to be fitted to

the left side of a vehicle cabin with the mirror in the fully

retracted position;

Fig. lb is a pictorial representation of the towing mirror

of Fig. la with the mirror in the fully extended position;

Fig. 1c is an elevation of the towing mirror of Fig. la

viewed from the front of the vehicle with the mirror in the

fully retracted position;

Fig. 1d is an elevation of the towing mirror of Fig. la

viewed from the front of the vehicle with the mirror in the

fully extended position;

Fig. le is a plan of the towing mirror of Fig. la viewed

from above with the mirror in the fully retracted position;

Fig. lf is a plan of the towing mirror of Fig. la viewed

from above with the mirror in the fully extended position;

Fig. lg is a pictorial representation of the towing mirror

of Fig. la with a different mirror component and with the

different in the fully extended position;

Fig. lh is an end view of the mirror component of the towing

mirror illustrated in Fig. lg;

Fig. 2a is a pictorial representation of a towing mirror

according to the invention with a mount adapted to be fitted to

the left side of a vehicle cabin with the mirror in the fully

retracted position;

Fig. 2b is a pictorial representation of the towing mirror

of Fig. 2a with the mirror in the fully extended position;

Fig. 2c is an elevation of the towing mirror of Fig. 2a

viewed from the front of the vehicle with the mirror in the

fully retracted position;

Fig. 2d is an elevation of the towing mirror of Fig. 2a

viewed from the front of the vehicle with the mirror in the

fully extended position;

Fig. 2e is a plan of the towing mirror of Fig. 2a viewed

from above with the mirror in the fully retracted position;

Fig. 2f is a plan of the towing mirror of Fig. 2a viewed

from above with the mirror in the fully extended position;

Fig. 3a is a pictorial representation of a towing mirror

according to the invention with a mount adapted to be fitted to

the left side of a vehicle cabin with the mirror in the fully

retracted position;

Fig. 3b is a pictorial representation of the towing mirror

of Fig. 3a with the mirror in the fully extended position;

Fig. 3c is an elevation of the towing mirror of Fig. 3a

viewed from the front of the vehicle with the mirror in the

fully retracted position;

Fig. 3d is an elevation of the towing mirror of Fig. 3a

viewed from the front of the vehicle with the mirror in the

fully extended position;

Fig. 3e is a plan of the towing mirror of Fig. 3a viewed

from above with the mirror in the fully retracted position;

Fig. 3f is a plan of the towing mirror of Fig. 3a viewed

from above with the mirror in the fully extended position;

Fig. 4a is a pictorial representation of a towing mirror

according to the invention with a mount adapted to be fitted to

the left side of a vehicle cabin with the mirror in the fully

retracted position;

Fig. 4b is a pictorial representation of the towing mirror

of Fig. 4a with the mirror in the fully extended position;

Fig. 4c is an elevation of the towing mirror of Fig. 4a

viewed from the front of the vehicle with the mirror in the

fully retracted position;

Fig. 4d is an elevation of the towing mirror of Fig. 4a

viewed from the front of the vehicle with the mirror in the

fully extended position;

Fig. 4e is a plan of the towing mirror of Fig. 4a viewed from above with the mirror in the fully retracted position;

Fig. 4f is a plan of the towing mirror of Fig. 4a viewed

from above with the mirror in the fully extended position; and

Fig. 4g is a longitudinal cross section view of the towing

mirror of Fig. 4a viewed from the front of the vehicle along

line 4g - 4g.

The towing mirror or towing mirror assembly 10 illustrated

in Figs. la to Fig. lf includes amount 11 adapted to be mounted

to the outer skin of the left hand door of a vehicle typically,

a four wheel drive vehicle such as a Toyota Land Cruiser. The

mount includes an outwardly extending block or boss 12 to which

a first extension component 13 is mounted by a pivot pin 14 to

allow pivoting movement of the first extension component

relative to the boss 12 about a generally vertical axis 16.

The first extension component 13 includes parallel upper and

lower arms 13a and 13b respectively having parallel longitudinal

axes 13c and 13d respectively which are contained in the same

vertical plane.

A second extension component 19 is arranged to move from a

retracted position to an extended position relative to the first

extension component. For that purpose, the second extension

component comprises an upper first sleeve 19a and a lower first

sleeve 19b which are spaced apart with parallel longitudinal

axes and are arranged such that the upper first sleeve can slide

along the upper arm 13a of the first extension component in

unison with the lower first sleeve which slides along the lower arm 13b of the first extension component between a retracted position and an extended position.

