WO2007032636A1

WO2007032636A1 - Bicycle rearview mirror

Info

Publication number: WO2007032636A1
Application number: PCT/KR2006/003629
Authority: WO
Inventors: Min Sun Oh
Original assignee: Min Sun Oh
Priority date: 2005-09-15
Filing date: 2006-09-13
Publication date: 2007-03-22
Also published as: KR200405107Y1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a rearview mirror assembly that includes: a latch unit fixedly mounted at the inside of a handlebar or an auxiliary handlebar, such that when a reciprocating member is pressed, the reciprocating member is lockedly inserted at one end into a housing and when pressed again, the reciprocating member is released from the locked state to return to an original position by means of the restoring force of an elastic means compressed at the time of the insertion of the reciprocating member into the housing; and a plug unit adapted to be attached to the reciprocating member of the latch unit by means of a neodymium magnet fixed to the bottom face of one end thereof, such that if the reciprocating member of the latch unit is locked, the plug unit is not deviated from the inside of the handlebar to mount a rearview mirror hingeably-coupled at the other end thereof at the handlebar, and if the reciprocating member of the latch unit is released from the locked state to return to the original position, the plug unit is easily deviated from the reciprocating member to demount the rearview mirror from the handlebar.

Description

BICYCLE REARVIEW MIRROR

Technical Field

[1] The present invention relates to a rearview mirror assembly that has a plug unit fixedly inserted at one end thereof into the end portion of a handlebar or an auxiliary handle bar of two-wheeled vehicles or three-wheeled vehicles like a bicycle, a motorcycle, a kickboard (a scooter), a board runner, and the like, in such a manner as to be detachably mounted to the handlebar. Background Art

[2] Generally, two- wheeled or three- wheeled vehicles like a bicycle fall down easily, which makes the rearview mirror attached on their handlebar undesirably damaged or broken. Even though the rearview mirror has excellent durability so as not to be broken or scratched well, it can not be completely safe when the vehicle falls down. Additionally, when a folding bicycle with the rearview mirror fixedly mounted thereon is folded and kept at a given place, it is very inconvenient to use.

[3] To solve these problems, there is provided German Patent No. DE10217177 Al wherein the rearview mirror that is hingeably-coupled to an auxiliary handlebar is adapted to be foldedly inserted into a body of the auxiliary handlebar, but in this case, the size of rearview mirror has to be substantially small, which fails to sufficiently provide its original functions.

[4] As well known, further, a rearview mirror having a plug unit fixedly inserted into the end portion of the handlebar is mounted by using a tool, such that it is difficult to carry out the mounting/demounting operations frequently, and when the plug unit of rearview mirror is demounted from the handlebar, the inside of the handlebar is exposed to the outside, which undesirably gives a relatively bad appearance and allows foreign materials like wastes to be charged at the inside of the handlebar.

[5]

Disclosure of Invention

Technical Problem

[6] Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a rearview mirror assembly that is configured wherein a plug unit hingeably-coupled to a rearview mirror is inserted at one end thereof into the end portion of a handlebar or an auxiliary handlebar by means of just pushing, without having any tool, in such a manner as to be detachable from the handlebar or the auxiliary handlebar, and after the rearview mirror is detached from the handlebar or the auxiliary handlebar, the interior of the handlebar or the auxiliary handlebar is not exposed to the outside. [7]

Technical Solution

[8] To achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a rearview mirror assembly including: a latch unit fixedly mounted at the inside of a handlebar or an auxiliary handlebar, such that when a reciprocating member is pressed, the reciprocating member is lockedly inserted at one end thereof into a housing, and when pressed again, the reciprocating member is released from the locked state to return to an original position by means of the restoring force of an elastic means; and a plug unit adapted to be attached to the reciprocating member of the latch unit by means of a rare-earth neodymium magnet fixed to the bottom face of one end thereof, such that if the reciprocating member of the latch unit is locked, the plug unit is not deviated from the inside of the handlebar to mount a rearview mirror hingeably-coupled at the other end thereof at the handlebar, and if the reciprocating member of the latch unit is released from the locked state to return to the original position, the plug unit is easily deviated from the reciprocating member to demount the rearview mirror from the handlebar.

