GB2169861A - A rear view mirror for a motor vehicle - Google Patents
A rear view mirror for a motor vehicle Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- GB2169861A GB2169861A GB08529638A GB8529638A GB2169861A GB 2169861 A GB2169861 A GB 2169861A GB 08529638 A GB08529638 A GB 08529638A GB 8529638 A GB8529638 A GB 8529638A GB 2169861 A GB2169861 A GB 2169861A
- Authority
- GB
- United Kingdom
- Prior art keywords
- rear view
- mirror
- front plate
- view mirror
- housing
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Withdrawn
Links
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- B60R1/00—Optical viewing arrangements; Real-time viewing arrangements for drivers or passengers using optical image capturing systems, e.g. cameras or video systems specially adapted for use in or on vehicles
- B60R1/02—Rear-view mirror arrangements
- B60R1/08—Rear-view mirror arrangements involving special optical features, e.g. avoiding blind spots, e.g. convex mirrors; Side-by-side associations of rear-view and other mirrors
- B60R1/083—Anti-glare mirrors, e.g. "day-night" mirrors
- B60R1/086—Anti-glare mirrors, e.g. "day-night" mirrors using a mirror angularly movable between a position of use and a non-glare position reflecting a dark field to the user, e.g. situated behind a transparent glass used as low-reflecting surface; Wedge-shaped mirrors
- B60R1/087—Anti-glare mirrors, e.g. "day-night" mirrors using a mirror angularly movable between a position of use and a non-glare position reflecting a dark field to the user, e.g. situated behind a transparent glass used as low-reflecting surface; Wedge-shaped mirrors with remote or automatic control means
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Multimedia (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Rear-View Mirror Devices That Are Mounted On The Exterior Of The Vehicle (AREA)
- Optical Elements Other Than Lenses (AREA)
Abstract
A rear view mirror (2) for a motor vehicle, which rear view mirror comprises a housing (4), mounting means (8) for enabling the rear view mirror to be mounted in position, a mirror glass (20) which has a front face (22), and a front plate (26) which is made of a transparent material and which is mounted between the front face (22) of the mirror glass (20) and an open face (24) of the housing (4). <IMAGE>
Description
SPECIFICATION
A rear view mirror for a motor vehicle
This invention relates to a rear view mirror for a motor vehicle.
Accordingly, this invention provides a rear view mirror for a motor vehicle, which rear view mirror comprises a housing, mounting means on the housing for enabling the rear view mirror to be mounted in position, a mirror glass which has a front face, and a front plate which is made of a transparent material and which is mounted between the front face of the mirror glass and an open face of the housing.
In a first embodiment of the invention, the mirror glass is pivotally mounted adjacent an open front face of the housing, the rear view mirror including pivoting means for pivoting the mirror glass so that it can pivot between a day time normal viewing position in which it lies adjacent the front plate to a night time anti-glare viewing position in which it is tilted with respect to the front plate.
The mirror glass will usually pivot about its lower edge. In this case, the mirror glass and the front plate may both fit in a groove formed in a lower portion of the housing. Alternatively, the mirror glass may pivot about a centre portion of the mirror glass.
In its night time viewing position, the mirror glass preferably makes an angle of seven degrees with the front plate.
The pivot means may be a manually operable pivot means such for example as a manually operable lever or knob.
Alternatively, the pivot means may be an automatically operable pivot means for causing the mirror to pivot between normal and antiglare positions in dependence upon the pres -ence or absence of light of a predetermined intensity from a following vehicle.
The automatic pivot means may include a photosensor, for example a photodiode, for sensing the presence or absence of light of the predetermined intensity from the following vehicle and for actuating pivoting of the mirror to its anti-glare position if the light is too intense.
With an automatically operable pivot means, there is preferably included ambient light com-pensation means for compensating for the affect of ambient light and so helping to prevent premature pivoting of the mirror glass to its anti-glare position in bright ambient light conditions.
The ambient light compensation means may comprise a photosensor, for example a photodiode.
The photosensor of the pivot means and the photosensor of the ambient light compensation means may be arranged in a bridge circuit.
The rear view mirror may include separator means for separating the mirror glass and the front plate when the mirror glass is in its day time viewing position.
The separator means may be a pad, for example a pad of a resilient material.
In a second embodiment of the invention, the mirror glass and the front plate are fixed in position, and the mirror glass slopes towards a back part of the housing to make an angle with the front plate.
