Electronic rearview mirror

Abstract

An electronic rearview mirror includes a main unit, a display unit, a mounting unit disposed on the main unit, and an adjustment unit. The display unit includes a display panel embedded in the main unit, an image module disposed within the main unit and signal-connected to the display panel, and a control button protruding forward from the image module. The adjustment unit includes an adjustment lever. The driver can pinch and pull the adjustment lever up or down to activate or deactivate the control button, thereby switching the display panel to a reflective surface or displaying an image. Simultaneously, the driver can also apply force to the adjustment lever to tilt the entire electronic rearview mirror, achieving the function of simultaneously adjusting the tilt angle of the display panel. The operation is simple and requires no manual button pressing.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This invention relates to an automotive component, and more particularly to an automotive interior product. [Previous Technology]

[0002] Referring to Figure 1, a typical car interior is equipped with a rearview mirror facing backward so that the driver can identify the situation behind. With the advancement of technology, most electronic rearview mirrors now have the function of connecting to a camera to provide a display of the outside view. The electronic rearview mirror usually includes a housing 11, a display panel 12 embedded in the housing 11 and facing backward, an image module 13 disposed in the housing 11 and signal-connected to a camera (not shown) and the display panel 12, a switch button 14 protruding on the housing 11 for controlling the image module 13, and a connecting rod 15 that can pivotally connect the housing 11 to the vehicle in multiple directions.

[0003] When the vehicle is in normal driving, the display panel 12 is a reflective surface that reflects the rear view from inside the vehicle. The driver can use the display panel 12 to understand the road conditions behind the vehicle. The driver can also grab the outer casing 11 and apply force to it, causing the outer casing 11 and the display panel 12 to swing relative to the connecting rod 15, thereby adjusting the tilt angle of the outer casing 11 and adjusting the orientation of the display panel 12 to suit the driver's viewing habits. When the vehicle is parked and ready to reverse, the driver can press the switch button 14, and the display panel 12 will switch from a reflective surface to a display screen. The display panel 12 can display the rear view captured by the camera, allowing the driver to confirm the rear view without being obstructed by blind spots inside the vehicle.

[0004] However, when the display panel 12 switches between the reflective surface and the display screen, it often involves switching driving scenarios. Therefore, drivers usually need to adjust the tilt angle of the display panel 12 for viewing. As a result, drivers need to press the switch button 14 to switch the display panel 12 and grab the housing 11 to adjust the viewing angle in several steps. The operation is more complicated. If the user presses the switch button 14 too hard, it is easy to cause the electronic rearview mirror to deviate from the originally adjusted angle. In addition, when the user grabs the housing 11 to adjust the viewing angle, it is easy to accidentally touch the switch button 14, which may cause inconvenience or danger. Therefore, there is still a lot of room for improvement. [Summary of the Invention]

[0005] Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide an electronic rearview mirror that can switch functions and adjust the viewing angle simultaneously in one operation.

[0006] Therefore, the electronic rearview mirror of the present invention includes a main body unit that defines an internal space, a display unit, a mounting unit, and a control unit. The display unit includes a display panel embedded in the main body unit, an image module disposed in the internal space and signal-connected to the display panel, and a control button that protrudes forward from the image module and is used to control the image module.

[0007] The mounting unit includes a mounting plate disposed on the main body unit and a positioning seat disposed on the main body unit and located in front of the mounting plate. The mounting plate has a stop surface, and the positioning seat has a base portion fixed to the main body unit and two guide portions disposed on the base portion at left and right intervals and extending downwardly in an arc. Each guide portion has an inner sliding surface that faces the stop surface and is curved.

[0008] The control unit includes two pivot protrusions rotatably limited between the mounting plate and the guide portions, an adjustment rod connecting the pivot protrusions and located between the guide portions, two limiting blocks extending outward from the adjustment rod to the left and right sides and respectively located in front of the guide portions, and a pressing block protruding from the adjustment rod and located behind the control button. Each pivot protrusion has two locking surfaces and an outer sliding surface connecting the locking surfaces and slidingly contacting the inner sliding surface of the corresponding guide portion. The adjustment rod can be switched between a first position and a second position by operation. When the adjustment rod is in the first position, one locking surface abuts against the stop surface, and the pressing block does not press against the control button. When the adjustment rod is in the second position, the other locking surface abuts against the stop surface, and the pressing block presses against the control button.

