Angularly adjustable vehicle mirror

• US 4,171,873 A
• Filed: 06/27/1977
• Issued: 10/23/1979
• Est. Priority Date: 07/27/1976
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Mascotech Industrial Components, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Tenna Corporation
• Inventors: Young, Thomas A., Repay, Laszlo N.
• Primary Examiner(s): Evans, F. L.
• Application Number:
  US05/810,319
• Time in Patent Office: 848 Days
• Field of Search: 350/288, 350/289, 248/15, 248/16, 248/18, 248/476, 248/479-487, 74/301M
• US Class Current: 359/874
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/072 for adjusting the mirror relative to its housing
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 7/1824 Manual alignment

Abstract

An angularly adjustable vehicle mirror with vibration damping. A casing, adapted to be secured in a mirror housing, supports a mirror back member for pivoting by a mechanism within the casing. Two rigid projections from the casing have surfaces extending generally in the direction the back member moves when it pivots relative to the casing. Vibration dampers are carried by the mirror back member remote from the pivot point of the mirror. Each damper extends rearwardly of the mirror into contact with the surface of a projection to inhibit vibration of the mirror. The vibration damping members are rigid in the direction the mirror moves but are flexible or articulated for movement transversely of the direction of mirror movement and are biased against the surfaces in slidable, frictional, engagement.

Claims

1. An adjustable mirror support comprising:

a mirror-mounting back member,

a casing for containing a mirror adjusting mechanism,

a pivot connection between the back member and the casing,

a rigid extension from the casing with a surface extending as great a distance as and generally in a direction in which the back member moves when it pivots relative to the casing,

a vibration damping member carried by the back member and extending therefrom in the general direction of back member movement and into contact with said surface, the vibration damping member being relatively rigid in the direction in which the back member moves, and yieldably biased in a direction transverse to the direction in which the back member moves and into contact with said surface, said vibration damping member and surface being in sliding, frictional, contact.

2. A mirror support as set forth in claim 1 wherein said vibration damping member is elongated in the direction in which it extends from the back member and a distal portion of the damping member engages said surface.

3. A mirror support as set forth in claim 2 wherein said vibration damping member is a wire spring.

4. A mirror support as set forth in claim 1 wherein said back member is generally planar, said surface is behind the back member in all pivoted positions of the back member relative to the casing, and said surface is inclined relative to the plane of the back member when the back member is in a position intermediate the extremes of its pivoted positions relative to the casing.

5. An adjustable rear view vehicle mirror comprising:

a mirror,

a planar back member on which the mirror is mounted,

a casing,

a mirror adjusting mechanism within and extending from the casing to the back member,

a pivot connection between the casing and a central portion of the back member,

a projection extending from the casing adjacent an outer edge of said back member, said projection having an elongated surface extending in a direction generally toward and away from said outer edge for a distance at least as great as that through which said outer edge moves during pivoting of the mirror, and facing toward said pivot connection,

a vibration damping member carried by the back member adjacent said outer edge, extending therefrom into contact with said surface and movable along said surface during pivoting of the back member relative to the casing, and

means yieldably biasing said vibration damping member into sliding contact with said surface.

6. An adjustable mirror as set forth in claim 5 wherein at least two such projections extend from the casing and at least two such vibration damping members are carried by the back member, each damping member cooperating with a projection;

the projections being displaced from each other about the pivot connection a distance of 90 angular degrees.

7. An adjustable mirror as set forth in claim 6 wherein said surface of each abutment is located beyond the adjacent outer edge of the back member and behind the plane of the back member.

8. An adjustable mirror as set forth in claim 7 wherein each vibration damping member is a wire spring carried by a portion of the back member that extends beyond the periphery of the mirror.

9. An adjustable mirror support comprising:

a mirror-mounting back member,

a casing for containing a mirror adjusting mechanism,

a pivot connection between the back member and the casing,

a rigid surface on one of the casing and back member extending as great a distance as and generally in a direction in which the back member moves when it pivots relative to the casing,

a vibration damping member carried by the other of the casing and back member and extending therefrom in the general direction of back member movement and into contact with said surface, the vibration damping member being relatively rigid in the direction in which the back member moves, and yieldably biased in a direction transverse to the direction in which the back member moves and into contact with said surface, said vibration damping member and surface being in sliding, frictional, contact.