Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02375357 2001-12-18
WO 00/78572 PCT/USOO/17072
EXTENDING AND ROTATING REARVIEW MIRROR ASSEMBLY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is generally related to a rearview mirror assembly for
an automotive vehicle, and more particularly, to a rearview mirror assembly
which
is extendable and rotatable relative to the vehicle.
2. Background of the Invention
Automobiles and trucks typically have primary rearview mirrors mounted on
the exterior of the vehicle for providing a field of rearward vision to the
vehicle
operator. These vehicles are frequently equipped to pull secondary bodies such
as
trailers, campers, or the like. These secondary bodies are often wider than
the
vehicle pulling them, thus requiring supplemental mirrors to be affixed to the
vehicle
body for providing a wider field of rearward vision. The supplemental mirrors
extend beyond the primary mirrors to provide the wider field of rearward
vision. It
is also know to be able to rotate the mirror assembly relative to the vehicle
to alter
between a horizontal orientation and a vertical orientation and accommodate
varying
widths and heights of the secondary bodies towed behind the vehicle.
It is desirable to provide a rearview mirror assembly, which may be extended
outwardly from the vehicle to provide a wider field of rearward vision to the
vehicle
operator and eliminate the need for a supplemental mirror. It is also
desirable to
provide a rearview mirror assembly that is rotatable once extended outwardly
from
the vehicle to provide a varying horizontal or vertical orientation of the
mirror to the
vehicle operator.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a rearview mirror assembly for a vehicle
comprising a mounting assembly for fixedly mounting the mirror assembly to the
vehicle in a position to be viewed by an occupant of the vehicle. The mirror
WO 00/78572 CA 02375357 2001-12-18 PCT/US00/17072
assembly includes a mirror body coupled to the mounting assembly. The mirror
body includes a mirror housing having an opening therein and a mirror element
seated in the opening and coupled to the housing for providing the occupant
with a
generally rearward reflective view from the vehicle. The mirror assembly
further
includes a coupling assembly operatively connected between the mounting
assembly
and the mirror body for translating the mirror body in a generally horizontal
direction with respect to the mounting assembly between a first position
adjacent to
the vehicle and a second position spaced outwardly from the vehicle and for
rotating
the mirror body with respect to the mounting assembly about an axis extending
io generally transverse to the horizontal direction between a plurality of
rotated
positions.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Other advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated when
the same becomes understood by reference to the following detailed description
when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:
FIG. I is an exploded view of a rearview mirror assembly constructed
according to the principles of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is an isolated elevational view of a support arm of the rearview mirror
assembly;
FIG. 3 is an enlarged exploded view of a portion of the rearview mirror
assembly showing a housing assembly and the support arm thereof;
FIG. 4 is an exploded view similar to the view of FIG. 3 but showing an
opposite view thereof;
FIG. 5 is an isolated view of the rearview mirror assembly showing a mirror
body thereof in a fully inwardly position;
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WO 00/78572 CA 02375357 2001-12-18 PCT/US00/17072
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the mirror assembly taken through the line
6-6 of FIG. 5 with a power pack assembly and a mirror element removed to more
clearly illustrate portions of the invention;
FIG. 7 is a view of the rearview mirror assembly similar to the view of FIG.
5, but showing the mirror body in a fully outwardly extended position;
FIG. 8 is a view of the rearview mirror assembly similar to the view of FIG.
7, but showing the mirror body rotated generally vertically upwardly from a
mounting assembly thereof;
FIG. 9 is a view of the rearview mirror assembly similar to the view of FIG.
