JP2009126470A - Mirror for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To greatly widen a visual field range for projection check in left and right lateral directions and upper and lower directions of one's own vehicle by mounting spherical mirrors on conventional side mirrors. <P>SOLUTION: The side mirrors are mounted on the left and right sides of a conventional vehicle for checking lateral and rear lateral directions. A rear visual field including the left and right lateral directions and the upper and lower directions as viewed from a driver is remarkably widened although the spherical mirror has distortion in a projection surface by fixing the circular spherical mirror shown in Fig.1 to the upper part of the side mirror. A non-reflection part for preventing the projections of a driver himself and the inside of the vehicle to be projected on the mirror from coming into the visual field of the driver is arranged in the spherical mirror, and the position of the non-reflection part is freely varied according to bodily characteristics of the driver, so that the mirrors for the vehicle enable safer driving than conventional ones. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a mirror attached to a vehicle traveling on a road. More particularly, the present invention relates to a mirror for a car having a spherical shape capable of confirming a part of the front and lower visual field, which could not be confirmed by a conventional side mirror, as well as the left and right sides of the car.

Conventionally, a part that tends to be a blind spot in a side mirror installed in a vehicle body such as an automobile is right and left of the driver and slightly behind it. In recent side mirrors, there is also a mirror that takes into account the narrowing of the blind spot by providing a slight outer curve at a part of the tip of the flat surface (see Patent Document 1). In addition, there is a structure in which a rear-view mirror in a vehicle is enlarged and the left and right and the rear outside view are grasped by giving a curve to the whole, but this mirror is larger than a conventional mirror.
Large vehicles are equipped with multiple mirrors, such as mirrors for measuring left and right and rear view, as well as lower view confirmation mirrors, and for passenger cars for driving school, install side mirrors on the left and right sides of the vehicle. Therefore, the instructor and the driver who are in the course of training are designed to increase the number of mirrors so that they can have individual views.
In the future, Japan will face an aging society, and the cars that will increase the share of the passenger car market are expected to become mainstream, although they are small cars, they are easier to drive than conventional models, and are cheap and safe. .

  Conventionally, a side mirror installed in a vehicle or a rearview mirror installed in a vehicle has a blind spot portion that cannot be sufficiently monitored by a driver, and many traffic accidents have occurred due to this blind spot portion. Moreover, since the enlargement of a side mirror may induce a contact accident depending on the situation at the time of passing with a rival vehicle, it sometimes requires folding of a side mirror. In addition, the enlargement of the rearview mirror in the vehicle is an obstacle to the front vision, and in the event of a frontal collision, the driver or passenger may hit the mirror against the head and cause injury. Increasing the size of the side mirror induces contact between cars in a narrow alley, and sometimes accidents that injure pedestrians. In addition to the installation of multiple mirrors, recently, measures to prevent traffic accidents using infrared sensors, laser sensors, video cameras, etc. have been studied and implemented, and such high added value has been developed. The installation of equipment will increase the price of the car. In this way, in a popular car, without using expensive sensors and displays required for a luxury car, the function of enlarging the front and rear, left and right, and top and bottom visual fields of a car can be easily and inexpensively installed. Compared to a rearview mirror, it is required to have a mounting device that can improve driving safety and prevent traffic accidents.

  The vehicle mirror provided by the present invention provides a spherical mirror in order to solve the above problems. Since this mirror is circular, the projection seen by the driver has the disadvantage of being greatly distorted up and down around the center part of the mirror, but the left and right and upper and lower visual fields that can be seen from the driver ensure a much wider field of view. Thus, the driver can surely monitor a wide field of view including the driver's left and right sides and the diagonally rearward direction close to the driver's left and right. Since the driver's own projection is reflected on the spherical mirror on the driver's side, and the projection inside the vehicle is reflected on the spherical mirror on the passenger's side, the non-reflective area is provided on a part of the spherical mirror.

