GB1584449A

GB1584449A - Remotely adjustable mirror assemblies

Info

Publication number: GB1584449A
Application number: GB4745576A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Britax Wingard Ltd
Current assignee: SMR Automotive Mirrors UK Ltd
Priority date: 1977-11-08
Filing date: 1977-11-08
Publication date: 1981-02-11

Description

(54) IMPROVEMENTS IN REMOTELY ADJUSTABLE MIRROR ASSEMBLIES (71) We, BRITAX (WINGARD) LIMITED, (formerly Wingard Limited), of Chandler Road, Chichester, Sussex PO19 2UG, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: This invention relates to improvements in remotely adjustable mirror assemblies.

It is known to provide a remotely adjustable mirror assembly which includes a mirror head or casing fitted externally of a vehicle, the head or casing being mounted on the door of the vehicle and the orientation of the mirror being variable by means of a remote control fitted within the vehicle. The orientation of the mirror is varied by means of an electrical motor which is connected to a tilting mechanism through a reduction gear. The tilting mechanism is coupled to the mirror so that it can pivot simultaneously in two perpendicular planes. Such an assembly is expensive due to the cost of the motor and the reduction gear and there are problems of miniaturising the components to form an assembly which will fit into a mirror head or casing.

The object of the present invention is to provide a remotely adjustable mirror assembly which is suitable for manual operation and which has a construction enabling assembly of small dimensions to be produced. At least according to the preferred embodiments of the invention such an assembly can be installed into a wide variety of casings and can be located in different orientations to suit respective operating requirements.

According to the present invention there is provided a remotely adjustable mirror assembly comprising reflective means supported on a support member by first, second and third spacer menas disposed between the reflective means and the support member at respective corners of an imaginary triangle and by resilient means arranged to apply a force acting within the area bounded by the sides of said imaginary triangle to urge the reflective means and the support member towards one another, the assembly further comprising remote actuating means for varying the spacing between the reflective means and the support member caused by the first spacer means, thereby to effect pivotal movement of the reflective means about an axis passing through the second and third spacer means.

Preferably, the reflective means is pivotable independently, or simultaneously, about an axis passing through said first and third spacer means as well as about the axis passing through said second and third spacer means. In either case, said third spacer means preferably comprises a member which passes through a slot in said support member, abuts the support member for pivotal movement into and out of the slot and is capable of pivotal movement on an axis extending longitudinally of the slot. Preferably, the member which passes through the slot is a strip having opposite edges adjacent respective ends of the slot, one edge including a heel or cut out portion to abut said support member and the other edge being radiused with respect to said pivotal movement into and out of the slot. Sutfi- cient clearance is provided between the strip and the slot to enable the pivotal movement on the axis extending longitudinally of the slot. The reflective member is preferably attached to a backing plate which is supported by said member. However, it would be possible to attach the reflective member directly to the member which passes through the slot.

When the reflective member is attached to a backing plate, the backing plate is preferably supported for tilting movement by cams and cam followers which form the first and second spacer means. Preferably, the camming movement is due to linear motion of respective inclined planes. For example, the backing plate is preferably supported by cam followers engaging respective wedge shaped cams which are mounted for movement in the same linear direction.

Suitably, a pair of wedge shaped cams are slidably mounted in a single slot, the camming surfaces being oppositely inclined to one another.

Preferably, said remote actuating means comprises at least one cable or push rod having an end which is turned over and forced into a recessed member, said recessed member being movable to cause said tilting movement.

The preferred embodiment of the invention provides a remotely adjustable mirror assembly comprising a mirror supported by two ramped cams and by a pivoting member, the mirror being supported at points which are located at the comers of a triangle, the cams being slidable in a common groove and said member being pivotable in substantially perpendicular planes whereby said miror can be tilted. The pivoting member is a strip passing through a slotted plate, the strip having a heel to abut the plate and a radiused edge enabling pivotal movement of the strip in the plane of the slot, the strip also being pivotable about the longitudinal axis of the slot. Cam followers, attached to the mirror or a back plate therefore, bear on the cams and the mirror or its backing plate is retained by biasing means urging the same towards the cams and the pivoting member. Each cam is connected to a cable or push rod for causing the slidable movement, the cables or push rods being connected to respective control members or a common control member.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described in detail, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 represents a sectional elevation of a remotely adjustable mirror assembly Fig. 2 is a plan view of the assembly shown in Fig. 1, with the mirror backing plate removed, Fig. 3, is a detail of the assembly showing a pair of actuating cables, and Fig. 4 is a section on the line IV-IV of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, the remotely metal mirror backing plate 1 (Fig. 1) having a pair of cam followers 2 and 3. Plate 1 is urged towards a support plate 8 by means of a spring 4 (Fig. 4) connected between them. The cam followers 2, 3 are thereby urged towards the camming surfaces of a pair of respective wedges or ramped cams 5, 6. Both cams 5, 6 are slidable in a single groove 7 formed in the support plate 8. Plate 8 is normally located in and fixed to a mirror casing or head (not shown). The cams are slidable to tilt a mirror (not shown) attached to backing plate 1, as will be described below. In order to keep the size of the assembly as small as possible, the central part of groove 7 is used by both cams, at different times, to obtain extreme angles of tilt which are sometimes required.

