KR19980071320A - Rearview mirror device - Google Patents

Abstract

The rearview mirror device for a vehicle of the present invention is disposed on the rear door of the vehicle so as to view road conditions immediately after the vehicle. In a preferred embodiment the mirror is mounted off the centerline but provides a uniform view immediately after the vehicle. Such mirrors are particularly suitable for vehicles with a vertical rear and obstacles on the vehicle center line. In a preferred embodiment the mirror is pivotally coupled and variably moved to move on the windshield to minimize visual disturbances.

Description

Rearview mirror device

The present invention is a partial application of US Application No. 08 / 504,059 for Rearview Mirrors filed on July 18, 1995, of the inventors. The present invention relates to a rearview mirror device mounted on the rear of the vehicle to allow the driver to equally secure the field of view immediately behind the vehicle. As shown in the most preferred embodiment, the rearview mirror is mounted off the vehicle centerline with an obstacle so that the field of view is directly behind the vehicle. The present invention relates to a rearview mirror device configured to provide almost evenly.

The rearview mirrors of the vehicle vary depending on the mounting position and structure. When the vehicle moves forward, the center-mounted interior mirror provides a traffic situation directly behind the driver to assist the driver. Many cars provide left and right externally mounted side mirrors to give the driver a wider field of view.

Such an external mirror is required for a truck that cannot secure a rear view through a vehicle. Sometimes these external mirrors are in the form of convex mirrors to ensure a wide field of view.

These mirrors are intended to help the vehicle move forward, and they do not help much in terms of safety and maneuvering when moving backwards. There is a considerable blind spot behind the vehicle. These blind spots are larger in vehicles with high rears such as vans, motorhomes, and stowage-carrying vehicles such as the Chevrolet Suburban and Ford Ranger. Also in these vehicles there is another complex problem of obstacles in the centerline, so the mirrors must be mounted off the centerline. In such a case, an externally mounted rearview mirror that would be mounted off the centerline of the vehicle and equally visible to the left and right of the centerline of the car would be useful.

Darling's U.S. Patent No. 1,872,905 discloses an interior mirror mounted in a cabin directly above a rear window of an automobile. US Patent No. 1,877,997 to Shapiro also discloses a mirror device comprising an auxiliary spherical mirror mounted on a rear window. These mirrors can be stretched or folded to see the road just behind the car. US Patent No. 4,469,405 to Chin-Yun discloses a mirror device for use in a large vehicle such as a motor groove or a loading box truck. The rear of the device is mounted on the rear roof and the mirror is stretched out when it is needed. Despite these teachings of the prior art, the problem of blind spots behind the vehicle has not been solved.

Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, the main object of the invention is mounted off the center line of the car to the rear of the car provides a view immediately behind the car symmetrically and equally to the left and right of the car center line It's a rearview mirror. The rearview mirror can be moved from a position where the driver can secure such a rear view to a position that cannot be secured.

Accordingly, an object and an advantage of the present invention is to provide a rearview mirror device that is attached to the rear side of a vehicle to assist a motor vehicle driver when driving a vehicle safely or parallel parking.

It is another object of the present invention to attach a rearview mirror device having different curvatures on the two left and right side halves of the mirror so that the left and right sides of the reflective surface are curved surfaces and the mirrors are arranged out of the center line of the vehicle to provide the same left and right view even when the mirror is disposed away from the vehicle center line. To provide.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a rearview mirror device which is attached to the outer side of the vehicle rear door and is movably mounted so as not to be in the rear view direction when not in use.

1 is a perspective view of a rearview mirror mounted outside the rear of the vehicle,

2 is an enlarged rear view of a partial vehicle;

3 is a side view showing the vehicle partial cross section seen from the dividing line 3-3 of FIG.

4 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the rearview mirror divided into 4-4 of FIG.

5 is a plan view of a rearview mirror according to the present invention;

6 is a cross-sectional view of the rearview mirror of FIG. 5 according to the dividing line 6-6 of FIG. 5.