Similarly, a third extension component 24 is arranged to

move from a retracted position to an extended position relative

to the second extension component. For that purpose, the third

extension component comprises an upper second sleeve 24a and a

lower second sleeve 24b which are spaced apart with parallel

longitudinal axes and are arranged such that the upper second

sleeve can slide along the upper first sleeve of the second

extension component in unison with the lower second sleeve which

slides along the lower first sleeve of the second extension

component between a retracted position and an extended position.

A mirror component 31 extends forwardly from the third

extension component, the mirror component comprising a cowl 32

and a mirror lens (not shown) mounted in the cowl for up and

down and in and out movement relative thereto in no one manner.

The upper and lower sleeves 24a and 24b are secured to the back

wall 32b of the cowl 32 by screw fasteners (not shown) extending

from within the cowl through the back wall and into the sleeves.

However, in other embodiments of the invention, the sleeves are

moulded as part of the mirror cowl as can be seen in Figs. lg

and lh.

It will be appreciated that the mirror cowl 32 forms a

bridge between the upper and lower second sleeves and acts as a

reinforcing panel which prevents or at least substantially

inhibits relative movement between the sleeves so that the

longitudinal axes of the sleeves remain parallel and in the same

vertical plane. In that respect, while the term "vertical plane"

is used to describe various embodiments of the invention, it will also be appreciated that such a plane need not be perfectly vertical in a geometric sense but in fact could be slightly inclined.

The second and third extension components can be

effectively locked in any desired position by the clamping

members 41 and 42. Various types of clamping members may be

utilised to force sleeve 19a and 19b into frictional engagement

with the respective arms 13a and 13b and similarly for clamping

members 42 to force sleeves 24a and 24b into engagement with

sleeves 19a and 19b respectively. In this embodiment, the

clamping members are tubular in form with the hollow being

slightly out of round or "elliptical" and the end portion of the

sleeves having a complementary outer shape whereby rotation of

the clamping member relative to the sleeve forces a portion of

the sleeve into engagement with the relevant arm.

In use, the mirror component 31 can be moved to any desired

position between a fully retracted position as shown in Fig la

and a fully extended position as shown in Fig. lb or Fig. lg in

the case of the different mirror component. Also, the mirror

component together with the three extension components can be

pivoted or rotated through an arc of about 90° on pivot pin 14

so as to effectively fold the mirror component against the door

of the cabin to which the mirror is mounted.

The towing mirror illustrated in Figs 2a to 2f is similar

to the towing mirror illustrated in Figs la to lf in many

respects and consequently corresponding reference numbers are

used to reference corresponding components where possible but

prefaced by a "1".

Towing mirror 110 illustrated in Figs. 2a to 2f operates

generally in the same manner as towing mirror 10, the main

difference being that mirror component 131 pivots about a

horizontal axis 135 extending generally in the direction of

travel of the vehicle to which it is attached as can be seen in

Fig. 2c. For that purpose, lower second sleeve 120 4B

incorporates a pivot head 143 with a central pivot shaft (not

shown), the pivot head and the shaft engaging with a

complementary protuberance incorporated in the mirror cowl 132.

Advantageously, pivoting about horizontal pivot axis 135 allows

an increase with the vision as can be seen in Fig 2f.

It also allows more vision options at any position between

the fully retracted position and the fully extended position,

one example being shown in Fig. 2e. It will also be seen that a

bridge portion 141 extends from the upper second sleeve 124a and

the lower second sleeve 124b to hold those two sleeves together

and reinforce them against twisting and bending.

The towing mirror illustrated in Figs 3a to 3h is also

similar to the towing mirror illustrated in Figs 2a to 2f in

many respects and consequently corresponding reference numbers

are used to reference corresponding components where possible

but prefaced by a "2" instead of a "1".

Towing mirror 210 illustrated in Figs. 3a to 3h operates

generally in the same manner as towing mirror 10, the main

difference being that the first upper and lower sleeves 219a and

219b are selectively locked to the upper and lower arms 213a and

213b respectively by rollers or balls (not shown) which are

arranged to roll on the surface of the arms and to engage in

spaced apart recesses 251 provided in the arms under the action

of biasing means such as compression springs. The balls or

rollers (as the case may be) together with the biasing means are

housed in upper housing 156a and lower housing 256b

respectively.