[9]

Advantageous Effects

[10] According to the present invention, a rearview mirror assembly has an advantage of detachably mounting a rearview mirror at a handlebar by just pushing a plug unit into a housing of a latch unit fixed at the end portion of the handlebar. And, when the rearview mirror is detached from the housing, the inlet of the housing of the latch unit is closed by means of a reciprocating member of the latch unit, thereby allowing the end portion of the handlebar to be neat at its outer appearance, such that unlike a conventional practice, the inside of the handlebar can be cleanly maintained. Additionally, the rearview mirror is folded with respect to the plug unit to a smaller size, it is easy to carry it during movement, and even when a folding bicycle is folded, mounting the rearview mirror does not give any inconveniences to a user. Brief Description of the Drawings

[11] FIG.1 is a perspective view showing a rearview mirror assembly according to the present invention before a plug unit with a rearview mirror is coupled to a latch unit fixedly inserted into the end portion of a handlebar;

[12] FIG.2 is a perspective view showing the rearview mirror assembly of FIG.1 wherein radial locking protrusions are provided on the bottom periphery of the plug u nit and on the outer periphery of a closing part;

[13] FIG.3 is an exploded perspective view showing the latch unit of the rearview mirror assembly according to the present invention; [14] FIG.4 is an exploded perspective view showing another type of latch unit of the rearview mirror assembly according to the present invention; [15] FIG.5 is an exploded perspective view showing the plug unit to which a plug insertion-preventing mechanism is assembled; [16] FIG.6 is a perspective view showing one of two divided plug bodies having another type of plug insertion-preventing mechanism; [17] FIG.7 is an exploded perspective view showing the latch unit detached from the handlebar in the rearview mirror assembly according to a first embodiment of the present invention; [18] FIG.8 is an exploded perspective view showing the latch unit detached from the handlebar in the rearview mirror assembly according to a second embodiment of the present invention; [19] FIG.9 is a sectional view showing the handlebar to which the latch unit is assembled in the rearview mirror assembly according to the second embodiment of the present invention; [20] FIG.10 is an exploded perspective view showing the latch unit detached from the handlebar in the rearview mirror assembly according to a third embodiment of the present invention; [21] FIG.11 is an exploded perspective view showing the assembling frame and the latch unit detached from the handlebar in the rearview mirror assembly according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention; [22] FIG.12 is an exploded perspective view showing the latch unit detached from the handlebar in the rearview mirror assembly according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention; [23] FIG.13 is a sectional view showing the housing having the latch unit when the latch unit is locked; [24] FIG.14 is a sectional view showing the plug unit detached from the latch unit released from the locked state; [25] FIG.15 is a perspective view showing the plug unit folded above the rearview mirror;

[26] FIG.16 is a sectional view showing the plug unit before the plug insertion- preventing mechanism of FIG.5 is operated;

[27] FIG.17 is a sectional view showing the plug unit before the plug insertion- preventing mechanism of FIG.6 is operated; [28] FIG.18 is a sectional view showing the plug unit after the plug insertion-preventing mechanism of FIG.5 is operated; [29] FIG.19 is a sectional view showing the plug unit after the plug insertion-preventing mechanism of FIG.6 is operated; and

[30] FIG.20 is a front view showing the folding state of the rearview mirror mounted on the handlebar.

[31]

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[32] Hereinafter, an explanation of a rearview mirror assembly according to the present invention will be given with reference to the attached drawings.

[33] A pushing-type latch unit is configured such that a reciprocating member is insertedly pressed into a housing, it is locked so as not to return to its original position, and if the reciprocating member is pressed again, it is released from the locked state so as to return to its original position by means of the restoring force of an elastic means compressed at the time of the insertion of the reciprocating member. Of course, there are well-known various methods for locking and unlocking the reciprocating member through the latch unit. The main characteristic of the present invention is placed in connecting the reciprocating member of the latch unit fixed to a handlebar and a plug unit with a rearview mirror mounted thereon, and even though various latch units have different operation mechanisms from one another, they have the same effects as one another. Therefore, an explanation of the rearview mirror assembly according to the present invention will be given, for example, through the latch unit having a given operation mechanism.