  Although the spherical mirror provided by the present invention has a large projection distortion compared to the conventional single side mirror, the driver will make a leap in the side, rear and top / bottom field of view, which is the basis of safe driving for the driver. Can be enlarged. By adopting a structure in which the projection of the driver or the interior of the vehicle is not reflected on the spherical mirror, the driver can monitor the left and right wide-angle sides including the top and bottom of the side of the vehicle and the rear. Further, the spherical mirror has a wide viewing angle, and the driver can visually check the front lower field of view of the vehicle. This makes it easier to move the vehicle and prevents contact with front obstacles. The setting of the non-reflecting part so as not to reflect the projection of the driver himself or the car can be easily made according to the height of the driver and the posture of the seat. Since the spherical mirror of the present invention has a circular shape, it has little influence on air resistance even during high-speed operation. From the above points, the driver can easily and reliably grasp the visual field information necessary for safe driving.

By attaching the spherical mirror of the present invention to the place where the driver can easily see the left and right, front and rear scenes of the car, such as the upper part of the side mirror attached to the conventional car, the part of the chassis next to the front bonnet, etc. It is intended to provide a mirror for a vehicle that can dramatically expand and monitor the field of view around the vehicle in comparison with a conventional side mirror.
Furthermore, the spherical mirror in the present invention includes a non-reflecting part, and removes the driver and the in-vehicle scene from the projection. Therefore, a structure is adopted that allows the position and angle of the non-reflective part to be freely changeable so that the projection of the driver and the scene inside the vehicle does not enter the driver's eyes according to the physical characteristics of the driver.

Hereinafter, a first embodiment of a spherical mirror provided by the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 1 shows the installation state of the spherical mirror of the present invention as viewed from the driver side of the right handle, and FIG. 2 shows the installation state of the spherical mirror of the present invention on the left side as viewed from the driver side of the right handle. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the periphery including the spherical mirror on the driver side, that is, the right side, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the periphery including the spherical mirror on the left side. In the figure, 1 is a right-side spherical mirror, 2 is a side surface of a spherical mirror and a rear-view mirror surface portion, 3 is a front mirror surface portion of the spherical mirror, and 4 is a non-reflective portion that is rough like a polished glass surface of polished glass. It is a surface constructed so as not to reflect at all in the surface state, and is an important component of the present invention. 21 is a right side mirror cover, and 22 is a right side mirror. Reference numeral 11 denotes a left spherical mirror, and reference numeral 12 denotes a side surface of the spherical mirror and a rear view mirror surface portion. Reference numeral 13 denotes a front mirror surface of the spherical mirror, and reference numeral 14 denotes a non-reflecting part. Reference numeral 31 denotes a left side mirror cover, and reference numeral 32 denotes a left side mirror. Reference numeral 61 denotes a vehicle body, 62 denotes a display class part, and 63 denotes a right side window. Reference numeral 64 denotes a left side window, 65 denotes a front panel plate, and 66 denotes a windshield. FIG. 5 shows the visual field range of the right spherical mirror viewed from the driver by the hatched portion, and FIG. 6 shows the visual field range of the left spherical mirror viewed from the driver by the hatched portion. In the figure, 51 is a driver and 52 is a steering wheel. FIG. 7 is a view of the automobile with the spherical mirror attached as viewed from above, and the range of visual field that can be seen by the driver is indicated by hatched portions. In FIG. 7, 53 is a passenger, 67 is a headlamp, and 68 is a tail lamp.

  FIG. 8 shows an example in which the spherical mirror 1 of the present invention is fixed to the right side mirror cover 21. Reference numeral 5 denotes a spherical fixing part configured so that the position of the non-reflecting part 4 can be freely changed. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a specific example of fixing the spherical fixing portion 5, 7 is an O-ring groove, and 8 is an O-ring, which firmly fixes the spherical fixing portion and enables rotation of the spherical mirror. . Reference numeral 9 denotes a structure that holds the spherical mirror 1 by a holding portion. FIGS. 10 and 11 show modifications in which the spherical mirror 1 is attached to the right side mirror cover 21. Reference numerals 71 and 72 denote fixtures.

