Extendable exterior rearview mirror assembly for vehicles
First Claim
1. An extendable exterior rearview mirror assembly comprising:
- a mounting bracket for mounting to a vehicle;
a mirror subassembly having a housing and a reflective element;
a clamp; and
a support mounted on said mounting bracket for pivotal movement between a normal operating position and a folded position, said support extending laterally outward from said bracket when said mirror assembly is mounted to the vehicle and said support is in said normal operating position and, further, extending into said housing, said clamp being positioned in said housing and mounting said mirror subassembly to said support and permitting selective movement of said mirror subassembly along said support to one of at least two viewing positions, said clamp applying a force to urge frictional engagement between said support and said housing to limit movement of said mirror subassembly along said support until such a force is applied to said mirror subassembly sufficient to overcome said frictional engagement between said support and said housing.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An extendable exterior rearview mirror assembly includes a mounting bracket, a mirror subassembly, and a support which is supported by the mounting bracket. The mirror subassembly is supported by the support and is mounted for selective movement along the support arm to one of a plurality of viewing positions. The mirror subassembly includes a housing, a reflective element, and an actuator which supports the reflective element on a forward facing wall of the housing. The rearview mirror assembly further includes a clamping assembly which provides a force to urge frictional engagement between the housing and the support to limit movement of the mirror subassembly along the support. In preferred form, the support extends into the housing and frictionally engages an exterior surface of the forward facing wall.
36 Citations
39 Claims
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1. An extendable exterior rearview mirror assembly comprising:
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a mounting bracket for mounting to a vehicle;
a mirror subassembly having a housing and a reflective element;
a clamp; and
a support mounted on said mounting bracket for pivotal movement between a normal operating position and a folded position, said support extending laterally outward from said bracket when said mirror assembly is mounted to the vehicle and said support is in said normal operating position and, further, extending into said housing, said clamp being positioned in said housing and mounting said mirror subassembly to said support and permitting selective movement of said mirror subassembly along said support to one of at least two viewing positions, said clamp applying a force to urge frictional engagement between said support and said housing to limit movement of said mirror subassembly along said support until such a force is applied to said mirror subassembly sufficient to overcome said frictional engagement between said support and said housing. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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8. The extendable exterior rearview mirror assembly according to claim 8, wherein said-support includes a composite body, said composite body including an elongate webbed member having said arcuate bearing surface and a plate bearing member having said generally planar bearing surface.
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16. An extendable exterior rearview mirror assembly comprising:
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a mounting bracket for mounting to a vehicle;
a mirror subassembly having a housing, a reflective element, and a positioning device, said housing having a mirror casing, said positioning device supporting said reflective element in said mirror casing;
a clamp; and
a support mounted to said mounting bracket, said support extending from the vehicle in a laterally outward direction and into said housing when said mirror assembly is mounted to a vehicle, said clamp mounting said mirror subassembly on said support and applying a force to urge frictional engagement between said support and said mirror casing to limit movement of said mirror subassembly along said support, and said mirror subassembly sliding along said support to one or more extended positions when a force is applied to said mirror subassembly of sufficient magnitude to overcome said frictional engagement between said support and said mirror casing.
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34. An extendable exterior rearview mirror assembly comprising:
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a mounting bracket adapted for mounting to a vehicle;
a mirror subassembly having a housing, a reflective element, and an actuator, said housing including a mirror casing wall;
a clamp assembly; and
a support mounted to said mounting bracket for pivotal movement between a normal operating position wherein said support extends laterally outward from the vehicle in a folded, break-away position wherein said support is folded toward the vehicle, said mirror subassembly being supported on said support by said clamp assembly, said clamp assembly mounting said support to said casing wall and providing a force, said force providing frictional engagement between said support and said casing wall to releasably clamp said mirror subassembly on said support to limit the movement of said mirror subassembly along said support, said support moving relative to said clamp when a sufficient force is applied to said mirror subassembly to overcome said frictional engagement wherein said mirror subassembly moves along said support to one of a plurality of viewing positions.
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Specification