Integrated Mirror Device for Vehicle

• US 20100007961A1
• Filed: 09/21/2006
• Published: 01/14/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/26/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Honda Lock
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company), Kabushiki Kaisha Honda Lock
• Inventors: Abe, Masaaki, Sasaki, Mitsuo, Kukita, Tomoyuki, Matsumoto, Yoshiyuki
• Granted Patent: US 8,506,097 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 359/605
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/007 specially adapted for covering the lateral blind spot not covered by the usual rear-view mirror
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/025 comprising special mechanical means for correcting the field of view in relation to particular driving conditions, e.g. change of lane; scanning mirrors
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/04 mounted inside vehicle B60R1/025, B60R1/08 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/06 mounted on vehicle exterior B60R1/025, B60R1/08 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/062 with remote control for adjusting position B60R1/0607 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/066 for adjusting the mirror relative to its housing
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/074 for retracting the mirror arrangements to a non-use position alongside the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/081 avoiding blind spots, e.g. by using a side-by-side association of mirrors
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/082 using a single wide field mirror or an association of rigidly connected mirrors
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/087 with remote or automatic control means

Abstract

A vehicular integrated mirror system is provided that is supported on a vehicle body that includes a door, and has an outside mirror disposed outside a vehicle compartment and an interior mirror disposed within the vehicle compartment at a position in the proximity of the outside mirror so that, in cooperation with the outside mirror, a vehicle rear field of vision is obtained, wherein a mirror holder retaining the outside mirror and the inside mirror is swingably supported on mirror support means mounted on the vehicle body in order to change the reflection angle of the two mirror relative to a vehicle driver, and the reflection angle of the outside mirror and the inside mirror is changed by remote drive means that makes the mirror holder swing by remote operation. This enables the reflection angle of the outside mirror and the inside mirror to be remotely controlled.

Claims

1. A vehicular integrated mirror system that is supported on a vehicle body that includes a door, and has an outside mirror disposed outside a vehicle compartment and an inside mirror disposed within the vehicle compartment at a position in the vicinity of the outside mirror so that, in cooperation with the outside mirror, a vehicle rear field of vision is obtained, characterized in that the system comprises a mirror holder retaining the outside mirror and the inside mirror, mirror support means mounted on the vehicle body so as to swingably support the mirror holder in order to change the reflection angle of the two mirrors relative to a vehicle driver, and remote drive means making the mirror holder swing by remote operation in order to change the reflection angle of the an outside mirror and the inside mirror.

2. The vehicular integrated mirror system according to claim 1, wherein the remote drive means comprises a remote operation member enabling manual operation by the vehicle driver on a driver'"'"'s seat and an electric motor supported on the mirror support means so as to exert a motive power for making the mirror holder swing in order to change the reflection angle.

3. The vehicular integrated mirror system according to claim 1, wherein the remote drive means is formed by coupling between a remote operation member that enables manual operation by the vehicle driver on a driver'"'"'s seat and the mirror holder with a transmission member for directly transmitting to the mirror holder an operating force of the remote operation member.

4. The vehicular integrated mirror system according to claim 1, wherein the outside mirror and the inside mirror are retained respectively by a pair of mirror holders swingably supported on the mirror support means via swing support portions that are independent from each other, and swing centers of the two swing support portions are set so as to be the same.

5. The vehicular integrated mirror system according to claim 1, wherein the position of the center of gravity of the overall combination of the outside mirror, the inside mirror, and the mirror holder retaining these mirrors in common is set at the same as a swing center of the mirror holder.

6. The vehicular integrated mirror system according to claim 1, wherein the mirror holder comprises a holder plate that is disposed in common for the outside mirror and the inside mirror, is coupled to the remote drive means, and is swingably supported by the mirror support means, and a retaining member that retains one of the outside mirror and the inside mirror and is swingably supported on the holder plate, fine adjustment drive means for finely adjusting the reflection angle of one of the outside mirror and the inside mirror being provided between the holder plate and the retaining member.

7. The vehicular integrated mirror system according to claim 1, wherein a bracket mounted on a support plate provided on the vehicle body, which includes the door, is provided with a swing support portion for swingably supporting the outside mirror and the inside mirror, and a vehicle compartment exterior housing covering the outside mirror from the front side of the vehicle is mounted on the bracket.