  Now, the configuration of the spherical mirror 1 characterized by the present invention has been described above, but further functions will be described in detail. That is, the first feature of the spherical mirror 1 according to the present invention is that the field of view is remarkably widened by using the spherical shape, and the non-reflective portion 4 is provided on a part of the spherical mirror 1 so that the driver and the scene inside the vehicle are not reflected. It is to have established. The second feature is that the lateral dimensions of the right and left side mirrors 22 and 32 can be shortened as compared with the conventional product. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the number of times that the mirror unit is folded or the frequency of accidental contact accidents with pedestrians by passing with the opposing vehicle. The third feature is that when the spherical mirror 1 of the present invention is attached to a large vehicle, the vertical field of view of the vehicle can be confirmed at a glance. Even in a normal passenger car, it is possible to instantly determine whether the vehicle running on the side of the vehicle is a large vehicle such as a truck or an ordinary passenger vehicle, and an appropriate driving according to the situation can be performed. A fourth feature is that a part of the front field of view of the automobile can be visually confirmed by using the spherical shape of the spherical mirror 1. This is very useful when there is an obstacle in a low place that is not directly in the driver's direct view.

  As described above, the spherical mirror 1 of the present invention has a number of advantages. However, since the projection is seen to be greatly distorted as compared with the plane mirror because the whole is spherical, the spherical mirror 1 is the upper part of the conventional side mirrors 22 and 32. Or it is desirable to install in the lower part. Or, it can be installed in the chassis body next to the hood of the car where the driver can fully grasp the rear field of view, and it can be used together with a conventional side mirror as an auxiliary device to increase the field of view, contributing to safe driving. .

  FIG. 5 shows the viewable range reflected by the spherical mirror 1 according to the present invention attached to the upper part of the side mirror cover 21 as viewed from the right handle side by hatching. Further, in FIG. 6, the viewable range shown in the spherical mirror 11 according to the present invention attached to the left side as viewed from the driver is shown by hatching. The non-reflecting parts 4 and 14 shown in FIGS. This position corresponds to a position that greatly projects the in-vehicle scene including the driver, and if these projections enter the driver's eyes, this may be a factor that hinders safe driving. It is considered that the projection of the driver and the scene inside the vehicle is not seen by the driver. That is, the provision of the non-reflecting portions 4 and 14 on the spherical mirrors 1 and 11 is one of the major features of the present invention in which only information necessary for safe driving is projected onto the spherical mirror. Another major feature is that a part of the field of view in front of the vehicle such as a vehicle can be seen as shown by the forward hatched portion in FIGS.

FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 are detailed views of a mounting portion in which the spherical mirror 1 is attached to the upper part of a conventional side mirror cover 21. In the figure, 5 is a spherical fixing part, 7 is an O-ring groove, 8 is an O-ring, and 9 is a holding part. As already described above, the setting position of the non-reflecting part 4 from the viewpoint of the driver is non-reflective so that the projection of the driver himself and the scene inside the vehicle is not reflected on the spherical mirror 1 according to the physical characteristics or driving posture of the driver. The position of part 4 must be adjusted. For this reason, since the spherical mirror 1 is fixed to the side mirror cover 21, an example of a structure in which the position of the non-reflective portion 4 can be adjusted as a spherical body that allows the spherical mirror 1 to rotate left and right and up and down by the spherical fixing portion 5 is shown. is there. FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG.
As shown in a partially enlarged view of FIG. 9, the spherical fixing portion 5 is inserted into an O-ring groove 7 that is processed in a holding portion 9 that is installed on the back surface of the side mirror cover 21. It is fitted with strong pressure. The spherical portion of the spherical fixed portion 5 can be rotated left and right and up and down around the O-ring 8, and the position of the non-reflective portion 4 can be adjusted to the position desired by the driver. However, the spherical mirror 1 does not move during traveling due to the strong tightening force of the O-ring 8. As described above, an example in which rotation of the spherical position is prevented by the spherical fixing portion 5 at normal times is shown. However, regarding the rotational movement mechanism, in addition to a method of fixing by an O-ring, a necessary rotation mechanism is utilized by utilizing a spring force. Creating can be easily considered. An application example for attaching the spherical mirror 1 on the side mirror cover 21 is shown in FIGS. In the figure, reference numerals 71 and 72 denote fixing portions to the side mirror.
12 and 13 show application examples in which the shape of the spherical mirror is modified. FIG. 12 shows an oval shape, and FIG. 13 shows an egg shape. In the figure, 101 is an elliptical mirror and 102 is an egg-shaped mirror.

