Front-viewing system for vehicles

• US 20050099705A1
• Filed: 07/20/2004
• Published: 05/12/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/12/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Murakami Corporation
• Original Assignee: Murakami Corporation
• Inventors: Sato, Yasuhiro, Matsuura, Masaaki
• Application Number:
  US10/893,953
• Publication Number:
  US 20050099705A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 359/831
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/10 Front-view mirror arrangements; specially adapted for covering the peripheral part of the vehicle B60R1/002; Periscope arrangements , i.e. optical devices using combinations of mirrors, lenses, prisms or the like specially adapted for covering the peripheral part of the vehicle B60R1/002; for viewing traffic-lights B60R1/005; Other mirror arrangements giving a view from above or under the vehicle

Abstract

Disclosed is a front-viewing system for vehicles with high performance and low fabricating costs, by which a driver can indirectly view a region below a lower limit line, the lower limit line denoting a lower limit of an area which the driver can view in the forward direction, and which does not obstacle driver'"'"'s view obtained directly through a front window when being un-necessary. Further, the front-view system is placed between an eye point of a driver and a front end of the vehicle, and includes a wedge prism which is positioned above the blind spot and which refracts rays traveling from the front end of the vehicle toward the eye point of the driver.

Claims

1. A front-viewing system for vehicles by which a driver can indirectly view a region located forward of a vehicle below a lower limit line, the lower limit line designating a lower limit of an area which the driver can directly views, the front-viewing system for vehicles being placed between an eye point of the driver and a front end of the vehicle, the front-viewing system for vehicles comprising:

a wedge prism for refracting rays traveling from an area in front of the vehicle toward the eye point of the driver, the wedge prism being positioned above the lower limit line.

2. A front-viewing system for vehicles according to claim 1, further comprising:

an accommodation mechanism for accommodating the wedge prism below the lower limit line.

3. A front-viewing system for vehicles according to claim 1, further comprising at least one of:

a vertical position adjusting mechanism for adjusting a position of the wedge prism in a vertical direction;

a transverse position adjusting mechanism for adjusting the position of the wedge prism in a transverse direction; and

an orientation adjusting mechanism for adjusting an orientation of an refraction plane of the wedge prism.

4. A front-viewing system for vehicles according to claim 3, further comprising:

an accommodation mechanism for accommodating the wedge prism below the lower limit line; and

a position holding mechanism for memorizing a position of the wedge prism and an orientation of the refraction plane thereof prior to accommodation of the wedge prism,

wherein when the accommodated wedge prism is made to return to an available state, a position of the wedge prism and an orientation of the refraction plane thereof are adjusted to the position of the wedge prism and the orientation of the refraction plane thereof that has been memorized in the position holding mechanism.