Thin-film coatings, electro-optic elements and assemblies incorporating these elements
First Claim
1. A mirror system for use in a vehicular rearview assembly equipped with a light source configured to generate light that is transmitted from within the rearview assembly through said mirror system to a field of view (FOV) outside the assembly, the generated light having a generated spectrum, the mirror system comprising an electrochromic (EC) element, the EC-element including:
- a first substantially transparent substrate having first and second surfaces, the second surface including a transparent electrode carried thereon, the first substrate corresponding to an outside portion of said assembly;
a second substrate having third and fourth surfaces, the second and first substrates being mutually secured in a parallel and space-apart relationship thereby defining a gap between the second and third surfaces, the third surface having a spectrally-selective transflective thin-film stack carried thereon, said spectrally-selective transflective stack having a multi-band transmission spectrum;
a seal sealably bonding the second and third surfaces, wherein said spectrally-selective transflective stack is extended beyond the seal towards a perimeter of the second substrate and is configured to make the seal visible from the fourth surface; and
an electrochromic medium inside said gap,wherein said mirror system is characterized by a C* value not exceeding 20, as measured in light produced by a standard D65 illuminant and reflected by said mirror system.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Electro-optic elements are becoming commonplace in a number of vehicular and architectural applications. Various electro-optic element configurations provide variable transmittance and or variable reflectance for windows and mirrors. The present invention relates to various thin-film coatings, electro-optic elements and assemblies incorporating these elements.
181 Citations
47 Claims
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1. A mirror system for use in a vehicular rearview assembly equipped with a light source configured to generate light that is transmitted from within the rearview assembly through said mirror system to a field of view (FOV) outside the assembly, the generated light having a generated spectrum, the mirror system comprising an electrochromic (EC) element, the EC-element including:
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a first substantially transparent substrate having first and second surfaces, the second surface including a transparent electrode carried thereon, the first substrate corresponding to an outside portion of said assembly; a second substrate having third and fourth surfaces, the second and first substrates being mutually secured in a parallel and space-apart relationship thereby defining a gap between the second and third surfaces, the third surface having a spectrally-selective transflective thin-film stack carried thereon, said spectrally-selective transflective stack having a multi-band transmission spectrum; a seal sealably bonding the second and third surfaces, wherein said spectrally-selective transflective stack is extended beyond the seal towards a perimeter of the second substrate and is configured to make the seal visible from the fourth surface; and an electrochromic medium inside said gap, wherein said mirror system is characterized by a C* value not exceeding 20, as measured in light produced by a standard D65 illuminant and reflected by said mirror system. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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10. A mirror system for use in a vehicular rearview assembly equipped with a light source configured to generate light that is transmitted from within the rearview assembly through said mirror system to a field of view (FOV) outside the assembly, the generated light having a generated spectrum, the mirror system comprising an electrochromic element, the electrochromic (EC) element including:
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a first substantially transparent substrate having first and second surfaces, the second surface including a transparent electrode carried thereon, the first substrate corresponding to an outside portion of said assembly; a second substrate having third and fourth surfaces, the second and first substrates being mutually secured in a parallel and space-apart relationship thereby defining a gap between the second and third surfaces, the third surface having a spectrally-selective transflective thin-film stack carried thereon, said spectrally-selective transflective stack having a multi-band transmission spectrum; and an electrochromic medium inside said gap, wherein said mirror system is characterized by a C* value not exceeding 20, as measured in light produced by a standard D65 illuminant and specularly reflected by said mirror system at any angle within a range of zero to thirty degrees, and wherein at least one of the transparent electrode and the spectrally-selective transflective stack is characterized by a mean peak-to-valley surface roughness less than or equal to approximately 150 Å
. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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35. A mirror system for use in a vehicular rearview assembly equipped with a light source configured to generate light that is transmitted from within the rearview assembly through said mirror system to a field of view (FOV) outside the assembly, the generated light having a generated spectrum, the mirror system comprising an electrochromic (EC) element, the EC-element including:
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a first substantially transparent substrate having first and second surfaces, the second surface including a transparent electrode carried thereon, the first substrate corresponding to an outside portion of said assembly; a second substrate having third and fourth surfaces, the second and first substrates being mutually secured in a parallel and space-apart relationship thereby defining a gap between the second and third surfaces, the third surface having a spectrally-selective transflective thin-film stack carried thereon, said spectrally-selective transflective stack having a multi-band transmission spectrum; an electrochromic medium inside said gap; and a display device positioned between the light source and the mirror system and configured to define light having an optical transmission spectrum, wherein the spectrally-selective transflective stack is adapted to have said multi-band transmission spectrum substantially match said optical transmission spectrum, and wherein said mirror system is characterized by a C* value not exceeding 20, as measured in light produced by a standard D65 illuminant and reflected by said mirror system. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47)
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Specification