Rearview Mirror Camera Bracket With Ball-End Compression Clamp
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional camera and device mounts for vehicle interior rear view mirrors are prone to free rotation and loosening due to temperature and humidity changes, and they often compromise the mirror's adjustability and require permanent modifications to the vehicle.
Innovation Solution
A device mounting bracket with a clamshell configuration, featuring a cup portion, a mounting facility with a pivot mount, and an elongated tube that compresses against the terminal ball of the mirror's base, providing stability and allowing full adjustability of the mirror.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional camera mounts are tightened onto the tubular segment, then the device is securely mounted, but the mount becomes prone to free rotation and loosening due to temperature and humidity changes
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting bracket is divided into two separate halves that clamp around the tubular segment. This segmentation allows the bracket to apply uniform compressive force around the entire circumference of the tubular segment, preventing rotation and loosening while accommodating thermal expansion and contraction without compromising mounting stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The bracket design incorporates compliance to accommodate changes in dimensional parameters of the tubular segment caused by temperature and humidity variations. The mounting mechanism allows for slight parameter changes in the tubular segment while maintaining secure attachment, preventing the mount from loosening or rotating due to environmental conditions.
2Adaptability or versatility
If traditional camera mounts are installed, then devices can be mounted to the mirror, but the mirror's adjustability is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting bracket is designed to attach to the base of the interior rearview mirror rather than to the mirror glass or adjustment mechanisms themselves. This extraction of the mounting function from the mirror's operational components allows the mirror to be adjusted freely while the device remains securely mounted to the base.
3Reliability
If set screws are used to secure the mount, then the device is firmly attached, but the surface of the tubular segment is marred and the mirror is permanently modified
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting bracket uses a flexible clamp design with rounded contact surfaces that conform to the tubular segment without marring it. The bracket material and surface finish are selected to prevent damage to the tubular segment while providing sufficient friction and normal force to securely hold the mounted device without requiring set screws or other invasive fastening methods.
Data Source
AI summary
A device mounting bracket for a vehicle interior mirror has a cup portion defining a cavity configured to closely receive the base, a mounting facility connected to the base and configured to support a vehicle accessory device, an elongated tube extending from the cup portion and defining a passage configured to receive the protruding shaft, the elongated tube having a free end terminating at a rim, and the elongated tube having a length configured to abut the rim against the terminal ball. The elongated tube may have a length configured to generate compression of the elongated tube. The cup portion may conformally receive the base. The mounting facility may include a pivot mount. The mounting facility may be configured to support a camera. The device mounting bracket may be a clamshell configuration having opposed halves.