GB2040242A - Vehicle rear-view mirror assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

A vehicle rear-view mirror has a mirror head 8 carried from a mounting member 1 by a joint comprising an annular member 2 provided with trunnion pivots 3 turnable against frictional resistance about a generally vertical axis in bearing recesses 12 provided on the mounting member, and a bush 5 which is rotatable against frictional resistance about a generally horizontal axis in the bore of the annular member 2 in which it is secured by snap- engaging means 19. The mirror head 8 is carried from the bush 5. The joint may be adjusted from inside the vehicle by a handle 7. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Vehicle rear-view mirror assembly This invention relates to a vehicle rear-view mirror assembly for fitting externally to the vehicle door, or some other part of the side of the vehicle body. Such mirrors are, of course, adjustable for correct rear viewing both about a vertical axis and a horizontal axis. Many construction are known which employ a ball joint for enabling such adjustment to be effected, means being provided for locking the ball member in the adjusted position so that the mirror will not be moved out of adjustment if accidentally struck, or by the wind pressure to which it is submitted when the vehicle is travelling at high speed.Other constructions are known in which the mirror is carried buy a partwhich is adjustable about a vertical hinge by actuation of a screw mechanism and is also bodily adjustable about a horizontal axis by a second screw mechanism. In this way the mirror is held in its adjusted position by the holding action of the adjustment screws and separate means for locking the mirror in its adjusted position are unnecessary, but such constructions are more expensive than those using a ball joint. Some known door mirrors are provided with an adjustment handle, lever, knob or equivalent means which is located inside the vehicle body and by which the orientation of the mirror may be adjusted for the desired rear-viewing by a person while seated in the vehicle.Examples of such door mirrors are described in British Patent Specifications Nos. 1431778, 1448560 and 1514939.

The invention has for its object to provide an adjustable vehicle rear-view mirror assembly of the kind referred to, of which the components are simple and cheap to fabricate, preferably mainly comprising mouldings of plastics material, and of which the assembly of the components is also simple and cheap to perform, the resulant rear-view mirror assembly having adequate resistance to undesired displacement from its adjusted position while being suitable for remote adjustment from inside the vehicle body and being capable of manufacture at a relatively low price which is economically viable for fitting to motor cars in the lower price range.

Basically the invention consists in employing, as the adjustable support for the mirror head, an annular member provided with trunnion pivots for turning in bearings against frictional resistance about a generally vertical axis, and a bush turnable about a generally horizontal axis against frictional resistance, in the bore of the annular member. It has been found that such an adjustment mounting can resist unintentional displacement without having to provide positive locking means as required for a ball mounting, and is simpler in construction and operation than known constructions in which the mirror is carried from a vertically hinged part which is bodily turnable about a horizontal axis, and, where the mirror is to be remotely controlled, can be adjusted by a single control member within the vehicle body.

The invention consists in an adjustable vehicle rear-view mirror assembly for fixing to a vehicle door or some other part of the side of a vehicle, comprising a mounting part for attachment to the vehicle door or body and a mirror head carried from the mounting part by an adjustable joint capable of adjustment about a generally vertical axis and a generally horizontal axis, characterized in that the adjustable joint comprises an annular member provided with trunnion pivots turnable in bearing recesses prbvided in the mounting member above and below the annular member and against the bearing surfaces of which the trunnion pivots are pressed by resilient means, and a bush which is located in and rotatable against friction in the bore of the annular member and is axially secured in said bore by snap-engaging means, the mirror head being carried from said bush.

Conveniently the trunnion pivots are resiliently pressed in their respective bearing recesses by leaf or wire springs which bridge the recesses and engage the surfaces of the trunnion pivots and of which the spring pressure may be adjustable. Alternatively, the resilient pressure may be provided by the resilience of the limbs forming the bearing recesses.

When the mirror adjustment is to be effected by remote control from within the vehicle body, the operating handle preferably includes a linkage comprising two pivotally connected arms of which the free end of one is connected to the bush and the free end of the other is in threaded engagement with an operating knob which is mounted for sliding movement along a guide to cause rotation of the bush and is rotatable to cause turning of the annular member about its trunnion pivots.

