Remotely Positionable Mirror on an Elongate Arm

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to mirror constructions, and particularly to a mirror on one end of an elongate arm, and remotely positionable from the other end thereof.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Problems are often experienced in the observation of generally inaccessible locations. For example there are many occasions in the home when it is necessary to carry out repairs or maintenance in awkward situations such as beneath furniture or under floors. Also in industry many occasions arise when it would be convenient to have a small mirror to view awkwardly placed assembly or maintenance areas.

It has been proposed in the prior art to provide elongate arms on which adjustable mirrors are mounted. and the angle of the mirror can be adjusted from a remote end of the arm.

However these constructions are not particularly portable. The elongate arm is a difficult construction to store and it could be impossible to place it in an ordinarily sized pocket since there is no provision for folding of the arm and storage of the mirror in a storage condition.

Furthermore the tilting of the mirror is restricted to a single axis so limiting the area which can be viewed without rotating the arm.

According to one aspect of the invention a mirror construction comprises an elongate body, an elongate arm one end of which is connected to the body, a mirror connected by an angleable connection to the other end of the arm, the arm and mirror being extendable between a storage condition in which the arm and mirror lie in close juxtaposition to the body and an operable condition in which the arm extends away from the body with the mirror at a distance from the body, adjustment mechanism extending along the arm to adjacent the body for adjustment of the mirror about the angleable connection, a light-emitting element positioned adjacent the mirror, and a battery carried by the body.

Preferably the mirror in the storage condition is received in and faces towards a pocket formed in the housing. The arm may lie parallel to the body in both the storage and operable conditions, and the arm is conveniently formed in a plurality of hinged sections.

According to another aspect of the invention a mirror construction comprises an arm with a mirror mounted on one end thereof for pivotal movement about two axes extending at right angles to one another and adjustment mechanism extending along the arm for moving the mirror about the two axes.

The invention may be carried into practice in a number of ways but one specific embodiment will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view from above and one side of a mirror in an open position according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the mirror shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the mirror of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of the mirror in a closed position;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view from above and one side of the mirror in a partially folded or closed condition;

FIG. 6 shows the mirror in an untilted condition;

FIG. 7 shows the mirror in a tilted condition;

FIG. 8 is a scrap perspective view of one of the hinge connections of the arm; and

FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram.

The construction shown includes a housing generally indicated at 10 and formed from a number of plastics mouldings. Pivotally connected to the housing 10, by means of a hinge 12 shown in FIG. 5, is an arm generally indicated at 11. The arm is formed in two sections 11A and 11B, the former being connected to the housing 10 by the hinge 12 and the latter section 11B carrying a head 13 which includes a mirror 14 capable of adjustment in a manner to be described. The two sections 11A and 11B are formed as plastics mouldings of generally U-section and are pivoted together by a further hinge 15. The adjacent ends of the sections 11A and 11B are shown in detail in FIG. 8 from which it will be seen that the section 11A carries a tongue 21 having a hook 22 adapted to engage a recess 23 on the section 11B when the parts are in alignment as shown in FIG. 1 so as to hold the joint at the hinge 15 rigid.

Referring to FIG. 5, the head 13 is generally rectangular having a transverse wall 13A through which the section 11B of the arm extends. This section of the arm is rigidly connected to the head in any suitable manner, for example by interengagement of suitable plastics parts integrally formed on the arm at the head. The sides 13B of the head are formed with a number of ridges 13C to enable the mirror head 13 to be gripped between finger and thumb when it is desired to open out the construction from the FIG. 4 position.

Extending between the sides 13B of the head is a web 13D and mounted in the head, one on each side of the arm 11B, are a pair of lamp bulbs 16 which are retained against brackets 17 by means of a spring clip 18. Suitable power connections are made to the brackets 17 on the one hand and the spring clip 18 on the other hand to enable the lamps to be illuminated when desired. It is to be noted from FIG. 5 that the web 13D has a pair of rectangular lensed apertures 20 one for each lamp which enables the construction to be used as an ordinary flashlight when in the FIG. 4 position.

Mounted in the housing 10 as shown in FIG. 5 are four batteries 25, only one of which is shown. The batteries are arranged in pairs one pair on each side in suitably mounted channels 26 which are covered by a pair of longitudinal lids 27 one of which has been removed in FIG. 5 for clarity of illustration.

Continuing to refer to FIG. 5, the moulding from which the housing 10 is produced affords a transverse web 28 which, adjacent the upper end of FIG. 5, is positioned between a pair of longitudinal webs 29 so as to form on each side of the web 28 a pair of channels 30 and 31. The channels are of such a width that they snugly receive the sections 11B and 11A respectively of the arm 11 when the construction is in a folded or storage condition. Thus, assuming as in FIG. 5 that the construction is being folded, the arm section 11A is about to enter the channel 31 and as the arm section 11A is folded downwards to accomplish this, the hinge connection 15 will approach a cut-out 33 in the web 28. This cut-out is also shown clearly on the righthand end of FIG. 1. This permits the arm section 11B to be pivoted through 180.degree. from the extended position of FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 to the storage position of FIG. 4 in which it can be readily inserted in a pocket and retained therein by means of a spring clip 35 shown in FIG. 4. The arm sections 11A and 11B carry small integral protuberances 36 to engage recesses such as the recess 37 in order to maintain the parts lightly engaged in the storage condition.

