Memory mirror system for vehicles
First Claim
1. A vehicular rearview mirror system for a vehicle having a reverse gear, said mirror system comprising:
- a first rearview mirror assembly and a second rearview mirror assembly;
each of said first and second rearview mirror assemblies including a housing and a support for attaching said assembly to a vehicle;
each of said first and second rearview mirror assemblies including a reflective element and an actuator for positioning said reflective element about an axis;
each of said first and second rearview mirror assemblies including a control for operating said actuator;
said first rearview mirror assembly including a processor adapted to determine a position for the reflective element of said first rearview mirror assembly, the position of said reflective element of said first rearview mirror assembly determined by one of (i) retrieval of one of several positions stored in a memory at said first rearview mirror assembly and (ii) an indication to said processor of said first rearview mirror assembly that the vehicle has been placed in reverse gear;
said processor of said first rearview mirror assembly further adapted to determine a position for the reflective element of said second rearview mirror assembly, said position for the reflective element of said second rearview mirror assembly also determined by one of (i) retrieval of one of several positions stored in a memory at said first rearview mirror assembly and (ii) an indication to said processor of said first rearview mirror assembly that the vehicle has been placed in reverse gear; and
wherein said position for the reflective element of said second rearview mirror assembly is communicated from said first rearview mirror assembly by an interface, said interface comprising one of an analog interface, a digital interface and a direct-wired interface.
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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.
138 Citations
87 Claims
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1. A vehicular rearview mirror system for a vehicle having a reverse gear, said mirror system comprising:
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a first rearview mirror assembly and a second rearview mirror assembly;
each of said first and second rearview mirror assemblies including a housing and a support for attaching said assembly to a vehicle;
each of said first and second rearview mirror assemblies including a reflective element and an actuator for positioning said reflective element about an axis;
each of said first and second rearview mirror assemblies including a control for operating said actuator;
said first rearview mirror assembly including a processor adapted to determine a position for the reflective element of said first rearview mirror assembly, the position of said reflective element of said first rearview mirror assembly determined by one of (i) retrieval of one of several positions stored in a memory at said first rearview mirror assembly and (ii) an indication to said processor of said first rearview mirror assembly that the vehicle has been placed in reverse gear;
said processor of said first rearview mirror assembly further adapted to determine a position for the reflective element of said second rearview mirror assembly, said position for the reflective element of said second rearview mirror assembly also determined by one of (i) retrieval of one of several positions stored in a memory at said first rearview mirror assembly and (ii) an indication to said processor of said first rearview mirror assembly that the vehicle has been placed in reverse gear; and
wherein said position for the reflective element of said second rearview mirror assembly is communicated from said first rearview mirror assembly by an interface, said interface comprising one of an analog interface, a digital interface and a direct-wired interface. - 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, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A vehicular rearview mirror system for a vehicle having a reverse gear, said mirror system comprising:
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a first rearview mirror assembly and a second rearview mirror assembly;
each of said first and second rearview mirror assemblies including a housing and a support for attaching said assembly to a vehicle;
each of said first and second rearview mirror assemblies including a reflective element and an actuator for positioning said reflective element about an axis;
each of said first and second rearview mirror assemblies including a mirror-based control for operating the respective said actuator;
said mirror-based control of one of said first and second rearview mirror assemblies comprising a microcomputer and memory for storing several positions of said reflective elements of said first and second rearview mirror assemblies;
said mirror-based controls of said first and second rearview mirror assemblies connected by an interface wherein said mirror-based control of the other of said first and second rearview mirror assemblies responds to a signal output to said interface by said mirror-based control of said one of said first and second rearview mirror assemblies indicative of a desired position of said reflective element of said other of said first and second rearview mirror assemblies. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55)
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56. A vehicular rearview mirror system for a vehicle having a reverse gear, said mirror system comprising:
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a first rearview mirror assembly and a second rearview mirror assembly;
each of said first and second rearview mirror assemblies including a housing and a support for attaching said assembly to a vehicle;
each of said first and second rearview mirror assemblies including a reflective element and an actuator for positioning said reflective element about an axis;
each of said first and second rearview mirror assemblies including a control for operating said actuator;
said first rearview mirror assembly including a processor adapted to determine a position for the reflective element of said first rearview mirror assembly, the position of said reflective element of said first rearview mirror assembly determined by one of (i) retrieval of one of several positions stored in a memory at said first rearview mirror assembly and (ii) an indication to said processor of said first rearview mirror assembly that the vehicle has been placed in reverse gear;
said processor of said first rearview mirror assembly further adapted to determine a position for the reflective element of said second rearview mirror assembly, said position for the reflective element of said second rearview mirror assembly also determined by one of (i) retrieval of one of several positions stored in a memory at said first rearview mirror assembly and (ii) an indication to said processor of said first rearview mirror assembly that the vehicle has been placed in reverse gear;
wherein at least one of said first and second rearview mirror assemblies includes 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
wherein said control of said at least one of said first and second rearview mirror assemblies controls said at least two accessories. - View Dependent Claims (57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87)
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Specification