CA2190849A1 - Optic rearview mirror - Google Patents
Optic rearview mirrorInfo
- Publication number
- CA2190849A1 CA2190849A1 CA 2190849 CA2190849A CA2190849A1 CA 2190849 A1 CA2190849 A1 CA 2190849A1 CA 2190849 CA2190849 CA 2190849 CA 2190849 A CA2190849 A CA 2190849A CA 2190849 A1 CA2190849 A1 CA 2190849A1
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- rearview mirror
- lens
- image
- mirror
- prism
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
Links
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- B60R1/00—Optical viewing arrangements; Real-time viewing arrangements for drivers or passengers using optical image capturing systems, e.g. cameras or video systems specially adapted for use in or on vehicles
- B60R1/002—Optical viewing arrangements; Real-time viewing arrangements for drivers or passengers using optical image capturing systems, e.g. cameras or video systems specially adapted for use in or on vehicles specially adapted for covering the peripheral part of the vehicle, e.g. for viewing tyres, bumpers or the like
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- B60R1/00—Optical viewing arrangements; Real-time viewing arrangements for drivers or passengers using optical image capturing systems, e.g. cameras or video systems specially adapted for use in or on vehicles
- B60R1/10—Front-view mirror arrangements; Periscope arrangements, i.e. optical devices using combinations of mirrors, lenses, prisms or the like ; Other mirror arrangements giving a view from above or under the vehicle
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G02—OPTICS
- G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
- G02B23/00—Telescopes, e.g. binoculars; Periscopes; Instruments for viewing the inside of hollow bodies; Viewfinders; Optical aiming or sighting devices
- G02B23/02—Telescopes, e.g. binoculars; Periscopes; Instruments for viewing the inside of hollow bodies; Viewfinders; Optical aiming or sighting devices involving prisms or mirrors
- G02B23/08—Periscopes
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Multimedia (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Astronomy & Astrophysics (AREA)
- General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Optics & Photonics (AREA)
- Rear-View Mirror Devices That Are Mounted On The Exterior Of The Vehicle (AREA)
- Lenses (AREA)
Abstract
An optic rearview mirror is disclosed. The rearview mirror uses a frusto right prism (10) and a pair of convex lenses (20,40) having flat sides and enlarges the rearview angle and removes the dead angle and allows the driver to see about the rear bumper and thereby preventing possible accident during reversing an automobile and providing the fine rearview for the driver even in bad weather, such as in a snow day or a rain day. The rearview mirror also uses light shielding (26) and scattering means in front of a screen surface (4) of a screen lens (40) having a flat side. When rotating the means, the brightness of the image focused on the mirror is improved and thereby providing high quality image for the driver.
Description
~ WO 9!i132103 , 2 ,1 -9 0 8 4 9 OPTIC REARVIEW ~IRROR
RAr~r.Rr,rlNn OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention The present invention relates in general to an optic 5 rearview mirror, comprising a prism and a convex lens, for seeing out of the back window of automobile and, more particularly, to an optic rearview mirror not only enlarging the sideview angle due to optical effect, such as refraction and inversion, of a frusto right prism but 10 also letting the driver in the cabin simultaneously see the side-rearview and the direct-rearview regardless of weather condition.
Description of the Prior Art As well known to those skilled in the art, drive 15 mirrors of automobile include two sideview mirrors and a room mirror. The sideview mirrors are mounted to opposed sides of a car body and adapted for observation of sideview, while the room mirror is mounted to the inside front top of the cabin and adapted for observation of 20 direct-rearview. With the sideview mirrors and the room mirror, the driver can safely drive the automobile while seeing the sideview mirrors and the room mirror and thereby preventing possible traffic accident.
However, as a typical sideview mirror merely allows WO95/32103 ' 21 90849 r~
a sideview angle of about 20 when the mirror is set to the line of driver ' s vision, there is a dead angle which is out of the line of driver ' s vision and this ~ay cause traffic accident. When operating air conditioner or 5 heater in the automobile, the windows steam up due to temperature difference between the inside and the outside of cabin and this disturbs the driver from seeing out the windows. In particular, steaming up of windows becomes worse in bad weather, such as a snow day or a rain day, lO so that the windows in the bad weather should be opened when seeing the mirrors.
In a snow day or a raln day, the back window is steamed up so that it is impossible to discriminate things except for light out of the back window. In this case, 15 the driver can not help reversing the automobile with estimation and can not protect the automobile from another zlut )~ i 1 e in back. Furthe ~r~, the typical rearview mirror can not allow the driver to see about the rear bumper of the automobile and thereby possibly causing an 20 accident when reversing the automobile even in a fine day.
The typical sideview mirrors are designed to be ad~usted in their angles to the top, bottom, right or left by the driver in ths cabin so that the angles of sideview mirrors may be changed even by slight impact caused, for 25 example, when closing the doors. ~his makes the driver repeatedly adjust the angle of the mirror to keep the desired view angle.
WO 95~31103 i ~,ll~lv~'l ,/
` ~'1 9~849 In an effort to reduce the dead angle of the sideview mirror, a convex lens may be mounted to the sideview mirror or an additional mirror may be mounted to an appropriate position of the car body. However, neither 5 the convex lens nor the additional mirror can remove the problem of observation impossibility caused by bad weather. In addition, there have been several proposals for overcoming the above problems by use of a magnifying lens or a reflection mirror. However, as both the 10 magnifying lens and the reflection mirror not only invert the image but also have abnormal refraction index so that use of either the magnifying lens or the reflection mirror is r nied with excessive length of body tube or with excessive size of the sideview mirror. Therefore, use of 15 either the magnifying lens or the reflection mirror not only causes inferior practicality but also increases the cos t .
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention 20 to provide an optic rearview mirror in which the above problems can be UVt:L~ ? and which uses a frusto right prism and a pair of convex lenses having flat sides and enlarges the rearview angle and removes the dead angle and allows the driver to see about the rear bumper and thereby 25 preventing pQfifiihle accident during reversing an Wo 95/32l03 r~ 0~ /
` ~`;2`1 ~0849 '~
.
automobile and providing the fine rearview for the driver even in bad weather, such as in a snow day or a rain day.
It i8 another object of the present inVeDtiOn to provide an optic rearview mirror which uses light 5 shielding and scattering means in front o a screen surface of a screen lens having a flat side and rotating the means and thereby improving the brightness of the image focused on the mirror and providing high guality image f or the driver .
In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention provides an optic rearview mirror using a frusto right prism adapted for overcoming abnormal refractive index, image inversion and image separation caused by use of optical elements. In an ~ 'c~lir L, the optic rearview 15 mirror inr~ Ps a frusto right prism for inverting rearview image or side-rearview image in every directions, an image magnifying lens for reinverting the image inverted by the frusto right prism, and an inversion mirror for converting the angle of image reinverted by the 20 image magnifying lens into an angle suitable for observed by the driver . The optic rearview mirror also i r~ ]de~
a screen lens for showing the image projected by the inversion mirror, and means for ~hiPl~;ng and scattering the light and improving the brightness of the image 25 focused on the screen lens and providing high guality of lmage. In another Pmhorli t, the optic rearview mirror does not use the inversion mirror but uses a pair of right _ _ _ _ _ WO 9S132103 i ~ 2 1 9 0 8 9 prisms which are arranged between the frusto riyht prism and the imaye maynifyiny lens and adapted for transmitting the image from the frusto right prism to the screen lens without changing view angle. In the optic rearview mirror 5 of this invention, the optical ~l -tfi, that is, the frusto right prism, the image amplifying lens, the inversion mirror, the pair of right prisms, the screen lens and the light shielding and scattering means, are set in a sealed housing and mounted to a car body.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF TE~E DRAWINGS
The above and other obiects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken ln coniunction with the ~ ying drawings, in which:
Fig. 1 is an e~ploded per/.~:.;Live view of an optic rearview mirror in a~.;uL lanc~ with a primary embodiment of the present invention;
Fiy. 2 is a sectional view of the assembled rearview mirror of Fiy. 1;
Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a frusto riyht prism - of the rearview mirror of Fiy. 1;
Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a screen lens of the rearview mirror of Fig. 1;
Fig. 5 is a plan view of the assembled rearview mirror of the invention, showing an image refraction of Wo 95/32103 `~ ` 9 0 8 4 q the rearview mirror when using the rearview mirror as a driver seat sideview mirror;
Fig. 6 is a front view of the rearview mirror of Fig.
