Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US7310178?dq=7069184
Timestamp: 2014-07-10 05:12:33
Document Index: 295784378

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 128', 'arts 128', 'art 128', 'art 128', 'art 128', 'arts 128', 'art 128', 'arts 128']

Patent US7310178 - Rearview mirror assembly for a vehicle - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign in<nobr>Advanced Patent Search</nobr>PatentsAn interior rearview mirror assembly for a vehicle comprises an electro-optic mirror unit whose reflectivity is variable in response to an electrical voltage applied thereto. The mirror unit includes a first substrate and a second substrate with an electro-optic medium sandwiched therebetween. The second...http://www.google.com/patents/US7310178?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US7310178 - Rearview mirror assembly for a vehicleAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS7310178 B2Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 11/738,649Publication dateDec 18, 2007Filing dateApr 23, 2007Priority dateApr 26, 2002Fee statusPaidAlso published asDE60334100D1, EP1523432A2, EP1523432B1, US7110156, US7209278, US7599108, US20050174622, US20070008604, US20070188844, US20080180780, WO2003095269A2, WO2003095269A3Publication number11738649, 738649, US 7310178 B2, US 7310178B2, US-B2-7310178, US7310178 B2, US7310178B2InventorsPatrick J Lawlor, Niall R Lynam, John P Desmond, Patrick J DowlingOriginal AssigneeDonnelly CorporationExport CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (44), Non-Patent Citations (2), Referenced by (4), Classifications (23), Legal Events (4) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetRearview mirror assembly for a vehicleUS 7310178 B2Abstract An interior rearview mirror assembly for a vehicle comprises an electro-optic mirror unit whose reflectivity is variable in response to an electrical voltage applied thereto. The mirror unit includes a first substrate and a second substrate with an electro-optic medium sandwiched therebetween. The second substrate includes a recess at a perimeter region thereof. The mirror assembly includes at least one light sensor disposed behind the first substrate of the mirror unit and generally at the recessed perimeter region of the second substrate. The at least one light sensor is operable to receive light through the first substrate and unobstructed by the second substrate of the mirror unit. The light may be received through a bezel of the mirror assembly and through the first substrate and unobstructed by the second substrate.
an electro-optic mirror unit whose reflectivity is variable in response to an electrical voltage applied thereto, said electro-optic mirror unit comprising a first substrate and a second substrate with an electro-optic medium sandwiched therebetween;
said mirror unit providing a rearward field of view to a driver of a vehicle when said interior rearview mirror assembly is mounted in the vehicle;
said first substrate being closer to the driver of the vehicle than said second substrate when said interior rearview mirror assembly is mounted in the vehicle;
said first substrate having a first surface and a second surface, said first surface being closer to the driver of the vehicle than said second surface when said interior rearview mirror assembly is mounted in the vehicle, said first substrate having a transparent electrical conductor disposed at said second surface of said first substrate, said first substrate having a first perimeter edge about a periphery of said first substrate and between said first and second surfaces;
a bezel disposed at least partially in front of said mirror unit and encompassing said first perimeter edge, an overlapping portion of said bezel overlapping a perimeter region of said first surface;
said second substrate having a third surface and a fourth surface, said third surface being closer to the driver of the vehicle than said fourth surface when said interior rearview mirror assembly is mounted in the vehicle, said second substrate having a mirror reflector disposed at said third surface of said second substrate, said second substrate having a second perimeter edge about a periphery of said second substrate and between said third and fourth surfaces;
said second perimeter edge comprising a recess that is recessed relative to a corresponding region of said first perimeter edge when said first and second substrates are assembled together to sandwich said electro-optic medium therebetween, a front surface portion of said corresponding region of said first perimeter edge being at least partially overlapped by said overlapping portion of said bezel; and
at least one sensor disposed behind said first substrate and operable to receive light through at least one aperture in said overlapping portion of said bezel and through said first substrate and unobstructed by said second substrate.
2. The interior rearview mirror assembly of claim 1, wherein said overlapping portion of said bezel is at a lower region of said mirror unit when said mirror assembly is mounted to the vehicle.
3. The interior rearview mirror assembly of claim 1 further comprising an electrical circuit element disposed at or behind said fourth surface of said second substrate.
4. The interior rearview mirror assembly of claim 3, wherein said electrical circuit element is operable to control operation of said mirror unit in response to said at least one sensor.
