Abstract:
The invention provides a part of the mirror housings or cover that has a designed-in-flexibility to move versus other cover parts and to move back to the working position without distortions.

Description:
BACKGROUND ART 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The invention is based on a priority patent application EP 09171880.9 which is hereby incorporated by reference. 
         [0003]    The invention discloses a solution for a rear view mirror with cover elements. The inventional rear view mirror has cover elements that allows other cover elements to move and has a built in flexibility to allow the mirror to fold away from driving position. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0005]    Rear view mirror for vehicles is designed with two main parts: the mirror base and the mirror head. These two main parts of a rear view mirror assembly are covered with plastic elements for a nice appearance and a reduction of turbulent air flow. In addition the cover elements smooth the rigid edges of the functional parts and reduce the risk for persons colliding with a rear view mirror. 
         [0006]    It is also known to combine the functional elements of a rear view mirror with the covers as in molding mirror bases in plastic so that they appear with a smooth surface. 
         [0007]    For security reasons rear view mirrors pass a security test according ECE regulations for example. In these tests the impact of a pedestrian&#39;s head is simulated and the rear view mirror must hinge away with a dedicated force in traveling direction and against traveling direction of vehicle. Rear view mirrors that have a pivot axis that lays not in the plane of mirror head and mirror base cover joints. When the rear view mirror assembly is folded the cover elements move out of the pivot center and can block the movement. For this type of rear view mirror the security parameters will not be fulfilled and the rear view mirror would not be legally approved. 
         [0008]    The problem of a mirror to be hinged away is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,340,231 wherein an electrical actuator is used and has features to easily fold away for security reasons. U.S. Pat. No. 6,361,178 disclosed a rear view mirror attached to a bearing arm and a holding rod which pivot about the swivel axis in a plane extending in a direction substantially parallel to a direction of travel of the vehicle. The housings in the prior art are not blocking the pivot motion. 
         [0009]    U.S. Pat. No. 4,712,891 discloses a solution where the rear view mirror is moulded in an undercut moulding process that combines a rigid material and a soft material. The core of the housing is made of a rigid material while the surface is made of a soft material. Both mirror head and mirror base have a part that is rigid and a surface part of an elastic material. If the mirror is folded versus the vehicle contour the two main parts of the minors pivot around an axis. The two parts of the mirror housing come into abutment. The forces when the components are in abutment compress the elastic parts of the mirror. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0010]    The invention is shown in the figures and shortly described thereafter. The inventional solution is useful in designs wherein the housing parts of the rear view mirror could block the pivot motion or could break after an impact folding away the mirror. This would increase the risk to injure somebody and the invention gives a way to have a design with a smooth surface of a rear view mirror and the security aspect that the mirror is folded away without destroying parts. 
         [0011]    The invention provides at least one part of the mirror housings or covers that has a designed-in-flexibility to move versus other cover parts and to move back to the working position without distortions. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0012]      FIG. 1  shows a rear view mirror 
           [0013]      FIG. 2  a cross section of a rear view mirror 
           [0014]      FIG. 3  show a design with housing elements 
           [0015]      FIG. 4  show the design to provide flexibility 
           [0016]      FIG. 5  shows details of the design 
           [0017]      FIG. 6  shows the fold away positions of a mirror 
           [0018]      FIG. 7  shows the housing elements in a fold back position. 
           [0019]      FIG. 8  shows schematically a pivot axis for different designs. 
           [0020]      FIG. 9  shows a mirror base allowing additional range of movement 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0021]      FIG. 1  shows a rear view mirror assembly as it is attached to a vehicle at the left side. A mirror base  2  is connected to a mirror head  1 . The mirror head comprises a reflective element  10  for the rear view. The mirror head has an upper housing part  7  and a lower housing part that covers the technical elements of the mirror head. 
         [0022]      FIG. 8  discloses the problem with a pivot axis that does not fall into the plane of joint  19  between mirror base cover and mirror head cover. If the mirror head is folded in traveling direction of the vehicle the mirror head in this figure is moving out of the paper plane. In the upper scheme the cover of mirror head can pivot versus the base without problems. In the scheme below the mirror head cover distal end moves out of the paper plane and the end closer to the vehicle in the paper lane. The mirror head cover is blocked by mirror base cover. The pivot movement is blocked in rear view mirror examples that are designed to use a power fold actuator that works without lift of mirror head versus mirror base. If the mirror is hinged a movement only around an axis is realized. The design of mirror base and mirror head for the manual version is according the power fold versions. 