8, but showing the mirror body rotated generally vertically downwardly from
the
mounting assembly;
FIG. 10 is a view of a second embodiment of a rearview mirror assembly
similar to the view of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 7 except showing in
addition a plurality of optional microswitches mounted in the support arm;
FIG. 11 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of a coupling assembly
of the support arm; and
FIG. 12 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the coupling
assembly of the mirror body.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to the Figures, wherein like numbers represent like or
corresponding parts throughout the several views, an exploded view of an
extending
and rotating rearview mirror assembly for use on an automotive vehicle is
generally
shown at 10 in FIG. 1. The rearview mirror assembly 10 includes a mounting
assembly, generally designated 12, constructed and arranged to be mounted to a
vehicle (not shown) in a position to be viewed by an occupant of the vehicle,
a
mirror element 14 for providing the occupant a generally rearward reflected
view
and a mirror housing assembly 16 constructed and arranged to hold the mirror
element 14 in an operative position for providing the occupant with the
generally
rearward reflected view. The mirror element 14 and the mirror housing assembly
16
define a mirror body, generally designated 18. The mounting assembly12 mounts
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WO 00/78572 CA 02375357 2001-12-18 PCTIUSOO/17072
the mirror body 18 to the vehicle. That is, the mirror assembly 10 is
typically
mounted to an exterior door panel of the vehicle as is conventionally known in
the
art.
The rearview mirror assembly 10 further includes coupling assembly 20 that
is constructed and arranged to couple the mirror body 18 to the mounting
assembly
12 and (1) to permit the mirror body 18 to translate in a generally horizontal
direction with respect to the mounting assembly 12 in response to a force
applied to
the mirror housing assembly 16 in a generally horizontal direction to
controllably
move the mirror housing assembly 16 inwardly or outwardly with respect to the
vehicle and (2) to permit the mirror body 18 to rotate with respect to the
mounting
assembly 12 about a transverse axis of rotation extending transversely through
an
off-center position of the mirror element 14 in response to a torque applied
to the
mirror body 18 about the axis of rotation. The transverse axis of rotation is
shown
in phantom lines in FIG. I and is labeled "A".
Still referring to FIG. 1, the mirror element 14 includes a conventionally
constructed elongated, planar and reflective glass mirror pane 24 mounted in a
conventional manner within a glass casing 26 that is preferably made of a
suitable
molded plastic.
The mirror housing assembly 16 includes a shell-like mirror housing 30,
which may be of any conventional construction and is preferably an integral
structure made of a suitable molded plastic. The mirror housing 30 includes an
outer
wall 31 extending from a rear wall 33 to a front peripheral rim 35 and forming
a
generally rectangular bowl-shaped housing. The peripheral rim 35 defines an
opening in the housing 30 for receiving the mirror element 14. The housing 30
further includes a plurality of tubular mounting posts 37 projecting outwardly
from
the rear wall 33 for receiving and supporting a manual or optional power pack
assembly 28 within the housing structure 30 in a conventional manner. The
mirror
element 14 is pivotally mounted on the power pack assembly 28 in a
conventional
manner for manual or power-assisted pivotal adjustment of the mirror element
14
with respect to the housing structure 30 as is commonly known to one skilled
in the
art.
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The mounting assembly 12, preferably made of a suitable molded plastic,
includes a base member 34 for securing the mirror assembly 10 to the vehicle.
The
base member 34 includes a triangular-shaped mounting plate 39 having a
plurality of
apertures passing therethrough for receiving fasteners to secure the mounting
plate
39 and base member 34 to the vehicle as conventionally known in the art. The
base
member 34 further includes a support plate 41 projecting outwardly and
generally
perpendicular from the mounting plate 39, outboard of the vehicle, for
supporting
the mirror body 18. A tubular collar 40 projects upwardly from the support
plate
41 to a distal end and forms a cylindrical center bore 46 therethrough. A
plurality of
protruding tabs 54 extends upwardly from the distal end of the collar 40 as
will be
discussed below.
Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the mounting assembly 12 further includes an
elongated support ann 38 that is preferably made of a high strength,
lightweight
material such as aluminum or other suitable metal or a suitable molded
plastic. The
support arm 38 extends between a proximal end 42 and a distal end 44. The
support
arm 38 includes a pivot base 43 adjacent the proximal end 42 and a guide arm
55
extending from the pivot base 43 to the distal end 44. The pivot base 43 has a
top
surface 45 and bottom surface 47. Referring specifically to FIG. 2, a tubular
wa1149
extends between the top surface 45 and the bottom surface 47 to define a
cylindrical
channel 51 in the pivot base 43 opening through the bottom surface 47. A
tubular
pivot post 53 is seated in the center of the channel 51 and extends from the
top
surface 45 to the opening in the bottom surface 47. Referring to FIG. 1, in
the
preferred embodiment, the support arm 38 is pivotally mounted to the base
member
34 for pivotal movement between an outwardly extending (in the lateral or
cross car
direction) operative position and a folded storage position (in a longitudinal
or fore-
aft vehicle direction). More specifically, the collar 40 is received in the
channel 51
to pivotally mount the support arm 38 on the base member 34. The downwardly
extending pivot post 53 (best seen in FIG. 2) extends downwardly through the
center
bore 46 defined by the collar 40. A coil spring 48, washer 50 and push nut 52
are
mounted on the end of the pivot post 53 to bias the support arm 38 downwardly
into
releasably locked engagement with the collar 40 on the base member 34.
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CA 02375357 2007-03-29
Specifically, the support arm 38 is releasably held in the operative, or in
the folded
storage position, by cooperation between the protruding tabs 54 integrally
formed on
a top edge of the collar 40 and appropriately shaped detents (not shown)
integrally
formed on the top surface 45 within the channel 51 of the support arm 38. By
applying a torsional force of sufficient magnitude to the distal end of the
support arm
38, the support arm 38 can be pivoted about an axis defined by the channel 40,
forwardly or rearwardly, (i.e. clockwise and counterclockwise direction) from
the
operative position to and releasably locked in a forwardly folded or
rearwardly folded
storage position. When the base inember 34 is mounted on the vehicle, the base
member 34, the spring 48, the washer 50 and the push nut 52 are covered by a
base
cover member 58.
The mirror body 18 is mounted to the support arm 38 of the mounting
assembly 12 by the coupling assembly 20 in a manner described below. The
present
invention is particularly concerned with the manner in which the mirror body
18 is
mounted to the mounting assembly 12 by the coupling assembly 20 for selective
generally horizontal movement of the mirror body 18 with respect to mounting
assembly 12 and for selective rotational movement therebetween. The structure
of the
mirror element 14, the mirror housing 30, and the mounting assembly 12
(including
the manner in which the base member 34 thereof is secured to the vehicle and
the
manner in which the support arm 38 thereof is pivotally mounted to the base
member
34) can all be conventional and are not the focus of the present invention.
Similarly, the structure and operation of the power pack assembly 28 can also
be conventional. More particularly, the power pack assembly can be powered by,
for
example, an electrical motor or by selectively energizable shape memory alloy
wires.
The mirror element 14 can also be mounted in the mirror housing 30 for manual
adjustment by, for example, a conventional friction cup of the type disclosed
in
International Publication Number WO 00/25164. A suitable power pack that
utilizes
shape memory alloy wire is disclosed in the above incorporated United States
provisional patent application number and a suitable power pack assembly that
utilizes an electric motor is disclosed in commonly assigned United States
Patent
number 5,467,230. It will be understood that other known power operated
mechanisms may be utilized, as, for example, the more conventional mechanism
as
disclosed in United States Patent number 4,915,493. The power operated
mechanisms
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CA 02375357 2007-03-29
disclosed in United States Patent Numbers 4,678,295 and 4,482,211, can also be
used
in the present invention.
The preferred construction and arrangement of the coupling assembly 20 is
best understood with reference to FIGS. 1-4. The coupling assembly 20 includes
an
elongated slot 60 that is formed in the support arm 38. Referring specifically
to FIGS.
2 and 3, the elongated slot 60 extends between a first arcuate end 61 adjacent
to the
pivot base 43 and an opposite second arcuate end 63 adjacent to the distal end
44.
