Exterior mirror assembly with actuator
First Claim
1. An exterior rearview mirror assembly for a vehicle, said exterior rearview mirror assembly comprising:
- a mounting portion mountable at a side of a vehicle;
a mirror head portion at said mounting portion, said mirror head portion comprising a mirror casing and a reflective element at least partially housed at said mirror casing;
an actuator operable to impart pivotal movement of said reflective element relative to said mirror casing to adjust a rearward field of view of a driver of the vehicle;
wherein said actuator comprises a drive post that is pivotally attached at said reflective element;
wherein said actuator comprises a motor that rotatably drives a clutch device to adjust said drive post to adjust said reflective element relative to said mirror casing;
wherein said clutch device allows for manual adjustment of said reflective element and said drive post in a non-ratcheting manner; and
wherein said drive post is longitudinally movable along its longitudinal axis via actuation of said actuator.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An exterior mirror assembly for a vehicle includes a mounting portion mountable at a side of a vehicle, a mirror head portion at the mounting portion, and an actuator. The mirror head portion includes a mirror casing and a reflective element at least partially housed at the mirror casing. The actuator is operable to impart pivotal movement of the reflective element mirror relative to the mirror casing to adjust a rearward field of view of a driver of the vehicle. The actuator includes a drive post that is pivotally attached at the reflective element. The actuator also includes a motor that rotatably drives a clutch device to adjust the drive post to adjust the reflective element relative to the mirror casing. The clutch device allows for manual adjustment of the reflective element and the drive post in a non-ratcheting manner.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. An exterior rearview mirror assembly for a vehicle, said exterior rearview mirror assembly comprising:
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a mounting portion mountable at a side of a vehicle; a mirror head portion at said mounting portion, said mirror head portion comprising a mirror casing and a reflective element at least partially housed at said mirror casing; an actuator operable to impart pivotal movement of said reflective element relative to said mirror casing to adjust a rearward field of view of a driver of the vehicle; wherein said actuator comprises a drive post that is pivotally attached at said reflective element; wherein said actuator comprises a motor that rotatably drives a clutch device to adjust said drive post to adjust said reflective element relative to said mirror casing; wherein said clutch device allows for manual adjustment of said reflective element and said drive post in a non-ratcheting manner; and wherein said drive post is longitudinally movable along its longitudinal axis via actuation of said actuator. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. An exterior rearview mirror assembly for a vehicle, said exterior rearview mirror assembly comprising:
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a mounting portion mountable at a side of a vehicle; a mirror head portion at said mounting portion, said mirror head portion comprising a mirror casing and a reflective element at least partially housed at said mirror casing; an actuator operable to impart pivotal movement of said reflective element mirror relative to said mirror casing to adjust a rearward field of view of a driver of the vehicle; wherein said actuator comprises a drive post that is pivotally attached at said reflective element; wherein said actuator comprises a motor that rotatably drives a clutch device to adjust said drive post to adjust said reflective element relative to said mirror casing; wherein said clutch device comprises a drive post receiving portion that receives said drive post at least partially therein, and wherein at least one clutch gear element of said clutch device is rotatably mounted at said drive post receiving portion; wherein said drive post is longitudinally movable along its longitudinal axis via actuation of said actuator and rotation of said drive post receiving portion relative to said drive post; wherein said at least one clutch gear element engages said drive post and wherein, when said drive post receiving portion is rotated about said longitudinal axis of said drive post, said clutch gear element imparts a longitudinal movement of said drive post relative to said drive post receiving portion; wherein said at least one clutch gear element is rotatable about an axis that is generally orthogonal to said longitudinal axis of said drive post; and wherein, responsive to a sufficient force along said longitudinal axis of said drive post, said at least one clutch gear element rotates relative to said drive post receiving portion to allow for manual adjustment of said reflective element and said drive post in a non-ratcheting manner. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. An exterior rearview mirror assembly for a vehicle, said exterior rearview mirror assembly comprising:
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a mounting portion mountable at a side of a vehicle; a mirror head portion at said mounting portion, said mirror head portion comprising a mirror casing and a reflective element at least partially housed at said mirror casing; an actuator operable to impart pivotal movement of said reflective element mirror relative to said mirror casing to adjust a rearward field of view of a driver of the vehicle; wherein said actuator comprises a pair of spaced apart drive posts that are pivotally attached at said reflective element; wherein said actuator comprises a pair of electrically operable motors that rotatably drive respective clutch devices to adjust respective drive posts to adjust said reflective element relative to said mirror casing; wherein each of said clutch devices comprises a drive post receiving portion and at least one clutch gear element rotatably mounted at said drive post receiving portion; wherein said drive post receiving portion receives said drive post at least partially therein and wherein said at least one clutch gear element is rotatable about a clutch gear axis that is generally orthogonal to said longitudinal axis of said drive post; a biasing element disposed at said at least one clutch gear element of each of said clutch devices, wherein said biasing element limits rotation of said at least one clutch gear element about said clutch gear axis relative to said drive post receiving portion; wherein said drive post receiving portion includes a drive gear that is rotatably driven via actuation of the respective one of said motors; wherein said drive post is longitudinally movable along its longitudinal axis via actuation of said motor and rotation of said drive gear and said drive post receiving portion relative to said drive post; wherein said at least one clutch gear element engages said drive post and wherein, when said drive post receiving portion is rotated about said longitudinal axis of said drive post, said clutch gear element moves with said drive post receiving portion and imparts a longitudinal movement of said drive post relative to said drive post receiving portion; and wherein, responsive to a sufficient force along said longitudinal axis of said drive post, said at least one clutch gear element rotates about said clutch gear axis relative to said drive post receiving portion to allow for longitudinal movement of said drive post relative to said drive post receiving portion irrespective of rotational movement of said drive post receiving portion. - View Dependent Claims (19)
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Specification