Exterior rearview mirror for a vehicle
First Claim
1. An exterior rearview mirror for a vehicle comprisinga base member adapted to be secured to a vehicle body,a mirror head mounted on the base member for angular movement about a substantially vertical axis between a position of normal use and a position folded alongside the vehicle body,an intermediate member mounted for angular movement about said substantially vertical axis,detent means adapted to engage with the intermediate member, thereby to hold the mirror head in its normal position,an electric motor,transmission means powered by the electric motor and arranged to cause movement of the detent means out of engagement during an initial phase of movement and to cause angular movement of the mirror head away from its normal position during a subsequent phase of movement, andfurther detent means adapted to couple the intermediate member to the base member and to disengage when an external force exceeding a predetermined threshold is applied to the mirror head so as to cause angular movement thereof about said substantially vertical axis.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An exterior rearview mirror for a vehicle comprises a base member (10) adapted to be secured to a vehicle body, and a mirror head (56, 78, 82) mounted on the base member (10) for angular movement about a substantially vertical axis between a position of normal use and a position folded alongside the motor vehicle body. A detent (102) is adapted to hold the mirror head (56, 78, 82) in its normal position, an electric motor (142). A cam powered by the electric motor (142) is arranged to cause movement of the detent (102) out of engagement during an initial phase of movement and to cause angular movement of the mirror head (56, 78, 82) away from its normal position during a subsequent phase of movement.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. An exterior rearview mirror for a vehicle comprising
a base member adapted to be secured to a vehicle body, a mirror head mounted on the base member for angular movement about a substantially vertical axis between a position of normal use and a position folded alongside the vehicle body, an intermediate member mounted for angular movement about said substantially vertical axis, detent means adapted to engage with the intermediate member, thereby to hold the mirror head in its normal position, an electric motor, transmission means powered by the electric motor and arranged to cause movement of the detent means out of engagement during an initial phase of movement and to cause angular movement of the mirror head away from its normal position during a subsequent phase of movement, and further detent means adapted to couple the intermediate member to the base member and to disengage when an external force exceeding a predetermined threshold is applied to the mirror head so as to cause angular movement thereof about said substantially vertical axis.
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13. An exterior rearview mirror for a vehicle comprising
a base member adapted to be secured to a vehicle body, a mirror head mounted on the base member for angular movement about a substantially vertical axis between a position of normal use and a position folded alongside the vehicle body, detent means adapted to hold the mirror head in its normal position, an electric motor, and transmission means powered by the electric motor and arranged to cause movement of the detent means out of engagement during an initial phase of movement and to cause angular movement of the mirror head away from its normal position during a subsequent phase of movement; the transmission means including a cam member having a cam surface adapted to engage with the detent means and an abutment surface adapted to abut against a complementary surface on the mirror head when the cam surface has caused displacement of the detent means out of its engaged position. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17)
Specification
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- Resources
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Current AssigneeBritax Limited
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Original AssigneeBritax Limited
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InventorsBeuzeville, Xavier
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Primary Examiner(s)Shafer, Ricky D.
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Application NumberUS08/560,045Time in Patent Office1,075 DaysField of Search359/841, 359/872, 359/877US Class Current359/841CPC Class CodesB60R 1/074 for retracting the mirror a...