The slot 60 is bordered by upper and lower upstanding walls 62, 64. The upper
and
lower upstanding walls 62, 64 are interconnected by an arcuate shaped wall
portion 65
adjacent the first arcuate end 61 of the slot 60 and a circular shaped wall
portion 67
adjacent to and surrounding the second arcuate end 63 of the slot 60. A planar
shelf
66 extends between the edge of the slot and the walls 62, 64, 65 and 67. The
circular
shaped wall portion 66 has a diameter, or width, that is greater than the
width, or
distance, between the upper and lower walls 62, 64. The coupling structure 20
further
includes three identical releasable rotation preventing elements 69 (best seen
in FIGS.
2-3) projecting from the shelf 66, integrally formed in the support arm 38,
and
preferably spaced ninety degrees apart adjacent the circular wall portion 67
of the
support arm 38.
Referring to FIG. 11, each rotation preventing element 69 includes a forwardly
facing ramped surface 87 and a rearwardly facing ramped surface 88 that extend
from
opposing sides of a central surface 89 of each element 69 (where "forwardly"
and
"rearwardly" are considered with respect to the fore-aft vehicle direction
when the
support arm 38 is in its operative position).
As best shown in FIG. 4, the coupling asseinbly 20 further includes tubular
pivot post 70 integrally formed on a forwardly facing (when the mirror
assembly 10
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WO 00/78572 CA 02375357 2001-12-18 pCT/US00/17072
is in the operative position) side of the rear wall 33 of the mirror housing
30. The
pivot post 70 is formed in an off-center position on the rear wall 33 of the
mirror
housing 30 and forms the off-center transverse axis A of rotation of the
mirror body
18 with respect to the mounting assembly 12. The coupling assembly 20 further
includes a guide member 72 surrounding the pivot post 70 and integrally formed
on
the forwardly facing side of the rear wall 33 of the mirror housing 30. The
guide
member 72 includes raised upper and lower straight rail portions 78, 80
interconnected at their opposing ends by inner and outer arcuate rail portions
82, 84,
respectively. A notch 86 is formed at a central position in each arcuate wall
portion
82, 84 of the wall structure 76, and each notch 86 is sized to releasably
receive a
rotation preventing element 69 therein. Referring to FIG. 12, each notch 86
includes
angled or ramped surfaces 91, 93 that extend between a central surface 95 of
each
notch 86 and a top edge 97 of the rails 82, 84. (It can be understood that the
top
edge 97 of the rails 82, 84 faces generally in the forward vehicle direction
when the
support arm 38 is in its operative position.) The angles formed by the ramped
surfaces 87, 88 and the angled surfaces 91, 93 are preferably equal, the
preferred
angular value for each surface 87, 88, 91 and 93 being sixty degrees.
In the preferred embodiment of the mirror assembly 10, each rotation
preventing element 69 is a raised detent or bump-like structure that is sized
to be
received within a selected notch 86. It can be understood that when a
sufficiently
high torque is applied to the mirror housing assembly 16 about the transverse
axis
thereof, the angled surfaces 87, 88, 91 and 93 allow the rotation preventing
elements
69 to move out of the notches 86 in which they are disposed to allow the
mirror
housing assembly 16 to rotate with respect to the mounting assembly 12.
The mirror body 18 is coupled to the mounting assembly 12 by the coupling
assembly 20 in a manner best appreciated from FIGS. 4 and 6. The pivot post 70
is
sized to be snuggly and slidably received within the elongated slot 60 and is
held
there by a washer 90, a coil spring 92 and a push nut 94, all of which are of
conventional construction. The spring 92 biases the top edge 97 of the rails
78, 80,
82, and 84 to bear against one side of the shelf 66 on the support arm 38 and
the
washer 90 on the opposite side of the shelf 66. The push nut 94 is secured to
the end
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of the pivot post 70 to slidably retain the post 70 in the slot 60. The front
of the
support arm 38 is normally covered by an arm cover structure 100, as shown in
FIG.