8. The vehicular integrated mirror system according to claim 7, wherein a holder plate retaining the outside mirror and the inside mirror is swingably supported on the mirror support means, and the support plate is provided with a through hole for the holder to run through.

9. The vehicular integrated mirror system according to claim 8, wherein a seal member for blocking the through hole is provided between the support plate and the holder plate.

10. The vehicular integrated mirror system according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein the bracket is mounted on the support plate from the exterior of the vehicle compartment.

11. The vehicular integrated mirror system according to claim 1, wherein the lateral width in a vertically intermediate section of the inside mirror is set so as to be at least 50 mm but less than a value that causes reflection of the vehicle driver.

12. The vehicular integrated mirror system according to claim 11, wherein a vehicle compartment interior housing covering the inside mirror from the front is disposed within a projection area when the vehicle driver views a vehicle compartment exterior housing covering the outside mirror from the front side of the vehicle.

13. The vehicular integrated mirror system according to claim 11 or 12, wherein at least one of upper edges and lower edges of the outside mirror and the inside mirror are substantially aligned on one imaginary line.

14. The vehicular integrated mirror system according to claim 1, wherein the outside mirror and the inside mirror are formed in curved shapes with the same center of curvature and the same radius of curvature.

15. The vehicular integrated mirror system according to claim 1, wherein an outside mirror holder and an inside mirror holder individually retaining the outside mirror and the inside mirror are supported on the mirror support means so as to swing independently from each other, and the remote drive means comprises outside drive means and inside drive means for respectively making the outside and inside mirror holders swing and a control unit controlling the operation of the outside drive means and the inside drive means, the control unit being switchable between a normal operation control state in which the outside and inside drive means are both operated so as to make the outside mirror holder and the inside mirror holder swing in association and a specific operation control state in which only the outside drive means is operated so as to make the outside mirror holder swing on its own.

16. The vehicular integrated mirror system according to claim 15, wherein the control unit selects the specific operation control state and operates the outside drive means only by a predetermined amount toward the side that makes the direction the outside mirror faces change downward only by a predetermined angle in response to an operation of operation means operated by the vehicle driver when reversing the vehicle.

17. The vehicular integrated mirror system according to claim 15, wherein the control unit selects the specific operation control state and operates the outside drive means only by a predetermined amount toward the side that makes the direction the outside mirror faces change outward only by a predetermined angle in response to an operation of operation means operated by the vehicle driver when changing the path of the vehicle.

18. The vehicular integrated mirror system according to claim 16 or 17, wherein the control unit operates the outside drive means so as to return the outside mirror holder to the position the outside mirror holder was in before the specific operation control state started in response to the vehicle driver completing operation of the operation means.

19. The vehicular integrated mirror system according to claim 1, wherein it is arranged so that the outside mirror and the inside mirror can be put in an anti-glare state.

20. The vehicular integrated mirror system according to claim 19, wherein it comprises a control unit for simultaneously carrying out changeover control between anti-glare and non-anti-glare states of the outside mirror and the inside mirror.

21. The vehicular integrated mirror system according to claim 19, wherein it comprises a control unit for carrying out changeover control between anti-glare and non-anti-glare states of the vehicle compartment exterior outside mirror and the inside mirror independently for the left and right of the vehicle.

22. The vehicular integrated mirror system according to claim 1, wherein a vehicle compartment exterior housing disposed outside the vehicle body, which includes the door, and covering the outside mirror so as to dispose the outside mirror in an opening is supported on the vehicle body so as to be able to pivot between a projecting position in which the outside mirror is directed toward the rear of the vehicle and a retracted position in which the outside mirror is directed toward the vehicle body side, and the vehicle compartment exterior housing has a pivot center thereof set at substantially the middle along the lateral direction of the vehicle compartment exterior housing in the projecting position.

23. The vehicular integrated mirror system according to claim 22, wherein the inside mirror is supported on mirror support means fixed to the vehicle body so that the inside mirror can swing independently from the outside mirror, and the remote drive means comprises housing drive means for pivoting the vehicle compartment exterior housing, inside drive means for making the inside mirror swing, and a control unit controlling the operation of the housing drive means and the inside drive means, the control unit operating the inside drive means so as to make the inside mirror swing outward only by a fixed angle in response to operation of the housing drive means in order to pivot the vehicle compartment exterior housing toward the retracted position side.