JP6793716B2 - Vanity mirror unit for the cabin of a car - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vanity mirror unit for an automobile cabin, which has the features described in the superordinate concept of claim 1.

Such vanity mirror units are described in German Patent Application Publication No. 19540640 (DE 195 40 640 A1). The vanity mirror unit has a housing having two housing compartments, the first housing compartment incorporating a light emitting means used as a reading lamp or a vanity lamp. The light emitting means is covered with a sun visor, and a focusing optical system is provided in the center of the sun visor, and scattering optical systems are provided on both sides of the central region.

A foldable mirror is incorporated in the second housing compartment of the vanity mirror unit. If the foldable mirror is folded inside the housing, the vehicle occupant will not be able to observe his face with the mirror. That is, the use of the mirror is blocked. When the mirror is opened from the housing of the vanity mirror unit after the operation of the push-open mechanism, the vehicle occupant can observe his / her face with the mirror, and therefore the use of the mirror is released.

The vanity mirror unit has a relatively large area because the plurality of light emitting means are arranged in separate housing sections of the housing of the vanity mirror unit.

However, with the functional density of today's automobiles, it is desirable to achieve space savings if possible in some way.

From German Patented Invention No. 3436760 (DE 34 36 760 C1), a vanity mirror unit incorporated in a sun visor is known. Specifically, the vanity mirror unit includes a tank-shaped housing with two separate lighting chambers on the sides. Each of these lighting chambers houses one light emitting means used as a vanity (makeup) lamp. The tank-shaped housing is covered with mirror glass. The reflective layer of the tank-shaped housing allows the light emitted from the light emitting means to pass through the reflective layer unimpeded when the luminaire is switched on, and the illumination is switched off. If this is the case, the background of the lighting room is dark so that the light emitting means cannot be seen.

In addition, German Utility Model No. 20217129 (DE 202 17 129 U1) uses an electroluminescence light emitting device to generate information in the form of letters, numbers, logos, etc. on a partial area of the mirror for vehicle occupants. Lists mirrors for cars that can be.

An object underlying the present invention is to provide a vanity mirror unit that can be compactly configured.

The above problem is solved by the feature according to claim 1. Advantageous embodiments of the present invention are obtained from the respective dependent claims.

The present invention relates to a vanity mirror unit for the passenger compartment of an automobile, wherein the vanity mirror unit has a mirror and can prevent or release the use of the mirror. The vanity mirror unit has at least one light emitting means used as a reading light.

The light emitting means used as a reading light generally has a directional ray, or even a focused ray in some cases. On the other hand, vanity lamps, which are also often incorporated into vanity mirror units in the same manner, usually have omnidirectional diffused light characteristics.

According to the present invention, at least one light emitting means used as the reading light is covered by the mirror when the use of the mirror is blocked, but the light from the light emitting means is still in the vehicle interior. It is proposed to incorporate it into the vanity mirror unit so that it can be reached.

Such a technical solution provides the prerequisites for making the vanity mirror unit more compactly configurable.

That is, it is conceivable that the light emitting means used as a reading light can be arranged under the foldable mirror in this way. That is, it is not necessary to take a lot of space and arrange the light emitting means used as a reading light on the side of the mirror.

Similarly, space savings can be achieved in the case of vanity mirror units where the use of mirrors can be blocked or released by manipulating the slidable cover. This is because the light emitting means used as a reading light can be similarly arranged under the mirror.

According to a very advantageous development of the present invention, the mirror has at least one light-shielding first layer and at least one translucent second layer. Both of the layers have a reflective action, and the translucent second layer is formed thinner than the light-shielding first layer.

At least one opening is provided in the light-shielding first layer. The opening can be created, for example, by laser machining.

When the use of the mirror is blocked, the at least one opening can be made to substantially match at least one first light emitting means used as the reading light.

In this way, it is technically easy to realize that the light of the light emitting means used as a reading light can reach the passenger compartment without being blocked even when the use of the mirror is blocked. Is possible.

On the other hand, this configuration allows the translucent second layer to still provide sufficient reflective action, even in the area of the opening of the light-shielding first layer, when the use of the mirror is released. Is guaranteed to be. Therefore, the visual appearance of the mirror is not fogged.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the mirror is formed as a foldable mirror and is foldably held in a tank-shaped holding body. The retainer has at least one opening, behind which the at least one light emitting means used as a reading light is arranged. The simultaneous use of the tank-shaped retainer for the mirror as the retainer for the light emitting means for the reading light contributes to the compact structural mode of the vanity mirror unit. In addition to this, the light emitting means used as a reading light can be better hidden.

