Automatic dimming mirror using semiconductor glare sensor
First Claim
1. A rearview mirror assembly for a vehicle, comprising:
- a housing;
an electro-optic mirror element disposed in said housing;
a glare sensor for sensing light levels generally from the rear of the rearview mirror assembly, said glare sensor comprising a light transducer and a lens for redirecting light onto said light transducer; and
a control circuit coupled to said glare sensor and to said electro-optic mirror element for varying a reflectance level of said electro-optic mirror element as a function of the light levels sensed by said glare sensor.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An automatically dimming mirror includes a dimming element having variable reflectivity, the degree of reflectivity based on a control signal. An ambient light sensor is positioned to receive light from a region generally in front of the vehicle. The ambient light sensor outputs a discrete ambient light signal based on the amount of light incident on the ambient light sensor over an integration period. A glare sensor is positioned to view the scene generally behind the vehicle operator. The glare sensor outputs a discrete glare signal based on the amount of light incident on the glare sensor over an integration period. A dimming logic determines an ambient light level based on the ambient light signal. The glare integration period is determined based on the ambient light level. The glare signal resulting from the glare integration period determines a mirror glare level used to set the dimming element control signal.
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Citations
39 Claims
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1. A rearview mirror assembly for a vehicle, comprising:
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a housing;
an electro-optic mirror element disposed in said housing;
a glare sensor for sensing light levels generally from the rear of the rearview mirror assembly, said glare sensor comprising a light transducer and a lens for redirecting light onto said light transducer; and
a control circuit coupled to said glare sensor and to said electro-optic mirror element for varying a reflectance level of said electro-optic mirror element as a function of the light levels sensed by said glare sensor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A rearview mirror assembly for a vehicle, comprising:
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a housing;
an electro-optic mirror element disposed in said housing;
a light sensor for sensing light levels, said light sensor comprising a light transducer and another electronic component that are both integrated within an integrated circuit; and
a control circuit coupled to said light sensor and to said electro-optic mirror element for varying a reflectance level of said electro-optic mirror element as a function of the light levels sensed by said light sensor. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A rearview assembly for using in a vehicle, said rearview assembly comprising:
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a housing adapted to be mounted to the vehicle;
a rearview element disposed in the housing for providing an image to the driver of the rearward view from the vehicle; and
a glare sensor device mounted behind said rearview element so as to sense light passing through said rearview element, said glare sensor device comprising;
a light transducer exposed to light, the light transducer operative to accumulate charge; and
a circuit in communication with the exposed light transducer, the circuit operative to output a discrete light signal according to the accumulated exposed light transducer charge. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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Specification