[0009] The advantages of this invention are: the driver can pinch and pull the adjustment lever up or down to switch the display panel between the reflective surface and the image display function. While performing the aforementioned switching action, the driver can also apply force to the adjustment lever to tilt the main unit, thereby simultaneously adjusting the tilt angle of the display panel. The operation is simple and does not require pressing a button. In addition, when the adjustment lever is pulled to the first position or the second position, one of the locking surfaces will abut against the stop surface, so that the adjustment lever remains in position when not operated, and will not be displaced due to vehicle vibration or mechanism slippage, causing the control button to be erroneously triggered or not triggered. Each limiting block and the pivoting protrusion on the same side are located on the front and rear sides of the corresponding guide part, and these guide parts are located on the left and right sides of the adjustment rod, respectively. This restricts all degrees of freedom of the adjustment rod except for pitch to avoid misalignment, ensuring the operating feel and triggering accuracy of the adjustment rod. It also avoids the situation where the display panel is accidentally switched when adjusting the viewing angle of the electronic rearview mirror.

Implementation Method

[0010] Referring to Figures 2 and 3, an embodiment of the electronic rearview mirror of the present invention is shown. In this embodiment, "front" and "rear" refer to the orientation of the electronic rearview mirror after it is installed inside the vehicle. Therefore, the direction of travel of the vehicle is "front" and vice versa. However, the above orientation is only a reference for the relative relationship between components and should not be limited to it in practice. The electronic rearview mirror includes a main body unit 2, a display unit 3 disposed on the main body unit 2, a mounting unit 4 disposed on the main body unit 2, an adjustment unit 5 disposed on the mounting unit 4, and a connection unit 6 connected to the main body unit 2. The main body unit 2 includes a shell 21, a cover 22 assembled in front of the shell 21 and cooperating with the shell 21 to define an internal space 221, and a mounting frame 23 fixed to the shell 21 and located in the internal space 221. In this embodiment, the mounting frame 23 is fixed to the housing 21, but in actual manufacturing, it can also be fixed to the cover 22 as needed.

[0011] The display unit 3 includes a display panel 31 embedded in the housing 21, an image module 32 disposed in the internal space 221 and signal-connected to the display panel 31, and a control button 33 protruding forward from the image module 32 for controlling the image module 32. The image module 32 can generally be signal-connected to a camera disposed outside the vehicle to display the images captured by the camera on the display panel 31. At the same time, the control button 33 can switch the function of the display panel 31 by pressing it or not, such as using the display panel 31 as a reflective mirror or switching it to a display screen for displaying images.

[0012] Referring to Figures 3 to 6, the mounting unit 4 includes a mounting plate 41 disposed on the main body unit 2 and a positioning seat 42 disposed on the main body unit 2 and located in front of the mounting plate 41. In this embodiment, the mounting plate 41 and the positioning seat 42 are locked to the mounting frame 23, but in practice, they can also be fixed to the housing 22 as needed. The mounting plate 41 has a mounting piece 411 fixed to the mounting frame 23 and an extension piece 413 connected to the mounting piece 411 and having a forward-facing stop surface 412. The extension piece 413 is located in front of the control button 33 and cooperates with the mounting frame 23 to define a through-hole 414. When the mounting plate 41 and the positioning seat 42 are disposed on the housing 22, the through-hole 414 can be opened on the housing 22, or it can be defined by the extension piece 413 and the housing 22. The positioning seat 42 has a seat portion 421 that is locked onto the mounting frame 23 together with the mounting piece portion 411, and two guide portions 422 that are spaced apart from each other on the seat portion 421 and extend downward in an arc. Each guide portion 422 has an inner sliding surface 423 that faces the stop surface 412 and is curved.

