Patent ID: 11858423
Assignee: MAGNA MIRRORS OF AMERICA, INC.
Field: Audio-visual technology (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC B  H | IPC B  H

Claim 33:
34. A vehicular dual-state interior rearview mirror assembly, the vehicular dual-state interior rearview mirror assembly comprising:
a mirror head pivotable about a mirror support, wherein the mirror support is configured to attach at an interior portion of a vehicle equipped with the vehicular dual-state interior rearview mirror assembly;
wherein the mirror head comprises a mirror reflective element;
wherein the mirror reflective element comprises an electrochromic mirror reflective element having a front substrate and a rear substrate with an electrochromic medium disposed therebetween, and wherein the front substrate has a first surface and a second surface and the rear substrate has a third surface and a fourth surface, the second surface and the third surface opposing the electrochromic medium;
wherein a transflective mirror reflector is disposed at the third surface, and wherein the transflective mirror reflector at least partially reflects light incident thereon and at least partially transmits incident light therethrough;
wherein the electrochromic mirror reflective element comprises a viewable reflective region viewable by a driver of the equipped vehicle with the mirror support attached at the interior portion of the equipped vehicle;
a video display device disposed behind the viewable reflective region of the electrochromic mirror reflective element;
wherein the video display device comprises a display screen that occupies at least 85 percent of the viewable reflective region of the electrochromic mirror reflective element;
wherein the video display device comprises a plurality of light emitting diodes for backlighting the display screen;
wherein the display screen comprises a plurality of pixel sub-arrays that are backlit by the plurality of light emitting diodes, each pixel sub-array of the plurality of pixel sub-arrays comprising a red pixel, a green pixel, a blue pixel and a clear pixel;
wherein, with the mirror support attached at the interior portion of the equipped vehicle, the video display device is operable to display video images derived from image data captured by at least one rearward viewing camera of the equipped vehicle for viewing by the driver of the equipped vehicle;
wherein, with the vehicular dual-state interior rearview mirror assembly operating in a first state, the video display device does not display video images at the display screen and the driver views rearward via reflection at the viewable reflective region, and wherein, with the vehicular dual-state interior rearview mirror assembly operating in a second state, the video display device displays video images at the display screen for viewing by the driver of the equipped vehicle;
a toggle mechanism, wherein, with the mirror support attached at the interior portion of the equipped vehicle, the toggle mechanism is operable by the driver of the equipped vehicle to toggle the vehicular dual-state interior rearview mirror assembly between operation in the first state and operation in the second state;
wherein, with the mirror support attached at the interior portion of the equipped vehicle, display intensity of the video display device varies responsive to a light level detected by a light sensor;
wherein, when operating in a daytime mode, the display screen utilizes the red pixels, the green pixels, the blue pixels and the clear pixels of the pixel sub-arrays; and
wherein, when operating in a nighttime mode, the display screen utilizes the red pixels, the green pixels and the blue pixels of the pixel sub-arrays and does not utilize the clear pixels of the pixel sub-arrays.