Non planar mirrors with planar electrochromic cavity

• US 20040240029A1
• Filed: 05/27/2004
• Published: 12/02/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/30/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ajjer, LLC
• Original Assignee: Electrochromix, Inc.
• Inventors: Agrawal, Anoop, LeCompte, Robert S., Tonazzi, Juan Carlos Lopez
• Granted Patent: US 7,012,729 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 359/265
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/082 using a single wide field mirror or an association of rigidly connected mirrors
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/088 using a cell of electrically changeable optical characteristic, e.g. liquid-crystal or electrochromic mirrors
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/153 Constructional details

Abstract

This invention describes non-planar electrochromic mirrors that are made by combining planar electrochromic elements with non-planar reflectors. This results in lower cost mirrors by circumventing several issues related to the difficulty of making non-planar EC elements.

Claims

1. A non-planar variable reflectivity mirror comprising of a variable planar light attenuating device and at least one non-planar reflective element.

2. A non-planar variable reflectivity mirror as in claim 1 where the light attenuating device comprises an electrochromic (EC) device.

3. A non-planar variable reflectivity mirror as in claim 1 where the light attenuating device is bonded to a reflective element.

4. A non-planar variable reflectivity mirror as in claim 1 where the reflective element is one of convex and multi-radius.

5. A non-planar variable reflectivity mirror as in claim 1 further including support structure that enables the mirror to be connected with a vehicle in such a manner that the mirror forms a mirror for the vehicle.

6. A non-planar variable reflectivity mirror as in claim 5 wherein the support structure is configured one of for connection to the interior and exterior of a vehicle so that the mirror can be used for at least one of an interior mirror and exterior mirror.

7. A non-planar variable reflectivity mirror as in claim 2, where at least one of the substrates used for the EC device and the reflective element are made out of a polymeric material.

8. A non-planar variable reflectivity mirror as in claim 1 where more than one reflective element is used.

9. A non-planar variable reflectivity mirror as in claim 1 where the mirror is integrated with at least one of:

a display, a heater, a sensor and a light.