GB2379430A

GB2379430A - Vehicle rear view mirror

Info

Publication number: GB2379430A
Application number: GB0121672A
Authority: GB
Inventors: George James Wyers
Original assignee: Truck Lite Co LLC
Current assignee: Truck Lite Co LLC
Priority date: 2001-09-08
Filing date: 2001-09-08
Publication date: 2003-03-12
Also published as: GB0121672D0

Abstract

An external vehicle rear view mirror system situated in close proximity to the cab comprises a mirror body 11 housing a fixed or independently adjustable reflective surface 10, two rotating hinges 13 & 16 positioned at either end of a retaining arm 14 and a post 12 supporting the mirror body. One embodiment describes vertical adjustment of the mirror body along post 12.

Description

IMPROVEMENTS RELATING TO REAR VIEW MIRRORS ON VEHICLE'S WITH WIDE CABS Commercial vehicle manufacturers are now tending to make prime mover cabs the same or nearly the same width as the trailer, this causes problems when trying to meet the E. E. C. /E. C. E requirements for impact testing.

To meet the legal requirements the mirror needs to be touching or nearly touching the body of the cab, this produces difficulties when the E. E. C. impact test tries to move the mirror out of the way of the swinging impact test machine pendulum weight with two degrees of freedom on it's pivot, arcing parallel to the longitudinal line of the vehicle. This could be accomplished if the mirror was one or two millimetres thick and hinged on the edge touching the cab, however, this is not the case as mirror bodies have to contain mirror rotation mechanisms and meet aerodynamic requirements producing a thickness in the order of fifty to hundred millimetres.

According to the present invention there is provided a double hinge arrangement one positioned at the front of the mirror but not attached to the mirror but hinged to the cab anchor plate, the other via a link member that is hinged an attached to the rear of the mirror.

This arrangement allows the mirror to be positioned as near as possible to the cab when in a usable position. It also allows the mirror to be impacted on the glass side using the rear hinge and impacting the rear side when using the front hinge.

All hinged members have indent locations that allow the mirror to be repositioned when knocked out of location when impacted.

A specific embodiment of the invention will now be described by the way of an example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which :-

Figure 1 shows a perspective arrangement of a mirror system where the mirror glass moves inside the mirror housing with two cut-way views for clarity.

Figure 2 shows the mirror system attached to the cab.

Figure 3 shows a perspective arrangement of an alternative mirror system where the mirror glass is fixed to the housing. However, the mirror housing is capable of arcuate adjustment in both vertical and horizontal directions.

Figure 4 shows the mirror system when impacted from the front and the path of the pendulum weight.

Figure 5 shows the mirror system when impacted from the rear and the path of the pendulum weight.

Figure 6 shows a section through a typical indent mechanism for the linkage.

Figure 7 shows an exploded view of the indent mechanism.

Referring to the drawing mirror system Fig 1. Comprises of mirror glass 10 with arcuate adjustment inside mirror body 11 which in turn has bosses 12 allowing the body 11 to rotate via clutch 13 and link 14.

The anchor plate 15 supports the other end of the hinged link 14 with it's own indent clutch 16.

The attaching of the anchor plate 15 to the cab body is by fixing holes 17.

Alternative mirror system Fig 3 is as mirror system Fig 1 except for the mirror glass which is fixed in the housing 18 and mirror housing support pillar 19 containing mirror body arcuate adjuster 20.

The path of the pendulum weight 21 is shown in Fig 4 and how it is diverted by the glass face of the hinged mirror body 11/18 but stillallows the pendulum to go through, in order to pass the test.

With Fig 5 the link 14 comes into operation allowing the mirror body 11/18 to swing outwards as the pendulum weight 21 contacts the rear of the mirror body 1 1118 on it's way to passing the test.

The construction of the clutch used on all four joints is shown in a sectional view Fig 6 and an exploded view Fig7. The spindle 22 holds together the links 15 and 16 with the aid of spring 25 and push-on-fix clip 26. This entraps the tooth 23 within the indent groove 24 to produce the location.

Claims

CLAIMS 1 A hinged vehicle mirror body of substantial thickness and in close proximity to the vehicle's cab side, which would normally have difficulty in rotating away from an impact force on the glass face and on the rear face of the mirror body is provided with two hinges via a link that allows the mirror body bosses to pivot at the rear when hit from the front and to pivot at the front when hit from the rear.
2 A hinged vehicle mirror body as claimed in claim I wherein the attachment to the body is via a post pivoted on the rear hinge and is used to support and arcuate the mirror body at a predetermined position on the post.
3 A hinged vehicle mirror body as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 may have the reflective member (mirror) fixed to the mirror body or free to move within the mirror body.