Vehicular rearview mirror assembly including integrated backlighting for a liquid crystal display (LCD)

• US 8,237,909 B2
• Filed: 02/06/2009
• Issued: 08/07/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/06/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Gentex Corporation
• Original Assignee: Gentex Corporation
• Inventors: Minikey, Danny L. Jr., LeVesque, Andrew J., Spence, William R., VanderWel, Peter Wm., Wallace, John B., Bauer, Frederick T., Newton, Mark W., Lee, Ethan J., Fogg, Jeremy A., Ostreko, John B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Dung T.
• Application Number:
  US12/367,143
• Publication Number:
  US 20100201896A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,278 Days
• Field of Search: 349/1, 349/11, 349/16, 349149-152, 349/195
• US Class Current: 349/195
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/12 Mirror assemblies combined with other articles, e.g. clocks
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2001/1253 with cameras, video cameras or video screens
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133334 Electromagnetic shields
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13338 Input devices, e.g. touch panels
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133545 Dielectric stack polarisers
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133603 with LEDs
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133605 including specially adapted reflectors
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/153 Constructional details
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 2201/44 Arrangements combining different electro-active layers, e.g. electrochromic, liquid crystal or electroluminescent layers
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 2201/465 Snap -fit
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 2201/58 Arrangements comprising a monitoring photodetector

Abstract

A vehicular rearview mirror assembly (600) includes an electrochromic (EC) glass element (303) and a printed circuit board (603) for mounting electrical components. A liquid crystal display (LCD) (615) is mounted to the printed circuit board (603), while a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) (608) are also mounted to the same printed circuit board below the LCD (603) for providing backlighting.

Claims

1. A vehicular rearview mirror assembly comprising:

an electrochromic (EC) glass element;

a printed circuit board for mounting electrical components;

a liquid crystal display (LCD) mounted to the printed circuit board;

a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) mounted to the printed circuit board below the LCD to provide backlighting; and

wherein driver assist functions presented on the LCD can be dynamically scaled in size in order to present only a desired amount of information on the LCD.

2. A vehicular rearview mirror assembly as in claim 1, wherein the plurality of LEDs are arranged into a matrix array.

3. A vehicular rearview mirror assembly as in claim 1, further comprising:

a reflector positioned over the plurality of LEDs for reflecting light toward the LCD.

4. A vehicular rearview mirror assembly as in claim 1, wherein the reflector includes a plurality of cavities each housing one of the plurality of LEDs.

5. A vehicular rearview mirror assembly as in claim 4, wherein each one of the plurality of cavities includes at least one reflective wall.

6. A vehicular rearview mirror assembly as in claim 1, further comprising at least one optical film positioned between the LCD and plurality of LEDs.

7. A vehicular rearview mirror assembly as in claim 1, further comprising a least one shield for containing RF energy emitted by the LCD.

8. A vehicular rearview mirror assembly as in claim 1, further comprising a bus bar connected to the EC glass element for providing power thereto.

9. A vehicular rearview mirror assembly as in claim 1, further comprising a conductive elastomeric element for providing an RF ground connection for the LCD.

10. A vehicular rearview mirror assembly as in claim 1, further comprising a conductive elastomeric element positioned between a bus bar and an RF shield for providing an RF ground connection.

11. A vehicular rearview mirror assembly as in claim 1, further comprising a conductive elastomeric element for providing a ground connection between a bus bar supplying power to the LCD and at least one shield grounded to the printed circuit board.

12. A vehicular rearview mirror assembly as in claim 1, further comprising:

a button bar display actuator for allowing the driver to configure the LCD.

13. A vehicular rearview mirror assembly as in claim 12, wherein the button bar display actuator is a portion of the LCD.

14. A vehicular rearview mirror assembly as in claim 12, wherein the button bar display actuator utilizes a secondary LCD.

15. A vehicular rearview mirror assembly as in claim 1, wherein the LCD operates to display driver assist features comprising at least one from the group of lane departure detection, forward collision detection, emergency braking detection, driver impairment monitoring, traffic speed sign recognition, pedestrian protection, headway monitoring, night vision, adaptive cruise control, vision range extension, blind spot detection, and rear camera display (RCD).

16. An automotive mirror assembly comprising:

an electrochromic (EC) mirror element;

a printed circuit board (PCB);

a liquid crystal display (LCD) mounted to the PCB and projecting through the EC element;

a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) mounted on the PCB and arranged in a matrix configuration for providing LCD backlighting; and

wherein the LCD provides at least one driver assist function to the driver for enhancing safe vehicle operation such that the at least one driver assist function presented on the LCD can be dynamically scaled in order to present an image having a desired size.

