Day/night rearview mirror assembly
First Claim
1. A day/night rearview mirror assembly for vehicles comprising:
- a mirror case having a back with an interior surface and a peripheral sidewall defining an interior space within said case;
a prismatic mirror element having nonparallel, generally planar front and back surfaces supported and retained in said case, said mirror element being spaced from said case back; and
actuator means mounted in said case within said interior space for shifting said case and mirror element between a predetermined reflectivity day position and a reduced reflectivity night position, said actuator means including lateral side edges and shaft means for supporting said actuator means in said case;
support means for receiving said shaft means to pivotally support said actuator means;
a pair of spaced rib means on said interior surface of said case back for reinforcing said mirror case;
a pair of upstanding stop means on said interior surface of said case back, each of said stop means being positioned between one of said lateral side edges of said actuator means and one of said rib means for limiting shifting movement of said actuator means toward said mirror element.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A day/night rearview mirror assembly for vehicles useful in varying climatic conditions provides improved control and shifting between day and night positions, reduced undesired movement between day and night positions during adjustment of the major mirror position, and improved impact and bending resistance. The assembly preferably includes a molded mirror case, a prismatic mirror element and a two piece actuator assembly which provides consistent day/night shifting pressure in all temperatures. At least one stop member on the case back is included to limit actuator movement and precisely control day/night shifting. Cam surfaces on the actuator and stop member aid assembly. Downwardly opening support members pivotally mount the actuator assembly and prevent actuator movement toward the mirror element even upon impact. Ramp shoulders adjacent the support members also restrict actuator withdrawal. An extending lip on the actuator toggle limits movement of the separate actuator pivot member toward the mirror element upon impact and aids actuator installation. An improved actuator toggle having an integral retainer for a ball joint clamping member is also disclosed.
392 Citations
51 Claims
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1. A day/night rearview mirror assembly for vehicles comprising:
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a mirror case having a back with an interior surface and a peripheral sidewall defining an interior space within said case; a prismatic mirror element having nonparallel, generally planar front and back surfaces supported and retained in said case, said mirror element being spaced from said case back; and actuator means mounted in said case within said interior space for shifting said case and mirror element between a predetermined reflectivity day position and a reduced reflectivity night position, said actuator means including lateral side edges and shaft means for supporting said actuator means in said case; support means for receiving said shaft means to pivotally support said actuator means; a pair of spaced rib means on said interior surface of said case back for reinforcing said mirror case; a pair of upstanding stop means on said interior surface of said case back, each of said stop means being positioned between one of said lateral side edges of said actuator means and one of said rib means for limiting shifting movement of said actuator means toward said mirror element. - 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)
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27. A day/night rearview mirror assembly for vehicles comprising:
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a mirror case; a prismatic mirror element having nonparallel, generally planar front and back surfaces supported and retained therein; and actuator means mounted in said case for shifting said case and mirror element between a predetermined reflectivity day position and a reduced reflectivity night position, said actuator means including lateral side edges and spaced shaft means for supporting said actuator means in said case; upstanding stop means in said case for limiting shifting movement of said actuator means toward said mirror element, said stop means including at least one inclined cam surface for engaging said actuator means upon installation; said actuator means including at least one inclined deflecting surface for cooperating with said inclined cam surface to deflect said stop means to allow insertion of said actuator means during assembly of said mirror assembly. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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38. A day/night rearview mirror assembly for vehicles comprising:
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a mirror case having a case back and a peripheral sidewall defining a front opening; a prismatic mirror element having nonparallel, generally planar front and back surfaces supported and retained on said peripheral sidewall and closing said front opening; and actuator means mounted on said case for shifting said case and mirror element between a predetermined reflectivity day position and a reduced reflectivity night position, said actuator means including lateral side edges, spaced shaft means for supporting said actuator means in said case, and a pivot member for moving said assembly from said day position to a center position, and to said night position; support means for receiving said spaced shaft means to pivotally support said actuator means therebetween, said support means including a pair of spaced support members adjacent both the top and bottom of said case;
said support members adjacent said top of said mirror case including shaft receiving spaces and flanges extending over said shaft receiving spaces and defining openings to said spaces which extend toward said case bottom;
said flanges being generally parallel to said prismatic mirror element and preventing said shaft means from moving toward said mirror element;a pair of spaced walls extending from top to bottom within said case, one of said walls adjacent each of said support means adjacent said top of said case; and ramp means on said walls adjacent said shaft receiving openings for resisting withdrawal of said shaft means from said shaft receiving spaces. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48)
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49. A day/night rearview mirror assembly for vehicles comprising:
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a mirror case having a back and a peripheral sidewall defining an interior space within said case; a prismatic mirror element having nonparallel, generally planar front and back surfaces supported and retained on said peripheral sidewall, said mirror element being spaced from said case back; and actuator means mounted in said case within said interior space for shifting said case and mirror element between a predetermined reflectivity day position and a reduced reflectivity night position, said actuator means including lateral side edges and shaft means for supporting said actuator means in said case; support means for receiving said shaft means to pivotally support said actuator means; said actuator means includes a toggle member and a separate pivot lever;
said toggle member having shaft members extending to either side for pivotally mounting said toggle member on said support means within and adjacent the top of said mirror case and a pivot surface spaced from said shaft members of said toggle member; and
pivot, lever including shaft members extending to either side thereof for pivotally mounting said pivot lever on said support means within and adjacent the bottom of said mirror case; and
a spring bar engaging said pivot surface on said toggle member;
said toggle member and pivot lever being so positioned when said shaft members are received in said support means such that said spring bar is deflected when said pivot lever is moved to shift said assembly between said day and night positions;said toggle member also including a lip adjacent said pivot surface and extending toward said case bottom and over said spring bar between said spring bar and prismatic mirror element to help prevent movement of said pivot lever toward said prismatic mirror element and to aid in assembling said mirror assembly. - View Dependent Claims (50)
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51. An improved toggle member for day/night rearview mirror assemblies including a toggle body, support means for movably supporting said toggle body in a mirror case, and mounting means for receiving a ball member forming a ball joint with said toggle body, said mounting means including a clamping member engaging said ball joint and retaining means for holding said clamping member against said ball joint to maintain a predetermined frictional resistance to movement of said ball joint, the improvement comprising:
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flange means formed integrally and in one piece with said toggle body at a position spaced from said retaining means across said ball joint, said flange means including receiving means for receiving and holding a portion of said clamping member whereby said clamping member may be tightened and loosened against said ball joint with said retaining means;
said flange means including a reinforcement ridge on said toggle body;said support means including parallel, aligned shaft members for pivotally supporting said toggle body in a mirror case, one shaft member extending from each side of said toggle body;
said ridge extending across said toggle body generally parallel and in alignment with said shaft members.
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Specification