Outer mirror and interphone for a vehicle

• US 20030147542A1
• Filed: 02/04/2003
• Published: 08/07/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 02/07/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Tokai RIKA Denki Seisakusho
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Tokai RIKA Denki Seisakusho
• Inventors: Ichikawa, Takashi, Suyama, Terumasa, Aoki, Masakazu, Ayabe, Masao, Hosono, Masami, Ejiri, Tadashi
• Granted Patent: US 7,062,060 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 381/302
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/12 Mirror assemblies combined with other articles, e.g. clocks
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 11/0217 for loud-speakers
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 11/0247 for microphones or earphones
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2001/1276 with radio receivers, loud-speakers or buzzers
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2011/004 outside the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 27/00 Public address systems circuits for preventing acoustic reaction H04R3/02; circuits for distributing signals to loudspeakers H04R3/12; monitoring or testing arrangements for public address systems H04R29/007; amplifiers H03F

Abstract

Disclosed are an outer mirror and a vehicle interphone having a function of transmitting a sound to the outside from a vehicle cabin or inputting a sound outside of the cabin, and having physical durability. The sound in the cabin is transmitted from a microphone-loudspeaker provided in a visor cover of the outer mirror. The sound near the visor cover, which is received by the microphone-loudspeaker, is emitted in the cabin. The microphone-loudspeaker is supported on a frame having higher rigidity than the visor cover, which is mounted to a vehicle body via an electric accommodating unit and a door mirror base.

Claims

1. An outer mirror comprising:

a support portion directly or indirectly mounted to a vehicle body outside a cabin of a vehicle for supporting a reflecting mirror;

a visor formed in a concave shape open toward a reflecting surface of the reflecting mirror for accommodating at least a part of the support portion and the reflecting mirror therein; and

an acoustic transducer which is fixed to the support portion, to which at least one of an electric signal and a sound is input, and which transduces one of the electric signal and the sound into the other for outputting the other according to a level of the one.

2. An outer mirror according to claim 1, wherein the acoustic transducer includes an exterior loudspeaker, the exterior loudspeaker transduces the input electric signal into the sound according to a signal level of the electric signal to output the sound, and the sound is output mainly toward a bottom portion of the visor.

3. An outer mirror according to claim 1, wherein the acoustic transducer includes an exterior microphone, the sound is input to the exterior microphone mainly toward a bottom portion of the visor, the exterior microphone can transduce the input sound into the electric signal according to a level of the sound to output the electric signal, an interior loudspeaker provided in the cabin of the vehicle to transduce the input electric signal into a sound according to a signal level of the electric signal to output the sound in the cabin of the vehicle is connected to the acoustic transducer, and the electric signal output from the exterior microphone is output to the interior loudspeaker.

4. An outer mirror according to claim 1, wherein the visor includes a box-shaped visor cover and a visor rim having a shape corresponding to an opening peripheral edge of the visor cover.

5. An outer mirror according to claim 1, wherein the visor includes a bowl-shaped visor cover and an annular visor rim corresponding to an opening peripheral edge of the visor cover.

6. An outer mirror according to claim 2, wherein the acoustic transducer is connected to an interior microphone, the interior microphone is provided in the cabin of the vehicle, a sound is input to the interior microphone, the interior microphone transduces the input sound into an electric signal according to a level of the sound, and the electric signal output from the interior microphone is output to the acoustic transducer.

7. An outer mirror according to claim 3, wherein the acoustic transducer is waterproof.

8. An outer mirror according to claim 4, wherein the support portion includes a flat-plate-shaped frame, the frame is formed with a plurality of fitting holes, and fitting projections provided at the visor cover fit into the fitting holes to mechanically connect the visor cover to the frame.

9. An outer mirror according to claim 4, wherein the acoustic transducer includes a microphone-loudspeaker disposed inside the visor cover, the microphone-loudspeaker has a conical main body, and an axial direction of the main body corresponds to an opening direction of the visor cover.

10. An outer mirror according to claim 5, wherein the support portion includes a disc-shaped frame, the frame is formed with a plurality of fitting holes, and fitting projections provided at the visor cover fit into the fitting holes to mechanically connect the visor cover to the frame.

11. An outer mirror according to claim 5, wherein the acoustic transducer includes a microphone-loudspeaker disposed inside the visor cover, the microphone-loudspeaker has a conical main body, and an axial direction of the main body corresponds to an opening direction of the visor cover.

12. An outer mirror according to claim 9, wherein the microphone-loudspeaker includes a transducing portion which is disposed adjacent to the main body and electrically connected to the main body.

13. An outer mirror according to claim 11, wherein the microphone-loudspeaker includes a transducing portion which is disposed adjacent to the main body and electrically connected to the main body.

14. An interphone for a vehicle comprising:

an interior microphone provided in a cabin of the vehicle for transducing an input sound into an electric signal according to a level of the sound and for outputting the electric signal;

an interior loudspeaker provided in the cabin of the vehicle for transducing an input electric signal into a sound according to a level of the electric signal and outputting the sound; and

an acoustic transducer which is fixed to a support portion to face a side opposite to a reflecting mirror, the support portion being directly or indirectly mounted to a vehicle body outside of the cabin of the vehicle to support the reflecting mirror and at least a part of the support portion being accommodated in a visor formed in a concave shape open toward a reflecting surface of the reflecting mirror, and which acoustic transducer transduces the electric signal output from the interior microphone into a sound according to a level of the electric signal to output the sound, and transduces a sound input thereto from outside of the cabin of the vehicle into an electric signal according to a level of the sound to output the electric signal to the interior loudspeaker.

15. The interphone according to claim 14 further comprising a switching device for switching the acoustic transducer between a sound output-capable state in which the electric signal from the interior microphone can be transduced into the sound and output, and a sound input-capable state in which the sound input to the acoustic transducer can be transduced into the electric signal and output to the interior loudspeaker.

16. The interphone according to claim 14, wherein the acoustic transducer includes a microphone-loudspeaker disposed inside the visor cover, the microphone-loudspeaker has a conical main body, and an axial direction of the main body corresponds to an opening direction of the visor cover.

17. The interphone according to claim 16, wherein the microphone-loudspeaker includes a transducing portion which is disposed adjacent to the main body and electrically connected to the main body.

18. The interphone according to claim 17 further comprising an amplifier provided in the cabin of the vehicle and electrically connected to the interior microphone and the transducing portion, and a switch disposed between the amplifier and the transducing portion, wherein the switch respectively and electrically connects in a switchable manner the interior loudspeaker, the interior microphone and an input port of the amplifier, as well as the transducing portion and an output port of the amplifier.