5;
Fig. 7 is a plan view of the assembled rearview mirror of the invention, showing an image refraction and a field of view of a semi-transparent glass when using the rearview mirror as a driver seat sideview mirror;
Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a mirror assembly, yielding the same effect as that of the frusto right prism, in accordance with a second embodimsnt of the present invention;
Fig. 9 is a plan view of a mirror and prism assembly, used as a driver seat sideview mirror, in accordance with a third ~mhodi- t of the present invention;
Fig. 10 i5 a front view of the mirror and prism assembly of Fig. 9;
Fig. 11 is a plan view of a mirror and prism assembly, used as a driver seat sideview mirror, in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 12 is a front view of the mirror and prism assembly of Fig. 11;
Fig. 13 is a plan view of an optical assembly, used as an assistant driver seat sideview mirror, in accordance with a fifth embodiment of the invention, showing image refraction of the optical assembly;
_ _ _ _ _ _ WO 95~32103 1 ,~
RAr~r.Rr,rlNn OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention The present invention relates in general to an optic 5 rearview mirror, comprising a prism and a convex lens, for seeing out of the back window of automobile and, more particularly, to an optic rearview mirror not only enlarging the sideview angle due to optical effect, such as refraction and inversion, of a frusto right prism but 10 also letting the driver in the cabin simultaneously see the side-rearview and the direct-rearview regardless of weather condition.
Description of the Prior Art As well known to those skilled in the art, drive 15 mirrors of automobile include two sideview mirrors and a room mirror. The sideview mirrors are mounted to opposed sides of a car body and adapted for observation of sideview, while the room mirror is mounted to the inside front top of the cabin and adapted for observation of 20 direct-rearview. With the sideview mirrors and the room mirror, the driver can safely drive the automobile while seeing the sideview mirrors and the room mirror and thereby preventing possible traffic accident.
However, as a typical sideview mirror merely allows WO95/32103 ' 21 90849 r~
a sideview angle of about 20 when the mirror is set to the line of driver ' s vision, there is a dead angle which is out of the line of driver ' s vision and this ~ay cause traffic accident. When operating air conditioner or 5 heater in the automobile, the windows steam up due to temperature difference between the inside and the outside of cabin and this disturbs the driver from seeing out the windows. In particular, steaming up of windows becomes worse in bad weather, such as a snow day or a rain day, lO so that the windows in the bad weather should be opened when seeing the mirrors.
In a snow day or a raln day, the back window is steamed up so that it is impossible to discriminate things except for light out of the back window. In this case, 15 the driver can not help reversing the automobile with estimation and can not protect the automobile from another zlut )~ i 1 e in back. Furthe ~r~, the typical rearview mirror can not allow the driver to see about the rear bumper of the automobile and thereby possibly causing an 20 accident when reversing the automobile even in a fine day.
The typical sideview mirrors are designed to be ad~usted in their angles to the top, bottom, right or left by the driver in ths cabin so that the angles of sideview mirrors may be changed even by slight impact caused, for 25 example, when closing the doors. ~his makes the driver repeatedly adjust the angle of the mirror to keep the desired view angle.
WO 95~31103 i ~,ll~lv~'l ,/
` ~'1 9~849 In an effort to reduce the dead angle of the sideview mirror, a convex lens may be mounted to the sideview mirror or an additional mirror may be mounted to an appropriate position of the car body. However, neither 5 the convex lens nor the additional mirror can remove the problem of observation impossibility caused by bad weather. In addition, there have been several proposals for overcoming the above problems by use of a magnifying lens or a reflection mirror. However, as both the 10 magnifying lens and the reflection mirror not only invert the image but also have abnormal refraction index so that use of either the magnifying lens or the reflection mirror is r nied with excessive length of body tube or with excessive size of the sideview mirror. Therefore, use of 15 either the magnifying lens or the reflection mirror not only causes inferior practicality but also increases the cos t .
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention 20 to provide an optic rearview mirror in which the above problems can be UVt:L~ ? and which uses a frusto right prism and a pair of convex lenses having flat sides and enlarges the rearview angle and removes the dead angle and allows the driver to see about the rear bumper and thereby 25 preventing pQfifiihle accident during reversing an Wo 95/32l03 r~ 0~ /
` ~`;2`1 ~0849 '~
.
automobile and providing the fine rearview for the driver even in bad weather, such as in a snow day or a rain day.
It i8 another object of the present inVeDtiOn to provide an optic rearview mirror which uses light 5 shielding and scattering means in front o a screen surface of a screen lens having a flat side and rotating the means and thereby improving the brightness of the image focused on the mirror and providing high guality image f or the driver .
In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention provides an optic rearview mirror using a frusto right prism adapted for overcoming abnormal refractive index, image inversion and image separation caused by use of optical elements. In an ~ 'c~lir L, the optic rearview 15 mirror inr~ Ps a frusto right prism for inverting rearview image or side-rearview image in every directions, an image magnifying lens for reinverting the image inverted by the frusto right prism, and an inversion mirror for converting the angle of image reinverted by the 20 image magnifying lens into an angle suitable for observed by the driver . The optic rearview mirror also i r~ ]de~
a screen lens for showing the image projected by the inversion mirror, and means for ~hiPl~;ng and scattering the light and improving the brightness of the image 25 focused on the screen lens and providing high guality of lmage. In another Pmhorli t, the optic rearview mirror does not use the inversion mirror but uses a pair of right _ _ _ _ _ WO 9S132103 i ~ 2 1 9 0 8 9 prisms which are arranged between the frusto riyht prism and the imaye maynifyiny lens and adapted for transmitting the image from the frusto right prism to the screen lens without changing view angle. In the optic rearview mirror 5 of this invention, the optical ~l -tfi, that is, the frusto right prism, the image amplifying lens, the inversion mirror, the pair of right prisms, the screen lens and the light shielding and scattering means, are set in a sealed housing and mounted to a car body.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF TE~E DRAWINGS
The above and other obiects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken ln coniunction with the ~ ying drawings, in which:
Fig. 1 is an e~ploded per/.~:.;Live view of an optic rearview mirror in a~.;uL lanc~ with a primary embodiment of the present invention;
Fiy. 2 is a sectional view of the assembled rearview mirror of Fiy. 1;
Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a frusto riyht prism - of the rearview mirror of Fiy. 1;
Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a screen lens of the rearview mirror of Fig. 1;
Fig. 5 is a plan view of the assembled rearview mirror of the invention, showing an image refraction of Wo 95/32103 `~ ` 9 0 8 4 q the rearview mirror when using the rearview mirror as a driver seat sideview mirror;
Fig. 6 is a front view of the rearview mirror of Fig.
5;
Fig. 7 is a plan view of the assembled rearview mirror of the invention, showing an image refraction and a field of view of a semi-transparent glass when using the rearview mirror as a driver seat sideview mirror;
Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a mirror assembly, yielding the same effect as that of the frusto right prism, in accordance with a second embodimsnt of the present invention;
Fig. 9 is a plan view of a mirror and prism assembly, used as a driver seat sideview mirror, in accordance with a third ~mhodi- t of the present invention;
Fig. 10 i5 a front view of the mirror and prism assembly of Fig. 9;
Fig. 11 is a plan view of a mirror and prism assembly, used as a driver seat sideview mirror, in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 12 is a front view of the mirror and prism assembly of Fig. 11;
Fig. 13 is a plan view of an optical assembly, used as an assistant driver seat sideview mirror, in accordance with a fifth embodiment of the invention, showing image refraction of the optical assembly;
_ _ _ _ _ _ WO 95~32103 1 ,~
Fig. 14 is a front view of the optical assembly of Fig. 13;
Fig. 15 is a plan view o an optical assembly, used as an assistant driver seat sideview mirror, in accordance 5 with a sixth Pmhor~ t of the invention;
Fig. 16 is a front view of the optical assembly of Fig. 15;
Fig. 17 is an exploded perspective view of a screen lens, provided with a pair of symmetric prisms for 10 discriminating the distance from a real thing in back, of the invention;
Fig. 18 is a front view of the screen lens of Fig.
