JPH0366173B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Technical Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a door mirror for an automobile. In particular, a shock-absorbing door mirror has a tilting mechanism designed to alleviate external shocks and artificially tilt the mirror housing of the door mirror that protrudes from the outside of the vehicle, thereby holding the door mirror tilted inward from the outside of the vehicle. It is related to.

<<Prior art and its problems>> A conventional electrically retractable door mirror is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Utility Model Application No. 60-58553. According to this, a housing is rotatably installed on a door (vehicle body) via a rotating shaft of a base, and this rotating shaft is connected to a drive shaft of a motor via gear means, so that the housing is rotated by the motor. It is designed so that it can be stored on the door (vehicle body) side.

Generally, an automobile door mirror D is often arranged to protrude from the outside of the vehicle body by an amount l, as shown in FIG.

This is because the mirror installed in the door mirror is a plane mirror and is close to the driver's viewpoint, so it is not possible to obtain a sufficient public visibility with the mirror area, that is, the visual field area of a conventional fender mirror. The reason for this was that the door mirrors had to be made larger, and the entire door mirrors had to be larger.

For this reason, as mentioned above, there is a risk that external objects or people may come into contact with the portion protruding from the outside of the vehicle body, resulting in an unexpected accident. In addition, the protruding portion l becomes an increase in the loading capacity when the vehicle is transported, which not only increases the transportation cost but also sometimes becomes an obstacle when the vehicle is put into a garage.

Therefore, the electrically retractable door mirrors mentioned above are shock-absorbing door mirrors that have a tilting mechanism to reduce the impact when the mirror housing tilts due to external force if an obstacle occurs when entering the garage. The configuration disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 58-33339 was adopted. That is, the mirror housing (mirror body) that holds the mirror in a freely adjustable manner and the mounting base are connected by a hinge plate, and the mirror housing (mirror body) is crimped and held on the mounting base by two tension coil springs. In the event of an external impact, the mirror housing (mirror main body) is tilted in the direction of the impact against the tension coil spring to alleviate the impact and to prevent the impact from occurring when the vehicle is being transported or parked in a garage. The mirror housing (mirror body) is artificially forced to tilt and a tilting holding member (retaining plate) is interposed between the mirror housing (mirror body) and the mounting base. It was held in a tilted state relative to the mounting base.

However, in such conventional technology, the mirror housing (mirror body) and the mounting base are crimped by two tension coil springs, and the mirror housing (mirror body) is pressed against the tension coil springs. Since the structure is such that the shock from the outside is alleviated by tilting, there is a risk that when a shock is received, the resistance to the tilting of the tension coil spring may become an unexpected obstacle and cause serious damage. Also, when the mirror housing (mirror main body) is artificially tilted relative to the mounting base during transportation or storage in a garage, a force resisting the tension coil spring is applied and the tilting holding member (hinge plate) is held in between. It was necessary to intervene, and it became a considerable burden on weaker objects. Also, the tilting holding member (hinge plate)
Since it is provided as a separate structure from the shock-absorbing door mirror, there was a risk of it being lost.

Furthermore, in the case of electrically retractable door mirrors, the above-mentioned tilting mechanism is constructed separately from the rotation transmission means from the motor to the mirror housing tilting, so that when the mirror housing is tilted due to an impact, the rotation transmission is A large impact will be applied to the toothed part of the gear, which may damage the gear teeth or overload the motor, leading to damage. This led to the need for countermeasures such as these, which led to the size of door mirrors becoming larger and larger. This increase in size is the most worrying thing when used as an automobile door mirror.

