GB2250250A

GB2250250A - Vehicle rear view door mirrors

Info

Publication number: GB2250250A
Application number: GB9121922A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David Ohayon
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1990-11-29
Filing date: 1991-10-16
Publication date: 1992-06-03
Anticipated expiration: 2011-10-16
Also published as: GB2250250B; GB9025999D0; GB9121922D0

Abstract

The mirror comprises a plane or convex main mirror providing a rearward view and an auxiliary mirror providing an obliquely rearward view encompassing a blind spot of the main mirror. The auxiliary mirror, which is preferably convex, is secured on an in board part of the main mirror, and extends transversely from an inboard margin thereof and vertically from the upper to the lower boundary thereof. The auxiliary mirror can be supplied in kit form for converting conventional door mirrors. Tinted glass may be used in either the main mirror or the auxiliary mirror to distinguish between them. <IMAGE>

Description

VEHICLE DOOR MIRRORS This invention relates to vehicle rear-view door mirrors arranged for fitting to a door of a road vehicle, for example, an automobile (car) or a light van. Such mirrors will be referred to hereafter for the sake of simplicity as 'vehicle door mirrors'.

Such mirrors may comprise a conventional plane mirror, or a conventional convex mirror having a large radius of curvature, of the order of 1400 mm or more. In general, such door mirrors provide for the vehicle driver a satisfactory view of the scene to the rear of the vehicle, but they suffer from a defect, in that they do not provide the driver with an obliquely rearward view of any vehicle that is in an outer lane and is in course of overtaking his vehicle. It is thus said that there is a 'blind spot' which is not within the rearwards field of view provided by the door mirror.

Various proposals have been made to overcome this blind spot deficiency. These include, inter alia, the provision of a small auxiliary mirror (i.e. small in relation to the size of the normal door mirror) having a convex reflecting surface of relatively small radius of curvature (i.e.

substantially and significantly less than 1400 mm), which auxiliary mirror is attached to the periphery of the normal door mirror (i.e. the main mirror), or is secured to the viewing surface of that mirror at an outboard position thereon. With such an arrangement, the vehicle driver has two rearward views of the scene behind him, that is - the normal rearward view provided by the normal door mirror, and an additional relatively miniature, obliquely rearward view provided by the convex auxiliary mirror and encompassing the said blind spot.

This arrangement presents for the vehicle driver the problem of quickly interpreting the two views that are available to him at substantially different scales.

Moreover, such an auxiliary mirror secured on an outboard part of the main mirror obscures a significant and important part of the view provided by the main mirror.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a composite door mirror comprises a normal conventional door mirror (hereafter referred to as the 'main mirror'), which may be of the plane or convex type, and an auxiliary mirror secured on an inboard portion of the main mirror, which portion extends transversely from an inboard margin of the main mirror and vertically from substantially the upper boundary of the main mirror to substantially the lower boundary of the main mirror, the auxiliary mirror being angled relative to the main mirror so at to provide a said obliquely rearward view encompassing said blind spot.

By positioning the auxiliary mirror adjacent the inboard margin of the main mirror, there is a less significant reduction of the rearward view provided by the main mirror, since that inboard portion tends to look directly along the side of the vehicle, and hence does not contribute significantly to the rearward view needed by the vehicle driver. Moreover, such an inboard auxiliary mirror provides an obliquely rearward view of a substantial area encompassing the blind spot of the main mirror.

The auxiliary mirror may be a plane mirror, though preferably it is constituted as a suitably shaped part of a convex mirror having a radius of curvature which is large in relation to that of the afore-mentioned prior art convex auxiliary mirror, and which is typically not substantially different from or substantially less than that of conventional convex mirrors supplied for use in door mirrors for cars and light vans. In such conventional convex mirrors, the radius of curvature is typically 1400 mm, or even more.

Preferably, the outboard periphery of the auxiliary mirror is provided with a narrow opaque band so as to clearly separate the rearward and oblique views provided by the respective main and auxiliary mirrors. This helps to avoid confusion between the respective views, such as can occur with the prior art arrangements.