Similarly, the second upper and lower sleeves 224a and 224b

are selectively locked to the first upper and lower sleeves in

the same manner with the rollers or balls being arranged to

engage in recesses 252 formed in the respective walls of the

first upper and lower sleeves and the rollers or balls together

with the biasing means are housed in respective upper and lower

housings 257a and 257b respectively. As can be seen in Fig 3d,

the upper and lower housings 256a and 256b are joined midway

between the upper and lower sleeves 219a and 219b and similarly

between upper and lower sleeves 224a and 224b for housings 257a

and 257b. In this embodiment of the invention, the housings are

arranged such that the biasing means and the balls or rollers

are between the upper and lower sleeves but in another

embodiment, they are outside the sleeves as will be described

later. Also, while in this embodiment, each roller or ball and

its biasing means has its own housing, in another embodiment, a

single housing is provided with a roller or ball for the upper

arm or sleeve and the lower arm or sleeve with a single biasing

means such as a spring between the rollers or balls.

The towing mirror illustrated in Figs 4a to 4f is similar

to the towing mirror illustrated in Figs 3a to 3j in many

respects and consequently corresponding reference numbers are used to reference corresponding components where possible but prefaced by a "3" instead of a "2".

Towing mirror 310 illustrated in Figs. 4a to 4f operates

generally in the same manner as towing mirror 210, the main

difference being that the balls or rollers 361a, 361b, 363a and

363b which engage the arms or sleeves (as the case may be)

instead of being arranged between the upper and lower sleeves

are arranged outside the sleeves and the springs 362a, 362b,

364a and 364b are mounted in their respective housings 356a,

356b, 357a and 357b which are outside the sleeves. However, the

housings also extend between the upper and lower first sleeves

thereby forming a bridge therebetween so as to inhibit twisting

and bending of the first sleeves thereby reinforcing the first

extension component, the second extension component and the

third extension component.

As can be seen in Fig. 4b the recesses for receiving the

locking rollers or balls are located in the upper face of the

upper arms and first extension sleeve and the lower face of the

lower arms and the first extension sleeve. It will also be seen

that the housings 356a and 357a for the rollers and balls and

their respective biasing means extends upwards beyond the upper

arm and the upper first extension sleeve wherein the biasing

means and the respective rollers or balls are housed in the

extended part of the housing. Similarly, the housing 356b and

357b for the rollers and balls and their respective biasing

means extends downwards beyond the lower arm and the lower first

extension sleeve and the respective rollers or balls are housed

in the extended part of the housings.

In use, two towing mirrors are provided for a motor vehicle

according to the invention, each being opposite handed to the

other. The towing mirrors are normally left in their fully

retracted position when the vehicle is not towing anything. If

a small towed vehicle is hitched to the towing vehicle, such as

a trailer or small boat, one or both towing mirrors may be

extended to their partially extended position by sliding the

second member out from the first member.

While the foregoing description has been given by way of

illustrative example of the invention, it will be understood

that the invention may be embodied in many other forms and all

such forms are deemed to fall within the broad scope and ambit

of the invention as hereinbefore described or defined by the

appended claims.

Claims

THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOWS:

1. A towing mirror including:

a mount adapted to be mounted to the cabin of a vehicle;

a first extension component extending from said mount, said

first extension component including an upper arm and a lower arm

spaced below said upper arm;

a second extension component including an upper first

sleeve (or sleeve portion) and a lower first sleeve (or sleeve

portion) spaced from said upper first sleeve such that said

upper and lower first sleeves may slide along said upper and

lower arms in unison between a retracted position and an extended

position;

a third extension component including an upper second

sleeve (or sleeve portion) and a lower second sleeve (or sleeve

portion) connected to said upper second sleeve in spaced apart

relationship such that said upper and lower second sleeves may

slide along said upper and lower first sleeves respectively

between a retracted position and an extended position; and

a mirror component operatively connected to said third

extension component.

2. A towing mirror according to claim 1 wherein said upper arm

and said lower arm define a passage therebetween.

3. A towing mirror according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein each

of said sleeves or sleeve portions have a generally constant

inner cross-sectional shape along their lengths.

-TVTT IF 7 1 - 7 qqq

4. A towing mirror according to claim 3 wherein said inner cross

sectional shape is generally circular.

5. A towing mirror according to any one of the preceding claims

wherein said second extension component includes a bridging

component or portion extending between said upper and lower

first sleeves.

6. A towing mirror according to claim 5 wherein, said bridging

component or portion and said upper and lower first sleeves are

constructed such that distortion by twisting or bending of said

upper and lower first sleeves is substantially inhibited.

7. A towing mirror according to any one of the preceding claims

wherein said third extension component includes a bridging

component or portion extending between said upper and lower

second sleeves, said bridging component or portion and said

upper and lower second sleeves being constructed such that

twisting and/or bending relative to each other is substantially

inhibited.

