US4641933A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Elimination of internal reflections and diffractions from junctures in, and at the periphery of, a segmented mirror
Assignee: Roxor Corp
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Filing: 1985-11-15
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Granted: 1987-02-10
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Expires: 2005-11-15
Abstract
Abstract In a transparent molded segmented mirror having individual sectors on a transparent molding and comprising a myriad of reflecting surfaces at the rear side of the mirror away from the viewer, said surfaces located to produce, in the eyes of the viewer, a virtual image, or separate virtual images from separate portions of such molded mirror, there being zones separating the reflecting surfaces, the improvement comprising: (a) a material coating said zones and which includes a light absorber, (b) such material having approximately, the same index of refraction as the transparent molding, (c) whereby undesirable reflections from said zone are substantially reduced, because light impinging thereon cannot be reflected, but is only absorbed. Also, the thickness of light reflecting metallizing material defining the reflective surfaces may be thinned adjacent said zones, and the light absorptive coating may be applied over the thinned metallizing material; and the edges of the molding and of a glass backer may be coated with light absorptives material.
Inventors
- 👤 C. James Blom
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-03 10:33
CPC Classifications
B; B29; B29D; B29D11/00; B29D11/00596
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 22
Claim 1
Independent Claim
137 words
In the method of manufacturing a transparent molded segmented mirror having individual sectors on a transparent molding and comprising a myriad of reflecting adjacent surfaces at the back side of the mirror away from the viewer, and oriented to produce, in the eyes of a viewer, a single virtual image, or separate virtual images from separate portions of such molded mirror, there being a network of zones separating the individual reflecting surfaces, the steps that comprise (a) substantially reducing undesirable reflections from said zones of separation by coating the back side of said zones with material that includes a light absorber, (b) and including providing said reflecting surfaces by applying metallizing material to each sector of the molding and characterized in that the thickness of the metallizing material is substantially reduced toward the peripheries of said sectors.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
137 words
In the method of manufacturing a transparent molded segmented mirror having individual sectors on a transparent molding and comprising a myriad of reflecting adjacent surfaces at the back side of the mirror away from the viewer, and oriented to produce, in the eyes of a viewer, a single virtual image, or separate virtual images from separate portions of such molded mirror, there being a network of zones separating the individual reflecting surfaces, the steps that comprise (a) substantially reducing undesirable reflections from said zones of separation by coating the back side of said zones with material that includes a light absorber, (b) and including providing said reflecting surfaces by applying metallizing material to each sector of the molding and characterized in that the thickness of the metallizing material is substantially reduced toward the peripheries of said sectors.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
94 words
The method of claim 1 wherein thickness of metallizing material toward the periphery of the mirror sectors is controlled by providing an electrically charged lattice of substantially identical shape to the network of zones separating the individual mirror sectors, and super-imposing the lattice over the corresponding said zones of the mirror during said application of the metallizing material, at the moment of metallizing, the electrical charge imposed on the lattice being the same as the charge on the metallizing material, and opposite from the charge on the surface of the sector to be metallized.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method of claim 2 including employing a laser cutter to cut the lattice.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
42 words
The method of claim 1 including providing an electrically charged lattice of substantially identical shape to the network of zones separating the individual mirror sectors, and superimposing said lattice over corresponding said zones of the molding during application of said metallizing material.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
130 words
In a transparent molded segmented mirror having individual sectors on a transparent molding and comprising a myriad of reflecting adjacent surfaces at the back side of the mirror away from the viewer, said surfaces oriented to produce, in the eyes of the viewer, one virtual image, or separate virtual images from separate portions of such molded mirror, there being a network of zones separating the individual reflecting surfaces, the improvement comprising (a) a material coating said zones and which includes a light absorber, (b) and including metallizing material on the molding and defining said reflecting surfaces and characterized in that the thickness of the metallizing material is substantially reduced to define feather edges at and about peripheries of the sectors, (c) whereby undesirable reflections from said zones are substantially reduced.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
130 words
In a transparent molded segmented mirror having individual sectors on a transparent molding and comprising a myriad of reflecting adjacent surfaces at the back side of the mirror away from the viewer, said surfaces oriented to produce, in the eyes of the viewer, one virtual image, or separate virtual images from separate portions of such molded mirror, there being a network of zones separating the individual reflecting surfaces, the improvement comprising (a) a material coating said zones and which includes a light absorber, (b) and including metallizing material on the molding and defining said reflecting surfaces and characterized in that the thickness of the metallizing material is substantially reduced to define feather edges at and about peripheries of the sectors, (c) whereby undesirable reflections from said zones are substantially reduced.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