Whilst the auxiliary mirror may be secured directly on the main mirror, it is preferred that the auxiliary mirror be secured on a wedge-shaped auxiliary mirror support (preferably of a plastics material) which is itself secured on the main mirror at the appropriate position thereon, the wedge-shape of the mirror support being such as to achieve the desired angular relationship between the two mirrors.

Furthermore, it is preferred that the auxiliary mirror be inset into the support so as to provide protection for the edges of the auxiliary mirror. In that case, a peripheral bead surrounding the auxiliary mirror may constitute the said opaque band which separates the rearward and oblique views of the two mirrors.

If desired, the auxiliary mirror and the auxiliary mirror support may be integrally formed.

The auxiliary mirror support may be provided at one surface thereof with a double-sided self-adhesive pad for securing the support to the main mirror. The auxiliary mirror may be secured on the mirror support by any convenient adhesive material, such as for example, a double-sided self-adhesive tape or pad.

The auxiliary mirror support may be shaped at its said surface in a manner such as to enable it to be fixed optionally to a plane mirror, or alternatively to a conventional convex door mirror of 1400 mm nominal radius of curvature. To that end, it is preferred to shape that mirror support surface as a convex surface of still larger radius of curvature, of the order of 2000 mm, and to secure on that surface a double-sided, self-adhesive pad of a thickness such as to enable the support to be readily secured optionally to any one of the conventional plane and convex main mirror types.

The main and auxiliary mirrors may be of glass, or of a plastics material, or of metal; or they may comprise different ones of such materials.

The auxiliary mirror may be arranged to have a reflectivity which is different from that of the main mirror. For example, the reflectivity of the auxiliary mirror may be lower than that of the main mirror, in which case the obliquely rearward view provided by the auxiliary mirror is less bright than the rearward view provided by the main mirror. Alternatively, if desired, the respective reflectivities of the main and auxiliary mirrors may be arranged so that a brighter view is obtained from the auxiliary mirror. Such effects may be achieved, for example, where the mirrors are made of a glass or a plastics material, by using for one of the mirrors a tinted material, and for the other mirror an untinted material.

Whilst the present invention is about to be described specifically with reference to a composite mirror which comprises two separate mirrors which are secured together in a way described above, the composite mirror could be made as a unitary structure (e.g. of glass, a plastics material, or a metal) having an auxiliary mirror surface positioned, angled and sized relative to the main mirror surface in the manner described above, and below.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a kit of parts for converting a normal, conventional door mirror into a composite mirror according to the present invention includes an auxiliary mirror, an auxiliary mirror support, adhesive means for securing the auxiliary mirror to the mirror support, and adhesive means (preferably, a double-sided self-adhesive pad) for securing the mirror support to the normal door mirror, all as set forth above.

In such a kit, the auxiliary mirror, the auxiliary mirror support, and the respective adhesive means may, if desired, be pre-assembled, in readiness for positioning and securing on a conventional door mirror by a purchaser of the kit.

Other features of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the description that follows hereafter, and of the claims appended at the end of that description.

One composite vehicle door mirror according to the present invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows the composite door mirror in side elevation, looking at the reflective surfaces of the mirror; Figure 2 shows the mirror in plan view; Figure 3 shows the mirror as seen on the transverse section line II 1-111 shown in Figure 1; and Figure 4 shows, in outline only, a plan view of a vehicle having such a composite door mirror secured on the driver's door, and indicating the respective fields of view of the main and auxiliary mirrors of the composite door mirror.

In this specification, wherever it occurs, the term 'inboard' in relation to a door mirror means 'nearer the driver', whilst 'outboard' means 'further from the driver'.

Referring now to the drawings, the composite door mirror is indicated at 10, and comprises a conventional, convex, main glass mirror 12 of large radius of curvature (typically 1400 mm, as normally supplied for use in door mirrors for cars and light vans), and an auxiliary glass mirror 14 which is secured on the main mirror 12 adjacent the inboard margin of that mirror by means of a plastics support 16, which may be of a rigid or semi-resilient construction.

The auxiliary mirror comprises a suitably-shaped portion of a conventional convex mirror having a large radius of curvature of the order of 1400 mm, and covers the inboard portion of the main mirror; that portion extends vertically from the upper to the lower extremity of the main mirror.

