U.S. patent application number 15/332172 was filed with the patent office on 2017-02-09 for rearview mirror assembly with perimeter lighting device.
The applicant listed for this patent is MAGNA MIRRORS OF AMERICA, INC.. Invention is credited to Mark R. Brummel, Darryl P. De Wind, Gregory A. Huizen.
Application Number | 20170036603 15/332172 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 48041963 |
Filed Date | 2017-02-09 |
United States Patent
Application |
20170036603 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Brummel; Mark R. ; et
al. |
February 9, 2017 |
REARVIEW MIRROR ASSEMBLY WITH PERIMETER LIGHTING DEVICE
Abstract
A rearview mirror assembly for a vehicle includes a mirror
reflective element, a mirror casing, a mirror backplate, and a
perimeter lighting device. The mirror backplate includes a
generally planar attachment portion for attaching at a rear surface
of the mirror reflective element. The perimeter lighting device is
disposed at least partially along a periphery of the mirror
reflective element and may emit light so as to generally illuminate
at least one of (i) a perimeter region of the mirror casing, (ii) a
perimeter region of the mirror reflective element and (iii) a
perimeter region of the rearview mirror assembly between the mirror
casing and the mirror reflective element.
Inventors: |
Brummel; Mark R.; (Jenison,
MI) ; De Wind; Darryl P.; (West Olive, MI) ;
Huizen; Gregory A.; (Hudsonville, MI) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
MAGNA MIRRORS OF AMERICA, INC. |
Holland |
MI |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
48041963 |
Appl. No.: |
15/332172 |
Filed: |
October 24, 2016 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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13644593 |
Oct 4, 2012 |
9475431 |
|
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15332172 |
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61663840 |
Jun 25, 2012 |
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61554017 |
Nov 1, 2011 |
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61543492 |
Oct 5, 2011 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B60R 1/04 20130101; B60Q
1/2665 20130101; G02B 6/0096 20130101; B60R 1/1207 20130101 |
International
Class: |
B60R 1/12 20060101
B60R001/12; B60Q 1/26 20060101 B60Q001/26; F21V 8/00 20060101
F21V008/00; B60R 1/04 20060101 B60R001/04 |
Claims
1. A rearview mirror assembly for a vehicle, said rearview mirror
assembly comprising: a mirror reflective element; a mirror casing;
a mirror backplate; wherein said mirror backplate includes a
generally planar attachment portion for attaching at a rear surface
of said mirror reflective element; and a perimeter lighting device
disposed at least partially along a periphery of said mirror
reflective element, wherein said perimeter lighting device is
operable to emit light so as to illuminate at least one of (i) a
perimeter region of said mirror casing and (ii) a perimeter region
of said mirror reflective element.
2. The rearview mirror assembly of claim 1, wherein said mirror
backplate comprises a perimeter flange and wherein said mirror
casing is configured to at least partially receive said perimeter
flange and is configured to attach to said perimeter flange, and
wherein said mirror casing comprises a plurality of tabs that are
received in respective apertures established at said perimeter
flange to attach said mirror casing to said mirror backplate.
3. The rearview mirror assembly of claim 2, comprising a front
mirror casing configured to at least partially receive said mirror
reflective element therein, wherein said perimeter flange is
partially received in said front mirror casing, and wherein said
perimeter flange couples said front mirror casing and said mirror
casing to said mirror backplate, and wherein said front mirror
casing comprises a plurality of tabs that are received in
respective apertures established at said perimeter flange to attach
said front mirror casing to said mirror backplate.
4. The rearview mirror assembly of claim 3, wherein said mirror
casing comprises a forward opening for partially receiving said
perimeter flange and said front mirror casing comprises a rearward
opening for partially receiving said perimeter flange, and wherein
a forward perimeter edge portion of said mirror casing is
configured to mate with a rearward perimeter edge portion of said
front mirror casing when said perimeter flange couples said front
mirror casing and said mirror casing to said mirror backplate.
5. The rearview mirror assembly of claim 4, wherein said forward
perimeter edge portion of said mirror casing and said rearward
perimeter edge portion of said front mirror casing are configured
to limit movement of said front mirror casing relative to said
mirror casing when said front mirror casing and said mirror casing
are coupled to said mirror backplate.
6. The rearview mirror assembly of claim 1, wherein said mirror
backplate includes a pivot element for pivotally mounting said
rearview mirror assembly at an interior portion of the vehicle, and
wherein said pivot element and said generally planar attachment
portion and said perimeter flange are integrally formed to
establish a unitary mirror backplate.
7. The rearview mirror assembly of claim 1, wherein said perimeter
lighting device comprises at least one light emitting diode and a
light guiding element, and wherein, when said at least one light
emitting diode is energized, said light guiding element guides the
emitted light to and along at least a portion of the periphery of
said mirror reflective element so as to glow at at least a portion
of the periphery of said mirror reflective element.
8. The rearview mirror assembly of claim 7, wherein said perimeter
lighting device is disposed behind said mirror reflective
element.
9. A rearview mirror assembly for a vehicle, said rearview mirror
assembly comprising: a mirror reflective element; a mirror casing;
a mirror backplate; wherein said mirror backplate includes a
generally planar attachment portion for attaching at a rear surface
of said mirror reflective element; and a perimeter lighting device
disposed at least partially along a periphery of said mirror
reflective element, wherein said perimeter lighting device is
operable to emit light so as to illuminate a perimeter region of
said rearview mirror assembly between said mirror casing and said
mirror reflective element.
10. The rearview mirror assembly of claim 9, wherein said perimeter
lighting device is disposed behind said mirror reflective
element.
11. The rearview mirror assembly of claim 9, wherein said perimeter
lighting device comprises at least one light emitting diode and a
light guiding element, and wherein, when said at least one light
emitting diode is energized, said light guiding element guides the
emitted light to and along at least a portion of the periphery of
said rearview mirror assembly between said mirror casing and said
mirror reflective element.
12. The rearview mirror assembly of claim 11, wherein said at least
one light emitting diode is disposed in said mirror casing and
behind said light guiding element.
13. The rearview mirror assembly of claim 11, wherein a front
surface of said light guiding element is non-light transmitting so
that light emitted by said at least one light emitting diode and
received by said light guiding element does not transmit through
said front surface of said light guiding element so as to be not
viewable through said mirror reflective element.
14. The rearview mirror assembly of claim 13, wherein a perimeter
region of said front surface of said light guiding element is at
least partially light transmitting so that light emitted by said at
least one light emitting diode and received by said light guiding
element transmits through said perimeter region of said front
surface of said light guiding element so as to be viewable through
a perimeter region of said mirror reflective element.
15. The rearview mirror assembly of claim 13, wherein a light
transmitting window is established at said front surface of said
light guiding element so that light emitted by said at least one
light emitting diode and received by said light guiding element
transmits through said window of said front surface of said light
guiding element so as to backlight indicia that is viewable through
at mirror reflective element.
16. The rearview mirror assembly of claim 11, wherein said light
guiding element is selectively operable to only illuminate along a
lower perimeter region of said rearview mirror assembly.
17. A rearview mirror assembly for a vehicle, said rearview mirror
assembly comprising: a mirror reflective element; a mirror casing;
a mirror backplate; wherein said mirror backplate includes a
generally planar attachment portion for attaching at a rear surface
of said mirror reflective element; a perimeter lighting device
disposed at least partially along a periphery of said mirror
reflective element, wherein said perimeter lighting device
comprises a plurality of light emitting diodes and a light guiding
element disposed behind said mirror reflective element, and wherein
said plurality of light emitting diodes is disposed in said mirror
casing and behind said light guiding element; wherein said
perimeter lighting device is operable, when said plurality of light
emitting diodes is energized, to emit light so as to illuminate a
perimeter region of said rearview mirror assembly between said
mirror casing and said mirror reflective element; wherein, when
said plurality of light emitting diodes is energized, said light
guiding element guides the emitted light to and along at least a
portion of the periphery of said rearview mirror assembly between
said mirror casing and said mirror reflective element; and wherein
a front surface of said light guiding element is non-light
transmitting so that light emitted by said plurality of light
emitting diodes and received by said light guiding element does not
transmit through said front surface of said light guiding element
so as to be not viewable through said mirror reflective
element.
18. The rearview mirror assembly of claim 17, wherein a perimeter
region of said front surface of said light guiding element is at
least partially light transmitting so that light emitted by said
plurality of light emitting diodes and received by said light
guiding element transmits through said perimeter region of said
front surface of said light guiding element so as to be viewable
through a perimeter region of said mirror reflective element.
19. The rearview mirror assembly of claim 17, wherein a light
transmitting window is established at said front surface of said
light guiding element so that light emitted by said plurality of
light emitting diodes and received by said light guiding element
transmits through said window of said front surface of said light
guiding element so as to backlight indicia that is viewable through
at mirror reflective element.
20. The rearview mirror assembly of claim 17, wherein said light
guiding element is selectively operable to only illuminate along a
lower perimeter region of said rearview mirror assembly.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application is a divisional of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 13/644,593, filed Oct. 4, 2012, now U.S. Pat.
No. 9,475,431, which claims the filing benefit of U.S. provisional
applications, Ser. No. 61/663,840, filed Jun. 25, 2012; Ser. No.
61/554,017, filed Nov. 1, 2011, and Ser. No. 61/543,492, filed Oct.
5, 2011, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their
entireties.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates generally to the field of
interior rearview mirror assemblies for vehicles.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Typically, an interior rearview mirror assembly includes a
mirror reflective element that is attached to an attachment plate
and at least partially received in a mirror casing, with a bezel
portion snapped to the mirror casing so that the bezel portion and
casing overlap or encompass a perimeter edge of the reflective
element and a portion or perimeter region of an outer or front
surface of the reflective element (the surface facing the driver of
the vehicle when the mirror assembly is normally mounted in the
vehicle). The reflective element is adjustable by the driver to
adjust the rearward field of view provided by the mirror reflective
element.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] The present invention provides an interior rearview mirror
assembly that has a backplate that is attachable to (such as via an
adhesive or tape or the like) at a rear surface of a reflective
element, with the backplate providing for a snap connection to a
bezel and to a mirror casing of the interior rearview mirror
assembly, and with the backplate having a socket element (for
attaching to a ball member of a mounting arm) integrally formed
therewith, such as via plastic molding.
