WO2006016736A1

WO2006016736A1 - Rainwater visor of outside back-mirror for auto mobile

Info

Publication number: WO2006016736A1
Application number: PCT/KR2005/000511
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jae Hoon Joung
Original assignee: Jae Hoon Joung
Priority date: 2004-08-09
Filing date: 2005-02-24
Publication date: 2006-02-16
Also published as: KR200366712Y1

Abstract

Disclosed is a rainwater visor of an outside mirror for an automobile, installed to a side door having a front side window by a pivotably-mounted fixture. A housing having an operating long hole with one side open is mounted to the front of the outside mirror itself. Rainwater visor plates overlapped in multi folds are axially installed in the housing. The plates are rotated at different angles by a motor to be spread out or overlapped like a fan by the motor. This rainwater visor prevents rainwater from being dropped on the outside mirror and flowed to the side window for allowing a driver to watch a rear view through the side window, does not change in quality for a long time, and recovers its original state easily though it is deformed due to external impact, thereby not generating costs for exchange or repair and ensuring easy use.

Description

RAINWATER VISOR OF OUTSIDE BACK-MIRROR FOR

AUTO MOBILE

Technical Field

[1] The present invention relates a rainwater visor mounted to an outside mirror and over a front door of an automobile, and more particularly to a rainwater visor of an outside mirror of an automobile that is capable of blocking rainwater dropped on the outside mirror or the side window for a driver to see a rear view by means of the side window, not changing in quality even after a certain time, restoring to its original shape after being deformed due to external impact not to cause costs for exchange or repair, and being used easily.

Background Art

[2] An outside mirror (or, an outside back-mirror) is used for a driver to see a rear view, and it is also called a rearview mirror.

[3] A driver should fix his/her eyes on the front while driving, but he/she should also be careful about a car behind him/her, and the rearview mirror is designed so that a driver may check the rear with his/her posture keeping toward the front. According to the current automobile safety standard in Korea, there should be provided three rearview mirrors, one in the room and two out of the room, allowing sight by 50m behind.

[4] The outside mirrors of a general automobile has a flat mirror in left and a convex mirror in right. The convex shape of the right outside mirror decreases the dead angle, not seen by the eyes.

[5] Recently, even a small-sized car tends to have motor-operated mirrors as a basic component, which was optional. The motor-operated mirror has an simple structure that two motors are prepared with an axis of rotational center, namely a horizontal motor and a vertical motor.

[6] As an outside mirror of an automobile, Korean Patent Publication No. 1997-38301, published on July 24 1997, discloses 'a rainwater visor for a detachable outside mirror' in which a cover is bent to cover a certain area of the mirror surface and has a hollow into which the whole rear side of the mirror is inserted. A rubber absorption plate is formed on the bottom of an attachment unit having a flange shape bent from the cover that covers a certain range along the upper surface of the window frame of the door, so the rainwater visor is detachable.

[7] The cover is made of transparent material such as synthetic resin, and a driver sees a rear view through the transparent cover. However, the cover made of transparent synthetic resin is gradually changed to be opaque due to a direct ray of light after a certain time goes by, so the cover should be periodically exchanged, causing a problem of exchange cost. In addition, when the absorption force of the absorption plate for attaching the cover to the car is lessened while the car is driving, the cover may be separated from the car due to air resistance, hindering sight through the outside mirror, which may cause an accident.

[8] Moreover, in a cold winter, the cover is easily broken due to an external impact, and snows may be accumulated thereon to obstruct the view.

