Side view mirror employing prism for blind spot correction

Claim 1

In combination with a side view mirror of a vehicle, said side view mirror having a relatively planar reflecting surface and positioned on the side of said vehicle near the position of the vehicle driver for providing visual access to the rear of said vehicle, said side view mirror operative in conjunction with a conventional rear view mirror located within said vehicle to enable said driver to view traffic conditions at the rear of said vehicle, said mirrors undesirably providing a blind spot area in said visual field of view at the driver's side of said vehicle, the improvement therewith of apparatus, comprising: correction means coupled to said side view mirror at an angle with respect thereto of between .[.six to ten.]. .Iadd.twelve to twenty .Iaddend.degrees to provide a visual field of view for said driver determinative of said blind spot area to thereby enable said driver to have visual access to said blind spot area, wherein said correction means comprises a glass prism positioned over a portion of said planar surface with the base of said prism facing out from the driver's side of the vehicle, the base angle of the prism being between .[.six to ten.]. .Iadd.twelve to twenty .Iaddend.degrees, whereby refraction of light by the glass prism is employed to provide correction of said blind spot area.