5. The interior rearview mirror assembly of claim 4, wherein said electrical circuit element is disposed at a backplate of said mirror unit, said mirror unit being mounted to said backplate.
6. The interior rearview mirror assembly of claim 5, wherein said electrical circuit element is electrically connected to said mirror unit by contacts extending out of said backplate.
7. The interior rearview mirror assembly of claim 5, wherein said backplate includes a support for pivotally mounting said mirror unit in the vehicle.
8. The interior rearview mirror assembly of claim 1 further comprising a bracket for supporting said rearview mirror assembly from an interior portion of the vehicle.
9. The interior rearview mirror assembly of claim 8, wherein said bracket connects to said mirror unit via a ball and socket pivot assembly, said ball being fixed relative to said bracket and said socket being fixed relative to said mirror unit.
10. The interior rearview mirror assembly of claim 9, wherein said pivot assembly includes a plurality of electrical contacts and counter-contacts for supplying electrical power to an electrical circuit element of said mirror assembly from a vehicle electrical system external to said mirror assembly, the power being provided to said electrical circuit element over a range of angular movement of said mirror unit relative to said bracket.
11. The interior rearview mirror assembly of claim 10, wherein said ball comprises a convex surface, said electrical contacts being disposed at said convex surface.
12. The interior rearview mirror assembly of claim 1, wherein said electro-optic mirror unit comprises an electrochromic mirror unit.
13. The interior rearview mirror assembly of claim 1, wherein said first substrate is substantially the same size as said second substrate.
14. The interior rearview mirror assembly of claim 1, wherein said first substrate is offset relative to said second substrate.
15. An interior rearview mirror assembly for a vehicle, said interior rearview mirror assembly comprising:
said second perimeter edge comprising a recessed edge portion that is recessed relative to a corresponding edge portion of said first perimeter edge when said first and second substrates are assembled together to sandwich said electro-optic medium therebetween; and
at least one sensor disposed behind said first substrate and generally at said recessed edge portion, said at least one sensor being operable to receive light through said first substrate and unobstructed by said second substrate.
16. The interior rearview mirror assembly of claim 15 further comprising a bezel disposed at least partially in front of said mirror unit and encompassing said first perimeter edge, an overlapping portion of said bezel overlapping a perimeter region of said first surface and being disposed in front of said at least one sensor.
17. The interior rearview mirror assembly of claim 16, wherein said at least one sensor is operable to receive light through at least one aperture in said overlapping portion of said bezel.
18. The interior rearview mirror assembly of claim 16 further comprising a housing, said bezel retaining said mirror unit in said housing.
19. An interior rearview mirror assembly for a vehicle, said interior rearview mirror assembly comprising:
an electrochromic mirror unit whose reflectivity is variable in response to an electrical voltage applied thereto, said electrochromic mirror unit comprising a first substrate and a second substrate with an electrochromic medium sandwiched therebetween;
said second perimeter edge comprising a recessed edge portion that is recessed relative to a corresponding edge portion of said first perimeter edge when said first and second substrates are assembled together to sandwich said electrochromic medium therebetween; and
20. The interior rearview mirror assembly of claim 19, wherein said at least one sensor is operable to receive light through at least one aperture in a bezel of said mirror assembly.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/498,420, filed Aug. 3, 2006, entitled A REARVIEW MIRROR ASSEMBLY FOR A VEHICLE, by Lawlor et al., now U.S. Pat. No. 7,209,278, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/512,206, filed Oct. 22, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,110,156, which corresponds to PCT/IE03/00059, which claims priority of Irish patent application No. S2002/0545, filed Jul. 1, 2002, and Irish patent application No. S2002/0314, filed Apr. 26, 2002, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein.
Electro-optic rearview mirrors are well known in the art; see for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,140,455, 5,151,816 and 5,659,423 and the following paper: N. R. Lynam, �Electrochromic Automotive Day/Night Mirrors�, SAE Technical Paper Series, (870636) (1987).
FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of the mirror unit and support arm of the assembly of FIG. 12 taken on the line A-A of FIG. 16 a. FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of the mirror assembly of FIG. 12 taken on the line B-B of FIG. 16 a. FIG. 16 a is a front view of the rearview mirror assembly of FIG. 12.
