GB2142298A

GB2142298A - Side or rear view mirror device for a vehicle

Info

Publication number: GB2142298A
Application number: GB08317192A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Martin Peter Woodford
Original assignee: Peter David Woodford
Current assignee: Peter David Woodford
Priority date: 1983-06-24
Filing date: 1983-06-24
Publication date: 1985-01-16
Also published as: GB8317192D0; GB2142298B

Abstract

A vehicle side or rear view mirror device (1) having a hollow elongated housing (3) with a light inlet aperture (4) at or towards one end and a light outlet aperture (5) at or towards the other end. The housing (4) is mountable on a vehicle roof, side or door such that the light inlet aperture (4) projects outside of and is directed laterally and/or rearwardly of the vehicle and the light outlet aperture (5) projects inwardly of and is directed substantially rearwardly in or of the vehicle. Three spaced apart reflecting surfaces (6, 7, 8) are located within the housing (3) to reflect light from one to another, and hence a view externally of the vehicle, from the light inlet aperture (4) to the light outlet aperture (5) for viewing in the light outlet aperture (5) by an occupant of the vehicle. Preferably the housing (3) is locatable in the vicinity of a vehicle front windscreen (2) in the field of view of a driver of the vehicle to project in the vehicle interior. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Side or rear view mirror device for a vehicle This invention relates to a side or rear view mirror device for a vehicle particularly, but not exclusively suitable for use as a side mirror on a car.

Side or roof mounted rear view mirrors for vehicles such as cars are known. Howevever these conventional mirrors usually are mounted so as to project from the car by a considerable extent thus increasing wind resistance for the car and thereby increasing the drag coefficient of the vehicle with consequent detrimental effect on the fuel consumption. Additionally the degree of protrusion of conventional mirrors can be dangerous. This is because such protruding mirrors may be knocked against other vehicles or pedestrians passing close to the vehicle so provided.

Moreover the extent of protrusion of such conventional mirrors when mounted on the side or door of a vehicle, has the further undesirable effect of requiring the driver of the vehicle to take his eyes from the road ahead and direct them laterally to a considerable extent in order to view the rear of the vehicle in the side mounted mirror. Taking the drivers eyes from the road ahead for any length of time can lead to accidents.

There is thus a need for a generally improved side or rear view mirror device for a vehicle which reduces the degree of protrusion of the device from a vehicle to which it is fitted and which reduces the degree of deviation of the sight of the driver of the vehicle from the road ahead when viewing the rear in the mirror device.

Accordingly the present invention provides a vehicle side or rear view mirror device having a hollow elongated housing with a light inlet aperture at or towards one end and a light outlet aperture at or towards the other end, which housing is mountable on a vehicle roof, side or door such that the light inlet aperture projects outside of and is directed laterally and/or rearwardly of the vehicle and the light outlet aperture projects inwardly of and is directed substantially rearwardly in or of the vehicle, and three spaced apart reflecting surfaces located within the housing to reflect light from one to another, and hence a view externally of the vehicle, from the light inlet aperture to the light outlet aperture for viewing at the light outlet aperture by an occupant of the vehicle when the housing is operatively mounted as aforesaid.

Preferably the housing is locatable in the vicinity of a vehicle front windscreen in the field of view of a driver of the vehicie. Advantageously the housing is locatable to project in to the vehicle interior.

Conveniently the reflecting surfaces are provided by glass, plastics and/or metal mirrors.

Preferably the reflecting surfaces or mirrors are arranged with a first thereof adjacent the inlet aperture, with a third thereof adjacent the outlet thereof and with a second thereof located intermediate the first and third thereof to reflect light received from the first reflecting surface or mirror in to the third reflecting surface or mirror.

Advantageously the first reflecting surface or mirror is part helical or convex in shape.

Preferably the second reflecting surface or mirror is convex in shape. Preferably the third reflecting surface or mirror is concave in shape. Advantageously the housing is made from plastics material and/or metal.

For a better understanding of the present invention and to show how the same may be carried in to effect, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a horizontal sectional plan view through a device of the invention, and Figure 2 is a schematic drawing showing the device of Figure 1 operatively mounted in a car.

As can be seen from the accompanying drawings a side or rear view mirror device 1 of the invention is shown in operative association with a passenger vehicle such as a car and mounted in the vicinity of the vehicle front windscreen 2 to project partially into the vehicle interior and partially externally of the vehicle in the vicinity of the vehicle drivers door.

The device 1 has a hollow elongated housing 3 made of any convenient material such as plastics and/or metal. The housing 3 has a light inlet aperture 4 at or towards one end thereof and a light outlet aperture 5 at or towards the other end thereof. Although as illustrated in Figure 1 the device of the invention is shown as operatively mounted in the vicinity of or on a car door it may alternatively be mounted on a vehicle roof or side if desired such that the light inlet aperture 4 projects outside of and is directed laterally and/or rearwardly of the vehicle and the light outlet aperture 5 projects inwardly of and is directed substantially rearwardly in the vehicle.As illustrated the device is mounted in the vicinity of the vehicle windscreen 2 inside the vehicle although of course it is to be understood that the device may alternatively be mounted in front of the vehicle windscreen 3.

