Description

The present invention refers to a backing plate unit for a rear view device for a motor vehicle and the production thereof. The invention also refers to a rear view device with such a backing plate unit.

US 2012/0147613 Al describes a side rear view mirror assembly to be used in conjunction with a motor vehicle equipped with a blind spot sensor designed to detect objects in blind spots of the motor vehicle. The side rear view mirror assembly includes a base fixedly secured to the motor vehicle. A mirror case is movably secured to the base. The mirror case defines a housing and a mirror opening facing rearward. A backing plate is operatively connected to the mirror case facing rearward. The backing plate is movable with respect to the mirror case. A mirror glass is fixedly secured to the backing plate and movable therewith in a manner allowing an operator of the motor vehicle to view rearward of the motor vehicle. The side rear view mirror assembly also includes a blind spot indicator fixedly secured to the backing plate and in communication with the blind spot sensor to receive signals from the blind spot sensor and to indicate to the operator of the motor vehicle when an object is in a blind spot of the motor vehicle. The blind spot indicator is directed at the operator when the operator moves the backing plate to adjust the mirror glass. The indicator is integrated into the backing plate and has a small profile. The optical indicator is structured with at least one light source and a light guide designed as a wedge and forming a tray.

Referring to FIG. 3, a motor vehicle 10 is shown driving along a road 12 that has a dashed line 14 indicating a boundary of a lane of the road 12. The motor vehicle 10 is equipped with blind spot sensors 16, 18 disposed along each side 20, 22 of the motor vehicle 10. The motor vehicle 10 is also equipped with two side rear view mirror assemblies 24, 26 that extend out from each of these sides 20, 22 respectively. The side rear view mirror assemblies 24, 26 are used by an operator, graphically represented by a circle 28 in FIG. 3, to identify things that are going on outside the motor vehicle 10 rearwardly thereof. The operator 28 will adjust the side rear view mirror assemblies 24, 26 in a manner which allows the operator 28 to be satisfied that as much of the space rearward that can be viewed is being viewed by the operator 28. While most, if not all, motor vehicles 10 are equipped with two side rear view mirror assemblies 24, 26, the remainder of the discussion will focus on the side rear view mirror assembly 26 that is on the driver side 22 of the motor vehicle 10. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the following discussion with regard to the driver side rear view mirror assembly 26 applies equally to the rear view mirror assembly 24 on the passenger side 20 of the motor vehicle 10.

When an operator 28 uses a side rear view mirror assembly 26, it is typically adjusted such that the orientation of the mirror includes a portion of the driver side 22 of the motor vehicle therein. The operator 28 does this for purposes of orientation. As is shown in FIG. 3, the field of view for the side view mirror generally includes an angle a. Disposed adjacent the field of view 29 that is visible to the operator 28 is what is commonly referred to as a blind spot 31 that extends generally through an angle β. The operator 28 cannot see what is in the blind spot 31 , crosshatched in FIG. 3, without the head of the operator 28 turning in that direction. Said another way, the operator 28 cannot see anything that is in the blind spot 31 through angle β by looking in the side rear view mirror assembly 26. It is the blind spot sensor 18 that determines whether an object 30, the motor vehicle 30 shown in FIG. 3, is in the blind spot. If so, the blind spot sensor 18 will transmit over the vehicle communication system an appropriate signal to eventually indicate to the operator 28 that an object does in fact exist in the blind spot 31. It will be the operator's decision as to whether the operator 28 will turn his or her head to view the object 30 or to operate as if the object 30 continues to be in the blind spot 31 and act accordingly with regard to the operation and direction of travel of the motor vehicle 10.

FIG. 4 is a view on the front side of mirror glass and backing plate with indication signs of the side rear view assembly of US 2012/0147613 Al; and FIG. 5 is a cross section of the side rear view assembly of FIG. 4. As can be seen in Fig. 4, a mirror glass 54 is cut to fit into a not shown mirror opening of a rear view mirror assembly, and a small icon 50 is engraved near an outboard edge of the mirror glass 54. The small icon 50 is an ISO symbol of two vehicles with one in an overtaking position with respect to another. Below the small icon 50 is a circle 51 , through which the light of an indicator, discussed subsequently, shines toward a driver of the vehicle to which the rear view mirror assembly is mounted. A backing plate 52 is adapted to a mount 55 having openings to allow the threading a wire harness for an actuator there through.

