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Truck Owners Gain Exceptional Visibility with New Visiocorp-Developed Ford Powerscope™ Trailer-Tow Mirror |
Marysville (December 19, 2007) Telescopic trailer tow mirrors are one of the fastest growing truck accessories available today - for good reason: They offer exceptional side and rear visibility, and increased convenience when towing any type of load.
One of the new features of the 2008 Ford Super Duty truck is the industry-first power folding and power telescoping exterior trailer-tow mirror. It was developed by Visiocorp.
This mirror includes both power folding and power telescoping features, as well as electrically adjustable and heated main glass, large adjustable spotter, turn signals, side markers, memory position system and painted skull caps. The combined power features are a market first, offering improved functionality to the truck enthusiast when driving and especially when towing.
When fitted with trailer-tow mirrors, a truck's overall width is much greater and, understandably, this is a concern for most drivers. Even when a load is not in tow, vehicle accessibility into drive through's, car washes, or tight parking spaces is awkward with these wider mirrors.
Visiocorp solved this problem by adding power adjustment capability to the mirror system. Now, with the push of a button, drivers can power fold the mirrors, eliminating the need to exit the vehicle to manually fold them to the door. In addition, the ease and convenience of electrically telescoping the mirrors to a desired extension aids the driver's field of vision, making towing or driving easier and more enjoyable.
Revolutionary Design a Market First
"Power folding passenger vehicle mirrors are relatively common, but a power fold system for a large truck mirror had never been developed before," said Gary Ghent, Executive Vice President Global Sales & Marketing for Visiocorp. "We conducted extensive market research with OEMs and drivers to gage the level of interest in this type of feature. Our market research overwhelmingly confirmed that drivers wanted large power folding truck mirrors with convenient operation. We presented this research to Ford."
Ford was very interested in the research because it presented the company with an opportunity to develop and offer a revolutionary feature that would make the Super Duty truck unique, increase its worth, and be useful to the driver. Development began with Ford's complete support.
The new design required Visiocorp to take a clean-sheet approach, however. Existing designs were not suitable because of the amount of drive torque required by the power-fold system to overcome the effects of aerodynamic drag on a large mirror head positioned 18" from the side of the vehicle. Both folding and telescoping actuators had to be designed from scratch. Visiocorp worked closely with Ford to develop and test a number of different concepts until a final design was selected.
Visiocorp's power-fold design contains two power fold units each, one in each arm. Each unit can provide up to 13Nm (9.6lb.f) torque to effectively lock the mirror head in position and ensure a stiff structure. Both finite element analysis (FEA) and prototype mode shape analysis were employed to meet stiffness targets and reduce image blurring.
Internal to each unit is a clutch system that allows manual folding of the mirror head. A feature unique to the design is the park detent that ensures the mirror head stays put in the parked position, even after being manually folded.
The electric telescope system extends the mirror head to provide drivers with a good view around their load, whether it is a fifth wheeler, horse trailer, boat or car hauler. The mirror head position is infinitely adjustable, and an internal plate clutch is provided to allow manual positioning and prevent accidental damage.
"Visiocorp is the first mirror manufacturer to have successfully designed and manufactured both a power folding and power telescoping trailer tow mirror," added Ghent. "The successful launch of the industry-leading 2008 Super Duty pickup truck has put Ford ahead of the other OEMs and made the innovative power folding and power telescoping mirror the benchmark in automotive mirror technology. This ground-breaking design has positioned Visiocorp as a world leader in advanced automotive mirror systems."
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