Mirror mount assembly with dual reflective surfaces

Abstract

A mirror mount assembly includes multiple reflective surfaces disposed within a mirror housing for use on a vehicle. The reflective surfaces of each reflective surface are designed and configured for mounting at a pre-selected site. When so mounted, each reflective surface provides an expanded field-of-view of objects disposed in a specific zone proximate to the mirror mount assembly. When positioned at the extreme front end of the hood of a Type-C school bus, one of the reflective surfaces provides an expanded field-of-view below and alongside the driver and a reflective surface provides an expanded field-of-view below and in front of the school bus. On a Type-D school bus, the mirror mount assembly is disposed above the driver and suspended from the roof of the bus—the housing inkling the two reflective surfaces and a rear-view mirror. The reflective surfaces are designed to provide the driver with the best images in the target zones while minimizing the blindspot behind the mirror mount assembly. Either reflective surface may be adjustable within the housing to account for differing size and shapes of vehicle drivers.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a mirror mount assembly for mounting onto large commercial vehicles, recreational vehicles, and buses, including but not limited to trucks, school buses, buses for public transportation, trailers, garbage trucks, boats, cars, station wagons, trains, aircraft, and boats, and more particularly, to a mirror mounting assembly including multiple reflective surfaces. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] While the technology set forth herein has broad applications to large commercial vehicles, recreational vehicles, and buses, for purposes of example and illustration this technology is shown in this specification in school bus applications. One skilled in the art can readily apply such teachings to such other vehicles. [0003] School buses are the single largest system of public transportation in the U.S., providing about 10 billion rides annually to students grades K through 12. Each year, roughly 440,000 public school buses travel 4.3 ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0020] The mirror mount assembly of the present invention addresses all of the above-identified needs, and provides an improved field-of-view without enlarging the blindspot behind the mirror mount assembly. By minimizing the number of mirror mount assemblies disposed onto and about the vehicle, personal safety, driver convenience and cost effectiveness are achieved.

[0022] When positioned at the extreme front end on a Type C school bus, one of the reflective surfaces provides an expanded field-of-view below and alongside the driver and a second reflective surface provides an expanded field-of-view below and in front of the bus. The reflective surfaces are designed to provide the bus driver with clear images in the target zones.

Problems solved by technology

However, the National School Transportation Association reports that 25 school children were killed in school bus loading zones in the 1995-96 school year.

In one conventional bus mirror system, the driver often has four convex mirrors disposed on the front of the bus (see FIG. 1A), creating numerous blindspots, the need for independent mirror mounts, and confusion as to which mirror he or she should view in various situations.

In a second conventional bus mirror system, a convex mirror positioned at the extreme front edge of the bus enables viewing of the side and front of the bus, but the images in these mirrors are primarily the bus itself—which is undesirable (see FIG. 1B).

However, it has been found that some combination surfaces either provide distortion in zones between the combination surfaces or provide views of objects in zones not needed, thereby increasing the size of the blindspot behind the combination mirror.

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