<Object of the Invention> The present invention provides a shock-absorbing door mirror equipped with a tilting mechanism that prevents the impact force from being transmitted to a drive mechanism such as a gear means or a motor even if an impact is applied to the housing. The purpose is to

<<Structure of the Invention>> The door mirror of the present invention includes: a base fixed to a vehicle body; a mirror housing rotatably supported on the base via a rotation shaft; and a drive mechanism disposed within the mirror housing. A gear fixed to the motor output shaft of the drive mechanism, a gear meshing with the gear and attached to the rotating shaft, an overload prevention section provided on the gear and the rotating shaft, and a gear below the rotating shaft. The overload prevention section is composed of a mirror housing and a buffer provided on the base, and the overload prevention section includes a concave receiving section formed on a gear attached to the rotating shaft, and a concave receiving section formed on the rotating shaft that fits into the concave receiving section. The buffer part has a convex receiving part formed on the housing, and the buffer part has a convex receiving part formed on the base and fits into the recess, and the buffer part has a convex receiving part formed on the base. It has a press-contact holding mechanism that holds the press-contact part with a spring,
This is characterized in that the pressure holding force of the buffer section is greater than the pressure holding force of the overload prevention section.

<<Description of the Embodiment>> Hereinafter, an embodiment of the door mirror of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the mirror housing 2 has a generally elongated and rectangular box shape and holds the mirror 1 in its opening in an adjustable manner via a universal joint (not shown). The base 3 side of the mirror housing 2 is formed in an arc shape, and a hook-shaped fitting part 21 for the base 3 is formed in the lower part. Further, inside the mirror housing 2 of the fitting part 21, a motor 41 and a reducer 42 of the drive mechanism 4 are installed.
, a space 23 that accommodates the gears 43 and 44 of the drive mechanism having a concave concave receiving part 43a, and a conical space formed between the space 23 and the fitting part 21. A recess 24 is provided. The base 3 includes a base main body 31 fixed to a vehicle body (not shown) and a support section 32 that rotatably supports the mirror housing 2. The support section 32 includes:
A conical convex receiving part 33, which is approximately hook-shaped so as to correspond to the hook-shaped fitting part 21 of the mirror housing 2 and fits into the recess 24 of the mirror housing 2, is protruded toward the mirror housing 2 side. There is. A housing portion 53 for the coil spring 9 is provided on the supporting portion 32 side of the convex receiving portion 33 . As shown in FIG. 4, the rotating shaft 5 is press-fitted into a hollow shaft 54 and a concave receiving portion 43a formed on the upper surface of a gear 43 attached to the intermediate portion of the shaft 54. The conical convex receiving part 51 constitutes an overload prevention part, and the large diameter part 52 is formed to sandwich this overload prevention part.
The convex receiving portion 33 of the base 3 is sandwiched and circumferentially held between the concave portion 24 of the mirror housing 2 and the convex receiving portion 33 of the base 3. Further, a drive mechanism 4 is provided between the receiving portion 51 and the large diameter portion 52 of the shaft 54.
A mounting portion 55 for the clutch gear 43 is provided, and a fitting groove 56 for the retaining ring of the washer 7 is provided at both ends.
A fitting groove 57 for a retaining ring of the washer 8 is provided. Although the light receiving element 19 portion 51 is provided integrally with the shaft 54 of the rotating shaft 5, a separate receiving portion may be fixed thereto.

The mirror housing 2, base 3, drive mechanism 4, rotation shaft 5, and springs 6, 9 constructed as described above are assembled as shown in FIG. 4.
That is, first, the rotation shaft 5 is inserted into the through hole 33a of the conical concave receiving part 33 formed in the support part 32 of the base 3.
A large-diameter portion 52 is disposed therethrough.

And above that, there is a recess 2 of the mirror housing 2.
4 is fitted into the convex receiving part 33, and the gear 43 is fixed to the mounting part 55 of the gear 43 of the rotating shaft 5 above the clutch gear 43 so that the gear 43 cannot rotate, and the clutch gear 43 is fixed to the output shaft 41a of the motor. Then, they are further sealed with a lid 23a, and the motor 41 is disposed on the mounting portion 22 on the lid 23a. Finally, the springs 6 and 9 are attached to the upper and lower ends of the rotating shaft 5 via washers 7 and 8 to the mounting portion 23 and the storage portion 53, respectively.
to be reduced within. Note that the cord 41c of the motor 4 passes through the hollow portion 54a of the shaft 54 and is led out.