[0005] The present invention also provides an interior rearview
mirror assembly that has a mirror backplate that includes a
generally planar attachment portion for attaching at a rear surface
of the mirror reflective element and includes a perimeter flange
circumscribing a perimeter of the generally planar attachment
portion, with the perimeter flange partially received in a rear
mirror casing portion and partially received in a front mirror
casing portion, such that the perimeter flange couples the front
and rear mirror casing portions to the mirror backplate.
[0006] These and other objects, advantages, purposes and features
of the present invention will become apparent upon review of the
following specification in conjunction with the drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an interior rearview mirror
assembly in accordance with the present invention;
[0008] FIG. 2 is a front plan view of the interior rearview mirror
assembly of FIG. 1;
[0009] FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the interior rearview mirror
assembly of FIG. 1;
[0010] FIG. 4 is a side elevation and partial sectional view of the
interior rearview mirror assembly of FIG. 1;
[0011] FIG. 5 is another top plan view of the interior rearview
mirror assembly of FIG. 1;
[0012] FIG. 6 is another side elevation and partial sectional view
of the interior rearview mirror assembly of FIG. 1;
[0013] FIG. 7 is another plan view of the interior rearview mirror
assembly of FIG. 1;
[0014] FIG. 8 is another perspective view of the interior rearview
mirror assembly of FIG. 1;
[0015] FIG. 9 is a rear perspective view of the mirror back plate
and socket element of the interior rearview mirror assembly of FIG.
1;
[0016] FIG. 10 is a front perspective view of the mirror front and
rear casings and backplate shown assembled together;
[0017] FIG. 11 is an exploded front perspective view of the
interior rearview mirror assembly of FIG. 1;
[0018] FIG. 12 is an exploded rear perspective view of the interior
rearview mirror assembly of FIG. 1;
[0019] FIG. 13 is a perspective view and partial sectional view of
the interior rearview mirror assembly of FIG. 1;
[0020] FIG. 14 is a side elevation and partial sectional view of
the interior rearview mirror assembly of the present invention;
[0021] FIG. 15 is an enlarged side elevation and partial sectional
view of a portion of the interior rearview mirror assembly of FIG.
14;
[0022] FIG. 16 is an exploded perspective view of another interior
rearview mirror assembly, having a perimeter lighting feature in
accordance with the present invention;
[0023] FIG. 17 is an exploded perspective view of another interior
rearview mirror assembly, having another perimeter lighting feature
in accordance with the present invention;
[0024] FIG. 18 is a perspective view of an exterior rearview mirror
assembly having a perimeter lighting feature in accordance with the
present invention; and
[0025] FIG. 19 is an exploded perspective view of the lighting
feature and reflective element of the exterior rearview mirror
assembly of FIG. 18.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0026] Referring now to the drawings and the illustrative
embodiments depicted therein, an interior rearview mirror assembly
10 for a vehicle includes a mirror casing or housing or shroud or
cap or holder 12, a reflective element 14 positioned at a front
portion of the mirror casing 12 and a bezel or front casing portion
16 disposed around a periphery of the reflective element. Mirror
assembly 10 is adjustably mounted to an interior portion of a
vehicle (such as to an interior surface of a vehicle windshield or
a headliner of a vehicle or the like) via a mounting structure or
mounting configuration or assembly 18. The mirror assembly 10
includes a backplate 20 that is attached (such as via adhesive or
tape 21 or the like) at the rear surface of the reflective element
14. The backplate 20 includes a generally planar attachment portion
22 (that is adhered or otherwise attached at the rear surface of
the reflective element) and a pivot element 24 integrally formed,
such as via injection molding of a plastic or polymeric or
engineering plastic material or the like. The backplate 20 includes
a perimeter attachment portion 26 that is attachable to the bezel
element or front casing portion 16 and is attachable to a forward
edge portion of the mirror casing or rear casing portion 12 to
assemble the mirror assembly, as discussed below.
[0027] Backplate 20 comprises a unitarily molded part and includes
the generally planar attachment portion 22 and pivot element 24 and
perimeter attachment portion 26, all molded during the same molding
process, such as during the same injection molding. In the
illustrated embodiment, the perimeter attachment portion 26
comprises a flange or lip 26a extending around the perimeter of the
generally planar mirror reflective element attachment portion 22,
with the flange or lip 26a being sized so as to be received within
a rear opening of the bezel or front casing portion 16 and a front
opening of the rear casing portion 12. The perimeter attachment
portion 26 includes a plurality of apertures or openings 26b
established or spaced apart along the flange or lip 26a for
attaching the backplate 20 to the bezel or front mirror casing
portion 16 and to the rear mirror casing portion 12.
[0028] In the illustrated embodiment, and as best shown in FIGS. 8,
11 and 13-15, the front casing portion 16 includes a plurality of
tabs or attaching elements 16a that are spaced apart along the
perimeter of the front casing portion and that protrude radially
inward so as to be received in respective apertures 26b of the
flange 26a of backplate 20 to attach (such as by snapping into the
apertures) the bezel or front casing portion 16 to the backplate
20. As best seen with reference to FIGS. 13-15, the flange 26a of
backplate 20 is received in the rear opening of the bezel or front
casing portion 16, whereby the front casing portion may flex to
allow its tabs 16a to pass the front portion or edge region of the
flange 26a and may return to its initial form as the tabs 16a are
received in the respective apertures 26b of the flange 26a of
backplate 20. The tabs 16a are formed with curved or slanted rear
surfaces 16b to facilitate sliding of the tabs 16a over the front
edge region of the flange 26a and include generally planar front
surfaces 16c that engage the generally planar portion 22 of the
backplate 20 to limit retraction of the backplate from the front
casing portion when they are assembled together.
[0029] Likewise, the rear casing portion 12 includes a plurality of
tabs or attaching elements 12a that are spaced apart along the
perimeter of the rear casing portion and that protrude radially
inward so as to be received in respective apertures 26b of the
flange 26a of backplate 20 to attach (such as by snapping into the
apertures) the rear casing portion 12 to the backplate 20. As best
seen with reference to FIGS. 13-15, the flange 26a of backplate 20
is received in the front opening of the rear casing portion 12,
whereby the rear casing portion may flex to allow its tabs 12a to
pass the rear portion or edge region of the flange 26a and may
return to its initial form as the tabs 12a are received in the
respective apertures 26b of the flange 26a of backplate 20. The
tabs 12a are formed with curved or slanted front surfaces 12b to
facilitate sliding of the tabs 12a over the rear edge region of the
flange 26a and include generally planar front surfaces 12c that
engage a rear portion of the flange 26a of the backplate 20 at the
rear of the apertures 26b to limit retraction of the backplate from
the rear casing portion when they are assembled together.
[0030] Thus, the mirror construction of the present invention
provides a backplate that functions to attach to the front and rear
casing portions to couple and retain the front casing portion
relative to the rear casing portion. In the illustrated embodiment,
and as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the front edge portion 12d of the
rear casing portion 12 is formed to mate with the rear edge portion
16d of the front casing portion 16 when the front and rear casing
portions are attached to or coupled to the backplate. In the
illustrated embodiment, the front edge portion 12d of rear casing
portion 12 partially receives a protrusion of the rear edge portion
16d of the front casing portion 16 therein to assist in aligning
the front and rear casing portions and to limit or substantially
preclude movement of the front casing portion relative to the rear
casing portion when the front and rear casing portions are attached
to the backplate. The present invention thus provides enhanced
assembly or construction of the mirror assembly and facilitates
snapping together of the front casing portion, the backplate and
the rear casing portion to ease manufacturing of the rearview
mirror assembly.
[0031] As discussed above, the generally planar attachment portion
22 (that is adhered or otherwise attached at the rear surface of
the reflective element) and the pivot element 24 are integrally or
unitarily formed, such as via injection molding of a plastic or
polymeric or engineering plastic material or the like, to establish
or mold the unitary backplate 20. In the illustrated embodiment,
the pivot element 24 comprises a socket element that is formed to
receive a ball member 18a therein to pivotally attach the backplate
20 to the mounting assembly 18. The socket element 24 comprises a
plurality of flexible tabs 24a that flex to receive the ball member
18a therein during assembly of the mirror, and the mirror assembly
may include a coil spring 25 or the like around the flexible tabs
or arms 24a to retain them around the ball member 18a to limit or
substantially preclude unintentional dislodgement of the ball
member from the socket element.
[0032] The reflective element 14 and mirror casing 12 thus are
adjustable relative to the mounting arm or pivot assembly 18 to
adjust the driver's rearward field of view when the mirror assembly
is normally mounted at or in the vehicle. In the illustrated
embodiment, the pivot element 24 of the back plate 20 of the mirror
assembly comprises a socket or pivot mount that receives the ball
member 18a of a mounting arm of the pivot assembly or mounting
structure 18, which comprises a single pivot or single ball
mounting structure, but may otherwise comprise a double pivot or
double ball mounting structure or the like (such as by utilizing
aspects of the pivot mounting assemblies described in U.S. Pat.
Nos. 6,318,870; 6,593,565; 6,690,268; 6,540,193; 4,936,533;
5,820,097; 5,100,095; 7,249,860; 6,877,709; 6,329,925; 7,289,037;
7,249,860 and/or 6,483,438, and/or U.S. patent application Ser. No.
11/226,628, filed Sep. 14, 2005 and published Mar. 23, 2006 as U.S.
Pat. Pub. No. US-2006-0061008, and/or PCT Application No.
PCT/US2010/028130, filed Mar. 22, 2010 and published on Sep. 30,
2010 as International Publication No. WO 2010/111173, which are
hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties).
Optionally, it is envisioned that the pivot element 24 may comprise
a ball member that is integrally formed as part of the unitary
backplate and that is received in a socket element of a mounting
arm or assembly, while remaining within the spirit and scope of the
present invention. Optionally, the mounting assembly may have a
ball or socket element mounted to or attached to or established at
the mirror attachment plate or backing plate (which may optionally
include or incorporate circuitry thereat or thereon) that is
attached at the rear surface of the mirror reflective element
(optionally with a mirror casing disposed over or receiving the
attachment plate or with a cap portion of a mirror assembly
attaching to the backing plate or the like, such as by utilizing
aspects of the mirror assemblies described in U.S. Pat. No.
7,289,037, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its
entirety), or the mounting assembly may have a ball or socket
element mounted to or attached to or established at a portion of
the mirror casing (or to an attachment element disposed at or in
the mirror casing), where the ball or socket or pivot joint element
pivotally attaches to a mounting arm or mounting structure that
attaches to an interior portion of the vehicle, such as an inner
surface of the vehicle windshield or the like.
[0033] In the illustrated embodiment, the mounting base is
configured to be attached to an interior portion of a vehicle, such
as to a header portion of a vehicle or to an inner surface of a
vehicle windshield (such as to a mounting button or attachment
element adhered to the interior surface of the vehicle windshield).
The mounting base may be mounted to a mounting button or attachment
element at the vehicle header or vehicle windshield via a breakaway
mounting construction, such as by utilizing aspects of the mounting
constructions described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,820,097 and/or
5,100,095, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in
their entireties. The mounting arm may comprise a molded (such as
injection molded) polymeric mounting arm or may be otherwise
formed, depending on the particular application of the mirror
assembly (and may utilize aspects of the mounting assemblies
described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,318,870; 6,593,565; 6,690,268;
6,540,193; 4,936,533; 5,820,097; 5,100,095; 7,249,860; 6,877,709;
6,329,925; 7,289,037; 7,249,860 and/or 6,483,438, and/or U.S.
patent application Ser. No. 11/226,628, filed Sep. 14, 2005 and
published Mar. 23, 2006 as U.S. Pat. Pub. No. US-2006-0061008,
and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US2010/028130, filed Mar. 22, 2010
and published on Sep. 30, 2010 as International Publication No. WO
2010/111173, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in
their entireties).
[0034] Optionally, and desirably, the backplate 20 may have
circuitry disposed at the generally planar attachment portion 22,
such as circuit element or substrate with electronic circuitry
established thereat (such as a printed circuit board or the like)
for providing electronic features or content to the interior
rearview mirror assembly. An electrical wiring or lead may
electrically connect the circuitry of the mirror assembly to a
vehicle wiring harness or the like to provide power and/or control
to the electronic circuitry and/or accessories housed in or
disposed at the mirror assembly. Optionally, the electrical wiring
or lead may pass through the mounting arm and ball member 18a of
the mounting assembly and through an aperture 12e established in
rear mirror casing portion 12 and into the pivot element 24 and
through an aperture 24b established through the pivot element 24,
where a connector end of the electrical wiring may electrically
connect to a connector at the circuit element at the backplate 20
during construction of the mirror assembly. For example, the ball
member may be received through the aperture 12e at the rear of the
rear casing portion 12 and the connector end of the electrical
wiring may be fed from the end of the ball member 18a into and
through the socket element 24 and through the aperture 24b and
connected to the connector at the circuitry at the backplate. The
ball member 18a may then be snapped into the socket element 24 and
the backplate may be snapped to the rear casing portion 12, such as
described above. The mirror reflective element may be adhered or
attached to the generally planar attachment portion 22 of the
backplate and the bezel or front casing portion 16 may be snapped
onto the backplate, also such as described above. The assembled
mirror assembly may then be mounted to the interior portion of the
vehicle via any suitable manner or means.
[0035] In the illustrated embodiment, the front casing portion or
bezel 16 receives the reflective element therein when the bezel is
attached or coupled to the mirror backplate (with the reflective
element adhered or attached to the generally planar attachment
portion or surface of the backplate), and the bezel includes a
forward overlapping portion or lip that overlaps and encroaches on
the perimeter region of the front surface of the reflective
element. Optionally, aspects of the mirror assembly or mirror
construction of the present invention may be suitable for use on
bezelless type of mirrors, where a front casing portion may
circumscribe a perimeter edge of the reflective element, but does
not encroach on or overlap the front surface of the reflective
element (such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,255,451 and
7,289,037, and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US2011/056295, filed Oct.
14, 2011 and published on Apr. 19, 2012 as International
Publication No. WO 2012/051500, and/or U.S. provisional
applications, Ser. No. 61/647,179, filed May 15, 2012; Ser. No.
61/614,877, filed Mar. 23, 2012; Ser. No. 61/601,756, filed Feb.
22, 2012; Ser. No. 61/590,578, filed Jan. 25, 2012; Ser. No.
61/565,541, filed Dec. 1, 2011; and/or Ser. No. 61/558,623, filed
Nov. 11, 2011, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in
their entireties). Optionally, the front casing portion may only
encompass a perimeter edge region of a rear substrate of an
electro-optic (such as electrochromic) reflective element, with the
forward edge portion of the front casing portion being disposed at
a rear surface of the front substrate where the front substrate
extends beyond the rear substrate, such as by utilizing aspects of
the mirror assemblies described in PCT Application No.
PCT/US2010/032017, filed Apr. 22, 2010 and published on Oct. 28,
2010 as International Publication No. WO 2010/124064, and/or PCT
Application No. PCT/US10/51741, filed Oct. 7, 2010 and published on
Apr. 14, 2011 as International Publication No. WO 2011/044312,
and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US2011/056295, filed Oct. 14, 2011
and published on Apr. 19, 2012 as International Publication No. WO
2012/051500, and/or U.S. provisional applications, Ser. No.
61/647,179, filed May 15, 2012; Ser. No. 61/614,877, filed Mar. 23,
2012; Ser. No. 61/601,756, filed Feb. 22, 2012; Ser. No.
61/590,578, filed Jan. 25, 2012; Ser. No. 61/565,541, filed Dec. 1,
2011; and/or Ser. No. 61/558,623, filed Nov. 11, 2011, which are
hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
[0036] Optionally, the mirror assembly may include a lighting
feature that is operable to backlight or illuminate a portion of
the reflective element, such as to provide enhanced aesthetics to
the interior rearview mirror assembly. For example, such a lighting
features may illuminate or cause to glow a portion of the
reflective element or bezel or front mirror casing (such as a
perimeter portion or region of the reflective element or bezel
portion) and may illuminate the portion or cause the portion to
glow in a desired or selected color scheme (which may be
coordinated or selected to match or contrast with the lighting
scheme of the vehicle or that may be coordinated an adjustable
color scheme or lighting scheme of the vehicle). Optionally, for
example, the illumination feature may operate in conjunction with
or corresponding to a selected custom color for the interior
lighting of the vehicle (such as MYCOLOR.RTM. offered by Ford Motor
Company), whereby the illumination color emitted by the
illumination source or sources or lighting element of the interior
rearview mirror assembly may be selected or customized by the user
to a desired color or color combination. The colored illumination
scheme may be selected to match the lighting scheme of the vehicle
in which the mirror assembly is mounted or the owner of the vehicle
may separately select a color scheme to customize or personalize
the interior rearview mirror assembly (such as by utilizing aspects
of the mirror assemblies described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,626,749;
7,255,451; 7,289,037, which are hereby incorporated herein by
reference in their entireties).
[0037] Optionally, and with reference to FIG. 16, an interior
rearview mirror assembly 110 for a vehicle includes a mirror casing
or housing or shroud or cap or holder 112, a reflective element 114
positioned at a front portion of the mirror casing 112 and a
lighting system or device 116 operable to provide illumination at
and behind and generally around the periphery of the reflective
element 114. Mirror assembly 110 is adjustably mounted to an
interior portion of a vehicle (such as to an interior surface of a
vehicle windshield or a headliner of a vehicle or the like) via a
mounting structure or mounting configuration or assembly 118.
[0038] In the illustrated embodiment, the lighting device or system
116 comprises one or more illumination sources 120 (such as two or
more light emitting diodes (LEDs)) and a light directing element or
light guiding element 122 (such as a plastic or polymeric light
pipe or light directing element). The illumination sources 120 are
disposed at or in the mirror casing 112, such as at a circuit
element or circuit board or circuit boards 124 disposed at the
casing 112. The light directing element 122 is disposed at the rear
of the reflective element 114 and functions to receive light
emitted by illumination sources 120 and direct the light to the
perimeter region of the mirror reflective element 114. The light
system 116 thus provides illumination at a perimeter region of the
mirror assembly to provide circumferential or peripheral
illumination at the reflective element and/or mirror casing for
viewing by the driver of the vehicle. The illumination device or
system is preferably operable to provide a low light level or
intensity or "glow" at the periphery of the mirror assembly and in
a desired or selected color to enhance the appearance of the mirror
assembly.
[0039] In the illustrated embodiment, the mirror reflective element
114 comprises a prismatic reflective element that is mounted at the
front edge region 112a of the mirror casing 112, with its outermost
perimeter edge or corner 114b being exposed and rounded to provide
a curved transition from the generally planar front surface 114a to
the outer surface of the sides of the mirror casing 112, such as by
utilizing aspects of the mirror assemblies described in U.S. Pat.
Nos. 7,184,190; 7,255,541 and/or 7,289,037, and/or U.S. Des. Pat.
Nos. D647,017; D638,761; D633,423 and/or D633,019, and/or PCT
Application No. PCT/US2010/032017, filed Apr. 22, 2010 and
published on Oct. 28, 2010 as International Publication No. WO
2010/124064, and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US10/51741, filed Oct.
7, 2010 and published on Apr. 14, 2011 as International Publication
No. WO 2011/044312, and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US2011/056295,
filed Oct. 14, 2011 and published on Apr. 19, 2012 as International
Publication No. WO 2012/051500, and/or U.S. provisional
applications, Ser. No. 61/647,179, filed May 15, 2012; Ser. No.