Disregarding the orientation with respect to the motor vehicle, the mirror glass 54 has a front side that is visible for the operator. On the back or rear side of the mirror glass 54 is a reflective surface 56 that reflects light in the visible spectrum, see Fig. 5. The reflective material is normally a metal or an alloy that is sputter deposited onto the glass substrate. In the area of the circle 51, a portion of the reflective material or surface 54 is removed either totally, or to a defined remaining thickness by laser engraving. It is possible to use a very thin remaining reflective surface 56 which appears semi-transparent to operator. Some mirror glasses have additional color protective layers to protect the reflective layer and to avoid semi transparent appearance. These color layers must also be removed for the indicator light to shine though the mirror glass. The backing plate 52 is attached to the mirror glass 54 normally by a double side glue foil. The backing plate 52 forms an integrated mounting surface 53 that receives and hosts the indicator light.

The mounting surface 53 is formed to cover at least a printed circuit board 57, a light source 64 and a cover 58 as shown in Fig. 5. The printed circuit board 57 is mounted on the bottom to the mounting surface 53 and the light source 64 in form of a LED is attached on the top of the printed circuit board 57. The mounting surface 53 forms shoulders 61 to be used as bearing faces for the cover 58. End areas 63 of the cover 58 fit into the space that is formed by the shoulder 61 of the mounting surface 53. The cover 58 is formed as a plate to close the space created by the mounting surface 53 and is integrated into the cover 58. A light guiding pin 59 is also formed. The light guiding pin 59 is directed in direction to the LED and inclined versus the vertical by an angle Θ. The angle Θ allows a direction of light from the light source 64 into the light guide pin 59 through the circle opening 51 and the mirror glass 54 to driver's eyes. The assembly known from US 2012/0147613 Al makes usage of a plurality of parts.

A mirror reflective element sub-assembly suitable for use for a vehicular exterior rearview mirror assembly is known from US 2016/0078768 Al and includes a mirror reflective element, a signal indication module and a mirror back plate attached at the mirror reflective element. The signal indication module attaches to the mirror reflective element via an aperture of the back plate and has a light source that is activatable to emit light.

US 7,944,371 B2 discloses another mirror reflective element sub-assembly suitable for use for an exterior rearview mirror assembly of a vehicle, which includes a mirror reflective element, a mirror back plate having an indicator receiving portion established thereat, and a signal indication module having a light source. The signal indication module attaches to the indicator receiving portion of the mirror back plate and the light source is activatable to emit light through the indicator receiving portion. The light source is established at a circuit element and the signal indication module includes a housing that substantially encases the circuit element therein. The circuit element has electrical terminals extending therefrom and protruding at least partially at a connector portion of the housing so as to be electrically connectable to a power source of the vehicle. The connector portion of the housing is configured to provide a plug-socket connection between the power source and the signal indication module.

In US 2015/0003089 Al a further mirror reflective element sub-assembly for an exterior rearview mirror assembly of a vehicle is described. It includes a mirror reflective element having a transparent substrate. A mirror reflector is disposed at a surface of the transparent substrate and a heater pad is disposed at a rear surface of the transparent substrate. A mirror back plate is disposed at the heater pad and has a first structure formed at a rear plate surface and configured to attach at an actuator of an exterior rearview mirror assembly. A blind spot indicator element is disposed at a second structure formed at the rear plate surface and includes a light source that is activatable to emit light. The blind spot indicator element and the second structure are configured so that light emitted by the blind spot indicator illuminates an icon so that the illuminated icon is principally viewed by a driver of the vehicle. A rear view mirror for a vehicle, preferably for a motor vehicle, is known from DE 20 2015 104 690 US, with a mirror glass and a display device. A carrier plate for supporting the mirror glass is provided with integrated light guide of the display device, wherein light of at least one light source passes through the light guide and the mirror glass for displaying information.

US 2006/0210709 Al describes a method for producing an anisotropic film, which does not require a light irradiation device having a special mechanism or an advanced alignment adjustment system, is provided. A film containing a photoreactive material is arranged on a polarizing element, and an anisotropy is provided to the film containing a photoreactive material by irradiating the film with light through the polarizing element. With this method, an anisotropic film can be formed on the polarizing element.