In the second embodiment of the invention, the angle between the mirror glass and the front plate is preferably from seven to eleven degrees.
In addition to the rear view mirror being relatively easy and inexpensive to produce, the front plate may be effective to help seal the inside of the housing and so help to prevent the ingress of moisture, which moisture may adversely affect parts inside the housing, such -for example as the mirror glass. The elimination of the wedge of glass that is often used in known mirrors is believed to be a cause of the good image definition that is achieved by the rear view mirrors of the present invention.
The housing may be a single moulded item or it may be made in several parts. The housing is preferably made from a plastics material but other materials such for example as metals may be employed.
the mounting means may be a ball and socket joint. The ball and socket joint may be provided with a tightening nut for securing the ball and socket joint in a desired position.
Other mounting means such for example as adhesive pads may be employed. Generally, it will be appreciated that the type of mounting means employed will depend upon where the mirror is to be located, for example inside or outside the motor vehicle, or on a windscreen or bulkhead portion of the motor vehicle.
The mirror glass may be any plain mirror glass having, for example, a silvered reflecting surface.
The front plate is preferably made of a plastics material. An acrylic plastics material is presently preferred. The front plate may also be made of glass.
Advantageously, the front plate is provided with a darkened appearance. The darkened appearance may be achieved by using a smoked front plate, for example a smoked acrylic plastics material front plate. The front plate need not be darkened and it can be clear if desired.
Embodiments of the invention will now be described solely by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a section through a first rear view mirror;
Figure 2 shows first ball and socket mounting means;
Figures 3 and 4 show second ball and socket mounting means;
Figure 5 shows a circuit for an automatically operable pivot means; and
Figure 6 is a section through a second rear view mirror.
Referring now to Figure 1, there is shown a rear view mirror 2 comprising a moulded plastics housing 4.
The housing 4 has a rear face 6 to which is integrally formed mounting means in the form of a boss 8. The boss 8 has supporting buttresses 10,12. The boss 8 has a socket 14 which receives the ball 16 of a mounting bracket 18. The bracket 18 can then be secured to any desired and appropriate position on a vehicle, for example to an inside overhead bulkhead part of the motor vehicle.
The rear view mirror 2 is provided with a mirror glass 20 which has a front face 22.
The mirror glass 20 is pivotally mounted as shown adjacent an open face 24 of the housing 4. A smoked acrylic front plate 26 is mounted adjacent to the front face 22 of the mirror glass 20. The lower edge 28 of the mirror glass 20 and the lower edge 30 of the front plate 26 are positioned in a groove 32 provided in a lower part of the housing 4. The mirror glass 20 can thus be tilted towards and away from the front plate 26 by pivoting in the groove 32. As shown in Figure 1, the mirror glass is tilted such that it makes an angle of 7" with the vertical front plate 26 and in this position of the mirror glass 20, night time viewing is afforded. More specifically, a single reflective anti-glare image is given. The image is given by the vertical front face 34 of the front plate 26. Angles of more or less than 7" may be employed.
When the mirror glass 20 is pivoted so that its surface lies adjacent the front plate 26, day time viewing is afforded. The day time viewing comes mainly from the mirror glass 20. The mirror glass 20 is moved between its day time and night time viewing positions by pivot means shown schematically in Figure 1 as automatically operable electrical pivot means 36 which is mounted inside the housing 4. The housing 4 is provided with a slot 38 and a potentiometer adjustment thumb wheel 40 projects through the slot 38 as shown. The thumb wheel 40 can be rotated to adjust the sensitivity of the electrical pivot means 36 so as to control the time at which light on a photosensor 37 will cause the electrical pivot means 36 to cause the mirror glass 20 to pivot to its anti-glare position.
The electrical pivot means 36 may have an electrical circuit as shown in Figures 5,6 or 7 of U.K. Patent Specification No. 2142297A.
Preferably, the electrical pivot means 36 is provided with ambient light compensation means for compensating for the affect of ambient light. In this case, the electrical pivot means 36 may have an electrical circuit as described in Figure 10 of U.K. Patent Specification No. 2142297A. All the disclosure in the UK Patent Specification No. 2142297A is
incorporated berein by reference.
