Mounting assembly for vehicle accessories
First Claim
1. A vehicle accessory mounting assembly for supporting a rearview mirror or another vehicular accessory comprising:
- a base means for attachment to a support surface in a vehicle;
support means for supporting a vehicle accessory having receiving means for slidably receiving said base means along a predetermined direction of sliding movement with a first surface of said base means opposed to a first surface of said support means, and retainer means on said first surface of said support means for engaging and holding said base means on said support means;
rib means on said first surface of said base means for engaging said retainer means, said rib means having a retainer engaging surface facing said support means for engaging said holding said retainer means anywhere therealong;
said rib means extending along said first surface generally in said direction of sliding movement;
said retainer means including a first resilient retainer arm engaged with and gripping said retainer engaging surface of said rib means at a gripping position generally along said direction of sliding movement, such gripping position being determined when said receiving means firmly and tightly engages said base means, and a second resilient retainer arm engaging said base means at a position spaced from said gripping to urge said first retainer arm against said retainer engaging surface of said rib means whereby said support means is stably held wherever it comes to rest on said base means until said first retainer arm is released.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A vehicle accessory mounting assembly is disclosed for securely and stably supporting a rearview mirror or another vehicular accessory on the vehicle windshield or another vehicular surface without the need for an adjustable set screw. The assembly includes a support member slidably received on a base member by spaced sets of mating surfaces. A spring retainer on one of the base and support includes one retainer arm engaging and gripping an opposing, raised rib on the other member. A second retainer arm spaced from the first retainer arm urges the first arm against the rib. Spaced, raised contact areas are provided on the mating surfaces, while spaced sliding contact areas with a relieved area therebetween are provided on another contact surface to prevent movement and/or vibration between the base and support.
478 Citations
37 Claims
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1. A vehicle accessory mounting assembly for supporting a rearview mirror or another vehicular accessory comprising:
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a base means for attachment to a support surface in a vehicle; support means for supporting a vehicle accessory having receiving means for slidably receiving said base means along a predetermined direction of sliding movement with a first surface of said base means opposed to a first surface of said support means, and retainer means on said first surface of said support means for engaging and holding said base means on said support means; rib means on said first surface of said base means for engaging said retainer means, said rib means having a retainer engaging surface facing said support means for engaging said holding said retainer means anywhere therealong;
said rib means extending along said first surface generally in said direction of sliding movement;said retainer means including a first resilient retainer arm engaged with and gripping said retainer engaging surface of said rib means at a gripping position generally along said direction of sliding movement, such gripping position being determined when said receiving means firmly and tightly engages said base means, and a second resilient retainer arm engaging said base means at a position spaced from said gripping to urge said first retainer arm against said retainer engaging surface of said rib means whereby said support means is stably held wherever it comes to rest on said base means until said first retainer arm is released. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A vehicle accessory mounting assembly for supporting a rearview mirror or another vehicular accessory comprising:
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a base means for attachment to a support surface in a vehicle; support means for supporting a vehicle accessory having receiving means for slidably receiving said base means with a first surface of said base means opposed to a first surface of said support means, and retainer means on said first surface of said support means for engaging and holding said base means on said support means; rib means on said first surface of said base means for engaging said retainer means, said rib means having a retainer engaging surface facing said support means for engaging and holding said retainer means anywhere therealong; said retainer means including a first resilient retainer arm engaged with and gripping said retainer engaging surface of said rib means at a gripping position determined when said receiving means firmly and tightly engages said base means, and a second resilient retainer arm engaging said base means at a position spaced from said gripping position to urge said first retainer arm against said retainer engaging surface of said rib means whereby said support means is stably held on said base means until said first retainer arm is released; said receiving means including a pair of spaced flanges;
said base means including spaced surfaces for slidably mating with said respective flanges to form opposing sets of mating surfaces;
one set of said mating surfaces including a spaced pair of raised contact areas extending therebetween, the other set of said mating surfaces including at least one raised contact area extending therebetween, said raised contact areas stabilizing the mounting of said base and support members and preventing relative movement and/or vibration therebetween. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A vehicle accessory mounting assembly for supporting a rearview mirror or another accessory on a support surface comprising:
a base member adapted to be secured to a support surface and an accessory support member slidably fitted thereover;
each of said base member and support member including front, back, top, bottom and opposing side surfaces;
said side surfaces of said base member and support member including cooperating means for slidably mounting said support member on said base member such that said front surface of said base member is opposed to a rear facing surface of said support member;
said front surface of said base member including a pair of upstanding, divergent ribs;
said rear facing surface of said support member including a spring member having a first resilient arm with a sharp edge for simultaneously engaging said divergent ribs and a second resilient arm for engaging a portion of said front surface of said base member at a position spaced from said first arm to stabilize said support member said divergent ribs being arranged on said front surface of said base means with respect to said first resilient arm such that a different portion of said first resilient arm will engage said divergent ribs at each position of said support means on said base means on said base member;
whereby when said support member is slidably mounted on said base member, said first and second arms urge said cooperating means tightly against each other while said sharp edge of said first arm engages said divergent ribs to prevent sliding removal of said support member from said base member until said first arm is released.
