Exterior rearview mirror assembly for vehicles with positioning detents
First Claim
1. A vehicle exterior rearview mirror assembly comprising:
- a housing having a reflective element; and
a mounting bracket adapted for mounting to a vehicle, said mounting bracket including a member extending in a plane and a pivot extending between said member and said housing, said pivot having a center of rotation, said housing being pivotally mounted to said mounting bracket on said pivot for folding from a normal operating position to a break-away position, said mounting bracket and said housing having at least one detent assembly for releasably coupling said housing to said mounting bracket, said detent assembly being positioned adjacent to and spaced from a line extending in said plane of said member and through said center of rotation of said pivot, and said detent assembly including an elongated groove having a longitudinal extent extending generally parallel to said line.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A vehicle exterior rearview mirror assembly provides a break-away housing which exhibits increased dampening, reduce vibration, and consistent break-away force while requiring simplified tooling to manufacture. The mirror assembly includes a housing having a reflective element supported and a mounting bracket adapted for mounting to a vehicle. The mounting bracket includes a pivot extending between the mounting bracket and the housing, for pivotally mounting the housing to the mounting bracket. The mounting bracket and housing include a plurality of detent assemblies for releasably coupling the housing to the mounting bracket. At least two detent assemblies have a longitudinal extent which is substantially parallel to a line which extends through a center of rotation of the pivot. Preferably, the at least two detent assemblies are positioned on opposite sides of the pivot and are positioned on opposed sides of mounting bracket. Preferably, the detent assemblies each comprises a recess positioned on one of the mounting bracket and the housing and a projecting member provided on the other of the mounting bracket and the housing.
62 Citations
34 Claims
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1. A vehicle exterior rearview mirror assembly comprising:
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a housing having a reflective element; and a mounting bracket adapted for mounting to a vehicle, said mounting bracket including a member extending in a plane and a pivot extending between said member and said housing, said pivot having a center of rotation, said housing being pivotally mounted to said mounting bracket on said pivot for folding from a normal operating position to a break-away position, said mounting bracket and said housing having at least one detent assembly for releasably coupling said housing to said mounting bracket, said detent assembly being positioned adjacent to and spaced from a line extending in said plane of said member and through said center of rotation of said pivot, and said detent assembly including an elongated groove having a longitudinal extent extending generally parallel to said line. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A vehicle exterior rearview mirror assembly comprising:
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a housing including a reflective element and having an arm portion, said arm portion including a plurality of projecting members; and a mounting bracket adapted to mount to a vehicle, said mounting bracket having a base, said base supporting a pivot, said housing being pivotally mounted to said mounting bracket on said pivot, said base including a closed cross-section defining an upper wall, a lower wall, and first and second opposed side walls connecting said upper and lower walls, said upper wall including a plurality of recesses formed therein, at least two of said recesses being substantially aligned over said side walls, and said projecting members corresponding to said recesses and engaging said recesses when said housing is in a normal operating position and disengaging from said recesses when said housing is in a folded, break-away position. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A vehicle exterior rearview mirror assembly comprising:
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a housing including a reflective element and having at least first, second, and third elongated projecting members, said second projecting member being intermediate said first and third projecting members; and a mounting bracket adapted to mount to a vehicle, said mounting bracket including a base and supporting a pivot on said base, said housing being pivotally mounted to said mounting bracket on said pivot, said base including an upper wall, a lower wall, and first and second opposed side walls connecting said upper wall and said lower wall, said upper wall including first, second, and third elongate grooves formed therein, said second elongate groove being intermediate said first and third elongate grooves, each of said grooves being substantially parallel with the other of said grooves, said projecting members corresponding to said grooves and engaging said grooves when said housing is in a normal operating position and disengaging from said grooves when said housing is in a folded, break-away position. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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Specification