[9] In addition, Korean Patent Publication No. 1998-21512, published on June 25 1998 discloses 'a rainwater visor for an outside back-mirror of an automobile', mounted to an outside mirror housing of an automobile, which includes a hooking groove formed in the rear of the upper surface of the outside mirror housing and having a hooking projection, a concave groove formed in the upper center of the front surface of the outside mirror housing, hinges protruded at edges right and left of the concave groove and having an insert hole, a blocking plate having a plurality of protrusions formed at one side at regular intervals with a fitting hole respectively in correspondence to the insert hole and having an anti-droop part formed at an one bottom end of the protrusion to be hooked to the concave groove with elasticity and also having a hooking part formed one side of the other end and equipped with a protruded hooker hooked or unhooked to the hooking projection formed in the hooking groove, and a connection pin inserted into the insert hole of the hinge and the fitting hole of the protrusion so as to pivot the blocking plate with adjusting its angle.

[10] However, this rainwater visor cannot prevent rainwater from being dropped on the side windows of the driver seat or the front passenger seat, though it may prevent rainwater from be dropped on the outside mirror. Thus, it still has problem that a driver cannot easily see the outside mirror through the side window. Disclosure of Invention

Technical Problem

[11] The present invention is designed to solve the problem of the prior art, and therefore an object of the invention is to provide a rainwater visor of an outside mirror for an automobile, which is capable of preventing rainwater from being dropped on an outside mirror as well as on side mirrors so that a driver may see the rear view through the side mirrors.

[12] Another object of the invention is to provide a rainwater visor of an outside mirror for an automobile, which may easily restore its original state though it changes in quality after a certain time or is deformed due to external impact so that costs for exchange or repair is reduced and it may handled in an easy way. Technical Solution [13] In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention provides a rainwater visor of an outside mirror for an automobile, which includes a housing mounted to a frame of a front side door of the automobile and having an operating long hole on one side thereof; and rainwater visor plates positioned in the housing with long plates being overlapped in multi folds and spread out by means of a motor to be contacted with an outside mirror, wherein the rainwater visor plates have one ends axially mounted to a rotary shaft that is rotated by means of driving of the motor, and wherein the rainwater visor plates include an outermost driving plate fixed to the rotary shaft so as to be rotated when the motor is operating; a fixed plate fixed in the housing not to rotate; and a plurality of operating plates positioned between the driving plate and the fixed plate, each having a spreading protrusion protruded forward on an inner side thereof and a folding protrusion protruded rearward on an outer side thereof opposite to the spreading protrusion.

[14] At this time, the motor may be operated in a wired or wireless manner.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[15] Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing essential parts of a rainwater visor in a used state according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[16] Fig. 2 is a side view showing that the rainwater visor is spread out, seen from "A" point of Fig. 1;

[17] Fig. 3 is a front view, seen from "B" point of Fig. 2;

[18] Fig. 4 is a sectional view showing essential parts when the rainwater visor according to an embodiment of the present invention is contacted with an outside mirror;

[19] Fig. 5 is a sectional view showing essential parts when the rainwater visor according to an embodiment of the present invention is contacted with an outside mirror having a different shape;

[20] Fig. 6 is a side view showing that the rainwater visor is folded, seen from "A" point of Fig. 1;

[21] Fig. 7 is a front view, seen from "B" point of Fig. 6;

[22] Fig. 8 is a plane view showing a rainwater visor in a used state according to another embodiment of the present invention; and

[23] Fig. 9 is a perspective view showing essential parts of the rainwater visor in a used state according to another embodiment of the present invention. Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[24] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[25] Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing essential parts of a rainwater visor in a used state according to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a side view showing that the rainwater visor is spread out, seen from "A" point of Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a front view, seen from "B" point of Fig. 2. Here, the side view is defined that the view is seen from a side based on the automobile.

[26] Referring to Figs. 1 to 3, the rainwater visor of an outside mirror (or, an outside back-mirror) for an automobile according to the present invention is installed to an upper window frame 39 of an outside mirror 30 fixed to a front side door 40 having a side window 41 by means of a fixture 32 pivotably mounted inward. The rainwater visor includes a housing 42 having an operating long hole 43 at one side, and a plurality of rainwater visor plates 10 positioned in the housing 42 with a long plate shape respectively so that one ends are spread out and overlapped in multi folds like the ribs of a fan by means of a motor 20.

