Patent ID: 7543946

Claim:
A rearview assembly for use in a vehicle, said rearview assembly comprising: a housing adapted to be mounted to the vehicle; a rearview element disposed in said housing for providing an image to the driver of the rearward view from the vehicle, said rearview element comprising a reflective surface, wherein a substantially transparent window is formed in said reflective surface; and a glare sensor subassembly mounted behind said window in said rearview element so as to sense light passing through said window of said rearview element, said glare sensor subassembly comprising a non-imaging glare sensor device and a secondary optical element positioned between said glare sensor device and said rearview element, said secondary optical element comprising a component providing a lens function, wherein said glare sensor device comprises: a support structure; a sensing circuit mounted on said support substrate for sensing light and generating an electrical output signal in response thereto; and an encapsulant encapsulating said sensing circuit on said support structure, said encapsulant being configured to define a lens portion for focusing incident light onto an active surface of said sensing circuit, and a light collector portion surrounding the lens portion for collecting and redirecting light that is not incident on the lens portion onto the active surface of said sensing circuit, wherein said light collecting portion includes a parabolic surface.