18;
Fig. 19 is a sectional view of the screen lens of 15 Fig. 18;
Figs. 20 to 23 are sectional view of different PmhO~ ts of light shieldiAg and scattering means used in the optic rearview mirror of the invention respectively, the means being used f or improving the 20 quality of image focused on the screen lens and thereby producing hiyh guality of image;
Fig. 25 is a plan view showing side-rearview angles - of the rearview mirrors of the invention;
Figs. 26 to 27 are side views, showing rearview 25 angles of the rearview mirrors of the invention; and Fig. 28 is a side view, showing observation of direct-rearview using the rearview mirror of the present 3 r~
` ~` ` `;21 ~0849 invent ion .
DESCRIPTION OF THE ~ ~;IJ EMBODIMENTS
Fig. 1 is an e~ploded perspective view of an optic rearview mirror in accordance with a primary embodiment of the present invention and Fiy. 2 is a sectional view of the assembled rearview mirror of Fig. 1.
As shown in the drawings, the rearview mirror includes a frustum of right prism or a frusto right prism 10, which inverts the side-rearview image and the direct-rearview image, and an image magnifying lens 20 which turns over the inverted images of the prism 10. The mirror also includes an inversion mirror 30 for changing the anyle of image of the lens 20 into an angle suitable for observed by the driver. The mirror further includes a screen lens 40 for produciny the image projected by the inversion mirror 30 and thereby showing the image.
I~en setting the prism 10, the lens 20, the mirror 30 and the screen lens 40 in a sealed housing, the prism 10 received in a protection cover 5' is set in a trigonal outer casing 1. The outer casing 1 is provided with a light incident part 2 in a side and a light projecting part 3 iD another side. The light incident part 2 inrl.laP~: a semi-transparent mirror 50, while the light projecting part 3 is provided with a connection flange 4.
The rearview mirror also has a trigonal casing or an Wo 9~32103 r~ s . , 2 1 9 0 ~ 4 9 inner body tube 23. A side wall of the trigonal tube 23 is provided with a light incident part 24 which will be coupled to an image magnifying lens mount flange 21, while another side wall of the trigonal tube 23 is provided with 5 a screen lens mount part 25 which will be coupled to a screen lens mount wheel 26. The screen lens 40 is set in the wheel 26. The inversion mirror 30 i8 mounted to an interior wall of the trigonal tube 23.
The connection flange 4 is mounted to the light 10 projecting part 3 of the casing 1. A holed rectangular plate 5 is fitted over a bush of the flange 4 prior to tight engagement of a connection nut 6 with an outer-threaded part 4" of the bush of the flange 4. The plate 5 is fixed in its position on the flange 4. The image 15 magnifying lens 20 is set in the lens mount flange 21.
Thereaf ter, an outer-threaded f ixing pipe 22 is coupled to the lens mount flange 21 by engaging an outer-threaded part 22 ' of the pipe 22 with an inner-threaded part 21"
of the f lange 21 and thereby f ixing the lens 20 in its 20 position in the flange 21. The lens mount flange 21 having the lens 20 is, thereaf ter, f itted into a center opening 8 of a coupling plate 7. The plate 7 in turn is - coupled to the light incident part 24 of the trigonal tube 23 and thereby mounting the flange 21 to the tube 23.
25 Thereafter, an inner-threaded part 4 ' of the flange 4 engages with the outer-threaded part 21 ' of the flange 21.
In the above optic rearview mirror, the contact parts WO 95/32103 '`, " ! 1 }; '. 2 ~ 9 ~ ~ ~ 9 . ~ ~
between the right prism 10, the image magnifying lens 20, the inversion mirror 30 and the screen lens 40 in the sealed housing should be hermetically sealed. Such hermetical sealing of the contact parts is for prevention 5 Of inririPnre of noise light except for inridpnce of light through the semi-transparent mirror 50, the light incident part 2 of the casing 1 and a light projecting surface 12 of the prism 10.
In order to keep the hermetical sealing of the 10 contact parts, packings may be provided for contact parts between the elements of the sealed housing.
In order to .,v~ the top, bottom, right and left inverting action of the image magnifying lens 20 used for clearly producing the image on the screen, the reflection 15 part of the prism 10 is provided with slope surfaces 14 and 14 ' and thereby making a right angle as shown in Fig.
3 and inverting the image to the top, bottom, right and left at the same time.
The image passes through the prism 10 practically 20 inverting the image to the top, bottom, right and lef t at the same time and in turn passes through the image magnifying lens 20, thus to be observed by the driver.
The image amplif ied and inverted by the lens 20 in turn is pro; ected by the screen lens 40, the screen lens 40 25 being arranged such that it makes 90' - 60' angle with the image magnifying lens 20 and thereby facilitating image observation .
WO9S132103 r~l,~s/r~ ~
~ 21 9084~ ~j". j ~
The prism 10 which is the most important element of the rearview mirror of this invention has opaque cutting surfaces lla, llb, llc, lld and lle on its front, top, left-side, right-side and bottom surfaces as shown in Fig.
5 3 . The prism 10 also i nrl ~ Ps a pair of transparent surfaces 12 and 12 ' on opposed sides of the front cutting surface lla. The transparent surfaces 12 and 12 ' make a right angle with each other.
The back surfaces of the front cutting surface lla 10 and of the transparent surfaces 12 and 12 ' are provided with slope surfaces 14 and 14 ', each slope surface 14 or 14 ' being provided with a 90 reflection angle 13 and coated with i.l i . The slope surfaces 14 and 14' not only improve the light reflection efficiency of the prism 15 10 but also invert the image to the top and bottom.
Therefore, the specially shaped prism 10 of this invention generates the top and bottom inversion due to the slope surfaces 14 and 14' as well as the right and left inversion basically expected by a typical right prism.
20 Therefore, the prism 10 achieves reinversion of the imays of the image magnifying lens 20 and thereby IJVt~LI ing the operational limit of the body tube and the limit of image - angle.
In the above optic rearview mirror, use of the screen 25 lens 40 is for prevention of fatigue of driver's eyes and image scattering of the lens. That is, as the screen lens 40 has a screen surface, the lens 40 not only prevents WO g5/32103 P~
possible fatigue of driver's eyes possibly generated in use of typical lens but also prevents possible image . scatteriny of the lens generated when changing the line of driver ' s vision. Otherwise stated, the screen lens 40 5 makes the driver free from eye fatigue regardless of long time observation and prevents image scattering of the lens even when the line of driver ' s vision is changed.
- The screen lens 40 uses a convex lens having a f lat side 41 as shown in Fig. 4. The flat side 41 of the 10 convex lens is subjected to a screen treatment using hydrofluoric acid and thereby making the side 41 semi-transparent .
When the prism 10, the image magnifying lens 20, the inversion lens 30 and the screen lens 40 are arranged as 15 shown in Figs. 5 and 6, each of the left and right lines A and C makes an angle of about 40- with the line B of driver ' s vision so that the rearview mirror of this invention facilitates observation of the rearview. Of course, it should be understood that the rearview angle 20 may be enlarged than 40. However, the angle of 40 is noted to be most profitable when regarding size difference between the image and the real thing.
As the rearview angle of about 40' of the prism 10 is defined by the refraction angle of the image magnifying 25 lens 20, the rearview angle may be enlarged by use of an image magnifying lens having larger refraction angle.
It is impossible to use a typical mir:or or a typical WO 95/32103 . ~,1/l_._ '. . /
21 ~0849 prism in the optic rearview mirror as there is a limit in image inversion of either the typical mirror or the typical prism. However, the optic rearview mirror of this invention uses the specially shaped prism 10, which 5 inverts the image in every directions, and reinverts the image of the prism 10 by the image magnifying lens 20.