US 2006/0204678 Al discloses an optical film whose retardation distribution is uniform, whose rainbow-like irregularity is suppressed, whose color is transparent and whose optical characteristics are extremely good is provided. A birefringent material containing a non-liquid crystal polymer is dissolved in methyl isobutyl ketone so as to prepare a coating solution. This coating solution is applied onto a transparent film, thus forming a coating film. By drying the coating film, an optical film having a birefringent layer formed on the transparent film is obtained. As the non-liquid crystal polymer, it is possible to use polyimide that has a birefringence (Deltanxyz) in a thickness direction when formed into a film of at least 0.03 and is soluble in methyl isobutyl ketone.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a backing plate unit fulfilling several functions in order to reduce the amount of parts to be assembled to obtain a rear view mirror assembly for a motor vehicle.

This object is solves according to the invention by a backing plate unit for a rear view device for a motor vehicle, comprising:

• at least one opening passing from a rear side of a backing plate to a front side thereof to form a logo pattern by itself,

• first attachment means on the rear side of the backing plate for a light source and • light filter means and/or at least one extension, which is extending from the front side of the backing plate, in the region of the logo pattern.

It is preferred that the logo pattern is provided by one opening in the form of an icon or a plurality of openings forming an icon, and/or each opening forming the logo pattern is passing through the extension.

The first attachment means can comprise:

• supporting means, preferably comprising spigots, on the rear side for supporting the light source , in particular the PCB, and/or

• a mounting structure for a snap connection comprising at least one wall and/or clips on the rear side for holding the light source, in particular a PCB thereof, preferably on the supporting means.

It is preferred that the extension is arranged in the region of the first attachment means, preferably in the region of the mounting structure, in particular between two walls.

Further it is proposed that second attachment means for an actuator of a reflective element are provided on the rear side of the backing plate, with the second attachment means preferably comprising a mounting structure for a snap connection.

The light filter means can comprise a wooden pulp filter.

According to embodiments of the invention the wooden pulp filter is placed on the rear side of the backing plate, the PCB is placed on the rear side of the wooden pulp filter and a coat is placed on the rear side of the PCB and at least a part of the rear side of the backing plate surrounding the PCB.

As an alternative it is proposed that the wooden pulp filter is placed on the front side of the backing plate and a coat is placed on the front side of the wooden pulp filter and at least a part of the front side of the backing plate surrounding the wooden pulp filter. The invention also provides a method for producing a backing plate according to the invention, wherein the backing plate is formed together with the logo pattern and the first attachment means in a first molding step, in particular by injection molding.

It is preferred that the backing plate is formed together with the logo pattern, the first attachment means and the second attachment means in a first molding step, in particular by injection molding.

The light filter means can be secured to the backing plate in a second molding and/or a coating step.

Still further, the invention provides a rear view device comprising a backing plate unit of the invention with a reflective element being attached to the front side of the backing plate and a light source, preferably a light source as well as an actuator, being attached to the rear side of the backing plate.

The reflective element can comprise a mirror glass or a transparent substrate, in particular a glass element, with a translucent coating, preferably comprising chrome, on its rear side.

It is preferred that the light filter means, in particular in form of a wooden pulp filter, is arranged either between the front side of the backing plate and the reflective element or between the rear side of the backing plate and the light source, in particular the PCB thereof.

The reflective element can be attached via a coating securing the wooden pulp filter on the backing plate.

Preferred embodiments of the invention are characterized in that a heater pad is arranged between the reflective element and the backing plate, with the heater pad being provided with an opening through which the light filter means and/or the at least one extension extend(s).

Finally it is proposed with the invention that the extension abuts against the reflective element, or a gap is provided between the extension and the reflective element, with the gap preferably being smaller than 1.25, in particular between 0.01mm and 1.25mm. Thus, a backing plate unit of the invention fulfills a plurality of functions as follows:

1. comprising a logo pattern, and

2. comprising attachment means for a PCB with LEDs, and

3. supporting a mirror glass, and

4. comprising a light filter means, and/or

5. comprising an extension in the region of the logo pattern, and facultatively

6. comprising attachment means for an actuator,

This results in a reduced amount of parts to be handled during assembly of a rear view mirror assembly. Still further, the need of a blind spot indicator module is made superfluous. Therefore, costs are reduced.

Advantages of the invention will be readily appreciated as the same become better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a first backing plate unit of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross section through a part of a second backing plate unit of the present invention, between a reflective element with a heater pad and a light source;

FIG. 3 is a top view of a motor vehicle with a second motor vehicle located in a blind spot of the first motor vehicle;

FIG. 4 is a view of mirror glass and backing plate with indication signs as known from

US 2012/0147613 Al ; and

FIG. 5 is a cross section of a first embodiment of invention according FIG. 4.

