Vehicular outside mirror assembly

A rearview mirror assembly for vehicles comprising:

• a rearview mirror including a mirror element having front and rear surfaces and peripheral top, bottom and opposing end edges and a reflective coating on one of said front and rear surfaces;
• a bezel surrounding and holding said mirror and having a rim engaging said front surface of said mirror, a peripheral side adjacent said peripheral edges of said mirror, and means for holding said mirror within said bezel;
• and
• mounting means for connection to a mirror support;
• said bezel rim having a first width along said front mirror surface adjacent said top and bottom edges, the width of said bezel rim along said opposing end edges being less than said first width whereby when viewed at an angle from the front and adjacent one end, said bezel appears smaller at said end edges of said mirror thereby deemphasizing the size and appearance of said bezel on said assembly.

A rearview mirror assembly for vehicles comprising:

• a rearview mirror including a mirror element having front and rear surfaces and peripheral top, bottom and opposing end edges and a reflective coating on one of said front and rear surfaces;
• a bezel surrounding and holding said mirror and having a rim engaging said front surface of said mirror, a peripheral side adjacent said peripheral edges of said mirror, and means for holding said mirror within said bezel;
• and
• mounting means for connection to a mirror support;
• said bezel rim having a first width along said front mirror surface adjacent said top and bottom edges, the width of said bezel rim along said opposing end edges being less than said first width whereby when viewed at an angle from the front and adjacent one end, said bezel appears smaller at said end edges of said mirror thereby deemphasizing the size and appearance of said bezel on said assembly;
• said bezel rim including a crown extending around the entire bezel and an inner edge engaging said front of said mirror, said crown being spaced inwardly toward said inner edge from said peripheral side and dividing said rim into an inner surface sloping from said crown to said inner edge and a lateral surface sloping from said crown toward said peripheral side of said bezel whereby when viewed from said front of said mirror at an angle, said bezel appears thinner than its full width due to light accenting said crown and deemphasizing said inner rim surface.

A rearview mirror assembly, especially for use on the exterior of a vehicle, comprising:

• a rearview mirror having front, rear and peripheral edge surfaces and including a mirror element having a reflective coating thereon;
• a bezel surrounding said mirror and having a rim engaging said front surface of said mirror and an imperforate peripheral side adjacent said peripheral edge surface of said mirror;
• said rim having an undersurface facing said mirror;
• a retaining member adjacent said rear surface of said mirror and engaging said bezel for holding said mirror within said bezel, said retaining member having an inner surface facing said mirror;
• cooperating means on said bezel and retaining member for holding said retaining member and bezel together;
• mounting means for connection to a mirror support;
• and
• seal means within said bezel and retaining member for sealing said peripheral edge surface of said mirror, said seal means including a first resilient compressible seal member extending around the entirety of said mirror adjacent said mirror peripheral edge surface and intermediate said rim undersurface and said mirror front surface and a second resilient compressible seal member extending around the entirety of said mirror adjacent said mirror peripheral edge surface and intermediate said retaining member inner surface and said mirror rear surface, said seal members and the inner surface of said peripheral side of said bezel defining a generally open pocket adjacent said peripheral edge surface of said mirror around said mirror, said pocket being sealed environmentally to protector said peripheral edge surface including the peripheral edge of said reflective coating against environmental conditions and effects such as dirt, water, salt spray, humidity and corrosion, said first seal member resiliently urging said mirror rearwardly against said second seal member and retaining member to ensure a secure environmental seal and to hold said mirror tightly and cushion said mirror against vibration and shock.

A rearview mirror assembly for vehicles comprising:

• an electro-optic mirror unit having front, rear and peripheral edge surfaces and including at least one optically clear panel, an electro-optic material adjacent said panel, electrical means for applying electrical power to said electro-optic material to vary the light transmittance of said material, and a reflective layer for reflecting light incident thereon through said material, said mirror unit also including a pair of electrical connections to said electrical means;
• a bezel surrounding and holding said mirror unit and having a rim engaging said front surface of said mirror unit, a peripheral side adjacent said peripheral edge surface of said mirror unit, and means for holding said mirror unit within said bezel;
• and
• mounting means for connection to a mirror support;
• said bezel including a support for mounting said pair of electrical connections for connection to a vehicle electrical system;
• said pair of electrical connections having opposite polarities and mounted on said support and including means for preventing incorrect polarity connections to the vehicle electrical system.