Patent Application
20180086269
The present invention relates to interior rearview mirror assemblies for vehicles and, more particularly, to mirror stays and mounting assemblies that adjustably attach rearview mirrors to headers or windshields of vehicles.
It is generally known to attach a mirror stay or mount at a vehicle header or windshield for pivotally supporting an interior rearview mirror. A lower end of the mirror stay or mount pivotally attaches at a mirror head to allow for pivotal adjustment of the mirror head by the driver of the vehicle.
The present invention provides an interior vehicle mirror stay or mount assembly that mounts a mirror or mirror head or mirror assembly at a header or a front windshield of a vehicle. The mirror stay or mount assembly includes a mounting member that has an upper portion configured to connect or attach or mount at the header or an in-cabin surface of the windshield or other interior portion of the vehicle. A lower portion of the mirror stay extends or angles from the upper portion and comprises a pivot element for pivotally attaching at a mirror head (which includes a mirror casing and mirror reflective element), such as at a socket of the mirror head. The mirror stay is formed by molding a structural plastic, such as a thermoplastic polymeric molding resin, which may include a reinforced polyamide polymeric molding resin such as Mitsubishi Reny N252A, or a glass filled PP, and/or the like, where the molding process comprises a gas-assist molding process to create a structural and hollow mirror stay having a fully class-A surface.
These and other objects, advantages, purposes and features of the present invention will become apparent upon review of the following specification in conjunction with the drawings.
A vehicle mirror stay or mount assembly can be used to attach a rearview mirror to an interior surface of a vehicle, such as a car, truck, bus, or van. Such an interior surface may be a header, an in-cabin surface of a vehicle windshield, or other appropriate mirror mounting surface or structure. As shown in
The illustrated mirror mount 10 may attach to a mounting bracket or structure, such as a vehicle header or an attachment element adhesively attached at an in-cabin surface of a windshield of the vehicle, via a non-circular twist-lock attachment or via a fastener, such as a threaded screw or bolt, an adhesive, or other conceivable attachment mechanism. The mirror and mirror mount or mount assembly may utilize aspects of the assemblies, systems, and/or modules described in U.S. Publication Nos. US-2016-0355135; US-2015-0334354; US-2015-0251605 and/or US-2014-0133043, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. Optionally, the rearview mirror head 16 (including a mirror reflective element and mirror casing and a pivot element or mounting element) is configured to attach to a vehicle and may include a camera module, a video display behind a reflective element of the rearview mirror, a user interface, an image processor operable to process image data captured by the camera or cameras, and other electrical mirror components that may conceivably be provided in or on the rearview mirror 16. Accordingly, the mirror mount or mount assembly 10 may be provided with an electrical connector used to provide an electrical connection for such components, and further, the mirror mount 10 may be used for housing electrical wires that lead to the rearview mirror 16.
The present invention provides a Class-A cosmetic plastic single ball detachable mirror stay, which is suitable for use with a prismatic or baseline mirror assembly or mirror reflective element. For example, the mirror stay may be paired with a base or frameless or rounded perimeter edge style prismatic mirror (optionally with no electronics in the mirror head and thus no wires routed along or through the mirror stay). For example, the mirror stay may be suitable for use with mirrors of the types described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,508,831; 8,730,553; 7,626,749; 7,274,501; 7,255,451 and/or 7,184,190, and/or U.S. Publication Nos. US-2016-0355135; US-2015-0334354; US-2015-0251605; US-2014-0133043; US-2014-0022390; US-2014-0293169 and/or US-2015-0097955, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties (and such as mirrors commercially available from the assignee of this application under the trade name INFINITY™ mirror).
When prismatic mirrors are specified in the car, typically there is no camera system or covers on or at the windshield. Then a two-ball or double pivot mirror mounting system is typically used. Frameless or INFINITY™ type mirrors are typically heavier than comparably sized prismatic mirrors, so vibration performance suffers with a two-ball or double pivot mounting arrangement or bracket. Also, ECE impact performance is much more consistent with a single ball because they detach during impact.
The present invention provides a fully class-A mirror stay for a prismatic mirror assembly. The process of forming the mirror stay uses a structural plastic, such as Mitsubishi Reny N252A or a glass filled PP and/or the like, and uses a gas-assist molding process to create a structural and hollow part having a fully class-A surface. Because the mirror stay has a class-A finish or surface, no additional cover or casing is needed to encase the mirror stay.
As shown in
Similarly, and such as shown in
Thus, the mirror stay 24 of the present invention provides a structural support that has improved vibrational performance over conventional formed mirror stays (such as the stay shown in
The mirror stay may comprise any suitable material, such as a molded polymeric member, such as formed by injection molding of a polymeric material or resin, such as a reinforced polyamide polymeric resin, and is formed by gas-assist molding process. The preferred material for injection molding of the mirror stay according to one embodiment is RENY™ polymeric molding resin available from Mitsubishi Engineering Plastics Corporation, Japan. RENY™ comprises a thermoplastic polymeric molding compound based on mainly polyamide MXD6 that has been reinforced with glass fiber, carbon fiber and/or minerals and has generally superior mechanical strength and modulus compared with other engineering plastics so as to be suitable as a metal substitute but with lighter weight than metal. The mirror stay may be formed of other suitable polymeric materials, such as an engineering plastic or the like. Examples of suitable engineering plastics include Ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), Nylon 6, Nylon 6-6, Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), Polycarbonates (PC), Polyamides (PA), Polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), Polyphenylene oxide (PPO), Polysulphone (PSU), Polyetherketone (PEK), Polyetheretherketone (PEEK), Polyimides, Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), Polyoxymethylene plastic (POM/Acetal), and/or blends/combinations thereof. Engineering plastics typically have high strength and have mechanical properties akin to those of metal. Optionally, other thermoplastic injection-moldable engineering plastics such as glass and/or mineral filled polyamides (nylon) or polycarbonate or acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) or a glass fiber polypropylene or the like can be used.
Changes and modifications to the specifically described embodiments may be carried out without departing from the principles of the present invention, which is intended to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims as interpreted according to the principles of patent law.
The present application claims the filing benefits of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 62/401,309, filed Sep. 29, 2016, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62401309 | Sep 2016 | US |