[27] The plurality of rainwater visor plates 10 are made of metal film or light synthetic resin film, which is not rusted. The rainwater visor plates 10 include a driving plate 11 having one end axially combined to a rotary shaft 22 rotated by the motor 20 so as to be protruded out for the first time through the operating long hole 43, a fixed plate 12 having one end axially fixed to a fixed shaft 22 in the housing 42 so as to be always positioned in, not to be protruded, and a plurality of operating plates 13 positioned between the driving plate 11 and the fixed plate 12 so that one ends thereof are pivotably fit into the fixed shaft 22 and the operating plates 13 are spread out at regular intervals by means of the driving plate 11.

[28] As a preferable embodiment for transmitting the rotation of the motor 20 to the rotary shaft efficiently and then reducing a required space, the shaft of the motor 20 is installed perpendicular to the rotary shaft 22 and then these shafts are connected using a bevel gear 21, as shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3.

[29] The rainwater visor plates 10 include a spreading protrusion (a) protruded forward on its inner side, a folding protrusion (b) protruded rearward on its outer side opposite to the spreading protrusion (a), and a stopping protrusion (c) formed forward on the side opposite to the folding protrusion (b) so as to be protruded to a predetermined range.

[30] Meanwhile, operation of the driving motor may be controlled in a wired or wireless manner by means of an operation button (not shown) installed to the driver seat of the automobile. In case of the wireless manner, a receiving unit 25 for recognizing an on/ off wireless signal is prepared to a predetermined position in the housing 42, and then a controller 24 controls operation of the motor 20 according to the signal received through the receiving unit 25.

[31] Fig. 4 is a sectional view showing essential parts when the rainwater visor according to the embodiment of the present invention is contacted with the outside mirror, and Fig. 5 is a sectional view showing essential parts when the rainwater visor according to the embodiment of the present invention is contacted with an outside mirror having a different shape.

[32] Referring to Figs. 4 and 5, a packing 14 may be mounted at the rear of the outer side of the driving plate 11 so that rainwater is not flowed in the contact portion of the outside mirror 30 and the driving plate 11 when the rainwater visor plates 10 are completely spread out. At this time, in order to improve adhesion between the packing 14 and the outside mirror 30, an insert long groove 31 may be formed on the housing of the outside mirror 30 so that the outer side of the driving plate 11, or the packing 14, may be inserted therein as shown in Fig. 5.

[33] Material of the packing 14 is not specially limited, but selected on consideration of elasticity, flexibility, waterproof property or the like. For example, rubber, urethane and sponge may be used.

[34] In such a configuration, it may be effectively prevented that rainwater adhered to the housing of the outside mirror 30 is flowed back or scattered toward the side window 41 or the mirror 30' inside the outside mirror.

[35] Fig. 6 is a side view, seen from "A" point of Fig. 1, showing that the rainwater visor is folded, and Fig. 7 is a front view, seen from "B" point of Fig. 6.

[36] As shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the rainwater visor of the present invention is mounted to the window frame 39, and employs a magnet 33 at this time. That is to say, the rainwater visor is usually kept by attaching the magnet 33 to the rear side of the operating long hole 43 of the housing 42, and then, when required, the rainwater visor is attached to the window frame 39 made of metal by using the magnetic force of the magnet 33. At this time, vacuum holes 34 are provided to both ends of the magnet 33, and a vacuum absorption plate 35 is attached around the vacuum hole 34 for the purpose of firm attachment.

[37] The absorption plate 35 may be detached from the magnet by vacuum control using an absorption lever 36.

[38] Fig. 8 is a plane view showing that the rainwater visor according to another embodiment of the present invention is in operation, and Fig. 9 is a perspective view showing essential parts when the rainwater visor according to another embodiment of the present invention is in use. In the drawings, a cover 44 for opening or closing the operating long hole 43 of the housing 42 is provided.

