Abstract:
An exterior rearview mirror for vehicles has a mirror base and a mirror head connected to the mirror base so as to be pivotable between a position of use and a parking position. A locking member locks the mirror head in the parking position. The mirror head has a counter locking member interacting in a locking position with the locking member for locking the mirror head in the parking position. A guide guides the counter locking member from the locking position into a release position when the mirror head is moved from the parking position into the position of use.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The invention relates to an exterior rearview mirror for vehicles, in particular, for motor vehicles, comprising a mirror base on which a mirror head is supported to be pivotable between the position of use and a parking position. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     In known exterior rearview mirrors of this kind the mirror heads can be folded from a position of use in which they project transversely and outwardly from the vehicle, into a parking position in which they lie close to the vehicle. This adjustment is often connected with a relatively high mechanical expenditure and can be realized usually only with difficulty. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the present invention to configure an exterior rearview mirror of this kind such that the mirror head can be adjusted and secured in a simple way. 
     In accordance with the present invention, this is achieved in that the mirror head is secured in the parking position by at least one locking member which cooperates with at least one counter locking member that is correlated with the mirror head and, upon pivoting of the mirror head into the position of use, is movable by a guide into a release position. 
     By means of the locking member the mirror head of the exterior rearview mirror is secured in its parking position. When the mirror head is pivoted back into the position of use, the counter locking member is moved by means of the guide into the release position so that the mirror head reaches reliably its position of use. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
     In the drawing: 
     FIG. 1 is a longitudinal section of an exterior rearview mirror according to the invention with a mirror base to be fastened to the vehicle and having arranged thereat in a pivotable way an intermediate joint and a locking member provided with a spring; 
     FIG. 2 is a longitudinal section and an end view of the mirror base, the intermediate joint, and the locking member with the spring according to FIG. 1 in a position the use of the mirror head and in an enlarged illustration; 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective illustration of the intermediate joint with the locking member and the spring; 
     FIG. 4 shows the locking member with the spring according to FIG. 3 in a perspective illustration; 
     FIG. 5 shows the locking member according to FIG. 3 in a view according to arrow V in FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 6 shows the locking member according to FIG. 3 in a side view; 
     FIG. 7 shows the locking member and the spring in an end view according to arrow VII of FIG. 6; 
     FIG. 8 shows an illustration similar to that of FIG. 2 but with the locking member in a side view; 
     FIG. 9 is an illustration corresponding to FIG. 8 with the intermediate joint in the locking position; 
     FIG. 10 is an illustration according to FIG. 8 with the intermediate joint in a position in which it is pivoted via the locking position in the direction toward a position of non-use; 
     FIG. 11 is an illustration corresponding to FIG. 8 with the intermediate joint in an intermediate position during return pivoting of the mirror head into the position of use. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The exterior rearview mirror  1  illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 11 is provided for a motor vehicle of which only a part of the door  8  is illustrated. The mirror  1  is fastened on the motor vehicle by means of a mirror base  2 . On the mirror base  2  an intermediate joint  3  as well as a locking member  4  are pivotably supported. The intermediate joint  3  supports the mirror head  5  with a housing  6  in which a mirror glass  7  is fastened. A spring  9  is arranged on the locking member  4 . As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the spring  9  extends over the entire length of the locking member  4  and projects past it with its one end  10  with which it is fastened on the mirror base  2 . Preferably, the spring  9  is glued to the locking member  4  and/or the mirror base  2 . However, it can also be screwed on or fastened in any other way. 
     The locking member  4  is embodied as a single-arm lever whose free end  11  (FIG. 2) comprises a locking recess  12 . With the other end  13  the locking member  4  is seated on a bearing axle  18  which is supported with its ends on two brackets  14  projecting from the mirror base  2 . The locking member  4  is provided on its end  13  with a bearing opening  14 ′. 
     The locking recess  12  has an L-shaped bottom  15  which extends from the free end face  41  to the underside  29  of the locking member  4  positioned opposite the spring  9 . The locking recess  12  is thus open toward the end face  41  and toward the underside  29  of the locking member  4 . The two bottom areas  15   a ,  15   b , positioned at a right angle to one another, have advantageously a continuously curved transition into one another. The locking member  4  rests with its underside  29  under the force of the spring  9  against a stop  16  of the intermediate joint  3  which stop  16  projects transversely from a leg  17  of the intermediate joint  3 . 
