Claims
- 1. An overhead breakaway mirror mount for a vehicle including a roof structure comprising:
- a base carried on the vehicle roof structure;
- a mirror assembly including a mirror housing and an electrical accessory carried therein;
- a support member for said mirror housing, said support member including first and second ends, means at said first end of said support member for mounting said mirror housing to said support member; and
- said support member including means for mechanically releasably coupling said second end of said support member to said base and means coupled to said electrical accessory for releasably electrically coupling said electrical accessory to conductors in the vehicle's roof structure, said electrical coupling means carried on said second end of said support member, whereby an impact force will cause said support member to disengage said base and said electrical coupling means to disconnect from said conductors in the roof structure, wherein said support member includes a first pair of slots formed on a rearward edge of said support for receiving a mechanical connecting means on said base.
- 2. An overhead breakaway accessory mount for a vehicle comprising:
- a base carried on the vehicle roof, said base including a mechanical connector and an electrical connector coupled to wiring in the vehicle roof;
- an accessory for mounting to a vehicle;
- a support member for said accessory, said support member having first and second ends and means at said first end of said support member for mounting said accessory to said support member, said support member including a first pair of slots formed on said second end of said support member for receiving said mechanical connector on said base, and said support member including a resilient clip aligned with said slots, wherein said clip receives said mechanical connector on said base and said support member including mechanically releasably coupling an opposite end of said means electrically coupled to said accessory for releasably coupling to said electrical connector, said electrical coupling means on said second end of said support member whereby an impact force will cause said support member to disengage said base and said electrical connector.
- 3. The breakaway mirror mount as defined in claim 2 wherein said clip is coupled to said support by a pair of fasteners.
- 4. A rearview mirror mounting assembly for a vehicle including a roof structure, comprising:
- a base carried on the vehicle roof structure, said base including first mechanical coupling means, having a first end and a second end, and first electrical coupling means connected to wiring in the vehicle roof;
- a rearview mirror assembly having an electrical option therein; and
- a support means attached to said mirror assembly and including second mechanical coupling means having first and second ends for removably mounting said support means to said first mechanical coupling means, said support means including second electrical coupling means for removably electrically coupling said rearview mirror assembly to said first electrical coupling means, said first and second mechanical coupling means each including connectors on said first and second ends which are interconnected whereby said rearview mirror assembly is securely, releasably attached to the vehicle roof structure and said electrical option is releasably electrically coupled to the vehicle electrical system, and wherein said support-means includes a first pair of slots formed on a rearward edge for receiving a mechanical connecting means on said base.
- 5. The rearview mirror mounting member as defined in claim 4 wherein said support means include a second pair of slots spaced from said first pair of slots which receive a at least a portion of said base.
- 6. A rearview mirror mounting assembly for a vehicle including an electrical system comprising:
- a base adapted to be attached to the vehicle, said base including a first mechanical coupling means and an electrical coupling means carried by said base;
- a rearview mirror assembly having at least one of a plurality of different electrical options therein; and
- a support means attached to said mirror assembly and including means for removably mounting said support means to said first mechanical coupling means on said base, said support means including electrical coupling means for removably electrically coupling said rearview mirror assembly to said electrical coupling means carried by said base, said support means adapted to be removably attached to said base whereby said rearview mirror assembly having said at least one of said plurality of different electrical options may be attached to and removed from said base, said removable mounting means on said support means including a second mechanical coupling means wherein one of said first and second mechanical coupling means includes a first pair of slots for receiving the other one of said mechanical coupling means and a clip for receiving said other one of said first and second mechanical coupling means when said slots receive said other one of said first and second mechanical coupling means carried by said base.
- 7. The rearview mirror mounting assembly as defined in claim 6 wherein said clip is coupled to said support by a pair of fasteners.
- 8. An overhead breakaway mirror mount for a vehicle including a roof structure comprising:
- a base carried on the vehicle roof structure;
- a mirror assembly including a mirror housing and an electrical accessory carried therein;
- a support member for said mirror housing, said support member including first and second ends, means at said first end of said support member for mounting said mirror housing to said support member said second end having a forward and rearward portion; and
- said support member including means for mechanically releasably coupling said second end of said support member to said base and means coupled to said electrical accessory for releasably electrically coupling said electrical accessory to conductors in the vehicle's roof structure, said electrical coupling means carried on said second end of said support member, whereby a forward impact force to said mirror assembly will cause said support member to disengage said base and said electrical coupling means to disconnect from said conductors in the roof structure, wherein said support member includes at least one substantially "C"-shaped slot formed on the rearward portion of said support and having an opening at a rearmost end of said slot for receiving a mechanical connecting means on said base.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/685,880, filed Apr. 15, 1992, now abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 07/567,390 entitled ELECTRICAL CONTROL SYSTEM FOR VEHICLE OPTIONS filed on Aug. 14, 1990, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
US Referenced Citations (82)
Foreign Referenced Citations (6)
Number |
Date |
Country |
1480386 |
Jul 1969 |
DEX |
3001906 |
Jul 1981 |
DEX |
63-219440 |
Sep 1988 |
JPX |
1123290 |
Aug 1968 |
GBX |
1326740 |
Aug 1973 |
GBX |
2051442 |
Mar 1980 |
GBX |
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
685880 |
Apr 1991 |
|
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
567390 |
Aug 1990 |
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