REAR-VIEW MIRROR WITH LIGHT PRODUCING MEANS

RETROVISEUR MUNI D'UN SYSTEME D'ECLAIRAGE

English Abstract

REAR-VIEW MIRROR WITH LIGHT PRODUCING MEANS
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A rear-view mirror including a light
permeable lamp shade covered on a back opening of a
casing thereof, a lamp fastened inside the casing and
controlled by a light regulating switch to give light
toward the lamp shade, a series of light emitting diodes
fastened in respective holes on the casing and
controlled by the light regulating switch to give a
visual flashing signal.

Claims

What is claimed is:
1. A rear-view mirror of the type having a
mirror fastened to a casing for giving a view of the
area behind a vehicle, the improvement comprising a
light permeable lamp shade covered on a back opening on
said casing, and a lamp fastened inside said casing and
controlled to give light toward said lamp shade.
2. The improvement of claim 1 which further
comprises a series of light emitting diodes fastened in
respective through holes on said casing and controlled
by a control circuit to flash one after another.
3. The improvement of claim 1 wherein said
lamp is controlled by a light regulating switch.
4. The improvement of claim 2 wherein said
said control circuit is electrically connected to said
lamp through a control switch.

Description

2U983d9 ,
REAR-VIEW MIRROR WITH LIG~T PRODUCING MEANS
BACXGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to rear-view
mirrors and more particularly to a rear-view mirror
which has a lamp fastened inside the housing thereof and
controlled by a switch to give a visual signal.
A car is equipped with at least two rear-view
mirrors for allowing the driver to see traffic
approaching from behind. A variety of rear-view
mirrors have been disclosed for this purpose. These
rear-view mirrors may be collapsible, or position-
adjustable by an electric control device. As the
rear-view mirrors of a car are fastened on the outside,
they may be covered with a mist. It the mirrors are
covered with a mist, they must be cleaned immediately.
The driver shall have to stop the car before cleaning
the mirrors.
While driving a car in the night or during a
foggy day, the head lamps and rear lamps of the car must
be turned on to give light. As the distance between
the two head lamps is much shorter than the distance
between the two opposite rear-view mirrors, the light of
the head lamps can not accurately show the maximum width
,, ~,

,~ 20983ll9
of the car, and therefore a traffic accident may happen
easily when two cars are closely passing each other in
reversed directions.
While driving a car through the area having
the traffic signal of "NO HORN", the driver can not
give any audio warning signal to the passers-by or the
cars passing by, therefore the driver must try other
methods to warn the passers-by or the drivers of the
cars passing by.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION ~:
The present invention has been accomplished
under the aforesaid circumstance~. It i8 therefore
an object of the present invention to provide a rear-
view mirror which ha~ an internal light source -
controlled to give light for showing the position of the
respective rear-view mirror in the night or during a
dark or foggy day so as to prevent traffic accidents.
It is another object of the present invention to provide
a rear-view mirror which has an internal light source
controlled to produce heat for evaporating the mist
covered on the mirror thereof. It is still another
object of the present invention to provide a rear-view
mirror which has a series of light emitting diodes

f ~
20983~9
controlled to flash one after another for giving a
visual warning signal to the passer~i-by or the cars
passing by.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention will now be described
by way of example with reference to the annexed ~--
drawings, in which~
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a rear-view
mirror according to the preferred embodiment of the
10 present invention;
Fig. 2 is~a sectional view taken on line 2-2
of Fig. 1; and
Fig. 3 is an installed view sihowing the ~ --
present invention installed in a car.
~-": ``~ ' .
15 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to Figures 1 and 2, a rear-view
mirror 10 in accordance with the present invention is
generally comprised of a hollow casing 11 to hold a
mirror (not shown) for allowing the driver to see
20 traffic approaching from behind. The casing 11
comprises an opening 12 on the back wall thereof covered
with a light permeable lamp shade 13 and communicated
with an internal chamber 14 thereof, a lamp socket 17
fastened inside the internal chamber 14 to hold a lamp
' ~ ' '':'.
3 ' ~ ~' ' ' :'

r-~ :
20983~.~
bulb 15, a reflector 16 covered over the inside wall
around the internal chamber 14 to reflect light, and
an electric wire 18 connected between the lamp socket 17
and the car battery power supply (not shown). A
control switch (not shown) is connected to the electric
circuit of the lamp socket 17 for regulating the
intensity of light. The control switch can be a
High/Low/Off selector switch. The control switch mu~t
be in~talled in the car at a location convenient for the
control of the driver. As the lamp bulb 15 is turned
on, the light of the lamp bulb 15 i8 reflected by the
reflector 16 to project through the lamp shade 13.
Referring to Figures 1 and 2 again, a printed
circuit board 20 is fastened inside the ca~ing 11 of the
rear-view mirror 10 to hold a plurality of light
emitting diodes 19 in respective through holes ~not
shown) on the back wall of the casing 11 around the
border. The base of the printed circuit board 20 is
made from a flexible plate so that it fits over the
inside wall of the casing 11. The light emitting
diode~ 19 are controlled to flash one another another as
the lamp bulb 15 is turned on. Therefore, the!light
emitting diodes 19 form into a visual warning signal
device.

,f ~ .
2~983~9 -
Figure 3 illustrates two rear-view mirrors 10
of the aforesaid structure installed in a car. As the
lamp bulbs and light emitting diodes of the rear-view
mirrors 10 are turned on, the mist covered on the rear- -~
S view mirrors will be evaporated by the heat of the
respective lamp bulbs and light emitting diodes within a
short time. Because the rear-view mirrors 10
respectively give light, the size (width) of the car can ~- ~
be seen at distance during the night. Further, the - ;
10 light emitting diodes are controlled to give a flashing
warning signal to the passers-by and the cars passing by
or approaching from behind as the lamps of the rear-view
mirrors 10 are turned on. Therefore, the present -
invention can effectively prevent the occurrence of
15 traffic accidents. -~
~:
While only one embodiment of the present
invention has been shown and described, it will be
understood that various modifications and changes could ~-~
be made without departing from the spirit and scope of
20 the invention.
.~,
:, ... .
'~
- ~

Representative Drawing