Referring initially to FIG. 18, FIG. 18( a) shows the number (204) of front glass plates conventionally cut from a standard sheet of TEC glass measuring 3352.8 mm�1219.2 mm, each glass plate being 249.5 mm wide by 65.7 mm high. By contrast, FIG. 18( b) shows the number (252) of front glass plates which may be produced from the same standard size sheet when each front glass plate is 219.4 mm wide and 61.5 mm high. This represents a 23% increase in the number of front glass plates available from the standard TEC glass sheet. Similarly, FIG. 18( c) shows that only 60 standard sized 249.5 mm wide by 65.7 mm high rear glass plates can be cut from a standard 1700 mm by 750 mm sheet of ITO(Ag) glass, whereas FIG. 18( d) shows that 77 rear glass plates of size 219.4 mm wide and 61.5 mm high can be cut from the same ITO(Ag) glass sheet. This represents a 28% increase in the number of rear glass plates available from the standard ITO(Ag) glass sheet.
Referring now to FIGS. 1 to 7 and 7 a, a rear view mirror assembly 20 comprises a housing 21 containing an electro-optic mirror unit 22, a bezel 23 which retains the mirror unit 22 in the housing, the mirror unit 22 being located just behind the bezel 23 and being viewable through the opening in the bezel, and a support bracket 30 for attaching the assembly to the interior cabin of a vehicle, for example to the top of the windscreen or the header. In the present embodiment the upper end of the bracket 30 is adapted for sliding engagement with a mirror mount 100, often referred to as a �button�, which is adhesively attached to the interior surface of the windscreen in known manner.
Spring contacts 102 a, 102 b which are bent upwardly out of the plane of the lead frame to bear resiliently against respective electrical contacts 134 a, 134 b on the ball member 33. These connect respectively to power (+12v) and ground of the vehicle electrical supply via the bracket 30 as will be described. Spring contacts 104 a, 104 b which are bent upwardly out of the plane of the lead frame to bear resiliently against respective electrical contacts strips 106 a, 106 b (FIG. 21) on the side of the PCB 34 facing the backplate 31. These transfer the power and ground of the vehicle electrical supply to the PCB 34 via the lead frame portions A and B. Spring contacts 108 a, 108 b which are bent upwardly out of the plane of the lead frame to bear resiliently against respective electrical contacts strips 110 a, 110 b (FIG. 21) on the side of the PCB 34 facing the backplate 31. These receive the EC cell anode and cathode voltages from the PCB 34 for control of the EC cell reflectivity. A spring contact 108 c which is bent upwardly out of the plane of the lead frame to make large area contact with the PCB 34 to dissipate heat from copper tracks and heat generating components on the �hottest� area of the PCB. The portion E thereby constitutes an efficient heat sink. A plurality of contact fingers 112 (the outer pair of each group of three seen at the bottom of FIG. 22) which are bent through 90 degrees at their outer ends to engage the conductive electrode layer on the inside surface of the front glass plate 22 a (the front and rear glass plates 22 a, 22 b are slightly offset as in the first embodiment). These apply the EC cell anode voltage from the contact 108 a via the lead frame portion C. A pair of contact fingers 114 which are bent through 90 degrees at their outer ends to engage the conductive electrode layer on the inside surface of the rear glass plate 22 b. These apply the EC cell cathode voltage from the contact 108 b via the lead frame portion D. A plurality of spring fingers 116 which are bent out of the plane of the lead frame from the portions B, C and D to bear resiliently against the interior of the mirror housing 21 (not shown) to stabilise the EC cell 22 within the housing (at the bottom of the lead frame the spring fingers 116 are the centre fingers of each group of three). This embodiment again uses ambient and glare light sensors 26, 27 although in this case they are surface mounted on the PCB 34 rather than depending from it. As before, the glare sensor 27 faces rearwardly of the vehicle when the mirror is mounted in the vehicle cabin and views through the transparent front glass plate 22 a of the EC cell via a recess 25 in the edge of the rear glass plate 22 b. However, the ambient sensor 26 in this case faces forwardly (relative to the vehicle) and views forwardly of the vehicle through an aperture 120 in the PCB 34 and a corresponding aperture (not shown) in the mirror housing. When the PCB 34 is mounted on the backplate 31 the sensors 26 and 27 sit in respective apertures in a housing 122 moulded to the backplate 31, the housing both mechanically protecting the sensors and shielding them from extraneous light. Alternatively, a single light sensor may be positioned so that it is shrouded from stray light by a feature of the backplate, receives glare light though an aperture in the bezel and through the recess in the rear glass and receives ambient light from the opposite direction through a hole in the PCB and an aperture in the mirror housing. This one sensor can monitor both ambient and glare light levels. Where two sensors are used, mounting them close together on the PCB 34 reduces adverse EMC effects by eliminating long conductive lines between the sensors.
