GB2229980A

GB2229980A - Covering sheath for vehicle mirror support

Info

Publication number: GB2229980A
Application number: GB9006194A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Giuseppe Valde
Original assignee: Gilardini SpA
Current assignee: Marelli Europe SpA
Priority date: 1989-03-20
Filing date: 1990-03-20
Publication date: 1990-10-10
Anticipated expiration: 2010-03-20
Also published as: IT8952951V0; IE64037B1; FR2644413A1; GB9006194D0; PT8344T; PT8344U; IE901022L; ES1014625U; BE1005286A5; ES1014625Y; NL194607B; FR2644413B1; NL9000649A; SE9000950L; NL194607C; SE508268C2; SE9000950D0; DE4008588A1; IT216983Z2; GB2229980B

Abstract

A covering sheath (15, 15') for a C-shaped supporting element (3) of an external rearview mirror assembly (1) for an industrial vehicle, of the type comprising a mirror (6) housed in an external container (7) held by the supporting element (3), and in which the sheath (15, 15') has a pear-shaped cross-section, different from the circular cross-section of the supporting element (3), and this sheath (15, 15') has, on its inside, a first longitudinal cavity (18), adapted to house the supporting element (3), and a second longitudinal cavity (19), adapted to house at least one electrical wire (20) for supplying the internal devices of the rearview mirror assembly (1). <IMAGE>

Description

"COVERING SHEATH FOR A SUPPORTING ELEMENT OF AN EXTERNAL REARVIEW MIRROR

ASSEMBLY FOR A VEHICLE" The present invention relates to an external rearview mirror assembly and particularly but not exclusively to an external rearview mirror assembly for an industrial vehicle.

Known external rearview mirror assemblies for industrial vehicles normally comprise a substantially C-shaped supporting element which is adapted to be hinged at its ends to a wing of the vehicle body, and a mirror housed in an external container joined to a central part of the supporting element; at least one of the points at which the supporting element is joined to the vehicle body consists of a hinge adapted to define at least one preferential stable position for the supporting element in relation to the vehicle body.

Said supporting element is usually formed by a metal tube which thus has a circular cross-section, and houses the wires providing electrical power to the mirror position adjusting devices and, if present, to the defrosting devices.

The circular cross-section of said supporting element is often an impediment to stylistic and/or aerodynamic considerations in the design of the - 1 entire rearview mirror assembly, as these require sections of a different shape, or even different shaped sections for different areas of the supporting element; the production of said supporting element with several different cross-sections in a single piece entails greater manufacturing difficulties, and thus an increase in production costs.

The object of the present invention is to provide an external rearview mirror assembly for an industrial vehicle, on which the aforesaid drawback is overcome, thus enabling a supporting element with a non- circular cross-section to be obtained in a simple and economical fashion.

other aims and advantages achieved by the present invention will become evident from the description that follows.

According to the present invention, there is provided a covering sheath for at least one section of a supporting element of an external rearview mirror assembly for a vehicle, of the type comprising at least one mirror housed in at least one external container held by said supporting element, characterized in that said sheath has a different form of cross-section from that of said J 1 1 supporting element, in the area covered.

The present invention will be explained by way of a preferred embodiment, to be taken as a non-limiting example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front view of an external rearview mirror assembly for an industrial vehicle, equipped with the covering sheath for the supporting element, in accordance with the present invention; - FIGURE 2 is a partial side view, orthogonal to the view shown in FIGURE 1, of the external rearview mirror assembly equipped with the covering sheath for the supporting element, in accordance with the present invention; FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view of the covering sheath and of the supporting element of the rearview mirror assembly shown in FIGURE 1; FIGURE 4 is a front end view of the covering sheath and of the supporting element of the rearview mirror assembly shown in FIGURE 1; FIGURE 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of a part of the covering sheath and of the supporting element of the rearview mirror-assembly shown in FIGURE 1; FIGURE 6 is a sectional view along a line VI-VI of the covering sheath and of the supporting element shown in FIGURE 5; FIGURE 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of a different embodiment of a part of the covering sheath and of the supporting element of the rearview mirror assembly shown in FIGURE 1; FIGURE 8 is a sectional view along a line VIII-VIII of the covering sheath and of the supporting element shown in FIGURE 7; FIGURES 91 10 and 11 are sectional views, respectively, along lines IX-lX, X-X and X1-Xl of the covering sheath and of the supporting element in FIGURE 2; FIGURE 12 is a sectional side view of a part of supporting element with the covering sheath, in area in which it fits to the external container the rearview mirror assembly shown in FIGURE 2; FIGURE 13 is a sectional side view of a part of supporting element with the covering sheath, in area in which it fits to end hinging means, for rearview mirror assembly shown in FIGURE 2.