Therefore, the image which is reflected by the inversion mirror 30 and focused on the screen lens 40 is equal to the image focused on a typical rearview mirror. The optic 10 rearview mirror of this invention lets the driver see out of the back window through the screen lens 40 inside of the cabin of automobile.
As shown in Fig. 7, the right incident part 2 of the outer casing 1 connected to the light projecting surface 15 12 of the prism 10 is provided with the semi-transparent mirror 50 which transmits 60 - 80 % of the incident liyht.
The semi-transparent mirror 50 not only protects the prism 10 from the outside but also lets the prism 10 provide direct-rearview angle of about 40-. The light, which does 20 not pass through the mirror 50 but is ref lected by the mirror 50, provides side-rearview angle of 60- so that the mirror 50 acts as an ~ ry sideview mirror.
- The semi-transparent mirror 50 may be produced by combining a reflection glass with a transparent glass.
25 The transparent glass of the mirror 50 has an area equal to the light incident area of the prism 10 such that all of the light, after passing the transparent glass, can be 2i 90849 i~
transmitted to the rearview mirror of this invention. On the other hand, the reflection glass of the mirror 50 is , arranyed in the outside of the transparent glass and thereby acting as a typical rearview mirror.
The top of the casing 1 having the semi-transparent mirror 50 is provided with a hood of 3 - 5 cm width. The hood protects the mirror 50 from rain or snow and thereby preventing possible obstacle in observation of rearview.
Turning to Fig. 8, there is shown a mirror assembly, functioning as the prism 10, in accordance with a second pmhorl i t of the present invention . In the second pmhorli ~ t, a top slope mirror 81 and a bottom slope mirror 82 are bonded to each other at a right angle and thereby forming a reflection mirror 80 yielding the same operational effect as that of the prism 10 of the primary embodiment. The top and bottom slope mirrors 81 and 82 of the reflection mirror 80 function as the slope surfaces 14 and 14 ' of the prism 10 respectively. The second ~-mhodi ~ t thus achieves the flmctional effect of the slope surfaces 14 and 14 ' of the prism 10 with low cost.
Ref erring next to Figs . 9 and 10, there is shown a mirror and prism assembly used as a driver seat sideview mirror in accordance with a third pmhorl j L of the present invention. The assembly of the third pmho~ii t includes a f lat ref lection mirror 83 and a pair of right prisms 84 and 85 bonded to each other. The flat ref lection mirror 83 and the bonded right prisms 84 and _ . . _ . . ..... .... , _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ . , _ Wl) 95132103 ~, 21 90849; ~!''j ';
85 invert the image in every directions in the same manner as described for the prism 10 so that the assembly of the third pmhorl; t can bs used as a sideview mirror to be installed in the driver seat.
With reference to Figs. 11 and 12, there is shown a mirror and prism assembly used as a driver seat sideview mirror in accordance with a fourth Pmho~ t of the present invention. The assembly of the fourth embodiment inr~ Ps a flat reflection mirror 83 and a trapezoidal 10 prism 86 which yield the same effect of the assembly of Figs. 9 and 10. Tl,ert,fore, the assembly of the fourth embodiment can be used as a sideview mirror to be installed in the driver seat.
Figs. 13 and 14 show an optical assembly used as an 15 assistant driver seat sideview mirror in accordance with a fifth ~mho~ t of the invention. In this pmholli rt, the image magnifying lens 20 and the screen lens 40 are arranged on a concentric a~is without use of inversion mirror 30. In addition, a pair of right prisms 84 and 85 20 which are bonded to each other are arranged between the prism 10 and the image magnifying lens 20. In this optical assembly, only the top and bottom images of the - top, bottom, right and left images which were inverted by the prism 10 are reinverted so that this optical assembly 25 can be used as a sideview mirror to be installed in the assistant driver seat.
Turning to Figs. 15 and 16, there is shown an optical Wo 95/32103 . ~.l~h7~. /
2 1 90849 `~ C
assembly used as an assistant driver seat sideview mirror in accordance with a sixth embodiment of the invention.
In this embodiment, a trapezoidal prism 86 is used instead of the pair of right prisms 84 and 85. This optical assembly can invert the top and bottom images of the top, bottom, right and left images inverted by the prism 10 so that the optical assembly can be used as a sideview mirror to be installed in the assistant driver seat.
In the right prism 10 used in the optical assembly used as the sideview mirror to be installed in the assistant driver seat, the angle of the light projecting surface 12 of the prism 10 may be enlarged to 120' and thereby enlarging the refraction angle of the image projected from the outside. In addition, the reflection mirror 80 which is formed by bonding the top slope mirror 81 to the bottom slope mirror 82 at a right angle may be used instead of the prism 10 in the same manner as described for the above sideview mirror which will be installed in the assistant driver seat.
As shown in Figs. 17 to 19, a pair of symmetric prisms or micro prisms 44 and 45 may be installed in the center of the screen lens 40. In addition, slope surfaces 46 and 47 are formed in the symmetric prisms 44 and 45 respectively so that it is possible to accurately discriminate the distance from the real thing in back of the automobile. That is, as the image in the symmetric prisms 44 and 45 is separated to the right and to the lef t WO 95J32103 1 ~
21 90~49~ S
when the distance from the real thing in back of automobile is longer or shorter than the distance set by the slope surfaces 46 and 47 of the symmetric prisms 44 and 45, it is possible to accurately discriminate the 5 distance from the real thing.
Turning to Figs. 20 to 23, there are shown different Pmho~lir--ts of light shielding and scattering means 70 used in the optic rearview mirror of the invention, the means 70 being used for shielding and scattering the 10 light, after passing the screen lens 40, and thereby producing high quality of image.
In the embodiment of Fiy. 20, the means 70 is ~Luduced by mounting a great number of small-sized glass balls 72 on a side of a transparent glass 71. When 15 rotatably mounting the glass 71 with the glass balls 72 to the flat side 41 of the screen lens 40 and rotating the glass 71, the light is shielded and scattered by the glass 71 so that the high quality image can be produced. In the Pmhorli t of Fig. 21, the means 70 is produced by forming 20 a great number of concave lenses 73 on a side of a transparent glass 71. When rotatably mounting the glass 71 with the concave lenses 73 to the flat side 41 of the screen lens 40 and rotating the glass 71, the light is shielded and scattered by the glass 71 so that the high 25 quality image can be ~Ludul,ed. In the pmhorli~ t of Fig.
22, the means is pLoduced by forming a great number of convel~ lenses 74 on a side of a transparent glass 71.
wo 95/32103 2 1 9 0 8 4 9 ` "
When rotatably mounting the glass 71 with the convex lenses 74 to the flat slde 41 of the screen lens 40 and rotating the glass 71, the light is shielded and scattered by the glass 71 so that the high quality image can be 5 ~ludY1ed. In the embodiment of Fig. 23, the means 70 is o~uced by forming a great number of coDcave lenses 73 on a side of a transparent glass 71 and a great number of convex lenses 74 on the other side of the glass 71. When rotatably mounting the glass 71 with both the concave lenses 73 and the conve~ lenses 74 to the flat side 41 of the glass 71, the light is ~hiP~ d and scattered by the glass 71 so that the high quality image can be produced.
In the pmho~li t of Fig. 24, the means is l,L.,duced by mounting a great number of short optical fibers on a side of a transparent ylass 71. When rotatably mounting the glass 71 with the optlcal fibers to the flat side 41 of the screen lens 40 and rotating the glass 71, the light is shielded and ~cattered by the ylass 71 so that the high quality image can be produced.
When rotating the light shielding and scattering means 70 rotatably mounted to the flat side 41 of the screen lens 40, the light, after passing through the screen lens 40, is shielded and scattered by the means 70 so that the brightness of the image focused on the screen is improved and the high quality image can be produced.
