JPH10138837A - Mirror device of vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To avoid an increase in setting labour and lowering of outer appearance and to speedily carry out magnification of the range of vision, etc., by constituting a mirror device of a flexible plate body and changing a curvature of a mirror body deforming itself by internal pressure change due to change of fluid pressure to supply to a pressure chamber provided on the back. SOLUTION: When an operation switch is made 'normal' at the time of normal travelling, discharge pressure of a hydraulic pump is maintained at a set value on the low pressure side. Consequently, internal pressure of a pressure chamber 1a of a fender main body 1 is lowered, a curvature of a mirror body 6 is reduced, and a minimum rear range of vision required for the time of normal travelling is secured. At the time of putting a vehicle in a garage, etc., when the operation switch is made 'extend', internal pressure of the pressure chamber 1a of the fender mirror main body 1 is heightened, a central part of the mirror body 6 is extensively projected to the rear of the vehicle, it curvature is increased and the rear range of vision is rapidly extended. Consequently, it is possible to speedily carry out extension of the range of vision when required at comparatively low cost without causing increase of a trouble for setting and lowering of outer appearance.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mirror device for a vehicle, and more particularly to a mirror device capable of easily changing a rear view range.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In large vehicles such as trucks and buses, the area immediately before the front body is a blind spot from the driver's seat. To solve this problem, the mirror surface is enlarged and a plurality of rearview mirrors are provided. And other measures have been taken. However, there is a limit to the size of the mirror surface,
Providing a plurality of rearview mirrors also has the disadvantage that the time and labor required for installation are increased and the appearance is reduced.

On the other hand, in a passenger car or the like, in order to secure a necessary field of view without providing a plurality of mirrors, a plate-like mirror body is supported at one point in the back, and the angle of attitude is changed by a driving mechanism to change the viewing direction. Changing, so-called electric remote control mirrors are widely used. However, this electric remote control mirror could not be adjusted so as to widen the visible range as required, or conversely, to concentrate on a certain portion (for example, the rear wheel portion). Also, it takes time to turn the mirror body in the required direction, so it lacks responsiveness,
There is also a problem that the cost is high because the driving mechanism including the motor and the like is complicated.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and does not cause an increase in installation labor or a drop in appearance, and at a relatively low cost, can quickly enlarge a field of view when necessary. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle mirror device which can be performed in a vehicle.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object,
The gist of the invention according to claim 1 is that the mirror body (6) is formed of a flexible plate, and the pressure chamber (1a) is provided behind the mirror body (6) and the pressure chamber (1a). Fluid pressure changing means (3) for changing the pressure of the fluid supplied to the mirror body (6) is deformed by a change in the internal pressure of the pressure chamber (1a) to change the curvature of the mirror body (6). A mirror device for a vehicle characterized by having such a configuration.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the mirror body is deformed by the change in the internal pressure of the pressure chamber and the field of view can be enlarged and reduced by changing the curvature of the mirror body, a mirror surface can be enlarged or a plurality of fields having different fields of view can be provided. There is no need to provide a rear-view mirror, so that the installation is not troublesome and the appearance does not deteriorate. In addition, since the field of view is enlarged and reduced by deforming the mirror body, a necessary entire visual range can be taken into the mirror surface according to the driving situation. Therefore, the vehicle can be easily put into a garage or the like, or a following vehicle or the like which has hitherto been located in a blind spot can be reliably grasped, which is very useful for accident prevention. Furthermore, the responsiveness is excellent compared with the case where the angle attitude of the plate-like mirror body is changed as in the related art, and a complicated attitude changing mechanism is not required.

The gist of the present invention resides in that the mirror body (6) is formed of a flexible plate, and an operation member (9) is provided behind the mirror body (6) to perform the operation. A mirror device for a vehicle, wherein a rear surface of the mirror body (6) is pushed and pulled by a member (9) to deform the mirror body (6) and change the curvature of the mirror body (6). .

