Alignment device for automotive side view mirror

An alignment system for side view mirrors featuring a mirror with regions of diverse curvature, with an upright alignment line in a region of greater curvature. The side view mirror is set up so that the side of a user's vehicle lies entirely on the side of the alignment line closest to the vehicle. This generates a cone of vision to the rear of the vehicle which overlaps with the cone of vision from a rear view mirror such that blind spots are greatly reduced or eliminated.

The invention relates to automotive safety devices and, more particularly, to automotive side view mirrors.

BACKGROUND ART

Since the invention of the automobile, there has been concern with the rear view available to a driver by means of mirrors. Various combinations of side view and rear view mirrors have been devised, with particular concern to a blind spot which exists in certain angular sections behind a vehicle. To minimize the blind spot, wide angle side view mirrors have been devised, particularly curved mirrors. It is known that parabolic mirrors, with variable curvature, can be particularly effective in reducing or eliminating blind spots thereby giving a driver a wide angle view of optics behind the vehicle.

Exemplary curved, or curved and planar, side view mirrors can be found in the U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,331,382; 5,793,542; 5,096,291, as well as in published applications 2003/0039039 and 2004/0114260. All of the curved or curved-planar mirrors shown in these patents are useful in eliminating the blind spot. Application 2004/0114260 teaches that a line can be marked on the reflective surface to distinguish between curved and planar regions of a curved-planar mirror.

With curved or partially curved side view mirrors alignment is more critical than with planar mirrors. With curved mirrors, portions of greatest curvature should not be wasted because a large viewing angle is available with these portions. Yet the seating position of a driver can lead to misalignments unless the curved side view mirrors are properly adjusted. An object of the invention was to provide an alignment apparatus for the curved side view mirrors of a vehicle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The above object has been met with a mirror alignment system for a driven vehicle featuring curved side view mirrors with an alignment line on a curved portion of each side view mirror. Each mirror has greater curvature toward the side closest to the vehicle and lesser curvature distal to the vehicle, with the alignment line being within one-eighth of an inch to three-quarters of an inch from the inward edge of the mirror closest to the vehicle. In operation, each side view mirror is oriented so that the side of the driven vehicle lies entirely on the side of the alignment line closest to the driver when viewed by the driver. In this manner, the cone of vision from the curved side view mirror will overlap with a cone of vision from the rear view mirror. Both the driver side view mirror and the passenger side view mirror have cones of vision which overlap with the cone of the rear view mirror.

The curved nature of the mirrors allows lateral compression of images, giving a sense of the lateral separation of an approaching vehicle.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

With reference toFIG. 1a curved mirror11is seen which is a vehicular curved side view mirror mounted on the driver's side of an automotive vehicle with bracket12. While this invention is described with reference to automotive vehicles, the invention could be used with trucks, off-road vehicles and other vehicles, but has greatest applicability for use with vehicles that drive on highways with traffic overtaking the subject vehicle from the sides. A similar mirror of the present invention is mounted on the passenger side of the vehicle with added curvature near the passenger position, as described below with reference toFIG. 4.

The mirror11has an inward edge13which is closest to the vehicle and an outward edge15which is distal to the vehicle. The mirror features a scribe line17, preferably but not necessarily straight, that is within three-fourths of an inch of the inward edge13and preferably within one-fourth of an inch, with a typical placement of the scribe line being one-eighth of an inch from the inward edge of the mirror, but always in the curved portion of the mirror where curvature allows the side of the driver's own vehicle to be seen, as well as nearby objects. The scribe line17in the curved portion of the mirror assists in alignment of the mirror relative to the road by making sure that the cone of vision from the mirror incorporates the side of the vehicle, with the cone extending radially outwardly. A vehicle operator should see the side of his own vehicle to the right of scribe line17and none of his own vehicle to the left of scribe line17. The scribe line is on the mirror surface, either above the surface, within the surface, or below the surface, as long as it can be plainly seen by a driver. The mirror is cylindrical, meaning that it has a cross-sectional shape drawn by a line that is upright in the plane perpendicular to the plane of the horizontal cross-section.

FIGS. 2 and 2Aillustrate typical cross-sectional shapes. InFIG. 2, inward edge13is seen at the extreme right of the drawing, with alignment line17represented as a point. Distal edge15is at the left edge of the drawing. The horizontal cross-sectional shape is elliptical, with maximum curvature at region21and less curvature at region23, with still less curvature at region25where the mirror is almost planar, or reaches planarity. The vertical cross sectional shape is linear. Alternatively, the mirror could have the shape of a portion of a parabola from a region of greater curvature to a region of apparent flatness. A still further alternative is a curved shape, as shown inFIG. 2, but not having any regular geometric shape, except for curvature close to the driver and less curvature further from the driver. The reason that an elliptical shape is preferred is that curvature is smoothly defined over the length of the elliptical segment. The only requirement on the curved mirror is that it has greater curvature in region21and very little curvature in region25. The amount of curvature causes a corresponding amount of lateral, not vertical, compression of objects seen in the mirror. Where curvature is greater such as in region21, objects, such as cars, are more compressed, allowing more objects that are closer to the side of the driven vehicle to be seen. InFIG. 2A, the upright cross section of mirror11is seen to be vertical while the mirror holder14has an arbitrary shape.

