Control apparatus with delay circuit for antiglare mirror
First Claim
1. A control apparatus for a vehicle mirror switchable to and from a dazzle-free condition comprising:
- rear light detecting means for detecting intensity of light incident from the rear of said vehicle;
means for determining intensity of light exterior of said vehicle;
driving means for driving said mirror into a dazzle-free condition when the detected intensities of the rear light and the exterior light are above and below predetermined intensities, respectively; and
means for delaying the driving operation of said driving means for a predetermined interval of time in response to the detected intensity of the exterior light being reduced below the predetermined intensity but not delaying the driving operation of said driving means when the intensity of exterior light is increasing.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A control apparatus for a reflection mirror of a vehicle is disclosed. The control apparatus is provided with a rear light sensor, an exterior light sensor and a circuit for driving the reflection mirror into a dazzle-free condition when it is detected by the sensors that an intensive rear light is incident from the rear of the vehicle and the exterior of the vehicle is dark. The control apparatus is further provided with a delay circuit which delays driving the reflection mirror into the dazzle-free condition for a predetermined interval of time after the exterior light sensor detects that the exterior of the vehicle is dark. The exterior light sensor may be a switching circuit which switches on and off front light bulbs of the vehicle. The control apparatus is still further provided with a delay circuit which keeps the dazzle-free condition for a predetermined interval of time even after the rear light sensor detects that the rear of the vehicle is dark.
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Citations
16 Claims
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1. A control apparatus for a vehicle mirror switchable to and from a dazzle-free condition comprising:
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rear light detecting means for detecting intensity of light incident from the rear of said vehicle; means for determining intensity of light exterior of said vehicle; driving means for driving said mirror into a dazzle-free condition when the detected intensities of the rear light and the exterior light are above and below predetermined intensities, respectively; and means for delaying the driving operation of said driving means for a predetermined interval of time in response to the detected intensity of the exterior light being reduced below the predetermined intensity but not delaying the driving operation of said driving means when the intensity of exterior light is increasing. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A control apparatus for a vehicle mirror including an electrically-controlled panel the transparency of which reduces in accordance with a voltage applied thereto, said control apparatus comprising:
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first means for producing a first output indicating that an intensive light is incident on the mirror from the rear of said vehicle; second means for producing a second output indicating that the exterior of said vehicle is dark; third means for delaying the second output produced from said second means for a predetermined interval of time in response to the intensity of exterior light being reduced, but not in response to the intensity of exterior light being increased; and fourth means for changing the voltage applied to said electrically-controlled panel to reduce the transparency in response to the first output and the delayed second output so that said reflection mirror is driven into a dazzle-free condition. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A control apparatus for a reflection mirror of a vehicle including an electrically-controlled panel the transparency of which changes in accordance with an electric signal applied thereto, said control apparatus comprising:
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rear light sensing means for producing a first and second outputs indicative of sensed intensity of rear light above and below a predetermined level, respectively; front exterior light sensing means for producing third and fourth outputs indicative of sensed intensity of front exterior light above and below a predetermined level, respectively; first delay means for delaying an output change of said front exterior light sensing means from the third output to the fourth output for a predetermined interval of time; second delay means for delaying an output change of said rear light sensing means from the first output to the second output for a predetermined interval of time; and driving means for changing the electric signal applied to said electrically-controlled panel so that the transparency of said electrically-controlled panel is maintained low only in response to the first output of said rear light sensing means and the fourth output of said front exterior light sensing means.
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Specification