Vehicle mirror device assembly and method of assembling vehicle mirror device

• US 6,712,329 B2
• Filed: 03/18/2002
• Issued: 03/30/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/19/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Tokai RIKA Denki Seisakusho
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Tokai RIKA Denki Seisakusho
• Inventors: Hayakawa, Eiichi, Ishigami, Narumi
• Primary Examiner(s): Braun, Leslie A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wujciak, III, A. Joseph
• Application Number:
  US10/098,490
• Publication Number:
  US 20020130239A1
• Time in Patent Office: 743 Days
• Field of Search: 248/475.1, 248/488, 248/477, 248/466, 359/872, 359/841, 359/876, 359/877, 359/881
• US Class Current: 248/475.1
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/06 mounted on vehicle exterior B60R1/025, B60R1/08 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F16B 21/071 the socket being integrally formed with a component to be fasted, e.g. a sheet, plate or strip
• CPC Class Codes: F16B 21/073 the socket having a resilient part on its inside
• CPC Class Codes: F16B 5/065 the plates being one on top of the other and distanced from each other, e.g. by using protrusions to keep contact and distance
• CPC Class Codes: F16B 5/0657 at least one of the plates providing a raised structure, e.g. of the doghouse type, for connection with the clamps or clips of the other plate
• CPC Class Codes: F16B 5/0664 at least one of the sheets or plates having integrally formed or integrally connected snap-in-features
• CPC Class Codes: F16B 5/07 by means of multiple interengaging protrusions on the surfaces, e.g. hooks, coils,

Abstract

At the time of assembling a door mirror device for a vehicle, a visor rim is assembled, by an elastic hook, a rigid hook and a contact portion, to a frame to which a retracting mechanism and a mirror surface adjusting mechanism are mounted. Then, by fitting together an engaging hook, a projecting hook, and peripheral edges of a visor cover and the visor rim, the visor rim and the visor cover are assembled.

Claims

1. A mirror device assembly for a vehicle, the mirror device assembly comprising:

a mirror and a mirror visor which covers a vehicle front side of the mirror for visual confirmation of a region substantially toward a rear of the vehicle;

a frame disposed in an inner portion of the mirror visor and connected to the mirror and connected to the vehicle for fixing the mirror visor and the mirror to the vehicle body;

an elastic hook provided at the mirror visor, which applies to the frame elastic force in a direction substantially orthogonal to a vehicle longitudinal direction of the vehicle;

a rigid hook provided at the mirror visor in correspondence with the elastic hook, and which is rigid, which receives elastic force applied to the frame by the elastic hook and which nips a peripheral edge of the frame opposite from the elastic hook to hold the frame; and

a first impeding device provided at at least one of the mirror visor and the frame, which impedes relative movement, in the vehicle longitudinal direction, of the mirror visor and the frame without applying elastic force to the frame,

wherein the mirror visor has a substantially box-shaped pedestal and a clip which is mounted to the pedestal and extends toward the frame, and the frame has an insert-through hole which corresponds to the clip, and a distal end of the clip is formed as an elastic claw, and due to the clip being inserted into the insert-through hole and the elastic claw being inserted in and catching on the insert-through hole, the clip pushes the frame toward a front of the vehicle.

2. A mirror device assembly for a vehicle, the mirror device assembly comprising:

a mirror and a mirror visor, the mirror visor including a vehicle front side visor cover and a vehicle rear side visor rim assembled to one another, and which covers a vehicle front side of the mirror for visual confirmation of a region substantially toward a rear of the vehicle;

a projecting hook provided at one of the visor cover and the visor rim, the projecting hook including a distal end which projects and a widened portion which widens toward both sides of the distal end;

an engaging hook which corresponding to the projecting hook, the engaging hook comprising a pair of elastic nipping claws, and which is provided at another of the visor cover and the visor rim, and which engages with the widened portion due to the pair of nipping claws nipping the widened portion; and

an impeding device provided at at least one of the visor cover and the visor rim, and which impedes relative movement, in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle, of the visor cover and the visor rim when mounted to the vehicle.

3. The mirror device assembly of claim 2, wherein at least one of surfaces of the nipping claws which engage the widened portion and surfaces of the widened portion which are engaged by the nipping claws, comprise inclined surfaces.

4. The mirror device assembly of claim 2, wherein the impeding device includes a fit-together projection provided at the visor cover, and a projecting portion provided at the visor rim, with the projecting portion including a fit-together hole and the fit-together projection and the fit-together hole being fit-together with one another.

5. The mirror device assembly of claim 3, further comprising an open hole in a widening direction end edge of the widened portion, with a gap being disposed between the open hole and a projecting hook side end surface of the nipping claw.

