Vehicle blind spot mirror

• US 6,076,934 A
• Filed: 03/11/1999
• Issued: 06/20/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 03/11/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hartmut H. Gerdes
• Original Assignee: Hartmut H. Gerdes
• Inventors: Gerdes, Hartmut H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Spyrou, Cassandra
• Assistant Examiner(s): SIKDER, MOHAMMAD YUNUS
• Application Number:
  US09/266,157
• Time in Patent Office: 467 Days
• Field of Search: 359/871, 359/872, 359/850, 359/865, 359/866, 248/467, 248/495, 248/496, 248/497
• US Class Current: 359/871
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/082 using a single wide field mirror or an association of rigidly connected mirrors

Abstract

A vehicle blind spot mirror with a mirror having a single plane outwardly curved surface, an extension member attached to the rear portion of the outwardly curved mirror and having a double stick foam tape attachment means on the opposite surface of the extension, allowing the extension and attached blind spot mirror to be affixed to a vehicle'"'"'s existing rear view mirror even if the rear view mirror is set in a recessed frame, thereby allowing for a larger blind spot mirror than the original rear view mirror. A preferred embodiment includes wherein said outwardly curved mirror is approximately seven and one half inches wide and five inches tall and is radially curved in such a way that the vertical center axis of said mirror is raised between thirty and eighty thousandths of an inch higher than the right or left edge. An alternate embodiment wherein the outwardly curved mirror is installed in place of a traditional flat plane driver'"'"'s side rear view mirror found in current motor vehicles.

Claims

1. A vehicle blind spot mirror device, comprising:

a mirror having dimensions at vertical direction and horizontal direction, wherein said mirror sized for being substantially wider in both of said vertical and horizontal directions than a frame of a conventional rear view mirror assembly on an automobile on an automobile for improved blind spot viewing; and

an extension block attached to a rear side of said mirror and projecting substantially behind said mirror, a rear side of said extension block for attaching to said a mirror of said conventional rear view mirror assembly;

said extension block being thick enough to hold said mirror in a position for being entirely outside said frame of said conventional rear view mirror assembly.

2. A vehicle blind spot mirror device, comprising:

a convex mirror having dimensions at vertical direction and horizontal direction, wherein said mirror sized for being substantially wider in both of said vertical and horizontal directions than a frame of a conventional rear view mirror assembly on an automobile for improved blind spot viewing; and

said mirror curved along said horizontal direction and straight along said vertical direction for making objects therein thinner but generally not smaller and generally not further away than said objects would appear in a conventional flat mirror;

an extension block attached to a rear side of said mirror and projecting substantially behind said mirror,

a rear side of said extension block for attaching to said a mirror of said conventional rear view mirror assembly;

said extension block being thick enough to hold said mirror in a position for being entirely outside said frame of said conventional rear view mirror assembly.

3. The vehicle blind spot mirror device of claim 2, wherein said mirror is about 7.5 inches wide, an apex of said mirror being spaced about 0.03 inch to about 0.08 inch from an imaginary straight line between left and right edges of said mirror for balancing distortion and blind spot viewing effectiveness.