17. A vehicular rearview mirror assembly as in claim 16, wherein information presented on the LCD can be dynamically scaled in size by varying the number of activated pixels used in the LCD.

18. An automotive mirror assembly as in claim 16, further comprising:

at least one bus bar for providing electrical power to the LCD; and

an elastomeric conductor positioned between the bus bar and a radio frequency (RF) shield for providing a ground connection to the PCB.

19. An automotive mirror assembly as in claim 18, wherein the conductive elastomer offers a low impedance to RF energy.

20. An automotive mirror assembly as in claim 16, further comprising:

a reflector positioned over the plurality of LEDs for reflecting light toward the rear of the LCD.

21. An automotive mirror assembly as in claim 20, wherein the reflector includes a plurality of cavities each housing one of the plurality of LEDs.

22. An automotive mirror assembly as in claim 20, wherein each of the plurality of cavities includes at least one reflective wall.

23. An automotive mirror assembly as in claim 16, further comprising at least one optical film positioned between the LCD and plurality of LEDs.

24. An automotive mirror assembly as in claim 23, wherein the at least one optical film is a brightness enhancement film (BEF).

25. An automotive rearview mirror assembly as in claim 16, further comprising a button bar display actuator positioned below the EC mirror element for allowing the driver to configure the LCD.

26. An automotive rearview mirror assembly as in claim 25, wherein the button bar display actuator is a portion of the LCD.

27. An automotive rearview mirror assembly as in claim 25, wherein the button bar display actuator utilizes a secondary LCD.

28. An automotive mirror assembly as in claim 16, wherein the at least one driver assist function comprises at least one from the group of:

lane departure detector, forward collision detector, emergency braking detector, driver impairment monitoring detector, traffic speed sign recognition detector, pedestrian protection detector, headway monitoring detector, night vision detector, adaptive cruise control detector, vision range extension detector, blind spot detector, and rear camera display (RCD).

29. An automotive rearview mirror assembly for providing a driver with enhanced driver assist functionality comprising:

an electrochromic (EC) mirror element;

a printed circuit board (PCB);

a liquid crystal display (LCD) connected to the PCB for displaying information through the EC mirror element;

a bus bar for providing electrical power to the LCD;

a plurality of light emitting diodes formed into a matrix configuration mounted to the PCB for providing LCD backlighting;

a radio frequency (RF) shield grounded to the PCB for shielding components on the PCB from RF energy emitted by the LCD;

an elastomeric conductor for providing a grounding connection from the bus bar to the RF shield; and

wherein images representing driver assist functions that are presented on the LCD can be dynamically scaled in size in order to display only a desired amount of information on the LCD.

30. An automotive rearview mirror assembly as in claim 29, wherein the conductive elastomer offers a low impedance to RF energy.

31. An automotive rearview mirror assembly as in claim 29, further comprising:

a reflector positioned over the plurality of LEDs for reflecting light toward the rear of the LCD.

32. An automotive rearview mirror assembly as in claim 31, wherein the reflector includes a plurality of cavities each nesting one of the plurality of LEDs.

33. An automotive rearview mirror assembly as in claim 31, wherein each of the plurality of cavities includes at least one reflective wall.

34. An automotive rearview mirror assembly as in claim 29, further comprising at least one brightness enhancement film (BEF) positioned between the LCD and plurality of LEDs.

35. An automotive rearview mirror assembly as in claim 29, further comprising a button bar actuator display extending below the EC mirror element for allowing the driver to configure the LCD.

36. An automotive rearview mirror assembly as in claim 29, further comprising a button bar actuator display that utilizes a secondary LCD for allowing the driver to configure the LCD.

37. An automotive mirror assembly as in claim 29, wherein the rearview mirror is an interior rearview mirror.

38. An automotive rearview mirror assembly for providing a driver with at least one driver assist function through an LCD display comprising:

an electrochromic (EC) glass element;

a printed circuit board for mounting electrical components;

a liquid crystal display (LCD) connected to the printed circuit board;

a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) mounted to the printed circuit board below the LCD to provide backlighting; and

wherein images representing the driver assist function are presented to the driver on the LCD and are scaled in size based upon the type of driver assist function.

39. An automotive rearview mirror assembly as in claim 38, wherein the driver assist function includes at least one from the group of:

lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning, emergency braking, driver impairment monitoring, traffic speed sign recognition, pedestrian detection, and vehicle blind spot detection.

