Automatic glare reduction system for vehicles
First Claim
1. A vehicular glare reduction system configured to be installed in a vehicle, comprising:
- at least one multi-segment light filtering element, each segment thereof having a controllable light transmissive characteristic;
at least one sensor configured to determine the physical location and orientation of the vehicle;
a memory that includes stored road map information including roadway glare characteristics; and
a control unit electrically connected to the at least one sensor and the memory, the control unit configured to automatically adjust the transmissive characteristic of at least one segment of the at least one multi-segment light filtering element based upon the stored road map information, and the physical location and orientation of the vehicle.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus and method of controlling the transparency of at least one window in a vehicle includes at least one multi-segment light filtering element, each segment having a controllable light transmissive characteristic. The apparatus includes at least one sensor configured to determine the physical location and orientation of the vehicle, a memory that includes stored road map information including glare characteristics of each roadway, and a control unit electrically connected to the memory and at least one sensor. The apparatus and method is configured to automatically adjust the transmissive characteristic of the at least one light transmitting element based at least upon stored road map information and the location of the vehicle.
24 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A vehicular glare reduction system configured to be installed in a vehicle, comprising:
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at least one multi-segment light filtering element, each segment thereof having a controllable light transmissive characteristic; at least one sensor configured to determine the physical location and orientation of the vehicle; a memory that includes stored road map information including roadway glare characteristics; and a control unit electrically connected to the at least one sensor and the memory, the control unit configured to automatically adjust the transmissive characteristic of at least one segment of the at least one multi-segment light filtering element based upon the stored road map information, and the physical location and orientation of the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of reducing glare in a vehicle, the method comprising:
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determining a real time location of the vehicle; retrieving road and location specific glare mitigation data of the vehicle; determining a glare condition based upon the location of the vehicle and the glare mitigation data; and adjusting a light transmissivity characteristic of at least one region of a filter element to mitigate the determined glare condition. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14)
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15. A transparent surface having glare mitigation properties, comprising:
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a light transmissive surface; a multi-segment light filtering element disposed on the light transmissive surface, each segment of the light filtering element having an individually controllable light transmissive characteristic; and an electrode grid disposed on the light filtering element, the grid configured to deliver an electric signal to the light filtering element that is operative to adjust the light transmissivity of selected portions of the light filtering element; wherein the transparent surface is installed as a window in a vehicle, the vehicle comprising a glare reduction system, the glare reduction system including; at least one sensor configured to determine the physical location and orientation of the vehicle; a memory that includes stored road map information including roadway glare characteristics; a control unit electrically connected to the memory and the at least one sensor; and a grid driver module having an input connected to the control unit, the grid driver module having an output connected to the electric grid; wherein the glare reduction system is configured to automatically adjust transparency of selected portions of the window by automatically adjusting the transmissive characteristic of the light filtering element based upon the stored road map information, and the physical location, and the physical orientation of the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17)
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Specification