Patent Grant
9809170
This invention relates generally to vehicle side mirrors. More particularly, it relates to an apparatus for protecting a vehicle's side mirrors from damage without impeding the view from the side mirror.
Manufacturers of vehicles such as forklifts typically mount exterior side mirrors at the end of upper and lower mirror support arms that are attached to the vehicle by spring loaded hinges. These hinges allow the support arms to pivot so that they collapse toward the vehicle when a sufficient amount of force is applied to them. The hinge prevents the arms from being ripped off the vehicle when the side mirror or the support arms contact a stationary object. The side mirrors are typically mounted to mirror arms at an angle, which leaves the mirror protruding beyond the mirror support arms. Consequently, the side mirrors often impact stationary obstacle during normal warehouse operations. For example, when a forklift enters into a semi-truck to load or unload the truck, the forklift often has clearance on each side as little as 1½″ to 2″ and the side mirrors often impact the truck walls. As another example, when a forklift is parked close to a loading platform, the side mirrors will often impact the platform when the forklift is moved. Although such impacts may cause the mirror support arms to pivot, the impacts often result in side mirror breakage during the collapsing of the mirror support arms. As a result, side mirrors of such vehicles frequently need to be replaced.
There is a need for an apparatus that addresses the foregoing problems. It is an object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description that follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations pointed out in the appended claims.
To achieve the foregoing objects, and in accordance with the purposes of the invention as embodied and broadly described in this document, there is provided an apparatus for protecting side mirrors of a vehicle, such as a fork lift. The apparatus includes a side mirror assembly that has a support frame and a side mirror mounted to the support frame. The support frame is hingedly mounted to the vehicle and has an outer end disposed outwardly from the vehicle. A contact wheel is mounted to the side mirror assembly so that the wheel can rotate in a generally horizontal plane. The wheel has a peripheral contact surface that extend outward, rearward and forward beyond the side mirrors and beyond the support frames. In one presently preferred embodiment, the wheel is generally circular in shape, has a diameter that is greater than the width of the side mirrors and is mounted below the side mirrors.
With the apparatus of the present invention, when the surface of the wheel peripheral contact comes into contact with an obstacle surface, the wheel will rotate and ride along the obstacle, allowing the support arms to pivot forward or rearward without damaging the side mirrors. This allows the vehicle to drive in tight spaces and to come into contact with obstacles without breaking the vehicle side mirrors.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate the presently preferred embodiments and methods of the invention and, together with the general description given above and the detailed description of the preferred embodiments and methods given below, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
Reference in this application is made to presently preferred embodiments of the invention. While the invention is described more fully with reference to these examples, the invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific details, representative devices, and illustrative examples shown and described. Rather, the description is to be understood as a broad, teaching disclosure directed to persons of ordinary skill in the appropriate arts, and not as limiting upon the invention.
It will be appreciated that terms such as “forward,” “rearward,” “upper,” “inner,” “outer,” “vertical,” “horizontal,” “bottom,” “below,” “top,” “side,” “inwardly,” “outwardly,” “downwardly” and “lower” and other positionally descriptive terms used in this specification are used merely for ease of description and refer to the orientation of the referenced components as shown in the figures. It should be understood that any orientation of the components described herein is within the scope of the present invention. The term “generally” as used in this specification is defined as “being in general but not necessarily exactly or wholly that which is specified.” For example, “generally perpendicular” is used herein to indicate components that are in general, but not necessarily exactly or wholly, perpendicular.
In the drawings, the reference numeral 10 designates a fork lift vehicle that includes a side mirror assembly 11 with a contact wheel 36 mounted to it in accordance with the present invention. The side mirror assembly 11 is hingedly mounted to and extends outwardly from the vehicle 10 to an outer end 15 on which the contact wheel 36 is mounted. As shown in
Referring to
Still referring to
As can be seen in
In the foregoing configuration, when the surface of the wheel contact surface 39 comes into contact with an obstacle 50, the wheel 36 can rotate and the side mirror support frame 13 can pivot toward the vehicle 10 to minimize damage to the side mirror 32.
Referring to
From the foregoing, it can be seen that the apparatus of the present invention possesses numerous advantages. It allows for a side mirror assembly to collapse upon impact with a stationary object from either the forward or rearward direction, while at the same time protecting the vehicle's side mirror from contacting the stationary object. This minimizes damage to the vehicle's side mirror, which reduces the need to replace mirrors.
Upon reading this disclosure, additional advantages and modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific details, representative devices, and illustrative examples shown and described. Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept.
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|---|---|---|---|
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20160368421 A1 | Dec 2016 | US |
