REAR-VIEW MIRROR WITH REFLECTIVE INCLINED PRISM SURFACES
First Claim
1. A rear-view mirror for an automobile, comprising a sheet of plastics material having a front surface and a rear surface, a multiplicity of arcuate concentric prisms on one of said surfaces, each said prism having a flat outer surface inclined upwardly at an angle to said one surface toward the optical axis of the prisms and a side edge extending perpendicularly to said one surface, a layer of light reflecting material on said inclined prism surfaces, said mirror having a geometric center spaced from the center of the arcuate concentric prisms.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A rear-view mirror for a vehicle, such as an automobile, which is made of plastics material and is a Fresnel mirror. The mirror comprises a multiplicity of concentric annular prisms formed on one surface of a plastics sheet, there being generally from 50 to 200 prisms per inch. The mirror can be made easily by conventional moulding techniques and can have a wider field of view and better optical properties generally than rear-view mirrors currently used in vehicles. The mirror either has no optical center or has one or more optical centers which are not at the geometrical center of the mirror.
125 Citations
5 Claims
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1. A rear-view mirror for an automobile, comprising a sheet of plastics material having a front surface and a rear surface, a multiplicity of arcuate concentric prisms on one of said surfaces, each said prism having a flat outer surface inclined upwardly at an angle to said one surface toward the optical axis of the prisms and a side edge extending perpendicularly to said one surface, a layer of light reflecting material on said inclined prism surfaces, said mirror having a geometric center spaced from the center of the arcuate concentric prisms.
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2. A rear-view mirror as in claim 1, wherein the optical center of the prisms is outside said mirror.
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3. A rear-view mirror as in claim 1, wherein the mirror is substantially flat.
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4. A mirror according to claim 1 which is made of a plastics material selected from polycarbonate and polymethylmethacrylate.
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5. A mirror according to claim 1 wherein there are from 50 to 200 annular concentric prisms per linear inch.
Specification
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Current AssigneeDavid Stern
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Original AssigneeDavid Stern
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InventorsStern, David
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Primary Examiner(s)Schonberg, David
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Assistant Examiner(s)Sherman, Robert L.
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Application NumberUS05/147,977Time in Patent Office585 DaysField of Search350/293,288,286,211,292,303US Class Current359/851CPC Class CodesB60R 1/082 using a single wide field m...