The auxiliary mirror support 16 is generally wedge-shaped in plan view, and has front and rear recesses 18, 20 of which the recessed base surfaces 22, 24 are convexly and concavely curved, as indicated in the Figure 3. The front recessed surface 22 is shaped to receive and support the auxiliary mirror 14, which mirror is secured in that front recess 18 by any convenient adhesive material 26, such as, for example, a double-sided self-adhesive tape.

The rear recess 20 has secured therein a double sided selfadhesive pad 28, which pad conforms to the concave shape of the recessed base surface 24. That surface has a radius of curvature of approximately 2000 mm.

A bead 30 which bounds and defines the front recess 18 provides an arcuate opaque band which separates for the vehicle driver the rearward and oblique views provided by the main and auxiliary mirrors 12 and 14. Moreover, that bead provides mechanical protection for the edges of the auxiliary mirror.

Due to the large radius of curvature of the auxiliary mirror 14, the images of vehicles as seen in that mirror will be of much the same size as the images of those vehicles as seen in the main mirror 12, so that the driver has less difficulty in interpreting quickly the two sideby-side views.

The composite mirror 10 is carried in a conventional manner in a conventional protective cowl of which only the outline is indicated in chain-dotted form at 32 in the Figures 1 and 2.

The self-adhesive pad 28 is of such thickness that, in conjunction with the curvature forced upon it by the base surface 24 of the rear recess 20, it can optionally conform comfortably to and so be secured to either (a) a conventional car or van type convex main mirror having a radius of curvature of 1400 mm, or (b) to a plane main mirror.

The reflectivity of the main mirror, or of the auxiliary mirror may be reduced, if desired, by using for it a tinted glass instead, so as to reduce the brightness of the view provided by that mirror relative to the brightness of the view provided by the other mirror.

A kit of parts for converting a main mirror such as 12 to a composite mirror 10 according to the present invention comprises an auxiliary mirror support 16, an auxiliary mirror 14, a suitable adhesive material 26 for securing the auxiliary mirror to the support 16, and a double-sided self-adhesive pad 28 for securing the support to the main mirror, all as described above.

In the plan view of Figure 4, there is shown the outline 34 of a motor vehicle having the composite mirror 10 described above carried on the driver's door 36, and the respective rearward and obliquely rearward fields of view 38 and 40 of the main and auxiliary mirrors 12 and 14. From that Figure, it will be appreciated that the placing of the auxiliary mirror 14 on the inboard portion of the main mirror 12 causes a rather less significant reduction in the rearward field of view provided by the main mirror 12 as compared with that produced by placing an auxiliary mirrcr on the outboard part of the main mirror.

The composite mirror just described above is suitable for use on any form of road vehicle, e.g. a car, a light van, or even a lorry or a truck.

In alternative versions of the composite mirror just described above, the respective mirrors are made instead from a suitable plastics material, or of a suitable metal.

In an alternative composite mirror, likewise generally similar to that described above, the conventional convex main mirror 12 is replaced by a conventional plane mirror.

In yet another alternative version of the composite door mirror described above, the main and auxiliary mirrors are formed integrally in a single glass structure having appropriate mirror surfaces arranged to provide the said rearward and obliquely rearward fields of view for the vehicle driver.

In a further alternative version of the above-described composite door mirror, the mirrors comprise suitably shaped metal members having appropriate reflecting surfaces. Such metal mirrors may comprise separate mirrors secured together, or alternatively they may comprise a single integral mirror structure.

Claims

1. A vehicle driver's rear-view door mirror arranged for mounting on a side door of a vehicle adjacent the driver's seat of the vehicle, which mirror includes a conventional main mirror arranged to provide for a vehicle driver a rearwards view of the road scene behind the vehicle, and an auxiliary mirror carried on the main mirror and arranged to provide for the driver an obliquely rearward view encompassing a blind spot area not covered by the main mirror; characterised in that said auxiliary mirror is disposed on the main mirror adjacent an inboard margin thereof and covers an inboard portion thereof, which portion extends vertically from substantially the upper boundary of the main mirror to substantially the lower boundary thereof.

