Vehicle Rearview Mirror Assembly Including a High Intensity Display
First Claim
1. A rearview assembly for a vehicle comprising:
- a mirror element having a partially reflective, partially transmissive coating;
a video display positioned behind said mirror element such that a display image is viewable through said partially reflective, partially transmissive coating, said video display having an output intensity such that the viewable display image has an intensity of at least 250 cd/m2.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An inventive rearview assembly for a vehicle may comprise a mirror element and a display including a light management subassembly. The subassembly may comprise an LCD placed behind a transflective layer of the mirror element. Despite a low transmittance through the transflective layer, the inventive display is capable of generating a viewable display image having an intensity of at least 250 cd/m2 and up to 3500 cd/m2. The display includes a novel backlighting subassembly and novel optical components including a magnifying system, a depolarizer, a reflector, and a reflective polarizer. The display may be configured to display an image having edges contoured to correspond to the edges of the mirror element.
276 Citations
59 Claims
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1. A rearview assembly for a vehicle comprising:
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a mirror element having a partially reflective, partially transmissive coating;
a video display positioned behind said mirror element such that a display image is viewable through said partially reflective, partially transmissive coating, said video display having an output intensity such that the viewable display image has an intensity of at least 250 cd/m2. - 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, 26)
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27. A rearview assembly for a vehicle comprising:
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a housing; and
a video display positioned in said housing, said video display including a magnifying system for magnifying the size of a display image viewable to a vehicle occupant. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A rearview assembly for a vehicle comprising:
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a housing having an opening with curved edges; and
a video display positioned in said housing, said video display generating a display image that extends along and abuts at least a portion of the curved edges of said housing. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35)
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36. A display comprising:
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a display device for generating a polarized display image; and
a depolarizing device positioned in front of said display device to depolarize the polarized display image to thereby eliminate the effect of losing the displayed image when being viewed by an observer viewing through a polarized viewing window. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39)
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40. A rearview assembly for a vehicle comprising:
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a housing;
a video display positioned in said housing for generating a polarized display image; and
a depolarizing device positioned in front of said video display for depolarizing the polarized display image. - View Dependent Claims (41)
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42. A liquid crystal display comprising:
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a first substrate having a front surface and a rear surface;
a second substrate having a front surface and a rear surface, the front surface of said second substrate and the rear surface of said first substrate being juxtaposed in spaced relation;
a liquid crystalline material disposed between said first and second substrates; and
a specularly reflective coating applied to a surface of said first substrate. - View Dependent Claims (43, 44, 45, 46)
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47. A rearview assembly for a vehicle comprising:
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a housing; and
an integrated mirror element and liquid crystal display disposed in said housing, said integrated mirror element and liquid crystal display comprising;
a first substrate having a front surface and a rear surface;
a second substrate having a front surface and a rear surface, the front surface of said second substrate and the rear surface of said first substrate being juxtaposed in spaced relation;
a third substrate having a front surface and a rear surface, the front surface of said third substrate and the rear surface of said first substrate being juxtaposed in spaced relation;
a liquid crystalline material disposed between said first and second substrates;
an electrochromic medium disposed between said first and third substrates; and
a specularly reflective coating applied to a surface of said second substrate. - View Dependent Claims (48)
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49. A rearview assembly for a vehicle comprising:
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a housing;
a rearview element disposed in said housing;
a forward facing light sensor for sensing a first light level forward of the vehicle;
a rearward facing light sensor for sensing a second light level to the rear of the vehicle;
a control circuit for comparing the first and second light levels and generating an warning signal when the second light level exceeds the first light level by at least threshold amount. - View Dependent Claims (50, 51, 52)
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53. A liquid crystal display comprising:
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a liquid ctystal display device; and
a backlight subassembly for back lighting said liquid ctystal display device, said backlight subassembly comprising;
a plurality of light emitting diode devices disposed on a substrate;
a diffuser spaced from said plurality of light emitting diode devices such that light from said plurality of light emitting diode devices is refracted through said diffuser and reflected back towards said substrate; and
a reflector provided over said substrate and around and between said plurality of light emitting diode devices so as to receive light reflected back from said diffuser and to reflect that light back towards said diffuser. - View Dependent Claims (54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59)
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Specification