         [0023]    To avoid the blocking of mirror head the end stop design is also adapted to allow the mirror head to move over the end stop in the folding mechanism. For this purpose the end stop elements in the manual folding design has a structure with a first step for the normal fold back stop end and a second step for the final end stop before the mirror crashed at the vehicle&#39;s body. The two step solution of stop end cam  20  is schematically shown in  FIG. 9 . 
         [0024]    The first step can be overridden by an impact as it is applied in the pendulum impact test. The overlap of the cams is only around 1 mm, so that an impact can move the blocking cam up, see arrow, and allow the pivotable means to slide over the surface of the cam. The additional distance is marked with an arrow too. 
         [0025]    The power fold version as seen in  FIG. 9  too has a stop end cam  20  with a phased face  21 . The normal face is the first level of the stop end movement. With the impact the counter cam slides along the phased face and allows the additional movement. The phased face  21  allows the mirror to move the additional circle segment after blocking of cover is solved. 
         [0026]    In  FIG. 2  the rear view mirror assembly is shown in more details. The mirror head  1  is shown in a across section along the long axis. The upper hosing part  7  covers a glass actuator  3  that supports a glass support  5 . The upper housing part  7  ends at the mirror base cover  6  that protects the mirror base  2 . The mirror base has a sealing in direction to the vehicle. 
         [0027]    A harness  9  connects the electrical devices with the vehicle board system. In another embodiment the mirror base is molded as one part in plastic and the mirror base cover is not necessary. In this application the mirror base cover includes a solution with a full plastic mirror base comprising the cover surface too. 
         [0028]      FIG. 3  shows an example of housings for a rear view mirror assembly, In this embodiment an upper housing part  7 , a lower housing part  8  and a mirror base cover covers the technical elements of the mirror. A critical joint  17  is highlighted with a circle. At this point the three parts of housing are joined together. In the working position of the rear view mirror assembly as it is shown in  FIG. 3  the housing parts join without a gap between the parts. 
         [0029]      FIG. 4  shows a top view of the lower housing part  8  with the circle opening for the pivot axis of the mirror base. The upper version is a standard design, the design below in the figure shows the inventional solution to provide a flexible element for the lower housing part. 
         [0030]    The detail of the solution is visible in  FIG. 5 . The lower housing part  8  has a clearance  12  in which another part of the housing can fit in if the mirror head is folded. The clearance  12  follows a circle path that is parallel to the opening for the pivot axis. The clearance has a direction along the circle motion of the mirror head versus the mirror base. The clearance  12  has a first opening width  12  and a second opening width  16 . The opening width increases from the first to the second opening width. The clearance forms a small bar  14  at the inner end of the lower housing part  8 . The whole housing is formed in a flexible material, a plastic as ABS for example. The material must have enough flexibility, so that the small bar can move slightly without breakage. 
         [0031]      FIG. 6  shows the rear view mirror assembly in three positions. In the position P 2  the mirror is installed in working position at the vehicle. The positions P 1  shows the fold in version which is used if a power fold actuator folds in the mirror in a parking position. The same position is achieved in the pendulum impact test with an impact on the housing from the front of the mirror. Position P 3  is the position that is realized after an impact from the rear side of the mirror. This is the critical position. 
         [0032]    The housing part have to move against each others with the result that they cant. 
         [0033]      FIG. 7  shows the solution of the invention. The lower housing part  8  undercuts under the mirror base cover  6 . The mirror base cover edge links into the clearance of the lower housing part  12  and move along the circle  13 . The small bar  14  is spread away and a gap occurs between the housing parts. 
         [0034]    The rear view mirror assembly doe not cant and move without distortion to the fold away position that is necessary for security reasons. The rear view mirror assembly is not disturbed, no parts of the mirror housing are breaking away resulting in sharp edges. 
         [0035]    After impact the mirror head can be moved back into working position and the flexible bar  14  snaps back into the unstressed conditions. 
       LEGEND 
       [0000]    
       
           1  Support 
           2  Mirror Base 
           3  Glass Actuator 
           4  Power fold actuator 
           5  Glass support 
           6  Mirror base cover 
           7  Housing Upper part 
           8  Housing lower part 
           9  Harness 
           10  Reflective Element 
           11  Sealing 
           12  Clearance 
           13  Circle 
           14  Bar 
           15  First opening width 
           16  Second opening width 
           17  Joint 
           18  pivot axis 
           19  joint plane head and base 
           20  stop end cam 
           21  phased face