A second embodiment of the spherical mirror provided by the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 14 (a), (b) and (c). FIG. 14 (a) is a situation diagram when the left and right fields of view go out from a narrow alley with blinds to a main street including a sidewalk. FIG. 14B shows the details of the component parts and the visual field range of the driver in a state where the spherical mirror of the present invention is attached to the substantially central tip portion of the bonnet. FIG. 14C shows an enlarged view of a portion where a spherical mirror is attached to the tip of the bonnet. In the figure, 81 is a spherical mirror, 82 is a non-reflecting part, 83 is a right visual field part, 84 is a left visual field part, and 85 is a vehicle body bonnet.
By attaching the spherical mirror 81 to the foremost part of the vehicle body that can be monitored by the driver, for example, the foremost part of the bonnet 85 as shown in the figure, the narrow alley as shown in FIG. When you go out from a difficult passage to the main street or from the garage to the roadway, you can quickly monitor the left and right field of view of cars, motorcycles, pedestrians and bicycle riders traveling on the roadway with the spherical mirror 81, preventing encounter accidents Is possible. The spherical mirror used at this time is provided with a non-reflecting portion 82 for not projecting the portion of the windshield 66 as viewed from the driver's eyes. The left and right scenes can be easily grasped at the tip.

  A third implementation of the present invention is illustrated in FIGS. In FIG. 15, the nonreflective portion is not processed on the mirror, but the position of the nonreflective portion can be set by providing a shield plate whose position is movable on the upper surface of the entire spherical mirror. In the figure, reference numeral 41 denotes a shielding plate. FIG. 16 shows an upper sectional view and a lower sectional view of the BB sectional view of FIG. In the figure, 43 is a fixing bracket, 44 is a spring fixing base, and 45 and 47 are springs having a mechanism for sandwiching the shielding plate 41 between both springs, and the position of the shielding plate 41 can be arbitrarily set. FIG. 17 shows an application example in which the range of the shielding portion can be arbitrarily changed using two shielding plates. In the figure, 41 and 42 are shielding plates. 18 shows an upper cross section and a lower cross section of the BB cross section of FIG. In the figure, 46 is a washer for giving a slight gap between the two shielding plates 41 and 42. As described above, the position and width of the shielding portion can be arbitrarily set by providing a shielding plate outside in addition to processing the shielding portion directly into a spherical mirror.

  19 to 21 show a mechanism for electrically setting the position of the non-reflecting portion 4 in the spherical mirror. FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing functions for electric operation. In the figure, 91 is a mirror rotation direction adjustment switch unit, 92 is a mirror rotation motor drive circuit, and 93 is a mirror rotation unit. . FIG. 20 shows a part of the drive unit in the side mirror cover 21, and FIG. 21 shows details of the drive unit. In the figure, 95 is a driving DC motor, and 96 and 97 are gears A and B that transmit rotation by the driving DC motor 95. The shaft of 98 is directly connected to the spherical fixed portion 5 and the gear B97. With the above mechanism, the position of the non-reflective portions 4 and 14 of the spherical mirrors 1 and 11 can be set electrically from the inside of the vehicle.

  The spherical mirrors 1 and 11 for a vehicle, which is a feature of the present invention, can be used not only for expanding the driver's field of view but also for various applications. For example, application as a left and right blinker using the back of the spherical mirror (front side of the car) or non-reflective part, and by incorporating a distance sensor inside the spherical mirror, Applications such as warning signs for informing cars are also conceivable, and traffic accidents can be greatly reduced by installing spherical mirrors.

  Regarding the present invention, all the examples and application examples have been described in a state where they are attached to a passenger car. It can be applied to all tire wheels or non-tire wheels traveling on the road.