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the mirror can be deformed by pushing and pulling the rear surface of the mirror by the operating member, and the curvature of the mirror can be changed to enlarge or reduce the field of view, the mirror surface is enlarged. Also, there is no need to provide a plurality of rearview mirrors having different fields of view, so that the installation is not required and the appearance is not deteriorated. In addition, since the field of view is enlarged and reduced by deforming the mirror body, the responsiveness is superior to changing the angle attitude of the plate-like mirror body as before, and the operating member is located on the back of the mirror body. Since it is only necessary to push and pull, it is not complicated as in the conventional mirror posture changing mechanism, and is realized at low cost.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the vehicle mirror device of the present invention will be described in detail. (1) First Embodiment FIGS. 1 to 3 show an embodiment of a mirror device for a vehicle according to the present invention, and FIG. 1 shows a device configuration of the mirror device. FIG. 1 shows an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a fender mirror of a passenger car. A fender mirror body 1 whose internal structure will be described later is connected to a hydraulic pump 3 by a hydraulic pipe 2. This hydraulic pump 3
Is a variable pressure type with a built-in drive motor, and the discharge pressure can be changed steplessly by a proportional electromagnetic control valve 31 mounted on the top surface. The proportional electromagnetic control valve 31 operates in accordance with an electric signal from the control unit 4, and an operation switch 5 provided on an instrument panel or the like is connected to the control unit 4 as an input. The operation switch 5 is a toggle switch in the present embodiment, and is “wide” for enlarging the rear view when entering the garage, and “normal” for normal traveling.
The two positions can be selected.

FIG. 2 shows a vertical cross section of the fender mirror body 1. The fender mirror body 1 is behind the vehicle (left side in the figure)
A casing 11 that opens to the
The plate-like mirror body 6 is covered by the rectangular opening 12 of FIG. The mirror body 6 has a flexible resin plate 61 as a base, a metal film 62 such as chromium formed on the surface thereof, and a transparent glass film 63 formed on the surface of the metal film 62. The outer peripheral edge of the mirror body 6 is attached to the casing opening edge by a rubber sealing material 13 to maintain liquid tightness, and the elasticity of the sealing material 13 allows the outer peripheral edge of the mirror body 6 to be displaced to some extent. ing. The space in the casing closed by the mirror body 6 becomes a pressure chamber 1 a, and a predetermined pressure of hydraulic oil is supplied from the hydraulic pipe 2 to the pressure chamber 1 a via a flow path in the casing leg 14. The mirror body 6 is a convex mirror that is curved and protrudes rearward at a constant curvature by being pushed rearward by the hydraulic pressure.
When the oil pressure in the pressure chamber 1a behind the mirror increases, the center of the mirror 6 protrudes and curves rearward as shown by the chain line in FIG. 2 to increase the curvature.

In the fender mirror having such a structure, when the operation switch 5 is turned on during normal running, the discharge pressure of the hydraulic pump 3 is set to the low pressure side by the proportional electromagnetic control valve 31 via the control unit 4. Maintained at the value. As a result, the internal pressure of the pressure chamber 1a of the fender mirror body 1 decreases, and the curvature of the mirror body 6 decreases. Therefore, the minimum rear view required during normal traveling is secured (FIG. 3A).
Shaded area). Note that, in FIG. 3, the symbol O is the center of curvature.
There is almost no distortion in the reflection image of the fender mirror in such a case.

On the other hand, when the vehicle is to be put in the garage or the like, the operation switch 5 is turned on to "expand". Then, the control unit 4
, The discharge pressure of the hydraulic pump 3 is changed to the set value on the high pressure side, and the internal pressure of the pressure chamber 1a of the fender mirror body 1 increases. As a result, the mirror body 6 has a large central portion and protrudes rearward of the vehicle, and its curvature becomes large, so that the rear view is greatly expanded (the hatched portion in FIG. 3B). In such a case, the reflected image of the fender mirror may be slightly distorted. But,
There is no need to accurately see the shape of obstacles and gutters,
There is no problem because it only checks the existence.

In the fender mirror configured as described above, the hydraulic pressure supplied to the pressure chamber 1a behind the mirror body can be changed, the mirror body 6 can be deformed in response to the change, and its curvature can be changed. The rear view at the time of entering a garage or the like can be expanded with a simple structure without providing a mechanism.
In such a case, in the case of a fender mirror of a normal size, the rear view greatly changes only when the center of the mirror surface moves about 1 mm, so that the oil pressure supplied to the pressure chamber 1a may be changed in a relatively narrow range. . Therefore, the change of the hydraulic pressure can be performed in a short time, and has a quick response. Thus, the necessary visual range can be entirely taken into the mirror surface according to the driving situation, so that the driving operation becomes extremely easy.

By the way, in this embodiment, the curvature of the mirror body is changed in two steps, but instead of the operation switch 5, a volume 5 '(chain line in FIG. 1) or the like capable of continuously variable output is used. If the curvature of the mirror body 6 is changed steplessly, the visual range can be freely set, which is more preferable. In addition, changes in oil pressure due to temperature changes in the four seasons can be adjusted together, which is more convenient. Of course, the base 6 of the mirror body 6
As 1, a steel plate or the like can be used in addition to a resin plate. In this case, the mirror body 6 can be configured only by forming a glass film on the surface of the steel plate. The mirror surface of the mirror body 6 may be formed by metallizing plastic or the like.