[34] As shown in FIG.l, a rearview mirror 2 is hingeably-coupled with one end of a cylindrical plug unit 3, and a conical connection opening 13 formed cut at the top end portion thereof is disposed around the inner bottom periphery of the other end of the cylindrical plug unit 3. The connection opening 13 has a rare-earth neodymium permanent magnet 21 fixedly inserted on the bottom face thereof.

[35] The latch unit employed in the present invention has a known mechanism wherein a cam mounted at one end of the reciprocating member is rotated at its operating groove to cross a narrow neck of the operating groove in accordance with the movements of the reciprocating member, so as to lock the reciprocating member, and the cam is rotated to its original state to pass through the narrow neck to return to its original position, so as to release the locking state of the reciprocating member, which is usually used for magnetic doors of small-sized furniture like an audio cabinet.

[36] According to the present invention, a housing 5 of the latch unit 4 is of a cup- like shape in such a manner as to be airtightly inserted into the end portion of the handlebar 1, and a reciprocating member 20 of the latch unit 4 has a closing part 14 fixed by means of a screw 50 to one end thereof, for tightly blocking the inner periphery of an inlet 6 of the housing 5. The closing part 14 that is exposed to the housing 5 has a conical protrusion 17 formed in the middle portion face thereof, the protrusion 17 being formed cut at the top end thereof, and the protrusion 17 has a flat attaching surface 18 formed on the front face thereof, for attaching the permanent magnet 21 of the plug unit 3 thereto.

[37] Unlike a conventional push type latch unit wherein even when the reciprocating member 20 serving as a push switch is locked after pressed, it is partially exposed protrudedly to the outside of the housing, the latch unit 4 employed according to the present invention is configured wherein the reciprocating member 20 is completely inserted and locked into the housing 5, thereby forming a space having a given depth into the front side of the interior of the housing 5 for housing the plug unit 3 thereinto.

[38] As shown in FIG.2 and 3, a plurality of locking protrusions 19 are formed radially around the bottom outer periphery of the plug unit 3 and a plurality of locking protrusions 22 are formed radially around the outer periphery of the attaching surface 18, such that they are engaged with each other.

[39] The reciprocating member 20 has a cam 33 rotatably fitted at the lower end shaft thereof on one surface of the opposite end thereof to the end coupled with the closing part 14, the cam 33 having a V-shaped recess 34 at both end portions thereof.

[40] A support member 23 is comprised of semi-cylindrical upper and lower bodies that are coupled to each other in such a manner that a plurality of coupling protrusions 30 formed on the coupled faces of the semi-cylindrical upper body are insertedly coupled to a plurality of coupling holes 31 formed on the coupled faces of the semi- cylindrical lower body corresponding to the semi-cylindrical upper body, and after the coupling, the support member 23 is inserted into the housing 5 in such a manner as to abut with the inner peripheral wall of the housing 5. The support member 23 is fastened at the semi-cylindrical upper body thereof to the housing 5 by means of a screw 47a disposed through the bottom face of the housing 5, so as not to be deviated from the housing 5. Further, the semi-cylindrical lower body has a protrusion 32 formed at the bottom face thereof in such a manner as to be fittably inserted into a bottom hole 12 of the housing 5 corresponding thereto, so as to prevent the rotation of the support member 23 at the inside of the housing 5, together with the screw 47a. The semi-cylindrical upper and lower bodies of the support member 23 have longitudinal grooves 24a and 24b formed along the middle portions of the coupled faces thereof, and the longitudinal grooves 24a and 24b are coupled to form a support hole 25 for inserting the opposite end of the closing part 14 of the reciprocating member 20 thereinto.

[41] The semi-cylindrical lower body of the support member 23 has an operating groove 26 formed along the bottom periphery of the longitudinal groove 24b thereof, for moving the cam 33 of the reciprocating member 20 therealong, and in this case, the operating groove 26 becomes relatively small in width enough to pass through the cam 33 at one end portion thereof and becomes relatively large in width from an inclined face 27 and a perpendicular corner 28 at the other end portion thereof. The operating groove 26 has a generally triangular inclined protrusion 29 formed near one side thereof on the end thereof. The reciprocating member 20 is provided with an elastic means 35 for surrounding the body thereof, and at the releasing state of the latch unit 4, the closing part 14 of the reciprocating member 20 always closes the inlet 6 of the housing 5 by means of the elastic force of the elastic means 35 repulsive from the support member 23.

