IE64037B1 - Covering sheath for a supporting element of an external rearview mirror assembly for a vehicle - Google Patents

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).

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 or commercial 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 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 a supporting element with several different cross5 sections in a single piece entails greater manufacturing difficulties and thus an increase in production costs.

An object of the present invention is to provide an external review mirror assembly for an industrial or commercial vehicle, in which the aforesaid drawback is overcome, thus enabling a supporting element with a non-circular crosssection to be obtained in a simple and economical fashion. The invention consists in a covering sheath for at least one section of a supporting element of a vehicle external rearview mirror assembly of the type comprising at least one mirror housed in at least one external container mounted in the supporting element, wherein said sheath has a different cross-section from that of the 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; 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 9, 10 and 11 are sectional views, respectively, along lines IX-IX, X-X and XI-XI of the covering sheath and of the supporting element in FIGURE 2; FIGURE 12 is a sectional view of a part of the supporting element with the covering sheath, in the area in which it fits to the external container for the rearview mirror assembly shown in FIGURE 2; and FIGURE 13 is a sectional view of a part of the supporting element with the covering sheath, in the area in which it fits to end hinging means, for the rearview mirror assembly shown in FIGURE 2.

With ref erence 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. . The .^assembly 1 comprises, in a known 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 horizontal 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. on supporting element - 3, sections above and below container 7,. are -two sheaths . 15 and .15' , ^respectively, which present a cross-section of a dif f erent:.shape from that of supporting element 3, in the area covered; in particular,- the 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 aplastics material, for example PVC, and may be coloured; they have a first Disposed on the the areas of 15 and 15’, cavity 19, . of sheaths sc the first i element 3, to that of s adapted to upplying the [ type, which of mirror 6. cavity 18, (FIGURE 3) in greater cross-section of the sheaths 15 and 15', and a second cylindrical longitudinal cavity 19, with a smaller diameter, in the areas and 15’ opposite the convex base: cavity is adapted to house supporting element 3, whose external outline thus corresponds to that o cavity 18, and the second cavity 19 is adapted ti house an electrical wire 20 for supplying th devices, of a known and not illustrated type, whic’ adjust the position and/or temperature of mirror 6. In diametrically opposite positions of cavity 18 there are two longitudinal cavities 22 (FIGURE 3) in sheaths 15 and 15’, 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 the vertical central part 8 of the supporting element 3 which extends into the external container 7. The latter has a main part 26 and a rear lid 27, and the main part 26 supports gripping means 28 and 29 around the central part 8 to fix the container to the supporting element 3. The sheath 15' which covers both the vertical part 8 of the supporting element 3 below container 7 and lower arm 10, ends at the top in a cup 31 whose upper edge is housed in a corresponding groove 33 formed in the main part 26 and the rear lid 27 of the container 7. This cup 31 has an internal diameter substantially equal to the maximum distance between the external surface of the sheath 15'and the axis of the cavity 18, which corresponds to the distance between this 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, than sheath 15' which fits to it in an airtight fashion. The cup 31 which, as well as providing a seal, enables rotation of the container 7 with respect to the supporting element 3, is of the type described in our patent specification No. 2230064A. From cavity 19 of sheath 15', the electrical wire 20 protrudes towards the inside of the 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 the supporting element J. The wire 20' between the two rearview mirror assemblies may be passed through cavity 19 of a similar sheath on element. 3, interposed between the 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 of sheath 15', and which ends with a flat section 40 flattened on the diametrical plane of the element 3. The 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 defining a preferential angular position of rearview mirror assembly 1 with respect to wall 42 of the vehicle. The hinging means may be of the construction described in our patent specification No. 2229981A. More particularly, between the wings of bracket 41 is positioned a pin 44 with a threaded end, which passes through the flat section 40 of supporting element 3. Disposed on the pin 44, on one side of the flat section 40, coaxially with the pin 44, is a thrust spring 46 and, on the other side of the flat section, is 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 the

Claims (5)

1. A pharmaceutical composition in a form suitable for topical application to the eye, comprising a compound of the formula: where X is -CH(CH 3 )- and R, and R 2 are each CH 3 and are in the

2. And 3 positions of the phenyl ring, or a stereoisomer or pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or diluent. 10 2. A composition according to claim 1 comprising 4—[(α-methyl)-2,3-dimethylbenzyl]-lH-imidazole.

3. A composition according to claim 2 in which the compound is the dextro isomer.

4. The use of a compound of formula I as defined in 15 any one of claims 1 to 3 or stereoisomer or pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof in the manufacture of a medicament for use in lowering intraocular pressure in a mammal.

5. A composition according to claim l substantially 20 as hereinbefore described.