[39] The cover 44 is installed to one side of the operating long hole 43 so as to be pivotable on a hinge axis 45. The wall of the housing 42 and the cover 44 may keep a closed state (see a solid line of the cover in Fig. 8) by means of an elastic force of a spring 46. At this time, the spring preferably employs a torsion spring.

[40] Operation of the aforementioned rainwater visor according to the present invention is now described as follows.

[41] As shown in Fig. 6 and Fig. 7, an automobile is traveled while the housing 42 receiving the rainwater visor plates 10 are attached to the window frame 39.

[42] If rain falls while the automobile is traveling, a driver operates a switch (not shown) to drive the motor 20. If the rotary shaft 22 connected to the motor 20 by means of the bevel gear 21 is rotated, the driving plate 11 fixed to the rotary shaft 22 is spread outward from the automobile so that the front end of the driving plate 11 is seated in the insert long groove 31 of the outside mirror 30, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. At this time, the packing 14 improves adhesion between the driving plate 11 and the insert long groove 31, thereby minimizing phenomenon that the rainwater visor plates are fluctuated by means of air resistance or rainwater is flowed in.

[43] In order to relieve the fluctuation of the rainwater visor plates 10 caused by air resistance, a metal member or a magnet member is attached to the front end of the driving plate 11 or to the inner side of the insert long groove 31 so that the combination is more reinforced by means of magnetic force.

[44] If the driving plate 11 of the rainwater visor plates 10 is pivoted by means of the rotary shaft 22, the spreading protrusion (a) protruded forward from the automobile on the inner front end of the driving plate 11 comes in contact with the folding protrusion (b) protruded rearward from the automobile on the outer front end of the operating plate 13 so as to draw the operating plate 13 near the driving plate 11 to be extracted out of the housing 42. The spreading protrusion (a) of the drawn operating plate 13 is combined with the folding protrusion (b) of the next operating plate 13 adjacent thereto again so as to extract the adjacent operating plate out of the housing 42. In such a way, a plurality of the operating plates 13 are spread out through the operating long hole 43 as shown in Figs. 1 and 3 with the spreading protrusion (a) and the folding protrusion (b) being engaged.

[45] At this time, the operating plates 13 of the rainwater visor plates 10 are axially installed to be pivotable on the rotary shaft 22, and the fixed plate 12 is fixed on the housing 42 and not extracted out.

[46] As mentioned above, the rainwater visor plates 10 are spread out so that one end is seated in the insert long groove 31 in the upper end of the outside mirror 30 and the other end is fixed to the housing 42 of the front side door 40. Thus, rainwater is not flowed in to the outside mirror 30 while the automobile is driving, and rainwater does not flow on the front end of the front side window 40 used for seeing the outside mirror 30, so a driver may drive the automobile with seeing the outside mirror 30 clearly while the automobile is traveled in a rainy day.

[47] If the rain stops while the automobile is driving with preventing rainwater from being fallen on the outside mirror 30, the driver operates the switch (not shown) to rotate the motor 20 in a reverse direction.

[48] Then, the driving plate 11 of the rainwater visor plates 10 is pivoted in a counter¬ clockwise direction from the insert long groove 31 of the outside mirror 30. The rainwater visor plates 10 are folded in a way that the stopping protrusion (c) of the driving plate 11 pushes the folding protrusion (b) of the operating plate 13 adjacent thereto. Repeating this behavior, all of the rainwater visor plates 10 are subsequently put and stored in the housing 42.

[49] The rainwater visor for an outside mirror of an automobile according to the present invention, configured above, minimizes fluctuation of the rainwater visor plates 10 while the automobile is driving so as to prevent rainwater from being flowed into the front end of the outside mirror 30 and the side window 41 to obstruct a visual field. Thus, the driver may obtain a side and rear visual field safely, which allows safe lane change.