The operational effect of the above rearview mirror will be described hereinbelow.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ~ WO95132103 21 9~84~
As the semi-transparent mirrDr S0 is mounted to the light incident part 2 of the outer casing 1 having the frusto right prism 10, the rearview anyle of the instant rearview mirror is enlarged to about 20' between the lines 5 d and e in addition of the basic rearview angle of 40-between the lines a, b and c of the prism 10 as shown in Fig. 25. Furf~ , it is ros~;hlP to provide rearview angle not less than 70' when sliyhtly changing the line of driver ' s vision so that the rearview mirror of this 10 invention can remarkably reduce the dead angle.
When comparing the instant optic rearview mirror with a typical rearview mirror, each of the side-rearview angles, that is, the angle of the sector X between the lines a and b and the angle of the sector X ' between the 15 lines a ' and b ' of Fig. 25, of typical rearview mirrors mounted to opposed side of a car body is less than 20- so that the sectors Y, Y ', Z and Z ' remain as dead angle sectors or danger sectors. However, the optic rearview mirror of this invention, using the frusto right prism 10 20 and the imaye magnifying lens 20, allows the driver to observe the sectors X, Y and Z between the lines a and c and the sectors X ', Y ' and Z ' between the lines a ' and c ' and thereby remarkably reduce the dead angle of the rearview mirror. Furthermore, when the optic rearview 25 mirror uses the semi-transparent mirror 50, the rearview mirror also allows the driver to observe the sector ~
between the lines d and e and the sector ~ ' between the Wo 9~/32103 lines d ' and e ' and thereby completely removing the dead angle .
When the inverted prisms 10 are installed, as shown in Fig. 28, in the positions r and s of Fig. 26, the sector between the line R and S can be observed by the driver. When installing the optical assembly, free from prisms 84 and 85, of Figs. 13 and 14 on the position t of Fig. 26 or installing the optical assembly, free from the trapezoidal prism 86, of Figs. 15 and 16 on the position u of Fig. 27, the sector between the lines T and U can be observed by the drlver. In this case, the driver can safely reverse the automobile.
In accordance with the invention, large area back can be o~S~L v~:d by a small-sized optic rearview mirror. When mounting the rearview mirror of this invention to a car body, the outer casing 1 having the prism 10 just projects out of the car body by about 10 - 12 cm. Otherwise stated, a part of the rearview mirror is merely exposed to the outside of the car body such that the size of exposed part of this rearview mirror is a half of that of a typical rearview mirror. Therefore, the rearview mirror of this invention can be prevented from possible damage generated when the automobile runs or is parked on a narrow space.
As described above, the present invention provides an optic rearview mirror i n~ rl i ng several optical elements. In order to overcome abnormal refractive index, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ . .
WO 95132103 1 ~,11~: . /
2 1 9 0~ 4 9 image inversion and image separation, the rearview mirror of this invention j nr~ iPS a frusto right prism. The image inverted in every directions by the frusto right prism is reinverted by an image magnifying lens. The 5 optic rearview mirror also i nrl urlC~s an inversion mirror for converting the angle of image reinverted by the image magnifying lens into an angle suitable for observed by the driver and a screen lens for making clear image projected by the inversion mirror. The above optical elements are 10 set in a sealed housing and thereby not only overcoming irregulPr and abnormal refractive index but also minimizing the size of rearview mirror. The optic rearview mirror of this invention can be provided with additional function of a sideview mirror by arranging a 15 semi-transparent mirror or ~inPd reflection mirror and transparent glass on the front surface of the frusto right prism. In this case, the optic rearview mir~or provides side-rearview angle of about 40 - 60- regardless of exterior conditions such as weather condition so that the 20 rearview mirror reliably allows the driver in the cabin to observe the side-rearview and prevents possible traffic accident caused by dead angle. The optic rearview mirror also may be mounted to the back of the automobile and, in this case, the dead zone in the back of the automobile 25 will be completely removed.
Although the preferred PmhO~; ts of the present invention have been ~i~cln~ed for illustrative purposes, WO 95/32103 r~
21 ~0849 :i --those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the a~ ~ ~ ying claims,
Fig. 15 is a plan view o an optical assembly, used as an assistant driver seat sideview mirror, in accordance 5 with a sixth Pmhor~ t of the invention;
Fig. 16 is a front view of the optical assembly of Fig. 15;
Fig. 17 is an exploded perspective view of a screen lens, provided with a pair of symmetric prisms for 10 discriminating the distance from a real thing in back, of the invention;
Fig. 18 is a front view of the screen lens of Fig.
18;
Fig. 19 is a sectional view of the screen lens of 15 Fig. 18;
Figs. 20 to 23 are sectional view of different PmhO~ ts of light shieldiAg and scattering means used in the optic rearview mirror of the invention respectively, the means being used f or improving the 20 quality of image focused on the screen lens and thereby producing hiyh guality of image;
Fig. 25 is a plan view showing side-rearview angles - of the rearview mirrors of the invention;
Figs. 26 to 27 are side views, showing rearview 25 angles of the rearview mirrors of the invention; and Fig. 28 is a side view, showing observation of direct-rearview using the rearview mirror of the present 3 r~
` ~` ` `;21 ~0849 invent ion .
DESCRIPTION OF THE ~ ~;IJ EMBODIMENTS
Fig. 1 is an e~ploded perspective view of an optic rearview mirror in accordance with a primary embodiment of the present invention and Fiy. 2 is a sectional view of the assembled rearview mirror of Fig. 1.
As shown in the drawings, the rearview mirror includes a frustum of right prism or a frusto right prism 10, which inverts the side-rearview image and the direct-rearview image, and an image magnifying lens 20 which turns over the inverted images of the prism 10. The mirror also includes an inversion mirror 30 for changing the anyle of image of the lens 20 into an angle suitable for observed by the driver. The mirror further includes a screen lens 40 for produciny the image projected by the inversion mirror 30 and thereby showing the image.
I~en setting the prism 10, the lens 20, the mirror 30 and the screen lens 40 in a sealed housing, the prism 10 received in a protection cover 5' is set in a trigonal outer casing 1. The outer casing 1 is provided with a light incident part 2 in a side and a light projecting part 3 iD another side. The light incident part 2 inrl.laP~: a semi-transparent mirror 50, while the light projecting part 3 is provided with a connection flange 4.
The rearview mirror also has a trigonal casing or an Wo 9~32103 r~ s . , 2 1 9 0 ~ 4 9 inner body tube 23. A side wall of the trigonal tube 23 is provided with a light incident part 24 which will be coupled to an image magnifying lens mount flange 21, while another side wall of the trigonal tube 23 is provided with 5 a screen lens mount part 25 which will be coupled to a screen lens mount wheel 26. The screen lens 40 is set in the wheel 26. The inversion mirror 30 i8 mounted to an interior wall of the trigonal tube 23.
The connection flange 4 is mounted to the light 10 projecting part 3 of the casing 1. A holed rectangular plate 5 is fitted over a bush of the flange 4 prior to tight engagement of a connection nut 6 with an outer-threaded part 4" of the bush of the flange 4. The plate 5 is fixed in its position on the flange 4. The image 15 magnifying lens 20 is set in the lens mount flange 21.
Thereaf ter, an outer-threaded f ixing pipe 22 is coupled to the lens mount flange 21 by engaging an outer-threaded part 22 ' of the pipe 22 with an inner-threaded part 21"
of the f lange 21 and thereby f ixing the lens 20 in its 20 position in the flange 21. The lens mount flange 21 having the lens 20 is, thereaf ter, f itted into a center opening 8 of a coupling plate 7. The plate 7 in turn is - coupled to the light incident part 24 of the trigonal tube 23 and thereby mounting the flange 21 to the tube 23.
25 Thereafter, an inner-threaded part 4 ' of the flange 4 engages with the outer-threaded part 21 ' of the flange 21.
In the above optic rearview mirror, the contact parts WO 95/32103 '`, " ! 1 }; '. 2 ~ 9 ~ ~ ~ 9 . ~ ~
between the right prism 10, the image magnifying lens 20, the inversion mirror 30 and the screen lens 40 in the sealed housing should be hermetically sealed. Such hermetical sealing of the contact parts is for prevention 5 Of inririPnre of noise light except for inridpnce of light through the semi-transparent mirror 50, the light incident part 2 of the casing 1 and a light projecting surface 12 of the prism 10.