As is clear from the above configuration, the coil springs 6 and 9 engage the concave portion 24 of the mirror housing 2 constituting the buffer portion and the convex receiving portion 33 of the base 3 under pressure, and the gear constituting the overload prevention portion. The concave receiving portion 43a of 43 and the convex receiving portion 51 are brought into press-fitting engagement to constitute a press-holding mechanism.

Next, the present invention will be explained. First, when the mirror housing 2 is artificially rotated and tilted relative to the base 3 by indoor remote control as shown in FIG. 5, the motor 41 of the drive mechanism 4 is rotated. and reducer 42
When the gear 44 fixed to the output shaft is opened and the transmission is transmitted to the gear 43, the gear 43 is decelerated to the rotation shaft 5.
Since the gear 44 is non-rotatably attached to the mounting portion 55 of the shaft 54, the gear 44 meshes and rotates around the gear 43 while rotating. Therefore, the mirror housing 2 to which the gear 43 is fixed is attached to the convex receiving portion 3 of the base 3.
Rotate and tilt backward while surrounding 3. Conversely, when rotating and tilting forward with respect to the mirror housing 2 and base 3 side, by rotating the motor 51 in the reverse direction, the gear 44 can be rotated in the opposite direction to the gear 43 and revolved. Therefore, the same is achieved.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, when an external force P is applied to the mirror housing 2, the gear 44 and the gear 4
3 mesh with each other and do not rotate, so the mirror housing 2 and the rotating shaft 5 are fixed, and the external force rotates the mirror housing 2 around the convex receiving part 33 of the base 3 and the recessed part 24 of the mirror housing 2. It is rotated with respect to the base 3 together with the moving shaft 5.

At this time, the concave portion 24 of the mirror housing 2 circumferentially rotates around the convex receiving portion 33, and at the same time, the upper overload prevention portion releases the pressure engagement between the concave receiving portion 43a and the receiving portion 51 of the gear 43, and the clutch gear concave receiving portion 43a of
and the convex receiving portion 51 are circumferentially rotated to rotate and tilt the mirror housing 2 relative to the base 3 in the direction of the external force P.

In the above embodiment, when the mirror housing 2 receives an external impact from a person or object,
Concave receiving portion 43a of gear 43 provided on rotation shaft 5
An overload prevention section for preventing overload of the drive mechanism, which is constituted by a spring that presses the convex receiving section 51, and the convex receiving section 33 of the base 3 provided below and the concave section 24 of the housing 2 are pressed together. The holding force of the pressure contact with the buffer circumferential portion made up of the retaining spring is obtained by increasing the tension of the spring 9 provided at the lower part of the spring 6 provided at the upper part of the outer periphery of the rotating shaft 5, so that the tension of the spring 9 is greater than that of the upper spring 6. As a result, the pressure holding force of the buffer part becomes greater than the pressure holding force of the overload prevention part, so that when external force is applied to the mirror housing 2, the pressure holding surfaces of the overload prevention part and the buffer part are released simultaneously. This results in circumferential rotation.
In addition, in order to release the buffer part from the pressure-contact holding state first, and then release the overload prevention part from the pressure-contact holding state and rotate it circumferentially, the tension of the spring 6 must be increased or the springs 6 and 9 must be the same. By adjusting the depth of engagement between a protrusion or ball on the circumferential surface of the concave receiving portion 43a and the convex receiving portion 51 of the gear 43 of the rotation shaft 5 and the recessed portion that engages with the protrusion or ball. It is achievable. Furthermore, in this example, the springs are compressed above and below the outer periphery of the rotating shaft 5, but the present invention is not limited to this, and one spring may be placed between the overload prevention part and the buffer part, or between the buffer part. It may be contracted around the outer periphery of the rotating shaft 5 in the lower part or the upper part of the overload prevention part. Furthermore, an engagement member such as a friction member or a protrusion may be provided above or below the gear provided on the rotating shaft of the overload prevention section to release the pressure contact. Furthermore, even in the case of the buffer part, a protrusion, a ball, or a recess may be formed in the convex receiving part 33 of the base 2, and a recess, a receiving part, or a protrusion that engages with the protrusion may be provided in the recess 24 of the housing 2. be. In other words, the overload prevention part of the drive mechanism such as a motor and the circumferential part that buffers are compressed on the axis of the rotating shaft via a spring, and the mirror housing is rotated and tilted with respect to the base so that the door mirror can be moved toward the vehicle body. To provide a door mirror which can be tilted smoothly and can absorb impact without causing damage to people or property, and without causing damage to a motor or the like.

