Outer mirror and interphone for a vehicle

• US 7,062,060 B2
• Filed: 02/04/2003
• Issued: 06/13/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/07/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Tokai RIKA Denki Seisakusho
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Tokai RIKA Denki Seisakusho
• Inventors: Ichikawa, Takashi, Suyama, Terumasa, Aoki, Masakazu, Ayabe, Masao, Hosono, Masami, Ejiri, Tadashi
• Primary Examiner(s): Ni, Suhan
• Application Number:
  US10/356,928
• Publication Number:
  US 20030147542A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,225 Days
• Field of Search: 381/86, 381/302, 381/334, 381/336, 381/365, 381/389, 455/350, 359/871
• US Class Current: 381/389
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/12 Mirror assemblies combined with other articles, e.g. clocks
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 11/0217 for loud-speakers
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 11/0247 for microphones or earphones
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2001/1276 with radio receivers, loud-speakers or buzzers
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2011/004 outside the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 27/00 Public address systems circuits for preventing acoustic reaction H04R3/02; circuits for distributing signals to loudspeakers H04R3/12; monitoring or testing arrangements for public address systems H04R29/007; amplifiers H03F

Abstract

An outer mirror and a vehicle interphone are provided for transmitting a sound to the outside from a vehicle cabin and vice versa. Sound outside the vehicle cabin is transmitted to the cabin from a microphone-loudspeaker provided in a visor cover of the outer mirror. The microphone-loudspeaker is supported on a frame having higher rigidity than the visor cover, which is mounted to a vehicle body via an electric accommodating unit and a door mirror base to promote shock resistance. The visor cover includes a sound-conducting opening in its bottom portion, and the microphone-loudspeaker is made waterproof to promote weather resistance.

Claims

1. An outer mirror comprising:

a support portion directly or indirectly mounted to a vehicle body outside a cabin of a vehicle for supporting a reflecting mirror;

a visor formed in a concave shape open toward a reflecting surface of the reflecting mirror for accommodating at least a part of the support portion and the reflecting mirror therein; and

an acoustic transducer which is fixed to the support portion, to which at least one of an electric signal and a sound is conducted, and which transduces said one of the electric signal and the sound into a sound and an electric signal, respectively.

2. An outer mirror according to claim 1, wherein the acoustic transducer includes a loudspeaker that transduces the input electric signal into a sound according to a signal level of the electric signal to output the sound, and wherein a bottom portion of the visor includes a sound-conducting opening.

3. An outer mirror according to claim 2, further comprising an interior microphone in the cabin of the vehicle and connected to the acoustic transducer, wherein the interior microphone transduces the input sound into an electric signal according to a level of the sound, and the electric signal output from the interior microphone is conducted to the acoustic transducer.

4. An outer mirror according to claim 1, wherein the acoustic transducer includes a microphone, the visor includes a sound-conducting opening for conducting sound to the microphone mainly from a bottom portion of the visor, and wherein the microphone transduces sound into an electric signal according to a level of the sound;

said outer mirror further comprising an interior loudspeaker provided in the cabin of the vehicle to transduce an electric signal from said microphone into a sound according to a signal level of the electric signal.

5. An outer mirror according to claim 4, wherein the acoustic transducer is waterproof.

6. An outer mirror according to claim 1, wherein the visor includes a box-shaped visor cover and a visor rim having a shape corresponding to an opening peripheral edge of the visor cover.

7. An outer mirror according to claim 6, wherein the support portion includes a flat-plate-shaped frame formed with a plurality of fitting holes, and fitting projections provided at the visor cover fit into the fitting holes to mechanically connect the visor cover to the frame.

8. An outer mirror according to claim 6, wherein the acoustic transducer includes a microphone-loudspeaker disposed inside the visor cover and having a conical main body, wherein an axial direction of the main body is aligned with an opening in the visor cover.

9. An outer mirror according to claim 8, wherein the microphone-loudspeaker includes a transducing portion which is disposed adjacent to the main body and electrically connected to the main body.

10. An outer mirror according to claim 1, wherein the visor includes a bowl-shaped visor cover and an annular visor rim corresponding to an opening peripheral edge of the visor cover.

11. An outer mirror according to claim 10, wherein the support portion includes a disc-shaped frame formed with a plurality of fitting holes, and fitting projections provided at the visor cover fit into the fitting holes to mechanically connect the visor cover to the frame.

12. An outer mirror according to claim 10, wherein the acoustic transducer includes a microphone-loudspeaker disposed inside to visor cover having a conical main body, and an axial direction of the main body is aligned with an opening in the visor cover.

13. An outer mirror according to claim 12, wherein the microphone-loudspeaker includes a transducing portion which is disposed adjacent to the main body and electrically connected to the main body.