In this case, when the opening is provided in the region near the edge of the bottom of the holder, at least the visibility of the light emitting means from the normal line-of-sight direction of the vehicle occupant facing the vanity mirror unit can be obtained. , Can be completely blocked. This provides a visual advantage.

The opening is preferably formed as a funnel-shaped reflector in order to obtain good directivity of light rays emitted by the light emitting means and thus high luminous efficiency.

According to another evolution of the vanity mirror unit, the two layers of the mirror are adhered to a disc-shaped support element, and the disc-shaped support element is placed at least in the opening of the first layer. It is proposed to form transparently in the area of the part.

This contributes to the fact that the light of the light emitting means used as a reading light can reach the passenger compartment with almost no obstruction even when the mirror is folded.

In order to allow the vanity mirror unit to be incorporated into the interior of an automobile as attractively as possible, when the use of the mirror is blocked, the disc-shaped support element is moved toward the interior of the vehicle. It is proposed that the facing surface be oriented substantially coplanar with the surface of the flange on the edge side of the retainer and the surface of the adjacent interior trim.

If at least one light emitting means used as a vanity lamp is additionally provided, it is still very beneficial to obtain a compact structural style, despite the improved functionality of the vanity mirror unit. is there. In this case, when the use of the mirror is released, the at least one light emitting means can generate light extending in a plane over at least most of the bottom of the tank-shaped retainer. ..

This is also very beneficial for evenly illuminating the face when using vanity lamps.

When a plurality of individually controllable light emitting means are provided as the vanity lamp, it is possible to realize the generation of a chase pattern, that is, a pattern of light that appears to move for at least a short period of time. In this case, in a preferred embodiment, at least one light emitting means can be configured as an OLED (organic light emitting diode).

Such a light emitting means can be manufactured at low cost by thin film technology, and thus can contribute to the compact structural mode of the vanity mirror unit.

According to another embodiment of the invention, it is proposed that at least one of the light emitting means be controllable by hand movement.

For this purpose, for example, a capacitive proximity sensor can be incorporated into the vanity mirror unit.

In that case, for example, it is conceivable to reduce or increase the brightness of the vanity lamp and / or the reading lamp by a predetermined hand movement. This can also be achieved by reducing or increasing the number of controlled light emitting means in the case of a given hand movement.

The light of the at least one light emitting means used as a vanity lamp is incorporated into the bottom of the tank-shaped holder so that the vanity lamp can easily generate planar light. It is also conceivable to make it possible to enter the light guide body in the shape of a plate or a disk.

Finally, the disk-shaped support element and / or the mirror for the reflective layer is at least partially touch-sensitive input / output unit on the side of the reflective layer, eg, as a touch screen. If configured, additional operational element reductions can be achieved.

In this way, even when the mirror is folded and / or the mirror is opened, the vanity mirror unit can be additionally used as an operation panel for selecting a function to save space. Can be done.

According to the present invention, protection of rights should also be claimed for an automobile having at least one vanity mirror unit of the present invention.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention are illustrated in the drawings and will be described in more detail below. Here, the same reference numbers refer to the same, equivalent, or functionally the same components, and the corresponding or equivalent characteristics and advantages are achieved even if the repetition of the description is omitted.

It is the schematic of the vanity mirror unit of this invention in 1st Embodiment along the cutting lines I, I of FIG. It is the schematic of the vanity mirror unit of this invention in 2nd Embodiment equivalent to FIG. It is a schematic diagram of the vanity mirror unit when viewed from III of FIG. 2 when the mirror is opened. It is the schematic of the vanity mirror unit of this invention in another embodiment equivalent to FIG. It is the schematic of the vanity mirror unit when viewed from V of FIG. It is a schematic diagram of the vanity mirror unit when viewed from the VI of FIG. 4 when rotated by 90 °. It is the schematic of the mirror which is opened by the line-of-sight direction SR of FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic view of an automobile having the vanity mirror unit of the present invention provided in the roof lining of the rear seat row.

FIG. 1 illustrates a vanity mirror unit 1, which is incorporated into a roof lining interior trim 2 in the rear seats of an automobile K (see also FIG. 8). Reference numeral F is attached to the normal traveling direction.

Specifically, the vanity mirror unit 1 has a disk-shaped support element 10 and a mirror composed of reflective layers 11 and 12 adhered to the support element 10. That is, each of the above components with reference numerals (support element 10, reflective layers 11 and 12) is represented by the term "mirror".