[42] The latch unit 4 as shown in FIG.4 is operated in the same manner as shown in

FIG.3, but according to the latch unit 4 of FIG.4, the support member 23 is partially formed integrally to the housing 5. That is to say, the housing 5 has a cut-off part 9 formed cut along the half of the rear side thereof, and the cut-off part 9 has the closed inside wall surface thereof and the groove 24a formed longitudinally along the middle portion thereof. A semi-cylindrical cover 10 that covers the cut-off part 9 has the groove 24b formed along the middle portion of the plane coupled with the cut-off part 9, the groove 24b forming the support hole 25 by connecting with the groove 24a of the cut-off portion 9 and having the operating groove 26 formed on the bottom face thereof. The cover 10 is coupled with the housing 5 in such a manner that the coupling protrusions 30 provided on the outer sides of the groove 24b are inserted into the coupling holes 31 provided on the outer sides of the groove 24a of the cut-off part 9.

[43] As shown in FIGS.5 and 6, the plug unit 3 is made by coupling semi-cylindrical upper and lower bodies with each other, and the upper and lower bodies form grooves 53 on one ends of their coupled faces. The groove 53 of the lower body is provided with a plug insertion-preventing mechanism. According to the two types of plug insertion-preventing mechanisms, the plug insertion-preventing mechanism as shown in FIG.5 is comprised of a pair of catches 62, an elastic means 60, and a pushing part 56, and that as shown in FIG.6 is comprised of a pair of catches 62a, an elastic means 60a, and the pushing part 56. Each of the pairs of catches 62 and 62a are protruded at one ends thereof from the plug unit 3 through openings 54 formed at the left and right sides of the groove 53. The catches 62 as shown in FIG.5 are rotatably mounted axially on two rotary shafts 58 provided at the left and right sides of the interior of the groove 53 of the lower body, and that as shown in FIG.6 are sliding along a wall separating the groove 53 and the magnet 21. The elastic means 60 as shown in FIG.5 is W-shaped in such a manner as to be fixedly fitted at the center portion to a protrusion 59 formed on the groove 53 and to support one sides of the pair of catches 62 against the both wings thereof. The elastic means 60 as shown in FIG.6 is V-shaped in such a manner as to be fixedly fitted at the center portion to the protrusion 59 formed on the groove 53 and to support the lower end portions of the pair of catches 62a against the both wings thereof.

[44] The pushing part 56 is D-shaped in such a manner as to be moved inwardly by a given distance along the groove 53 and has both front end portions 61 abut with the sides of the pair of catches 62. After the upper and lower bodies of the plug unit 3 are coupled to each other, they are fastened to each other by means of a screw 57. The pushing part 56 is exposed partially at the rear end portion thereof to the outside of the groove 53, and so as not to interfere with pushing the pushing part 56, a hinge- coupling part 55 is disposed between the plug unit 3 and the rearview mirror 2 in such a manner as to be extended outwardly from the plug unit 3.

[45] The latch unit 4 employed in the rearview mirror assembly according to the present invention is fixedly inserted into the end portion of the handlebar 1, and in this case, various methods for fixing the latch unit 4 are well known.

[46] According to a first method for fixing the latch unit 4 as shown in FIG.7, as well known, a pipe-like fixing member 36, which is formed of an elastic soft synthetic resin material or rubber, is fitted around an insertion shaft 7 disposed on the bottom surface of the housing 5, and so as to prevent the fixing member 36 from being deviated from the insertion shaft 7, the fixing member 36 is restricted at its movement by means of a washer 41 and a screw 42 fastened to a screw hole formed on the end of the insertion shaft 7. The fixing member 36 comes in close contact with the inner periphery of the handlebar 1, such that the latch unit 4 is not deviated from the inside of the handlebar 1 by the formation of the frictional force between the fixing member 36 and the wall periphery of the handlebar 1.

