Abstract:
A rear view mirror that is mounted on the side of a land vehicle includes a mirror pivotally mounted on a housing and a solenoid-actuated ram connected to the mirror. The solenoid is controlled by a control button located inside the land vehicle to change the orientation of the mirror. A light located adjacent to the activating button reminds a driver that the orientation of the side mounted mirror has been changed.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to the general art of land vehicles, and to the particular field of side view mirrors for land vehicles. 
   2. Discussion of the Related Art 
   Mirrors are essential accessories for nearly any type of land vehicle, especially an automobile. Mirrors allow a driver to see obstacles and other vehicles on all sides of the driver&#39;s vehicle. To this end, the art containing mirrors for land vehicles has greatly expanded in recent years, and now contains many examples of such mirrors. 
   The most common type of rear view mirror is a mirror located inside the driver&#39;s compartment and which is directed to reflect objects located behind the driven vehicle. Another common type of mirror is a mirror mounted on the side of the driven vehicle and which is oriented to reflect objects located beside the driven vehicle. 
   These mirrors are all extremely helpful and are invaluable safety features for nearly all land vehicles. 
   However, because these mirrors are oriented so they can be easily seen by a driver, any light from an object or a vehicle in the field of the mirror will be reflected to the driver as he or she looks at the mirror. This can be annoying at best, and dangerous at worst. 
   Accordingly, many mirrors that are located inside a motor vehicle are adjustable so a driver can quickly move the mirror to an orientation that directs such light away from his or her eyes. Some interior mirrors also have special electrical circuits that are intended to reduce the effect of such unwanted light reflection. 
   However, the inventor has observed that similar problems exist with the mirrors located outside the motor vehicle. That is, light from a following or passing vehicle is reflected into a driver&#39;s eyes from the side mounted mirrors. Such light can also be annoying and/or dangerous. 
   Therefore, there is a need for a side view mirror that can be adjusted to prevent lights from a vehicle located beside a land vehicle from being reflected into a driver&#39;s eyes. 
   Many drivers are so intent upon the task of driving that they forget certain operations. One of the most evident of such operations is the turn signal. A car with a continuously flashing turn signal and which is not turning is a common example of this problem. This problem may also occur if a driver has re-oriented a mirror. The driver may forget to re-orient the mirror back to its original position. Thus, if a driver has moved a side view mirror to prevent light from being reflected back into his or her eyes, that driver may forget to return the mirror back to its original orientation. In such a case, the driver may be deprived of use of the side view mirror when he or she needs to view the side of his or her vehicle. This situation is at least as bad as not having a side view mirror, and may be worse since the driver may be depending on the side view mirror. 
   Therefore, there is a need for a side view mirror that can be adjusted to prevent lights from a vehicle located beside a land vehicle from being reflected into a driver&#39;s eyes and which will alert the driver that the mirror has been moved. 
   If a mirror has been moved or adjusted, it should be easy to move the mirror back to its original orientation. Otherwise, a driver may be distracted while he or she is re-adjusting his or her mirror or mirrors. This may require the driver to pull off the road, which is not a desirable situation. 
   Therefore, there is a need for a side view mirror that can be adjusted to prevent lights from a vehicle located beside a land vehicle from being reflected into a driver&#39;s eyes and which will alert the driver that the mirror has been moved and which can be easily moved back to its original position. 
   To be most effective, any such accessory should be usable on both new and old vehicles. Of course, the accessory could be placed on the vehicle during manufacture; however, to be most commercially acceptable, such an accessory should be easily retrofit onto existing vehicles. 
   Therefore, there is a need for a side view mirror that can be adjusted to prevent lights from a vehicle located beside a land vehicle from being reflected into a driver&#39;s eyes and which will alert the driver that the mirror has been moved and which can be easily moved back to its original position and which can be easily retrofit onto an existing land vehicle. 
   PRINCIPAL OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
   It is a main object of the present invention to provide a side view mirror that can be adjusted to prevent lights from a vehicle located beside a land vehicle from being reflected into a driver&#39;s eyes. 
   It is another object of the present invention to provide a side view mirror that can be adjusted to prevent lights from a vehicle located beside a land vehicle from being reflected into a driver&#39;s eyes and which will alert the driver that the mirror has been moved. 
   It is another object of the present invention to provide a side view mirror that can be adjusted to prevent lights from a vehicle located beside a land vehicle from being reflected into a driver&#39;s eyes and which will alert the driver that the mirror has been moved and which can be easily moved back to its original position. 
   It is another object of the present invention to provide a side view mirror that can be adjusted to prevent lights from a vehicle located beside a land vehicle from being reflected into a driver&#39;s eyes and which will alert the driver that the mirror has been moved and which can be easily moved back to its original position and which can be easily retrofit onto an existing land vehicle. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   These, and other, objects are achieved by a side view mirror assembly that includes a housing that is mounted on the outside of a land vehicle on a driver&#39;s side when in use. The side view mirror assembly has a mirror pivotally mounted in the housing and the mirror is attached to a solenoid operated ram located inside the housing for the mirror. The solenoid operating the ram is electrically connected to a control button located inside the vehicle. A light is located adjacent to the operating button and is also connected to the solenoid and is activated when the solenoid is activated. 
