Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02563151 2006-10-11
VEHICLE AUXILIARY REAR VIEW MIRROR
ASSEMBLY AND METHOD
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to vehicle mirrors and more particularly to a vehicle
auxiliary
rear view mirror assembly and method for eliminating blind spots in a driver's
rear view
vision.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
High speed expressways and traffic congestion have shortened the reaction time
requirements for avoiding accidents. During many situations, drivers must act
almost
instantly to avoid accidents or avoid serious injuries. Higher speed impacts
have
increased the potential of injuries and deaths from vehicle collisions. When
drivers
decelerate or make lane changes they must be aware of vehicles surrounding
their
vehicles to avoid collisions.
There have been virtually no recent advances in improving rear view vision.
Blind
spots in a driver's field of vision continue to exist at right and left
corners of vehicles and
are a cause of many serious accidents. Drivers are taught to turn their heads
when
making lane changes. Diverting a driver's attention from the road is hazardous
and
exposes him to front end or side collisions.
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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention of an auxiliary rear view mirror assembly is a total
answer
to the problem of blind spots in a driver's side and rear view fields of
vision. Most
importantly, the auxiliary rear view mirror assembly increases his lateral and
rearward
fields of vision without diverting his attention from the road. Another
benefit is that the
invention can be applied to existing vehicles without vehicle changes. A still
further
benefit is that it is easy to use. Still yet another benefit is that it is
moderate in cost.
The invention is broadly comprised of small mirrors pivotally mounted on an
interior
surface of a rear window. The mirrors are pivotaliy mounted on a base
structure for
rotations about a horizontal axis and a pair of vertical axes. A hood over the
mirrors
shields the mirrors from the sun's rays and headlight rays from other
vehicles.
In a first embodiment, the auxiliary rear view mirror assembly is mounted on a
rear
window. In a second embodiment, the auxiliary rear view mirror assembly is
mounted on
a rear brake light assembly. In a third embodiment, the auxiliary rear view
mirror assembly
is remotely adjusted.
In employing the teaching of the present invention, a plurality of alternate
constructions can be adopted to achieve the desired objects and capabilities.
In this
disclosure, several preferred embodiments are described. However, the
disclosed
embodiments are intended as examples only and should not be considered as
limiting the
scope of the invention.
Further objects, features and benefits will be apparent by reference to the
drawings
and ensuing detailed description of a preferred embodiment which discloses the
best mode
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contemplated in carrying out the invention. The exclusive rights which are
claimed are set
forth in the numbered claims following the detailed description of the
preferred
embodiment.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention wil I be better understood and further objects, characterizing
features,
details and advantages thereof will appear more clearly with reference to the
following
diagrammatic drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment byway of non-
limiting example
only.
Fig. 1 is a partial longitudinal section through a motor vehicle showing:a
pair of
auxiliary mirrors mounted on an interior surface of a rear window.
Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the invention.
Fig. 3 is an enlarged front view of the invention.
Fig. 4 is an enlarged left side view of the invention.
Fig. 5 is an enlarged partial plan view of the invention.
Fig. 6 is an enlarged partial front view of the invention.
Fig. 7 is an enlarged partial left side view of the invention.
Fig. 8 is a partial longitudinal section through a motor vehicle showing a
pair of
auxiliary mirrors mounted on a rear brake light.
Fig. 9 is a partial longitudinal section through a motor vehicle showing a
pair of
remotely adjustable auxiliary rear view mirrors.
Fig. 10 is a front view of an alternate embodiment.
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Fig. 11 is a front view of driver controls for the alternate embodiment of
Fig. 10.
DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to the drawings wherein like numerals designate like and
corresponding parts throughout the several views, in Fig. I an auxiliary rear
view mirror
assembly 20 is shown mounted on a rear window 21 of a vehicle 22. The vehicle
21 is
typical and consists of a roof panel 23, a cloth headliner 24, a rear window
21, a package
tray 26, a rear brake light 27 and a rear seat back cushion 28.
The auxiliary rear view mirror assembly 20 is attached to the rear window 21
by an
adhesive or a double sided pressure sensitive adhesive tape 29. The preferred
location
of the auxiliary rear view mirror assembly 20 is at center of the rear window,
an area
between rear seat passengers and therefore visible to a driver. The
construction of the
auxiliary rear view mirror assembly 20 is best understood by reference to
Figs. 2 through
7, inclusive. A pair of identical circular shaped convex mirrors 30 having
rearward
extending attaching portions 31 are pivotally attached with threaded fasteners
32 to a
base structure 33 for rotation about a pair of axes A-A. The mirrors 30 may
afso be flat
and have other shapes (not shown) such as elliptical and rectangular shapes.
The base structure 33 consists of the mirror attaching portion 31 and an
adjoining
orthogonal channel shaped portion 34. In the orientation of Figs. 2-7, the
mirror attaching
portion 31 is horizontal and the adjoining orthogonal channel shaped portion
34 is vertical.
The base structure 33 is pivotally attached to a mounting bracket 35 with a
pair of
threaded fasteners 25 to allow the mirrors 30 about an orthogonal axis B-B.
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As shown in Figs. 2-4, above the mirrors 30 there is a hood 36. Although the
hood
36 is not mandatory, it is desirable to prevent solar rays and headlight rays
of other
vehicles from reflecting into a driver's eyes. The hood 36 is an arcuate
shaped member
with a thin covering portion 37 and an inward extending portion 38 which is
attached to the
channel portion 34 of the base structure 33 with a pair of threaded fasteners
39. An
inward extending wall portion 40 of the hood 36 separates the auxiliary
mirrors 30.
The auxiliary mirror assembly 20 is used in the following manner. The initial
step
is to apply an adhesive coating or double sided adhesive coated tape 29 to the
mounting
bracket 35. The mounting bracket 35 is next rotated with respect to the base
structure 33
to align the mounting bracket 35 with the rear window 21. The mirror assembly
20 is
positioned and bonded on the window 21 as shown in Fig. 1.
The auxiliary mirror assembly 20 is then rotated about the axis B-B to bring
the
aLixiliary mirrors 30 visible in a vehicle's main rear view window (not shown)
when a
person is facing forward. The auxiliary mirrors 30 are finally individually
rotated about the
axis A-A to view the previous blind spots from the vehicle's main rear view
mirror.
Referring now to Fig. 8, an alternate embodiment 41 is shown wherein an
auxiliary
rear view mirror assembly 42 is mounted with threaded fasteners 43 on a rear
brake light
housing 44. In Figs, 9-11, an embodiment is shown wherein an auxiliary mirror
assembly
46 is combined in a common housing 47 with a rear brake light 48. The
auxiliary brake
assembly 46 is remotely adjustable from a driver's seat. An auxiliary mirror
assembly 46
is comprised of a pair of auxiliary rear view mirrors 49, a drive unit 51
mounted below a
package tray 26 and controls 52 which are accessible to a driver. The drive
unit 51 is
CA 02563151 2006-10-11
conventional and is comprised of a housing 50, small individual vehicle
battery driven
stepper motors (not shown) for rotating the mirrors 49 and a conventional
solid state
control circuit (not shown).
From the foregoing it will be appreciated that our invention is a practical
and
efficient means for increasing a driver's lateral and rearward field of vision
without affecting
his forward field of vision. Although only several embodiments have been
illustrated and
described, it is apparent that other embodiments can be developeci by changes
in
mountings or substitutions, additions, rearrangements and elimination of parts
which are
obvious to persons skilled in the art without departing from the spirit
thereof.
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