In order to keep the hermetical sealing of the 10 contact parts, packings may be provided for contact parts between the elements of the sealed housing.
In order to .,v~ the top, bottom, right and left inverting action of the image magnifying lens 20 used for clearly producing the image on the screen, the reflection 15 part of the prism 10 is provided with slope surfaces 14 and 14 ' and thereby making a right angle as shown in Fig.
3 and inverting the image to the top, bottom, right and left at the same time.
The image passes through the prism 10 practically 20 inverting the image to the top, bottom, right and lef t at the same time and in turn passes through the image magnifying lens 20, thus to be observed by the driver.
The image amplif ied and inverted by the lens 20 in turn is pro; ected by the screen lens 40, the screen lens 40 25 being arranged such that it makes 90' - 60' angle with the image magnifying lens 20 and thereby facilitating image observation .
WO9S132103 r~l,~s/r~ ~
~ 21 9084~ ~j". j ~
The prism 10 which is the most important element of the rearview mirror of this invention has opaque cutting surfaces lla, llb, llc, lld and lle on its front, top, left-side, right-side and bottom surfaces as shown in Fig.
5 3 . The prism 10 also i nrl ~ Ps a pair of transparent surfaces 12 and 12 ' on opposed sides of the front cutting surface lla. The transparent surfaces 12 and 12 ' make a right angle with each other.
The back surfaces of the front cutting surface lla 10 and of the transparent surfaces 12 and 12 ' are provided with slope surfaces 14 and 14 ', each slope surface 14 or 14 ' being provided with a 90 reflection angle 13 and coated with i.l i . The slope surfaces 14 and 14' not only improve the light reflection efficiency of the prism 15 10 but also invert the image to the top and bottom.
Therefore, the specially shaped prism 10 of this invention generates the top and bottom inversion due to the slope surfaces 14 and 14' as well as the right and left inversion basically expected by a typical right prism.
20 Therefore, the prism 10 achieves reinversion of the imays of the image magnifying lens 20 and thereby IJVt~LI ing the operational limit of the body tube and the limit of image - angle.
In the above optic rearview mirror, use of the screen 25 lens 40 is for prevention of fatigue of driver's eyes and image scattering of the lens. That is, as the screen lens 40 has a screen surface, the lens 40 not only prevents WO g5/32103 P~
possible fatigue of driver's eyes possibly generated in use of typical lens but also prevents possible image . scatteriny of the lens generated when changing the line of driver ' s vision. Otherwise stated, the screen lens 40 5 makes the driver free from eye fatigue regardless of long time observation and prevents image scattering of the lens even when the line of driver ' s vision is changed.
- The screen lens 40 uses a convex lens having a f lat side 41 as shown in Fig. 4. The flat side 41 of the 10 convex lens is subjected to a screen treatment using hydrofluoric acid and thereby making the side 41 semi-transparent .
When the prism 10, the image magnifying lens 20, the inversion lens 30 and the screen lens 40 are arranged as 15 shown in Figs. 5 and 6, each of the left and right lines A and C makes an angle of about 40- with the line B of driver ' s vision so that the rearview mirror of this invention facilitates observation of the rearview. Of course, it should be understood that the rearview angle 20 may be enlarged than 40. However, the angle of 40 is noted to be most profitable when regarding size difference between the image and the real thing.
As the rearview angle of about 40' of the prism 10 is defined by the refraction angle of the image magnifying 25 lens 20, the rearview angle may be enlarged by use of an image magnifying lens having larger refraction angle.
It is impossible to use a typical mir:or or a typical WO 95/32103 . ~,1/l_._ '. . /
21 ~0849 prism in the optic rearview mirror as there is a limit in image inversion of either the typical mirror or the typical prism. However, the optic rearview mirror of this invention uses the specially shaped prism 10, which 5 inverts the image in every directions, and reinverts the image of the prism 10 by the image magnifying lens 20.
Therefore, the image which is reflected by the inversion mirror 30 and focused on the screen lens 40 is equal to the image focused on a typical rearview mirror. The optic 10 rearview mirror of this invention lets the driver see out of the back window through the screen lens 40 inside of the cabin of automobile.
As shown in Fig. 7, the right incident part 2 of the outer casing 1 connected to the light projecting surface 15 12 of the prism 10 is provided with the semi-transparent mirror 50 which transmits 60 - 80 % of the incident liyht.
The semi-transparent mirror 50 not only protects the prism 10 from the outside but also lets the prism 10 provide direct-rearview angle of about 40-. The light, which does 20 not pass through the mirror 50 but is ref lected by the mirror 50, provides side-rearview angle of 60- so that the mirror 50 acts as an ~ ry sideview mirror.
- The semi-transparent mirror 50 may be produced by combining a reflection glass with a transparent glass.
25 The transparent glass of the mirror 50 has an area equal to the light incident area of the prism 10 such that all of the light, after passing the transparent glass, can be 2i 90849 i~
transmitted to the rearview mirror of this invention. On the other hand, the reflection glass of the mirror 50 is , arranyed in the outside of the transparent glass and thereby acting as a typical rearview mirror.
The top of the casing 1 having the semi-transparent mirror 50 is provided with a hood of 3 - 5 cm width. The hood protects the mirror 50 from rain or snow and thereby preventing possible obstacle in observation of rearview.
Turning to Fig. 8, there is shown a mirror assembly, functioning as the prism 10, in accordance with a second pmhorl i t of the present invention . In the second pmhorli ~ t, a top slope mirror 81 and a bottom slope mirror 82 are bonded to each other at a right angle and thereby forming a reflection mirror 80 yielding the same operational effect as that of the prism 10 of the primary embodiment. The top and bottom slope mirrors 81 and 82 of the reflection mirror 80 function as the slope surfaces 14 and 14 ' of the prism 10 respectively. The second ~-mhodi ~ t thus achieves the flmctional effect of the slope surfaces 14 and 14 ' of the prism 10 with low cost.
Ref erring next to Figs . 9 and 10, there is shown a mirror and prism assembly used as a driver seat sideview mirror in accordance with a third pmhorl j L of the present invention. The assembly of the third pmho~ii t includes a f lat ref lection mirror 83 and a pair of right prisms 84 and 85 bonded to each other. The flat ref lection mirror 83 and the bonded right prisms 84 and _ . . _ . . ..... .... , _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ . , _ Wl) 95132103 ~, 21 90849; ~!''j ';
85 invert the image in every directions in the same manner as described for the prism 10 so that the assembly of the third pmhorl; t can bs used as a sideview mirror to be installed in the driver seat.
With reference to Figs. 11 and 12, there is shown a mirror and prism assembly used as a driver seat sideview mirror in accordance with a fourth Pmho~ t of the present invention. The assembly of the fourth embodiment inr~ Ps a flat reflection mirror 83 and a trapezoidal 10 prism 86 which yield the same effect of the assembly of Figs. 9 and 10. Tl,ert,fore, the assembly of the fourth embodiment can be used as a sideview mirror to be installed in the driver seat.
Figs. 13 and 14 show an optical assembly used as an 15 assistant driver seat sideview mirror in accordance with a fifth ~mho~ t of the invention. In this pmholli rt, the image magnifying lens 20 and the screen lens 40 are arranged on a concentric a~is without use of inversion mirror 30. In addition, a pair of right prisms 84 and 85 20 which are bonded to each other are arranged between the prism 10 and the image magnifying lens 20. In this optical assembly, only the top and bottom images of the - top, bottom, right and left images which were inverted by the prism 10 are reinverted so that this optical assembly 25 can be used as a sideview mirror to be installed in the assistant driver seat.
Turning to Figs. 15 and 16, there is shown an optical Wo 95/32103 . ~.l~h7~. /
2 1 90849 `~ C
assembly used as an assistant driver seat sideview mirror in accordance with a sixth embodiment of the invention.