The reflective layers 11 and 12 are formed to be much thinner than the support element 10, and are shown relatively thick in the drawings just for the sake of clarity.

The mirrors (10, 11, 12) are held in the tank-shaped holding body 13, and can be opened from the holding body about the rotation axis D.

In the illustrated state of the mirrors (10, 11, 12), that is, in the folded state, the use of the mirror is blocked.

Therefore, the use of the mirror (10,11,12) can be released by opening the mirror (10,11,12) to the use position (10') around the rotation axis D, and the vehicle occupant can cancel the use. It is possible to observe one's face by looking through the mirrors (10, 11, 12) from the line-of-sight direction SR that substantially coincides with the traveling direction F.

The holding body 13 is formed with a substantially rectangular contour, and has a bottom portion 130, an edge peripheral wall 131 adjacent to the bottom 130, and a support flange 132 adjacent to the edge peripheral wall 131. The support flange 132 is formed substantially parallel to the bottom 130, and the support flange 132 is mounted on the edge of the mounting opening 3 of the roof lining interior trim 2.

The vanity mirror unit 1 is provided on the roof flying interior trim 2 so that the surface O1 of the support element 10 is oriented in substantially the same plane as the surface O2 of the support flange 132 and the surface O3 of the adjacent interior trim 2. It has been incorporated.

The mirrors (10, 11, 12) can be comfortably opened through a push-open mechanism (not shown in detail).

Layers 11 and 12, respectively, are adhered onto their respective substrates in the PVD method (Physical Vapor Deposition). The PVD method is well known and does not need to be described in detail herein.

However, it is worth mentioning that the first layer 11 is formed to be light-shielding (opaque), while the second layer 12 is formed to be translucent. The translucent second layer 12 is formed thinner than the light-shielding first layer 11.

Further, the first layer 11 is provided with an opening 16. This is preferably done by laser machining.

Both layers 11 and 12 have a reflective action, in which case the incident light is totally reflected by the first layer 11. However, since the layer 12 transmits light rays to some extent, the reflection action in the second layer 12 is relatively small.

It can be seen from the drawing that the bottom portion 130 of the holding body 13 has an opening 15 in the vicinity of the peripheral peripheral wall 131 on the rear side of the vehicle.

The opening 15 is formed in a funnel shape or a conical shape toward the light emitting means 14. The light emitting means 14 can be configured as a light emitting diode (LED). The light emitting means 14 is attached to the substrate 17. The substrate 17 is arranged outside the holding body 13 and closes the opening 15.

The opening 15 is preferably provided with a reflective layer and therefore acts as a reflector.

Further, in a state where the mirror (10,11,12) is folded, that is, in a state where the use of the mirror (10,11,12) is blocked, the opening 16 of the first layer 11 is opened to the opening 15. It can be seen that it can be almost matched with.

The disc-shaped support element 10 itself is formed transparently, preferably made of so-called smoked glass. This gives the vanity mirror unit 1 a luxurious appearance.

In this way, the light beam L emitted from the light emitting means 14 penetrates the layer 12, the opening 16, and the support element 10 even when the mirrors (10, 11, 12) are folded. Then, it becomes possible to reach the inside of the passenger compartment I of the automobile K.

FIG. 2 illustrates another embodiment of the vanity mirror unit 1.

Unlike FIG. 1, in this embodiment, a plurality of OLEDs (organic light emitting diodes) are fitted as light emitting means 20 in the bottom 130 of the holding body 13.

As can be seen, the light emitting means 20 is formed in a rectangular shape, and the extension of the light emitting means 20 in the longitudinal direction is oriented substantially parallel to the moving direction F.

Each of the light emitting means 20 can be individually controlled via the evaluation and control device 19. For this purpose, the light emitting means 20 is signal-technically connected to the evaluation and control device 19 via the signal line S.

Further, a capacitance type proximity sensor 18 is arranged on the substrate 17, and this proximity sensor is also signal-technically connected to the evaluation and control device 19 via the control line S.

Now, when the mirrors (10,11,12) are opened to the position of use (10'), the signal can be triggered via a contact connection not shown in detail, thereby evaluating and The control device 19 individually controls the plurality of light emitting means 20, so that a so-called chase pattern is generated.

In this way, when the mirrors (10, 11, 12) are opened open, the chase pattern Bauf generated by sequentially and continuously switching on the plurality of light emitting means 20 from the outside to the inside is generated. be able to.

When the mirrors (10, 11, 12) are folded and closed, the chase pattern Bzu generated by sequentially and continuously switching off the plurality of light emitting means 20 from the inside to the outside can be generated.