[47] According to a second method for fixing the latch unit 4 as shown in FIGS.8 and 9, as well known, a fixing member 37 is fitted to a bolt 43 that is passed through the central portion of the bottom face of the housing 5 and is fastened by means of a nut 44.

[48] As shown in FIG.8, since the protrusions 45 and 46 are formed on one face of the nut 44 and on the bottom face of the housing 5 are inserted into the grooves 39 formed on the both faces of the fixing member 37, the fixing member 37 and the nut 44 are not rotated together with the bolt 43. As a result, if the housing 5 is pushed into the handlebar 1 and is fastened through the bolt 43, the nut 44 serves to compress against the fixing member 37 in an axial direction thereof, such that the fixing member 37 is extended radially. The extended fixing member 37 comes in close contact with the inner periphery of the handlebar 1 such that the housing 5 is fixed without any deviation from the handlebar 1. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, after the latch unit 4 is fixed to the housing 5, the parts of the latch unit 4 are assembled to the housing 5. As shown in FIG.9, thus, unlike the first embodiment of the present invention, a screw 47b that serves to fix the support member 23 of the latch unit 4 to the housing 5 is first passed through the support member 23 to connect with the bottom surface of the housing 5.

[49] After fixing the assembled body of the reciprocating member 20 and the support member 23 to the housing 5, the closing part 14 is fastened by means of a screw 50 at the front end of the reciprocating member 20, placing the elastic means 35 around the reciprocating member 20.

[50] The protrusion 32 that is formed on the bottom face of the support member 23 is inserted into the bottom hole 12 of the corresponding housing 5 in such a manner as to prevent the rotation of the support member 23 together with the screw 47b.

[51] According to a third method for fixing the latch unit 4 as shown in FIG.10, as well known in a similar manner to the second method, instead of the fixing member 37 that is formed of a soft elastic pipe, a fixing member 38 that is made by circularly arranging a plurality of elastic plates 40 extended outwardly from one face of a circular plate thereof serves to fix the housing 5 of the latch unit 4 to the inside of the handlebar 1. If the bolt 43 is turned, the nut 44 is fastened on the bolt 43, such that the plurality of elastic plates 40 are more and more extended to the wall surface of the handlebar 1, thereby strongly abutting with the handlebar 1 to fix the housing 5 to the handlebar 1. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the fixing member 38 is not rotated when the bolt 43 is fastened thereto by the formation of the grooves 39 for inserting the protrusions 16 formed on the bottom face of the housing 5 thereinto.

[52] In the same manner as above, the nut 44 has a plurality of protrusions 46 formed along the outer periphery thereof in such a manner as to be locked between the elastic plates 40, and thus, the nut 44 is not rotated when the bolt 43 is fastened.

[53] According to a fourth method for fixing the latch unit 4 as shown in FIG.11, in the same manner as in the second and third methods of the present invention, the fixing member 37 is extended by means of the bolt 43 that is formed to pass through the bottom of an assembling frame 48 and the nut 44 screw-coupled on the end of the bolt 43 to allow the assembling frame 48 to be fixed to the handlebar 1, and then, the latch unit 4 is inserted into the assembling frame 48. The assembling frame 48 has an internal shape corresponding to the external shape of the housing 5 of the latch unit 4 and has an external shape insertable tightly into the handlebar 1. A flange 49 of the assembling frame 48 and a flange 8 formed on one end of the housing 5 are coupled to each other by means of a screw 15. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, since all of parts of the latch unit 4 are provided after assembling, it is easier to fix the latch unit 4 when compared with the second and third methods for fixing the latch unit 4. However, as the area of the attaching surface 18 becomes somewhat small, the thicknesses of the magnet 21 and the closing part 14 are larger than those of the first to third methods as mentioned above.

[54] According to a fifth method for fixing the latch unit 4 as shown in FIG.12, a screw protrusion 51 is formed around the outer periphery of the housing 5 of the latch unit 4 and a screw groove 52 around the inner periphery of the handlebar 1, such that the latch unit 4 is screw-coupled to the handlebar 1 and is fixed thereto.