<Explanation of symbols for main parts of drawing>

10 vehicle 12 rearview mirror device

14: Left rear door 16: Right rear door

18: Left rear window 20: Right rear window

22: base 24: arm

26: pivot pin 28: mirror body

30: York 32: pivot bolt

34: mirror 35,52,54: radius

36: focus 38, 39: left line

40: center line 42, 43: right line

44: upper barge 45: front barge

46: middle bar 47: middle bar

48: lower barge 49: rear barge

50: landing point 56: radial line

58: rearview mirror 60: main body

62: mirror support bracket 64: mounting base

68: Window 70,72: Ear

74: York 76,78: arm

80,82: Pivot Pin 84: Coil Spring

86: arm 88: hole

90: spring arm 92: actuator

94: Mirror 96: Lamp pocket

98 lamp 100 reflector

102: Surface

In the first embodiment, the rearview mirror device 12 of the present invention is mounted on the rear of the vehicle so that the driver can see the mirror and secure the view immediately behind the vehicle. The mirror of the present invention is located in the driver's line of sight. In addition, the driver may turn his head straight to see or may be positioned in the driver's line of sight through the interior center rearview mirror of a typical passenger car. The rearview mirror device 12 is mounted in the driver's line of sight and positioned to grasp the road situation immediately behind the vehicle. This view extends slightly wider than the vehicle width to assist the driver in parking and other orientations.

The wider longitudinal field of view need not be very wide. The maximum field of view in the longitudinal direction may not be greater than the width. This rearview mirror device 12 has a suitable curvature to provide a rectangular field of view.

The rearview mirror device according to the present invention has its surface configured such that when mounted off the center line, the view immediately behind the vehicle is uniformly provided. The vehicle 10 of FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrates such a vehicle. The vehicle 10 is described as having left and right rear doors 14 and 16. The left and right rear doors have left and right rear windows 18 and 20, respectively. Since the left and right rear doors having the left and right glass windows have a vertical hinge, there are obstacles in the rear view direction between the rear windows 18 and 20. This obstacle is substantially on the front and rear centerline of the vehicle 10. The rearview mirror device 12 is particularly useful because of its off-center mounting. This is useful when there is an occupant in the middle chair that obstructs the rear view.

As shown in FIG. 3, the rearview mirror device 12 is coupled to the right rear door 16 of the right rear window 20. Arm 24 is pivotally coupled to base 22 with pivot pin 26, which may be bolted to secure when arm 24 is properly set.

The mirror body 28 has a yoke 30 attached to the rear portion. This yoke 30 secures the arm 24 as shown in FIG. The pivot bolt 32 serves as a pivot pin such that the mirror body 28 is pivotably mounted to the arm. The pivot bolt 32 may be tightened to lock the yoke 30 when properly adjusted.

The axes of the pivot pin 26 and the pivot bolt 32 are preferably parallel to each other and in the transverse direction with respect to the center line of the vehicle 10. The vehicle 10 is illustrated as having a front and rear axis direction, which is a general movement direction, and also has a general upward axis, which is an approximately gravity vertical axis. If the vehicle is in a perfect plane, the upward axis is vertical. The fore and aft axis becomes an intermediate part on the left and right sides. These axes form the vertical center plane of the vehicle. In addition, the axes of the pivot pin 26 and pivot bolt 32 are preferably perpendicular to the plane. The plane divides the vehicle back road along the lines Ab to Cb, as shown in FIG.

The mirror 34 is mounted to the mirror body 28, the surface of the mirror 34 has a curvature, the curvature is a mixed surface having two curvatures.

The general curvature of the mirror 34 may be said that the curvature R1 having the radius 35 shown in FIG. 3 is substantially constant in the lateral direction, and the axis of the cylinder having the curvature R1 is generally a pivot bolt ( It is parallel to 32 and perpendicular to the front and rear center planes of the vehicle 10.

The rearview mirror 12 is off the centerline of the vehicle 10 but the view is preferably symmetrical with respect to the vehicle centerline. For this reason, the right side of the mirror has a radius 52 at the center of curvature R2. In order to provide smooth operation to the mirror surface, ie smooth transition and to minimize distortion, the radius 54 has a center point at the radius point R3. Thus, the radius 54 is coupled at the contact of two circles for a smooth transition.

The radius 54 is smaller than the radius 52 to provide greater curvature to the left of the radius line 56. As a result, the light rays are spread so that the distance from the left ray a to the center ray b is equal to the distance from the center ray b to the right ray c. This structure is the surface of two ellipsoids with the appropriate major and minor axes. To avoid abrupt variations and to overcome other distortions, the surface is synthesized and nearly close to the ellipsoid surface. By this means, the driver can get the rear view accurately and help the safe driving.