It is the figure which attached the spherical mirror provided by this invention on the side mirror of the right side (driver | operator side). It is the figure which attached the spherical mirror provided by this invention on the side mirror of the left side (front seat passenger side). It is the enlarged view which attached the spherical mirror provided by this invention on the side mirror of the right side (driver | operator side). It is the enlarged view which attached the spherical mirror provided by this invention on the side mirror of the left side (front seat passenger side). The visual field range which a driver | operator can see the projection reflected on the right side (driver side) spherical mirror provided by this invention is shown. The visual field range which a driver | operator can see the projection reflected on the spherical mirror of the left side (front seat passenger side) seen from the driver | operator provided by this invention is shown. FIG. 2 is a view of a vehicle equipped with a spherical mirror according to the present invention as viewed from above, and a hatched portion is a view showing a range that can be seen by a driver. It is a figure which shows the state which attached the spherical mirror by this invention on the conventional side mirror. It is a figure which shows the cross section of the AA part of FIG. 8, (a) is a cross-sectional enlarged view, (b) is an enlarged view of an O-ring part. It is a figure which shows the modification of the attachment method at the time of attaching the spherical mirror by this invention on the conventional side mirror. It is a figure which shows the other modification of the attachment method at the time of attaching the spherical mirror by this invention on the conventional side mirror. It is a modification application example of a spherical mirror. It is a modification application example of a spherical mirror. It is a figure which shows the Example which attached the spherical mirror to the bonnet most advanced part, (a) is a state figure when going out to a main street from a narrow alley, (b) can confirm a visual field of front right and left via a spherical mirror from a driver | operator. State diagram (c) shows an enlarged view of a spherical mirror attached to the tip of the bonnet. An application example is shown in which the position of the non-reflective portion can be set by providing a shield plate whose position is movable on the upper surface of the spherical mirror. It is BB sectional drawing of FIG. 15, (a) is upper sectional drawing, (b) shows lower sectional drawing. An application example is shown in which two non-reflective shielding plates are provided on the upper surface of a spherical mirror so that the shielding range can be varied. It is BB sectional drawing of FIG. 17, (a) is upper sectional drawing, (b) shows lower sectional drawing. The function for electrically operating a shielding board from the vehicle interior is shown with the block diagram. It is a structural diagram showing the inside of the side mirror cover when the non-reflecting part of the spherical mirror is automatically moved. It is detail drawing of the D section of the automatic movable part of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Right side spherical mirror 2 Side surface and back view mirror surface part of spherical mirror 3 Front mirror surface part of spherical mirror 4 Non-reflective part 5 Spherical fixing part 7 O ring groove 8 O ring 9 Holding part 11 Left spherical mirror 12 Side and rear side of spherical mirror Field mirror surface part 13 Front field mirror surface part of spherical mirror 14 Non-reflective part 21 Right side mirror cover 22 Right side mirror 31 Left side mirror cover 32 Left side mirror 41, 42 Shielding plate 43 Fixing bracket 44 Spring fixing base 45, 47 Spring 46 Washer 51 Driver 52 Handle wheel 53 Passenger 61 Car body 62 Display part 63 Right side window 64 Left side window 65 Front panel board 66 Front glass 67 Head lamp 68 Tail lamp 71, 72 Fixing tool 81 Spherical mirror 82 Non-reflective part 83 Right field part 84 Left field part 85 Bonnet 91 Mirror rotation direction adjustment switch part 92 Mirror rotation drive circuit 93 Mirror rotation part 95 Driving DC motor 96 Gear A
97 Gear B
98 Shaft 101 Elliptical mirror 102 Egg-shaped mirror

Claims (6)

  A mirror for a vehicle, characterized in that a mirror mounted in the driver's field of view from the front to the outer periphery of the vehicle body is formed in a spherical or almost spherical shape.   The mirror for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein a non-reflective surface is formed on a part of the mirror.   3. The mirror for a vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the mirror is capable of adjusting a non-reflective surface in accordance with the position of the driver's eyes and does not project the driver's own projection.   3. The mirror for a vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the spherical mirror is attached near the center of the bonnet frontmost part, and the driver can visually confirm the left and right visual field of the tip part.   A non-reflective surface that has a non-reflective surface to prevent the driver from projecting itself, can check the left and right visual fields of the wide side, rear and front lower part, and the bonnet most advanced part, and the position of the driver's eyes The vehicle mirror according to claim 1, wherein the mirror is adjustable.   2. The vehicle mirror according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle body is provided with a planar mirror, and a spherical mirror is provided close to the planar mirror.

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