Patent ID: 7334906

Claim:
An outer-mirror tilting apparatus comprising: a holder base having a bearing unit at a central portion of a backface thereof; a housing that is fitted to the bearing unit, the housing having a pivot shaft engaging the bearing unit and supporting the holder base in a tiltable manner; a rod driving mechanism that includes: a pair of driving rods whose distal ends are fitted to a first driving socket and a second driving socket provided on the holder base to tilt the holder base in vertical direction and in horizontal direction, respectively; and a driving unit that projects/retracts each of the pair of driving rods from/into the housing; a rod detecting mechanism that includes: a pair of detecting rods disposed so as to be opposed to the pair of driving rods through the pivot shaft and project from/retract into the housing corresponding to tilting of the holder base in the vertical direction and in the horizontal direction, respectively; and a detector that detects the tilting angle of the holder base based on projecting/retracting amounts of the pair of detecting rods, wherein the holder base includes a pair of detecting sockets, and distal ends of the pair of detecting rods are respectively fitted to the pair of detecting sockets, wherein a pair of detecting rod guiding portions are formed inside the housing, each of the pair of detecting rods includes an engagement click extending toward and sliding on inner peripheral faces of the pair of detecting rod guiding portions in projecting/retracting directions of the pair of detecting rods, and the engagement click is biased in a diametrically outward direction of a corresponding detecting rod by a resilient member fixed to the inside of the detecting rod; a sliding member that is fixed to each of the pair of detecting rods; and wherein the detector includes a resistor that is accommodated in the housing and whose electrical output varies based on sliding of the sliding member in response to the projecting/retracting amounts of the pair of detecting rods from/into the housing, wherein the sliding member is fixed to a sliding member fixing portion formed on the engagement click and opposed to inner peripheral faces of the detecting rod guiding portions, the detecting rod guiding portions are formed with notches for allowing the sliding member to slide on the resistor, and a portion of the sliding member fixing portions makes a contact with an inner peripheral surface of the detecting rod guiding portions.