Fig. 1 depicts a backing plate 100 of a first embodiment of the invention viewed from its rear side 1 12. Said backing plate 100 comprises a blind spot indicator location 120 with an incorporated logo pattern 122 in form of through holes, walls 124 between which a printed circuit board (PCB - not shown) with lights sources like LEDs is to be inserted and spigots 128 onto which the PCB can be placed. The LEDs can generate light in Amber color to be balanced by a wooden pulp filter 130 to give an even display of light. The PCB is attachable to the backing plate 100 via a snap connection with the help of clips 126 preferably provided by the walls 124.

The backing plate 100 can be injection molded together with

• icon or rather logo pattern defining openings passing from the rear side 112 to the front side to form the logo pattern 122,

• the spigots 128 on the rear side 112 for supporting the PCB,

• the walls 124 and the clips 126 on the rear side 112 for the holding the PCB on the spigots 128, and

• a mounting structure 140 for an actuator (not shown) for a mirror glass (not shown), with the mirror glass to be arranged on the front side of the backing plate 100 and the actuator on the rear side 112 of the baking plate 100.

According to one alternative of the invention, the wooden pulp filter 130 is applied to the front side on the backing plate 100 in the region of the logo pattern 122 and fixed there by a further molding process before the mirror glass is attached to the front side.

Another alternative of the invention proposes to fit the PCB together with the wooden pulp filter on the front side of the PCB on the rear side of the backing plate in the region of the logo pattern 122 and to conformally coat the assembly, preferably by a further molding process.

In both cases, the backing plate 100 and the wooden pulp filter 130 are fixedly attached thereto, together with the PCB or without the PCB, to provide a single unit being the backing plate unit of the invention.

Fig. 2 depicts a part of a backing plate 200 of a second embodiment of the invention, in cross section. The backing plate 200 is formed together with walls 210 on its rear side 212, and an extension 220 with a logo pattern 222 is extending from its front side 224. Said extension 220 extends towards a reflective element 300 comprising in this example a glass element 310 with a translucent chrome coating 320 on its rear side 322. Between the backing plate 200 and the reflective element 300 a heater pad 400 is arranged. Said heater pad 400 is provided with an opening 410, through which the extension 220 passes.

Further, said extension 220 provides the logo pattern 222 which is defined by openings through the backing plate 200. The extension 220 is arranged between the walls 210, between which a light source 500, comprising a LED 510 on a PCB 520, is to be inserted. Thus, the light from the light source 500 passes through the openings within the extension 220 prior to impinging onto the reflective element 300.

Still further, said extension 220 can abut against the reflective element 300 or a gap can be provided between the extension 220 and the reflective element 300. The gap between the extension 220 and the reflective element 300 determines the sharpness of the logo pattern 220 seen at the front side 324 of the reflective element 300. Smaller gaps lead to sharper logo patterns. Preferably the gap is between 0.01mm and 1.25mm.

The backing plate 300 can be formed be injection molding together with openings passing from its rear side 212 through the extension 220 to its front side 224 to form the logo pattern 222 and together with the walls 210 on its rear side 212 for the attachment of the light source 500.

A wooden pulp filter (not shown) can be is applied to the front side of the extension of the backing plate and fixed there by a further molding process before the reflective element is attached.

The backing plate unit of the invention allows an easy and fast manufacturing of a rear view mirror assembly for a motor vehicle, without the need of a separate blind spot indicator module.

The foregoing discussion discloses and describes merely exemplary embodiments of the present invention. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from such discussion, and from the accompanying drawings and claims, that various changes, modifications or variations can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

Reference Signs: motor vehicle

road

dashed line

blind spot sensor

blind spot sensor

side of the motor vehicle

side of the motor vehicle

side rear view mirror assembly

side rear view mirror assembly

operator

field of view

object

blind spot

symbol

circle

backing plate

mounting surface

mirror glass

mount for actuator

reflective surface mirror

printed circuit

cover

light guide pin

shoulder

end area of cover

light source

backing plate

rear side

blind spot indicator location

logo pattern wall

clip

spigot

wooden pulp filter

mounting structure for actuator backing plate

wall

rear side

extension

logo pattern

front side

reflective element

glass element

translucent chrome coating rear side

front side

heater pad

opening

light source

LED

PCB