In reference to FIGURES 1 and 2, numeral 1 indicates, in its entirety, an external rearview mirror assembly adapted for application onto an industrial vehicle, in a known and not illustrated fashion. Said assembly 1 comprises, in a known the for and the the the i 1 manner, a supporting element 3 (FIGURES 9, 10 and 11), hinged to project from the body of the vehicle, by means of two hinge assemblies, one upper and one lower, indicated by 4 and 5 respectively, and a mirror 6 housed at its outer edges in an external container 7 which is joined to said supporting element 3, which is made of a metal tube bent into a substantially C shape and comprises a vertical central part 8, to which container 7 is joined in an adjustable manner, and a pair of approximately orizontal arms 9 and 10, one upper and one lower, which present at their free ends, respectively, hinge assemblies 4 and 5, which are covered, respectively, by bellows 12 and 13.

According to the present invention, on supporting element 3 are set, on the sections above and below container 7, two sheaths 15 and 15', respectively, which present a cross-section of a different type from that of supporting element 3, in the area covered; in particular, said sheaths 15 and 15' have a pear-shaped cross-section, that is substantially the shape of an isosceles triangle with rounded corners and a convex base. Said sheaths 15 and 15 are most suitably made of a plastic material, for example PVC, and may be coloured; they have a first cylindrical longitudinal cavity 18, in the areas of greater cross-section of said sheaths 15 and 15', and a second cylindrical longitudinal cavity 19, with a smaller diameter, towards the area of sheaths 15 and 15' opposite the convex base: the first cavity is adapted to house supporting element 3, whose external outline thus corresponds to that of cavity-18, and the second cavity 19 is adapted to house an electrical wire 20 for supplying the devices, of a known and not illustrated type, which adjust the position andlor temperature of mirror 6.

In diametrically opposite positions of cavity 18, there are two longitudinal cavities 22 (FIGURE 3) in sheaths 15 and 1V,_adapted for housing respective ends of transverse plugs 23 set perpendicular to the axis of supporting element 3 (FIGURES 5 and 6); in this way, sheaths 15 and 15' are positioned with their external outline in a stable and preset manner on supporting element 3.

FIGURES 7 and 8 show a variant of the angular joining means of sheaths 15 and 15' on supporting element 3, in that tranverse plugs 23 are replaced by longitudinal strips 24 fixed in diametrically opposite.positions on the surface of supporting element 3, and said strips 24 are thus housed in longitudinal cavities 22 of sheaths 15 and 15'.

FIGURE 12 shows a section of vertical central part 8 of supporting element 3, which passes into external container 7, which has a main part 26 and a rear lid 27, and said main part 26 supports gripping means 28 and 29 around said central part 8, to fix container to supporting element 3. Sheath 15' which covers both vertical part 8 of supporting element 3 below container 7 and lower arm 10, ends at the-top in a beaker 31, whose upper edge is housed in a 26 and 7; said beaker 31 has an internal diameter substantially equal to the maximum distance between the external surface of sheath 15' and the axis of cavity 18, which corresponds to the distance between said axis and the recurved top surface opposite the convex base, and has an opening 34 of the same shape, but of a slightly smaller size, as sheath 15' which fits to it in An airtight fashion: said beaker 31 which, as well as providing a seal, enables a rotation of said container 7 with respect to supporting element 3, is of the type described in the Italian utility model patent application filed on the same day by the same applicant, entitled "Airtight joining element corresponding groove 33 made in main part rear lid 27 of container between an external container and a supporting element for an external rearview mirror assembly for a vehicle", whose contents regarding the necessary parts are incorporated here, for reference purposes. From cavity 19 of sheath 15', electrical wire 20 protrudes towards the inside of main part 26, and the dashed lines indicate another wire 20' which may continue upwards to other devices contained in another external rearview mirror assembly,-set in a known manner above assembly 1 and fixed to said supporting element 3, and said wire 20' between the two rearview mirror assemblies may be passed through cavity 19 of a similar sheath on element 3, interposed between said two rearview mirror assemblies.

FIGURE 13 shows a section of the end part of lower arm 10 of supporting element 3, which is partly covered by the end part of sheath 15', and which ends with a "flat section 40 flattened on the diametrical plane of said element 3; said flat section 40 is joined to a C-shaped bracket 41 fixed to project from the outside of wall 42 of the vehicle, by hinging means 5 means defining a preferential angular position of rearview mirror assembly 1 with respect to wall 42 of the vehicle, and of the type described in the Italian utility model patent application filed on the same day by the same applicant, entitled "Hinge assembly for a supporting element of an external rearview mirror unit for a vehicle", the contents of which, regarding the necessary parts, are here incorporated, for reference purposes. In particular, between the wings of bracket 41 is positioned a pin 44 with a threaded end, which passes through flat section 40 of supporting element 3, on one side of which is set, coaxially to pin 44, a thrust spring 46, and on the other side of which are hung on pin 44 a pair of members 47 and 48 which have a preferential angular joining position, and which are respectively joined to bracket 41 and flat section 40. From cavity 19 of sheath 15' protrudes electrical wire 20, which passes through holes made in bracket 41 and wall 42 of the vehicle, towards the inside of the vehicle, while bracket 41 is fixed to wall 42, and to another inner wall 52 of the vehicle, by a pair of bolts 53 blocked by nuts 54 on the threaded ends on the other side of wall 52; said bolts 53 are, in particular, housed in ferrules 50, which are incorporated in wall 60 between bracket 41 and outermost wall 42 of the vehicle, and which rest like spacers on innermost wall 52.