The bracket 30, FIGS. 23 and 24, is (except as noted below) moulded from glass-filled polypropylene (PP) or nylon. It has an upper end with internal rails 124 for sliding engagement with a �button�-type mirror mount 100 for attachment of the bracket to the interior surface of a vehicle windscreen in conventional manner. The bracket 30 further includes a ball member 33 which depends from the upper end of the bracket and has a part-spherical external surface 33 a rotatable within a complementary part-spherical internal surface 32 a (FIG. 20) of the socket member 32 to allow a range of angular movement of the EC mirror unit 22 relative to the bracket 30.
The body 128 may be manufactured in three pieces 128 a, 128 b and 128 c which are slid side-by-side into the bore 126 as indicated for the part 128 b in FIG. 23( a). In such a case the outer parts 128 a and 128 b are preferably hollow (as shown for the part 128 b) and individually moulded of polysulphide or other electroplatable material and subsequently plated with conductive coatings. The centre part 128 c can be moulded of the same material but left unplated, or it can be moulded, like the rest of the bracket 10, of a polymeric material such as PP or nylon. However, a two-shot moulding process may be used. In the first shot, the central part 128 c is moulded using a material which cannot be electroplated. Then, in the second shot, the outer semi-cylindrical parts 128 a and 128 b are moulded to opposite sides of the centre part 128 c but using a material such as polysulphide which can be plated. Then the entire body 128 is subject to electroplating, but the plating only �takes� to the outer parts 128 a and 128 b. In an alternative embodiment of the bracket 30, FIG. 25, the spring contacts 132 are replaced by a plug 136 of a standard plug and socket connector and the conductive coatings on the body 128 extend onto the plug 136.
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No. PCT/IE03/00059, International filing date Apr. 25, 2003.2N.R. Lynam, "Electrochromic Automotive Day/Night Mirrors", SAE Technical Paper Series, (870636)(1987).Referenced byCiting PatentFiling datePublication dateApplicantTitleUS7599108Dec 17, 2007Oct 6, 2009Donnelly CorporationInterior rearview mirror assemblyUS8503061Mar 30, 2010Aug 6, 2013Magna Mirrors Of America, Inc.Electro-optic rearview mirror assembly for vehicleUS8665510Aug 5, 2013Mar 4, 2014Donnelly CorporationElectro-optic rearview mirror assembly for vehicleUS20120268961 *Oct 12, 2011Oct 25, 2012Cammenga David JClear bezel* Cited by examinerClassifications U.S. Classification359/267, 359/601, 340/815.4, 359/603, 362/494, 362/140, 250/205, 359/604, 359/265International ClassificationB60R1/04, B60R1/08, G08B5/00, G01J1/32, G02F1/15, B60Q1/26, F21V33/00, G02F1/153Cooperative ClassificationB60R1/088, B60R1/04, G02F1/153European ClassificationB60R1/08G5, G02F1/153, B60R1/04Legal EventsDateCodeEventDescriptionMay 18, 2011FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 4Mar 27, 2009ASAssignmentOwner name: MAGNA DONNELLY ENGINEERING GMBH, GERMANYFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:MAGNA DONNELLY ELECTRONICS NAAS LIMITED;REEL/FRAME:022460/0141Effective date: 20081127Mar 24, 2009ASAssignmentOwner name: MAGNA DONNELLY ELECTRONICS NAAS LIMITED, IRELANDFree format text: CHANGE OF NAME;ASSIGNOR:DONNELLY MIRRORS LIMITED;REEL/FRAME:022440/0255Effective date: 20030401Mar 23, 2009ASAssignmentOwner name: DONNELLY MIRRORS LIMITED, IRELANDFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:LAWLOR, PATRICK;LYNAM, NIALL;DESMOND, JOHN;AND OTHERS;REEL/FRAME:022427/0547Effective date: 20020426RotateOriginal ImageGoogle Home - Sitemap - USPTO Bulk Downloads - Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - About Google Patents - Send FeedbackData provided by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services©2012 Google