[55] Under the above-mentioned construction, an explanation on an operation of connecting the plug unit 3 with the handlebar 1 will be given with reference to FIG.13.

[56] So as to couple the rearview mirror 2 with the handlebar 1 of a two-wheeled vehicle, the neodymium magnet 21 of the plug unit 3 is attached to the attaching surface 18 of the closing part 14, and next, the plug unit 3 is pushed into the housing 5 of the latch unit 4. As the connection opening 13 on the bottom face of the plug unit 3 and the protrusion 17 of the closing part 14 are of a conical shape cut on the top thereof, they are easily coupled with each other, and when the outer periphery of the protrusion 17 comes into close contact with the inner periphery of the connection opening 13, the plug unit 3 is positioned accurately at the central portion of the closing part 14, such that the plug unit 3 is precisely inserted into the housing 5, without any inconvenient process of adjusting the outer periphery thereof into the inlet 6 of the housing 5.

[57] If the reciprocating member 20 is insertedly pushed into the housing 5 by a given depth, the cam 33 is moved along the operating groove 56 and it is rotated by abutting one of the triangular front ends of the V-shaped recess 34 with the inclined protrusion 29. Then, if the plug unit 3 is released from the pushing state, the reciprocating member 20 is pushed again by the repulsive force of the elastic means 35 compressed by the reciprocating member 20, and the V-shaped recess 34 of the cam 33 is locked to the perpendicular corner 28, thereby rotating the cam 33 again. Next, the cam 33 goes through the operating groove 26 and is locked to the neck that becomes narrow by the inclined face 27, thereby making the reciprocating member 20 stop. Thereby, the plug unit 3 becomes at a partially inserted state into the housing 5.

[58] The magnet 21 employed in the present invention is formed of a neodymium magnet having a substantially strong attaching force, even though it is small and thin in thickness, such that it is difficult to detach vertically from the attaching surface 18. The diameter of the plug unit 3 is the almost same as the inner diameter of the housing 5 of the latch unit 4, such that the plug unit 3 actually can conduct vertical movements with respect to the attaching surface 18 controlled strongly by the magnetic force in the housing 5. Therefore, even when a strong external impact is applied to the two- wheeled vehicle, the plug unit 3 is kept attached at the attaching surface 18 of the closing part 14 of the latch unit 4, without any detaching therefrom.

[59] The rearview mirror 2 is adjusted to a direction of capable of being recognized well by a user after mounting, and thus, it can be bent to both sides by using a hinge as shown in FIGS.l and 2. At this time, since the plug unit 3 can be turned at the state of being attached to the latch unit 4 at the locked state as shown in FIG.13, the rearview mirror 2 can be adjusted to a desired position. As the magnet 21 of the plug unit 3 is strongly attached to the attaching surface 18 and the connection opening 13 of the plug unit 3 and the protrusion 17 of the closing part 14 that are of a conical shape cut at the top thereof come into close contact with each other, the plug unit 3 is rotated tensely over a given degree. Instead of making the inner periphery of the connection opening 13 contacted closely with the outer periphery of the protrusion 17, the locking protrusions 19 and 22 are formed radially along the outer periphery of the protrusion 17 and the bottom periphery of the plug unit 3, thereby controlling the rotation of the plug unit 3. That is to say, if the plug unit 3 that is attached to the attaching surface 18 is rotated, the locking protrusions 22 on the plug unit 3 are unlocked one time and locked again to the locking protrusions 19 on the attaching surface 18. This process is easier than the vertical detachment of the plug unit 3 from the attaching surface 18 but harder than the rotation of the plug unit 3 on the attaching surface 3 in the case of the non-existence of the locking protrusions. In this case, therefore, if a given force is not applied to the plug unit 3, it is difficult to rotate the plug unit 3 and thus, the rearview mirror 2 after setting the position is kept well, without any movement.

[60] Next, an explanation of the process of detaching the rearview mirror 2 from the latch unit 4 of the handlebar 1 according to the present invention will be given below.

