Breakaway accessory mounting for vehicles
First Claim
1. A breakaway accessory mounting assembly for vehicles for supporting rearview mirrors and other accessories comprising:
- a base for attachment to a surface of a vehicle panel such as a window;
a coupler engaging said base and including a support for engaging and supporting an accessory such as a rearview mirror, and positioning means for positioning said coupler in an installed position on said base; and
retaining means extending between said base and coupler for slidably receiving said coupler on said base in a lateral direction and allowing rotation of said coupler with respect to said base to said installed position about a predetermined first axis without further lateral sliding movement, for resiliently holding said base and coupler together in said installed position, and for releasing said coupler from said base when a predetermined force is imposed on said coupler.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A breakaway accessory mounting assembly for vehicles for supporting rearview mirrors and other accessories includes a base mounted on a vehicle panel surface such as a window, and a coupler engaging the base and having a support mounting the rearview mirror or other accessory. Retaining means such as a wire or stamped metal spring, or a resilient plate extend between the base and coupler and allow installation by slidably receiving the coupler on the base in a lateral direction followed by rotation of the coupler with respect to the base to an installed position about a predetermined first axis without further lateral sliding movement. The retaining means also resiliently hold the base and coupler together in the installed position, and allow release of the coupler from the base in three different separation modes when a predetermined force is imposed on the coupler or supported mirror or other accessory. Positioning means are provided to position the coupler in the installed position on the base.
317 Citations
47 Claims
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1. A breakaway accessory mounting assembly for vehicles for supporting rearview mirrors and other accessories comprising:
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a base for attachment to a surface of a vehicle panel such as a window; a coupler engaging said base and including a support for engaging and supporting an accessory such as a rearview mirror, and positioning means for positioning said coupler in an installed position on said base; and retaining means extending between said base and coupler for slidably receiving said coupler on said base in a lateral direction and allowing rotation of said coupler with respect to said base to said installed position about a predetermined first axis without further lateral sliding movement, for resiliently holding said base and coupler together in said installed position, and for releasing said coupler from said base when a predetermined force is imposed on said coupler. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A breakaway accessory mounting assembly for vehicles for supporting rearview mirrors and other accessories comprising:
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a base adapted for attachment to a surface of a vehicle panel such as a window; a coupler engaging said base, being rotatable between a temporary and-installed positions, and including a support for engaging and supporting an accessory such as a rearview mirror, a retaining member, and at least one positioning member for positioning said coupler in said installed position on said base; and a resilient, biasing retainer on said base, said biasing retainer being movable between at least a relaxed, a first biased, and a second biased position and having an opening for slidably receiving said coupler retaining member and adapted to release said coupler from said base in at least one of several directions upon receipt of a predetermined force on said coupler, said biasing retainer slidably receiving said retaining member in said relaxed position and allowing movement of said retaining member to position said coupler in said temporary position with said biasing retainer in said first biased position, said biasing retainer being movable to said second biased position when said coupler is rotated to said installed position whereby said base and coupler are urged together by said biasing retainer until a predetermined force is imposed on said coupler such that said coupler is released from said base. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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35. A breakaway accessory mounting assembly for vehicles for supporting rearview mirrors and other accessories comprising:
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a base for attachment to a surface of a vehicle panel such as a window; a coupler engaging said base and including a support for engaging and supporting an accessory such as a rearview mirror, and positioning means for positioning said coupler in an installed position on said base; said base and coupler being rotatable with respect to one another on a first axis between temporary and installed positions; a resilient, biasing retainer and at least one projection on one of said base and coupler, and receiving means on the other of said base and coupler for slidably receiving said resilient, biasing retainer and projection, said projection adapted to move said resilient, biasing retainer between a first position in which said resilient, biasing retainer is slidably and loosely engageable with said receiving means in said temporary position, and a second position in which said resilient, biasing retainer is tightly engaged with said receiving means in said installed position;
said coupler being releasable from said base upon impact such that said resilient, biasing retainer releases from said receiving means in said installed position. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38, 39)
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40. A method for installing an accessory mounting assembly, on a panel in a vehicle, the assembly having a base, a coupler for mounting on the base and supporting an accessory, and a resilient retainer for holding the base and coupler together until a predetermined force is imposed on the coupler to release the coupler from the base, said method comprising:
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affixing the base to a panel surface; sliding the coupler on a surface of the base in a lateral direction to a first, temporary position; and rotating the coupler with respect to the base into a second, installed position on an axis extending through said first, temporary position without further sliding movement in the lateral direction while a portion of the coupler engages the resilient retainer and the resilient retainer urges the coupler and base together. - View Dependent Claims (41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47)
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Specification