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Illumination-device-for-exterior-mirror

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Illumination device for exterior mirror

Details

Inventors: Miller, Larry E.;
Assignee: Donnelly Corporation (Holland, MI)
Primary Examiner: Husar; Stephen
Assistant Examiner:
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Van Dyke, Gardner, Linn & Burkhart, LLP

An illumination device for an exterior rearview mirror of a vehicle comprises a bulb holder which comprises a pair of stamped terminals and a housing which is preferably injection molded about the stamped terminals. One end of the stamped terminals provides for connection to a light bulb or other illumination source, while the other end of the stamped terminals provides for electrical connection to a vehicle or mirror wiring harness. Preferably, the body of the bulb holder is molded from a soft plastic material to facilitate easy insertion and removal of the bulb holder in the mirror assembly, and to further ease connection of the vehicle wiring harness to the wiring terminals. The soft plastic molding further provides a water-tight seal between the body and the stamped terminals and between the body and the illumination device of the rearview mirror assembly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present invention is intended to provide an illumination device which is easily and economically connectable to the vehicle electrics when mounted to a portion of an exterior rearview mirror of a vehicle.
The illumination device of the present invention is low cost and facilitates easy installation of the illumination device to the mirror and further facilitates easy electrical connection of the vehicle wiring to the illumination device.
According to an aspect of the present invention, an illumination device is mountable to an exterior rearview mirror assembly of a vehicle.
The illumination device comprises a pair of metallic or otherwise conductive first terminals for engaging a corresponding pair of metallic or otherwise conductive portions of an illumination bulb, and a pair of second terminals electrically, each of which is connected to a corresponding one of the first bulb terminals.
The vehicle wiring directly connects to the second terminals to provide electrical power to the illumination bulb.
An insulating housing is provided that at least partially encases the first and second terminals.
The housing is preferably detachably mountable to the illumination device or module of the exterior rearview mirror assembly of the vehicle.
Alternatively, the illumination device or module can consist of a unitary module comprising a bulb, reflector and lens in a single unitary sealed body, which is disposable should the bulb fail.
Preferably, each of the connected first and second terminals are integrally formed from an electrically conductive material, such as by a metal stamping or the like.
Preferably, the housing is integrally molded from an at least substantially insulating polymeric material, as is known in the molding art, with the integrally formed first and second terminals to provide an integrally molded bulb and socket module.
Because the housing is integrally molded around two or more first and second terminals, the housing separates and electrically insulates each metal stamping from the other stampings

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