2. A vehicle door mirror according to claim 1, wherein said auxiliary mirror is a convex mirror having a large radius of curvature.

3. A vehicle door mirror according to claim 2, wherein said convex auxiliary mirror has a radius of convature which is not substantially less than, or substantially different from, that used in conventional convex door mirrors intended for use in automobiles and light vans.

4. A vehicle door mirror according to claim 3, wherein the radius of curvature of the convex auxiliary mirror is substantially, or of the order of, 1400 mm.

5. A vehicle door mirror according to any preceding claim, wherein the auxiliary mirror is a plane mirror.

6. A vehicle door mirror according to any preceding claim, wherein the outboard periphery of the auxiliary mirror is provided with a narrow opaque band so as to clearly separate the rearward and obliquely rearward views provided by the respective main and auxiliary mirrors.

7. A vehicle door mirror according to any preceding claim, wherein the auxiliary mirror is secured directly to the main mirror.

8. A vehicle door mirror according to any one of the claims 1 to 6, wherein the auxiliary mirror is secured on a wedge-shaped auxiliary mirror support which is itself secured on the main mirror at the appropriate position thereon, the wedge-shaping of the mirror support being such as to achieve the desired angular relationship between the two mirrors.

9. A vehicle door mirror according to claim 8, wherein the auxiliary mirror and mirror support are integrally formed.

10. A vehicle door mirror according to claim 8, wherein the auxiliary mirror is inset in the support thereby to provide protection for the edges of that mirror, said support having a peripheral bead which surrounds the auxiliary mirror and constitutes an opaque band separating the rearward and obliquely rearward views provided by the respective main and auxiliary mirrors.

11. A vehicle door mirror according to claim 8, 9 or 10, wherein the auxiliary mirror support is provided at one surface thereof with a double-sided self-adhesive pad for securing the support to the main mirror.

12. A vehicle door mirror according to claim 11, wherein the auxiliary mirror support is shaped at its said surface so as to enable it to be secured optionally to a plane mirror, or alternatively to conventional convex mirrors of said large radius of curvature.

13. A vehicle door mirror according to any preceding claim, wherein the main mirror comprises a plane mirror.

14. A vehicle door mirror according to any one of the claims 1 to 12, wherein the main mirror comprises a convex mirror.

15. A vehicle door mirror according to any preceding claim, wherein the main and auxiliary mirrors are formed of glass.

16. A vehicle door mirror according to any one of the claims 1 to 14, wherein the main and auxiliary mirrors are formed of a plastics material.

17. A vehicle door mirror according to any one of the claims 1 to 14, wherein the main and auxiliary mirrors are formed of metal.

18. A vehicle door mirror according to any preceding claim, wherein one of the main and auxiliary mirrors has a reflectivity which is different from that of the other mirror, whereby the view provided by one of the mirrors is brighter than that provided by the other mirror.

19. A vehicle door mirror according to claim 18, wherein the respective mirrors are of a glass or a plastics material, and the material used for one of the mirrors is tinted, while the material used for the other mirror is untainted.

20. A vehicle door mirror according to any preceding claim, wherein the main and auxiliary mirrors are formed as an integral composite mirror structure in which an auxiliary mirror portion thereof is positioned, angled and sized relative to a main mirror portion in the requisite manner so as to provide a driver with the said rearward and obliquely rearward views.

21. A kit of parts for converting a normal conventional vehicle door mirror into a composite door mirror according to any one of the claims 1 to 19, including an auxiliary mirror, an auxiliary mirror support, adhesive means securing or for securing the auxiliary mirror to the mirror support, and a double-sided self-adhesive pad or other suitable adhesive means for securing the mirror support to the normal door mirror.

22. A kit of parts according to claim 21, wherein the named constituent parts are formed into an assembly in which said mirror support has adhesively secured on one surface thereof said auxiliary mirror, and on an opposite surface thereof said self-adhesive pad or tape.

23. A vehicle door mirror substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying diagrammatic drawing.

24. A kit of parts for converting a normal conventional vehicle door mirror into a composite door mirror according to any preceding claim, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying diagrammatic drawing.