61/614,877, filed Mar. 23, 2012; Ser. No. 61/601,756, filed Feb.
22, 2012; Ser. No. 61/590,578, filed Jan. 25, 2012; Ser. No.
61/565,541, filed Dec. 1, 2011; and/or Ser. No. 61/558,623, filed
Nov. 11, 2011, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in
their entireties. As shown in FIG. 16, light directing element 122
is at the rear of mirror reflective element 114 (and may be adhered
at the rear surface of the mirror reflective element) and may be
attached at or to mirror casing 112 such that the perimeter edge
region 122a of light directing element 122 is exposed and viewable
between the mirror casing 112 and the reflective element 114.
[0040] Thus, light emitted by the illumination sources 120 is
directed by light directing element 122 towards and out from the
perimeter edge region 122a of light directing element 122 to
provide a circumferential light ring about and behind the
reflective element 114 of the mirror assembly 110. The front
surface 122b of light directing element 122 may be darkened or
opaque or non-light transmitting so that light received by light
directing element 122 from illumination sources 120 does not
transmit through front surface 122b of light directing element so
as to be not viewable through the mirror reflective element 114
when the driver or occupant of the vehicle is viewing the mirror
assembly when normally mounted in the vehicle. Optionally, the
light directing element or ring may be selectively operable or
solely operable to only illuminate along the lower perimeter
region, whereby the illumination provided by the light directing
element may function as an interior accent/console light that would
be less noticeable to the driver (so the driver would not directly
view the light source, just the illumination below the mirror
assembly, such as at the instrument panel or a center stack area or
the like). Optionally, the light directing element may be operable
to backlight an icon or graphic or logo at the reflective element
(such as an icon or logo or graphic that is laser etched,
soda-blasted or masked or otherwise established at the reflective
surface of the reflective element).
[0041] Optionally, the light directing element may also or
otherwise provide illumination or a light pattern that is viewable
through the reflective element, such as at a perimeter region of
the reflective element. For example, the front surface of the light
directing element may be opaque or non-light transmitting at the
central or non-peripheral portion of the light directing element,
but may have a light transmitting peripheral band about its
perimeter region so that light received by the light directing
element from the illumination sources transmits through the
perimeter region or band area of the front surface of the light
directing element so as to be viewable through the mirror
reflective element (with the perimeter region of the reflective
element comprising a light transmissive region, such as by having a
partially transmissive, partially reflective transflective mirror
reflector or by having the reflective element devoid or
substantially devoid of the mirror reflector at the perimeter
region) when the driver or occupant of the vehicle is viewing the
mirror assembly when normally mounted in the vehicle. In such an
embodiment, the light directing element may also have illumination
emanating from its perimeter edge and/or may be at least partially
received at the mirror casing (and may attach thereto via an
attaching flange such as described above) so as to be not visible
or viewable between the reflective element and the mirror
casing.
[0042] Optionally, the illumination around the perimeter of the
reflective element may be provided via a light pipe or the like
disposed around and along the periphery of and rearward of a
reflective element, such that the light illuminated by the light
pipe is viewable through the reflective element at the periphery of
the reflective element. For example, and with reference to FIG. 17,
an interior rearview mirror assembly 110' for a vehicle includes a
mirror casing or housing or shroud or cap or holder 112', a
reflective element 114' positioned at a front portion of the mirror
casing 112' and a lighting system or device 116' operable to
provide illumination at and behind and generally around and through
the periphery of the reflective element 114'. Mirror assembly 110'
is adjustably mounted to an interior portion of a vehicle (such as
to an interior surface of a vehicle windshield or a headliner of a
vehicle or the like) via a mounting structure or mounting
configuration or assembly, such as described above.
[0043] In the illustrated embodiment, the lighting device or system
116' comprises one or more illumination sources 120' (such as two
or more light emitting diodes (LEDs)) and a light directing element
or light guiding element or light pipe 122' (such as a plastic or
polymeric light pipe or light directing element that emits light or
glows along the light pipe when the light emitting diode or diodes
is/are energized or activated). The illumination sources 120' are
disposed at or in the mirror casing 112', such as at a circuit
element or circuit board or circuit boards 124' disposed at the
casing 112'. The light directing element 122' is disposed at the
rear of the reflective element 114' and generally around and along
the periphery of the reflective element and has light receiving
ends 122a' that function to receive light emitted by illumination
sources 120' (such as via respective couplers 123' that attach or
connect or retain the ends 122a' of the light pipe 122' at or near
the light sources 120' at the respective circuit elements or boards
124'), whereby the received light is directed along the light pipe
and along the perimeter region of the mirror reflective element
114'. The lighting system 116' thus provides illumination at a
perimeter region of the mirror reflective element to provide
circumferential or peripheral illumination at the reflective
element and/or mirror casing for viewing by the driver of the
vehicle. The illumination device or system is preferably operable
to provide a low light level or intensity or "glow" at the
periphery of the mirror assembly and in a desired or selected color
to enhance the appearance of the mirror assembly.
[0044] In the illustrated embodiment, the mirror reflective element
114' comprises a prismatic reflective element that is mounted at an
attachment plate 126', which may be received in and snapped or
attached at the front edge region 112a' of the mirror casing 112',
such that the mirror reflective element 114' is disposed at the
front edge region 112a' of the mirror casing 112' and has its
outermost perimeter edge or corner 114b' exposed and rounded to
provide a curved transition from the generally planar front surface
114a' to the outer surface of the sides of the mirror casing 112',
such as by utilizing aspects of the mirror assemblies described in
U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,184,190; 7,255,541 and/or 7,289,037, and/or U.S.
Des. Pat. Nos. D647,017; D638,761; D633,423 and/or D633,019, and/or
PCT Application No. PCT/US2010/032017, filed Apr. 22, 2010 and
published on Oct. 28, 2010 as International Publication No. WO
2010/124064, and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US10/51741, filed Oct.
7, 2010 and published on Apr. 14, 2011 as International Publication
No. WO 2011/044312, and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US2011/056295,
filed Oct. 14, 2011 and published on Apr. 19, 2012 as International
Publication No. WO 2012/051500, and/or U.S. provisional
applications, Ser. No. 61/647,179, filed May 15, 2012; Ser. No.
61/614,877, filed Mar. 23, 2012; Ser. No. 61/601,756, filed Feb.
22, 2012; Ser. No. 61/590,578, filed Jan. 25, 2012; Ser. No.
61/565,541, filed Dec. 1, 2011; and/or Ser. No. 61/558,623, filed
Nov. 11, 2011, which are all hereby incorporated herein by
reference in their entireties.
[0045] As shown in FIG. 17, light directing element 122' is
disposed at the rear of mirror reflective element 114' and may be
adhered at the rear surface of the mirror reflective element via an
adhesive or tape 128', and may also be adhered or attached at the
attachment plate 126' via an adhesive or tape 130'. The attachment
plate 126' may be attached at or to mirror casing 112' such that
the light pipe 122' is nested in or at least partially received in
the mirror casing 112', and thus may not be exposed and readily
directly viewable between the mirror casing 112' and the reflective
element 114'. Thus, light emitted by the illumination sources 120'
is directed or guided along light directing element 122' and is
viewable through the reflective element 114' and thus the lighting
system 116' provides a circumferential light ring about and behind
the reflective element 114' of the mirror assembly 110'.
Optionally, a diffuser element 132' may be disposed over the light
pipe 122' and between the light pipe 122' and the reflective
element 114' to diffuse the light emitted by and along the light
pipe 122' so that the light pipe 122' provides a glow or ring of
softened or diffused illumination around the periphery of the
mirror reflective element 114'. The light pipe may provide any
desired or selected color of illumination, such as white or other
selected color that may be selected by the user of the vehicle (and
may be selected to match an interior color lighting scheme of the
vehicle).
[0046] Thus, the illumination device or system of the present
invention provides perimeter lighting or illumination at the
perimeter region of the reflective element and/or mirror casing.
The illumination device or system may be operable to provide such
illumination in response to a user actuatable input (such as a
button or switch or touch sensor disposed at or in the mirror
assembly) or the illumination device or system may be activated
responsive to a light sensor (whereby the illumination sources may
be activated or energized responsive to the ambient light level
being determined to be at or below a threshold level) or the
illumination device may be activated for a period of time after a
triggering event or signal or input (such as actuation of a door
lock/unlock button of a key fob or the like or actuation of a
passive entry system or opening/closing of the vehicle door or an
initial ignition on detection or the like), such that the mirror
illumination device is actuated with one or more interior and/or
exterior lights of the vehicle for a brief duration following such
a triggering event or signal or input.
[0047] Optionally, an illumination device or system such as
described above may also or otherwise be implemented at one or both
exterior rearview mirror assemblies of the vehicle. For example,
and as shown in FIGS. 18 and 19, an exterior rearview mirror
assembly 210 for a vehicle includes a mirror casing or housing 212,
a reflective element 214 positioned at a rear portion of the mirror
casing 212 and a lighting system or device 216 operable to provide
illumination at and behind and generally around the periphery of
the reflective element 214. Mirror assembly 210 is mounted at an
exterior portion of a vehicle (such as to an exterior surface of a
vehicle door or the like) via a mirror base or mounting structure
218. As shown in FIG. 19, lighting system or device 216 comprises
an illumination source 220 and a light guiding element or light
directing element or light pipe 222, which is configured to receive
illumination emitted by illumination source 220 (such as a light
emitting diode or the like disposed at a circuit element or circuit
board 223 disposed at a back plate 224 of the mirror assembly 210)
and to direct the illumination about the light pipe, with a
rearward facing portion of the light pipe being light transmitting
to project or emit illumination rearward towards the reflective
element 214. The light pipe 222 is configured to circumscribe the
back plate and may be retained at or attached to the back plate 224
via any suitable means, such as via adhesive or snaps or clips or
the like, such that the light pipe and back plate construction is
attachable to or at the rear surface of the reflective element,
such as via a suitable adhesive or the like.
