Adjustable exterior rearview mirror for vehicles

A vehicle exterior rearview mirror assembly comprising:

• a mounting bracket adapted for mounting to a vehicle;
• a mirror subassembly having a housing and a reflective element supported by said housing;
• and
• an arm supported by said mounting bracket, said arm being mounted for pivotal movement about said mounting bracket between a normal operating position and a folded, break-away position, said mirror subassembly being supported by said arm and being mounted for selective movement along said arm between at least a first position and a second position when said arm is in said folded, break-away position and for retention in a fixed position along said arm when said arm is in said normal operating position, said arm including a spring, said spring biasing said mirror subassembly into frictional engagement with said arm to limit movement of said mirror subassembly along said arm when said arm is in said normal operating position, and said spring further biasing said arm into frictional engagement with said mounting bracket when said arm is in said normal operating position to thereby limit rotation of said arm about said mounting bracket.

A vehicle exterior rearview mirror assembly comprising:

• a mounting bracket adapted for mounting to a vehicle;
• a mirror subassembly having a housing and a reflective element supported by said housing;
• and
• an arm supported by said mounting bracket, said arm being mounted for pivotal movement about said mounting bracket between a normal operating position and a folded, break-away position, said mirror subassembly being supported by said arm and being mounted for selective movement along said arm between at least a first position and a second position when said arm is in said folded, break-away position and for retention in a fixed position along said arm when said arm is in said normal operating position, said arm including a spring, said spring biasing said mirror subassembly into frictional engagement with said arm to limit movement of said mirror subassembly along said arm when said arm is in said normal operating position, and said arm being adapted to apply a compressive force to said spring when said arm is in said normal operating position, said compressive force being relieved when said arm is pivoted about said mounting bracket to said breakaway position.

A vehicle exterior rearview mirror assembly comprising:

• a reflective element;
• a housing supporting said reflective element;
• a mounting bracket adapted for mounting to a vehicle;
• an arm supporting said housing and mounted to said mounting bracket, said arm having a longitudinal extent;
• and
• a spring cooperating with said arm, said spring extending from said mounting bracket to said housing and selectively biasing said arm into engagement with said housing to hold said housing in a position along said longitudinal extent of said arm.

A vehicle exterior rearview mirror assembly comprising:

• a reflective element;
• a housing supporting said reflective element;
• a mounting bracket adapted for mounting to a vehicle;
• an arm supporting said housing and mounted to said mounting bracket;
• and
• a spring cooperating with said arm, said spring selectively biasing said arm into engagement with said housing to hold said housing in a position along said arm, said arm being adapted to pivot about said mounting bracket between a first position and a second position, said spring further biasing said arm into frictional engagement with said mounting bracket to generally hold the position of said arm relative to said mounting bracket, whereby a force sufficient to overcome the frictional engagement between said mounting bracket and said arm is needed to pivot said arm about said mounting bracket.

A vehicle exterior rearview mirror assembly comprising:

• a reflective element;
• a housing supporting said reflective element;
• a mounting bracket adapted for mounting to a vehicle;
• an arm supporting said housing and mounted to said mounting bracket;
• and
• a spring cooperating with said arm, said spring selectively biasing said arm into engagement with said housing to hold said housing in a position along said arm, said arm being adapted to pivot about said mounting bracket between a first position and a second position, said housing having a sleeve, said arm extending into said sleeve, said spring extending into said sleeve and urging said arm into frictional engagement with said sleeve when said arm is pivoted to said first position, and said spring extending along said arm from said mounting bracket into said sleeve to urge said arm into frictional engagement with said sleeve when said spring is compressed and to release said arm from frictional engagement with said sleeve when said spring is uncompressed.

A vehicle exterior rearview mirror assembly comprising:

• a mirror subassembly having a housing, said housing including an engagement surface;
• a vehicle mounting bracket having a base and upper and lower flanges extending from said base and a pivot member extending between said upper and lower flanges, one of said flanges having at least one detent;
• a mounting arm pivotally mounted to said vehicle mounting bracket on said pivot member, said mounting arm extending into said housing of said mirror subassembly to slidably support said mirror subassembly on said arm and having a cooperating structure for seating in said detent on said one flange of said mounting bracket when said mirror subassembly is pivoted about said pivot member on said mounting arm to a folded position;
• and
• a spring urging said arm into engagement with said support surface of said housing to hold said mirror subassembly in a fixed position along said arm when said cooperating structure is disengaged from said detent, said spring being released from urging said housing into engagement with said arm to allow sliding movement of said mirror subassembly along said arm when said cooperating structure is engaged with said detent and said mounting arm is pivoted to said folded position.