The driver of the vehicle 10 is seated in the front seat left in the United States. To use the rearview mirror, he can either see the central indoor rearview mirror or turn his head to see the rearview mirror directly. In any case, his gaze is at the focal point 36 of FIG. 4.

The line of sight from the eye to the reflective surface of the rearview mirror 34 is shortened and shown in FIG. 4. The left line between the eye and the rearview mirror is referred to as (38), and the left line (39) between the rearview mirror and the landing point of the line of sight is represented by a lowercase letter a. The centerline between the eye and the rearview mirror is denoted by 40 and the centerline between the mirror and the landing point 50 is denoted by b. The right line between the eye and the mirror (rear mirror) is denoted by (42) and the right line between the mirror (rear mirror) and the landing point is (43) and denoted by c. As shown in FIG. 3, the upper side line 44 between the eye and the rearview mirror is the front side line 45 between the rearview mirror and the landing point and is denoted A. The midline 46 between the eye and the rearview mirror is the midline 47 to the landing point and is denoted by B. Lower bar line 48 becomes rear bar line 49 and is indicated by C. FIG. This infinite gaze can be selected, but in particular, some special gaze directions have been chosen to describe the shape of the landing point of the gaze visible to the driver's eye at the focal point 36.

1 to 4 show that a rearview mirror with a mixed curvature mounted away from the centerline ensures a quadrangular view of the rear field of view immediately behind the vehicle. In most cases it is desirable to have a slightly wider field of view than the vehicle width. The special curvature radius is only a specific description of the mixed curvature.

The quadrants look different because the left and right angles are different for the road plane. Since the distance between Aa and Ab is actually equal to the distance between Ab and Ac, the radius R3 is shorter than the radius R2. However, since Ac is not just below the mirror, the left side of the mirror has a somewhat longer radius than expected otherwise. If the distance from Ab to Bb is the same as the distance between Bb and Cb, the front and rear directions are the same as before because the radius of the side showing the rear part of the ground is somewhat shorter than expected. The compound curvature of the mirror shows the entire field of view without disturbing the variation in the field of view of the landing point.

In a large vehicle, as described above, since the blind spot is located, safety is increased by securing a rear view immediately behind the vehicle. The width of the field of view is preferably slightly larger than the vehicle width. As shown in FIG. 1, positioning the rearview mirror device 12 on the right side of the vehicle centerline has an additional advantage, since the curved surface of the rear terrain can be seen when parking.

In special cases, it may be mounted on the left side if the radius of curvature is adjusted so that the rearview mirror has the same advantage. In this case, the developed part of the landing point becomes the right side. This special structure of the mirror minimizes the distortion of the field of view, which aids in safe operation. In more general cases, the mirror can be mounted on the centerline and on the centerline of the vehicle to provide visibility into the terrain immediately after the vehicle to ensure safety when reversing and to see the curvature on parallel parking.

5 and 6 is the second preferred embodiment of the rearview mirror according to the invention. The mirror device 58 has a main body 60 mounted to the mirror support bracket 62. The mirror support bracket 62 includes a mounting base 64 attached to the vehicle back surface above the window 68. Mounting may be by screw fasteners as shown in FIG. 5. Ears 70 and 72 are attached to mounting base 64 and have pivot holes. Yoke 74 has arms 76 and 78 positioned adjacent ears 70 and 72. Pivot pins 80 and 82 pivotally mount the yoke on the mounting base. The coil spring 84 has an arm 86 that is fastened to the hole 88 of the yoke arm 76. The other spring arm 90 is fastened against the mounting base 64. The spring is biased to apply the mirror support bracket counterclockwise from the second position in the solid direction to the first position in the dashed direction as shown in FIG. 6. An adjustable stop at these two location points is preferably provided.