[0048] The reflective element 214 comprises a mirror reflector 214a
established at its rear surface (and at least at a central or
principal reflecting region of the reflective element) and has a
perimeter area or band region 214b at its perimeter for allowing
illumination emanating from the light pipe 222 to pass therethrough
for viewing by a person viewing the exterior rearview mirror
assembly when it is normally mounted at a side of a vehicle. The
perimeter band region 214b may be substantially devoid of the
mirror reflector or any opaque or substantially opaque coating, so
that the light emanating from the light pipe 222 is substantially
directly viewable through the reflective element. Optionally, the
perimeter band region 214b may be colored and/or partially light
transmitting so that the light emanating from the light pipe is
colored or tinted as viewed by the person viewing the exterior
mirror assembly.
[0049] Thus, the exterior rearview mirror assembly provides at
least one light source that illuminates the mirror shape at the
outer edge region of the mirror reflective element. The light as
viewed by the person viewing the mirror assembly may be white light
or any desired color, such as discussed above. Optionally, the
mirror assembly may use a combination of colored light sources
(such as RGB light sources or the like) to provide a number of
different colors that may be selected by the user or set to a color
scheme of the vehicle, such as discussed above. For example, the
illumination source or LED or LEDs may comprise an LED with
different colored dies (such as three colored chips or dies, such
as RGB colored dies or the like), whereby the color of light
emitted by the LED or LEDs can be controlled using pulse width
modulation.
[0050] In the illustrated embodiment, the mirror reflector of the
mirror reflective element at the outer or perimeter edge region is
etched or masked (or otherwise processed or ablated) to provide a
generally clear or non-reflective or non-opaque perimeter region.
The light pipe is disposed behind the glass surface so that the
light is seen through the glass substrate of the reflective element
at the perimeter region of the reflective element. Optionally,
other means for providing perimeter lighting at the mirror assembly
may be implemented while remaining within the spirit and scope of
the present invention. For example, a transreflective mirror
reflector (DOD) may be used as the mirror reflector so that the
light emanating from the light pipe passed through or is
transmitted through the transreflective mirror reflector at the
perimeter region so the light can be seen through the glass
substrate when the light source is activated but the light pipe is
not viewable or discernible through the mirror reflector when the
light source is deactivated. Optionally, for example, and while
remaining within the spirit and scope of the present invention, the
light pipe may be integrated into an outer edge of a bezel portion
or lip of the mirror casing (that circumscribes the outer perimeter
of the reflective element), or the light source may be disposed in
the mirror casing and the light emanating therefrom may fill the
inside of the mirror casing so as to be seen around the gap between
the perimeter edge of the reflective element and the perimeter
portion or lip of the mirror casing (and the mirror casing may
include an inner reflective surface or light guiding/directing
surface to direct the illumination towards the gap), or the light
pipe may be set back in the mirror casing so that it can be seen at
and around the gap between the perimeter edge of the reflective
element and the perimeter portion or lip of the mirror casing, or
the light pipe may be integrated into the mirror casing bezel (and
rearward opening of mirror casing), or part or all of the mirror
casing bezel may be translucent or at least partially light
transmitting to allow light emanating from the light pipe to pass
through the translucent or partially light transmitting bezel or
casing portion so as to be viewable by the driver of the vehicle
viewing the exterior rearview mirror assembly when the exterior
rearview mirror assembly is normally mounted at the vehicle.
[0051] Optionally, the reflective element of any of the interior or
exterior rearview mirror assemblies described herein may comprise
an electro-optic (such as electrochromic) reflective element (but
may comprise a prismatic or wedge-shaped reflective element), and
may include a front substrate having a front or first surface (the
surface that generally faces the driver of a vehicle when the
mirror assembly is normally mounted in the vehicle) and a rear or
second surface opposite the front surface, and a rear substrate
having a front or third surface and a rear or fourth surface
opposite the front surface, with an electro-optic medium disposed
between the second surface and the third surface and bounded by a
perimeter seal of the reflective element (such as is known in the
electrochromic mirror art). The second surface has a transparent
conductive coating established thereat, while the third surface has
a metallic reflector coating established thereat. The transparent
conductive coating and/or the mirror reflector may comprise any
suitable coatings or layers, and the mirror reflector may comprise
a transflective coating or layer, such as described in U.S. Pat.
Nos. 7,626,749; 7,274,501; 7,255,451; 7,195,381; 7,184,190;
6,690,268; 5,140,455; 5,151,816; 6,178,034; 6,154,306; 6,002,544;
5,567,360; 5,525,264; 5,610,756; 5,406,414; 5,253,109; 5,076,673;
5,073,012; 5,117,346; 5,724,187; 5,668,663; 5,910,854; 5,142,407
and/or 4,712,879, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference
in their entireties, disposed at the front surface of the rear
substrate (commonly referred to as the third surface of the
reflective element) and opposing the electro-optic medium, such as
an electrochromic medium disposed between the front and rear
substrates and bounded by the perimeter seal (but optionally, the
mirror reflector could be disposed at the rear surface of the rear
substrate (commonly referred to as the fourth surface of the
reflective element), while remaining within the spirit and scope of
the present invention).
[0052] The mirror assembly thus may comprise an electro-optic or
electrochromic mirror assembly and may include an electro-optic or
electrochromic reflective element. The perimeter edges of the
reflective element may be encased or encompassed by the perimeter
element or portion of the bezel portion to conceal and contain and
envelop the perimeter edges of the substrates and the perimeter
seal disposed therebetween. The electrochromic mirror element of
the electrochromic mirror assembly may utilize the principles
disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,274,501; 7,255,451;
7,195,381; 7,184,190; 6,690,268; 5,140,455; 5,151,816; 6,178,034;
6,154,306; 6,002,544; 5,567,360; 5,525,264; 5,610,756; 5,406,414;
5,253,109; 5,076,673; 5,073,012; 5,117,346; 5,724,187; 5,668,663;
5,910,854; 5,142,407 and/or 4,712,879, and/or PCT Application No.
PCT/US2010/029173, filed Mar. 30, 2010 and published on Oct. 7,
2010 as International Publication No. WO 2010/114825, which are
hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties, and/or
as disclosed in the following publications: N. R. Lynam,
"Electrochromic Automotive Day/Night Mirrors", SAE Technical Paper
Series 870636 (1987); N. R. Lynam, "Smart Windows for Automobiles",
SAE Technical Paper Series 900419 (1990); N. R. Lynam and A.
Agrawal, "Automotive Applications of Chromogenic Materials", Large
Area Chromogenics: Materials and Devices for Transmittance Control,
C. M. Lampert and C. G. Granquist, EDS., Optical Engineering Press,
Wash. (1990), which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in
their entireties; and/or as described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,195,381,
which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Optionally, the electrochromic circuitry and/or a glare sensor
(such as a rearward facing glare sensor that receives light from
rearward of the mirror assembly and vehicle through a port or
opening along the casing and/or reflective element of the mirror
assembly) and circuitry and/or an ambient light sensor and
circuitry may be provided on one or more circuit boards of the
mirror assembly. The mirror assembly may include one or more other
displays, such as the types disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,530,240
and/or 6,329,925, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference
in their entireties, and/or display-on-demand transflective type
displays, such as the types disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,274,501;
7,255,451; 7,195,381; 7,184,190; 5,668,663; 5,724,187 and/or
6,690,268, and/or in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/226,628,
filed Sep. 14, 2005 and published Mar. 23, 2006 as U.S. Pat. Pub.
No. US-2006-0061008; and/or Ser. No. 10/538,724, filed Jun. 13,
2005 and published Mar. 9, 2006 as U.S. Pat. Pub. No.
US-2006-0050018, which are all hereby incorporated herein by
reference in their entireties. The thicknesses and materials of the
coatings on the substrates, such as on the third surface of the
reflective element assembly, may be selected to provide a desired
color or tint to the mirror reflective element, such as a blue
colored reflector, such as is known in the art and such as
described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,910,854; 6,420,036 and/or 7,274,501,
which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference in their
entireties.
[0053] Optionally, it is envisioned that aspects of the present
invention may be suitable for an interior rearview mirror assembly
that comprises a prismatic mirror assembly or a non-electro-optic
mirror assembly (such as a generally planar or optionally slightly
curved mirror substrate) or an electro-optic or electrochromic
mirror assembly. For example, the interior rearview mirror assembly
may comprise a prismatic mirror assembly, such as the types
described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,289,037; 7,249,860; 6,318,870;
6,598,980; 5,327,288; 4,948,242; 4,826,289; 4,436,371 and
4,435,042, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in
their entireties. Optionally, the prismatic reflective element may
comprise a conventional prismatic reflective element or prism or
may comprise a prismatic reflective element of the types described
in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,420,756; 7,289,037; 7,274,501; 7,249,860;
7,338,177 and/or 7,255,451, which are all hereby incorporated
herein by reference in their entireties, without affecting the
scope of the present invention. A variety of mirror accessories and
constructions are known in the art, such as those disclosed in U.S.
Pat. Nos. 5,555,136; 5,582,383; 5,680,263; 5,984,482; 6,227,675;
6,229,319 and 6,315,421 (which are hereby incorporated herein by
reference in their entireties), that can benefit from the present
invention.
[0054] Optionally, the reflective element may includes an opaque or
substantially opaque or hiding perimeter layer or coating or band
disposed around a perimeter edge region of the front substrate
(such as at a perimeter region of the rear or second surface of the
front substrate) to conceal or hide or the perimeter seal from
viewing by the driver of the vehicle when the mirror assembly is
normally mounted in the vehicle. Such a hiding layer or perimeter
band may be reflective or not reflective and may utilize aspects of
the perimeter bands and mirror assemblies described in U.S. Pat.