[0013] The control unit 5 includes two pivot protrusions 51 rotatably confined between the mounting plate 41 and the guide portions 422, an adjustment rod 52 connecting the pivot protrusions 51 and located between the guide portions 422 in a left-right direction, two limiting blocks 53 extending outward from the adjustment rod 52 to the left and right sides and respectively located in front of the guide portions 422, and a pressing block 54 protruding from the adjustment rod 52 and located behind the control button 33. Each pivot protrusion 51 is located between one of the guide portions 422 and the extension piece 413 in a front-back direction, and the pivot protrusion 51 and the limiting block 53 on the same side are respectively located on the rear side and the front side of the guide portion 422. The pivot protrusion 51 has two flat locking surfaces 511 and an outer sliding surface 512 connecting the locking surfaces 511 and slidingly contacting the inner sliding surface 423. The adjusting rod 52 has a receiving portion 521 connecting the pivoting protrusions 51, the limiting blocks 53, and the pressing block 54, and an operating portion 522 extending from the receiving portion 521. The cross-section of the adjusting rod 52 in the left-right direction is generally L-shaped. The pressing block 54 has an extension section 541 connecting the receiving portion 521, and a hook section 542 extending from the extension section 541 and cooperating with the extension section 541 to define a notch 543. The thickness of the hook section 542 gradually decreases rearward.

[0014] Referring to Figures 3, 6, and 7, the connecting unit 6 includes a support base 61 fixed to the mounting frame 23, an adapter sleeve 62 pivotally connected to the support base 61 in multiple directions, and a connecting seat 63 pivotally connected to the adapter sleeve 62 in multiple directions and fixed inside the vehicle. The support base 61 can also be fixed to the housing 22 according to different needs. The adapter sleeve 62 can connect the support base 61 and the connecting seat 63 through a ball joint or universal joint, so that the adapter sleeve 62 can rotate in multiple directions relative to the support base 61 and the connecting seat 63.

[0015] Referring to Figures 3, 5, and 8, since each limiting block 53 and the pivot protrusion 51 on the same side are located on the front and rear sides of the corresponding guide portion 422, and the guide portions 422 are located on the left and right sides of the adjusting rod 52, all degrees of freedom of movement of the adjusting rod 52 are restricted (since the guide portions 422 are curved, the degrees of freedom of movement of the pivot protrusions 51 in the vertical direction are also restricted), as well as the rotational degrees of freedom of roll and yaw. Therefore, the adjusting rod 52 only has the rotational degree of freedom of pitch relative to the mounting unit 4. The driver can switch the adjusting rod 52 between a first position as shown in Figure 3 and a second position as shown in Figure 8 relative to the mounting unit 4 by moving the adjusting rod 52. When the adjustment lever 52 is in the first position, one of the locking surfaces 511 abuts against the stop surface 412, the extension section 541 extends upward from the receiving part 521, and the hook section 542 extends backward from the receiving part 521. The notch 543 and the hook section 542 are located in front of the opening 414 but do not pass through the opening 414 (or part of them are located in the opening 414 but do not pass through the opening 414), causing the touch block 54 to not press the control button 33. At this time, the image module 32 is not activated, and the display panel 31 becomes a reflective surface. When the adjustment lever 52 is in the second position, the other locking surface 511 abuts against the stop surface 412, the extension section 541 extends backward from the receiving part 521 and passes through the opening 414, the protruding hook section 542 extends downward from the receiving part 521, the protruding hook section 542 is located behind the opening 414 and presses against the control button 33, and part of the extension piece 413 is accommodated in the notch 543 (depending on the tilt angle in the actual design, it is not necessary). At this time, the image module 32 is activated by the control button 33 so that the display panel 31 displays the real-time image behind it.

