GB2228240A

GB2228240A - Vehicle exterior mirror

Info

Publication number: GB2228240A
Application number: GB9002270A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John Bottrill
Original assignee: Britax Wingard Ltd
Current assignee: SMR Automotive Mirrors UK Ltd
Priority date: 1989-02-15
Filing date: 1990-02-01
Publication date: 1990-08-22
Anticipated expiration: 2010-02-01
Also published as: GB2228240B; AU4907990A; GB8903388D0; DE4004538C2; GB9002270D0; DE4004538A1

Description

1 VEHICLE EXTERIOR MIRROR This invention relates to an exterior rear view

mirror for a motor vehicle of the type comprising a bracket having a base portion adapted to be mounted on the vehicle body and an elongate portion of circular cross- section spaced from the base portion, a mirror housing having a reflective member mounted therein, and clamping means fast with the mirror housing and engaging round the elongate portion of the bracket so as to permit the housing to be clamped to the bracket at a selected orientation about the axis of said elongate portion.

The reflective members of exterior mirrors for commercial vehicle tend to be relatively large with the result that their housings are relatively heavy. When such a mirror is to be mounted on a vehicle door having a substantially vertical member bounding the front edge of a window therein, it is already known to form the mounting bracket for such a mirror as a so-called D-arm with the mirror housing clamped onto one vertical limb of the D-shape and the other vertical limb being constituted by such substantially vertical member. This arrangement cannot be used on the type of vehicle where the front frame member of the window in the vehicle door slopes rearwardly.

With this type of vehicle, it is more usual for the mirror bracket to be secured to the vehicle body at a location below the bottom edge of the window opening in the vehicle door. The present invention is concerned with a mirror for use with a vehicle of this type having a bracket which provides a relatively rigid mounting.

According to the invention, an exterior rear view mirror for a motor vehicle comprises two bracket members each having a base portion adapted to be mounted on the vehicle body and an elongate portion of partcircular cross-section spaced from the base portion, a mirror housing having a reflective member mounted therein, and clamping means fast with the mirror housing and engaging 2 round the elongate portions of the bracket members so as to permit the housing to be clamped to the bracket members at a selected orientation about the axis of said elongate portions and to hold said elongate portions in abutment with one another, the respective base portions of the bracket members being located so as to engage with the vehicle body at locations spaced apart from one another.

Embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing an exterior mirror in accordance with the invention mounted on a vehicle door; and Figure 2 is a horizontal cross-sectional view through the clamping means of the mirror shown in Figure 1.

Referring first to Figure 1, a motor vehicle has a left-hand door 10 containing a window opening 12. An exterior mirror, having a housing 14 is mounted on the vehicle door by means of upper and lower bracket arms 16 and 18. The upper bracket arm 16 is coupled to an upper base member 20 which is secured to the vehicle door 10, the connection between the arm 16 and the base member 20 comprising a vertically orientated pivot pin 22.

Similarly the lower bracket arm 18 is coupled to a lower base member 24 by a pivot pin 26. The base members 20 and 24 are mounted on the vehicle door 10 so that the two pivot pins 22 and 24 have a common axis. The pivotal coupling between the arms 16 and 18 and their respective base members 20 and 24 is of known type, being arranged normally to hold the arms 16 and 18 at a preset orientation but to allow then to pivot forwardly or rearwardly so as to lie parallel to and closely adjacent to the vehicle door 10 in the event that the mirror housing 14 is subjected to impact.

The bracket arms 16 and 18 are formed from tubular metal and their outer ends 28 and 30 have mutually confronting surfaces 32 and 34 (Figure 2) which are 3 flattened so that, when disposed in abutment with one another, the two end portions 28 and 30 together have a circular cross-section.

In use, the ends 28 and 30 of the bracket arms 16 and 18 are held together by a clamp assembly comprising a first clamping member 36 which is secured to the mirror housing 14, and a second member 38 which is secured to the first member by screws 40 and 42. The abutting faces of the clamping members 36 and 38 contain semi -cylindrical recesses which together form a cylindrical channel for receiving the end portions 28 and 30 of the bracket arms 16 and 18. When the screws 40 and 42 are tightened, the clamping members 36 and 38 serve the dual purpose of clamping the two bracket arms 16 and 18 together and attaching the mirror housing 14 thereto. The screws 40 and 42 can be slackened so as to permit relative vertical movement between the ends 28 and 30 of the bracket arms 16 and 18 during installation, thus compensating for any inaccuracies in the relative positions of the brackets 20 and 24. Alternatively, a separate temporary fixture (not shown) may be provided to hold the ends 28 and 30 together while the arms 16 and 18 are mounted on the vehicle body and the clamping members 36 and 40 fitted subsequently.

1 4

Claims

1. An exterior rear view mirror for a motor vehicle comprising two bracket members each having a base portion adapted to be mounted on the vehicle body and an elongate portion of part-circular cross-section spaced from the base portion, a "mirror housing having a reflective member mounted therein, and clamping means f ast with the mirror housing and engaging round the elongate portions of the bracket members so as to permit the housing to be clamped to the bracket members at a selected orientation about the axis of said elongate portions and to hold said elongate portions in abutment with one another, the respective base portions of the bracket members being located so as to engage with the vehicle body at locations spaced apart from one another.

2. An exterior rear view mirror according to claim 1, wherein the clamping means comprises a pair of clamping members having mutually abuting surfaces containing complementary part-cylindrical recesses.

3. An exterior rear view mirror for a motor vehicle, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Published 1990 at The Patent Office. State House.6671 Higilliolb-. LondonWC1R4TP.FVrther copies maybe obtainedfrom The Patent OfficeSales Branch, St Mary Cray. Orpington. Kent BR5 3RD. Printed by Multiplex tecliniques ltd, St Mary Cray, Kent, Con. 1'87