Nos. 5,066,112; 7,626,749; 7,274,501; 7,184,190 and/or 7,255,451,
and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US2010/032017, filed Apr. 22, 2010
and published on Oct. 28, 2010 as International Publication No. WO
2010/124064, and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US10/51741, filed Oct.
7, 2010 and published on Apr. 14, 2011 as International Publication
No. WO 2011/044312, and/or U.S. patent application Ser. No.
11/226,628, filed Sep. 14, 2005 and published Mar. 23, 2006 as U.S.
Pat. Pub. No. US-2006-0061008, which are all hereby incorporated
herein by reference in their entireties. Optionally, the perimeter
band may comprise a chrome/chromium coating or metallic coating
and/or may comprise a chrome/chromium or metallic coating that has
a reduced reflectance, such as by using an oxidized chrome coating
or chromium oxide coating or "black chrome" coating or the like
(such as by utilizing aspects of the mirror assemblies described in
U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,184,190 and/or 7,255,451, which are hereby
incorporated herein by reference in their entireties). Optionally,
other opaque or substantially opaque coatings or bands may be
implemented while remaining within the spirit and scope of the
present invention.
[0055] Optionally, the mirror assembly may comprise a frameless or
bezelless mirror assembly such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos.
7,184,190; 7,255,541 and/or 7,289,037, and/or U.S. Des. Pat. Nos.
D647,017; D638,761; D633,423 and/or D633,019, and/or PCT
Application No. PCT/US2010/032017, filed Apr. 22, 2010 and
published on Oct. 28, 2010 as International Publication No. WO
2010/124064, and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US10/51741, filed Oct.
7, 2010 and published on Apr. 14, 2011 as International Publication
No. WO 2011/044312, and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US2011/056295,
filed Oct. 14, 2011 and published on Apr. 19, 2012 as International
Publication No. WO 2012/051500, which are hereby incorporated
herein by reference in their entireties.
[0056] The rearview mirror assembly may include a casing, such as
described above, or the mirror assembly may comprise or utilize
aspects of other types of casings or the like, such as described in
U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,338,177; 7,289,037; 7,249,860; 6,439,755;
4,826,289 and 6,501,387, which are all hereby incorporated herein
by reference in their entireties, without affecting the scope of
the present invention. For example, the mirror assembly may utilize
aspects of the flush or frameless or bezelless reflective elements
described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,626,749; 7,360,932; 7,289,037;
7,255,451; 7,274,501 and/or 7,184,190, and/or in U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 11/226,628, filed Sep. 14, 2005 and published
Mar. 23, 2006 as U.S. Pat. Pub. No. US-2006-0061008; and/or Ser.
No. 10/538,724, filed Jun. 13, 2005 and published Mar. 9, 2006 as
U.S. Pat. Pub. No. US-2006-0050018, which are all hereby
incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
[0057] Optionally, the mirror assembly may comprise a modular
mirror construction, and may include back housing portions or the
like, such as cap portions of the types described in U.S. Pat. No.
7,289,037, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its
entirety. A display screen may be provided as a modular display
screen and may be mountable or installable in the appropriate or
suitable mirror casing to provide a modular mirror assembly and
display screen. For example, a rear casing or cap portion may
include the display screen module including the associated
components, such as the rails and motor and the like for a video
slideout module (such as by utilizing aspects of the video mirrors
described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,370,983 and 6,690,268, and/or U.S.
patent application Ser. No. 10/538,724, filed Jun. 13, 2005 and
published Mar. 9, 2006 as U.S. Pat. Pub. No. US-2006-0050018;
and/or Ser. No. 12/091,525, filed Apr. 25, 2008 and published Jan.
15, 2009 as U.S. Pat. Pub. No. US-2009-0015736, which are hereby
incorporated herein by reference in their entireties), and may be
attachable to a reflective element and/or mirror casing to assemble
the modular mirror assembly. The display screen module thus may be
provided as an optional component or accessory for a vehicle, and
may be readily assembled to a common reflective element and/or
mirror casing of the mirror assembly.
[0058] Optionally, the mirror casing and/or reflective element may
include customized or personalized viewable characteristics, such
as color or symbols or indicia selected by the vehicle manufacturer
or owner of the vehicle, such as the customization characteristics
described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,626,749; 7,255,451; 7,289,037, which
are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their
entireties.
[0059] Optionally, the mirror assembly may include a video display
screen or device. Optionally, the video display device may be
operable to display the compass heading or directional heading
character or characters (such as N, S, E, W, NE, SE, SW, NW or the
like) at a portion or region of the video display screen and
display region, such as by utilizing aspects of the mirror
assemblies described in PCT Application No. PCT/US2011/056295,
filed Oct. 14, 2011 and published on Apr. 19, 2012 as International
Publication No. WO 2012/051500, and/or U.S. provisional
applications, Ser. No. 61/647,179, filed May 15, 2012; Ser. No.
61/614,877, filed Mar. 23, 2012; Ser. No. 61/601,756, filed Feb.
22, 2012; Ser. No. 61/590,578, filed Jan. 25, 2012; Ser. No.
61/565,541, filed Dec. 1, 2011; and/or Ser. No. 61/558,623, filed
Nov. 11, 2011, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in
their entireties. The video display device and compass display
system may display the compass directional heading responsive to
the vehicle being driven in a forward direction of travel (and the
compass display may be deactivated or otherwise operate to not
display the compass icons or characters when the vehicle is
stationary or being driven in reverse, such as responsive to the
vehicle gear actuator being moved to a non-drive gear position,
such as park or reverse or the like) or responsive to a user input
or responsive to a change in the direction of travel of the vehicle
or the like. The video display device may be operable to display
images captured by a rearward facing camera of the vehicle during a
reversing maneuver of the vehicle (such as responsive to the
vehicle gear actuator being placed in a reverse gear position or
the like) to assist the driver in backing up the vehicle, and may
be operable to display the compass heading or directional heading
character or icon when the vehicle is not undertaking a reversing
maneuver, such as when the vehicle is being driven in a forward
direction along a road. The video display device and compass
display system may comprise any suitable devices and systems and
optionally may utilize aspects of the compass display systems
described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,370,983; 7,329,013; 7,308,341;
7,289,037; 7,249,860; 7,004,593; 4,546,551; 5,699,044; 4,953,305;
5,576,687; 5,632,092; 5,677,851; 5,708,410; 5,737,226; 5,802,727;
5,878,370; 6,087,953; 6,173,508; 6,222,460; 6,513,252 and/or
6,642,851, and/or European patent application, published Oct. 11,
2000 under Publication No. EP 0 1043566, and/or U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 11/226,628, filed Sep. 14, 2005 and published
Mar. 23, 2006 as U.S. Publication No. 2006/0061008, which are all
hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. The
compass system may comprise a compass sensor with one or more
magnetoresponsive sensing elements and/or may include or utilize a
global positioning system of the vehicle or the like to provide the
directional heading information or to augment directional heading
information determined by a magnetoresponsive compass sensor of the
vehicle, such as by utilizing aspects of the compass display
systems described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,308,341, which is hereby
incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
[0060] Optionally, a mirror assembly of the present invention may
incorporate one or more touch or proximity sensitive user inputs
and associated icons or the like so a user can readily identify the
purpose or function of the user inputs and actuate the appropriate
or desired or selected user input. Optionally, the front substrate
of the reflective element may include aspects of the mirror
assemblies described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,066,112; 7,626,749;
7,360,932; 7,274,501; 7,184,190 and/or 7,255,451, and/or PCT
Application No. PCT/US2010/032017, filed Apr. 22, 2010 and
published on Oct. 28, 2010 as International Publication No. WO
2010/124064, and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US10/51741, filed Oct.
7, 2010 and published on Apr. 14, 2011 as International Publication
No. WO 2011/044312, and/or U.S. patent application Ser. No.
12/414,190, filed Mar. 30, 2009, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,154,418,
and/or Ser. No. 11/226,628, filed Sep. 14, 2005 and published Mar.
23, 2006 as U.S. Pat. Pub. No. US-2006-0061008, and/or PCT
Application No. PCT/US2011/056295, filed Oct. 14, 2011 and
published on Apr. 19, 2012 as International Publication No. WO
2012/051500, and/or U.S. provisional applications, Ser. No.
61/647,179, filed May 15, 2012; Ser. No. 61/614,877, filed Mar. 23,
2012; Ser. No. 61/601,756, filed Feb. 22, 2012; Ser. No.
61/590,578, filed Jan. 25, 2012; Ser. No. 61/565,541, filed Dec. 1,
2011; and/or Ser. No. 61/558,623, filed Nov. 11, 2011, which are
all hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
Optionally, touch or proximity sensors may be disposed behind the
reflective element and behind icons or indicia that are indicative
of the function of the electronic switch associated with each
sensor (in other words, there are no separate "buttons" established
at the sensors and at or near or below the icons or indicia that
indicate the function of the buttons or touch pads). Optionally,
the mirror assembly may comprise a bezelless or frameless prismatic
mirror assembly, such as a mirror assembly utilizing aspects of the
mirror assemblies disclosed in U.S. Des. Pat. Nos. D647,017;
D638,761; D633,423 and/or D633,019, and/or PCT Application No.
PCT/US2010/032017, filed Apr. 22, 2010 and published on Oct. 28,
2010 as International Publication No. WO 2010/124064, and/or PCT
Application No. PCT/US10/51741, filed Oct. 7, 2010 and published on
Apr. 14, 2011 as International Publication No. WO 2011/044312,
which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their
entireties).
[0061] Optionally, the mirror assembly may include or incorporate a
compass sensor and circuitry for a compass system that detects and
displays the vehicle directional heading to a driver of the vehicle
may comprise any suitable compass sensor and/or circuitry.
Optionally, the compass system and compass circuitry may utilize
aspects of the compass systems described in U.S. Pat. Nos.