<Effects of the Invention> 1. When the mirror housing is manually rotated and tilted by remote control during shipping or storage, the worm gear of the drive mechanism rotates on the gear fixed to the rotation axis that forms the rotation center. Since it revolves while rotating, the rotation and tilting can be smoothly performed with a small amount of driving force.

2. Since the rotation of the motor is achieved by a reduction mechanism, a worm gear, etc., deceleration is easily achieved, and a small motor with a high rotation speed can be used, allowing the overall size to be reduced.

3. The mirror housing and the base are each circumferentially surrounded by a concave receiving part formed on a gear attached to the rotating shaft and a buffer part consisting of a convex receiving part provided on the rotating shaft that fits into the concave receiving part. Because of this, the area of the contact surface is large, and the mirror housing is less likely to shake due to vibrations.

4. When receiving an external impact, the overload prevention section is ensured by the fact that the gears meshing with each other are firmly fixed, and by the concave receiving part of the gear attached to the rotating shaft and the convex receiving part formed on the rotating shaft. Because the impact force is transmitted to the motor, it is less likely to damage the motor, and the mirror housing and rotating shaft can be reliably rotated and tilted relative to the base, preventing damage to the motor, etc. due to impact. Damage to the drive mechanism or damage to people or property can be alleviated.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing how the door mirror is attached to the vehicle body, FIGS. 2 to 7 illustrate the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway front view, and FIG.
The sectional view taken along line A-A in Figure 2, and the cross-sectional view taken along line B-- in Figure 3 shown in Figure 4.
B sectional view, FIG. 5 is a partially broken plan view showing a state in which the mirror housing is artificially rotated and tilted toward the rear of the vehicle body by remote control, and FIG.
FIG. 7 is a partially cutaway plan view showing a state in which the mirror housing is rotated and tilted toward the front of the vehicle body in response to an external impact; FIG. . 1...Mirror, 2...Mirror housing, 21
...Fitting portion, 23...Air gap, 24...Recess, 3...
... base, 32 ... support part, 33 ... convex receiving part,
4... Drive mechanism, 41... Motor, 43... Gear, 44... Gear, 5... Rotation center axis, 51...
Convex receiving part.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A base fixed to the vehicle body, a mirror housing rotatably supported on the base via a rotation shaft, a drive mechanism disposed within the mirror housing, and a mirror housing fixed to the motor output shaft of the drive mechanism. a gear, a gear meshing with the gear and attached to the rotating shaft, an overload prevention section provided on the gear and the rotating shaft, and a buffer section provided on the mirror housing and base below the rotating shaft. The overload prevention part has a concave receiving part formed on a gear attached to the rotating shaft, and a convex receiving part that fits into the concave receiving part and is formed on the rotating shaft. , the buffer part has a recess formed in the housing and a convex receiving part fitted in the recess and formed in the base, and a pressure holding mechanism that maintains pressure contact between the overload prevention part and the buffer part by a spring. A door mirror characterized in that the pressure holding force of the buffer portion is greater than the pressure holding force of the overload prevention portion.