In this embodiment, a trapezoidal prism 86 is used instead of the pair of right prisms 84 and 85. This optical assembly can invert the top and bottom images of the top, bottom, right and left images inverted by the prism 10 so that the optical assembly can be used as a sideview mirror to be installed in the assistant driver seat.
In the right prism 10 used in the optical assembly used as the sideview mirror to be installed in the assistant driver seat, the angle of the light projecting surface 12 of the prism 10 may be enlarged to 120' and thereby enlarging the refraction angle of the image projected from the outside. In addition, the reflection mirror 80 which is formed by bonding the top slope mirror 81 to the bottom slope mirror 82 at a right angle may be used instead of the prism 10 in the same manner as described for the above sideview mirror which will be installed in the assistant driver seat.
As shown in Figs. 17 to 19, a pair of symmetric prisms or micro prisms 44 and 45 may be installed in the center of the screen lens 40. In addition, slope surfaces 46 and 47 are formed in the symmetric prisms 44 and 45 respectively so that it is possible to accurately discriminate the distance from the real thing in back of the automobile. That is, as the image in the symmetric prisms 44 and 45 is separated to the right and to the lef t WO 95J32103 1 ~
21 90~49~ S
when the distance from the real thing in back of automobile is longer or shorter than the distance set by the slope surfaces 46 and 47 of the symmetric prisms 44 and 45, it is possible to accurately discriminate the 5 distance from the real thing.
Turning to Figs. 20 to 23, there are shown different Pmho~lir--ts of light shielding and scattering means 70 used in the optic rearview mirror of the invention, the means 70 being used for shielding and scattering the 10 light, after passing the screen lens 40, and thereby producing high quality of image.
In the embodiment of Fiy. 20, the means 70 is ~Luduced by mounting a great number of small-sized glass balls 72 on a side of a transparent glass 71. When 15 rotatably mounting the glass 71 with the glass balls 72 to the flat side 41 of the screen lens 40 and rotating the glass 71, the light is shielded and scattered by the glass 71 so that the high quality image can be produced. In the Pmhorli t of Fig. 21, the means 70 is produced by forming 20 a great number of concave lenses 73 on a side of a transparent glass 71. When rotatably mounting the glass 71 with the concave lenses 73 to the flat side 41 of the screen lens 40 and rotating the glass 71, the light is shielded and scattered by the glass 71 so that the high 25 quality image can be ~Ludul,ed. In the pmhorli~ t of Fig.
22, the means is pLoduced by forming a great number of convel~ lenses 74 on a side of a transparent glass 71.
wo 95/32103 2 1 9 0 8 4 9 ` "
When rotatably mounting the glass 71 with the convex lenses 74 to the flat slde 41 of the screen lens 40 and rotating the glass 71, the light is shielded and scattered by the glass 71 so that the high quality image can be 5 ~ludY1ed. In the embodiment of Fig. 23, the means 70 is o~uced by forming a great number of coDcave lenses 73 on a side of a transparent glass 71 and a great number of convex lenses 74 on the other side of the glass 71. When rotatably mounting the glass 71 with both the concave lenses 73 and the conve~ lenses 74 to the flat side 41 of the glass 71, the light is ~hiP~ d and scattered by the glass 71 so that the high quality image can be produced.
In the pmho~li t of Fig. 24, the means is l,L.,duced by mounting a great number of short optical fibers on a side of a transparent ylass 71. When rotatably mounting the glass 71 with the optlcal fibers to the flat side 41 of the screen lens 40 and rotating the glass 71, the light is shielded and ~cattered by the ylass 71 so that the high quality image can be produced.
When rotating the light shielding and scattering means 70 rotatably mounted to the flat side 41 of the screen lens 40, the light, after passing through the screen lens 40, is shielded and scattered by the means 70 so that the brightness of the image focused on the screen is improved and the high quality image can be produced.
The operational effect of the above rearview mirror will be described hereinbelow.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ~ WO95132103 21 9~84~
As the semi-transparent mirrDr S0 is mounted to the light incident part 2 of the outer casing 1 having the frusto right prism 10, the rearview anyle of the instant rearview mirror is enlarged to about 20' between the lines 5 d and e in addition of the basic rearview angle of 40-between the lines a, b and c of the prism 10 as shown in Fig. 25. Furf~ , it is ros~;hlP to provide rearview angle not less than 70' when sliyhtly changing the line of driver ' s vision so that the rearview mirror of this 10 invention can remarkably reduce the dead angle.
When comparing the instant optic rearview mirror with a typical rearview mirror, each of the side-rearview angles, that is, the angle of the sector X between the lines a and b and the angle of the sector X ' between the 15 lines a ' and b ' of Fig. 25, of typical rearview mirrors mounted to opposed side of a car body is less than 20- so that the sectors Y, Y ', Z and Z ' remain as dead angle sectors or danger sectors. However, the optic rearview mirror of this invention, using the frusto right prism 10 20 and the imaye magnifying lens 20, allows the driver to observe the sectors X, Y and Z between the lines a and c and the sectors X ', Y ' and Z ' between the lines a ' and c ' and thereby remarkably reduce the dead angle of the rearview mirror. Furthermore, when the optic rearview 25 mirror uses the semi-transparent mirror 50, the rearview mirror also allows the driver to observe the sector ~
between the lines d and e and the sector ~ ' between the Wo 9~/32103 lines d ' and e ' and thereby completely removing the dead angle .
When the inverted prisms 10 are installed, as shown in Fig. 28, in the positions r and s of Fig. 26, the sector between the line R and S can be observed by the driver. When installing the optical assembly, free from prisms 84 and 85, of Figs. 13 and 14 on the position t of Fig. 26 or installing the optical assembly, free from the trapezoidal prism 86, of Figs. 15 and 16 on the position u of Fig. 27, the sector between the lines T and U can be observed by the drlver. In this case, the driver can safely reverse the automobile.
In accordance with the invention, large area back can be o~S~L v~:d by a small-sized optic rearview mirror. When mounting the rearview mirror of this invention to a car body, the outer casing 1 having the prism 10 just projects out of the car body by about 10 - 12 cm. Otherwise stated, a part of the rearview mirror is merely exposed to the outside of the car body such that the size of exposed part of this rearview mirror is a half of that of a typical rearview mirror. Therefore, the rearview mirror of this invention can be prevented from possible damage generated when the automobile runs or is parked on a narrow space.
As described above, the present invention provides an optic rearview mirror i n~ rl i ng several optical elements. In order to overcome abnormal refractive index, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ . .
WO 95132103 1 ~,11~: . /
2 1 9 0~ 4 9 image inversion and image separation, the rearview mirror of this invention j nr~ iPS a frusto right prism. The image inverted in every directions by the frusto right prism is reinverted by an image magnifying lens. The 5 optic rearview mirror also i nrl urlC~s an inversion mirror for converting the angle of image reinverted by the image magnifying lens into an angle suitable for observed by the driver and a screen lens for making clear image projected by the inversion mirror. The above optical elements are 10 set in a sealed housing and thereby not only overcoming irregulPr and abnormal refractive index but also minimizing the size of rearview mirror. The optic rearview mirror of this invention can be provided with additional function of a sideview mirror by arranging a 15 semi-transparent mirror or ~inPd reflection mirror and transparent glass on the front surface of the frusto right prism. In this case, the optic rearview mir~or provides side-rearview angle of about 40 - 60- regardless of exterior conditions such as weather condition so that the 20 rearview mirror reliably allows the driver in the cabin to observe the side-rearview and prevents possible traffic accident caused by dead angle. The optic rearview mirror also may be mounted to the back of the automobile and, in this case, the dead zone in the back of the automobile 25 will be completely removed.