   Using the side view mirror assembly embodying the present invention will permit a driver of a land vehicle to move the side view mirror so lights from any vehicle located adjacent to the driver&#39;s vehicle will be directed away from the driver rather than into the driver&#39;s eyes. The light next to the control button is activated when the mirror is moved and remains on until the mirror is moved back into its original position so the driver is reminded to move the side view mirror back. The mirror assembly of the present invention is self-contained so it is easily retrofit onto an existing vehicle. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a mirror assembly embodying the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  is an elevational view taken along line  2 — 2  of  FIG. 1 . 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings. 
   Referring to the Figures, it can be understood that the present invention is embodied in an adjustable side mounted rear view mirror  10  which can be adjusted from inside a vehicle to prevent lights from an adjacent vehicle from being directed back to a driver&#39;s eyes. 
   Mirror  10  comprises a one piece housing unit  12  which is adapted to be mounted on an outside side surface S of a land vehicle V such as an automobile. Housing unit  12  is one piece and can be formed of plastic or other material used for land vehicle accessories, such as mirrors and other attachable elements. Housing unit  12  includes a base  14 . Base  14  includes a first surface  16  which is an outer surface when the base  14  is in a use position on the outside side surface of the land vehicle, such as indicated in  FIG. 1 . The base  14  further includes a second surface  17  which is an inside surface when the base  14  is in the use position on the outside side surface of the land vehicle. 
   Anchor elements, such as mounting screw  18 , are mounted in the base. The anchor elements extend outwardly from the second surface  17  of the base  14  and are adapted to anchor the base  14  to the outside side surface of the land vehicle. 
   A pedestal  20  has a proximal end  22  that is unitary and one piece with the base  14 . The pedestal  20  extends outwardly away from the first surface  16  of the base  14  and further includes a distal end  24  that is spaced apart from the proximal end  22  of the pedestal  20 . 
   A hollow housing  30  is unitary and one piece with the distal end  24  of the pedestal  20 . Housing  30  includes an inside area  32  and an outside area  34 . Housing  30  further includes a first surface  36  that is an outer surface when the housing  30  is in place on the outside side surface of the land vehicle and a second surface  38  that is an inner surface when the housing  30  is in place on the outside side surface of the land vehicle. An opening  40  is defined in the hollow housing  30 . 
   A solenoid element  50  is mounted on the second surface  38  of the hollow housing  30  at a location spaced apart from the opening  40  defined in the hollow housing  30 . Solenoid element  50  includes a ram  52  which extends away from the solenoid element  50  and has a distal end  54  that is located near the opening  40  defined in the hollow housing  30 . Ram  54  is movable toward and away from the solenoid element  50  as indicated by double-headed arrow  56  under control of the solenoid element  50 . 
   A pivot connection  60  is located on the second surface  38  of the hollow housing  30  near the opening  40  defined in the hollow housing  30 . 
   A mirror  70  has a first end  72  pendently supported on the pivot connection  60  and a second end  74  that is spaced apart from the pivot connection  60  to move toward the inside of the hollow housing  30  and toward the outside of the hollow housing  30  as indicated in  FIG. 2  by double-headed arrow  76 . Mirror  70  is located to cover opening  40  defined in the hollow housing  30 . Distal end  54  of ram  52  of the solenoid element  50  is connected to the mirror  70  at a location spaced apart from the pivot connection  60  to move the second end  74  of the mirror  70  in the directions indicated by the arrow  76  toward the inside of the hollow housing  30  and toward the outside of the hollow housing  30  under the influence of the ram  52  of the solenoid element  50  as the ram  52  of the solenoid element  50  moves in directions  56  toward the solenoid unit  50  and away from the solenoid unit  50 . 
   A control button unit  80  is adapted to be located inside the land vehicle when the control button  80  is in the use position and is electrically connected to the solenoid element  50  by a lead line  81  and is electrically connected to a power source on the vehicle, such as the electrical system of the vehicle via a lead line  82  to be electrically interposed between the vehicle power source and the solenoid element  50  in the manner of an electrical switch as will be understood by those skilled in the art based on the teaching of this disclosure. Control button unit  80  electrically connects the solenoid element  50  to the power source when the control button unit  80  is activated. The control button unit  80  has a control button  83  which is movable and which has a first position  84  in which the solenoid element  50  is activated to move the ram  52  of the solenoid element  50  toward the solenoid element  50  and a second position  86  in which the solenoid element  50  is activated to move the ram  52  of the solenoid element  50  away from the solenoid element  50 . 
   A light  90  is electrically connected to control button  83  to be activated when the control button  83  is moved from the first position  84  of the control button  83  to the second position  86  of the control button  83 , or from the second position  86  of the control button  83  to the first position  84  of the control button  83 . Light  90  includes a switch  92  that de-activates the light  90  when the control button  83  is moved back to the first position  84  of the control button  83  from the second position  86  of the control button  83  after being moved from the first position  84  to the second position  86  or the control button  83  is moved back to the second position  86  from the first position  84  after the control button  83  is moved from the second position  86  to the first position  84 . Switch  92  can include a switch circuit that is similar to those associated with illuminated push buttons, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,179,594, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Furthermore, one skilled in the art of logic circuits and switches will be able to design a switch and its associated circuit based on the teaching of the present disclosure. Also, the exact details of the switch circuit are not considered part of the invention. Therefore, no further details of the switch will be presented. 
   It is understood that while certain forms of the present invention have been illustrated and described herein, it is not to be limited to the specific forms or arrangements of parts described and shown.