ACCESSORY MOUNTING SYSTEM FOR MOUNTING A PLURALITY OF ACCESSORIES TO THE WINDSHIELD OF A VEHICLE
First Claim
1. An accessory mounting system suitable for mounting a plurality of accessories at a windshield portion within the interior cabin of a vehicle, said accessory mounting system comprising:
- an assembly adapted for releasable mounting to a receiving structure on the interior surface at a portion of the windshield of the vehicle;
a light absorbing layer on said interior surface at said portion of the windshield of the vehicle, said light absorbing layer on said interior surface of the windshield at least partially hiding said assembly from view by a viewer external the vehicle, said viewer viewing through the windshield when said assembly is normally mounted to said receiving structure;
said light absorbing layer including a light transmitting portion;
at least two accessories housed by said assembly;
one of said at least two accessories comprising a forwardly-viewing camera;
another of said at least two accessories comprising a rain sensor;
at least one of said forwardly-viewing camera and said rain sensor viewing through said light transmitting portion of said light absorbing layer on said interior surface at said portion of the windshield of the vehicle when said assembly is mounted to said receiving structure; and
wherein at least one accessory housed by said assembly electrically couples via an electrical bus connection with an accessory located in the vehicle external to said assembly.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An accessory mounting system suitable for mounting a plurality of accessories at a windshield portion within the interior cabin of a vehicle includes a housing adapted for releasable mounting to a receiving structure on the interior surface of the windshield of the vehicle, and at least two accessories housed by said housing. One of the accessories comprises a forwardly-viewing camera, which views through the windshield of the vehicle when said housing is mounted to said receiving structure. The other of the accessories may be selected from the group consisting of: (a) a vehicle altitude sensor, (b) a vehicle incline sensor, (c) a headlamp sensor, (d) a geographic positioning satellite (GPS) transmitter, (e) a geographic positioning satellite (GPS) receiver, (f) an antenna, (g) a rain sensor, (h) a microphone, and (i) a compass sensor.
6 Citations
51 Claims
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1. An accessory mounting system suitable for mounting a plurality of accessories at a windshield portion within the interior cabin of a vehicle, said accessory mounting system comprising:
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an assembly adapted for releasable mounting to a receiving structure on the interior surface at a portion of the windshield of the vehicle;
a light absorbing layer on said interior surface at said portion of the windshield of the vehicle, said light absorbing layer on said interior surface of the windshield at least partially hiding said assembly from view by a viewer external the vehicle, said viewer viewing through the windshield when said assembly is normally mounted to said receiving structure;
said light absorbing layer including a light transmitting portion;
at least two accessories housed by said assembly;
one of said at least two accessories comprising a forwardly-viewing camera;
another of said at least two accessories comprising a rain sensor;
at least one of said forwardly-viewing camera and said rain sensor viewing through said light transmitting portion of said light absorbing layer on said interior surface at said portion of the windshield of the vehicle when said assembly is mounted to said receiving structure; and
wherein at least one accessory housed by said assembly electrically couples via an electrical bus connection with an accessory located in the vehicle external to said assembly. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. An accessory mounting system suitable for mounting a plurality of accessories at a windshield portion within the interior cabin of a vehicle, said accessory mounting system comprising:
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an assembly adapted for releasable mounting to a receiving structure on the interior surface at a portion of the windshield of the vehicle;
said receiving structure on the interior surface of the windshield adhesively attached to the windshield and said portion of the windshield generally proximate to and rearward of an interior rearview mirror of the vehicle;
a light absorbing layer on said interior surface at said portion of the windshield of the vehicle, said light absorbing layer on said interior surface of the windshield at least partially hiding said assembly from view by a viewer external the vehicle, said viewer viewing through the windshield when said assembly is normally mounted to said receiving structure;
said light absorbing layer including a light transmitting portion;
at least two accessories housed by said assembly;
one of said at least two accessories comprising a forwardly-viewing device;
said forwardly-viewing device viewing through said light transmitting portion of said light absorbing layer on said interior surface at said portion of the windshield of the vehicle when said assembly is mounted to said receiving structure;
