Memory mirror system for vehicles
First Claim
1. A vehicular exterior rearview mirror system for a vehicle having a reverse gear, comprising:
- an exterior rearview mirror assembly including a housing and a support for attaching said assembly to a vehicle;
said exterior rearview mirror assembly including a reflective element and an actuator for positioning said reflective element about an axis;
a control for operating said actuator, said control receiving an input from one of (i) a mirror switch assembly that is user operable to selectively position said reflective element with respect to said axis, (ii) a memory set switch that is operable by the user of the vehicle in order to set memory positions for said reflective element for multiple vehicle drivers and retrieve memory positions for said reflective element for multiple vehicle drivers, and (iii) said vehicle being placed in reverse gear; and
wherein said control operates said actuator at a first speed in response to user operation of said mirror switch assembly and at a second speed in response to one of user operation of said memory set switch and the vehicle being placed in reverse gear.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A vehicle memory mirror system includes a vehicle mirror assembly and a control module. The vehicle mirror assembly includes a reflective element, a motor for positioning the reflective element about an axis, a monitor for monitoring the position of the reflective element with respect to the axis, and a mirror-based control including a position control which is operatively connected with the motor and the monitor in order to position the reflective element at a particular position. The control module is interconnected with the mirror-based control by an analog interface and includes a processor for providing analog signals on the analog interface indicative of a desired position of the reflective element with respect to the axis. The mirror-based control preferably includes a servo-amplifier circuit. The control module can control the speed of movement by formatting a series of sequential signals on the interface, each representing an incremental movement of the reflective element.
154 Citations
105 Claims
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1. A vehicular exterior rearview mirror system for a vehicle having a reverse gear, comprising:
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an exterior rearview mirror assembly including a housing and a support for attaching said assembly to a vehicle; said exterior rearview mirror assembly including a reflective element and an actuator for positioning said reflective element about an axis; a control for operating said actuator, said control receiving an input from one of (i) a mirror switch assembly that is user operable to selectively position said reflective element with respect to said axis, (ii) a memory set switch that is operable by the user of the vehicle in order to set memory positions for said reflective element for multiple vehicle drivers and retrieve memory positions for said reflective element for multiple vehicle drivers, and (iii) said vehicle being placed in reverse gear; and wherein said control operates said actuator at a first speed in response to user operation of said mirror switch assembly and at a second speed in response to one of user operation of said memory set switch and the vehicle being placed in reverse gear. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A vehicular exterior rearview mirror system, comprising:
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an exterior rearview mirror assembly including a housing and a support for attaching said assembly to a vehicle; said exterior rearview mirror assembly including a reflective element and an actuator for positioning said reflective element about an axis; said exterior rearview mirror assembly including a mirror-based control, said mirror-based control interfacing with a control located in the vehicle at a position remote from said exterior rearview mirror assembly; said exterior rearview mirror assembly comprising at least two accessories selected from the group consisting of a turn signal, a stop signal, a heater, a security light, a power-fold mechanism, an electro-optical element, an intelligent vehicle highway system transceiver, said actuator and a garage door opener; and said at least two accessories selectively operable by said mirror-based control. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 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 exterior rearview mirror system, comprising:
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an exterior rearview mirror assembly including a housing and a support for attaching said assembly to a vehicle; said exterior rearview mirror assembly including a reflective element and an actuator for positioning said reflective element about an axis; said exterior rearview mirror assembly including a mirror-based control; a control located in the vehicle at a position remote from said exterior rearview mirror assembly and interfacing with said mirror-based control; said control located in the vehicle receiving an input from one of (i) a mirror switch assembly that is user operable to selectively position said reflective element with respect to said axis, (ii) a memory set switch that is operable by the user of the vehicle in order to set memory positions for said reflective element for multiple vehicle drivers and retrieve memory positions for said reflective element for multiple vehicle drivers, and (iii) the vehicle being placed in reverse gear; and wherein said mirror-based control operates said actuator at a first speed in response to user operation of said mirror switch assembly and at a second speed in response to one of user operation of said memory set switch and the vehicle being placed in reverse gear. - View Dependent Claims (51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76)
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77. A vehicular exterior rearview mirror system, comprising:
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an exterior rearview mirror assembly including a housing and a support for attaching said assembly to a vehicle; said exterior rearview mirror assembly including a reflective element and an actuator for positioning said reflective element about an axis; said exterior rearview mirror assembly including a mirror-based control;
said mirror-based control interfacing with a control located in the vehicle at a position remote from said exterior rearview mirror assembly, said mirror-based control including a microprocessor;said exterior mirror assembly comprising at least two accessories selected from the group consisting of a turn signal, a stop signal, a heater, a security device, a garage door opener, an image-capture device, a heading sensor, an intrusion detection circuit, an intelligent vehicle highway system transceiver, a global positioning system receiver, a keyless entry receiver, a blind spot detector, an electro-optical element, at least one light sensor, an outside temperature sensor, a power-fold mechanism and said actuator; and said at least two accessories selectively operable by said mirror-based control. - View Dependent Claims (78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105)
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Specification