[61] So as to detach the rearview mirror 2 from the handlebar while not in use, the locking state of the latch unit 4 is released to return the reciprocating member 20 to which the plug unit is attached to its original position. The latch unit 4 is released when the plug unit 4 is pushed into the housing 5 and released from the pushing state. That is to say, if the reciprocating member 20 is pushed toward the inside of the housing 5 and is released from the pushing force, the cam 33 is moved as shown in FIG.13 and is rotated when the face of the cam 33 having no V-shaped recess 34 collides with the inclined protrusion 29. Thereby, when the reciprocating member 20 is pushed outwardly by the repulsive force of the elastic means 35, the opposite face of the cam 33 to the face colliding with the inclined protrusion 29 collides again with the perpendicular corner 28, such that the cam 33 is moved to the top end of the operating groove 26 having a small width, which allows the cam 33 and the reciprocating member 20 to be returned to their original position by means of the elastic force of the elastic means 35.

[62] After the latch unit 4 is released from the locked state, if the plug unit 3 is completely pushed from the inside of the housing 5 by means of the elastic means 35, the plug unit 3 can be tilted from the attaching surface 18, as shown in FIG.14, such that the magnet 21 of the plug unit 3 can be easily detached from the attaching surface 18. It is very difficult to detach the neodymium magnet 21 vertically from the attaching surface 18, but if the plug unit 3 is tilted as shown, it is very easy to detach the magnet 21 from the attaching surface 18.

[63] The inlet 6 of the housing 5 of the latch unit 4 from which the rearview mirror 2 is detached is closed by means of the closing part 14 of the reciprocating member 20 returned to its original position by means of the restoring force of the elastic means 35.

[64] The rearview mirror 2 after detached is kept folded as shown in FIG.15.

[65] At the state where the rearview mirror 2 is coupled to the handlebar 1, if an unexpected external force is applied to the plug unit 3, the latch unit 4 is released from its locked state and the plug unit 3 may be pushed from the housing 5.

[66] At this time, the plug unit 3 does not drop easily from the handlebar 1 by the strong magnetic force of the magnet 21 before it is tilted with respect to the attaching surface 18, but in this case, it is inconvenient to push the plug unit 3 again to the housing 5 of the latch unit 4. Therefore, the formation of the plug insertion-preventing mechanism prevents the latch unit 4 from being released from its locked state when the unexpected external force is applied to the plug unit 3.

[67] As shown in FIGS.16 and 17, each of the pairs of catches 62 and 62a of the plug insertion-preventing mechanism are pushed partially at their ends by the elastic means 60 and 60a in such a manner as to be exposed outwardly to the plug unit 3 through the openings 54, and when the plug unit 3 is pushed, the pairs of catches 62 and 62a are locked to the housing 5 of the latch unit 4, such that the latch unit 4 is not released from its locked state. In the plug insertion-preventing mechanism as shown in FIG.16, the plug unit 3 is a little inserted into the housing 5 until the pair of catches 62 that are exposed partially at their one end abut with the housing 5, but the insertion cannot release the locking state of the latch unit 4.

[68] So as to release the latch unit 4 from its locked state, the plug unit 3 should be inserted into the housing 5, and therefore, the pairs of catches 62 and 62a are first drawn into the plug unit 3. If the pushing part 56 is slightly pressed, the front end of the pushing part 56 pushes the sides of the catches 62 in the plug insertion-preventing mechanism as shown in FIG.16 and rotates them as shown in FIG.18, such that the exposed ends of the catches 62 to the plug unit 3 are drawn into the inside of the plug unit 3. In the plug insertion-preventing mechanism as shown in FIG.17, the front end of the pushing part 56 pushes the inclined sides of the catches 62a, such that the catches 62a are slidably inserted into the plug unit 3 as shown in FIG.19.

[69] The elastic means 60 and 60a of the plug insertion-preventing mechanism has a weaker elastic force than the elastic means 35 of the latch unit 4, and thus, if the pushing part 56 is pressed, the plug unit 3 is not pushed and only the pairs of catches 62 and 62a are inserted into the plug unit 3. After that, if the rear end face of the plug unit 3 is kept pushed together with the pushing part 56, the pairs of catches 62 and 62a are kept entirely inserted into the plug unit 3, such that the plug unit 3 is inserted into the housing 5 of the latch unit 4 and the latch unit 4 is released from its locked state.

