Exterior mirror plano-auxiliary reflective element assembly
First Claim
1. An exterior sideview mirror system suitable for use in an automobile, said exterior sideview mirror system comprising:
- an exterior sideview mirror assembly adapted for attachment to a side of an automobile;
said exterior sideview mirror assembly including a reflective element assembly having a rearward field of view when attached to said side of the automobile;
wherein said reflective element assembly comprises a plano reflective element having unit magnification and a separate multiradius reflective element having a multiradius curvature; and
said reflective element assembly further including a frame element assembly, said plano reflective element and said multiradius reflective element of said plano-multiradius reflective element assembly being mounted to said frame element assembly, said frame element assembly mounting to an actuator and movable by said actuator in order to position said rearward field of view, and said frame element assembly being adapted to orient said multiradius reflective element such that said multiradius reflective element has a viewing range which fans outwardly and downwardly with respect to a viewing range of said plano reflective element to thereby provide an increased field of view for said exterior sideview mirror assembly.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
This invention provides a reflective element assembly suitable for use in an exterior sideview mirror assembly mounted to the side body of an automobile. The reflective element assembly includes a first reflective element and a second reflective element. The second reflective element is angled downwardly and forwardly with respect to the first reflective element when the mirror assembly is mounted to a side of an automobile to provide an increased field of view. In one form, both reflective elements are commonly supported on a bezel, which is mounted to the mirror assembly casing. In another form, the reflective elements are separately mounted, with the second reflective element fixedly mounted to the casing and the first reflective element movably supported in the mirror casing, for example, on an actuator.
87 Citations
59 Claims
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1. An exterior sideview mirror system suitable for use in an automobile, said exterior sideview mirror system comprising:
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an exterior sideview mirror assembly adapted for attachment to a side of an automobile;
said exterior sideview mirror assembly including a reflective element assembly having a rearward field of view when attached to said side of the automobile;
wherein said reflective element assembly comprises a plano reflective element having unit magnification and a separate multiradius reflective element having a multiradius curvature; and
said reflective element assembly further including a frame element assembly, said plano reflective element and said multiradius reflective element of said plano-multiradius reflective element assembly being mounted to said frame element assembly, said frame element assembly mounting to an actuator and movable by said actuator in order to position said rearward field of view, and said frame element assembly being adapted to orient said multiradius reflective element such that said multiradius reflective element has a viewing range which fans outwardly and downwardly with respect to a viewing range of said plano reflective element to thereby provide an increased field of view for said exterior sideview mirror assembly. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. An automobile exterior sideview mirror system comprising:
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an exterior sideview mirror assembly adapted for attachment to a side of an automobile;
said exterior sideview mirror assembly including a mirror casing, a reflective element assembly, and an actuator; and
said reflective element assembly including a frame element assembly, a first reflective element having unit magnification, and a second reflective element having a multiradiused curvature, said frame element assembly mounting said first reflective element and said second reflective element in said mirror casing and being adapted to mount to said actuator, said actuator adjusting the orientation of said reflective element assembly, said first reflective element having a first rearward field of view with a first principal axis, said second reflective element having a second rearward field of view with a second principal axis, and said frame element assembly angling said second principal axis outwardly and downwardly with respect to said first principal axis. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59)
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46. An automobile exterior sideview mirror system comprising:
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an exterior sideview mirror assembly adapted for attachment to a side of an automobile; and
said exterior sideview mirror assembly including an actuator and a reflective element assembly, said reflective element assembly having a frame element assembly, a first reflective element, and a second reflective element, said first reflective element comprising a plano reflective element, said second reflective element comprising a multiradiused reflective element having a multiradiused curvature, said frame element assembly being adapted to mount to said actuator and including a frame and a support surface for said second reflective element, said actuator adjusting an orientation of said reflective element assembly, said support surface orienting said second reflective element downwardly and forwardly of said first reflective element when said mirror assembly is mounted to an automobile whereby said second reflective element provides a viewing range which spans outwardly and downwardly with respect to the automobile to thereby provide an increased field of view for said exterior sideview mirror assembly.
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Specification