Rotatable mirror assembly
First Claim
1. A mirror assembly adapted to be rotatably mounted with respect to a support structure comprising:
- a. a rotatable housing having a top and a bottom, and being bounded on its front by a mirror and bounded on its rear by a wall that is spaced from the rear surface of the mirror;
b. at least on fixed mounting bolt for supporting the rotatable housing with respect to the support structure, and said bolt having a longitudinal axis which establishes an axis of rotation for the housing;
c. a motor connected to the housing so as to cause relative movement between the housing and the fixed mounting bolt when power is applied to the motor; and
d. a clutch interposed between the fixed mounting bolt and the rotatable housing, said clutch being operable to normally cause the housing to rotate when power is applied to the motor, and said clutch being operable to slip in order to preclude damage when power is applied to the motor but the housing is incapable of moving because it has come into contact with some immovable object, and said clutch including two pairs of metallic spring washers wherein said washers are of the Belleville type and which have concave faces, and wherein the two washers of each pair are in contact and are oriented in the same direction, whereby there is a substantial area of metal-to-metal contact between the washers of each pair of washers.
13 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A mirror assembly adapted to be rotatably mounted with respect to a support structure such as a wheeled vehicle of the class that includes trucks, tractors, large recreational vehicles, etc. A rotatable housing carries a mirror and there is a fixed mounting bold for supporting the housing. A motor is connected to the housing so as to rotate it when power is applied to the motor. A clutch is associated with the motor in order to preclude damage if power is applied to the motor but the housing is incapable of moving. The clutch includes two pairs of metallic spring washers which are of the Belleville type and which have concave faces. The two washers of each pair are in contact and are oriented in the same direction, so that there is a substantial area of metal-to-metal contact between the washers of each pair of washers. A lubricant such as graphite is interposed between the pairs of Belleville washers. When the motor is a high-speed electrical motor, there is included a transmission for affecting the rate at which the housing will rotate with respect to the mounting bolt when power is applied to the motor, such that the motor may rotate at a relatively high speed (e.g., 6,000 RPM) but the housing will rotate at a relatively low speed (i.e., 1/2 RPM).
21 Citations
27 Claims
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1. A mirror assembly adapted to be rotatably mounted with respect to a support structure comprising:
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a. a rotatable housing having a top and a bottom, and being bounded on its front by a mirror and bounded on its rear by a wall that is spaced from the rear surface of the mirror; b. at least on fixed mounting bolt for supporting the rotatable housing with respect to the support structure, and said bolt having a longitudinal axis which establishes an axis of rotation for the housing; c. a motor connected to the housing so as to cause relative movement between the housing and the fixed mounting bolt when power is applied to the motor; and d. a clutch interposed between the fixed mounting bolt and the rotatable housing, said clutch being operable to normally cause the housing to rotate when power is applied to the motor, and said clutch being operable to slip in order to preclude damage when power is applied to the motor but the housing is incapable of moving because it has come into contact with some immovable object, and said clutch including two pairs of metallic spring washers wherein said washers are of the Belleville type and which have concave faces, and wherein the two washers of each pair are in contact and are oriented in the same direction, whereby there is a substantial area of metal-to-metal contact between the washers of each pair of washers. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. An external mirror assembly configured to be rotatably mounted on a vehicle, the vehicle being of the class that includes trucks, buses and large recreational vehicles, comprising:
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a. a rotatable housing having a top and a bottom and being bounded on its front by a mirror and bounded on its rear by a wall that is spaced from the rear surface of the mirror; b. at least one fixed mounting bolt, said bolt having a longitudinal axis that establishes an axis of rotation for the housing; c. a motor connected to and mounted within the housing so as to produce relative movement between the housing and said at least one mounting bolt when power is applied to the motor; and d. a clutch interposed between the fixed mounting bolt and the rotatable housing, said clutch being operable to normally cause the housing to rotate when power is applied to the motor, and said clutch being operable to slip in order to preclude damage when power is applied to the motor but the housing is incapable of moving because it has come into contact with some immovable object, and said clutch including two pairs of metallic spring washers of the Belleville type and having concave faces, and wherein the two washers of each pair are in contact and are oriented in the same direction, whereby there is a substantial area of metal-to-metal contact between the washers of each pair of washers. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A mirror assembly adapted for mounting on a support structure, comprising:
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a. a rotatable housing having a mirrored surface that is oriented for reflecting an image of an object that is behind an observer; b. means for supporting the rotatable housing with respect to the support structure, said means providing for rotation about an axis; c. a motor selectively operable for causing the housing to rotate about its axis of rotation; d. a transmission connected between the motor and the means for supporting the housing in order to reduce the output speed from the motor to a significantly lower sped of rotation for the housing, said lower speed corresponding to an increase in torque output from the transmission, and the transmission having a structural member that is shaped to serve as a powered output member when the motor is operated; and e. a clutch assembly interposed between the transmission and the means for supporting the housing, said clutch being effective to prevent damage to the transmission and the motor when power is applied to the motor but the housing is incapable of rotating because of physical contact with an obstacle, and the clutch assembly having a longitudinal axis and having Belleville washers that are held tightly together by a longitudinal force, and the longitudinal force being sufficient to transmit a predictable amount of torque through the Belleville washers, and the Belleville washers being designed to experience slippage when said predictable amount of torque has been exceeded, and the longitudinal force being completely resisted within the clutch assembly, such that the clutch assembly it a self-contained unit, and the clutch assembly having an exterior configuration that is complementary to the shape of the powered output member of the transmission and being engageable with said powered output member with a slip fit. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27)
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Specification