Elimination of internal reflections and diffractions from junctures in, and at the periphery of a segmented mirror

• US 4,632,524 A
• Filed: 11/15/1985
• Issued: 12/30/1986
• Est. Priority Date: 08/20/1984
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Roxor Corporation
• Original Assignee: Roxor Corporation
• Inventors: Blom, C. James
• Primary Examiner(s): Henry, Jon W.
• Application Number:
  US06/798,334
• Time in Patent Office: 410 Days
• Field of Search: 350/613, 350/627, 350/612, 350/276, 350/276 SL, 350/280, 350/279, 350/278, 350/277, 350/452, 350/641, 350/320, 248/478, 248/483
• US Class Current: 359/851
• CPC Class Codes: B29D 11/00596 Mirrors

Abstract

In a transparent molded segmented mirror having individual sectors on a transparent molding and comprising a myriad of reflecting surfaces at the rear side of the mirror away from the viewer, said surfaces located to produce, in the eyes of the viewer, a virtual image, or separate virtual images from separate portions of such molded mirror, there being zones separating the reflecting surfaces, the improvement comprising:

(a) a material coating said zones and which includes a light absorber,

(b) such material having approximately, the same index of refraction as the transparent molding,

(c) whereby undesirable reflections from said zone are substantially reduced, because light impinging thereon cannot be reflected, but is only absorbed.

Also, the thickness of light reflecting metallizing material defining the reflective surfaces may be thinned adjacent said zones, and the light absorptive coating may be applied over the thinned metallizing material; and the edges of the molding and of a glass backer may be coated with light absorptives material.

Claims

1. In a transparent molded segmented mirror having individual sectors on a transparent molding and comprising a myriad of reflecting adjacent surfaces at the back side of the mirror away from the viewer, said surfaces oriented to produce, in the eyes of the viewer, one virtual image, or separate virtual images from separate portions of such molded mirror, there being a network of zones separating the individual reflecting surfaces, the improvement comprising

(a) a material coating said zones and which includes a light absorber,

(b) whereby undesirable reflections from said zones are substantially reduced,

(c) said reflecting surfaces forming multiple groups of said surfaces, one group located at a central portion of the mirror, and other groups located at left and right portions of the mirror, and including metallizing material on the molding and defining said reflecting surfaces and characterized in that the thickness of the metallizing material is substantially reduced to define feather edges at and about peripheries of the sectors,

(d) said mirror having transparent solid structure extending across and rearwardly of said myriad of surfaces,

(e) said solid structure having a surface toward the viewer which has one of the following configurations:

(N₁) convex, rearwardly,

(N₂) flat rearwardly

(N₃) V-shaped with apex facing rearwardly

(N₄) flat rearwardly, two offset sections angled relative to one another

(N₅) convex rearwardly in two offset sections separated by a third section that is flat rearwardly

(N₆) flat and convex rearwardly in two laterally spaced sections separated by a third section that is flat rearwardly.

2. The mirror of claim 1 supported in a vehicle cab, and wherein for night viewing a flat portion of said surface can be oriented to reflect light from a rearward source toward the eyes of the viewer, while at that orientation of the mirror assembly, the reflections from the myriad of discrete metallized reflecting surfaces towards the eyes of the viewer are from sources in a dark part of the cab, and including said cab.

3. In a transparent molded segmented mirror having individual sectors on a transparent molding and comprising a myriad of reflecting adjacent surfaces at the back side of the mirror away from the viewer, said surfaces oriented to produce, in the eyes of the viewer, one virtual image, or separate virtual images from separate portions of such molded mirror, there being a network of zones separating the individual reflecting surfaces, the improvement comprising

(a) a material coating said zones and which includes a light absorber,

(b) whereby undesirable reflections from said zones are substantially reduced,

(c) said reflecting surfaces forming multiple groups of said surfaces, one group located at a central portion of the mirror, and other groups located at left and right portions of the mirror,

(d) said mirror having transparent solid structure extending across and rearwardly of said myriad of surfaces,

(e) said solid structure having a surface toward the viewer which has one of the following configurations:

(N₁) convex, rearwardly,

(N₂) flat rearwardly

(N₃) V-shaped with apex facing rearwardly

(N₄) flat rearwardly, two offset sections angled relative to one another p1 (N₅) convex rearwardly in two offset sections separated by a third section that is flat rearwardly

(N₆) flat and convex rearwardly in two laterally spaced sections separated by a third section that is flat rearwardly,

(f) said mirror supported in a vehicle cab, and

wherein for night viewing a flat portion of said surface can be oriented to reflect light from a rearward source toward the eyes of the viewer, while at that orientation of the mirror assembly, the reflections from the myriad of discrete reflecting surfaces towards the eyes of the viewer are from sources in a dark part of the cab,

(g) and including a ball and socket swivel support for said mirror, one of said ball and socket defining a detent track and other of said ball and socket defining a detent follower urged toward and into the track to guide swiveling of the mirror and seek a selected one of a group of track depressions corresponding to a selected fixed pivoted position of the mirror.