Mirror assembly for a vehicle

• US 6,481,863 B2
• Filed: 03/26/2001
• Issued: 11/19/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Tokai RIKA Denki Seisakusho
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Tokai RIKA Denki Seisakusho
• Inventors: Mizutani, Toshinobu, Horio, Wataru, Ejiri, Tadashi, Inayama, Masahide, Kato, Tadayoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Robinson, Mark A.
• Application Number:
  US09/816,339
• Publication Number:
  US 20010026411A1
• Time in Patent Office: 603 Days
• Field of Search: 359/841, 359/872, 359/873, 359/874, 359/876, 359/877, 248/476, 248/479, 248/487
• US Class Current: 359/872
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/06 mounted on vehicle exterior B60R1/025, B60R1/08 take precedence

Abstract

In a door mirror in accordance with the present invention, at a connecting portion near a driver'"'"'s seat or a passenger seat, an opposing portion which is a boundary between the connecting portion and a lid is exposed on the surface of a visor at a side toward the substantial rear of a vehicle. Therefore, even if steps are formed at the opposing portion and slight irregularities are thereby formed on the surface of the visor, air flow does not flow over the opposing portion, or orientation of air flow is not rapidly changed or turbulence is not generated over or below the opposing portion. In this way, noise such as wind noise generated near the connecting portion can be reduced or eliminated.

Claims

1. A rearview mirror assembly for a vehicle, comprising:

(a) a mirror having a rear surface and an outer periphery; and

(b) a visor which includes a visor cover for covering the rear surface of the mirror and a visor rim for surrounding the outer periphery of the mirror, said visor rim having an annular end portion surrounded by an outer edge;

(c) wherein the visor cover has an annular end portion having an outer edge which engages with the annular end portion of the visor rim when the visor cover and the visor rim are assembled to each other, and wherein the engagement of the visor cover and visor rim annular end portions with one another forms a loop-shaped opposing portion as a boundary on outside surfaces of the visor cover and visor rim defined between the opposing outer edges of the visor cover and the visor rim, said loop-shaped opposing portion facing a direction towards which a surface of the mirror is oriented.

2. The mirror assembly of claim 1, further comprising an attachment structure for removably assembling the visor rim and the visor cover to each other, provided at a region in which the visor rim annular end portion engages with the visor cover annular end portion.

3. The mirror assembly of claim 2, wherein the attachment structure includes an engaging portion provided at one of the visor rim annular end portion and the visor cover annular end portion, and an engaged portion provided at the other of the visor rim annular end portion and the visor cover annular end portion.

4. The mirror assembly of claim 1, wherein the visor cover annular end portion has an inner peripheral surface and the visor rim annular end portion has an outer peripheral surface, and said peripheral surfaces engage with one another when the visor rim and the visor cover are assembled to each other.

5. The mirror assembly of claim 4, further comprising an attachment structure for removably assembling the visor rim and the visor cover to each other, provided where the inner peripheral surface of the visor cover annular end portion engages with the outer peripheral surface of the visor rim annular end portion.

6. The mirror assembly of claim 5, wherein the attachment structure includes a pair of fitting claws and a pair of fitting grooves corresponding to the fitting claws.

7. The mirror assembly of claim 5, wherein the attachment structure includes a slip-off prevention claw and an insertion hole corresponding to the slip-off prevention claw.

8. The mirror assembly of claim 5, wherein the attachment structure includes a pair of fitting claws, a pair of fitting grooves corresponding to the fitting claws, a slip-off prevention claw, and an insertion hole corresponding to the slip-off prevention claw, and wherein the fitting claws and the slip-off prevention claw are provided at one of the inner peripheral surface of the visor cover annular end portion and the outer peripheral surface of the visor rim annular end portion, while the fitting grooves and the insertion hole are provided at the other of the inner peripheral surface of the visor cover annular end portion and the outer peripheral surface of the visor rim annular end portion.

9. The mirror assembly of claim 8, wherein the slip-off prevention claw is disposed between the fitting claws, and the insertion hole is disposed between the fitting grooves.

10. The mirror assembly of claim 9, wherein the fitting claws and the slip-off prevention claw are provided at the inner peripheral surface of the visor cover annular end portion, while the fitting grooves and the insertion hole are provided at the outer peripheral surface of the visor rim annular end portion.

11. The rearview mirror assembly according to claim 1, wherein said outer edges of said annular end portions of said visor cover and said visor rim forming said loop-shaped opposing portion are substantially straight, and are oriented substantially orthogonally with respect to said surface of said mirror.

12. The rearview mirror assembly according to claim 11, wherein said visor cover and visor end form a connecting portion at one end of said assembly for mounting the assembly to a side of a vehicle.

13. The rearview mirror assembly according to claims 12, wherein said outer edges at said connecting portion are oriented substantially parallel with respect to wind current flowing around said visor cover when said rearview mirror assembly is mounted on a moving vehicle.