GB1271647A - External driving mirror for motor vehicles - Google Patents

Abstract

1,271,647. Rear-view mirrors. Y. J. TALBOT. 28 July, 1969 [6 Aug., 1968], No. 37363/68. Heading B7J. An external driving mirror for motor vehicles comprises a mounting 4 connecting one end of an arm 1 to the vehicle front door, the other end of the arm adjustably carrying a mirror unit 7, the arrangement being such that when the mirror unit receives an impact it tends to be deflected to lie substantially parallel to the vehicle body, returning to its original position after impact. The mirror unit 7, incorporating resilient pads 31 and 32, is attached to an intermediate member 9 forming a frictional ball-joint 8, and this intermediate member is connected to the arm 1 by a tapered set-screw 34. A catch 10, having teeth 26, 26<SP>1</SP> is attached to the arm 1 by a bolt 25 passing through a slotted hole and a toothed lock washer 42, thereby allowing lateral rotational movement of the member 10 relative to the intermediate member 9. The arm is seated on an abutment 6 of the mounting and carries in a slot at its bottom end a flat spring 18, attached to the arm by a bolt 17, whose ends are located in recesses 19. A sliding stop 20 is provided in the top of the mounting with an offset portion 23 which is movable to occupy the open portion of the elongated opening 5 to hold the arm steady when adjustment of the mirror unit is required. When the unit is subjected to an impact it is rotated, together with the arm, against the action of the spring 18. This rotational movement causes one of the teeth, 26<SP>1</SP>, for example, Fig. 7, to engage the stop-face 6 of the mounting, thereby driving the mirror unit and arm inwards towards the vehicle body. In a further embodiment (Fig. 10, not shown) a guide rail extends from the top of the mirror unit, to which it is pivoted, to a bracket on the vehicle body, and a cover may enclose the space between the guide rail, the bracket and the bottom of the mirror mounting.