7,370,983; 7,329,013; 7,289,037; 7,249,860; 7,004,593; 6,928,366;
6,642,851; 6,140,933; 4,546,551; 5,699,044; 4,953,305; 5,576,687;
5,632,092; 5,677,851; 5,708,410; 5,737,226; 5,802,727; 5,878,370;
6,087,953; 6,173,508; 6,222,460 and/or 6,513,252, and/or European
patent application, published Oct. 11, 2000 under Publication No.
EP 0 1043566, and/or U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/226,628,
filed Sep. 14, 2005 and published Mar. 23, 2006 as U.S. Pat. Pub.
No. US-2006-0061008, which are all hereby incorporated herein by
reference in their entireties. The compass circuitry may include
compass sensors, such as a magneto-responsive sensor, such as a
magneto-resistive sensor, a magneto-capacitive sensor, a Hall
sensor, a magneto-inductive sensor, a flux-gate sensor or the like.
The sensor or sensors may be positioned at and within a base
portion or mounting base of the mirror assembly so that the
sensor/sensors is/are substantially fixedly positioned within the
vehicle, or may be attached or positioned within the mirror casing.
Note that the magneto-responsive sensor used with the mirror
assembly may comprise a magneto-responsive sensor, such as a
magneto-resistive sensor, such as the types disclosed in U.S. Pat.
Nos. 5,255,442; 5,632,092; 5,802,727; 6,173,501; 6,427,349 and/or
6,513,252 (which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in
their entireties), or a magneto-inductive sensor, such as described
in U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,370 (which is hereby incorporated herein by
reference in its entirety), or a magneto-impedance sensor, such as
the types described in PCT Publication No. WO 2004/076971,
published Sep. 10, 2004 (which is hereby incorporated herein by
reference in its entirety), or a Hall-effect sensor, such as the
types described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,278,271; 5,942,895 and/or
6,184,679 (which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in
their entireties). The sensor circuitry and/or the circuitry in the
mirror housing and associated with the sensor may include
processing circuitry. For example, a printed circuit board may
include processing circuitry which may include compensation
methods, such as those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,546,551;
5,699,044; 4,953,305; 5,576,687; 5,632,092; 5,677,851; 5,708,410;
5,737,226; 5,802,727; 5,878,370; 6,087,953; 6,173,508; 6,222,460
and/or 6,642,851, which are all hereby incorporated herein by
reference in their entireties. The compass sensor may be
incorporated in or associated with a compass system and/or display
system for displaying a directional heading of the vehicle to the
driver, such as a compass system of the types described in U.S.
Pat. Nos. 7,289,037; 5,924,212; 4,862,594; 4,937,945; 5,131,154;
5,255,442; 5,632,092 and/or 7,004,593, which are all hereby
incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
[0062] Optionally, the mirror assembly may include user interface
inputs, such as buttons or switches or touch or proximity sensors
or the like, with which a user may adjust or control one or more
accessories, such as via the principles described in U.S. Pat. No.
7,360,932 and/or U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/091,525, filed
Apr. 25, 2008 and published Jan. 15, 2009 as U.S. Pat. Pub. No.
US-2009-0015736; Ser. No. 11/239,980, filed Sep. 30, 2005 and
published Jun. 15, 2006 as U.S. Pat. Pub. No. US-2006-0125919; Ser.
No. 12/414,190, filed Mar. 30, 2009, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,154,418;
and/or Ser. No. 12/576,550, filed Oct. 9, 2009 and published Apr.
15, 2010 as U.S. Pat. Pub. No. US-2010-0091394, which are hereby
incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
[0063] A video display screen device or module of the mirror
assembly or display system of the present invention may comprise
any suitable type of video screen and is operable to display images
in response to an input or signal from a control or imaging system.
For example, the video display screen may comprise a multi-pixel
liquid crystal module (LCM) or liquid crystal video display (LCD),
preferably a thin film transistor (TFT) multi-pixel liquid crystal
video display (such as discussed below), or the video screen may
comprise a multi-pixel organic electroluminescent video display or
a multi-pixel light emitting diode (LED) video display, such as an
organic light emitting diode (OLED) or inorganic light emitting
video diode display or the like, or an electroluminescent (EL)
video display or the like. For example, the video display screen
may comprise a video screen of the types disclosed in U.S. Pat.
Nos. 7,855,755; 7,734,392; 7,370,983; 7,338,177; 7,274,501;
7,255,451; 7,195,381; 7,184,190; 6,902,284; 6,690,268; 6,428,172;
6,420,975; 5,668,663; 5,724,187; 5,416,313; 5,285,060; 5,193,029
and/or 4,793,690, and/or U.S. patent application Ser. No.
13/023,750, filed Feb. 9, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,890,955; Ser.
No. 10/538,724, filed Jun. 13, 2005 and published Mar. 9, 2006 as
U.S. Pat. Pub. No. US-2006-0050018; Ser. No. 11/226,628, filed Sep.
14, 2005 and published Mar. 23, 2006 as U.S. Pat. Pub. No.
US-2006-0061008; Ser. No. 12/091,525, filed Apr. 25, 2008 and
published Jan. 15, 2009 as U.S. Pat. Pub. No. US-2009-0015736; Ser.
No. 12/091,525, filed Apr. 25, 2008 and published Jan. 15, 2009 as
U.S. Pat. Pub. No. US-2009-0015736; Ser. No. 12/578,732, filed Oct.
14, 2009 and published Apr. 22, 2010 as U.S. Pat. Pub. No.
US-2010-0097469; Ser. No. 09/585,379, filed Jun. 1, 2000, now
abandoned; and/or Ser. No. 10/207,291, filed Jul. 29, 2002, now
abandoned, and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US10/47256, filed Aug.
31, 2010 and published Mar. 10, 2011 as International Publication
No. WO 2011/028686, which are all hereby incorporated herein by
reference in their entireties. Optionally, the video display screen
and mirror assembly may utilize aspects of the display systems
described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/102,263, filed May
6, 2011 and published Nov. 10, 2011 as U.S. Publication No.
US-2011-0273659, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference
in its entirety.
[0064] Optionally, the mirror assembly and/or prismatic or
electrochromic reflective element may include one or more displays,
such as for the accessories or circuitry described herein. The
displays may be of types disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,530,240
and/or 6,329,925, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference
in their entireties, and/or may be display-on-demand or
transflective type displays, such as the types disclosed in U.S.
Pat. Nos. 7,338,177; 7,274,501; 7,195,381; 6,690,298; 5,668,663
and/or 5,724,187, and/or in U.S. patent application Ser. No.
11/226,628, filed Sep. 14, 2005 and published Mar. 23, 2006 as U.S.
Pat. Pub. No. US-2006-0061008; and/or Ser. No. 12/091,525, filed
Jul. 15, 2008 and published Jan. 15, 2009 as U.S. Pat. Pub. No.
US-2009-0015736, which are all hereby incorporated herein by
reference in their entireties. Optionally, the prismatic reflective
element may comprise a display on demand or transflective prismatic
element (such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,274,501 and/or
7,338,177, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in
their entireties) so that the displays are viewable through the
reflective element, while the display area still functions to
substantially reflect light, in order to provide a generally
uniform prismatic reflective element even in the areas that have
display elements positioned behind the reflective element.
[0065] The video display screen may be controlled or operable in
response to an input or signal, such as a signal received from one
or more cameras or image sensors of the vehicle, such as a video
camera or sensor, such as a CMOS imaging array sensor, a CCD sensor
or the like, such as the types disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos.
5,550,677; 5,760,962; 6,396,397; 6,097,023; 5,877,897 and
5,796,094, and/or U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/534,632,
filed May 11, 2005 and published Aug. 3, 2006 as U.S. Pat. Pub. No.
US-2006-0171704, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference
in their entireties, or from one or more imaging systems of the
vehicle, such as a reverse or backup aid system, such as a
rearwardly directed vehicle vision system utilizing principles
disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,550,677; 5,760,962; 5,670,935;
6,201,642; 6,396,397; 6,498,620; 6,717,610 and/or 6,757,109, which
are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties, a
trailer hitching aid or tow check system, such as the type
disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,005,974, which is hereby incorporated
herein by reference in its entirety, a cabin viewing or monitoring
device or system, such as a baby viewing or rear seat viewing
camera or device or system or the like, such as disclosed in U.S.
Pat. Nos. 5,877,897 and/or 6,690,268, which are hereby incorporated
herein by reference in their entireties, a video communication
device or system, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,690,268,
which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety,
and/or the like. The imaging sensor or camera may be activated and
the display screen may be activated in response to the vehicle
shifting into reverse, such that the display screen is viewable by
the driver and is displaying an image of the rearward scene while
the driver is reversing the vehicle.
[0066] Optionally, a rear camera, such as a rear backup video
camera/imager or the like (such as a camera and system of the types
described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,550,677; 5,670,935; 6,498,620;
6,222,447 and/or 5,949,331, which are hereby incorporated herein by
reference in their entireties), may be disposed at the vehicle and
may have a rearward field of view rearward of the vehicle for
capturing images rearward of the vehicle such as for driver
assistance during a reversing maneuver of the vehicle or the like.
Because such a rear camera has a rearward field of view, the
rearward facing camera may be operable to capture images of
rearwardly approaching or following vehicles that are behind the
vehicle equipped with the rearward facing camera when the vehicle
so equipped is driving forwardly along the road or highway. It is
envisioned that an image processor or controller (such as an
EyeQ.TM. image processing chip available from Mobileye Vision
Technologies Ltd. of Jerusalem, Israel, and such as an image
processor of the types described in PCT Application No.
PCT/US10/25545, filed Feb. 25, 2010 and published Sep. 2, 2010 as
International Pub. No. WO/2010/099416, which is hereby incorporated
herein by reference in its entirety) may process image data
captured by the rearward facing camera to assess glare lighting
conditions (such as to detect headlights of following vehicles that
may cause glare at the interior and/or exterior rearview mirror
assemblies of the equipped vehicle), and the controller may adjust
or control the dimming of the electro-optic mirror assembly or
assemblies of the equipped vehicle responsive to such image
processing. Using principles of the systems described in U.S. Pat.