When the mirror glass 10 is pivoted from the position shown in Figure 1 to the position at which it lies adjacent the front plate 26, it will be seen that the mirror glass 20 and the front plate 26 are kept apart at their upper
edges by a pad 42. The pad 42 acts to cush
ion the return of the mirror glas 20 to its substantially vertical position. Also, the pad 42 acts to prevent a vacuum forming between the mirror glass 20 and the front plate 26 when they lie adjacent each other. If a vacuum forms, more force is then necessary to pivot the mirror glass 20 away from the front plate 26 and this may require too much electrical energy with its attendant more expensive equipment such as a larger solenoid and magnets.
The front plate 26 can be sealed in its illustrated position. This may help to stop the ingress of moisture into the interior of the housing 4. This in turn may extend the life of the equipment inside the housing 4, for example the electrical circuit, which could be adversely affected by moisture.
Referring now to Figure 2, there is shown an alternative mounting means to the boss 8.
In Figure 2, the rear face 6 of the housing 4 is shown as being provided with a threaded boss 44 which is provided with a slot 46 to form the boss 44 into two parts 48, 50 as illustrated. The boss 44 has a socket 52 which receives a ball (not shown) at the end of a mounting arm 54. A nut 56 can then be tightened on to the screw threads 58 of the boss 44 to securely hold the ball in its desired position in the socket 52. The end of the arm remote from the boss 44 may terminate in an adhesive plate for sticking to the inside of a vehicle windscreen.
Figures 3 and 4 show another type of mounting means which is like that shown in
Figure 2 but which cooperates with a standoff block 59, which may be a moulding on the rear face 6 of the housing 4.
Referring now to Figure 5, there is shown a circuit 60 for pivot means for moving the mirror glass 20. The circuit 60 has terminals 62, 64 for connecting the circuit 60 to a sidelight circuit, or other desired circuit,of a motor vehicle such as a motor car.
The circuit 60 has a movable contact 66 which is moved by the potentiometer adjustment thumb wheel 40. The movable contact 66 forms part of a potentiometer 68 which is connected in series with a resistor 70. The potentiometer 68 and the resistor 70 form part of a circuit including a pair of photosensors in the form of photodiodes 72,74 as shown. The photodiode 72 is an ambient light sensing diode, and the photodiode 74 is a rearward light sensing diode for sensing light from following vehicles. The photodiodes 72,74 are located in the housing 4 of the mirror, with the photodiode 72 looking downwardly through an aperture in the bottom of the housing and the photodiode 74 looking rearwardly through an aperture in one corner of the mirror glass 20.
A capacitor 76 and a resistor 78 are connected to the base of a transistor 80. A resistor 82 is connected to the collector of the transistor 80. Further transistors 84,86 are provided and resistors 88,90 are respectively connected to the collectors of these transistors 84,86. Resistors 92,94 are connected as shown to the emitters of the transistors 80,84,86, the resistor 92 serving the emitters of the two transistors 80,84.
Further transistors 96,98,100,102 and 104 are provided as shown, these transistors being connected as shown to resistors
106,108,110,112 and 114.
The solenoid 116 generates an electro-magnetic field when activated and this electromagnetic field is operative to attract a piece of magnetic material, for example magnetic
material 118 in Figure 1 which is attached to the rear face of the mirror glass 20. This
causes the mirror glass 20 to pivot away from the front plate 26. When the solenoid
116 ceases to be supplied with the electric current, it will cease to attract the magnetic
material 118 and thus the mirror glass 20.
The mirror glass 20 can then pivot back to its
vertical position adjacent the front plate 26, for example under the action of a spring 120
shown in Figure 1. The spring 120 can be
mounted and guided on a post 122 secured
to the inside rear wall 124 of the housing 4.
The mirror glass 20 is thus automatically pi
voted, with ambient light compensation being
provided for.
Referring now to Figure 6, there is shown a
rear view mirror 2 which is like the rear view
mirror 2 shown in Figure 1 but without the
separator pad 42 and the automatically oper
able electrical pivot means 36. Similar parts as
in Figure 1 have been given the same refer -ence numerals and their precise construction
and operation will not again be given. In Fig
ure 6, there may be an angle of from seven to eleven degrees between the mirror glass
20 and the front plate 26. In Figure-6 the
mirror glass 20 and the front plate 26 are fixed in position, with the mirror glass 20
sloping towards the back part of the housing
4 at the stated angle.
