Rearview assembly for a vehicle
First Claim
1. A vehicular rearview assembly having a front, said assembly comprisinga housing shell having inner and outer surfaces, a rim defining an aperture of the housing shell, and an inner volume,a mirror element having an edge,wherein said mirror element has a first surface unobstructingly observable from the front of the assembly, said first surface having an annular peripheral region having a curvature, said curvature defined by a curvature radius, wherein said curvature radius is at least 2.5 mm, anda mounting element configured to cooperate with said mirror element to support the mirror element in said aperture, the mounting element further configured to be mechanically engaged with the inner surface of the housing shell, the mounting element including:
- a plate portion made of a first material and substantially co-extensive with the mirror element, said plate portion having openings therethrough and an edge surface; and
a skirt portion made of a first elastic material and associated with the plate portion along a perimeter thereof to define a band extending from the plate portion towards said mirror element, the band having a cross-sectional profile that provides flexibility such that, when the mounting element is mechanically engaged with the inner surface of the housing shell, the skirt portion is in contact with the inner surface of the housing shell and encircles at least a portion of the edge of the mirror element.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A vehicular rearview assembly with a mirror element having a curved or rounded edge on the first surface that is fully observable from the front of the assembly, a complex peripheral ring, and a user interface with switches and sensors that activate and configure pre-defined function(s) or device(s) of the assembly in response to the user input applied to the user interface. The mirror element is supported by a hybrid carrier co-molded of at least two materials, a portion of which is compressible between the housing shell and an edge of the mirror element. The peripheral ring may include multiple bands. Electrical communications between the electronic circuitry, the mirror element, and the user interface utilize connectors configured to exert a low contact force, onto the mirror element, limited in part by the strength of adhesive affixing the EC element to an element of the housing of the assembly.
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Citations
58 Claims
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1. A vehicular rearview assembly having a front, said assembly comprising
a housing shell having inner and outer surfaces, a rim defining an aperture of the housing shell, and an inner volume, a mirror element having an edge, wherein said mirror element has a first surface unobstructingly observable from the front of the assembly, said first surface having an annular peripheral region having a curvature, said curvature defined by a curvature radius, wherein said curvature radius is at least 2.5 mm, and a mounting element configured to cooperate with said mirror element to support the mirror element in said aperture, the mounting element further configured to be mechanically engaged with the inner surface of the housing shell, the mounting element including: -
a plate portion made of a first material and substantially co-extensive with the mirror element, said plate portion having openings therethrough and an edge surface; and a skirt portion made of a first elastic material and associated with the plate portion along a perimeter thereof to define a band extending from the plate portion towards said mirror element, the band having a cross-sectional profile that provides flexibility such that, when the mounting element is mechanically engaged with the inner surface of the housing shell, the skirt portion is in contact with the inner surface of the housing shell and encircles at least a portion of the edge of the mirror element. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A vehicular rearview assembly having a front, said assembly comprising:
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a housing shell having inner and outer surfaces, a rim defining an aperture of the housing shell, and an inner volume, a mirror element having a first substrate defined by a first surface corresponding to the front of the assembly and a second surface opposite the first surface, the first surface unobstructingly observable from the front of the assembly, said first surface including an annular region, at a periphery thereof, said annular region having a curvature defined by a curvature radius, wherein said curvature radius includes a radius of at least 2.5 mm, said second surface containing thereon a first thin-film stack that includes an opaque optical thin-film ring of material disposed along a perimeter of said second surface and having a ring width; a mounting element configured to cooperate with said mirror element to support the mirror element in said aperture, the mounting element further configured to be mechanically engaged with the inner surface of the housing shell; electronic circuitry disposed behind the mirror element in said assembly; and a user interface (UI) operably connected to said electronic circuitry and containing indicia observable from the front of the assembly, said indicia corresponding to at least one auxiliary device, wherein the electronic circuitry is operable to trigger, in response to an input applied to the UI, said at least one auxiliary device; and wherein an orthogonal projection of said curved annular region onto the second surface defines an annulus a width of which is larger than said ring width. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49)
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50. A vehicular rearview assembly having a front and comprising:
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a housing shell having inner and outer surfaces, a rim defining an aperture of the housing shell, and an inner volume; an electrochromic (EC) element having first and second substrates defining a gap therebetween, the first substrate being larger than the second substrate and disposed in front of the second substrate to define a ledge with respect to the second substrate, the ledge extending along a perimeter of the EC element, the second substrate having an edge surface; first and second electrically-conductive layers disposed respectively on the first and second substrates to define corresponding electrodes of the EC element; an electrical bus comprising a conductive material adhered to an edge of a substrate of the EC element, said electrical bus having a thickness between about 0.5 micron and 1,000 microns and a resistance, along a length of the bus, less than about 5 Ohms, said electrical bus being electrically connected to said second electrically-conductive layer and a contact area corresponding to a surface of the second substrate that faces away from the front; and a circuit board with electronic circuitry thereon disposed behind the EC element, said electronic circuitry connected with an electrode of the EC element through said electrical bus, wherein said first substrate has a first surface unobstructingly observable from the front of the assembly and a second surface opposite to the first surface, said first surface having a curved annular peripheral region with a curvature defined by a curvature radius of at least 2.5 mm; wherein said first substrate contains a thin-films stack on a surface thereof, said first thin-film stack having an opaque thin-film ring of material disposed along a perimeter of said first substrate and having a ring width of no greater than about 5 mm; and wherein said EC element is affixed in said aperture of the housing shell. - View Dependent Claims (51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58)
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Specification