40. An automotive rearview mirror assembly as in claim 38, wherein the plurality of LEDs are arranged into a matrix array.

41. An automotive rearview mirror assembly as in claim 38, further comprising:

a reflector positioned over the plurality of LEDs for reflecting light toward the LCD.

42. An automotive rearview mirror assembly as in claim 41, wherein the reflector includes a plurality of cavities each nesting one of the plurality of LEDs.

43. An automotive rearview mirror assembly as in claim 42, wherein each one of the plurality of cavities includes at least one reflective wall.

44. An automotive rearview mirror assembly as in claim 38, further comprising at least one optical film positioned between the LCD and plurality of LEDs.

45. An automotive rearview mirror assembly as in claim 38, further comprising a least one shield for containing RF energy emitted by the LCD.

46. An automotive rearview mirror assembly as in claim 38, further comprising a bus bar connected to the EC glass element for providing power thereto.

47. An automotive rearview mirror assembly as in claim 38, further comprising a conductive elastomeric element for providing an RF ground connection for the LCD.

48. An automotive rearview mirror assembly as in claim 38, further comprising a conductive elastomeric element positioned between a bus bar and an RF shield for providing an RF ground.

49. An automotive rearview mirror assembly as in claim 38, further comprising a button bar display actuator for allowing the driver to configure the LCD.

50. An automotive rearview mirror assembly as in claim 49, wherein the button bar display actuator is a portion of the LCD.

51. An automotive rearview mirror assembly as in claim 49, wherein the button bar display actuator is a separate LCD.

52. An automotive rearview mirror assembly as in claim 38, further comprising a conductive elastomeric element for providing a ground connection between a bus bar supplying power to the LCD and at least one shield grounded to the printed circuit board.

53. A vehicular rearview mirror assembly comprising:

an electrochromic (EC) glass element;

a printed circuit board for mounting electrical components;

a main liquid crystal display (LCD) mounted to the printed circuit board;

a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) mounted to the printed circuit board below the LCD for providing backlighting; and

a button bar display actuator for allowing the driver to configure the main LCD; and

wherein driver assist functions presented on the LCD can be dynamically scaled in size in order to present only a desired amount of information on the LCD.

54. A vehicular rearview mirror assembly as in claim 53, wherein the button bar display actuator utilizes the main LCD for displaying additional information below the EC glass element.

55. A vehicular rearview mirror assembly as in claim 53, wherein the button bar display actuator is a secondary LCD.

56. A vehicular rearview mirror assembly as in claim 53, wherein information presented on the main LCD can be dynamically scaled in order to present only a desired amount of information.

57. A vehicular rearview mirror assembly as in claim 53, wherein the plurality of LEDs are arranged into a matrix array.

58. A vehicular rearview mirror assembly as in claim 53, further comprising:

a reflector positioned over the plurality of LEDs for reflecting light toward the LCD.

59. A vehicular rearview mirror assembly as in claim 53, wherein the reflector includes a plurality of cavities each housing one of the plurality of LEDs.

60. A vehicular rearview mirror assembly as in claim 58, wherein each one of the plurality of cavities includes at least one reflective wall.

61. A vehicular rearview mirror assembly as in claim 53, further comprising at least one optical film positioned between the LCD and plurality of LEDs.

62. A vehicular rearview mirror assembly as in claim 53, further comprising a least one shield for containing RF energy emitted by the LCD.

63. A vehicular rearview mirror assembly as in claim 53, further comprising a bus bar connected to the EC glass element for providing power thereto.

64. A vehicular rearview mirror assembly as in claim 53, further comprising a conductive elastomeric element for providing an RF ground connection for the LCD.

65. A vehicular rearview mirror assembly as in claim 53, further comprising a conductive elastomeric element positioned between a bus bar and an RF shield for providing an RF ground connection.

66. A vehicular rearview mirror assembly as in claim 53, further comprising a conductive elastomeric element for providing a ground connection between a bus bar supplying power to the LCD and at least one shield grounded to the printed circuit board.

67. A vehicular rearview mirror assembly as in claim 53, wherein the LCD operates to display driver assist features comprising at least one from the group of lane departure detection, forward collision detection, emergency braking detection, driver impairment monitoring, traffic speed sign recognition, pedestrian protection, headway monitoring, night vision, adaptive cruise control, vision range extension, blind spot detection, and rear camera display (RCD).