[70] When the rearview mirror 2 is unfolded, it is placed at the outside far than the pushing part 56, such that it is difficult to apply an unexpected external force to the pushing part 56, and in the same manner, when the rearview mirror 2 is folded as shown in FIG.20, the plug unit 3 with the rearview mirror 2 mounted thereto can be coupled more stably with the handlebar 1. Mode for the Invention

[71] The invention has been described in al illustrative manner. It is to be understood that the terminology which has been used is intended to be in the nature of words of description rather than of limitation. Many modifications and variations of the invention are possible in light of the above teachings. Therefore, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced other than as specifically described.

[72]

[73]

[74]

[75]

Claims

[1] A rearview mirror assembly comprising: a latch unit (4) fixedly mounted at the inside of a handlebar (1), such that when a reciprocating member (20) is pressed, it is lockedly inserted at one end thereof into a housing (5) and when pressed again, the reciprocating member (20) is released from the locked state to return to an original position by means of the restoring force of an elastic means (35) mounted around the reciprocating member (20), the latch unit (4) having a closing part (14) disposed at one end of the housing (5) in such a manner as to close an inlet of the housing (5), and a conical protrusion (17) formed cut at the top thereof in the middle portion of the closing part (14) exposed to the outside of the housing (5), the protrusion (17) having a flat attaching surface (18) formed on the front face thereof for attaching a permanent magnet (21) thereto, wherein the housing (5) is tightly inserted and fixed to the end of the handlebar (1) and the pressed reciprocating member (20) is fully inserted into the housing (5), thereby making a space for inserting one end of a plug unit (3) into the front side of the housing (5); and the plug unit (3) having a rearview mirror (2) hingeably-coupled at one end thereof, a connection opening (13) formed cut at the top end portion thereof around the inner bottom periphery of the other end thereof, and the permanent magnet (21) insertedly fixed at the bottom of the connection opening (13), wherein the permanent magnet (21) is attached to the attaching surface (18) of the closing part (14) of the reciprocating member (20) in such a manner as to be inserted to a given depth into the inside of the housing (5), and the plug unit (3) has a diameter and a shape in such a manner as to move vertically with respect to the attaching surface (18) of the reciprocating member (20) into the housing (5).

[2] The rearview mirror assembly according to claim 1, wherein the latch unit (4) has a plurality of locking protrusions (19) formed radially along the outer periphery of the protrusion (17) of the closing part (14), and the plug unit (3) has a plurality of locking protrusions (22) formed radially along the bottom periphery thereof, the plurality of locking protrusions (19 and 22) being engaged with each other.

[3] The rearview mirror assembly according to claim 1, wherein an assembling frame (48) having an internal shape corresponding to the external shape of the housing (5) of the latch unit (4) is fixedly inserted into the end of the handlebar (1), and the latch unit (4) with the parts assembled thereto is inserted into the assembling frame (48) in such a manner as to fixedly couple a flange (49) of the assembling frame (48) and a flange (8) formed on one end of the housing (5) by means of a screw (15).

[4] The rearview mirror assembly according to claim 1, wherein the plug unit (3) is formed of two semi-cylindrical bodies coupled to each other and comprises a hinge-coupling part (55) formed at a position extended outwardly therefrom, each of the semi-cylindrical bodies having a groove (53) formed in the middle portions of the coupled faces thereof and an opening (54) formed at the both sides thereof in such a manner as to communicate with the outside, and one of the two semi-cylindrical bodies of the plug unit (3) comprises: a pair of catches (62;62a) mounted movably in the groove (53) in such a manner as to be drawn inwardly into the plug unit (3) and exposed outwardly from the plug unit (3) at one ends thereof through the openings (54); a pushing part (56) being D-shaped in such a manner as to be moved into the groove (53) if a rear end portion thereof protruded partially to the groove (53) is pressed to allow the both side front end portions (61) thereof to press against the sides of the catches (62;62a), thereby making the protruded portions of the catches (62;62a) to the outside of the plug unit (3) drawn into the plug unit (3); and elastic means (60;60a) adapted to elastically support one ends of the catches (62;62a) such that one ends of the catches (62; 62a) are protruded from the outside of the plug unit (3).