Extandable exterior rearview mirror assembly
First Claim
1. An electrically extendable exterior rearview mirror assembly comprising:
- a mirror subassembly having a housing including a reflective element;
a bracket adapted for mounting to a vehicle;
a support pivotally mounting said mirror subassembly to said bracket, said support comprising a pair of support arms, said at-least-one support arms extending into said housing, said mirror subassembly being movable along said support arms in a direction of extension or retraction and having a fully retracted viewing position and at least one outboard viewing position for said mirror subassembly, and said support arms having outboard ends and being interconnected at said outboard ends; and
a drive assembly drivingly coupled to said support at said outboard ends of said support arms, said drive assembly selectively moving said mirror subassembly along said support arms, and said drive assembly disengaging from said support when a force is applied to said housing in said direction of extension or refraction whereby said mirror subassembly can be manually moved along said support in said direction of extension or retraction.
0 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An extendable exterior rearview mirror assembly includes a mirror subassembly, a bracket which is adapted for mounting to a vehicle, and a support which mounts the mirror subassembly to the bracket. Support extends into the housing which is movable along the support. The housing includes a retracted position and at lease one outboard position, which define a direction of extension. The mirror assembly further includes a drive assembly which is supported in the housing and drivingly coupled to the support. The drive assembly selectively moves the housing along the support. The mirror assembly further includes a clutch mechanism which drivingly decouples the drive assembly from the support when a force of sufficient magnitude is applied to the housing in the direction of extension such that the housing can be manually moved along the support.
-
Citations
33 Claims
-
1. An electrically extendable exterior rearview mirror assembly comprising:
-
a mirror subassembly having a housing including a reflective element;
a bracket adapted for mounting to a vehicle;
a support pivotally mounting said mirror subassembly to said bracket, said support comprising a pair of support arms, said at-least-one support arms extending into said housing, said mirror subassembly being movable along said support arms in a direction of extension or retraction and having a fully retracted viewing position and at least one outboard viewing position for said mirror subassembly, and said support arms having outboard ends and being interconnected at said outboard ends; and
a drive assembly drivingly coupled to said support at said outboard ends of said support arms, said drive assembly selectively moving said mirror subassembly along said support arms, and said drive assembly disengaging from said support when a force is applied to said housing in said direction of extension or refraction whereby said mirror subassembly can be manually moved along said support in said direction of extension or retraction. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
-
-
23. An electrically extended exterior rearview mirror assembly comprising:
-
a mirror subassembly having a housing and a reflective element;
a bracket adapted for mounting to a vehicle;
a pair of support arms pivotally mounting said minor subassembly to said bracket, said support arms extending into said housing, and said mirror subassembly being movable along said support arms and having a fully retracted viewing position and at least one outboard viewing position for said mirror subassembly, and said support arms being substantially within said housing when said subassembly is fully retracted and said support arms being visible exteriorly of said rearview mirror assembly when said mirror subassembly is moved to said outboard position; and
a drive assembly drivingly coupled to outboard ends of said support arms, said drive assembly selectively moving said mirror subassembly along said support arms. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
-
-
29. An electrically extendable exterior rearview mirror assembly comprising:
-
a mirror subassembly having a housing and a reflective element supported in said housing;
a bracket adapted for mounting to a vehicle;
a pair of support arms pivotally mounting said mirror subassembly to said bracket, said support arms extending into said housing, and said mirror subassembly being one outboard viewing position for said mirror subassembly, and said support arms being substantially within said housing when said subassembly is fully retracted and said support arms being visible exteriorly of said rearview mirror assembly when said mirror subassembly is moved to stud outboard position;
a drive assembly drivingly coupled to said support arms, said drive assembly selectively moving said mirror subassembly along said support arms, said support arms being connected by an interconnecting member, said drive assembly driving coupling to said interconnecting member to selectively move said mirror subassembly along said support arms, said drive assembly including a lead screw and a motor, said lead screw being supported by opposed end walls of said housing; and
said interconnecting member including a clutch, and said motor driving said lead screw to drivingly engage said interconnecting member through said clutch, and said clutch drivingly decoupling said drive assembly from said support arms when a force of sufficient magnitude is applied to mirror subassembly into a direction of extension of said mirror assembly such that said mirror subassembly can be manually moved along said support. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33)
-
Specification