This creates the impression of closing or opening the curtain of light.

As can be seen with reference to FIG. 3, the light emitting means 20 occupies most of the area of the bottom 130.

The proximity sensor 18 described above enables indirect control of the light emitting means 14 and / or the light emitting means 20.

Therefore, for example, in a state where the mirrors (10, 11, 12) are lowered and opened, it is conceivable that the movement of the hand affects the brightness of the light emitting means 20 or the number of times the light emitting means 20 is operated. Similarly, when the mirrors (10, 11, 12) are folded and closed, it is conceivable that the movement of the hand affects the brightness of the light emitting means 14 or the number of times the light emitting means 14 is operated. ..

It is also conceivable to switch on or off the light emitting means 14 and / or 20 by the corresponding hand movement.

Further, when the mirrors (10, 11, 12) are lowered and opened, the reading light (light emitting means 14) which is switched on in some cases can be temporarily switched off, or at least the brightness of the reading light. It should be mentioned that can be reduced (dimmable).

Now, another embodiment of the vanity mirror unit 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

Unlike the preceding drawings, in this embodiment, the light emitting means 21 used as a vanity (makeup) lamp is hidden and arranged. Specifically, these light emitting means 21 are configured as light emitting diodes (LEDs) and are attached to the substrate 28. The substrate 28 itself is held by the cover 27.

The light of the light emitting means 21 enters the light guide body 22 via the incident position 23 of the plate-shaped light guide body 22.

This light is deflected laterally outward from the incident position 23 and is guided to the overlap portion 24 via another deflection position without a reference sign.

The overlapping portion 24 overlaps with the opaque element 25, and finally causes the light of the light emitting means 21 to enter the disk-shaped or plate-shaped light guide 26 from the lateral direction.

The light guide 26 has substantially the same contour as the opaque element 25 and is arranged below the opaque element 25.

It can be seen from the drawing that the light guide body 26 is incorporated in a state of being embedded in the bottom 130 of the holding body 13 at least toward the vehicle interior I.

The contours of the opaque element 25 and the light guide 26 are formed in a substantially rectangular shape and occupy most of the bottom 130 (see also FIG. 5).

The substrate 28 having the light emitting means 21 extends along the incident position 23 in a direction crossing the moving direction F. It is also conceivable to orient the substrate 28 in a different direction, for example, in the moving direction F.

In this embodiment as well, since the plurality of light emitting means 21 can be individually controlled, the chase pattern can be generated in the same manner as described above (the proximity sensor and the evaluation and control device are described in detail. Not shown).

FIG. 6 now shows a diagram of the folded mirrors (10, 11, 12) according to this embodiment.

In this embodiment, the disk-shaped support element 10 is additionally and partially configured as a touch-sensitive input / output unit in the form of a touch screen.

Specifically, a plurality of symbols S1 to S6 are drawn in the touch-sensitive area, and touching these symbols S1 to S6 can trigger a predetermined function.

For example, by touching the symbol S1, the light emitting means 14 for the reading light can be activated or stopped. By touching the symbol S2, it is possible to change the displayed room temperature. The symbol S3 allows the seat heater to be turned on or off. By touching the symbol S4, the window heater can be activated or stopped.

By touching the symbol S5, it is possible to change the flow direction and / or the flow strength of the ventilation system, and finally the symbol S6 can change the displayed time.

According to FIG. 7, touch-sensitive areas are partially provided on the sides of layers 11 and 12 of the mirrors (10, 11, 12), and operation symbols S1 to S6 are also provided in these touch-sensitive areas. It is illustrated that In this way, the vanity mirror unit 1 can be used as an operation panel for selecting the comfort function even when the mirrors (10, 11, 12) are wide open. The functional symbols shown in FIG. 7 and the functions triggered by these functional symbols are the same as in FIG. 6, and need not be described again here.

Unlike the above embodiment, it is conceivable that the touch-sensitive region having the operation symbol is provided only on the visible side of the disk-shaped support element 10, or is provided only on the side of the layers 11 and 12.

The present invention is not limited to the one or more embodiments described above. These examples have been considered only for general explanation of the core ideas of the present invention. Rather, the present invention may include other than the examples or embodiments described above within the scope of the present invention. In this case, the present invention may also have features that are a combination of the individual features of each claim, among others.

Although the examples relate only to the foldable mirror in the roof lining of the vehicle K, it is of course conceivable to dispose the vanity mirror unit of the present invention at another position in the vehicle K. Further, the present invention is to have a mirror that is fixedly held in an automobile interior trim component or sun visor and that can be covered by a movable, eg, slidable or foldable cover. Vanity mirror unit can also be configured.