Although the preferred PmhO~; ts of the present invention have been ~i~cln~ed for illustrative purposes, WO 95/32103 r~
21 ~0849 :i --those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the a~ ~ ~ ying claims,
Claims (20)
1. An optic rearview mirror comprising:
a frusto right prism adapted for inverting an image in every directions;
an image magnifying lens adapted for reinverting the image inverted by the frusto right prism;
an inversion mirror adapted for converting angle of the image reinverted by the image magnifying lens into an angle suitable for observed by a driver; and a screen lens adapted for clearly showing the image projected by the inversion mirror.
a frusto right prism adapted for inverting an image in every directions;
an image magnifying lens adapted for reinverting the image inverted by the frusto right prism;
an inversion mirror adapted for converting angle of the image reinverted by the image magnifying lens into an angle suitable for observed by a driver; and a screen lens adapted for clearly showing the image projected by the inversion mirror.
2. The optic rearview mirror according to claim 1, wherein said frusto right prism is received in a hermetical outer casing; and said inversion mirror is mounted to an interior wall of a trigonal body tube, said body tube being coupled to said screen lens on a side wall thereof and connected to said outer casing through an image magnifying lens mount flange, a fixing pipe, a connection flange and a connection nut.
3. The optic rearview mirror according to claim 1, wherein said frusto right prism has opaque cutting surfaces on its front, top, bottom, right and left surfaces and has a pair of transparent surfaces on opposed sides of said front opaque cutting surface, the back surfaces of said front cutting surface and of the pair of transparent surfaces being provided with slope surfaces, each of said slope surfaces being provided with a 90°
reflection angle and coated with aluminum.
reflection angle and coated with aluminum.
4. The optic rearview mirror according to claim 1, wherein each of said image amplifying lens and said screen lens is produced by oppositely arranging a pair of convex lenses having flat sides.
5. The optic rearview mirror according to claim 1 or 4, wherein a flat side of the screen lens is subjected to a screen treatment using hydrofluoric acid.
6. The optic rearview mirror according to claim 1, wherein a semi-transparent mirror is provided on the front surface of a light projecting part of the frusto right prism so as to use the rearview mirror as a reflection type sideview mirror.
7. The optic rearview mirror according to claim 6, wherein the center of said semi-transparent mirror comprises a transparent glass and the outside of said semi-transparent mirror comprises a reflection glass.
8. The optic rearview mirror according to claim 1 or 3, wherein a pair of reflection mirrors are bonded to each other at right angle and used instead of slope surfaces of said frusto right prism.
9. The optic rearview mirror according to claim 1, further comprising a pair of right prisms and a flat reflection mirror arranged in front of said image magnifying lens.
10. The optic rearview mirror according to claim 1, further comprising a trapezoidal prism and a flat reflection mirror arranged in front of said image magnifying lens.
11. The optic rearview mirror according to claim 1, further comprising a pair of right prisms arranged between said frusto right prism and said image magnifying lens.
12. The optic rearview mirror according to claim 1, further comprising a trapezoidal prism arranged between said frusto right prism and said image magnifying lens.
13. The optic rearview mirror according to any one of claims 1, 2, 4 and 5, further comprising a pair of symmetric prisms arranged in the center of said screen lens, said symmetric prisms having slope surfaces respectively and thereby discriminating a distance from a real thing in back of an automobile.
14. The optic rearview mirror according to any one of claims 1, 2, 4, 5 and 14, wherein a transparent glass provided with a plurality of small-sized glass balls on a side thereof is rotatably mounted to a flat side of said screen lens.
15. The optic rearview mirror according to any one of claims 1, 2, 4, 5 and 14, wherein a transparent glass provided with a plurality of small-sized concave lenses on a side thereof is rotatably mounted to a flat side of said screen lens.
16. The optic rearview mirror according to any one of claims 1, 2, 4, 5 and 14, wherein a transparent glass provided with a plurality of small-sized convex lenses on a side thereof is rotatably mounted to a flat side of said screen lens.
17. The optic rearview mirror according to any one of claims 1, 2, 4, 5 and 14, wherein a transparent glass provided with a plurality of small-sized concave lenses and a plurality of small-sized convex lenses on opposed sides thereof is rotatably mounted to a flat side of said screen lens.
18. The optic rearview mirror according to any one of claims 1, 2, 4, 5 and 14, wherein a transparent glass provided with a plurality of short optical fibers on a side thereof is rotatably mounted to a flat side of said screen lens.
19. The optic rearview mirror according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said frusto right prism is turned up at 180' angle so as to use the rearview mirror in observation of direct rearview.
20. The optic rearview mirror according to claim 11 or 12, wherein said right prisms and said trapezoidal prism are removed from between said frusto right prism and said image magnifying lens so as to use the rearview mirror in observation of direct rearview.
Applications Claiming Priority (4)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| KR1019940011093A KR960005616B1 (en) | 1994-05-20 | 1994-05-20 | Optical rear mirror |
| KR1994/11093 | 1994-05-20 | ||
| KR1995/12479 | 1995-05-19 | ||
| KR1019950012479A KR960040844A (en) | 1995-05-19 | 1995-05-19 | Screen device for optical rearview mirror |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2190849A1 true CA2190849A1 (en) | 1995-11-30 |
Family
ID=26630380
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2190849 Abandoned CA2190849A1 (en) | 1994-05-20 | 1995-05-19 | Optic rearview mirror |
Country Status (6)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| EP (1) | EP0759860A1 (en) |
| JP (1) | JPH10504251A (en) |
| CN (1) | CN1151139A (en) |
| AU (1) | AU2577095A (en) |
| CA (1) | CA2190849A1 (en) |
| WO (1) | WO1995032103A1 (en) |
Families Citing this family (7)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SE504492C2 (en) * | 1995-04-03 | 1997-02-24 | Su Li | A rear-view mirror unit for a vehicle |
| DE60020398T2 (en) * | 1999-05-19 | 2006-01-26 | Kho, Myung Duk | REAR VIEW OF VEHICLES |
| WO2001076911A1 (en) * | 2000-03-30 | 2001-10-18 | Kho Myung Duk | Sideview mirror apparatus for vehicles |
| CA2414059A1 (en) * | 2002-12-12 | 2004-06-12 | Pano Yiotis Patrikakis | Retractable blind spot mirror |
| CN104002735B (en) * | 2014-06-16 | 2016-04-13 | 大连理工大学 | A kind of automobile-used front-view mirror adopting lens and prism structures |
| CN105383392A (en) * | 2015-12-23 | 2016-03-09 | 江门市佳顺智能科技有限公司 | Automobile-used combined optical lens capable of achieving dead zone visible |
| CN105954868A (en) * | 2016-07-02 | 2016-09-21 | 郭金虎 | Human eye rear-view device based on optical system |
Family Cites Families (6)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FR1140079A (en) * | 1956-01-09 | 1957-07-11 | Rear-view mirror device for vehicles | |
| DE1944298A1 (en) * | 1969-09-01 | 1971-03-04 | Bernd Hahn | Periscope rearview mirror |
| US3979158A (en) * | 1973-12-20 | 1976-09-07 | Ichikoh Industries Limited | Periscope-type rear view mirror apparatus for automobile |
| US3947095A (en) * | 1974-03-18 | 1976-03-30 | Marie Saratore | Rear view vision device |
| GB2223464B (en) * | 1988-08-19 | 1992-08-19 | Maxwell Riley | Range-finder |
| GB9107551D0 (en) * | 1991-04-10 | 1991-05-29 | Milner Peter J | A rear view mirror |
-
1995
- 1995-05-19 WO PCT/KR1995/000057 patent/WO1995032103A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
- 1995-05-19 AU AU25770/95A patent/AU2577095A/en not_active Abandoned
- 1995-05-19 CA CA 2190849 patent/CA2190849A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 1995-05-19 JP JP7530207A patent/JPH10504251A/en active Pending
- 1995-05-19 EP EP95920273A patent/EP0759860A1/en not_active Withdrawn
- 1995-05-19 CN CN 95193719 patent/CN1151139A/en not_active Withdrawn
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| JPH10504251A (en) | 1998-04-28 |
| CN1151139A (en) | 1997-06-04 |
| AU2577095A (en) | 1995-12-18 |
| EP0759860A1 (en) | 1997-03-05 |
| WO1995032103A1 (en) | 1995-11-30 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| FZDE | Dead |