Patent ID: 7916009

Claim:
An accessory mounting system suitable for use in an interior cabin of a vehicle, the interior cabin having a windshield, said accessory mounting system comprising: a first attachment element adhesively attached to an interior surface of the windshield of the vehicle, said first attachment element accommodating a rain sensor and a forward facing camera; wherein said forward facing camera has a forward field of view through the windshield of the vehicle and in the direction of forward travel of the vehicle, and wherein said forward facing camera captures images for at least one of a collision avoidance system of the vehicle and an automatic headlamp control system of the vehicle; a second attachment element adhesively attached to the interior surface of the windshield of the vehicle; an interior rearview mirror assembly; wherein said interior rearview mirror assembly is detachably mounted to said second attachment element by a mounting configuration of said interior rearview mirror assembly, said mounting configuration comprising a support having a mirror mount configured to mount to said second attachment element; wherein said mounting configuration comprises one of (a) a double pivot joint mounting configuration and (b) a single pivot joint mounting configuration; and wherein said forward facing camera comprises a forward facing CMOS camera.