Linear slide mechanism for an extendable rearview mirror for vehicles
First Claim
1. An extendable rearview mirror assembly for a vehicle, comprising:
- a support arm for attachment to a vehicle body;
a mirror assembly mounted on said support arm, said mirror assembly including a bracket and a surrounding housing affixed thereto;
a mirror subassembly affixed to a first side of the bracket and lying within said housing; and
clamp means on said bracket for slidably affixing said bracket to said support arm, comprising;
a first jaw being stationary with respect to said bracket and engaging a first guide rail located along a top of said support arm; and
a second, movable jaw including pivot means, said second jaw forceably engaging a second guide rail located along a bottom of said support arm, said first and second jaws defining a clamping plane between them which lies along the first side of said bracket.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An extensible outside rearview mirror for a vehicle includes a spring-clamped slide mechanism that ensures a zero clearance fit between sliding components to avoid vibration. Bearing members between the sliding components reduce friction and provide a consistent reaction force to ensure smooth operation of an actuator mechanism which extends or retracts the mirror assembly along a support arm. The slide mechanism includes V-shaped guiderails vertically aligned with opposing V-shaped guiderails on the mounting bracket assembly. Rod-like bearing means are interposed between the opposing guiderail pairs. A cantilever clamp jaw with spring means biases one guiderail toward the other with a high spring force which provides superior rigidity and thus enhanced mirror image clarity.
11 Citations
21 Claims
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1. An extendable rearview mirror assembly for a vehicle, comprising:
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a support arm for attachment to a vehicle body;
a mirror assembly mounted on said support arm, said mirror assembly including a bracket and a surrounding housing affixed thereto;
a mirror subassembly affixed to a first side of the bracket and lying within said housing; and
clamp means on said bracket for slidably affixing said bracket to said support arm, comprising;
a first jaw being stationary with respect to said bracket and engaging a first guide rail located along a top of said support arm; and
a second, movable jaw including pivot means, said second jaw forceably engaging a second guide rail located along a bottom of said support arm, said first and second jaws defining a clamping plane between them which lies along the first side of said bracket. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. An extendable mirror assembly for a vehicle, comprising:
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a support arm having a mounting bracket affixed thereto in slidable engagement therewith;
clamp means on said bracket including two jaws each engaging top and bottom edges of the support arm respectively, said clamp means including at least one movable jaw which extends from a lever arm and pivots on a fulcrum extending from said bracket and forceably engages a bearing surface along one of said edges of the support arm; and
said bracket slidably affixed to said support arm on only one side thereof such that when said movable jaw is moved to a point of release, the jaws of said clamp means and said bracket are laterally releasable from the edges of said support arm.
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Specification