wherein at least one accessory housed by said assembly electrically couples via an electrical bus connection with an accessory located in the vehicle external to said assembly; and
wherein said light absorbing layer comprises a ceramic frit layer. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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39. An accessory mounting system suitable for mounting a plurality of accessories at a windshield portion within the interior cabin of a vehicle, said accessory mounting system comprising:
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an assembly adapted for releasable mounting to a receiving structure on the interior surface at a portion of the windshield of the vehicle;
said receiving structure on the interior surface of the windshield adhesively attached to the windshield and said portion of the windshield generally proximate to and rearward of an interior rearview mirror of the vehicle;
a light absorbing layer on said interior surface at said portion of the windshield of the vehicle, said light absorbing layer on said interior surface of the windshield at least partially hiding said assembly from view by a viewer external the vehicle, said viewer viewing through the windshield when said assembly is normally mounted to said receiving structure;
said light absorbing layer including a light transmitting portion;
at least two accessories housed by said assembly;
one of said at least two accessories comprising a forwardly-viewing device;
said forwardly-viewing device viewing through said light transmitting portion of said light absorbing layer on said interior surface at said portion of the windshield of the vehicle when said assembly is mounted to said receiving structure;
wherein at least one accessory housed by said assembly electrically couples via an electrical bus connection with an accessory located in the vehicle external to said assembly;
wherein said light absorbing layer comprises a ceramic frit layer;
wherein said assembly includes a first opening, said first opening facing toward the windshield when said assembly is mounted to said receiving structure on the interior surface of the windshield of the vehicle, and wherein said first opening of said assembly generally aligns with said light transmitting portion of said light absorbing layer when said assembly is mounted to said receiving structure at said portion of the windshield of the vehicle; and
wherein said receiving structure on the interior surface comprises an element adhesively attached to the windshield. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47)
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48. An accessory mounting system suitable for mounting a plurality of accessories at a windshield portion within the interior cabin of a vehicle, said accessory mounting system comprising:
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an assembly adapted for releasable mounting to a receiving structure on the interior surface at a portion of the windshield of the vehicle;
said receiving structure on the interior surface of the windshield adhesively attached to the windshield and said portion of the windshield generally proximate to and rearward of an interior rearview mirror of the vehicle;
a light absorbing layer on said interior surface at said portion of the windshield of the vehicle, said light absorbing layer on said interior surface of the windshield at least partially hiding said assembly from view by a viewer external the vehicle, said viewer viewing through the windshield when said assembly is normally mounted to said receiving structure;
said light absorbing layer including a light transmitting portion;
at least two accessories housed by said assembly;
one of said at least two accessories comprising a forwardly-viewing device;
said forwardly-viewing device viewing through said light transmitting portion of said light absorbing layer on said interior surface at said portion of the windshield of the vehicle when said assembly is mounted to said receiving structure;
wherein at least one accessory housed by said assembly electrically couples via an electrical bus connection with an accessory located in the vehicle external to said assembly;
wherein said light absorbing layer comprises a ceramic frit layer;
wherein said assembly includes a first opening, said first opening facing toward the windshield when said assembly is mounted to said receiving structure on the interior surface of the windshield of the vehicle, and wherein said first opening of said assembly generally aligns with said light transmitting portion of said light absorbing layer when said assembly is mounted to said receiving structure at said portion of the windshield of the vehicle;
wherein said receiving structure on the interior surface comprises an element adhesively attached to the windshield;
wherein said forwardly-viewing device comprises at least one of (a) a camera and (b) a rain sensor; and
wherein one of said at least two accessories is selected from the group consisting of;
(a) a vehicle altitude sensor, (b) a vehicle incline sensor, (c) a headlamp sensor, (d) a daylight sensor, (e) a geographic positioning satellite (GPS) transmitter, (f) a geographic positioning satellite (GPS) receiver, (g) an antenna, (h) a camera, (i) a microphone, (j) a compass sensor, (k) a rain sensor, (l) a photosensor and (m) a garage door opener. - View Dependent Claims (49, 50, 51)
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Specification