[54] DIVIDED-REFLECTION METHOD OF WIDEANGLE OBSERVATION AND WIDE-ANGLE VIEW AUTOMOBILE MIRROR
[76] Inventor: Jose C. Palathingal, 424 Guadarrama Lane, Miradero Hills, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, 00680
[21] Appl. No.: 613,266
[22] Filed: Mar. 8, 1996
[51] Int. CI.6 G02B 5/08; G02B 5/26;
G02B 27/14; G02B 1/10
[52] U.S. CI 359/839; 359/840; 359/841;
359/584; 359/586; 359/833; 359/866
[58] Field of Search 359/839, 840,
359/841, 845, 850, 584, 586, 587, 629, 630, 631, 865, 883, 884, 833, 838, 864, 607, 608, 609, 639, 640
[56] References Cited
U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
3,084,596 4/1963 Radin 359/833
4,322,130 3/1982 Ito et al 359/584
4,411,492 10/1983 Bluege 359/833
4,674,850 6/1987 Blom 359/866
5,159,490 10/1992 Ainano et al 358/584
5,491,580 2/1996 O'Meara 359/584
FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
55-355051636 4/1980 Japan 359/866
404263202 9/1992 Japan 359/866
2254832 10/1992 United Kingdom 359/850
Primary Examiner—Paul M. Dzierzynski
Assistant Examiner—Mohammad Y. Sikder
Attorney, Agent, or Firm—-John Ryznic
[57] ABSTRACT
A method ol widening the directional range ol view ol a mirror device without enlarging the surface area ol the device by suitably combining a number ol partiallyreflecting surfaces includes provision to avoid discontinuities and overlaps in the field ol view. It also makes it possible for the viewer to visually identily an image with the particular reflector that generates the image seen in the image field and hence relate it to a zone ol the field ol visibility wherein the object is located. A device incorporating the method can be uselul as a side-view mirror ol an automobile.
7 Claims, 6 Drawing Sheets