[50] In the case that the rainwater visor includes the cover 44 for automatically opening the operating long hole 43 of the housing as a more preferred embodiment, as shown in Figs. 8 and 9, when the rainwater visor plates 10 are subsequently spread out according to the aforementioned behavior, the cover 44 is rotated subsequently on the center of the hinge axis 45 by means of mutual contact between each rainwater visor plate 10 and the cover 44 (see a solid line of the cover in Fig. 8), and then keeps the operating long hole 43 in an open state with the rainwater visor plates 10 being spread out as shown in Fig. 9. To the contrary, if the rainwater visor plates 10 are folded, the cover 44 returns to its original position by means of elasticity of the spring 46 to close the operating long hole, thereby preventing dust and impurities from being penetrated into the housing 42.

Industrial Applicability

[51] As described above, the rainwater visor of the present invention may prevent rainwater from being dropped on the outside mirror and flowed to the side window, so a driver may watch a rear view through the side window. The rainwater visor of the present invention does not change in quality for a long time and may recover its original state easily though it is deformed due to external impact, thereby not generating costs for exchange or repair and ensuring easy use.

[52] The present invention is not limited to the preferred embodiments described above, but various modifications are possible to the person ordinarily skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention, and such modifications are included in the scope of the present invention, defined by the appended claims.

Claims

[1] A rainwater visor of an outside mirror for an automobile, comprising: a housing (42) mounted to a frame (39) of a front side door (40) of the automobile and having an operating long hole (43) on one side thereof; and rainwater visor plates (10) positioned in the housing (42) with long plates being overlapped in multi folds and spread out by means of a motor (20) to be contacted with an outside mirror (30), wherein the rainwater visor plates have one ends axially mounted to a rotary shaft (22) that is rotated by means of driving of the motor (20), and wherein the rainwater visor plates include: an outermost driving plate (11) fixed to the rotary shaft so as to be rotated when the motor (20) is operating; a fixed plate (12) fixed in the housing not to rotate; and a plurality of operating plates (13) positioned between the driving plate (11) and the fixed plate (12), each having a spreading protrusion (a) protruded forward on an inner side thereof and a folding protrusion (b) protruded rearward on an outer side thereof opposite to the spreading protrusion (a).

[2] The rainwater visor of an outside mirror for an automobile according to claim 1, wherein the motor (20) is operated in a wired or wireless manner.

[3] The rainwater visor of an outside mirror for an automobile according to claim 1, wherein a stopping protrusion (c) is formed on an outer side opposite to the folding protrusion so as to be protruded to a predetermined range.

[4] The rainwater visor of an outside mirror for an automobile according to claim 1, wherein a packing (14) is provided in a predetermined region at the rear of an outer side of the driving plate (11) so that the packing (14) is contacted with an outside mirror housing.

[5] The rainwater visor of an outside mirror for an automobile according to claim 1, wherein a packing (14) is provided in a predetermined region at the rear of an outer side of the driving plate (11), and an insert long groove (31) for insertion of the driving plate is formed in an outside mirror housing so that the packing (14) is contacted with the insert long groove (31).

[6] The rainwater visor of an outside mirror for an automobile according to claim 1, wherein a cover (44) is provided to one side of the operating long hole (43) of the housing (42) so that the cover (44) is pivoted on a hinge axis (45) to open and close the operating long hole, and the cover (44) makes the operating long hole be close due to elasticity of the spring (46).

[7] The rainwater visor of an outside mirror for an automobile according to any of claims 1 to 6, wherein a magnet (33) is attached to a rear side of the operating long hole of the rainwater visor so that the rainwater visor is attached to the frame (39) by means of a magnetic force of the magnet.

[8] The rainwater visor of an outside mirror for an automobile according to claim 7, wherein a vacuum hole (34) is formed at a predetermined position of the magnet so that an absorption plate (35) whole vacuum is adjustable by an absorption lever (36) is attached to the vacuum hole (34).