The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 29, 2002
Filed:
Oct. 13, 2000
John W. Carter, Holland, MI (US);
Kenton J. Ypma, Grand Rapids, MI (US);
Wayne J. Rumsey, Holland, MI (US);
Gentex Corporation, Zeeland, MI (US);
Abstract
An electrified rearview mirror includes a housing supporting a rearview mirror subassembly, and a bezel attached to the housing. The bezel includes a section of material defining a plurality of three-sided button openings on a face of the bezel, with the openings extending onto a bottom wall of the housing. A push-button is pivotally supported in each opening, with the hinge axis of the push-buttons being at a low position on the respective buttons so that the buttons are not accidentally depressed when the mirror housing is grasped by a vehicle driver to adjust an angle of the mirror. The bezel and buttons include pairs of tabs and mating slots that form a quick-attach bottom pivot, and further include stops and hooks at their top that form stroke-limiting mechanisms for controlling button movement. The buttons can be operably snapped into position on the bezel with minimal assembly time. A finger rail depression extends along the bottom wall of the housing parallel the buttons to facilitate a driver sliding his/her fingers along the mirror to a desired position for selecting a particular button to depress. Further, the buttons include feel locators that help the driver identify particular buttons without looking at the buttons.