The backing plate 1 has a leg 9 which is bent away from its major surface and which protrudes through a slot 10 in the support plate 8. The leg 9 is in the form of a strip having a heel 11 which rests on the surface 12 of plate 8 and acts as a first pivoting axis. This enables pivotal movement of strip 9 in the plane of slot 10, the opposite edge 91 being radiused on an arc centered at the pivot point defined by heel 11. The heel 11 prevents the strip 9 from being forced through the slot 10. The strip 9 is also pivotable about the longitudinal axis of slot 10 by virtue of the clearance between the major surfaces of strip 9 and the longitudinally edges of slot 10. This forms a second pivoting axis. Strip 9 is therefore capable of pivoting on the first and second axes which are substantially perpendicular to one another. The resultant movement is comparable with a spherical joint.

Cams 5 and 6 are connected to respective sheathed cables or push rods 15, 16 (Fig.

3. The inner cable or rod can be reciprocated with respect to the sleeve and to a sleeve holder 17 to reciprocate the respective cam.

Referring to Fig. 2, it can be seen that the backing plate 1 is stupported at the corners of an imaginary triangle, which corners are defined by the points of contact 51, 61 between the respective cams 5, 6 and cam followers 2, 3 and the point of contact of heel 11 with the surface 12 of support plate 8. If cam 5 is moved, the backing plate 1 will pivot about an axis on line AA. If cam 6 is moved the backing plate 1 will pivot on an axis about line BB. If both cams 5, 6 are moved simultaneously, the backing plate 1 pivot about both axes to give a compound tilting movement. The lines AA and BB are substantially perpendicular to one another, as shown in Fig. 2, but this is not essential. Spring 4 lies within the boundaries of the imaginary triangle, preferably at or adjacent a geometric centre, so as to pull the backing plate 1 equally onto the supporting points 51, 61 and 11. The arrangement is usually such that the assembly is not damaged by a bystander who tries to reorientate the mirror out of curiosity.

If such a person presses the mirror within the area of the imaginary triangle, mirror movement is not possible and no damage results to the mechanism. If he presses outside of the triangular area, the mirror merely tips away from one of its contacts and extends spring 4. When released, the mirror returns to its original position and no damage is caused.

As shown in Fig. 3, the two operating cables or push rods have sleeves which are gripped in a bracket 17 formed at one end of support plate 8 (Fig. 2). A bracket 17 is formed at each end of plate 8 so that the unit can be used either way round to suit any installation. Each wedge shaped cam 5, 6 has a recess 18 in its space for receiving the end of a respective inner cable (15, 16).

The end of the cable is bent over and forced into the respective recess.

Whilst scale is not illustrated, the approximate size of the support plate 8 is such that the mirror assembly is small enough to fit into a variety of different casings. As it is small, the assembly may be differently orientated so that cables 15, 16 may emerge at different angles to suit particular requirements. When the assembly is mounted horizontally, as seen in Fig. 2, the axes of movement are not horizontal and vertical but at approximately 45" to the ground. This makes no difference as long as the control end of the assembly allows for both horizontal and vertical "joy stick" movement within the vehicle. This results in compound cam movements to give true horizontal and vertical scanning of the mirror support plate 1.

With regard to Fig. 2, it can be seen that the angle of inclination of line AA or BB, in a plane perpendicular thereto and out of the plane of the paper, depends on the position of the opposite cam 5, 6. Thus, the rate of change of mirror angle for a given rate of change of one cam varies according to the position of the other cam.

The invention described herein may be used in conjunction with the control for a remotely adjustable mirror assembly described in our copending Application No.

1915/77 (Serial No. 1,514,897).

WHAT WE CLAIM IS:- 1. A remotely adjustable mirror assembly comprising reflective means supported on a support member by first, second and third spacer means disposed between the reflective means and the support member at respective corners of an imaginary triangle and by resilient means arranged to apply a force acting within the area bounded by the sides of said imaginary triangle to urge the reflective means and the support member towards one another, the assembly further comprising remote actuating means for varying the spacing between the reflective means and the support member caused by the first spacer means, thereby to effect pivotal movement of the reflective means about an axis passing through the second and third spacer means.

2. An assembly according to claim 1 wherein the actuating means is further operative to vary the spacing caused by the second spacer means thereby to effect independent, or simultaneous, pivotal movement both about the said axis passing through the second and third spacer means and an axis passing through the first and third spacer means.

3. An assembly according to claim 2, wherein said third spacer means comprises a member which passes through a slot in said support member, abuts the support member for pivotal movement into and out of the slot and is capable of pivotal movement on an axis extending longitudinally of the slot.

4. An assembly according to claim 3 wherein said member which passes through said slot is a strip having opposite edges adjacent respective ends of the slot, one edge including a heel or cut out portion to abut said support member and the other edge being radiused to enable said pivotal movement into and out of the slot.

5. An assembly according to claim 4 wherein sufficient clearance is provided between the strip and the slot to enable the pivotal movement on the axis extending longitudinally of the slot.

