Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
105~ ~AO
The present invention relates to a rear view m~rror as~em-
bly for automotive vehicles and, more particularly, to an ex-
ter~al rear view mirror assembly the housing of which accom-
modates the mirror body having a holder for attachment to a
vehlcle, preferably in the form of an arm.
It ~s an object of the present invention to develop a mirror
assembly of the above kind which may be used on either the near-
side or the offside of the vehicle.
It is another ob3ect of this invention to provide a mirror
a~sembly as set forth in the preceding p~ragraph, in which the
mirror of the mirror assembly is mounted in such a housing with
a holder for attachment to a vehicle that the housing may be pro-
duced by injection molding or conventional molding and can be
produced with relatively thin walls.
It i~ ~till another object of this invention to provide a
mirror assembly as set forth in the preceding two paragraphs,
which will make it possible to pivot the housing relative to
the holder and to allow the housing to be fixed in the holder
after the desired pivotal movement of the housing has been com-
pleted.
According to the present invention there is provided arear view mirror, especially external rear view mirror, suitable
for mounting selectively equally well on both of opposite sides
of automotive vehicles, which includes: a h~using having a
first side wall and including a corner therewith, a mlrror
body arranged within said housing, holding mean3 in~luding a
base and a tri~ngular~haped member detachably connected to
said side wall of said housing for connecting said mirror with
1 0 ~ Z 4 ~
the base on to an ~utamotive vehicle, a ball joint provided be-
tween the base and the triangular-shaped member at a location
near the corner of said housing for said mirror body, said hous-
in~ being pivotable relative to said holding mea~s by an angle
of about 180 about an axis transverse to said 3ide wall, and
said holding means including means for arresting said housing
relative to said holding means in an adjusted position within
the range of said 180~ angle, said axis about which said mirror
is pivotable relative to said holding means being the trans-
verse central axis of said housi~g, said housing and said mir-
ror body having about the contour of a rectangle, and said
firs~ side wall of said housing fonmi~g one of the shorter
sides of the housing rectangle, and said pivot angle being sub-
s~ntially para~lel to the longer sides of said housing rec-
tangle.
The pre~ent invention is illustrated by way of example,
with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:
Figure 1 i8 a view, partly in section, of a rear view
mirror ~sembly according to the invention for an automotive
vehicle.
Figure 2 shows the mlrror assembly of Figure 1 in plan view.
The mirror assembly shown in the drawing is intended for
mounting on the left-hand side (nearside) of the vehicle (when
viewing the vehicle in the direction of its forward motion),
and hence is intended for the driver of a vehicle with left-
hand drive. However, the m~rror assembly may also be located
on the rlght-hRnd side (offside) of the vehicle, viz. as an
additional mirror or as a mlrror assembly for a vehicle with a
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.Z4~~ight-hand drive.
The mirror body 1 h~s a substantially rectangular ~hape
and is retained at its edges by the enc~rcling edge 2 of a
~ubst~ntially cup-shaped housing 3 made of a hard-setting mold-
able plastics material. A holder in the shape of a short arm
comprised of a triangular-shaped member 4 and a base 5 which
is provided with securing means 6 for mounting on the outside
of a vehicle, is used for mounting the housing 3 on the vehicle.
The triangular-shaped member 4 and the base 5 fonm a ball ~oint
6 of known structure at the surfaces mutually facing one an-
other. The socket 7 i8 thus located on the shaped member 4 and
~he ball 8 on the b~se 5.
The cross central axis of the housing 3 is denoted by ref-
erence numeral 9~ In the region of the axis, the housing 3 is
provided with a thickened portion 10 hav$ng a threaded member 11
insert~d therei~, namely in such a manner that the longitudinal
axi~ of the thread or the ~crew bolt 12 engaging therein co-
~ncides with the axis 9. This screw bolt passes through a bore
13 of the shaped member 4. The housing 3 and the shaped member
4 are secured to each other by tightening the screw bolt 12.
The wall 14 of ~he housing 3 facing the shaped member 4 more-
over has a shallow recess 1~ in which the shaped member 4 is
fitted with fri tional engagement. A projection 16 tapering
into a point is provided on the lower sîde of the shaped member
4 which ensures a harmonious, stepless ~ransition from the
~haped member 4 to the housing 3, whereby ~t is understood
~hat the remaining edges of the sh~ped member merge continuous-
ly into the housing 3.
B 3 _
10 ~ ~ ~ 4 ~
If the mirror assembly i5 to be used for the right-h~nd
sid~e of the vehicle, the screw bolt 12 ls slackened, and the
housing 3 is swivelled about the axis 9 through 180. After
the screw bolt 12 has been ti~htened and hence a tight con-
nection between the shaped member 4 and the housing 3 has been
produced, the mirror is usable on the other side of the vehlcle.
The wall 14, with reg~rd to its thickness, may be dimen-
sioned to correspond to the thickness of the other side walls
16' and the rear wall of the hous~ng 3 which is denoted by the
reference numeral 17.
It is further preferable that the sh~ped member 4 and the
base S are open towards the houslng 3 and th~ securing me~ns 6
respectively. Therefore a simple mounting of the parts (bolt
with screw connection, pressing spring and washers) necessary
to form the ball joint 6 is possible.
The invention moxeover is prefera~ly used ~n such mirrors
in which the holder for the housing (arm) does not extend in
the direction of the axis 9 but at an angle thereto, preferably
diagonally downwards.
It is, of course, to be understood that the present inven-
tion îs, by no means, limited to the specific showing in the
drawing but also comprises any mod~fications within the s~ope
of the appended cla~ms.
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