[0016] Referring again to Figures 2, 3, and 5, while the driver moves the adjustment lever 52 to switch the function of the display panel 31, the driver can also apply force to the adjustment lever 52 to move the main body unit 2 and the connecting unit 6, thereby adjusting the tilt angle of the display panel 31. Therefore, the present invention can combine two operation steps into one, simplifying the operation and improving convenience. At the same time, it can also avoid the problem of the adjusted electronic rearview mirror being misaligned again due to excessive force when pressing the control button 33 with a finger. The L-shaped design of the adjustment lever 52 allows the driver to perform up and down operations by pinching it with only the index finger and thumb, and can also avoid the situation of accidentally switching the display panel 31 due to accidental touch when adjusting the viewing angle of the electronic rearview mirror. During the movement of the adjustment lever 52 in the first and second positions, the outer sliding surface 512 of each pivoting protrusion 51 maintains sliding contact with the inner sliding surface 423 of the corresponding guide portion 422. Simultaneously, the corresponding limiting block 53 reciprocates relative to the guide portion 422 on its outer side. These designs ensure that the pivoting protrusions 51, acting as pivots, rotate with a single degree of rotational freedom, preventing pivot misalignment and maintaining smooth rotation. The locking surfaces 511 abut against the stop surface 412 in both the first and second positions, providing a segmented tactile feedback when the driver moves the adjustment lever 52 to confirm whether the adjustment lever 52 has been correctly switched to the first or second position. It also prevents the adjustment lever 52 from rotating slightly due to vibration or other non-human operating factors, causing the control button 33 to be erroneously triggered or detrimentalized, resulting in the display panel 31, which was originally a reflective surface, suddenly becoming a display screen while the vehicle is in motion, or the display panel 31, which was displaying images while reversing, suddenly switching back to a reflective surface.

[0017] The gradually varying thickness of the hook segment 542 ensures that it does not interfere with the mounting frame 23 and the extension piece 413 during rotation with the adjustment rod 52. As the adjustment rod 52 rotates from the first position to the second position, the thickness of the hook segment 542 gradually increases the amount of movement it generates on the control button 33. This allows the control button 33 to be designed to trigger only at the maximum amount of movement, improving switching accuracy. Because the hook segment 542 can provide different amounts of movement during the rotation of the adjustment rod 52, the control button 33 can not only trigger on / off functions but also produce different outputs based on different amounts of movement, such as adjusting brightness or switching between multiple functions. Combined with a larger number of latching surfaces 511, multi-stage switching and function adjustment can be achieved, enhancing overall versatility.

[0018] In summary, the present invention allows the driver to adjust the angle of the electronic rearview mirror while switching the display panel 31, integrating the operation steps to improve convenience. At the same time, the adjustment lever 52 is restricted to only a single degree of rotational freedom, which can maintain the smoothness of rotation and avoid deviation. The positioning design of the latching surface 511 and the stop surface 412 allows the driver to confirm by hand whether the adjustment lever 52 is adjusted in place and has a positioning effect, avoiding the situation where the adjustment lever 52 returns to its original position after being released due to insufficient adjustment range. Therefore, the purpose of the present invention can be effectively achieved.

[0019] However, the above description is only an embodiment of the present invention and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention. Any simple equivalent changes and modifications made in accordance with the scope of the patent application and the contents of the patent specification shall still fall within the scope of the patent of the present invention. [Simplified Explanation of the Diagram]

[0020] Other features and effects of the present invention will be clearly presented in the embodiments with reference to the drawings, wherein: FIG1 is a perspective view illustrating a conventional electronic rearview mirror; FIG2 is a perspective view illustrating an embodiment of the electronic rearview mirror of the present invention; FIG3 is a side sectional view illustrating the side sectional view of the embodiment, in which the mounting unit is located in a first position; FIG4 is an incomplete top sectional view illustrating the top sectional view of the embodiment; FIG5 is an incomplete side view illustrating a mounting unit and an adjustment unit in the embodiment; FIG6 is an incomplete perspective view further illustrating the mounting unit and the adjustment unit; FIG7 is a side sectional view illustrating a connecting unit in the embodiment; and FIG8 is a side sectional view illustrating the mounting unit located in a second position.