6. An assembly according to any one of claims 3-5, wherein the first and second spacer means comprise respective cams and cam followers.

7. An assembly according to claim 6 wherein the camming movement is due to linear motion of respective inclined planes.

8. An assembly according to claim 7 wherein the cam followers engage respective wedge shaped cams.

9. An assembly according to claim 8 wherein said cams are mounted for movement in the same linear direction.

10. An assembly according to claim 9 wherein said cams are slidably mounted in a single slot, the camming surfaces being oppositely inclined to one another.

11. An assembly according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said remote actuating means comprises at least one cable or push rod having an end which is turned over and forced into a recessed member, said recessed member being movable to cause said tilting movement.

12. An assembly according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the resilient means is a spring having one end connected to the reflective means and an opposite end connected to the support member.

13. An assembly according to any one of claims 6-10 or 12 wherein each cam is connected to a cable or push rod for causing the slidable movement, the cables or push rods being connected to respective control members, or to a common control member.

14. An assembly according to claim 1 wherein the reflective means is supported by two ramped cams as the first and second spacer means and by a pivoting member as the third spacer means, the cams being slidable in a common groove and said

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Claims

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formed at each end of plate 8 so that the unit can be used either way round to suit any installation. Each wedge shaped cam 5, 6 has a recess 18 in its space for receiving the end of a respective inner cable (15, 16).

The end of the cable is bent over and forced into the respective recess.

Whilst scale is not illustrated, the approximate size of the support plate 8 is such that the mirror assembly is small enough to fit into a variety of different casings. As it is small, the assembly may be differently orientated so that cables 15, 16 may emerge at different angles to suit particular requirements. When the assembly is mounted horizontally, as seen in Fig. 2, the axes of movement are not horizontal and vertical but at approximately 45" to the ground. This makes no difference as long as the control end of the assembly allows for both horizontal and vertical "joy stick" movement within the vehicle. This results in compound cam movements to give true horizontal and vertical scanning of the mirror support plate 1.

With regard to Fig. 2, it can be seen that the angle of inclination of line AA or BB, in a plane perpendicular thereto and out of the plane of the paper, depends on the position of the opposite cam 5, 6. Thus, the rate of change of mirror angle for a given rate of change of one cam varies according to the position of the other cam.

The invention described herein may be used in conjunction with the control for a remotely adjustable mirror assembly described in our copending Application No.

1915/77 (Serial No. 1,514,897).

WHAT WE CLAIM IS:- 1. A remotely adjustable mirror assembly comprising reflective means supported on a support member by first, second and third spacer means disposed between the reflective means and the support member at respective corners of an imaginary triangle and by resilient means arranged to apply a force acting within the area bounded by the sides of said imaginary triangle to urge the reflective means and the support member towards one another, the assembly further comprising remote actuating means for varying the spacing between the reflective means and the support member caused by the first spacer means, thereby to effect pivotal movement of the reflective means about an axis passing through the second and third spacer means.
2. An assembly according to claim 1 wherein the actuating means is further operative to vary the spacing caused by the second spacer means thereby to effect independent, or simultaneous, pivotal movement both about the said axis passing through the second and third spacer means and an axis passing through the first and third spacer means.
3. An assembly according to claim 2, wherein said third spacer means comprises a member which passes through a slot in said support member, abuts the support member for pivotal movement into and out of the slot and is capable of pivotal movement on an axis extending longitudinally of the slot.
4. An assembly according to claim 3 wherein said member which passes through said slot is a strip having opposite edges adjacent respective ends of the slot, one edge including a heel or cut out portion to abut said support member and the other edge being radiused to enable said pivotal movement into and out of the slot.
5. An assembly according to claim 4 wherein sufficient clearance is provided between the strip and the slot to enable the pivotal movement on the axis extending longitudinally of the slot.
6. An assembly according to any one of claims 3-5, wherein the first and second spacer means comprise respective cams and cam followers.
7. An assembly according to claim 6 wherein the camming movement is due to linear motion of respective inclined planes.
8. An assembly according to claim 7 wherein the cam followers engage respective wedge shaped cams.
9. An assembly according to claim 8 wherein said cams are mounted for movement in the same linear direction.
10. An assembly according to claim 9 wherein said cams are slidably mounted in a single slot, the camming surfaces being oppositely inclined to one another.
11. An assembly according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said remote actuating means comprises at least one cable or push rod having an end which is turned over and forced into a recessed member, said recessed member being movable to cause said tilting movement.
12. An assembly according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the resilient means is a spring having one end connected to the reflective means and an opposite end connected to the support member.
13. An assembly according to any one of claims 6-10 or 12 wherein each cam is connected to a cable or push rod for causing the slidable movement, the cables or push rods being connected to respective control members, or to a common control member.
14. An assembly according to claim 1 wherein the reflective means is supported by two ramped cams as the first and second spacer means and by a pivoting member as the third spacer means, the cams being slidable in a common groove and said

member being pivotable in substantially perpendicular planes whereby said reflective means can be tilted.
15. A remotely adjustable mirror assembly substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.