InFIG. 3A, the driven vehicle31, with a forward field of vision30, has a curved driver-side mirror33as described inFIG. 2. This mirror has a viewing cone described by fan35. At the same time, vehicle31has a rear view mirror37with the viewing cone39. It will be seen that the viewing cone35from the side view mirror33and the cone39from the rear view mirror37have some overlap. Mirror33is aligned such that the side of driven vehicle31is to the right of the alignment line on the mirror. Vehicle41is barely within the viewing cone35of mirror33as it passes the driven vehicle31. At the same time, an overtaking vehicle43is fully within the viewing cone35while a trailing vehicle45is in the rear view mirror37. Passenger side view mirror51has a cone of vision49, allowing vehicle55to be seen, as also seen in rear view mirror37.

FIG. 3Bshows the driver side view mirror33adjusted with the alignment line17having only the driven vehicle31to the right of the line. The overtaking vehicle43is on the left side of the line17. The driver side view mirror33is seen to have the alignment line17within a fraction of an inch of the right edge of the mirror. The left side of the driven vehicle31is fully to the right of the alignment line17. Passing vehicle43is seen in the driver side view mirror to the left of the alignment line and a vehicle63behind vehicle43is also seen in the distance in both in mirror33and rear view mirror37. The rearward portion of passing vehicle41is seen in the lefthand portion of mirror33as it is barely within the viewing cone of mirror33.

FIG. 3Cshows horizontal cross-sectional curvature of mirror33, whileFIG. 3Dshows the vertical cross-section, as inFIG. 2A. The alignment line17is seen as a dot with a highly curved region32inward of line17and a gradually curved region34outward of line17. Curvature is such that the height of vehicles remains the same but the width of vehicles is reduced, perhaps by about one third. Overlap with the rear view mirror allows vehicles to be seen in the side view mirror before leaving the rear view mirror and will be seen in the peripheral vision before leaving the side view mirror.

InFIG. 4, the passenger side mirror51is mounted to a vehicle using bracket112. The mirror51has an inward edge113closest to the vehicle and an outward edge115, which is distal to the vehicle. The mirror features a scribe line117, preferably upright and straight, near the inward edge113. A typical placement of the scribe line is always in the curved portion of the mirror where curvature allows the side of the driver's own vehicle to be seen, as well as nearby objects. The scribe line117, in the curved portion of the passenger side mirror, assists in alignment of the mirror relative to the road by making sure that the cone of vision from the mirror incorporates the side of the vehicle, with the cone extending radially outwardly. As mentioned previously, a vehicle operator should see the side of his own vehicle to the left of scribe line117and none of his own vehicle to the right of scribe line117.

FIGS. 5A and 5Billustrate typical cross-sectional shapes. Inward edge113is seen at the extreme left ofFIG. 5A, with alignment line117represented as a point inFIG. 5A. Distal edge115is at the left edge of theFIG. 5A. The horizontal cross-sectional shape is elliptical as seen inFIG. 5A, with maximum curvature at region121and less curvature at region123, with still less curvature at region125where the mirror is almost planar, or reaches planarity. The vertical cross sectional shape seen inFIG. 5Bis a portion of a circle so that the shape of mirror51has compound curvature, i.e., elliptical in the horizontal plane and curved in the vertical plane.

InFIG. 4Athe driven vehicle31, with a forward field of vision30, has a curved passenger-side mirror51which is similar to mirror33described inFIG. 2. The mirror51has a viewing cone described by cone49. The viewing cone49from the side view mirror and the cone39from the rear view mirror37have partial overlap. Mirror51is aligned so that the right side of driven vehicle31is to the left of the alignment line117on the mirror, as shown inFIG. 4B. Returning toFIG. 4A, vehicle42is barely within viewing cone49of mirror51as it passes driven vehicle31. An overtaking vehicle44is fully within viewing cone49, while a trailing vehicle46is in the rear view mirror37.

In.FIG. 4B, the passenger side view mirror51is adjusted with alignment line117having only the driven vehicle31to the left of line117. The vehicle44is on the right side of line117. The side view mirror51is seen to have alignment line117close to the left edge of the mirror, i.e., less than three-quarters of an inch of the left edge. The right side of the driven vehicle31is fully to the left of alignment line117. Passing vehicle44is seen in the passenger side view mirror to the right of alignment line117and a vehicle64behind vehicle44is also seen in the distance in both mirror51and rear view mirror37.

InFIG. 4Cthe portion113of mirror51closest to the driver is more elliptically curved but blends to a less elliptically curved shape that covers the total surface of mirror. In a perpendicular plane, the mirror is curved in another shape yielding a toric surface. The view ofFIG. 4Dis the same asFIG. 5B.

In operation, the mirror system of the present invention eliminates blind spots. Moreover, the cylindrical convexity of the driver side view mirror allows vehicles seen in the mirror to have heights that are preserved under Snell's law, i.e., proportional to true heights, but the widths of vehicles are reduced. The same is true for the passenger side view mirror. The combination of elliptical convexity in the horizontal plane, and another convexity in the vertical plane makes the overall size of the vehicles seen in the mirror to appear smaller and farther back. While the height of the vehicles remains smaller and farther back throughout the mirror surface, the width of the vehicles will be reduced as they approach the left side of this mirror closer to the driver.