     The intermediate joint  3  is formed as an essentially U-shaped bracket (FIG. 3) which comprises the leg  17  and the second leg  19  extending substantially parallel to the leg  17 . The legs  17 ,  19  have a transition into one another in the form of a slightly outwardly curved transverse stay  20 . Two stays  21  providing connectors project outwardly past the transverse stay  20  and have a bearing eye  22 , respectively, for receiving a bearing axle (not illustrated) for the mirror head  5 . The ends  23  and  24  of the legs  17  and  19  are connected to one another by a straight connecting stay  25 . The stop  16  is positioned with minimal spacing behind the connecting stay  25 . In comparison to the connecting stay  25  it is relatively short and projects only slightly past the inner side of the leg  17  in the direction toward the leg  19 . The locking member  4  is positioned correspondingly with a minimal spacing adjacent to the leg  17 . Its pivot axis  18  is positioned in the area underneath the transverse stay  20  of the intermediate joint  3 . The connecting stay  25  and the bearing axle (not illustrated) for the mirror head  5 , the bearing axle being positioned with its ends in the bearing eyes  22 , are positioned at an acute angle to one another which opens in the direction toward the leg  17  of the intermediate joint  3 . 
     The spring  9  is a leaf spring whose width is substantially identical to the width of the locking member  4 . The spring  9  rests areally against the upper narrow longitudinal side  26  of the locking member  4 . The spring surrounds with its free end portion  27  the free end  11  of the locking member  4  which is reduced in cross-section by the recess  12 . The end portion  27  is approximately V-shaped with rounded tip and has a spring section in the form of a spring tongue  28  projecting into the recess  12  of the locking member  4 . The spring tongue  28  in the embodiment is wider than the spring stay  36  of the end portion  27  which spring stay  36  has an insertion aid in the form of a guide bracket  30  on its free end that is angled at an obtuse angle. In the position of use of the external rearview mirror  1  (FIG.  2 ), the guide bracket  30  projects past the underside  29  of the locking member  4  and defines with it an acute angle of, for example, 45°. 
     For forming the tongue  28 , the end portion  27  of the spring  9  is slotted over a portion of its length such that an L-shaped cut  35  results (FIGS. 4,  5  and  7 ). The tongue  28  is positioned at a spacing from an edge  31  of an exit cutout  42  in the end portion  27  which edge extends transversely to the longitudinal direction of the end portion  27 . The exit cutout  42  is open toward one longitudinal side of the end portion  27  of the spring  9  and is delimited at the other longitudinal side by a spring stay  36 . The cut  35  extends up to the guide bracket  30  which has thus the same width as the spring  9  in the area external to the tongue  28  and the spring stay  36 . The edge  31  of the cutout  42  is positioned approximately at the transition from the spring stay  36  into the curved intermediate part  33  of the spring  9  positioned in front of the end face  41  of the locking member  4 . 
     The spring tongue  28  is positioned on an end face edge  32  of the locking member  4  which is positioned between the end face  41  of the locking member  4  and the bottom  15  of the locking recess  12 . The bottom portion  15   a  is positioned advantageously parallel to the upper side and underside  26 ,  29  of the locking member  4 . The spring tongue  28  is bent out of the plane of the spring stay  36  in a direction opposite to the guide bracket  30  so that, as illustrated in FIG. 4, it projects into the recess  12  of the locking member  4 . The tongue  28  defines with the underside  29  of the locking member  4  an acute angle of approximately  450 . 
     The locking member  4  serves for locking the mirror head  5  in its parking position. The mirror head  5  can be pivoted from the position of use illustrated in FIG. 1 in the travel direction of the motor vehicle to the rear into the parking position in which it is approximately parallel to the motor vehicle door  8  (FIGS. 2,  8 ). In the parking position, the mirror head  5  is locked via its intermediate joint  3  by the locking member  4 . 
     As is shown in FIG. 1, the bearing or pivot axle  18  of the locking member  4  extends approximately vertically. The legs  17 ,  19  of the intermediate joint  3  are provided at their free ends  23 ,  24  with bearing openings  43 ,  44  for an axle  45  (FIG. 8) with which the intermediate joint  3  is connected to the stays  46  which project transversely from the mirror base  2 . The pivot axles  18 ,  46  of the locking member  4  and of the intermediate joint  3  are positioned parallel to one another. The axle  46  has such a spacing from the mirror base  2  that the intermediate joint  3  can be pivoted unimpaired when the mirror head  5  is pivoted from the position of use into the folded parking position and vice versa. 