Preferably the mirror head is carried from the bush by a releasable connection which normally locates the mirror head in a predetermined indexed position and can release against the action of a spring to allow the mirror head to be deflected if struck by, or if it strikes, an object with sufficient force to overcome the retaining action of the spring, or if it be desired to turn the mirror head against the side of the vehicle, for example during car washing.

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a horizontal section, taken along the line I-I of Figure 3, of one embodiment of a vehicle rear-view mirror assembly according to the invention, Figure 2 is a front view, partly in section, of the mirror assembly of Figure 1, Figure 3 is a view from the inner end of the assembly, Figure 4 is a section of a detail taken along the line IV-IV of Figure 3, Figure 5 is an end view of the annular member, Figure 6 is a side view of the bush, Figure 7 is a horizontal section of the mounting end part only of a mirror assembly, taken along the line VII-VII of Figure 9, which is similar to Figure 1 but shows a modified construction of the operating handle, Figure 8 is a front view, partly in section, of the mirror assembly of Figure 7, Figure 9 is a view from the inner end of the assembly, Figure 10 is a plan view, partly cut away, of a portion of another embodiment, Figure 17 is a section along the line Xl-Xl in Figure 10, Figure 12 is a plan view of the bush of Figure 10, Figure 13 is a section along the line XIII-XIII of Figure 12, Figure 14 is a section along the line XIV-XIV of Figure 12, Figure 75 is an end view of the bush looking from the left in Figure 12, Figure 16 is a plan view, partly cut away, of a modification of Figure 10, and Figure 17 is a section along the line XVII-XVII of Figure 16.

Like parts in the different embodiments are given the same references in all the embodiments.

The mirror assembly shown in Figures 1 to 6 comprises a hollow cheeter base part 1 adapted to be secured to the front bottom corner of the window opening of a vehicle door, an annular member 2 having trunnion pivots 3 and mounted for turning about a vertical axis in open recesses in bearing blocks 4, a bush 5 fitted into the bore of the annular member 2 and rotatable therein with friction, a handle member 6 which is secured against rotation and axial movement in said bush and is provided at its inner end with an operating handle 7, and a mirror head 8 which is spring urged into a located position against the outer end portion of the handle member 6 which projects through an aperture 9 in the outer wall of the base part 1.

The base part 1 is conveniently of a hard plastics material, such as an acetyl copolymer or nylon, with integral bearing blocks 4 having limbs 10, 11 defining bearing recesses 12 for the trunnion pivots 3.

Each trunnion pivot is secured in its bearing recess by a U-shaped wire spring 13 which bridges the recess and bears against the trunnion pivot, the free ends of a spring being located in recesses 14 in the limb 10 of a bearing block and the U-shaped end of a spring being secured to the limb 11 by means of a screw 15 by means of which the spring pressure on a trunnion pivot and thus its frictional resistance to turning, may be adjusted. The annular member 2 is also conveniently moulded, integral with its trunnion pivots 3, of a hard plastics material. The trunnion pivots may be provided with grooves 16 to locate the limbs of the wire springs 13.

The bush 5 is conveniently moulded of a plastics material, such as polypropylene or nylon, which is capable of flexing to a limited extent without fracturing. It is shaped as shown in Figures 3 and 6 and is provided with 3 slots 17, uniformly disposed around its periphery and extending partway axially along its length. Its unslotted end is provided with a collar 18 adapted to abut against the outer end of the annular member 2, and it has a retaining ridge 19, spaced from the collar 18 by the length of the bore of the annular member 2, around the periphery of its slotted part.The ridge 19 tapers at 20 towards the end of the bush to enable the bush to be forced into the bore of the annular member 2, the finger portions of the bush between the slots 17 flexing to allow the ridge 19 to be compressed radially inwardly to pass through the bore until the collar 18 abuts the outer end of the member 2, whereupon the resilience of the finger portions snaps the ridge 19 radially outwards to engage the inner end of the member 2 and thus secure the bush 5 in the bore of the annular member 2. The parts are dimensioned so that the bush 5 is rotatable against friction in the bore of the annular member. The outer periphery of the bush which lies in the bore may be provided with annular ribs 21.