1 Vanity mirror unit 2 Interior trim 3 Mounting opening 10, 10'Disc-shaped support element 11 Light-shielding first layer 12 Translucent second layer 13 Tank-shaped holder 14 Light emitting means (LED)
15 Opening 16 Opening 17 Substrate 18 Capacitive proximity sensor 19 Evaluation and control device 20 Light emitting means (OLED)
21 Light emitting means (LED)
22 Light guide 23 Incident position 24 Overlap 25 Opaque element 26 Light guide 27 Cover 28 Board 130 Bottom 131 Edge peripheral wall 132 Support flange Bauf Chase pattern when the mirror is opened and closed Bzu When the mirror is folded and closed Chase pattern D Rotation axis F Travel direction I Interior K Car L Ray O1 to O3 Surface S Signal line S1 to S6 Symbol SR Line of sight

Claims (14)

A vanity mirror unit (1) for the passenger compartment (I) of an automobile (K).
The vanity mirror unit (1) has a mirror (10,11,12) and can prevent or release the use of the mirror (10,11,12), and the vanity mirror unit (1) is a reading. Having at least one light emitting means (14) used as a light,
In the vanity mirror unit (1)
At least one light emitting means (14) used as the reading light is covered by the mirror (10,11,12) when the use of the mirror (10,11,12) is blocked, but still. The vanity mirror unit (1) is incorporated so that the light (L) of the light emitting means (14) can reach the inside of the passenger compartment (I).
The mirrors (10, 11, 12) have at least one light-shielding first layer (11) and at least one translucent second layer (12).
Both of the layers (11, 12) have a reflective action, and the translucent second layer (12) is formed thinner than the light-shielding first layer (11).
The at least one opening (16) is provided in the light-shielding first layer (11) to prevent the use of the mirror (10, 11, 12). The unit (16) can be matched with at least one light emitting means (14) used as the reading light.
A vanity mirror unit (1) characterized by this. The mirrors (10, 11, 12) are formed as a foldable mirror, and are foldably held in a tank-shaped holding body (13) having a bottom (130).
The holding body (13) has at least one opening (15), and behind the opening (15), at least one light emitting means (14) used as the reading light is arranged. ,
The vanity mirror unit (1) according to claim 1. The opening (15) is provided in a region near the edge of the bottom (130) of the holding body (13).
The vanity mirror unit (1) according to claim 2. The opening (15) is formed as a funnel-shaped reflector.
The vanity mirror unit (1) according to claim 2 or 3. The two layers (11, 12) are adhered to a disc-shaped support element (10).
The disk-shaped support element (10) is transparently formed at least in the region of the opening (16) of the first layer (11).
The vanity mirror unit (1) according to any one of claims 2 to 4. When the use of the mirrors (10, 11, 12) is blocked, the surface (O1) of the disc-shaped support element (10) facing the passenger compartment (I) is held. The surface (O2) of the flange (132) on the edge side of the body (13) and the surface (O3) of the adjacent interior trim (2) are oriented in substantially the same plane.
The vanity mirror unit (1) according to claim 5. It said disk-like support element (10) is configured as a partially touch-sensitive input / output unit even without low,
The vanity mirror unit (1) according to claim 5 or 6. The mirror is configured as a touch-sensitive input / output unit at least partially on the side of the layers (11, 12).
The vanity mirror unit (1) according to any one of claims 2 to 6. At least one light emitting means (20, 21) used as a vanity lamp is additionally provided.
When the use of the mirrors (10, 11, 12) is released, at least the bottom (130) of the tank-shaped retainer (13) is at least large by the at least one light emitting means (20, 21). Can generate light that extends in a plane over a portion,
The vanity mirror unit (1) according to any one of claims 2 to 8. As a vanity lamp, a plurality of individually controllable light emitting means (20, 21) are provided.
The vanity mirror unit (1) according to claim 9. The at least one light emitting means (20) is configured as an OLED.
The vanity mirror unit (1) according to claim 9 or 10. At least one of the light emitting means (20, 21) can be controlled by the movement of the hand.
The vanity mirror unit (1) according to any one of claims 9 to 11. The light from the at least one light emitting means (21) can be incident on a plate-shaped or disc-shaped light guide body (26) incorporated in the bottom portion (130) of the tank-shaped holding body (13). ,
The vanity mirror unit (1) according to any one of claims 9 to 12. An automobile (K) having at least one vanity mirror unit (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

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