8. A towing mirror according to any one of the preceding claims

wherein said mirror component includes a cowl and the upper and

lower sleeves of the third extension are formed with the cowl.

9. A towing mirror according to claim 8 wherein said upper and

lower sleeves of said third extension component extend

substantially across the width of the cowl and are moulded

-TVTT IF 7 1 - 7 qqq therewith so as to have support substantially along the full length of the sleeves.

10. A towing mirror according to any one of the preceding claims

including locking means for locking the second extension

component to the first extension component in a desired relative

position and/or locking means for locking the third extension

component to the second extension component.

11. A towing mirror according to claim 10 wherein said locking

means includes a clamp on each of the upper and lower first

sleeves which are adapted to force an end portion into locking

engagement with said upper and lower arms so they grip the

respective upper and lower arms to lock them in any desired

position.

12. A towing mirror according to claim 10 or claim 11 wherein

said locking means includes a clamp on each of the upper and

lower second sleeves which are adapted to force an end portion

of said second sleeves into locking engagement with said upper

and lower first sleeves so they grip the respective upper and

lower first sleeves to lock them in any desired position.

13. A towing mirror according to any one of claims 5 to 7 wherein

said bridging component or portion is a housing adapted to house

locking means for locking the second extension component to the

first extension component in a desired relative position and/or

locking means for locking the third extension component to the

second extension component.

-TVTT IF 7 1 - 7 qqq

14. A towing mirror according to any one of the preceding claims

including means for preventing movement of the third extension

component relative to the second extension component until the

second extension component has reached its extended position

relative to the first extension component.

15. A towing mirror according to any one of the preceding claims

including means for preventing movement of the second extension

component relative to the first extension component until the

third extension component has reached its extended position

relative to the second extension component.

16. A towing mirror according to any one of the preceding claims

wherein said arms and sleeves have complementary cross-sectional

shapes adapted to prevent relative rotation between said arms

and said respective upper and lower first sleeves and between

said upper and lower first sleeves and said upper and lower

second sleeves.

17. A towing mirror according to any one of the preceding claims

wherein said complementary non-circular shapes are non-circular.

18. A towing mirror including:

a mount adapted to be mounted to the cabin of a vehicle;

a first extension component extending from said mount, said

first extension component including an upper arm and a lower arm

spaced below said upper arm, said upper arm and said lower arm

defining a passage therebetween;

-TVTT IF 7 1 - 7 qqq a second extension component including an upper first sleeve (or sleeve portion) and a lower first sleeve (or sleeve portion) connected to said upper first sleeve in spaced apart relationship such that said upper and lower first sleeves may slide along said upper and lower arms respectively between a retracted position and an extended position; a mirror component operatively connected to said second extension component for pivoting movement relative thereto about a generally horizontal axis extending substantially in the intended direction of travel of the vehicle to which the towing mirror is to be mounted and spaced from said vertical axis.

19. A towing mirror including:

a mount adapted to be mounted to the cabin of a vehicle;

a first extension component extending from said mount, said

first extension component including an upper arm and a lower arm

spaced below said upper arm, said upper arm and said lower arm

defining a passage therebetween;

a second extension component including an upper first

sleeve (or sleeve portion) and a lower first sleeve (or sleeve

portion) connected to said upper first sleeve in spaced apart

relationship such that said upper and lower first sleeves may

slide along said upper and lower arms respectively between a

retracted position and an extended position;

a third extension component including an upper second

sleeve (or sleeve portion) and a lower second sleeve (or sleeve

portion) connected to said upper second sleeve in spaced apart

relationship such that said upper and lower second sleeves may

slide along said upper and lower first sleeves respectively

between a retracted position and an extended position; and

-TVTT IF 7 1 - 7 qqq a mirror component operatively connected to said third extension component for pivoting movement relative thereto about a generally horizontal axis extending substantially in the intended direction of travel of the vehicle to which the towing mirror is to be mounted and spaced from said vertical axis.

20. A towing mirror including:

a mount adapted to be mounted to the cabin of a vehicle;

an extension component extending from said mount, said

extension component including an upper arm and a lower arm spaced

below said upper arm, said upper arm and said lower arm defining

a passage therebetween;

a second extension component including an upper sleeve and

a lower sleeve connected to said upper sleeve in spaced apart

relationship such that said upper and lower sleeves may slide

along said upper and lower arms respectively between a retracted

position and an extended position; and

a mirror component operatively connected to said second

extension component.

-TVTT IF 7 1 - 7 qqq