     In the position of use of the mirror head  5 , the locking member  4  rests with the underside  29  facing the mirror base  2  against the bolt-shaped stop  16  of the intermediate joint  3  (FIGS.  2  and  8 ). In this position, the intermediate joint  3  is positioned approximately parallel to the contact part  47  (FIG. 8) of the mirror base  2  which contact part is fastened on the motor vehicle door  8 . The locking member  4  extends from its pivot axle  18  at an acute angle to the intermediate joint  3 . The guide bracket  30  of the spring  9  which projects at an acute angle past the underside  29  of the locking member  4  has a spacing from the stop  16 . The guide bracket  30  forms together with the underside  29  of the locking member  4  an insertion opening  37  which widens in the direction toward the stop  16 . 
     When the mirror head  5  is pivoted into the parking position, which can be carried out by a motor or by hand, the intermediate joint  3  pivots about the axle  45  away from the mirror base  2  in the direction of arrow P in FIG.  9 . Since the stop  16  is part of the intermediate joint  3 , it is also entrained in the direction of arrow P. Since the stop  16  advantageously has a circular cross-section, it glides easily along the underside  29  of the locking member  4 . This causes it to be pivoted in the opposite direction about the axle  18 . The stop  16  reaches the insertion opening  37  and bends the guide bracket  30  away elastically. As soon as the stop  16  reaches the spring tongue  28 , the latter is elastically bent away. As illustrated in FIG. 9, it is thereby bent into the plane of the spring stay  36 . The underside  29  of the locking member  4  has a transition, at a minimal spacing from the locking recess  12 , into a slant  38  which extends to the locking recess  12 . The slant  38  is arranged such that it is positioned approximately parallel to the spring tongue  28  when the latter is elastically deformed by the stop  16 . This ensures that the end portion  27  of the spring  9  must not be overly strongly elastically deformed. The locking member  4  is forced always into contact on the stop  16  by the spring  9 . 
     As soon as the stop  16  has reached its locking position in the locking recess  12 , the mirror head  5  has reached its parking position. The bottom  15  of the locking recess  12  is advantageously curved at the transition between the bottom portions  15   a ,  15   b  such that the stop  16  rests areally against the bottom  15 . 
     In this position the spring tongue  28  engages with elastic tension the stop  16  so that the locking member  4  and the intermediate joint  3 , and thus the mirror head secured thereat, are securely locked with one another. This secure locking is further reinforced in that the spring tongue  28  and the part of the spring  9  on the other side of the locking member  4  exert oppositely directed forces. 
     When the mirror head  5  is to be folded from the parking position back into the position of use, the intermediate joint  3  and thus the mirror head  5  are slightly pivoted farther in the direction toward the motor vehicle door  8  (FIG.  10 ). The stop  16  glides then along the bottom  15  of the locking recess  12  until it reaches the cutout  42  (FIG. 5) in the end portion  27  of the spring  9 . The spacing between the edge  31  of the exit cutout  42  extending transversely to the longitudinal direction of the spring  9  and the parallel end face  39  of the spring tongue  28  is so great that the stop  16  can move out through the cutout  42 , into which it is guided by the underside of the spring tongue  28 , so as to return into its release position. FIG. 10 shows the situation in which the stop  16  has just exited through the cutout  42 . 
     The spring tongue  28  springs back immediately into its initial position as soon as the stop  16  has been released from the spring tongue  28  (FIG.  10 ). The spring tongue  28  projects into close proximity to the bottom  15  of the locking recess  12 . The intermediate joint  3  can now be pivoted back counter to the direction of arrow P. The stop  16  then rests against the spring tongue  28  (FIG. 11) on which the stop  16  glides when the intermediate joint  3  pivots back. Via the spring tongue  28 , providing again a guiding action, the stop  16  reaches the underside  29  of the locking member  4  which is always secured against the stop  16  by the force of the spring  9 . In this way, the intermediate joint  43  and the locking member  4  pivot in opposite directions relative to one another into the initial position according to FIG. 8 in which the mirror head  5  has reached its position of use. It is secured in a manner known in the art on the mirror base  2  by a snap connection such that the mirror head  5  can be folded in the described manner into the parking position or forwardly in the travel direction when impacted upon. 
     While specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and described in detail to illustrate the inventive principles, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise without departing from such principles.