VEHICULAR CONTROL SYSTEM
First Claim
1. A vehicle rearview mirror comprising a mirror housing containing a variable reflectivity mirror unit and a microcontroller for controlling the reflectivity of the mirror unit.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A vehicle control system comprises an industry standard CAN network with a number of nodes distributed around the vehicle for controlling corresponding parts of the vehicle. One such node is located in the housing of the vehicle interior rearview mirror and directly controls the reflectivity of an electro-optic mirror unit, in accordance with the state of at least one ambient light sensor and a remote keyless entry device. The node also communicates via an ISO9141 interface with a number of slave controllers such as a sun-roof control module mounted adjacent a sun-roof and a roof control module mounted in a roof housing. By this means the UCM exercises indirect control of the sun-roof in accordance with the state of a switch, and exercises indirect control of various lamps GEN1, GEN2, FLL and FRL in the roof housing in accordance with the state of switches Gen, FL and FR mounted in the roof housing or, in the case of the lamps GEN1 and GEN2, when a vehicle door is opened.
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Citations
29 Claims
- 1. A vehicle rearview mirror comprising a mirror housing containing a variable reflectivity mirror unit and a microcontroller for controlling the reflectivity of the mirror unit.
- 12. A vehicle control system comprising a rearview mirror housing, a variable reflectivity mirror unit mounted in the mirror housing, a first microcontroller mounted in the mirror housing for controlling the reflectivity of the mirror unit, a second microcontroller mounted in the vehicle outside the mirror housing and connected to the first microcontroller, and at least one input and/or output device connected to the second microcontroller.
- 24. A vehicle control system comprising a network controlling a plurality of functions of the vehicle, the network having a node located in a rearview mirror housing of the vehicle, such node controlling at least one function of the mirror.
- 27. Apparatus for determining an optical characteristic of a vehicle component in accordance with the duty cycle of a pulse width modulated signal.
Specification