As shown in Figure 1, the outer end of the bush 5 has an axial passage 22 in which is secured, against both relative rotational and axial movement, the handle member 6. The handle member conveniently comprises a diecasting having as an insert therein a stainless steel strip 23, which is bent as shown and provided with a suitable knob 24 at its free end to constitute the operating handle 7. The periphery of the member 6 which lies within the passage 22 is provided with flats or equivalent means cooperating with complementary formations in the passage 22 to prevent relative rotation therebetween. The inner end of the member 6 is provided with a bead 25 which engages against the shoulder at the inner end of the bore portion 22 when a collar 26 adjacent the outer end of the member 6 abuts the outer end of the bush 5.The member 6 is conveniently secured in the bush 5 before the latter is snap-fitted into the annular member 2.

The outer end of the handle member 6 projects outwardly beyond the aperture 9 in the base part 1 and the portion 27 beyond its collar 26 is of generally square cross-section with tapering sides and is adapted to fit into a complementary socket portion 28 at the inner end of a housing 29 for a mirror glass 30 which together form a mirror head. A spring 31 located in the hollow space of the mirror head surrounds a headed rod 32 which is pivotally connected at 33 to a link 34 which extends through an opening the housing 29 into its socket portion 28 and has its remote end pivoted on a pin 35 bridging a slot in the portion 27. The spring 31 is held compressed between the head of the rod 32 and the housing and thus resiliently holds the mirror head in a predetermined located position relative to the handle member 6. The spring 31 and rod 32 are prevented from scratching the rear of the mirror glass 30 by a protective plate 36 secured to pillars 37 projecting from the interior surface of the housing 29. The housing 29 and pillars 37 may conveniently be integrally moulded of a plastics material.

The spring 31 allows the mirror head to be deflected if it should strike or be struck by a person or object, thus reducing the risk of injury or damage to the person or object as well as reducing the risk of damage to the mirror head. By suitable selection of the length of the link 34 the arrangement can be such that by pulling the mirror head outwards against the spring until the pivot 33 is moved into the socket portion 28, the mirror head can be turned forward through about a right angle to lie close to the side of the vehicle or window.

With the constructions described the mirror head may be adjusted from inside the vehicle by means of the operating handle 7, both about a vertical axis defined by the axis of the trunnions 3 by moving the knob 24 in or out as indicated in Figure 1 and also about a horizontal axis defined by the axis of the bore of the annular member 2 by turning the knob 24 up or down as indicated in Figure 3.

Adjustment of the friction to turning about the vertical axis is readily effected by the screws 15 to ensure that the mirror head will be held firm against wind pressure while at the same time enabling the mirror head to be adjusted as necessary by the operating handle. The provision of relatively large bearing surfaces between the bush 5 and the annular member 2 enables the mirror head to be held firm against wind pressure whilst enabling the vertical orientation of the mirror head to be adjusted as desired.

If a remote adjustment of the mirror from within the vehicle body is not required, the operating handle 7 can be omitted from the assembly.

Figures 7 to 9 show a modification in which the operating handle comprises a linkage connected at one of its ends with the handle member and at its other end being in threaded engagement with an operating knob slidable along a guide, whereby movement of the knob along the guide causes rotation of the bush and rotation of the knob in the guide causes turning of the annular member about its trunnion pivots.

Apart from the operating handle arrangement, the mirror assembly of Figures 7 to 9 is identical with that shown in Figures 1 to 6 and accordingly only scrap views are shown of which the common components are indicated by the same references.

In this embodiment, the handle linkage 40 comprises two arms 41 and 42 pivotally interconnected by a pin 43. The arm 41 is secured to the handle member 6 and the other arm 42 has a screwthreaded end portion 44 which projects into and is in threaded engagement with the screw threaded bore 45 of an operating knob 46. The knob has an annular groove 48 in engagement with the side edges of an arcuate guide slot 47, provided in an inwardly extending portion la of the base part 1 as shown in Figures 7 and 8, and along which the knob is slidable. The knob is conveniently made of a hard plastics material, such a acetyl copolymer or nylon, and is inserted into the guide slot through an enlarged opening 47a at one end of the slot 47. By rotating the knob 46, the arm 42 is moved in the direction of its axis and thus moves the arm 41 to turn the annular member 2 about its trunnion pivots.

