Illuminated power tilt exterior mirror for vehicle
First Claim
1. A mirror system for a vehicle having a reverse gear selector, comprising:
- a first exterior mirror assembly having a first reflective element, a first housing for said first reflective element, and a first positioning device for selectively positioning said first reflective element at least about a first horizontal axis;
a control that is responsive to said vehicle reverse gear selector being placed in a reverse gear mode for causing said first positioning device to position said first reflective element about said first horizontal axis to a downwardly tilted position to view a first area adjacent a first side of the vehicle; and
a first light for emitting light generally downwardly from said first housing on said first area;
wherein said control actuates said first light at least as a function of said first reflective element being in said downwardly tilted position in order to illuminate objects in said first area and wherein said control actuates said first light also as a function of light conditions outside of said vehicle wherein said control actuates said first light only during low light conditions.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A mirror system for a vehicle includes at least one exterior mirror having a reflective element, a housing for the reflective element, a positioning device for selectively positioning the reflective element, and a light for emitting light generally downwardly from the mirror housing on an area adjacent the side of the vehicle. A control is responsive to the vehicle reverse gear selector being in reverse gear for causing the positioning device to position the reflective element to a downwardly tilted position, wherein the driver can view an area adjacent a side of the vehicle. The control actuates the light when the reflective element is in the downwardly tilted position in order to illuminate objects in that area. In a preferred embodiment, the control actuates the light through a lockout circuit which normally allows the light to be activated only when the vehicle is not operating. The control includes an override for the lockout circuit which allows the light to be activated even when the vehicle is operating when, and only when, reverse gear is selected.
119 Citations
30 Claims
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1. A mirror system for a vehicle having a reverse gear selector, comprising:
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a first exterior mirror assembly having a first reflective element, a first housing for said first reflective element, and a first positioning device for selectively positioning said first reflective element at least about a first horizontal axis; a control that is responsive to said vehicle reverse gear selector being placed in a reverse gear mode for causing said first positioning device to position said first reflective element about said first horizontal axis to a downwardly tilted position to view a first area adjacent a first side of the vehicle; and a first light for emitting light generally downwardly from said first housing on said first area; wherein said control actuates said first light at least as a function of said first reflective element being in said downwardly tilted position in order to illuminate objects in said first area and wherein said control actuates said first light also as a function of light conditions outside of said vehicle wherein said control actuates said first light only during low light conditions. - View Dependent Claims (2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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3. A mirror system for a vehicle having a reverse gear selector comprising:
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a first exterior mirror assembly having a first reflective element, a first housing for said first reflective element, and a first positioning device for selectively positioning said first reflective element at least about a first horizontal axis; a control that is responsive to said vehicle reverse gear selector being placed in a reverse gear mode for causing said first positioning device to position said first reflective element about said first horizontal axis to a downwardly tilted position to view a first area adjacent a first side of the vehicle; and a first light for emitting light generally downwardly from said first housing on said first area; wherein said control actuates said first light at least as a function of said first reflective element being in said downwardly tilted position in order to illuminate objects in said first area and wherein said control includes a user input device that receives a user selection to disable said control from positioning said first reflective element in said downwardly tilted position.
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4. A mirror system for a vehicle having a propulsion system and a reverse gear selector, comprising:
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a first exterior mirror assembly having a first reflective element, a first housing for said first reflective element, and a first positioning device for selectively positioning said first reflective element at least about a first horizontal axis; a control that is responsive to said vehicle reverse gear selector being placed in a reverse gear mode for causing said first positioning device to position said first reflective element about said first horizontal axis to a downwardly tilted position to view a first area adjacent a first side of the vehicle; and a first light for emitting light generally downwardly from said first housing on said first area; wherein said control actuates said first light at least as a function of said first reflective element being in said downwardly tilted position in order to illuminate objects in said first area, said control further including a user operable device for actuating said first light, a lockout circuit for inhibiting said user operable device from actuating said first light when the vehicle propulsion system is operating and an override for said lockout that is responsive to said reverse gear selector for overriding said lockout circuit when the vehicle is in a reverse gear. - View Dependent Claims (5)
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15. A mirror system for a vehicle having a propulsion system and a reverse gear selector, comprising:
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a first exterior mirror assembly having a first reflective element, a first housing for said first reflective element, and a first positioning device for selectively positioning said first reflective element at least about a first horizontal axis to a downwardly tilted position to view a first area adjacent a first side of the vehicle; a first light for emitting light generally downwardly from said first housing on said first area; a user operable lamp selector; and a control that includes a first input that is responsive to the operating condition of the propulsion system of said vehicle, a second input that is responsive to said vehicle reverse gear selector, a third input that is responsive to said user operable lamp selector, wherein said control includes a first output for selectively actuating said first light and a second output for selectively causing said first positioning device to position said first reflective element about said first horizontal axis to said downwardly tilted position; wherein said control causes said first positioning device to position said first reflective element to said downwardly tilted position in response to said reverse gear selector being in a reverse mode and actuates said first light in response to one of a first and second condition, said first condition being said user operable lamp selector being operated and said vehicle propulsion system being in a non-operating condition, said second condition being said reverse gear selector being in a reverse mode. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A mirror system for a vehicle having a propulsion system and a reverse gear selector, comprising:
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an exterior mirror assembly having a reflective element, a housing for said reflective element, and a positioning device for selectively positioning said reflective element to a downwardly tilted position to view an area adjacent a side of the vehicle; a tilt control that is responsive to said vehicle gear selector being placed in a reverse gear mode for causing said positioning device to position said reflective element in said downwardly tilted position; a light for emitting light generally downwardly from said housing on said area; and a light actuation circuit for actuating said light, said light actuation circuit including a lockout circuit for avoiding actuation of said light when the propulsion system of said vehicle is in an operating condition, and an override circuit responsive to said vehicle reverse gear selector being in said reverse gear mode for overriding said lockout circuit. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30)
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Specification