1. More specifically, it can be understood from the cross sectional view of
FIG. 6
that the push nut 94 and the coil spring 92 cooperate to bias the mirror
housing 30
into frictional engagement with the support arm 38.
The guide member 72 is seated between the upper and lower upstanding
walls 62, 64. The biasing force of the coil spring 92 and the abutting
engagement
between the upper and lower horizontally extending wall portions 62, 64 and
the
lo upper and lower straight rail portions 78, 80 (on the support arm 38 and
mirror
housing 30, respectively) prevents unintended movement of the mirror body 18
with
respect to the support arm 38 when the guide member 72 is positioned between
the
wall portions 62, 64 and adjacent the first arcuate end 61 of the elongated
slot 60
during normal use of the mirror assembly 10. It can be appreciated from FIG. 5
that
during normal use of the mirror assembly 10 when the guide member 72 is at the
first arcuate end 61 of the elongated slot 60, the upper and lower rails 78,
80 are in
frictional engagement and abutting relation with the upper and lower
horizontal
walls 62, 64 integrally formed on the support arm 38 to prevent relative
rotational
movement therebetween. The engagement between the guide member 72 and the
wall portions 62, 64 allows horizontal translational movement of the mirror
body 18
with respect to the mounting assembly 12 to reposition the mirror body 18 with
respect to the mounting assembly 12 when the user applies a manual horizontal
force
of sufficient magnitude.
It can be appreciated from FIG. 7 that the when the guide member 72 of the
mirror body 18 has been translated horizontally to the second arcuate end 63
of the
elongated slot 60, the upper and lower straight rails 78, 80 of the guide
member 72
are not in abutting relation with the upper and lower horizontal walls 62, 64
on the
support arm 38 and the arcuate rails 82, 84 of the guide member 72 are
positioned to
frictionally engage the circular wall portion 67 of the support arm 38 to
allow
rotation of the mirror body 18 with respect to the support arm 38 of the
mounting
assembly 12 when a manual force of sufficient magnitude is applied. The
releasable
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rotation preventing elements 69 are positioned to engage at least one of the
notches
86 in the guide member 72 to hold the mirror body 18 in any of a number of
predefined angular, or rotation, positions with respect to the mounting
assembly 12.
The spring 92 urges each of the rotation preventing element 69 into releasable
engagement with the notches 86 in which it is releasably disposed.
The operation of the rearview mirror assembly 10 can best be understood
with reference to FIGS. 5, and 7-10. Referring to FIG. 5, the mirror body 18
is
positioned fully inwardly with respect to the mounting assembly 12 and shows
the
elongated mirror element 14 in a generally horizontally extending orientation.
It can
be appreciated that in this position, the mirror element 14 provides the
driver with a
rear view that is generally directed rearwardly and outwardly of the vehicle
so that
the driver can see generally rearwardly of the vehicle. The slidable, abutting
engagement between the upper and lower straight rails 78, 80 of the coupling
structure 20 and the upper and lower horizontally extending wall portions 62,
64 of
the coupling structure 20 permits the mirror body 18 to translate in a
generally
horizontal direction with respect to the mounting assembly 12 when the driver
applies a generally horizontally directed force on the mirror housing assembly
16 to
allow the driver to controllably move the mirror housing assembly 16 outwardly
with respect to the vehicle toward the second arcuate end 63 of the elongated
slot 60,
but prevents rotational movement of the mirror body 18 with respect to
mounting
assembly 12 until the mirror body 18 has moved to the second arcuate end 63 of
the
elongated slot 60. The abutting engagement between the rails 78, 80 and the
wall
portions 62, 64 stabilizes the mirror body 18 to help prevent movement
therebetween.