To facilitate the snug reception of the head 13 and mirror 14 in the housing 10 it will be observed from FIG. 5 that side walls 38 of the housing are reduced in the regions 39 in order to receive the sides 13C of the head 13.

The end of the arm section 11A adjacent the hinge 12 is enlarged to form a generally rectangular box 40 as can be most clearly seen from FIG. 1. In order to receive this box of the arm 11A in the housing, the channels 30 and 31 terminate adjacent the end of the web 28 shown in FIG. 5 whereafter the walls 29 are stepped outwards to provide two further spaced walls 41 between which the box 40 is received. Means may be provided to latch the box in the open position of FIG. 1.

The box 40 provides a location for a knurled control knob 42 which can either be rotated about its longitudinal axis or be moved to and fro along this axis in order to adjust the mirror. The longitudinal movements of the knob 42 tilt the mirror upwards and downwards whilst the rotary movements move the mirror bodily about a pivot connection to be described. To transfer the longitudinal and rotary movements of the knob 42 to the mirror a longitudinal adjustment assembly extends the length of the arm 11. The adjustment assembly includes a pair of metal longitudinal split tubes 45 and 46 which are retained in the U-shaped channels forming the sections of the arm 11A and 11B by means of pairs of tongues 47. The adjacent ends of the tubes 45 and 46 are interconnected by an open-wound coil spring 48. The righthand end of the tube 45 in FIGS. 6 and 7 is connected to the adjustment knob 42. A further spring 50 extends from the lefthand end of the tube 46 into a bore 51 in a collar 52 formed as part of the plastics moulding of a mirror backing 53. The collar 52 has a pair of shoulders 55 which locate a ring 57 having an arm 58 integrally formed thereon which extends upwards and to the right in FIG. 6 and which is pivoted at 59 between a pair of ears 62 formed on the end of the arm section 11B.

The operation of this mechanism is as follows. Sliding longitudinal movement of the control knob 42 is transmitted to the collar 52 by means of the tubes 45, 46 and springs 48 and 50. For example, movement of the control knob 42 from the FIG. 6 position to the FIG. 7 position tilts the mirror progressively to any desired angle up to approximately a right angle about the pivots 59. It is possible alternatively or in addition precisely to rotate the mirror about the axis of the collar 52 by a rotary movement of the knob 42. The spring 48 will transmit rotary movement from the tube 45 to the tube 46 which in turn transmits rotary movement to the collar 52 by means of the spring 50. For this purpose the springs 48 and 50 are a tight fit on the tubes 45 and 46 and also the spring 50 is a force-fit in the collar 52. During folding of the arm sections 11A and 11B the spring 48 can move slightly outwardly of the arm sections as shown in FIG. 5 since the hinge 15 does not include a hinge pin trapping the spring.

The electric circuit for this construction is shown in FIG. 9. It includes four batteries 25 arranged in two pairs the individual batteries of a pair being in series and the pairs together being in parallel. From the negative terminals at the lower ends of the lowermost batteries leads 65 extend to a slide switch 66 mounted on the housing as can be seen from FIGS. 1, 2, and 3. From the uppermost positive terminals of the uppermost batteries a further lead 67 extends to the spring clip 18 shown in FIG. 5. From the other side of the switch 66 a further lead 68 extends to the brackets 17 shown in FIG. 5. The leads 67 and 68 are made of fine wire which can, for example, extend up the tubes 45 and 46, sufficient slack being provided, for example by way of loops or coils in the wire, to enable the wiring to accommodate changes in the overall length of the longitudinal adjustment assembly when the knob 42 is moved to and fro. If desired, one of the wires may be largely replaced by employing the arm sections 11A and 11B, together with the springs, to carry current. Alternatively, parts of the wiring can be provided in the form of printed circuits.

It is believed that the operation of the device will be clear. It is readily unfolded from its FIG. 4 position, in which the mirror faces inwardly and is thereby protected, by gripping the sides 13C of the head 13 and drawing the head 13 away from the housing 10. Thereafter, the arm sections 11A and 11B can be unfolded and latched in the open position of FIGS. 1 to 3. Thereafter, the mirror can be readily adjusted as described by longitudinal and rotary movement of the control knob 42. By using the spring 50 effectively as a universal joint these movements can be carried out simultaneously. When it is desired to close the construction to the FIG. 4 condition, the knob 42 is adjusted to get the mirror flat in the position of FIG. 3. Thereafter, the arm sections 11A and 11B are folded through the FIG. 5 position until the section 11A lies in the channel 31 of the housing and the hinge 15 is received in the cutout 33. Finally, the arm section 11B is folded into the channel 30 and latched in position. The mirror is received between the side walls 38.

If desired, the mirror may be two-sided. For example, one side may be plain and the other side curved for magnification. Additional clip-on mirrors may be incorporated as desired. Moreover, the entire mirror head can be made removable, for example by a press-fit socket to enable other mirrors to be fitted, or a damaged one to be replaced.

To maintain the mirror in any set position, friction means may be provided. As an alternative to the lamp bulbs being fixed on the arm, they can be secured to the mirror and move with it. As an alternative to positioning a pair of bulbs in the region of the mirror, it is envisaged that a single bulb could be positioned on the housing and a series of optic fibres be arranged to conduct the light to the region of the mirror.