No. 5,550,677, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in
its entirety, the system may operate to independently control any
one or more of the interior rearview mirror assembly and the
exterior rearview mirror assemblies of the equipped vehicle, such
as based on the intensity and location of glare light detected by
the camera and image processor. Such a rear reversing or backup
camera and controller can also operate to detect the ambient light
level present at the vehicle and may adjust the dimming of the
mirror system accordingly, and/or may adjust other displays,
lighting and/or accessories of the vehicle in accordance with and
responsive to the ambient light detection by the rear backup camera
(or by other cameras on the vehicle that view exterior to the
vehicle). Such glare detection and ambient light detection and
image processing of image data captured by a rear backup assist
camera of the vehicle may obviate the need for a separate glare
sensor elsewhere at the vehicle, such as at or in the interior
rearview mirror assembly of the vehicle or the like. Such image
processing and such a mirror control system may utilize aspects of
the imaging systems described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,550,677;
5,670,935; 5,760,962; 6,201,642; 6,396,397; 6,498,620; 6,097,023;
5,877,897 and 5,796,094, which are hereby incorporated herein by
reference in their entireties.
[0067] Optionally, the mirror assembly and/or any associated user
inputs may be associated with various accessories or systems, such
as, for example, a tire pressure monitoring system or a passenger
air bag status or a garage door opening system or a telematics
system or any other accessory or system of the mirror assembly or
of the vehicle or of an accessory module or console of the vehicle,
such as an accessory module or console of the types described in
U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,289,037; 6,877,888; 6,824,281; 6,690,268;
6,672,744; 6,386,742 and/or 6,124,886, and/or U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 10/538,724, filed Jun. 13, 2005 and published
Mar. 9, 2006 as U.S. Pat. Pub. No. US-2006-0050018, which are
hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
[0068] Optionally, the user inputs or buttons may comprise user
inputs for a garage door opening system, such as a vehicle based
garage door opening system of the types described in U.S. Pat. Nos.
6,396,408; 6,362,771; 7,023,322 and/or 5,798,688, which are hereby
incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. The user
inputs may also or otherwise function to activate and deactivate a
display or function or accessory, and/or may activate/deactivate
and/or commence a calibration of a compass system of the mirror
assembly and/or vehicle. The compass system may include compass
sensors and circuitry within the mirror assembly or within a
compass pod or module at or near or associated with the mirror
assembly. Optionally, the user inputs may also or otherwise
comprise user inputs for a telematics system of the vehicle, such
as, for example, an ONSTAR.RTM. system as found in General Motors
vehicles and/or such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,862,594;
4,937,945; 5,131,154; 5,255,442; 5,632,092; 5,798,688; 5,971,552;
5,924,212; 6,243,003; 6,278,377; 6,420,975; 6,477,464; 6,946,978;
7,308,341; 7,167,796; 7,004,593; 7,657,052 and/or 6,678,614, and/or
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/538,724, filed Jun. 13, 2005
and published Mar. 9, 2006 as U.S. Pat. Pub. No. US-2006-0050018,
which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference in their
entireties.
[0069] Optionally, the mirror assembly may include one or more
other accessories at or within the mirror casing, such as one or
more electrical or electronic devices or accessories, such as
antennas, including global positioning system (GPS) or cellular
phone antennas, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,971,552, a
communication module, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,798,688,
a blind spot detection system, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos.
5,929,786 and/or 5,786,772, transmitters and/or receivers, such as
a garage door opener or the like, a digital network, such as
described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,798,575, a high/low headlamp
controller, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,796,094 and/or
5,715,093, a memory mirror system, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat.
No. 5,796,176, a hands-free phone attachment, a video device for
internal cabin surveillance and/or video telephone function, such
as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,760,962 and/or 5,877,897, a remote
keyless entry receiver, lights, such as map reading lights or one
or more other lights or illumination sources, such as disclosed in
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,690,268; 5,938,321; 5,813,745; 5,820,245;
5,673,994; 5,649,756; 5,178,448; 5,671,996; 4,646,210; 4,733,336;
4,807,096; 6,042,253; 5,669,698; 7,195,381; 6,971,775 and/or
7,249,860, microphones, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos.
7,657,052; 6,243,003; 6,278,377 and/or 6,420,975, speakers,
antennas, including global positioning system (GPS) or cellular
phone antennas, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,971,552, a
communication module, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,798,688,
a voice recorder, a blind spot detection system, such as disclosed
in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,720,580; 7,038,577; 6,882,287; 5,929,786 and/or
5,786,772, transmitters and/or receivers, such as for a garage door
opener or a vehicle door unlocking system or the like (such as a
remote keyless entry system), a digital network, such as described
in U.S. Pat. No. 5,798,575, a high/low headlamp controller, such as
a camera-based headlamp control, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat.
Nos. 5,796,094 and/or 5,715,093, a memory mirror system, such as
disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,796,176, a hands-free phone
attachment, an imaging system or components or circuitry or display
thereof, such as an imaging and/or display system of the types
described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,400,435; 7,526,103; 6,690,268 and/or
6,847,487, and/or U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/239,980,
filed Sep. 30, 2005 and published Jun. 15, 2006 as U.S. Pat. Pub.
No. US-2006-0125919, a video device for internal cabin surveillance
(such as for sleep detection or driver drowsiness detection or the
like) and/or video telephone function, such as disclosed in U.S.
Pat. Nos. 5,760,962 and/or 5,877,897, a remote keyless entry
receiver, a seat occupancy detector, a remote starter control, a
yaw sensor, a clock, a carbon monoxide detector, status displays,
such as displays that display a status of a door of the vehicle, a
transmission selection (4wd/2wd or traction control (TCS) or the
like), an antilock braking system, a road condition (that may warn
the driver of icy road conditions) and/or the like, a trip
computer, a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) receiver (such
as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,124,647; 6,294,989; 6,445,287;
6,472,979; 6,731,205 and/or 7,423,522, and/or an ONSTAR.RTM.
system, a compass, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,924,212;
4,862,594; 4,937,945; 5,131,154; 5,255,442 and/or 5,632,092, and/or
any other accessory or circuitry or the like (with all of the
above-referenced patents and PCT and U.S. patent applications being
commonly assigned to Donnelly Corporation and being hereby
incorporated herein by reference in their entireties).
[0070] Optionally, the mirror assembly (such as at the mounting
base, which may be fixed relative to the vehicle windshield) may
include an imaging sensor (such as a forward facing imaging sensor
or camera that has a forward field of view through the vehicle
windshield) that may be part of or may provide an image output for
a vehicle vision system, such as a headlamp control system or lane
departure warning system or object detection system or other
vehicle vision system or the like, and may utilize aspects of
various imaging sensors or imaging array sensors or cameras or the
like, such as a CMOS imaging array sensor, a CCD sensor or other
sensors or the like, such as the types described in U.S. Pat. Nos.
5,550,677; 5,670,935; 5,760,962; 5,715,093; 5,877,897; 6,922,292;
6,757,109; 6,717,610; 6,097,023; 6,320,176; 6,559,435; 6,831,261;
6,806,452; 6,396,397; 6,822,563; 6,946,978; 7,038,577; 7,004,606
and/or 7,720,580, and/or U.S. patent application Ser. No.
10/534,632, filed May 11, 2005 and published Aug. 3, 2006 as U.S.
Patent Publication No. US-2006-0171704; Ser. No. 12/091,359, filed
Jun. 10, 2008 and published Oct. 1, 2009 as U.S. Pat. Pub. No.
US-2009-0244361; and/or Ser. No. 12/377,054, filed Feb. 10, 2009
and published Aug. 26, 2010 as U.S. Pat. Pub. No. US-2010-0214791,
and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US08/78700, filed Oct. 3, 2008 and
published Apr. 9, 2009 as International Publication No. WO
2009/046268, and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US08/76022, filed Sep.
11, 2008 and published Mar. 19, 2009 as International Publication
No. WO 2009/036176, which are all hereby incorporated herein by
reference in their entireties. The sensor may include a lens
element or optic between the imaging plane of the imaging sensor
and the forward scene to substantially focus the scene at an image
plane of the imaging sensor. The imaging sensor may comprise an
image sensing module or the like, and may utilize aspects described
in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/534,632, filed May 11, 2005
and published Aug. 3, 2006 as U.S. Pat. Pub. No. US-2006-0171704;
and/or Ser. No. 12/091,359, filed Oct. 27, 2006 and published Oct.
1, 2009 as U.S. Pat. Pub. No. US-2009-0244361, which are hereby
incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
[0071] Optionally, the accessory or accessories, such as those
described above and/or below, may be positioned at or within the
mirror casing and/or mirror cap portion or the like, and may be
included on or integrated in a printed circuit board positioned
within the mirror casing and/or cap portion, such as along a rear
surface of the reflective element or elsewhere within a cavity
defined by the casing, without affecting the scope of the present
invention. The user actuatable inputs and/or touch sensors and/or
proximity sensors and displays described above may be actuatable to
control and/or adjust the accessories of the mirror assembly/system
and/or overhead console and/or accessory module and/or vehicle. The
connection or link between the controls and the display screen
device and/or the navigation system and/or other systems and
accessories of the mirror system may be provided via vehicle
electronic or communication systems and the like, and may be
connected via various protocols or nodes, such as BLUETOOTH.RTM.,
SCP, UBP, J1850, CAN J2284, Fire Wire 1394, MOST, LIN, FlexRay.TM.,
Byte Flight and/or the like, or other vehicle-based or in-vehicle
communication links or systems (such as WIFI and/or IRDA) and/or
the like, or via VHF or UHF or other wireless transmission formats,
depending on the particular application of the mirror/accessory
system and the vehicle. Optionally, the connections or links may be
provided via various wireless connectivity or links, without
affecting the scope of the present invention.
[0072] Changes and modifications in the specifically described
embodiments may be carried out without departing from the
principles of the present invention, which is intended to be
limited only by the scope of the appended claims as interpreted
according to the principles of patent law.
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