It can be understood that when the walls 62, 64, 78, 80 are in abutting
engagement, the mirror body 18 is prevented from rotating with respect to the
mounting assembly 12. When the driver has moved the mirror body 18 fully
outwardly to the position shown in FIG. 7, the circular wall 67 on the support
arm
38 and arcuate rails 82, 84 of the guide member 72 are in abutting engagement
and
two of the releasable rotation preventing elements 22 are received within the
notches
WO 00/78572 CA 02375357 2001-12-18 pCT/US00/17072
86 formed in the guide member 72 to prevent relative rotation between the
mirror
body 18 and the support arm 38 of the mounting assembly 12. It can be
appreciated
from FIG. 7 that the rails 78, 80 on the mirror housing 30 have moved out of
abutting engagement with the walls 62, 64 on the support arm 38 to allow
relative
rotation between the mirror body 18 and mounting assembly 12.
It can also be appreciated from FIG. 7 that the elongated mirror element 14 is
disposed in a generally horizontally extending orientation to provide the
driver with
a relatively wide rearview in the horizontal direction. Some drivers prefer a
rearview that has a relatively wide view in the vertical direction, especially
when
driving relatively tall vehicles such as trucks or vans or when towing tall
trailers.
When the mirror body 18 is in the extended position relative to the support
arm 38
of the mounting assembly 12, the guide member 72 and the inner and outer
arcuate
rails 82, 84 cooperate with the circular wall portion 67 of the support arm
38,
respectively, to provide an off-center, transversely extending axis of
rotation for the
mirror body 18 to allow the driver to rotate the mirror body 18 about the
pivot post
70 with respect to the mounting assembly 12 by applying a torsional force
manually
to the mirror body 18 about the transversely extending axis of rotation.
This rotation of the mirror body 18 allows the driver to reposition the mirror
element 14 so that the elongated extent thereof extends generally vertically
as
shown, for example, in FIGS. 8 or 9. More specifically, it can be appreciated
that
when the mirror body 18 is in the position shown and FIG. 7, the driver can
rotate
the mirror body 18 clockwise or counter clockwise (from the point of view
shown in
FIGS. 7-9) so that when the mirror element 14 is generally vertical, it
extends
generally upwardly from the support arm 38 (as shown in FIG. 8) or generally
downwardly therefrom (as shown in FIG. 9), respectively. It can be appreciated
from FIGS. 7-9, that in the exemplary embodiment of the rearview mirror
assembly
10 shown therein, the releasable rotation preventing elements 22 of the
coupling
structure 20 predefine four angular positions (three of which are shown in
FIGS. 7-
9) radially spaced 90 degrees apart in which the mirror body can be releasably
secured with respect to the mounting assembly. It is within the scope of the
intention, however, to provide releasable rotation preventing elements 22 in
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positions appropriate to releasably hold the mirror body 18 in any number of
angular
positions with respect to the support arm 38, including positions other than
essentially horizontal and essentially vertical.
It can be understood from FIG. 6 that when the driver applies a torque of
sufficient magnitude to the mirror body 18 about the off-center axis of
rotation
thereof, the coils spring 92 is compressed and the mirror body 18 moves
generally
outwardly (in the transverse direction) from the support arm 38 to allow the
releasable rotation preventing elements 22 to move out of the notches 86 in
which
they are normally held. The driver continues applying the torsional force on
the
mirror body 18 until each notch 86 moves respectively into releasable
engagement
with the next adjacent releasable rotation preventing element 22 to hold the
mirror
body 18 in the next predefined mirror body position.
It can be understood that each time the driver repositions the mirror body 18
with respect to the support arm 38 of the mounting assembly 12, it may be
necessary
for the driver to pivotally reposition the mirror element 14 with respect to
the mirror
housing 30 to accommodate the new position of the mirror body 18 to provide
the
desired rearview. The pivotal repositioning of the mirror element 14 with
respect to
the mirror housing 30 is accomplished in an entirely conventional manner and
will
not be considered in detail and the present application. When a manually
adjusted
friction cup is provided to mount the mirror element 14 in the mirror housing
30, the
driver manually manipulates the mirror element 14. When a power pack assembly
is
provided, the driver manipulates a conventionally constructed multi-position
switch
assembly (not shown) mounted within the interior of the vehicle to reposition
the
mirror element 14. It can be appreciated that a plurality of wires (not shown)
are
provided between the power pack assembly 28 and the multi-position switch
assembly to selectively energize and control the power pack assembly.