By moving the knob bodily along the slot 47, as indicated in Figure 9, the linkage 40 causes the handle member 6 to turn about a horizontal axis.

A further embodiment of the invention is illustrated in Figures 10 to 15. In this embodiment, the handle member 6 of the previous embodiments is omitted and replaced by a socket 50 moulded integrally with the bush 5 of a plastics material, such as nylon, and into which the linkage arm 41 is fitted with an interengaging snap action. The bush 5 also has moulded integrally therewith a part 51 of a releasable connection supporting the mirror as will be later described. In this embodiment, the cheeter plate 1, again moulded of a hard plastics material, has its bearing recesses 12 formed by the limbs 10 and 11 of the bearing blocks 4 extended at 10a, 1 la for more than a semicircle around the trunnion pivots 3 with the ends of the limbs curving around the trunnion pivots and retaining them in the recesses.The bearing recesses are dimensioned such that frictional resistance to turning of the trunnion pivots is produced by the springiness of the limbs 10,11 against the trunnion pivots. If desired, springs may also be provided for increasing this frictional resistance.

As more clearly shown in Figures 12 to 14, the socket 50 in the bush 5 is of rectanguiar or square cross-section, and the end of the linkage arm 41 inserted therein is correspondingly shaped to hold the parts against relative rotation. The end of socket 50 is provided with inwardly projecting resilient fingers 52 behind which the undercut head 53 at the end of the linkage arm 41 is adapted to snap and be retained when the arm 41 is fully inserted into the socket 50. The arm 41 is connected by the pin 43 to the arm 42 having the screw threaded end 44 which coacts with the threaded bore 45 of the handle 46. In this embodiment, the slot 47 along which the handle is adapted to be moved is formed in a separate member 1b fixed on the inside of the door.As with the embodiment of Figure 7 to 9, adjustment of the mirror about vertical and horizontal axes is effected by rotating the knob and sliding it along the slot 47.

The part 51 formed integrally with the bush 5 has a bore extending therethrough transversely to the axis of the bush and in which is fixed a pin 54. One end face of the part 51 is formed with a series of radial teeth 55 which interengage with radial teeth 56 on an end member 57 which is rotatable about the end of the pin 54. The opposite end of the part 51 is formed with an annular recess 58 for receiving a coil spring 59 which is compressed against one limb 60a of a U-shaped bracket 60, the other limb 60b of which is secured to the outer face of the member 57. Thereby the spring 59 urges the teeth 56 on the member 57 into engagement with the teeth 55 on the part 51.

The part of the U-shaped bracket 60 interconnecting its two limbs 60a, 60b carries the mirror head 8 which is secured to the bracket 60 by two fingers 61 stamped-up from the bracket 60 passing through opening 62 in the mirror head and being bent over, relative turning between the two parts being prevented by two pegs 63 projecting from the mirror head and extending into locating apertures 64 in the U-shaped bracket 60. The pressure of the spring 59 is such that the interengaging teeth 55,56 will resist turning of the mirror head 8 about the axis of the pin 54 by the wind pressure experienced during driving but will allow the mirror head to be turned about the pin 54 if it should be accidentally struck or strikes an object or if it be desired manually to turn the mirror head against the car body during car washing. In order that the teeth 55,56 will only engage in a particular indexed location, the set of teeth of one part may have multiple spacing between successive teeth at selected positions therearound, and the set of teeth of the other part may have corresponding multiple width teeth. Thus, as shown in Figure 12 the teeth 55 on the part 51 have double-spacing at the locations 55a spaced at intervals of 90" therearound, and the teeth 56 on the part 57 are of double width at the same angular locations therearound. Thus the two parts will index with a positive location when the mirror head 8 extends axially of the bush 5.

The adjustable joint and releasable connection may be protected from rain and dirt by a flexible corrugated gaiter 65, the opposite ends of which are provided with inwardly extending flanges 65a, 65b which are secured under the cheeter plate 1 and between the mirror head 8 and a plate 66 supported by the U-shaped member 60 respectively. If desired, the resilient gaiter may be integral with the housing portion of the mirror head 8.

If it is not required that the mirror head be remotely adjustable from within the vehicle body, the mirror assembly described with reference to Figures 10 to 15 can be easily modified by simply omitting the handle linkage. The thus modified structure is then as illustrated in Figures 16 and 17.