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21. A vehicle accessory mounting assembly for supporting a rearview mirror or another vehicle accessory comprising:
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a base member for attachment to a support surface in a vehicle; a support member mounted on said base member for supporting a vehicle accessory; said base and support members including a spaced pair of cooperating surface means for slidably mounting said support member on said base member, one of said pair of cooperating surface means including a pair of spaced, raised contact areas extending between said cooperating surface means, the other of said pair of cooperating surface means including at least one raised contact area extending therebetween, said raised contact areas providing consistent contact between said cooperating surface means to stabilize mounting of and prevent movement and/or vibration between said base and support members; and spring means on one of said base and support members for engaging the other of said members and retaining said support member on said base member. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A vehicle accessory mounting assembly for supporting a rearview mirror or another vehicle accessory comprising:
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a base member for attachment to a support surface in a vehicle, said base member having opposite ends; a support member mounted on said base member for supporting a vehicle accessory; said base and support members including cooperating surface means for slidably mounting said support member on said base member; said base member including a front surface slidably engaging an opposed surface on said support member, said front surface including at least three spaced sliding contact areas and a relieved area therebetween, said sliding contact areas being spaced apart from one another adjacent said opposite end of said base member and providing consistent engagement between said base and support members while allowing uniform, stable contact between said cooperating surface means; and retainer means on one of said base and support member for engaging the other of said members and retaining said support member on said base member; the other of said base and support members including rib means for engaging said retainer means, said rib means having a retainer engaging surface facing said retainer means. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28)
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29. A vehicle accessory mounting assembly for supporting a rearview mirror or another vehicle accessory comprising:
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a base member for attachment to a support surface in a vehicle; a support member mounted on said base member for supporting a vehicle accessory; said base and support members including cooperating surface means for slidably mounting said support member on said base member; said base member including a front surface slidably engaging an opposed surface on said support member, said front surface including at least three spaced sliding contact areas and a relieved area therebetween, said sliding contact areas providing consistent engagement between said base and support members while allowing uniform, stable contact between said cooperating surface means; and retainer means on one of said base and support member for engaging the other of said member and retaining said support member on said base member; the other of said base and support members including rib means for engaging said retainer means, said rib means having a retainer engaging surface facing said retainer means; said cooperating surface means including a pair of spaced flanges on said support member and spaced surfaces on said base member for slidably mating with said spaced flanges to form opposing sets of mating surfaces;
one set of said mating surfaces including a spaced pair of raised contact areas extending therebetween, the other set of said mating surfaces including at least one raised contact areas extending therebetween, said raised contact areas stabilizing the mounting of said base and support members and preventing relative movement and/or vibration therebetween.
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30. A base member for supporting a rearview mirror or another vehicle accessory thereon, said base member comprising:
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a body having front, back, top, bottom and opposing side surfaces; said back surface adapted to be secured to a vehicle support surface; said front surface including at least one raised rib extending generally longitudinally in a direction generally from top to bottom therealong for engagement with a retainer on an accessory support member; one of said opposing side surfaces including a pair of raised contact areas for engaging mating surface on the accessory support member, the other of said opposing side surfaces including at least one raised contact area for engaging another mating surface on the accessory support member. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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Specification