Patent ID: 7748857

Claim:
A vehicle external rear view mirror assembly having an extension and retraction mechanism for a pair of telescopic arms that connect a mirror head to a mirror mounting bracket, the assembly comprising: a bracket and a mirror head; a pair of spaced apart substantially parallel hollow outer arm assemblies extending from the bracket, each outer arm assembly having a front portion and a rear portion, the front portion having a rack extending longitudinally of the arm towards a distal end; a pair of spaced apart substantially parallel inner arm assemblies mounted to the mirror head and extending into respective outer arm assemblies for relative sliding movement out of and into respective outer arm assemblies, each inner arm assembly having a front portion and a rear portion; a pair of driving pinion gears, each gear rotatably supported within the mirror head in a position in line with a respective inner arm assembly and engaging a respective rack; a pinion drive shaft assembly mounted to the mirror head and having a drive shaft extending between the pinion gears along a drive axis; a drive motor mounted to the mirror head, the motor having an output shaft; and a gear train operatively interposed between the output shaft and the pinion drive shaft assembly, the drive motor driving the inner arm assemblies to move telescopically with respect to their respective outer arm assemblies, wherein each outer arm assembly is recessed back from the distal end towards the bracket to allow the pinion drive shaft to travel towards the bracket behind the front portion of the outer arm assembly.