Patent ID: 7261428

Claim:
A vehicular mirror assembly, comprising: a base; a mirror housing having a reflective element therein, the mirror housing being coupled with the base for at least a normal path of movement between a retracted position where the mirror housing is adjacent the base and an extended position where the mirror housing is distal to the base; an actuator operatively mounted between the base and the mirror housing for selectively moving the mirror housing with respect to the base through the normal path of movement, the actuator comprising: a motor having a rotatable motor shaft; a gear assembly coupled with the motor shaft and rotatable with rotation of the motor shaft; and a rotatable drive shaft coupled with the gear assembly and the mirror housing for moving the mirror housing through the normal path of movement with rotation of the drive shaft; wherein the actuator comprises a clutch assembly so that the mirror housing can be moved between the extended and retracted positions by rotation of the drive shaft and the gear assembly independent of the rotation of the motor shaft; and wherein the clutch assembly is engaged to couple the rotation of the motor shaft with the rotation of the drive shaft when the motor is activated; and wherein clutch assembly is disengaged to operably isolate the motor shaft from the rotation of the drive shaft when the motor is deactivated.