It will be understood, however, that a typical multi-position switch assembly
for pivotally repositioning a power operated mirror within a shell-like
housing
structure includes a switch member that has multiple predefined switch
positions
which correspond to specific, intended pivotal movements of the mirror. For
example, to pivot a mirror upwardly within a shell-like housing structure, the
driver
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typically moves the multi-position switch member upwardly (or forwardly) and
to
pivot to the mirror generally outwardly, the driver typically moves of the
switch
member outwardly (in the cross car direction) and so on. This makes the
manipulations of the switch member required to move the mirror element
intuitive.
It can be appreciated, however, that when the mirror body 18 is in the
positions
shown in FIGS. 7-9, movements of the switch member would ordinarily not
correspond as aforesaid in all three mirror body 18 positions and would in
fact be
different for each rotational position of the mirror body 18 with respect to
the
mounting assembly 12. It is therefore preferable that when a power pack
assembly
28 is included in the rearview mirror assembly 10, two microswitches 100, 102
are
mounted within the support arm 38 of the mounting assembly 12 ninety degrees
apart and are operatively engaged with the guide member 72 of the housing
structure
30.
An exemplary embodiment of a rearview mirror assembly that includes
micro switches is designated I 10 and shown in FIG. 10. Structures of assembly
I10
that are similar to structures on assembly 10 are given identical reference
numbers
and are not described in further detail. When the micro switches 100, 102 are
included in a rearview mirror assembly 110, switch portions 104 thereof
extending
through respective apertures (not shown) formed in the support arm 38 and
selectively releasably engage two switch receiving apertures (not shown)
formed in
the guide member 72 of the housing structure 30. The two switch receiving
apertures are disposed ninety degrees apart and, because there are two
switches,
there are for possible switch conditions. An exemplary logic table for these
four
possible micro switch 100, 102 conditions is as follows:
Mirror Position Micro switch 100 Micro switch 102
0 degrees rotation
(FIG. 7) On On
90 degrees rotation
clockwise
(FIG. 8) On Off
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180 degrees rotation
(not shown) Off Off
90 degrees rotation
counter clockwise
(FIG. 9) Off On
Because there are four distinguishable switch conditions or positions for the
microswitches 100, 102, an appropriately programmed microprocessor would be
able to determine the rotational orientation of the mirror body 18 relative to
the
support arm 38 of the mounting assembly 12 in ninety degree increments. The
microprocessor could be programmed to translate given switch movements into
consistent pivotal movements of the mirror element 14 with respect to the
housing
structure 30 so that the user would have a consistent switch interface. Thus,
a given
movement of the multi-position switch member would correspond to a given
mirror
element 14 movement regardless of the relative position of the mirror body 18
with
respect to the mounting assembly 12. Only the On-On micro switch 100, 102
position is shown in FIG. 10; other micro switch positions would be as
indicated in
the above table.
It is understood that the rearview mirror assembly 10 shown in the drawings
and described herein is exemplary only and not intended to limit the scope of
the
invention. It is within the scope of the present invention, for example, to
provide a
mirror assembly in which the mirror body is rotatable with respect to the
mounting
assembly in a plurality of horizontal positions of the mirror body with
respect to the
mounting assembly so that rotational repositioning of the mirror body is not
restricted to the case in which the mirror body is translated fully
horizontally
outwardly from the vehicle.
The invention has been described in an illustrative manner, and it is to be
understood that the terminology, which has been used, is intended to be in the
nature
of words of description rather than of limitation.
Many modification and variations of the present invention are possible in
light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to be understood that within
the scope
of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced other than as
specifically
described.
14
