Vehicle mirror assembly
First Claim
1. In a day/night rearview mirror assembly for vehicles including a mirror case and a pivot actuator, said case being formed in one piece from a resinous material and having a back, a continuous peripheral side wall adapted to outline the peripheral edge of a mirror element, and support means for supporting said pivot actuator within said case, said pivot actuator having mounting means for mounting a bracket for securing said assembly on a support and pivot means for pivoting said actuator and case between at least two different positions with respect to said mounting means, the improvement comprising:
- said molded case including flexible, resilient portions and having a preformed lip on said continuous peripheral side wall for retaining a mirror element within said case;
said pivot actuator being substantially rigid;
said case portions being sufficiently flexible and resilient to bias said actuator toward one or the other of said actuator positions;
said support means supporting said actuator in a prestressed position when assembled in said case while said lip extends inwardly a distance sufficient such that when a mirror element is received within said case, and said actuator is pivoted with said pivot means, said case will flex with respect to said rigid actuator to allow the pivotal movement while said lip will continue to cover the edge of the mirror element and a predetermined portion of the mirror element spaced inwardly from the edge thereof regardless of the flexing action of said case and said lip during such pivoting.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A day/night rearview mirror assembly for vehicles including a one-piece, molded, resinous mirror case having flexible, resilient portions and a substantially rigid pivot actuator which is biased by the case into either a day or night position. Movement of the actuator changes the position of the case and mirror element thereby changing the amount of light reflected. An interference fit between supports for the actuator within the case and the pivot actuator expands and pre-stresses the case to provide a predetermined biasing force which must be overcome by a pivoting force to move the actuator between its positions. A continuous lip extending around the periphery of the case allows snap-in insertion and permanent retention of a preferably prismatic mirror element. The retaining lip is sized to maintain coverage of the edge of the mirror element even during flexing of the case while the actuator is pivoted.
436 Citations
65 Claims
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1. In a day/night rearview mirror assembly for vehicles including a mirror case and a pivot actuator, said case being formed in one piece from a resinous material and having a back, a continuous peripheral side wall adapted to outline the peripheral edge of a mirror element, and support means for supporting said pivot actuator within said case, said pivot actuator having mounting means for mounting a bracket for securing said assembly on a support and pivot means for pivoting said actuator and case between at least two different positions with respect to said mounting means, the improvement comprising:
said molded case including flexible, resilient portions and having a preformed lip on said continuous peripheral side wall for retaining a mirror element within said case;
said pivot actuator being substantially rigid;
said case portions being sufficiently flexible and resilient to bias said actuator toward one or the other of said actuator positions;
said support means supporting said actuator in a prestressed position when assembled in said case while said lip extends inwardly a distance sufficient such that when a mirror element is received within said case, and said actuator is pivoted with said pivot means, said case will flex with respect to said rigid actuator to allow the pivotal movement while said lip will continue to cover the edge of the mirror element and a predetermined portion of the mirror element spaced inwardly from the edge thereof regardless of the flexing action of said case and said lip during such pivoting.- 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, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A day/night rearview mirror assembly for vehicles comprising a mirror case having flexible, resilient portions and formed in one piece from a resinous material, and rigid actuator means mounted within said case for moving said case between day and night positions;
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said case having a back, a continuous peripheral side wall adapted to outline the peripheral edge of a mirror element, retaining means for retaining a mirror element in said case, and support means for supporting said rigid actuator means in a prestressed position within said case; said rigid actuator means including mounting means for mounting a bracket for securing said assembly on a support and pivot means for pivoting said rigid actuator and case between said positions; said case biasing said rigid actuator means toward one or the other of said positions such that a predetermined force is required to pivot said rigid actuator means and case with said pivot means;
said flexible, resilient portions of said case adapted to flex with respect to said rigid actuator means to allow the pivotal movement between said positions. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47)
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48. A molded case for a day/night rearview mirror assembly for vehicles, said case having inherently flexible and resilient portions, being molded in one piece from resinous material and including a back, a continuous peripheral side wall adapted to outline the peripheral edge of a mirror element, a preformed lip on said continuous peripheral side wall for retaining a mirror element within said case, said lip being adapted to allow snap-in insertion of a mirror element into said case, and support means for supporting a pivot actuator in said case in a prestressed position for pivotal movement within said case;
- said case portions being sufficiently flexible and resilient to bias a pivot actuator toward a predetermined position when received in said support means;
said lip extending inwardly a distance sufficient such that, when a mirror element is received in said case and a pivot actuator is pivoted therein, said lip will continue to cover the edge of the mirror element and a predetermined portion of the mirror element spaced inwardly from the edge thereof regardless of the flexing action of said case and said lip during such pivoting. - View Dependent Claims (49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57)
- said case portions being sufficiently flexible and resilient to bias a pivot actuator toward a predetermined position when received in said support means;
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58. A pivot actuator for day/night rearview mirror assemblies for vehicles comprising a pair of spaced pivot axles, rigid body means for holding said axles apart at a predetermined spacing and being substantially rigid and inflexible between said pivot supports and axles, and at least one pivot limiting tab extending from said rigid body means for limiting movement between said two positions;
- pivot means for pivoting said actuator when received in a day/night rearview mirror case; and
mounting means for mounting a bracket for securing a mirror assembly to a support. - View Dependent Claims (59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65)
- pivot means for pivoting said actuator when received in a day/night rearview mirror case; and
Specification