Multifunction exterior display for a vehicle mirror
First Claim
1. An exterior vehicle rearview mirror and display assembly for a heavy duty vehicle having a vehicle cab from which the vehicle is operated, said assembly comprising:
- a mirror housing carried on an exterior of the vehicle cab;
a mirror glass carried by said mirror housing having a reflective coating;
a display window included in said reflective coating;
vehicle sensors for generating vehicle status information and object avoidance information;
an exterior display unit carried in said mirror housing having a lightable display viewable by an operator through said display window for selectively displaying one of said vehicle status information and object avoidance information;
an interior control unit disposed interiorly of said cab remote from said mirror housing in communication with said exterior display unit and said vehicle sensors, said interior control unit having a computer readable medium;
a set of computer readable display instructions embodied in said computer readable medium which provide a dual mode operation for selectively displaying one of said vehicle status information and said object avoidance information on said display unit;
said display instructions including instructions for receiving said vehicle status information and said object avoidance information at said control unit, detecting whether said vehicle is placed in a reverse drive, automatically transmitting said vehicle status display information to said display unit in response to detecting the vehicle is not in reverse drive, and automatically transmitting said object avoidance display information to said display unit in response to detecting said vehicle is in reverse drive.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A display unit carried in an exterior rearview mirror assembly having a generic display matrix displaying numbers, text and indicia interchangeably. A vehicle status sensor in communication with the display unit for providing vehicle status information for display, and a proximity sensor in communication with the display unit for providing object avoidance information for display in the form of a distance measurement between the vehicle and an object in the vehicle'"'"'s path. A controller carried in the vehicle interior operatively associated with the display unit for selectively displaying object avoidance information or vehicle status information based on whether the vehicle is placed in a reverse gear. A display driver in communication with the controller causes the display unit to display the vehicle status information when the vehicle is not in a reverse gear, and to display the object avoidance information when the vehicle is place in a reverse gear.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. An exterior vehicle rearview mirror and display assembly for a heavy duty vehicle having a vehicle cab from which the vehicle is operated, said assembly comprising:
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a mirror housing carried on an exterior of the vehicle cab;
a mirror glass carried by said mirror housing having a reflective coating;
a display window included in said reflective coating;
vehicle sensors for generating vehicle status information and object avoidance information;
an exterior display unit carried in said mirror housing having a lightable display viewable by an operator through said display window for selectively displaying one of said vehicle status information and object avoidance information;
an interior control unit disposed interiorly of said cab remote from said mirror housing in communication with said exterior display unit and said vehicle sensors, said interior control unit having a computer readable medium;
a set of computer readable display instructions embodied in said computer readable medium which provide a dual mode operation for selectively displaying one of said vehicle status information and said object avoidance information on said display unit;
said display instructions including instructions for receiving said vehicle status information and said object avoidance information at said control unit, detecting whether said vehicle is placed in a reverse drive, automatically transmitting said vehicle status display information to said display unit in response to detecting the vehicle is not in reverse drive, and automatically transmitting said object avoidance display information to said display unit in response to detecting said vehicle is in reverse drive. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A multifunction information display system for an exterior vehicle rearview mirror assembly on a heavy duty vehicle cab comprising:
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a mirror head for attachment to an exterior of the vehicle;
an exterior display unit carried by said mirror head viewable through an adjacent display window having a capacity for displaying one or more of numbers, text and indicia through said display window;
a vehicle status sensor in communication with said display unit providing vehicle status information for display;
a proximity sensor in communication with said display unit providing object avoidance information for display in the form of a distance measurement between the vehicle and an object in the vehicle'"'"'s path;
an interior control unit for being carried on an interior of the vehicle cab in communication with said display unit, said vehicle status sensor, and said proximity sensor; and
,said interior control unit having a dual mode of operation for selectively displaying one of said object avoidance information and said vehicle status information; and
said control unit switching said display unit from displaying said vehicle status information to displaying said object avoidance information automatically when the vehicle is placed in reverse. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A heavy duty vehicle and exterior sideview mirror assembly comprising:
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a vehicle cab from which said vehicle is operated;
an exterior mirror and display assembly carried by an exterior of the vehicle cab;
a mirror housing included in said mirror and display assembly having a mirror glass with a reflective coating;
an optically transmissive display window included in said reflective coating;
an exterior display unit carried in said mirror housing having a generic reconfigurable alpha-numeric display matrix viewable through said display window for displaying numbers, text and indicia;
an interior control unit carried within an interior of the vehicle remotely from said exterior mirror housing and operatively associated with said display unit;
transmission means connecting said interior control unit and said exterior display unit for signal communication;
a plurality of vehicle sensors in communication with said interior control unit for providing sensory input signals representing prescribed display information;
said interior control unit receiving said sensory input signals for generating and transmitting display signals to said display unit; and
,a display driver operatively associated with said display unit receiving said display signals for activating said display matrix to display said display information in said display window. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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Specification