It is to be appreciated that the embodiments
of the invention described above with reference to the accompanying drawings have
been given by way of example only and that
modifications may be effected. Thus, for example other ambient light compensated circuits and other mirror mounting means may be employed. Also, a hold-on circuit may be employed for holding the pivotable mirror in any one position for a predetermined period of time. This may be desirable where, for example, a following vehicle is passing over a bumpy road causing its lights to keep going up and down and so keep shining on the mirror. Obviously continual pivoting backwards and forwards of the mirror glass should preferably be avoided and this can be effected using a hold-on circuit. The circuit may be effective to hold the position of the mirror for a fixed period of time from when the first light was received.For example, after first receipt of a flash of light, there may be a hold-on position of four seconds for holding the mirror in its anti-glare position. Under stable light conditions, for example on good road surfaces, the mirror can be released from its antiglare position after a period of two seconds since, with stable light conditions, it is not desirable to have a constant beam of light shining in the mirror for too long a time. The hold-on circuit may employ a light dependent resistor device. A capacitor may also be employed to charge up and then bleed into the solenoid 116. The capacitor can be arranged to be switched by a transistor when the transistor is in an off condition, and bleeding from the capacitor can be arranged to give the hold on characteristic. An amplifier may be employed to control the amount of current fed to the capacitor, thus controlling the length of the hold on. The light dependent resistor may be effective to switch the amplifier on. Preferably, a potentiometer is employed for altering the level of gain in order to give fine adjustment and individual setting for all road conditions.
Claims (10)
1. A rear view mirror for a motor vehicle, which rear view mirror comprises a housing, mounting means on the housing for enabling the rear-view mirror to be mounted in position, a mirror glass which has a front face, and a front plate which is made of a transparent material and which is mounted between the front face of the mirror glass and an open face of the housing.
2. A rear view mirror according to claim 1 in which the mirror glass is pivotally mounted adjacent an open front face of the housing, the rear view mirror including pivoting means for pivoting the mirror glass so that it can pivot between a day time normal viewing position in which it lies adjacent the front plate to a night time anti-glare viewing position in which it is tilted with respect to the front plate.
3. A rear view mirror according to claim 2 in which the pivot means is an automatically operable pivot means for causing the mirror to pivot between normal and antiglare positions in dependence upon the presence or absence of light of a predetermined intensity from a following vehicle.
4. A rear view mirror according to claim 3 and including ambient light compensation means for compensating for the affect of ambient light and so helping to prevent premature pivoting of the mirror glass to its antiglare position in bright ambient light conditions.
5. A rear view mirror according to any one of claims 2 to 4 and including separator means for separating the mirror glass and the front plate when the mirror glass is in its day time viewing position.
6. A rear view mirror according to claim 1 in which the mirror glass and the front plate are fixed in position, and in which the mirror glass slopes back towards the back part of the housing to make an angle with the front plate.
7. A rear view mirror according to any one of the preceding claims in which the mounting means includes a ball and socket joint.
8. A rear view mirror according to any one of the preceding claims in which the front plate is made of a plastics material.
9. A rear view mirror according to claim 8 in which the front plate is a smoked acrylic plastics material front plate.
10. A rear view mirror substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB848432615A GB8432615D0 (en) | 1984-12-27 | 1984-12-27 | Rear view mirror |
| GB858506491A GB8506491D0 (en) | 1985-03-13 | 1985-03-13 | Rear view mirror |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| GB8529638D0 GB8529638D0 (en) | 1986-01-08 |
| GB2169861A true GB2169861A (en) | 1986-07-23 |
Family
ID=26288616
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB08529638A Withdrawn GB2169861A (en) | 1984-12-27 | 1985-12-02 | A rear view mirror for a motor vehicle |