As with this embodiment the frictional resistance between the trunnion pivots and their bearing recesses may not be sufficient to hold the annular member 2 firmly against turning under the wind pressure to which the mirror may be exposed at high speed, the frictional resistance may be increased by means of a U-shaped wire spring 67 of which the limbs 67a, 67b are inserted through apertures in the cheeter plate housing and respectively press against the surfaces of the trunnion pivots as shown in Figures 16 and 17. To facilitate assembly of the spring 67, the trunnion pivots are provided with flats 68 which are positioned to face outwardly of the recesses 12 during assembly of the spring 67 after which the trunnion are turned through 180" to the position shown in Figures 16 to thereby increase the spring pressure. The bush 5 is inserted into the annular member 2 after preliminary assembly of the spring 67.

Claims (14)

1. An adjustable vehicle rear-view mirror assembly for fixing to a vehicle door or some other part of the side of a vehicle, comprising a mounting part for attachment to the vehicle door or body and a mirror head carried from the mounting part by an adjustable joint capable of adjustment about a generally vertical axis and a generally horizontal axis, characterized in that the adjustable joint comprises an annular member provided with trunnion pivots turnable in bearing recesses provided on the mounting member above and below the annular member and against the bearing surfaces of which the trunnion pivots are pressed by resilient means, and a bush which is located in and rotatable against friction in the bore of the annular member and is axially secured in said bore by snap-engaging means, the mirror head being carried from said bush.

2. An adjustable vehicle rear-view mirror assem bly according to claim 1, characterized in that spring means press against the trunnion pivots and urge them against the bearing surfaces of the bearing recesses.

3. An adjustable vehicle rear-view mirror assembly according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that bearing recesses are formed by pairs of limbs of bearing blocks of plastics material, the bearing recesses extending for more than a semi-circle around the peripheries of the trunnion pivots and being dimensioned resiliently to press the bearing surfaces against the pivots and also to retain the pivots in the recesses.

4. An adjustable rear-view mirror according to any preceding claim, characterized in that the bush is connected to handle means adapted to extend into the interior of a vehicle, the handle means being operative to turn the bush about the axis of the bore of the annular member and also about the axis of turning of the trunnion pivots.

5. An adjustable rear-view mirror according to claim 4, characterized in that the handle means comprises two pivotally connected linkage arms, the end of one arm being secured to the bush and the end of the other arm being provided with a screwthread, and a rotatable operating knob which is in threaded engagement with said screw thread arm end and is slidable along a guide member which resists axial movement of the knob.

6. An adjustable rear-view mirror according to any preceding claim, characterized in that the bush comprises a cylindrical part moulded of plastics material and dimensioned to fit with friction in the bore of the annular member and having radially enlarged shoulders at opposite ends of the cylindrical part and spaced by a distance corresponding to the length of the bore of the annular member, the said cylindrical part having axial slots extending from one end thereof to form fingers which compress radially inwardly to enable the shoulder at said one end to pass through said bore and then snap radially outwardly into engagement with the end of the bore to retain the bush axially within the bore of the annular member.

7. An adjustable rear-view mirror according to claim 6, characterized in that the outer periphery of said cylindrical part of the bush is provided with annular ribs.

8. An adjustable rear-view mirror according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the bush is moulded integrally with one part of a releasable connection of which the other part is connected to the mirror head, the respective parts being formed with complementary interengaging means which are held in engagement by the action of a spring.

9. An adjustable rear-view mirror according to claim 6,7 or 8, characterized in that the bush has an integrally moulded socket portion within said cylindrical part, said socket portion being open at its end adjacent said one end of the cylindrical part to receive the end of a handle member.

10. An adjustable rear-view mirror according to claim 9, characterized in that said socket portion is provided with resilient fingers to interengage with and retain in the socket portion an appropriately shaped end of a handle member.

11. An adjustable rear-view mirror substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 to 6 of the accompanying drawings.

12. An adjustable rear-view miror substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 7 to 9 of the accompanying drawings.

13. An adjustable rear-view mirror substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 10 to 15 of the accompanying drawings.

14. An adjustable rear-view mirror substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 16 and 17 of the accompanying drawings.