REMOTELY OPERABLE VEHICULAR MIRROR AND COUPLING MECHANISM

1,151,544. Vehicle driving mirrors. JOHN PETERS ASSOCIATES Inc. 2 Aug., 1966 [19 Aug., 1965], No. 34633/66. Heading B7J. [Also in Division F2] A remotely-operable driving mirror assembly, e.g. for tractor-trailer vehicles, comprises a mirror housing 32 rotatably mounted on an axle 46 adjustably clamped at its ends by clamps 40 to a U-shaped bracket 14 pivoted to a similar bracket 18 bolted to a vehicle door post 12, and a reversible electric motor 100 and reduction gearing 110 mounted within the housing 32 and driving a shaft 112 carrying a pinion 114 which engages a fixed arcuate toothed rack 66 so as to rotate the mirror housing 32. The screwthreaded ends of the axle 46 are engaged by nuts 62, 72 and 52, 48 to clamp the clamps 40 via elongated slots 58, 60 and prevent the rack 66 from turning. The motor 100 is supplied by conductors 102 from a battery or other supply in the vehicle. The motor drive shaft 106 drives a gear-wheel 108 which drives freely-rotatable double spur gears 120, 122, 124, 126 and a gearwheel 128. A coupling member 142 is integral with a shoulder 140 of the gear-wheel 128 and has longitudinal grooves, and a similar coupling member 146 is fixed on the shaft 112, the coupling members 142, 146 being releasably connected by a lubricated spring steel sleeve 150 formed with longitudinal depressions and having a longitudinal slot so that when the pinion 114 is jammed the sleeve expands and disconnects the members 142, 146.