6. The mirror device assembly of claim 3, wherein the nipping claws project from the widened portion substantially orthogonally with respect to the directions of widening.

7. A mirror device assembly for a vehicle, the mirror device assembly comprising:

a mirror;

a mirror frame mountable to a vehicle, the mirror frame including surface sides with one surface side holding the mirror, the mirror and the one surface side of the mirror frame opposing one another;

a visor rim which exposes the mirror to the environment, and which opposes the one surface side of the mirror frame;

a visor cover which opposes another surface side of the mirror frame, and which, together with the visor rim, forms a mirror visor which accommodates the mirror frame and covers the mirror;

a first communicating portion which is formed in the mirror frame and which defines a path of fluid communication from one surface side of the mirror frame to another surface side of the mirror frame;

a visor rim side anchor piece formed integrally with an inner side of the visor rim so as to extend toward the mirror frame, and when the visor rim is assembled to the mirror frame, the visor rim side anchor piece elastically deforms in a direction substantially orthogonal to an extending direction of the visor rim side anchor piece and abuts and anchors on the first communicating portion;

a second communicating portion which is formed in the mirror frame and which defines a path of fluid communication from one surface side of the mirror frame to another surface side of the mirror frame;

a visor cover side anchor piece formed integrally with an inner side of the visor cover so as to extend toward the mirror frame, when the visor cover is assembled to the mirror frame, the visor cover side anchor piece elastically deforms in a direction substantially orthogonal to an extending direction of the visor cover side anchor piece and abuts and anchors on the second communicating portion;

a visor cover side impeding piece formed integrally with the visor cover, and when the visor rim and the cover are assembled to one another, the visor cover side impeding piece, via the first communicating portion, abuts and engages with the visor rim side anchor piece so as to impede anti-anchoring deformation of the visor rim side anchor piece; and

a visor rim side impeding piece formed integrally with the visor rim, and when the visor cover and the rim are assembled to one another, the visor rim side impeding piece, via the second communicating portion, abuts and engages with the visor cover side anchor piece so as to impede anti-anchoring deformation of the visor cover side anchor piece.

8. The mirror device assembly for a vehicle of claim 7, wherein one of the visor rim and the visor cover is assembled before one other, and

the anchor piece of the one of the visor rim and the visor cover which is assembled first comprises a pair of anchor pair pieces which oppose one another and are set apart from one another and whose direction of being set apart from one another is a direction of anti-anchoring deformation, and the impeding piece of the other of the visor rim and the visor cover which is assembled after comprises a fit-together piece which is fit together between pieces of the anchor pair pieces, and

the impeding piece of the one of the visor rim and the visor cover which is assembled first comprises an elastic piece which elastically deforms in accordance with deformation needed to anchor the anchor piece of the other of the visor rim and the visor cover which is assembled after, and which permits said deformation needed for anchoring.

9. The mirror device assembly for a vehicle of claim 8, wherein the one of the visor rim and the visor cover which is assembled first is the visor rim, and the other of the visor rim and the visor cover which is assembled after is the visor cover.

10. The mirror device assembly for a vehicle of claim 8, wherein the one of the visor rim and the visor cover which is assembled first is the visor cover, and the other of the visor rim and the visor cover which is assembled after is the visor rim.

11. A method for assembling a mirror device for a vehicle, which mirror device includes a visor rim and a frame, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) fixing the frame in a jig; and

(b) sandwiching a receiving portion of the frame between a plurality of engaging projections of an elastic hook provided at the visor rim to hold a peripheral edge of the frame with the elastic hook, and thereafter, engaging a rigid hook of the visor rim with a rigid receiving portion of the frame to assembly the visor rim to the frame,

wherein the mirror device includes a visor cover, further comprising the step of inserting, in to an insert-through hole of the frame, a clip which is mounted to a pedestal provided on the visor cover, and catching a distal end of the clip on the insert-through hole and pushing the frame toward a front of a vehicle when the mirror device is mounted thereto, for assembling the visor cover to the frame.

12. A method for assembling a mirror device for a vehicle which mirror device includes a visor rim, a frame, and a visor cover, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) fixing the frame in a jig; and

(b) elastically deforming anchor pair pieces provided at one of the visor rim and the visor cover, and abutting and anchoring the anchor pair pieces abut and anchor in an aperture in the frame to assemble one of the visor rim and cover to the frame.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the step of elastically deforming anchor pair pieces includes abutting projections at distal ends of the anchor pair pieces against a flange portion of the frame.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising the step inserting a fit-together piece of the visor cover in an aperture in the frame, and abutting and engaging the fit-together piece between the anchor pair pieces of the visor rim.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the step of inserting a fit-together piece includes inserting an elastic piece of the visor rim into another aperture in the frame, and engaging the elastic piece with an anchor piece of the visor cover.