Patent ID: 8162493

Claim:
An interior rearview mirror assembly suitable for use in a vehicle, said interior rearview mirror assembly comprising: a mirror casing; a reflective element comprising at least one transparent substrate, and wherein a mirror reflector is disposed at a surface of said transparent substrate; a circuit board having circuitry established thereat, wherein said circuit board is disposed in said mirror casing rearward of said reflective element; a plurality of light emitting diodes mounted to said circuit board; said plurality of light emitting diodes mounted to said circuit board providing backlighting for a display element; wherein said display element is disposed rearward of said reflective element, and wherein said mirror reflector is present and uninterrupted at a partially transmissive and significantly reflective region of said reflective element where said display element is disposed rearward of said reflective element; wherein, with at least some of said plurality of light emitting diodes electrically actuated to emit light, light emitted by said actuated light emitting diodes passes through said display element and through said partially transmissive and significantly reflective region of said reflective element for viewing of displayed information by a driver of a vehicle equipped with said interior rearview mirror assembly; a light reflecting element disposed between said circuit board and said display element; said light reflecting element having a plurality of openings therethrough; wherein individual light emitting diodes of said plurality of said light emitting diodes are aligned with respective openings through said light reflecting element; and wherein, to the driver of the equipped vehicle viewing said reflective element when said interior rearview mirror assembly is normally mounted in the equipped vehicle, the presence of said display element rearward of said mirror reflector at said partially transmissive and significantly reflective region of said reflective element is substantially not apparent until at least one of said plurality of light emitting diodes is actuated.