Pivot pin 80 is rotatably mounted to ear 70 and yoke arm 76 is secured to pivot pin. Pivot pin 80 is an axis extending out of actuator 92. The actuator 92 is attached to the mounting base 64 between the yoke arms. Actuator 92 is a solenoid structure having an internal mechanism to make the movement in the rotation direction than the axial movement of the pivot pin (80). Such instruments are available on the market. Any kind of motor can be included. The motor is preferably driven electrically. If this drive is from a reversing light circuit, this circuit preferably includes a time delay in order to discourage drive when passing through gear selection. The driving of the motor causes the mirror support bracket 62 and the mirror main body to move from the dotted line direction in FIG. 6 to the second position in the solid line direction. If the actuator is not running, the mirror will return to its original position.

The mirror body 60 has a mirror 94 having the same surface as the mirror 34. Some vehicles have a front rear window so that the mirror can be mounted on the vehicle centerline. In such a vehicle the mirror surface need not be asymmetric. However, even in this case having a single rear window symmetrical about the center line, it is preferable to mount the rearview mirror device 58 to the right of the center line. In addition, it is possible to switch to the visible direction by the operation of the actuator 92 at the first non-use position deviated from the gaze direction so as not to obstruct the gaze.

The mirror body 60 may have a lamp pocket 96. The lamp is on one side of the mirror as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 5. The lamp pocket has a lamp 98 surrounded by a reflector 100. The reflector 100 is not visible to the driver when the mirror is in the second position as indicated by the solid line in FIG. 6. The reflector front surface 102 is non-reflective. The lamp 98 can be activated every time the actuator 92 is activated. The lamps provide rearward illumination that is closer than conventional reverse lights to increase safety.

Although the present invention has been described with respect to the preferred embodiments, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that modifications can be made within the scope of the invention. Therefore, the scope of the invention is defined in the following claims.

As described above, the present invention can be mounted off the center line of the car at the rear of the car to provide a view immediately behind the car symmetrically and equally to the left and right of the car center line, and also in a position where the driver can secure such a rear view. It can be moved to a location that cannot be secured. And attached to the back of the vehicle has the effect of helping the vehicle driver when the vehicle driver driving safely or parallel parking.

Claims (27)

