Rear-view mirror for vehicles
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A rear-view mirror for a vehicle, comprising:
- a convex reflecting surface comprising a plurality of distinct curved surfaces having respective curvatures that are smoothly joined with each other to provide a continuously varying average curvature, wherein the average curvature gradually increases along a vertical direction from a top to a bottom of the reflecting surface and also gradually increases along a horizontal direction away from a longitudinal direction of the body of the vehicle,wherein the values of the average curvature of the distinct curved surfaces are each within a range 5.0×
10-4 l/mm to 50×
10-4 l/mm, andwherein the average curvature along at least one of the vertical direction and the horizontal direction increases at an average rate of increase within a range 0.01×
10-4 to 0.15×
10-4 per mm.
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Abstract
A rear-view mirror for a vehicle has a convex reflecting surface composed of a plurality of distinct curved surfaces each having a selected shape that are smoothly joined with each other with a continuously varying average curvature. The average curvature increases gradually along the vertical direction from the top to the bottom of the mirror and along the transverse horizontal direction away from the body of the vehicle. The mirror provides a wide viewing around both sides and of the rear of the vehicle without blind spots and provides a clear image with little distortion that is visually acceptable to a driver.
24 Citations
14 Claims
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1. A rear-view mirror for a vehicle, comprising:
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a convex reflecting surface comprising a plurality of distinct curved surfaces having respective curvatures that are smoothly joined with each other to provide a continuously varying average curvature, wherein the average curvature gradually increases along a vertical direction from a top to a bottom of the reflecting surface and also gradually increases along a horizontal direction away from a longitudinal direction of the body of the vehicle, wherein the values of the average curvature of the distinct curved surfaces are each within a range 5.0×
10-4 l/mm to 50×
10-4 l/mm, andwherein the average curvature along at least one of the vertical direction and the horizontal direction increases at an average rate of increase within a range 0.01×
10-4 to 0.15×
10-4 per mm. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. A rear-view mirror for a vehicle, comprising:
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a convex reflecting surface comprising a plurality of curved surfaces having respective curvatures that are smoothly joined with each other to provide a continuously varying average curvature, within the average curvature gradually increases along a vertical direction from a top to a bottom of the reflecting surface and also gradually increases along a horizontal direction away from a longitudinal direction of the body of the vehicle, wherein said average curvature along said at least one of the vertical direction and the horizontal direction increases inhomogeneously, a rate of increase of the average curvature increases gradually in the vertical direction from the top of the bottom of the reflecting surface and in the horizontal direction away from the body of the vehicle, and wherein the average curvature along at least one of the vertical direction and the horizontal direction increases at an average rate of increase within a range 0.01×
10-4 to 0.15×
10-4 per mm. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6)
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7. A rear-view system for a vehicle, comprising:
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a pair of rear-view mirrors, wherein each of the mirrors has a convex reflecting surface comprising a corresponding plurality of distinct curved surfaces having respective selected curvatures that are smoothly and continuously joined with each other, wherein said curvatures of the curved surfaces increase gradually along a vertical direction from a top to a bottom of the corresponding reflecting surface and also along a horizontal direction outwardly away from a longitudinal direction of the vehicle, wherein the closer a portion of the corresponding reflecting surface is to the driver'"'"'s seat of the vehicle, the smaller is the corresponding average curvature of the curved surfaces and the smaller is a rate of variation of the respective average curvature, the values of the average curvature of each of the different curved surfaces being within a range of 5.0×
10-4 l/mm to 50×
10-4 l/mm, andwherein the average curvature along at least one of the vertical direction and the horizontal direction increases at an average rate of increase within a range 0.01×
10-4 to 0.15×
10-4 per mm.
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8. A rear-view mirror for a vehicle, comprising:
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a convex reflecting surface comprising a plurality of distinct curved surfaces having respective selected curvatures that are smoothly joined with each other to provide a continuously varying average curvature, wherein the average curvature gradually increases along a vertical direction from a top to a bottom of the reflecting surface and also gradually increases along a horizontal direction away from a longitudinal direction of the body of the vehicle, and the average curvature along at least one of the vertical direction and the horizontal direction increases inhomogeneously at an average rate of increase within a range of 0.01×
10-4 to 0.15×
10-4 per mm.