(2) Embodiment 2 FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. A heater 7 for preventing fogging is disposed in the pressure chamber 1a behind the mirror body 6. Since the hydraulic oil has a higher heat transfer coefficient than air, the heat from the heater 7 is efficiently transmitted to the mirror body 6 to evaporate dew condensation on the mirror body surface and quickly eliminate the fogging on the mirror surface. The heater 7 does not necessarily need to be provided behind the mirror body 6. If the heater 7 is installed in any of the hydraulic oil flow paths to warm the hydraulic oil, the mirror body 6 is heated by the heated hydraulic oil. A similar effect is obtained. Other configurations, operations, and effects are the same as those of the first embodiment.

(3) Embodiment 3 In this embodiment, in addition to the structure of Embodiment 1, as shown in FIG. 5, an ultrasonic oscillator 8 is provided on the inner wall of the pressure chamber 1a facing the mirror body 6. . When raindrops adhere to the surface of the mirror body 6, the ultrasonic oscillator 8 is operated to transmit an ultrasonic wave 81 toward the back of the mirror body 6, and the ultrasonic wave causes the mirror body 6 to vibrate minutely. Raindrops are allowed to evaporate. Since ultrasonic waves are efficiently transmitted in a liquid such as hydraulic oil, raindrops attached to the mirror surface are quickly eliminated.

(4) Fourth Embodiment In the present embodiment shown in FIG. 6, an electromagnetic solenoid 9 is provided in the space inside the casing of the fender mirror main body 1, and the tip of the output shaft 91 is attached to the rear surface of the center of the mirror body 6. Are combined. When the electromagnetic solenoid 9 is energized to cause the output shaft 91 to advance, the central portion of the mirror body 6 protrudes and curves rearward in the vehicle, as shown by the chain line in the figure, and its curvature increases. In this way, the rear view range is configured to be larger than that in the normal state shown by the solid line. Other components are the first embodiment.
Basically, the description is omitted. With this configuration, the same operation and effect as those of the first embodiment can be obtained.

(5) Other Embodiments In the first embodiment, the hydraulic pump 3 having the proportional electromagnetic control valve 31 is used to supply hydraulic oil of a predetermined pressure into the pressure chamber 1a of the fender mirror body 1. Instead of this, it is also possible to provide a piston cylinder at one end of the hydraulic pipe 2 and change the pressure of the sealed hydraulic oil in the hydraulic pipe 2 and the pressure chamber 1a by moving the piston. In the first embodiment, the size of the rear field of view of the fender mirror is selected by the operation switch 5. However, when the rear view mirror is used for a side mirror of a bus or the like, the side mirror of the side mirror is interlocked with departure or stop of the bus. The rear view may be automatically switched. For example, when the bus is stopped, the view range of the side mirror is expanded so that obstacles immediately before the front body can be checked, and when the vehicle departs, the view range of the side mirror is reduced to obtain a distortion-free rear view of the vehicle. And so on. Furthermore, in the first embodiment, the working oil is used to deform the mirror body 6, but other liquids or gases such as compressed air may be used.

In the above embodiments, the case where the present invention is applied to a fender mirror has been described. However, it is needless to say that the present invention can be applied to a door mirror or an inner mirror.

[0020]

As described above, the mirror device for a vehicle according to the present invention does not cause an increase in installation time or a drop in appearance, and can quickly enlarge a field of view when necessary at a relatively low cost. It has excellent effects such as easy driving and improved safety.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a device configuration of a mirror device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of a fender mirror main body.

FIG. 3 is a schematic side view showing a change in a rear view of the mirror device.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view of a fender mirror main body according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view of a fender mirror body according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view of a fender mirror body according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1a Pressure chamber 3 Hydraulic pump 6 Mirror body, 9 Electromagnetic solenoid

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A mirror body (6) is formed of a flexible plate body, a pressure chamber (1a) is provided behind the mirror body (6), and a fluid supplied to the pressure chamber (1a) is provided. A fluid pressure changing means (3) for changing the pressure of the mirror body (6) by changing the internal pressure of the pressure chamber (1a) to change the curvature of the mirror body (6). A mirror device for a vehicle. 2. The mirror body (6) is formed of a flexible plate body, and an operation member (9) is provided behind the mirror body (6), and the mirror body is operated by the operation member (9). A mirror device for a vehicle, characterized in that the mirror body (6) is deformed by pushing and pulling the rear surface of (6) to change the curvature of the mirror body (6).