EP0496155A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Vehicular outside mirror assembly
Assignee: Magna Donnelly Corp
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Filing: 1991-11-26
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2011-11-26
Abstract
Abstract A rearview mirror for vehicles, especially adapted for exterior use with electro-optic or electrochromic mirror units (14), includes a reflective mirror element and a surrounding bezel (50) having a raised edge or crown (8). The raised crown provides an appearance of narrowness and reduced bezel size. The bezel is thinner at the sides of the mirror than at the top or bottom and includes a rear retaining member (80) which resiliently traps the mirror between a pair of resilient compressible seals (74,76) to form a continuous pocket at the edge of the mirror which is thus sealed against humidity, dirt, water, salt spray and other environmental effects commonly encountered by vehicles. Opposite polarity electrical connections (32) for the electro-optic mirror unit are provided in different sizes or are mounted in different directions to prevent incorrect polarity connections to the vehicle electrical system.
Inventors
- 👤 Desmon James O'farrell
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-03 09:15
CPC Classifications
H; H05; H05B; H05B3/00; H05B3/84; B; B60; B60R; B60R1/00; B60R1/02; B60R1/08; B60R1/083; B60R1/088; H05B1/00; H05B1/02; H05B1/0227; H05B1/023; H05B1/0236; H05B3/845; H05B2203/00; H05B2203/035
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 10
Claim 1
Independent Claim
151 words
A mirror assembly comprising: a mirror comprising a mirror element having front and rear surfaces and peripheral top, bottom and (opposing) end edges and a reflective coating on one of the front or rear surfaces; a bezel surrounding and holding the mirror and having a rim engaging the front surface of the mirror, a peripheral side adjacent a respective peripheral edge of the mirror and means for holding the mirror within the bezel; mounting means for connection to a mirror support; and the bezel rim having a crown extending substantially around the bezel and an inner edge engaging the front of the mirror, the crown being located inwardly towards the inner edge from the peripheral side so that the crown divides the rim into an inner surface sloping from the crown to the inner edge and a lateral surface sloping from the crown outwardly towards the peripheral side of the bezel.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
28 words
A mirror assembly according to claim 1 wherein the projection of the inner surface has a length greater than the length of the projection of the lateral surface.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
63 words
A mirror assembly according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the crown is formed by a relatively sharp edge between the inner surface and the lateral surface along a peripheral end edge of the mirror and/or the crown has a more rounded configuration along the peripheral top and bottom edges of the mirror than one or more of the peripheral end edges.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
49 words
A mirror assembly according to any of claims 1 to 3 wherein the ratio of the length of the inner surface projection to the length of the lateral surface projection is greater along the peripheral opposing end edges of the mirror than along the peripheral top and bottom edges.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
52 words
A mirror assembly according to any of claims 1 to 4 wherein the bezel rim has a recessed undersurface forming a channel extending around the rim, the channel adapted to receive a seal material for providing an environmental seal around the peripheral edges of the mirror when the bezel receives the mirror.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
30 words
A mirror according to any of claims 1 to 5 wherein an inner edge of the bezel rim includes a generally planar undersurface engaging the front surface of the mirror.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
21 words
A mirror assembly according to any of claims 1 to 6 wherein the inner surface and/or lateral surface is substantially planar.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
118 words
A mirror assembly comprising: a mirror comprising a mirror element having front and rear surfaces and peripheral top, bottom and (opposing) end edges, and a reflective coating on one of the front or rear surfaces; a bezel surrounding and holding said mirror and having a rim engaging the front surface of the mirror, a peripheral side adjacent a respective peripheral edge of the mirror, and means for holding the mirror within the bezel; mounting means for connection to a mirror support; and the bezel rim having a first width along the front mirror surface adjacent the peripheral top and bottom edges, the width of the bezel rim along an opposing end edge being less than the first width.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
236 words
A rearview mirror assembly comprising: a mirror having a front surface, rear surface and peripheral edge surfaces and comprising a mirror element having a reflective coating thereon; a bezel surrounding the mirror and having a rim engaging the front surface of the mirror and an imperforate peripheral side adjacent a peripheral edge surface of the mirror, the rim having an undersurface facing the mirror; a retaining member adjacent the rear surface of the mirror and engaging the bezel for holding the mirror within the bezel, the retaining member having an inner surface facing the mirror; cooperating means on both the bezel and retaining member for holding the retaining member and bezel together; mounting means for connection to a mirror support; and seal means within the bezel and retaining member for sealing a peripheral edge of the mirror, the seal means including a first resilient compressible seal member extending around the entirety of the mirror adjacent the mirror periphery and intermediate the rim inner surface and the mirror front surface, and a second resilient compressible seal member extending around the entirety of the mirror adjacent the mirror periphery and intermediate the retaining member inner surface and the mirror rear surface, the seal members and the inner surface of the peripheral side of the bezel defining a space adjacent the peripheral edge of the mirror around the mirror so that the space is sealed from the exterior environment.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
168 words
A mirror assembly comprising: an electro-optic mirror unit having a front surface, rear surface and peripheral edge surfaces and comprising at least one optically clear panel, an electro-optic material adjacent the panel, electrical means for applying electrical power to the electro-optic material to vary the light transmittance of the material, and a reflective layer for reflecting light incident thereon through the material, the mirror unit also including a pair of electrical connections to the electrical means; a bezel surrounding and holding the mirror unit and having a rim engaging the front surface of the mirror unit, a peripheral side adjacent the peripheral edges of the mirror unit, and means for holding the mirror unit within the bezel; mounting means for connection to a mirror support; and the bezel having a support for mounting the pair of electrical connections for connection to an electrical system the pair of electrical connections having opposite polarities and mounted on the support, and means for preventing incorrect polarity connections to the electrical system.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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