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9. A rear-view system for a vehicle, comprising:
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a pair of rear-view mirrors, wherein each of the mirrors has a convex reflecting surface comprising a corresponding plurality of distinct curved surfaces having respective selected curvatures that are smoothly and continuously joined with each other, wherein said curvatures of the curved surfaces increase gradually along a vertical direction from a top to a bottom of the corresponding reflecting surface and also along a horizontal direction outwardly away from a longitudinal direction of the vehicle, wherein the closer a portion of the reflecting surface is to the driver'"'"'s seat of the vehicle, the smaller is the corresponding average curvature of the curved surfaces and the smaller is a rate of variation of the respective average curvature, wherein the average curvature along said at least one of the vertical direction and the horizontal direction increases inhomogeneously, a rate of increase of the average curvature increases gradually in the vertical direction from the top to the bottom of the reflecting surface and in the horizontal direction away from the body of the vehicle, and wherein the average curvature along at least one of the vertical direction and the horizontal direction increases at an average rate of increase within a range of 0.01×
10-4 to 0.15×
10-4 per mm.
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10. A rear-view mirror for a vehicle, comprising:
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a convex reflecting surface having four corners which do not all lie in the same plane and having a plurality of distinct curved surfaces having respective selected curvatures that are smoothly joined with each other to provide a continuously varying average curvature, wherein the average curvature gradually increases along a vertical direction from a top to a bottom of the reflecting surface and also gradually increases along a horizontal direction away from a longitudinal direction of the body of the vehicle, and wherein the average curvature along at least one of the vertical direction and the horizontal direction increases at an average rate of increase within a range 0.01×
10-4 to 0.15×
10-4 per mm. - View Dependent Claims (11)
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12. A rear-view mirror for a vehicle, comprising:
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a convex reflecting surface comprising a plurality of distinct curved surfaces having respective curvatures that are smoothly joined with each other to provide a continuously varying average curvature, wherein the average curvature gradually increases along a vertical direction from a top to a bottom of the reflecting surface and also gradually increases along a horizontal direction away from a longitudinal direction of the body of the vehicle, wherein the values of the average curvature of the distinct curved surfaces are each within a range 5.0×
10-4 l/mm to 50×
10-4 l/mm, andwherein the reflecting surface is bounded by four boundaries each curved parabolically according to the equation y=0.0038 x2.
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13. A rear-view system for a vehicle, comprising:
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a pair of rear-view mirrors, wherein each of the mirrors has a convex reflecting surface comprising a corresponding plurality of distinct curved surfaces having respective selected curvatures that are smoothly and continuously joined with each other, wherein said curvatures of the curved surfaces increase gradually along a vertical direction from a top to a bottom of the corresponding reflecting surface and also along a horizontal direction outwardly away from a longitudinal direction of the vehicle, wherein the closer a portion of the corresponding reflecting surface is to the driver'"'"'s seat of the vehicle, the smaller is the corresponding average curvature of the curved surfaces and the smaller is a rate of variation of the respective average curvature, the values of the average curvature of each of the different curved surfaces being within a range of 5.0×
10-4 l/mm to 50×
10-4 l/mm, andthe reflecting surface is bounded by four boundaries each curved parabolically according to the equation y=0.0038 x2.
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14. A rear-view mirror for a vehicle, comprising:
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a convex reflecting surface having four corners which do not all lie in the same plane and having a plurality of distinct curved surfaces having respective selected curvatures that are smoothly joined with each other to provide a continuously varying average curvature, wherein the average curvature gradually increases along a vertical direction from a top to a bottom of the reflecting surface and also gradually increases along a horizontal direction away from a longitudinal direction of the body of the vehicle, and the reflecting surface is bounded by four boundaries each curved parabolically according to the equation y=0.0038 x2.
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Specification
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Current AssigneeShiqing Li
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Original AssigneeShiqing Li
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InventorsLi, Shiqing
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Primary Examiner(s)Shafer, Ricky D.
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Application NumberUS08/716,241Time in Patent Office1,240 DaysField of Search359/864, 359/866, 359/868, 359/850, 359/851, 359/727, 359/728US Class Current359/868CPC Class CodesB60R 1/082 using a single wide field m...