As can be seen particularly from Figure 1 the housing 3 contains three spaced apart reflecting surfaces or mirrors, namely a first reflecting surface or mirror 6, a second reflecting surfface or mirror 7 and a third reflecting surface or mirror 8. These reflecting surfaces are made in any convenient manner such as from glass, plastics and/or metal and preferably are in the form of thin sheets of polished stainless steel applied in any suitable way to the interior of the housing 3, for example as illustrated, by means of backing supports 9.

The three spaced apart reflecting surfaces 6, 7 and 8 are located within the housing 3 to reflect light from one to another, and hence a view externally of the vehicle, from the light inlet aperture 4 to the light outlet aperture 5 for viewing at the light outlet aperture 5 by an occupant of the vehicle. The first reflecting surface 6, which conveniently is part helical or convex in shape, is arranged adjacent the inlet aperture 4, the third reflecting surface 8, which conveniently is concave in shape, is arranged adjacent the outlet aperture 5 and the second reflecting surface 7, which conveniently is convex in shape, is located intermediate the reflecting surfaces 6 and 8 to reflect light received from the first reflecting surface 6 in to the third reflecting surface 8 and from thence through the outlet aperture 5 towards a driver of the vehicle.As can be seen from Figure 1 the inlet aperture 4 projects through a side 10 of the vehicle and the relationship and shape of the reflecting surfaces 6, 7 and 8 is chosen such that the desired area of vision externally of the vehicle is visible at the outlet aperture 5 within the vehicle. Conveniently the inlet aperture 4 and first reflecting surface 6 are arranged to show approximately one motorway lane width to the side of the vehicle at an angle of approximately 50 to the vehicle side. This allows the view in the device to be positioned in front of the driver of the vehicle at an angle of approximately 30 to the vehicle side which thus allows the driver to see both the road ahead of the vehicle and the view in the device of the invention at more or less the same time without the driver removing his eyes from the road ahead unduly.

The degree of curvature of the reflecting surfaces 6, 7 and 8 and their angular relationship to one another can be chosen as desired to afford the desired lateral and rearward view and to position this in any desired viewing position relative to the driver or other occupant of the vehicle. Additionally the housing 3 can be coated internally and/or externally in any desired manner and with any suitable material to achieve suitable light absorption or light reflecting characteristics. If desired the housing 3 may be made of resilient or collapsible material in order to provide impact absorption or controlled collapse conditions on impact.

As can be seen from the drawings the device of the invention results in only a small portion thereof containing the inlet aperture 4 projecting externally of the vehicle. This considerably reduces the hazard presented by the device externally of the vehicle and considerably reduces the wind resistance offered by the device with consequent improvement in drag and fuel efficiency. The outlet aperture 5 through which the vehicle driver or occupant views the lateral and/or rearward field covered by the reflecting surface 6 can be positioned very close to the driver or occupants line ahead position of vision with consequent reduction in the time or angle of deviation of the driver or occupants vision from the road ahead.Conveniently the housing 3 is located in the front lowermost corner of the vehicle drivers door and the dash board of the vehicle may be recessed to house at least partially the portion of the housing 3 projecting inwardly into the vehicle interior. This affords a further safety feature.

Advantageously the three spaced reflecting surfaces 6, 7 and 8 may be provided in any convenient manner in or on a block or blocks of transparent plastics material. Conveniently the reflecting surfaces are coatings applied to suitably shaped outer surfaces of the plastics block or blocks with a non-reflecting coating being applied over the reflecting surface coating and over remaining surfaces of the plastics block or blocks with the exception of the block surfaces forming the light inlet aperture 4 and light outlet aperture 5. In this way the mirror device can comprise a single block of plastics encased in a protective housing.

Claims

1. A vehicle side or rear view mirror device having a hollow elongated housing with a light inlet aperture at or towards one end and a light outlet aperture at or towards the other end, which housing is mountable on a vehicle roof, side or door such that the light inlet aperture projects outside of and is directed laterally and/or rearwardly of the vehicle and the light outlet aperture projects inwardly of and is directed substantially rearwardly in or of the vehicle, and three spaced apart reflecting surfaces located within the housing to reflect light from one to another, and hence a view externally of the vehicle, from the light inlet aperture to the light outlet aperture for viewing at the light outlet aperture by an occupant of the vehicle when the housing is oepratively mounted as aforesaid.

2. A mirror device according to claim 7, wherein the housing is such as to be locatable in the vicinity of a vehicle front windscreen in the field of view of a driver of the vehicle.

3. A mirror device according to claim 2, wherein the housing is such as to be locatable to project in to the vehicle interior.

4. A mirror device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the reflecting surfaces are provided by glass, plastics and/or metal mirrors.

5. A mirror device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the reflecting surfaces or mirrors are arranged with a first thereof adjacent the inlet aperture, with a third thereof adjacent the outlet thereof and with a second thereof located intermediate the first and third thereof to reflect light received from the first reflecting surface or mirror in to the third reflecting surface or mirror.

6. A mirror device according to claim 5, wherein the first reflecting surface or mirror is part helical or convex in shape.

7. A mirror device according to claim 5 or claim 6, wherein the second reflecting surface or mirror is convex in shape.

8. A mirror device according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the third reflecting surface or mirror is concave in shape.

9. A mirror device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the housing is made from plastics material and/or metal.

10. A vehicle side or rar view mirror device, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.