Patent Document ID: 4882565
Application ID: 07163387
Patent Status: 1

Claim One:
1. An improved rearview mirror assembly for vehicles of the type including a mirror element having a reflective surface thereon and information means for providing information to a viewer of the mirror; the improvement comprising: said information means including a narrow deletion area in said reflective surface in which said reflective surface is removed to form an opening of predetermined shape such as a symbol, word or other indicia in said reflective surface; and light source means for illuminating said deletion area when lit/activated, said light source means positioned behind said reflective surface on the side of said mirror element opposite that from which said mirror element will be viewed in a vehicle; said deletion area including at least one deletion line having a width which is sufficiently narrow to provide minimal contrast between the reflective surface and said line and thus be generally unnoticeable to the unaided eye of the viewer of the mirror element when viewing a rear vision image reflected by said reflective surface and said light source means is unlit/unactivated, but providing highly distinct, clear and precise lighted indicia visible to the mirror viewer when said light source means is lit/activated.