In the rearview mirror device for a vehicle having a centerline, having a first and second surfaces on the symmetrical surface of the centerline, the rear door on the rear end and the rear end and the rear window in the rear door, Mounting means of the mirror is provided on the rear surface outside the vehicle rear door on the first side of the centerline above the rear window, such that the mirror is asymmetrical on the vehicle and asymmetrical to the ground, the mirror having a curved surface having at least two curvature radii. A ground surface of the first or second surface of the center line immediately after the vehicle with the first radius of curvature surface, and a ground of another surface of the center line immediately after the vehicle with the second radius of curvature surface; The rearview mirror device is formed so as to see substantially the same width. The rearview mirror apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first curved surface and the second curved surface are convex curved surfaces, and the second curved surface is more convex than the first curved surface. 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the first curved surface and the second curved surface constitute a complex curved surface having a first radius and a second radius, wherein the first and second radius both intersect a centerline and the first curved surface and the second curved surface. Rear-view mirror device with curved surfaces. 4. The rearview mirror apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the rearview mirror is mounted to a mirror frame, and the mirror mounting means comprises an arm pivotally coupled to the mirror frame. 5. A rearview mirror apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said rearview mirror mounting means comprises a base mounted to said rear door above said rear window, and said arm is pivotally coupled to said base. 3. The rearview mirror device of claim 2, wherein said first curved surface is substantially a portion of a cylindrical curved surface. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the mirror mounting means comprises a mounting base attached to the rear window of the rear door of the vehicle, and includes an actuator for moving the mirror from a high first position to a low second position. The position of the rearview mirror device allows the driver to see the road situation immediately after the vehicle through the curved surface of the mirror. 8. The rearview mirror apparatus of claim 7, wherein the actuator is electrically activated to move the mirror from a first position to a second position. In a vehicle with a rear door on the rear end and a rear end and a rear window in the rear door and a front and rear center line, A rearview mirror device on the vehicle amount; Means for mounting the mirror outside the rear door on the rear window on the first face of the center line when the driver of the vehicle is located on the second face of the center line; Having at least a first and a second portion, the first portion being formed such that the driver can see the ground behind the vehicle as the first curved surface on the first surface of the center line and the second portion is the driver's view of the center line. And a convex surface on the mirror formed on the second surface such that the substantially same area is visible on the second curved surface. The vehicle amount of claim 9, wherein the first curved surface and the second curved surface are coupled to each other. 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the first curved surface of the mirror is a compound surface having a substantially first radius, the second surface is a compound surface having a second radius substantially, at the junction of the first surface and the second curved surface A vehicle amount in which the curved surfaces are in contact with each other due to the center of the first radius and the second radius on an extended line. 12. The vehicle quantity of claim 11, wherein the first curved surface and the second curved surface have a cylindrical surface to the same extent, such that the terrain seen by the first curved surface and the second curved surface has substantially the same front and rear dimensions. 13. The vehicle amount according to claim 12, wherein the axis of the cylindrical curved surface is transverse to the vehicle center line. 15. The vehicle quantity of claim 13, wherein the second curved surface is more curved laterally than the first curved surface but has a substantially cylindrical curved surface. 10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the mirror mounting means comprises: a base for attaching to the vehicle exterior back and rear, an arm pivoted to the base, a mirror body to which the mirror is mounted, and a mirror that is started in a non-starting first position; The actuator comprises a actuator for moving to two positions, the mirror device is a vehicle amount that allows the driver to see the road situation immediately after the vehicle through the rear window. 10. The vehicle according to claim 9, wherein the vehicle has first and second rear doors having first and second rear windows respectively on the left and right of the center line, and the mounting means is a base for attaching to the outside of the first rear door over the first rear window. And an arm and a body pivotally coupled to the base, wherein the mirror is mounted within the body and the arm is pivotally coupled to the body, the both pivot points extending approximately transverse to the vehicle so that the mirror is mounted on the vehicle. The amount of cars that can be adjusted against. 17. The system of claim 16, wherein the mirror mounting means comprises a base attached to the outside of the first rear door on the first rear window and an arm pivotally coupled to the base, wherein the mirror body comprises a lamp at a mirror proximal portion within the body. Vehicle quantity with lamp reflector. 18. The vehicle amount according to claim 17, wherein said mirror is mounted in a mirror body and said arm is pivotally coupled to said mirror body, and said both pivot points extend substantially transverse to said vehicle so that said mirror can be adjusted relative to the vehicle. . A rearview mirror device for an automatic vehicle having a rear door and a window in the rear door, wherein the rear mirror is located at an outer portion of the rear door window so that the driver can see the rear view mirror through the rear door window and can secure the road situation immediately after the vehicle in a visual direction. Means for mounting; And a convex surface on the mirror formed by the driver so as to secure the view immediately after the road at least as wide as the vehicle and the front and rear views not larger than the view width so as to secure safety when reversing. 20. The rearview mirror apparatus of claim 19, wherein the convex surface of the mirror is substantially a compound surface of an ellipsoid. In a rearview mirror device for a vehicle having a rear end and a rear window in the rear end, A mirror; Means for mounting the mirror at an outer end of the vehicle rear window, the mounting means comprising a base attached to the rear end of the rear window and an actuator coupled to the base and coupled to perform a nonlinear motion; Retains the mirror and is mounted on the actuator to move the mirror from a high first position substantially outside the line of sight of the vehicle driver to a first position visible to the driver through the rear window of the vehicle, the mirror being And a mirror body configured to move when the mirror is in the second position so that the driver can substantially see the road situation immediately after the vehicle. 22. The spring force according to claim 21, wherein a spring is formed in the mirror mounting means to push the mirror to the first position when the actuator is not actuated and the actuator to spring the mirror to move the mirror to the second position. Rearview mirror device to overcome. 22. The rearview mirror apparatus of claim 21, wherein the actuator is electrically activated and moves the mirror to a second position when the actuator is activated. 22. The rearview mirror apparatus according to claim 21, wherein said mirror body has a lamp and a lamp reflector at mirror adjacent portions in the body. 25. The rearview mirror of claim 24, wherein said lamp and lamp reflector are laterally positioned adjacent said mirror in said mirror body. 26. The spring force according to claim 25, wherein a spring is formed in the mirror mounting means to push the mirror to the first position when the actuator is not actuated, and to cause the actuator to move the mirror to the second position. Rearview mirror device to overcome. 27. The rearview mirror apparatus of claim 26, wherein said actuator is electrically activated and said mirror is moved to a second position when said actuator is activated.