Country Status (2)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| DE (1) | DE3545143A1 (en) |
| GB (1) | GB2169861A (en) |
Cited By (5)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GB2198404A (en) * | 1986-10-27 | 1988-06-15 | Mittelhaeuser Bernhard | Motor vehicle internal rear-view mirror |
| US8620523B2 (en) | 2011-06-24 | 2013-12-31 | Gentex Corporation | Rearview assembly with multiple ambient light sensors |
| US9207116B2 (en) | 2013-02-12 | 2015-12-08 | Gentex Corporation | Light sensor |
| US9224889B2 (en) | 2011-08-05 | 2015-12-29 | Gentex Corporation | Optical assembly for a light sensor, light sensor assembly using the optical assembly, and vehicle rearview assembly using the light sensor assembly |
| US9870753B2 (en) | 2013-02-12 | 2018-01-16 | Gentex Corporation | Light sensor having partially opaque optic |
Families Citing this family (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE3701262A1 (en) * | 1987-01-17 | 1988-07-28 | Werner Spoerhase | Automatic mirror dipping system for motor vehicles |
| DE3907891A1 (en) * | 1988-08-17 | 1990-02-22 | Reitter & Schefenacker Kg | Dipping rearview mirror |
Citations (8)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GB1120517A (en) * | 1966-07-19 | 1968-07-17 | Wingard Ltd | Improvements in rear-view mirrors for vehicles |
| GB1131236A (en) * | 1964-10-29 | 1968-10-23 | Enrico Coragliotto | Improvements in or relating to rear vision mirrors |
| GB1346483A (en) * | 1970-03-25 | 1974-02-13 | Grell K A | Rear view mirror for vehicles |
| GB1422411A (en) * | 1973-01-12 | 1976-01-28 | Baldwin Co D H | Day-night rear view mirror assembly for vehicles |
| GB1539820A (en) * | 1975-12-03 | 1979-02-07 | Peugeot | Arrangement for the simultaneous control of the driving-mirrors of an automobile vehicle |
| GB2029343A (en) * | 1978-09-06 | 1980-03-19 | Rickson C | Mirrors with Control of Reflecting Power |
| GB2077673A (en) * | 1980-06-12 | 1981-12-23 | Buck Roel C | Automobile day-night mirror |
| EP0067335A1 (en) * | 1981-06-01 | 1982-12-22 | Gentex Corporation | Automatic rearview mirror for automotive vehicles |
-
1985
- 1985-12-02 GB GB08529638A patent/GB2169861A/en not_active Withdrawn
- 1985-12-19 DE DE19853545143 patent/DE3545143A1/en not_active Withdrawn
Patent Citations (8)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GB1131236A (en) * | 1964-10-29 | 1968-10-23 | Enrico Coragliotto | Improvements in or relating to rear vision mirrors |
| GB1120517A (en) * | 1966-07-19 | 1968-07-17 | Wingard Ltd | Improvements in rear-view mirrors for vehicles |
| GB1346483A (en) * | 1970-03-25 | 1974-02-13 | Grell K A | Rear view mirror for vehicles |
| GB1422411A (en) * | 1973-01-12 | 1976-01-28 | Baldwin Co D H | Day-night rear view mirror assembly for vehicles |
| GB1539820A (en) * | 1975-12-03 | 1979-02-07 | Peugeot | Arrangement for the simultaneous control of the driving-mirrors of an automobile vehicle |
| GB2029343A (en) * | 1978-09-06 | 1980-03-19 | Rickson C | Mirrors with Control of Reflecting Power |
| GB2077673A (en) * | 1980-06-12 | 1981-12-23 | Buck Roel C | Automobile day-night mirror |
| EP0067335A1 (en) * | 1981-06-01 | 1982-12-22 | Gentex Corporation | Automatic rearview mirror for automotive vehicles |
Cited By (9)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GB2198404A (en) * | 1986-10-27 | 1988-06-15 | Mittelhaeuser Bernhard | Motor vehicle internal rear-view mirror |
| GB2198404B (en) * | 1986-10-27 | 1991-03-27 | Mittelhaeuser Bernhard | A rear-view mirror for motor vehicles |
| US8620523B2 (en) | 2011-06-24 | 2013-12-31 | Gentex Corporation | Rearview assembly with multiple ambient light sensors |
| US9224889B2 (en) | 2011-08-05 | 2015-12-29 | Gentex Corporation | Optical assembly for a light sensor, light sensor assembly using the optical assembly, and vehicle rearview assembly using the light sensor assembly |
| US9207116B2 (en) | 2013-02-12 | 2015-12-08 | Gentex Corporation | Light sensor |
| US9870753B2 (en) | 2013-02-12 | 2018-01-16 | Gentex Corporation | Light sensor having partially opaque optic |
| US9961746B2 (en) | 2013-02-12 | 2018-05-01 | Gentex Corporation | Light sensor |
| US11006502B2 (en) | 2013-02-12 | 2021-05-11 | Gentex Corporation | Light sensor |
| US11017741B2 (en) | 2013-02-12 | 2021-05-25 | Gentex Corporation | Light sensor having partially opaque optic |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| DE3545143A1 (en) | 1986-07-03 |
| GB8529638D0 (en) | 1986-01-08 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| WAP | Application withdrawn, taken to be withdrawn or refused ** after publication under section 16(1) |