Door mirror incorporating a lamp

• US 8,182,124 B2
• Filed: 06/04/2007
• Issued: 05/22/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/13/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Murakami Corporation
• Original Assignee: Murakami Corporation
• Inventors: Sato, Yasuhiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Cariaso, Alan
• Application Number:
  US12/445,345
• Publication Number:
  US 20100073949A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,814 Days
• Field of Search: 362/494, 362/135, 362142-144, 362/548, 362/655, 362/656
• US Class Current: 362/494
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/007 via a removable cap
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/247 for illuminating the close surroundings of the vehicle, e.g. to facilitate entry or exit for reverse drive B60Q1/22; by opening a side door B60Q1/323
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/2665 on rear-view mirrors lighting devices for vehicle interior on or for rear-view mirrors B60Q3/258
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/323 on or for doors illuminated exterior door handles B60Q1/2669; illuminated door locks E05B17/10
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/1207 with lamps; with turn indicators

Abstract

Light of an incorporated lamp illuminates the lower side of a side surface of a door of a vehicle. A rear end part of a lamp socket mounted with the lamp is exposed from a cylinder part of a lamp housing and projected from the lamp housing toward a holder/mirror assembly. Therefore, when replacing the lamp, the lamp socket can be found easily by simply removing the holder/mirror assembly, and the lamp can easily be extracted along with the lamp socket, to an operator side. Also, when attaching the lamp socket, high visibility of an opening part can be obtained because the opening part of the cylinder part is exposed to the holder/mirror assembly side in the lamp housing, thereby achieving a door mirror with extremely good workability of lamp replacement.

Claims

1. A door mirror for a vehicle, the door mirror comprising:

a door mirror body configured to be fixed to a door of a vehicle and having an opening;

a mirror assembly detachably attached to close the opening of the door mirror body;

a lamp housing provided within the door mirror body and having a lamp attachment opening portion opening toward the mirror assembly;

a lamp socket configured to hold a lamp and be mounted to the lamp attachment opening portion of the lamp housing;

a lamp window provided in the door mirror body and positioned to project light emitted by the lamp held by the lamp socket to outside the lamp housing,

wherein the lamp socket has a lamp insertion port positioned at a leading end portion of the lamp socket and configured to allow insertion of the lamp into the lamp socket, and the lamp housing has a cylinder portion having the lamp attachment opening portion and an outer end portion projecting toward the mirror assembly such that a rear end portion of the lamp socket is exposed from the lamp attachment opening portion of the lamp housing and projected from the lamp housing toward the mirror assembly.

2. The door mirror according to claim 1, further comprising:

a partition plate disposed between the mirror assembly and the lamp housing; and

a socket observation window which is formed on the partition plate-and through which the lamp socket is inserted,

wherein the socket observation window is formed in a size configured to allow insertion of at least two fingers thereto in order to hold a rear end portion of the lamp socket with the fingers and remove the lamp socket.

3. The door mirror according to claim 2, wherein the lamp socket has a flange portion covering the cylinder portion from the outside, and the flange portion and the cylinder portion are configured such that the lamp socket is mounted in the lamp housing by recess-and-projection fitting between an inner surface of the flange portion and an outer surface of the cylinder portion.

4. The door mirror according to claim 1, wherein the lamp socket has a flange portion covering the cylinder portion from the outside, and the flange portion and the cylinder portion are configured such that the lamp socket is mounted in the lamp housing by recess-and-projection fitting between an inner surface of the flange portion and an outer surface of the cylinder portion.

5. The door mirror according to claim 1, wherein the lamp socket has a flange portion covering the cylinder portion from the outside, and the flange portion and the cylinder portion are configured such that the lamp socket is mounted in the lamp housing by recess-and-projection fitting.

6. The door mirror according to claim 1, wherein the lamp socket has a flange portion covering the cylinder portion from the outside, the flange portion and the cylinder portion are configured such that the lamp socket is mounted in the lamp housing by recess-and-projection fitting, and the lamp socket has a pawl portion configured to prevent slip-off at the lamp insertion port of the lamp socket.

7. The door mirror according to claim 1, wherein the lamp socket has a flange portion covering the cylinder portion from the outside, the flange portion and the cylinder portion are configured such that the lamp socket is mounted in the lamp housing by recess-and-projection fitting, and the flange portion of the lamp socket has a collar portion and an annular skirt portion projecting in a direction of an axis of the lamp at an outer circumferential end portion of the collar portion.

8. The door mirror according to claim 1, wherein the lamp socket has a flange portion covering the cylinder portion from the outside, the flange portion and the cylinder portion are configured such that the lamp socket is mounted in the lamp housing by recess-and-projection fitting, the cylinder portion of the lamp housing has a groove portion, and the flange portion of the lamp socket has a projection portion configured to engage with the groove portion of the cylinder portion when the lamp socket is mounted to the lamp housing.

9. A door mirror for a vehicle, the door mirror comprising:

a door mirror body configured to be fixed to a door of a vehicle and having an opening;

a mirror assembly detachably attached to close the opening of the door mirror body;

a lamp housing provided within the door mirror body and having a lamp attachment opening portion opening toward the mirror assembly;

a lamp socket configured to hold a lamp and be mounted to the lamp attachment opening portion of the lamp housing;

a lamp window provided in the door mirror body and positioned to project light emitted by the lamp held by the lamp socket to outside the lamp housing,

wherein the lamp socket has a lamp insertion port positioned at a leading end portion of the lamp socket and configured to allow insertion of the lamp into the lamp socket, and the lamp housing has a cylinder portion having the lamp attachment opening portion and an outer end portion projecting toward the mirror assembly such that a rear end portion of the lamp socket is exposed from the lamp attachment opening portion of the lamp housing and projected from the lamp housing toward the mirror assembly, the lamp socket has a flange portion covering the cylinder portion from the outside, and the flange portion and the cylinder portion are configured such that the lamp socket is mounted in the lamp housing by recess-and-projection fitting between an annular inner surface of the flange portion and an outer surface of the cylinder portion.

10. The door mirror according to claim 9, further comprising:

a partition plate disposed between the mirror assembly and the lamp housing; and

a socket observation window which is formed on the partition plate-and through which the lamp socket is inserted,

wherein the socket observation window is formed in a size configured to allow insertion of at least two fingers thereto in order to hold a rear end portion of the lamp socket with the fingers and remove the lamp socket.

11. The door mirror according to claim 9, wherein the lamp socket has a pawl portion configured to prevent slip-off at the lamp insertion port of the lamp socket.

12. The door mirror according to claim 9, wherein the flange portion of the lamp socket has a collar portion and an annular skirt portion projecting in a direction of an axis of the lamp at an outer circumferential end portion of the collar portion.

13. The door mirror according to claim 9, wherein the cylinder portion of the lamp housing has a groove portion, and the flange portion of the lamp socket has a projection portion configured to engage with the groove portion of the cylinder portion when the lamp socket is mounted to the lamp housing.