Claims

1. An electronic rearview mirror, comprising: a main body unit defining an internal space; a display unit including a display panel embedded in the main body unit, an image module disposed in the internal space and signal-connected to the display panel, and a control button protruding forward from the image module and used to control the image module; a mounting unit including a mounting plate disposed on the main body unit, and a positioning seat disposed on the main body unit and located in front of the mounting plate, the mounting plate having a stop surface, the positioning seat having a seat portion fixed to the main body unit, and two guide portions disposed on the seat portion at left and right intervals and extending downwardly in an arc, each guide portion having an inner sliding surface facing the stop surface and being curved; and an adjustment unit including two pivot protrusions rotatably limited between the mounting plate and the guide portions, an adjustment rod connecting the pivot protrusions and located between the guide portions, and two adjustment rods... The lever has a limiting block that protrudes outward to the left and right sides and is located in front of the guide parts, and a pressing block that protrudes from the adjusting lever and is located behind the control button. Each pivoting protrusion has two locking surfaces and an outer sliding surface that connects the locking surfaces and slides in contact with the inner sliding surface of the corresponding guide part. The adjusting lever can be switched between a first position and a second position by operation. When the adjusting lever is in the first position, one locking surface abuts against the stop surface and the pressing block does not press against the control button. When the adjusting lever is in the second position, the other locking surface abuts against the stop surface and the pressing block presses against the control button.

2. The electronic rearview mirror as described in claim 1, wherein, Each pivoting protrusion and corresponding limiting block of the control unit are located on the rear and front sides of the corresponding guide portion of the mounting unit, respectively. When the adjustment rod switches between the first position and the second position, the outer sliding surface of the pivoting protrusion and the inner sliding surface of the guide portion maintain sliding contact, and the limiting block moves back and forth relative to the guide portion on the outside of the guide portion.

3. The electronic rearview mirror as described in claim 1, wherein, The adjustment rod of the control unit has a receiving portion connecting the pivot protrusions, the limiting blocks, and the pressing block, and an operating portion that bends and extends from the receiving portion. When the adjustment rod is in the first position, the operating portion extends backward from the receiving portion, and when the adjustment rod is in the second position, the operating portion extends downward from the receiving portion.

4. The electronic rearview mirror as described in claim 3, wherein, The mounting plate of the mounting unit has a mounting plate portion that is fixed to the main body unit together with the base portion of the positioning seat, and an extension portion that connects to the mounting plate portion and has the stop surface. The extension portion is located in front of the control button of the display unit and cooperates with the main body unit to define a through-hole. When the adjustment rod is in the first position, the touch block is located in front of the through-hole and does not pass through the through-hole. When the adjustment rod is in the second position, the touch block extends backward through the through-hole to press against the control button.

5. The electronic rearview mirror as described in claim 4, wherein, The control unit has an extension section connected to the receiving part and a hook section that bends and extends from the extension section and cooperates with the extension section to define a notch. When the adjustment rod is in the first position, the extension section extends upward from the receiving part and the hook section extends backward from the receiving part. The notch and the hook section are located in front of the opening. When the adjustment rod is in the second position, the extension section extends backward from the receiving part and the hook section extends downward from the receiving part. The extension section passes through the opening, so that the hook section is located behind the opening and presses against the control button.

6. The electronic rearview mirror as described in claim 5, wherein, The thickness of the hook section of the pressure block gradually decreases towards the rear.

7. The electronic rearview mirror as claimed in claim 1, wherein, The main unit includes a housing for embedding the display panel of the display unit, a cover assembled in front of the housing and cooperating with the housing to define the internal space, and a mounting frame fixed to the housing or the cover and located in the internal space. The image module is disposed between the housing and the mounting frame and located behind the display panel.

8. The electronic rearview mirror as described in claim 7, wherein, The mounting plate and the positioning seat of the mounting unit are fixed together to the housing or the mounting frame.

9. The electronic rearview mirror as claimed in claim 1 further includes a connecting unit for connecting the main body unit, the connecting unit including a support fixed to the main body unit, an adapter sleeve pivotally connected to the support in multiple directions, and a connecting seat pivotally connected to the adapter sleeve in multiple directions.

Images