Sheaths 15 and 15' may thus be most suitably obtained by blanking sections of the corresponding lengths from structural shapes with the desired cross-section, and these may be fit respectively to upper arm 9 and upper section of vertical central part 8 of supporting element 3, and to lower arm 10 and lower section of vertical central part 8 of said element 3. When applied, sheaths 15 and-- 15' are guided by cavities 22 which house respective ends of plugs 23 (FIGURES 5 and 6) or strips 24 (FIGURES 7 and 8), and which thus determine a preset and stable angular position for sheaths 15 and 15' on supporting element 3; as can be seen in FIGURE 9, on vertical central part 8 of supporting element 3, sheath 15 (and sheath 15' which is set in the same position) is set in such a way that the axis of symmetry of said sheath, which is thus perpendicular to the convex base, is substantially parallel to wall 42 of the vehicle, while in relation to upper and lower arms 9 and 10, respectively, sheaths 15 and 15' are set at 90, as can be seen in FIGURES 2, 10 and 11. Sheath 15' is applied to flat end section 40 of lower arm 10, which is wider than the diameter of supporting element 3, taking advantage of the 1 greater width of cavity 18, in line with the diametrically opposite cavities 22 (FIGURE 4), which also determine an initial position for sheath 15'. In cavity 19 of sheath 15', prior to its application to supporting element 3, electrical wire 20 is inserted.

The advantages provided by the covering sheath constituting the present invention are evident from the description given; in particular,- it is possible, in a simple and economical fashion, to obtain a desired external outline of supporting element 3, with particular aesthetic andlor aerodynamic characteristics, without having to alter the basic tubular form of said element 3, in order that said element may be be used for all the different configurations requested, simply by using structured shapes for sheaths 15 and 15' of the relevant form and colour. The positioning of sheaths 15 and 15 on supporting element 3 may be defined and modified as desired, simply by varying the setting of plugs 23 or strips 24. In addition, cavity 19 of sheaths 15 and 15' provides housing for the wire that supplies power to the electrical devices of the rearview mirror assembly, and makes it unnecessary to make holes in supporting element

11 - 3. Finally, it is clear that to the embodiments of sheath described and illustrated, modifications variants may be made without exceeding the scope the present invention; for example, alterations be made, as required, to the form of the sheath, guiding system onto supporting element 3, the of the-supporting element, etc..

- 12 the and of

Claims

1. A covering sheath for at least one section. of a supporting element of an external rearview mirror assembly for a vehicle, of the type comprising at least one mirror housed in at least one external container held by said supporting element, characterized in that said sheath has a different form of cross-section from that of said supporting element, in the area covered.

2. A sheath as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that said external outline of said sheath has the shape of a pear. 3. A sheath as claimed in claim 1 or characterized in that said sheath has, 2, on its inside, a first longitudinal cavity, adapted to house said supporting elementf and a second longitudinal cavity, adapted to house at least one electrical wire 4. A sheath as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that said first longitudinal cavity has a cross-section substantially equal in form to that of said supporting element. - 5--A sheath as claimed in any of the previous claims, characterized in that it has joining means for said supporting element. to achieve a stable and preset angular position for said sheath on corresponding areas of said supporting element.

6. A sheath as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that said joining means comprise parts projecting from the surface of said supporting element, and corresponding cavities made in said sheath.

7. A sheath as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that said cavities consist of continuous channels.

8. A sheath as claimed in any of the previous claims, characterized in that it is made of a plastic material.

9. A sheath as claimed in any of the previous claims, characterized in that said supporting element is substantially C-shaped and comprises a central part to which is joined in an adjustable manner said external container of said mirror, and a pair of arms, one upper and one 1 ower., joined by hinging means to the body of said vehicle.

10. A sheath as claimed in claim 9, characterized in that it comprises a pair of parts, for covering, respectively, said pair of arms and sections of said central part below external container.

11. An external rearview mirror assembly for an industrial vehicle, comprising a supporting element to which is joined at least one external container housing at least one mirror,.

characterized in that it comprises at least one covering sheath for said supporting element, as claimed in any of the previous claims.

12. A covering sheath for a supporting element of an external rearview mirror assembly for an industrial vehicle and corresponding rearview mirror assembly, substantially as described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

above and Published 1990atThe PatentMoe,State House.6671 High Holborn, London WC1R 4TP. Purther copies may be obtainedfrorn The Patentoffice Sales Brancil, St Mary Cray. Orpington, Kent BRS 3RD. Printed by Multiplex techWques It& St Mary Cray, Kent, Con. 1187