AUTOMATICALLY ADJUSTING SIDE MIRROR ASSEMBLY FOR A VEHICLE
First Claim
1. An automatically adjusting side mirror assembly for a vehicle, the automatically adjusting side mirror assembly comprising:
- an eye gaze detection system;
a mirror subassembly having a first position and a second position, the second position aligning the mirror subassembly generally parallel to the vehicle;
a support bracket connected to the vehicle, the mirror subassembly being connected to the support bracket; and
an actuator mechanism connected to the mirror subassembly, the actuator mechanism having a first position and a second position corresponding to the first position and the second position of the mirror subassembly, the actuator mechanism being disposed in electrical communication with the eye gaze detection system to position the mirror subassembly to the first position in response to an output of the eye gaze detection system indicating that an operator of the vehicle is looking toward the mirror subassembly and to position the mirror subassembly to the second position in response to an output of the eye gaze detection system indicating that an operator of the vehicle is not looking toward the mirror subassembly.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An automatically adjusting side mirror assembly for a vehicle having an eye gaze detection system has a mirror subassembly, a support bracket, an actuator mechanism and a biasing mechanism. The mirror subassembly has a first and second position. The second position aligns the mirror subassembly generally parallel to the vehicle in order to provide better aerodynamics. The support bracket connects to the vehicle. The mirror subassembly is connected to the support bracket. The actuator mechanism and the biasing mechanism each connects to the mirror subassembly. The actuator mechanism has a first and second position corresponding to the first and second position of the mirror subassembly. The actuator mechanism is in electrical communication with the eye gaze detection system to position the mirror subassembly to the first position in response to an output of the eye gaze detection system. The biasing mechanism biases the mirror subassembly to the first position.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. An automatically adjusting side mirror assembly for a vehicle, the automatically adjusting side mirror assembly comprising:
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an eye gaze detection system; a mirror subassembly having a first position and a second position, the second position aligning the mirror subassembly generally parallel to the vehicle; a support bracket connected to the vehicle, the mirror subassembly being connected to the support bracket; and an actuator mechanism connected to the mirror subassembly, the actuator mechanism having a first position and a second position corresponding to the first position and the second position of the mirror subassembly, the actuator mechanism being disposed in electrical communication with the eye gaze detection system to position the mirror subassembly to the first position in response to an output of the eye gaze detection system indicating that an operator of the vehicle is looking toward the mirror subassembly and to position the mirror subassembly to the second position in response to an output of the eye gaze detection system indicating that an operator of the vehicle is not looking toward the mirror subassembly. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A vehicle having an automatically adjusting side mirror assembly comprising:
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an eye gaze detection system; a controller disposed in electrical communication with the eye gaze detection system and configured to receive an output signal of the eye gaze detection system; an automatically adjusting side mirror assembly having a mirror subassembly and a support bracket, the mirror subassembly having a first position and a second position, the mirror subassembly being connected to the support bracket, the second position aligning the mirror portion generally parallel to the vehicle; and an actuator mechanism connected to the mirror subassembly, the actuator mechanism having a first position and a second position corresponding to the first position and the second position of the mirror subassembly, the actuator mechanism being disposed in electrical communication with the controller to position the mirror subassembly to the first position in response to an output of the controller indicating that an operator of the vehicle is looking toward the mirror subassembly and to position the mirror subassembly to the second position in response to an output of the controller indicating that an operator of the vehicle is not looking toward the mirror subassembly. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method of operating an automatically adjusting side mirror assembly for a vehicle having an eye gaze detection system, the method comprising:
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determining whether a vehicle operator is attempting to use the automatically adjusting side mirror assembly by utilizing the eye gaze detection system; positioning a mirror subassembly of the automatically adjusting side mirror assembly to a first position from a second position when the eye gaze detection system determines the vehicle operator is attempting to use the automatically adjusting side mirror assembly, wherein the first mirror subassembly position generally provides a view toward a back end of the vehicle and the second mirror subassembly position is generally parallel to the vehicle.
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Specification