Interior prismatic mirror with integral toggle
First Claim
1. An interior rearview mirror assembly for a vehicle, said interior rearview mirror assembly comprising:
- a mirror casing, wherein said mirror casing comprises a principal mirror casing portion and a pivotable mirror casing portion that is pivotable relative to said principal mirror casing portion;
a prismatic reflective element disposed at said principal mirror casing portion of said mirror casing;
wherein said pivotable mirror casing portion of said mirror casing is adjustably supported at a mirror mount configured for mounting at an interior portion of a vehicle equipped with said interior rearview mirror assembly;
a toggle assembly comprising (i) a spring element coupled to said pivotable mirror casing portion and (ii) a toggle lever pivotally disposed at a lower portion of said principal mirror casing portion and coupled to said spring element; and
wherein pivotal movement of said toggle lever about a pivot axis at said lower portion of said principal mirror casing portion flexes said spring element and adjusts an angle of said principal mirror casing portion and said prismatic reflective element relative to said pivotable mirror casing portion of said mirror casing.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An interior rearview mirror assembly for a vehicle includes a mirror casing and a prismatic reflective element, with the mirror casing adjustably supported at a mirror mount at an interior surface of the vehicle. The mirror casing includes a principal mirror casing portion and a pivotable mirror casing portion that is pivotable relative to the principal mirror casing portion. A toggle assembly includes a toggle lever and a spring element disposed between and coupled to the toggle lever and the pivotable mirror casing portion of the mirror casing. Pivotal movement of the toggle lever flexes the spring element and adjusts the angle of the principal mirror casing portion and the prismatic reflective element relative to the pivotable mirror casing portion of the mirror casing.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. An interior rearview mirror assembly for a vehicle, said interior rearview mirror assembly comprising:
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a mirror casing, wherein said mirror casing comprises a principal mirror casing portion and a pivotable mirror casing portion that is pivotable relative to said principal mirror casing portion; a prismatic reflective element disposed at said principal mirror casing portion of said mirror casing; wherein said pivotable mirror casing portion of said mirror casing is adjustably supported at a mirror mount configured for mounting at an interior portion of a vehicle equipped with said interior rearview mirror assembly; a toggle assembly comprising (i) a spring element coupled to said pivotable mirror casing portion and (ii) a toggle lever pivotally disposed at a lower portion of said principal mirror casing portion and coupled to said spring element; and wherein pivotal movement of said toggle lever about a pivot axis at said lower portion of said principal mirror casing portion flexes said spring element and adjusts an angle of said principal mirror casing portion and said prismatic reflective element relative to said pivotable mirror casing portion of said mirror casing. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. An interior rearview mirror assembly for a vehicle, said interior rearview mirror assembly comprising:
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a mirror casing, wherein said mirror casing comprises a principal mirror casing portion and a pivotable mirror casing portion that is pivotable relative to said principal mirror casing portion; a prismatic reflective element disposed at said principal mirror casing portion of said mirror casing; wherein said pivotable mirror casing portion of said mirror casing is adjustably supported at a mirror mount configured for mounting at an interior portion of a vehicle equipped with said interior rearview mirror assembly; wherein said pivotable mirror casing portion of said mirror casing comprises a pivot element that adjustably attaches at said mirror mount; a toggle assembly comprising (i) a spring element coupled to said pivotable mirror casing portion and (ii) a toggle lever pivotally disposed at a lower portion of said principal mirror casing portion and coupled to said spring element; wherein pivotal movement of said toggle lever about a pivot axis at said lower portion of said principal mirror casing portion flexes said spring element and adjusts an angle of said principal mirror casing portion and said prismatic reflective element relative to said pivotable mirror casing portion of said mirror casing; and wherein, when said toggle lever is pivotally moved about said pivot axis, said pivotable mirror casing portion pivots relative to said principal mirror casing portion and said prismatic reflective element by resiliently flexing proximate an upper region of said pivotable mirror casing portion. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18)
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19. An interior rearview mirror assembly for a vehicle, said interior rearview mirror assembly comprising:
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a mirror casing, wherein said mirror casing comprises a principal mirror casing portion and a pivotable mirror casing portion that is pivotable relative to said principal mirror casing portion; wherein an upper region of said pivotable mirror casing portion is joined to said principal mirror casing portion and wherein said pivotable mirror casing portion pivots relative to said principal mirror casing portion by resiliently flexing said upper region of said pivotable mirror casing portion; a prismatic reflective element disposed at said principal mirror casing portion of said mirror casing; wherein said pivotable mirror casing portion of said mirror casing is adjustably supported at a mirror mount configured for mounting at an interior portion of a vehicle equipped with said interior rearview mirror assembly; wherein said pivotable mirror casing portion of said mirror casing comprises a pivot element that adjustably attaches at said mirror mount; a toggle assembly comprising (i) a spring element coupled to said pivotable mirror casing portion and (ii) a toggle lever pivotally disposed at a lower portion of said principal mirror casing portion and coupled to said spring element; wherein said toggle lever is integrally formed with a lower portion of said principal mirror casing portion and has a living hinge formed therebetween, said living hinge having a pivot axis; wherein pivotal movement of said toggle lever about said pivot axis at said lower portion of said principal mirror casing portion flexes said spring element and adjusts an angle of said principal mirror casing portion and said prismatic reflective element relative to said pivotable mirror casing portion of said mirror casing; wherein, when said toggle lever is pivotally moved about said pivot axis, said pivotable mirror casing portion pivots relative to said principal mirror casing portion and said prismatic reflective element by resiliently flexing proximate an upper region of said pivotable mirror casing portion; and wherein said spring element biases said toggle lever toward a first position that positions said prismatic reflective element at a daytime viewing angle, and wherein said toggle lever is pivotally moved about said pivot axis to a second position that positions said prismatic reflective element at a nighttime viewing angle. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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Specification