20 words
The mirror of claim 5 wherein said material coating said zones also coats said feather edges of the metallizing material.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
36 words
The mirror of claim 5 including a transparent glass backer carried at the front viewer-side of the molded mirror, there being a coating on the edges of said glass backer and comprising a light absorbing material.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
25 words
The mirror of claim 7 wherein said coating on said backer edges has substantially the same index of refraction as that of the glass backer.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
18 words
The mirror of claim 7 wherein said light absorber comprises a light absorbing particulate dispersed in a carrier.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
12 words
The mirror of claim 9 wherein said particulate consists essentially of carbon.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
35 words
The mirror of claim 5 for use in a vehicle, and having a front surface, and a holding bracket, the bracket and surface having orientation that is essentially perpendicular to the vehicle's direction of travel.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
36 words
The mirror of claim 5 defining two flat segmented mirror sections, located in one bracket, said sections and bracket oriented to form a chevron pointed generally rearward to enable a rear view subtending more than 180°.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
27 words
The combination of claim 11 including said vehicle mounting the holding bracket so that said front surface is inclined from vertical, being tilted steeply toward the viewer.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
25 words
The mirror of claim 5 wherein the mirror assembly also includes a transparent panel overlying the molding containing said reflecting surfaces and facing the viewer.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
37 words
The mirror of claim 11 wherein said reflecting surfaces form multiple groups of said surfaces, one group located at a central portion of the mirror, and other groups located at left and right portions of the mirror.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
97 words
The mirror of claim 15 wherein surfaces of said one group are oriented to intercept light rays traveling forwardly from the rear of the vehicle, for reflection toward the viewer, said surfaces of the group at the left portion of the mirror oriented to reflect light rays traveling from the left flank of the vehicle toward the mirror, for reflection toward the viewer, and said surfaces of the group at the right portion of the mirror oriented to reflect light rays traveling from the right flank of the vehicle toward the mirror, for reflection toward the viewer.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
21 words
The mirror of claim 15 wherein said mirror has transparent solid structure extending across and rearwardly of said myriad of surfaces.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
28 words
The mirror of claim 17 wherein said solid structure includes a first molded layer extending adjacent said myriad of surfaces and a second layer overlying said first layer.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
191 words
In the method of manufacturing a transparent molded segmented mirror having individual sectors on a transparent molding and comprising a myriad of reflecting adjacent surfaces at the back side of the mirror away from the viewer, and oriented to produce, in the eyes of the viewer, a single virtual image, or separate virtual images from separate portions of such molded mirror, there being a network of zones separating the individual reflecting surfaces, the steps that comprise (a) substantially reducing undesirable reflections from said zones of separation by coating the back sides of said zones with material that includes a light absorber, (b) said coating being applied to said zones with thickness characterized in that light incident thereon from the transparent molding is absorbed before it can be reflected back into the transparent molding, (c) there being metallizing material on the molding and defining said reflecting surfaces and characterized in that the thickness of the metallizing material is reduced at and about the peripheries of the mirror sectors, said coating step carried out to coat said light absorber material on said reduced thickness metallizing material about the peripheries of the mirror sectors.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
191 words
In the method of manufacturing a transparent molded segmented mirror having individual sectors on a transparent molding and comprising a myriad of reflecting adjacent surfaces at the back side of the mirror away from the viewer, and oriented to produce, in the eyes of the viewer, a single virtual image, or separate virtual images from separate portions of such molded mirror, there being a network of zones separating the individual reflecting surfaces, the steps that comprise (a) substantially reducing undesirable reflections from said zones of separation by coating the back sides of said zones with material that includes a light absorber, (b) said coating being applied to said zones with thickness characterized in that light incident thereon from the transparent molding is absorbed before it can be reflected back into the transparent molding, (c) there being metallizing material on the molding and defining said reflecting surfaces and characterized in that the thickness of the metallizing material is reduced at and about the peripheries of the mirror sectors, said coating step carried out to coat said light absorber material on said reduced thickness metallizing material about the peripheries of the mirror sectors.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1990-02-09 | 1990-08-11 | 1991-02-10 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1994-02-09 | 1994-08-11 | 1995-02-10 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1998-02-09 | 1998-08-11 | 1999-02-10 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |