Automatic anti-glare rearview mirror system

• US 5,768,020 A
• Filed: 11/07/1995
• Issued: 06/16/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 11/09/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Murakami Kaimedio Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Murakami Kaimedio Company Limited
• Inventors: Nagao, Mitsuyoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Powell, Mark R.
• Application Number:
  US08/551,859
• Time in Patent Office: 952 Days
• Field of Search: 359/603, 359/604, 359/843, 359/839
• US Class Current: 359/604
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/088 using a cell of electrically changeable optical characteristic, e.g. liquid-crystal or electrochromic mirrors

Abstract

An automatic anti-glare rearview mirror system includes an anti-glare rearview mirror, a rearview mirror drive circuit, a backward light level sensing device, an ambient light level sensing device, a backward and ambient light level comparison circuit, and an enforced DAY level control device or an enforced DAY level setting device for controlling an anti-glare mode of the mirror according to the ambient light level. The enforced DAY level control device varies the ambient light level to operated an enforced DAY generation circuit by informations from a clock circuit other than a photo-sensor, any time operable switches and variable controller or a light switch ON of an automobile of itself. The high accurate automatic anti-glare mode which has not been taught by conventional prior arts is achieved to be adequate for an actual using condition so as to overcome the disadvantage that the rearview mirror becomes the anti-glare mode at the gray place such as a tree shade in a day time and the backward being not bright, to the contrary, to enable the rearview mirror to become the anti-glare mode adequately at a comparative bright place such as a shopping arcade in a night time.

Claims

1. An automatic anti-glare rearview mirror system, comprising an anti-glare rearview mirror with a variable reflectivity;

a reflectivity varying device for varying the reflectivity of said anti-glare rearview mirror;

a driving power source;

an automobile backward light level sensing device;

an automobile ambient light level sensing device;

an enforced generation circuit for operating an anti-glare mode of said rearview mirror according to an ambient light level sensed by said automobile ambient light level sensing device;

an enforced level control means for changing an operation starting level of said enforced generation circuit to a determined value;

an oscillation device for repeating an oscillation signal of a first level in which said rearview mirror is in an anti-glare mode and a second level in which said rearview mirror is in a normal mode alternately and for controlling duration times of said signal of said first level and said second level separately;

a reverse cycle control circuit for varying and controlling a duration of time of one of the levels of the oscillation signal generated by said oscillation device according to a light level sensed by said ambient light level sensing device and for varying and controlling a duration time of the other of the levels of said oscillation signal according to a light level sensed by said backward light level sensing device; and

a drive circuit for reversing a polarity of a driving voltage supplied from said driving power source and applying the voltage to said reflectivity varying device according to said first level or said second level of said oscillation signal generated by said oscillation device, said drive circuit being formed to drive said reflectivity varying device in a coloring direction at one of the oscillation signal levels, and to drive said reflectivity varying device in a bleaching direction at the other signal level so that said reverse cycle control circuit operates to hold short or hold long a duration of time of one of the levels according to a greater ambient light level than the backward light level or according to a lesser ambient light level than the backward light level respectively, while said reverse circuit control circuit operates to hold short or hold long a duration time of the other level according to a greater backward light level than the ambient light level or according to a lesser backward light level than the ambient light level respectively, said drive circuit being formed to drive said reflectivity varying device in a bleaching direction at one of the oscillation signal levels and to drive said reflectivity varying device in a coloring direction at the other signal level so that said reverse cycle control circuit operates to hold long or to hold short a duration of time of one of the levels according to a greater ambient light level than the backward light level or according to a lesser ambient light level than the backward light level respectively, while said reverse cycle control circuit operates to hold long or to hold short a duration time of the other signal level according to a greater backward light level than the ambient light level or according to a lesser backward light level than the ambient light level, respectively.

2. An automatic anti-glare rearview mirror system as defined in claim 1, wherein said enforced level control means is a clock circuit for changing the operation starting level of said enforced generation circuit to a determined value by an output on a certain date.

3. An automatic anti-glare rearview mirror system as defined in claim 1, wherein said enforced level control means is a clock circuit for changing the operation starting level of said enforced generation circuit to a determined value during a certain time.

4. An automatic anti-glare rearview mirror system as defined in claim 1, wherein said enforced level control means is formed so as to automatically vary the operation starting level of said enforced generation circuit to a determined value by an output from an external equipment.

5. An automatic anti-glare rearview mirror system as defined in claim 4, wherein said enforced level control means automatically vary the operation starting level of said enforced generation circuit by the output from the external equipment formed as a light switch ON.

6. An automatic anti-glare rearview mirror system as defined in claim 1, wherein said enforced level setting means includes switches operated by a driver formed so that the operation starting level of said enforced generation circuit is settable at any time by said switches operated by a driver.

7. An automatic anti-glare rearview mirror system as defined in claim 1, wherein said enforced level setting means includes variable controllers operated by a driver formed so that an operation starting level of said enforced generation circuit is continuously adjustable at any time by said variable controllers operated by a driver.

8. An automatic anti-glare rearview mirror system as defined in claim 1, wherein said enforced level control means includes at least two elements which are external equipment.

9. An automatic anti-glare rearview mirror system as defined in claim 8, wherein said two elements include a clock circuit and a light switch ON.

10. An automatic anti-glare rearview mirror system as defined in claim 1, wherein said two elements include a switch and a variable controller operated by a driver.

11. An automatic anti-glare rearview mirror system as defined in claim 1, wherein said reverse cycle control circuit includes first and second reverse cycle control circuits, said first reverse cycle control circuit being provided with a first photo-conductive cell with a resistance value reduced according to an ambient light level received from said automobile ambient light level sensing device, a first resistor and a first diode connected in series with said photo-conductive cell and a second resistor connected in parallel with said first photo-conductive cell, said second reverse cycle control circuit being provided with a second photo-conductive cell with a resistance value reduced according to an ambient light level determined by said automobile ambient light level sensing means, a third resistor connected in series with said second photo-conductive cell, a second diode in a reverse direction of said first diode, and a fourth resistor connected in parallel with said second photo-conductive cell, said oscillation device being formed so that said first and second reverse cycle control circuits being connected in parallel with each other on a feedback trace and a duration time of one of the oscillation signal levels is shorted when a resistance value of said first photo-conductive cell becomes low, while a duration time of the other oscillation signal level is shortened when the resistance value of said second photo-conductive cell becomes low.