Vehicle Exterior Mirror Assembly With Blind Spot Indicator
First Claim
1. An exterior rearview mirror system for a vehicle, said exterior rearview mirror system comprising:
- an exterior mirror assembly having a mirror casing, said mirror casing comprising a mirror portion including a reflective element and an attachment portion including an attachment for attaching said mirror assembly at an exterior side of a vehicle, said reflective element being adjustably supported by an actuator within said mirror portion of said mirror casing, said mirror casing having an inboard portion that faces generally toward the exterior side of the vehicle and is viewable by a driver of the vehicle when said exterior mirror assembly is attached at the exterior side of the vehicle;
a unitary indicator module at said inboard portion of said mirror casing, said unitary indicator module comprising an illumination source, said indicator module being responsive to a control signal to activate said illumination source to indicate to the driver a detected presence of an object at least one of alongside the vehicle and rearward of the vehicle, said unitary indicator module being substantially sealed so as to be substantially impervious to water; and
wherein said unitary indicator module is configured at said inboard portion of said mirror casing so that illumination of said illumination source is readily viewable by the driver of the vehicle and wherein said illumination of said illumination source is generally not viewed by other road users when said exterior rearview mirror assembly is mounted to the side of the vehicle and when the vehicle is operated on a road.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An exterior rearview mirror system for a vehicle includes an exterior mirror assembly that is mountable at an exterior side of a vehicle and has an inboard portion that is viewable by a driver of the vehicle when the mirror assembly is mounted at the exterior side of the vehicle. A blind spot indicator is disposed at the inboard portion of the mirror casing of the mirror assembly. The blind spot indicator comprises at least one illumination source for indicating to the driver a detected presence of an object alongside of and/or rearward of the vehicle. The indicator may comprise a unitary indicator module that is mountable at the inboard portion of the mirror assembly. The indicator module includes an illumination source and circuitry and is connectable to an electrical connector.
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Citations
32 Claims
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1. An exterior rearview mirror system for a vehicle, said exterior rearview mirror system comprising:
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an exterior mirror assembly having a mirror casing, said mirror casing comprising a mirror portion including a reflective element and an attachment portion including an attachment for attaching said mirror assembly at an exterior side of a vehicle, said reflective element being adjustably supported by an actuator within said mirror portion of said mirror casing, said mirror casing having an inboard portion that faces generally toward the exterior side of the vehicle and is viewable by a driver of the vehicle when said exterior mirror assembly is attached at the exterior side of the vehicle; a unitary indicator module at said inboard portion of said mirror casing, said unitary indicator module comprising an illumination source, said indicator module being responsive to a control signal to activate said illumination source to indicate to the driver a detected presence of an object at least one of alongside the vehicle and rearward of the vehicle, said unitary indicator module being substantially sealed so as to be substantially impervious to water; and wherein said unitary indicator module is configured at said inboard portion of said mirror casing so that illumination of said illumination source is readily viewable by the driver of the vehicle and wherein said illumination of said illumination source is generally not viewed by other road users when said exterior rearview mirror assembly is mounted to the side of the vehicle and when the vehicle is operated on a road. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. An exterior rearview mirror system for a vehicle, said exterior rearview mirror system comprising:
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an exterior rearview mirror assembly having a mirror casing, said mirror casing comprising a mirror portion including a reflective element and an attachment portion including an attachment for attaching said mirror assembly at an exterior side of a vehicle, said reflective element being adjustably supported by an actuator within said mirror portion of said mirror casing, said mirror casing having an inboard portion that is viewable by a driver of a vehicle when said attachment portion attaches said mirror assembly at an exterior side of a vehicle; a blind spot indicator fixedly disposed at said inboard portion of said mirror casing of said exterior mirror assembly, said blind spot indicator comprising at least one illumination source for indicating to the driver a detected presence of an object at least one of alongside and rearward of the vehicle, said blind spot indicator indicating a degree of hazard of the detected object; and wherein said blind spot indicator is configured at said inboard portion of said mirror casing so that illumination of said at least one illumination source is readily viewable by the driver of the vehicle and wherein said illumination of said at least one illumination source is generally non-viewable by other road users. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method of supplying an exterior rearview mirror system for a vehicle, said method comprising:
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providing mirror casings, each of said mirror casings at least comprising a mirror portion including a reflective element, said reflective element being adjustably supportable by an actuator within said mirror portion of said mirror casing, each of said mirror casings having an inboard portion that faces generally toward the exterior side of the vehicle and that is viewable by a driver of the vehicle when said exterior mirror assembly is mounted at the exterior side of the vehicle; providing at least some of said mirror casings with an aperture established at said inboard portion; providing blind spot indicator units, each of said blind spot indicator units comprising at least one illumination source for indicating to the driver a detected presence of an object at least one of alongside and rearward of the vehicle; establishing first mirror assemblies by disposing said blind spot indicator units at said apertures of said inboard portions of said at least some of said mirror casings, said blind spot indicator units being at least partially received at said apertures; establishing second mirror assemblies by providing mirror casings lacking an aperture established at said inboard portion; and supplying said first mirror assemblies to a vehicle manufacturing facility when inclusion of a blind spot indicator is required and supplying said second mirror assemblies to a vehicle manufacturing facility when inclusion of a blind spot indicator is not required. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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Specification