US 11,377,034 B2Granted

Interior rearview mirror assembly with full screen video display

AssigneeMagna Mirrors of America, Inc.

InventorsGregory A. Huizen, Eric Peterson

Life of this patent

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Abstract

A vehicular interior rearview mirror assembly includes a mirror head pivotable about a mirror support, which is configured to attach at an interior portion of a vehicle. The mirror head includes a mirror casing and a mirror reflective element having a transflective mirror reflector that at least partially reflects light incident thereon and at least partially transmits incident light therethrough. A video display device is disposed behind a reflective region of the mirror reflective element and includes a display screen backlit by a backlighting device, which includes a plurality of micro-LEDs disposed at electrically conductive traces of a flexible circuit element. With the mirror support attached at the interior portion of the vehicle, the video display device is operable to display video images captured by a camera of the vehicle, whereby light emitted by the video display device passes through the mirror reflective element for viewing displayed video images.

Claims35

Dependent claims

A vehicular interior rearview mirror assembly, said vehicular interior rearview mirror assembly comprising:

a mirror head pivotable about a mirror support;
wherein said mirror support is configured to attach at an interior portion of a vehicle equipped with said vehicular interior rearview mirror assembly;
wherein said mirror head comprises a mirror casing and a mirror reflective element having a transflective mirror reflector that at least partially reflects light incident thereon and at least partially transmits incident light therethrough;
wherein said mirror reflective element comprises a reflective region defined by said transflective mirror reflector that is viewable by a driver of the equipped vehicle viewing said mirror reflective element;
a video display device disposed behind said mirror reflective element, wherein said video display device comprises a display screen that occupies at least 75 percent of said reflective region of said mirror reflective element;
wherein said display screen is backlit by a backlighting device, and wherein said backlighting device comprises a plurality of micro-LEDs disposed at a flexible circuit element;
wherein said micro-LEDs are disposed at electrically conductive traces of said flexible circuit element;
wherein a width dimension of individual micro-LEDs of said plurality of micro-LEDs is less than 500 microns, and wherein a length dimension of individual micro-LEDs of said plurality of micro-LEDs is less than 500 microns;
wherein packing density of micro-LEDs of said plurality of micro-LEDs at said flexible circuit element is at least 10 micro-LEDs per square centimeter;
wherein current passed by individual micro-LEDs of said plurality of micro-LEDs when operated is less than 4 mA;
wherein said display screen and said backlighting device are disposed within said mirror casing;
wherein, with said mirror support attached at the interior portion of the equipped vehicle, said video display device is operable to display video images captured by a camera of the equipped vehicle;
and
wherein, when said video display device is operated to display video images, light emitted by said video display device passes through said mirror reflective element for viewing of displayed video images by the driver of the equipped vehicle viewing said mirror reflective element.

11 more elements

A vehicular interior rearview mirror assembly, said vehicular interior rearview mirror assembly comprising:

a mirror head pivotable about a mirror support;
wherein said mirror support is configured to attach at an interior portion of a vehicle equipped with said vehicular interior rearview mirror assembly;
wherein said mirror head comprises a mirror casing and a mirror reflective element having a transflective mirror reflector that at least partially reflects light incident thereon and at least partially transmits incident light therethrough;
wherein said mirror reflective element comprises a reflective region defined by said transflective mirror reflector that is viewable by a driver of the equipped vehicle viewing said mirror reflective element;
a video display device disposed behind said mirror reflective element, wherein said video display device comprises a display screen that occupies at least 75 percent of said reflective region of said mirror reflective element;
wherein said display screen is backlit by a backlighting device, and wherein said backlighting device comprises a plurality of micro-LEDs disposed at a flexible circuit element;
wherein said plurality of micro-LEDs comprises at least 1,300 micro-LEDs disposed at said flexible circuit element;
wherein said micro-LEDs are disposed at electrically conductive traces of said flexible circuit element;
wherein a width dimension of individual micro-LEDs of said plurality of micro-LEDs is greater than 75 microns and is less than 500 microns, and wherein a length dimension of individual micro-LEDs of said plurality of micro-LEDs is greater than 75 microns and is less than 500 microns;
wherein packing density of micro-LEDs of said plurality of micro-LEDs at said flexible circuit element is at least 10 micro-LEDs per square centimeter;
wherein current passed by individual micro-LEDs of said plurality of micro-LEDs when operated is less than 4 mA;
wherein said display screen and said backlighting device are disposed within said mirror casing;
wherein, with said mirror support attached at the interior portion of the equipped vehicle, said video display device is operable to display video images captured by a camera of the equipped vehicle;
and
wherein, when said video display device is operated to display video images, light emitted by said video display device passes through said mirror reflective element for viewing of displayed video images by the driver of the equipped vehicle viewing said mirror reflective element.

12 more elements

A vehicular interior rearview mirror assembly, said vehicular interior rearview mirror assembly comprising:

a mirror head pivotable about a mirror support;
wherein said mirror support is configured to attach at an interior portion of a vehicle equipped with said vehicular interior rearview mirror assembly;
wherein said mirror head comprises a mirror casing and a mirror reflective element having a transflective mirror reflector that at least partially reflects light incident thereon and at least partially transmits incident light therethrough;
wherein said mirror reflective element comprises a reflective region defined by said transflective mirror reflector that is viewable by a driver of the equipped vehicle viewing said mirror reflective element;
a video display device disposed behind said mirror reflective element, wherein said video display device comprises a display screen that occupies at least 75 percent of said reflective region of said mirror reflective element;
wherein said display screen is backlit by a backlighting device, and wherein said backlighting device comprises a plurality of micro-LEDs disposed at a flexible circuit element;
wherein said micro-LEDs are disposed at electrically conductive traces of said flexible circuit element;
wherein packing density of micro-LEDs of said plurality of micro-LEDs at said flexible circuit element is at least 10 micro-LEDs per square centimeter;
wherein current passed by individual micro-LEDs of said plurality of micro-LEDs when operated is greater than 0.75 mA and is less than 4 mA;
wherein said display screen and said backlighting device are disposed within said mirror casing;
wherein said display screen comprises a diffuser;
wherein, with said mirror support attached at the interior portion of the equipped vehicle, said video display device is operable to display video images captured by a camera of the equipped vehicle;
and
wherein, when said video display device is operated to display video images, light emitted by said video display device passes through said mirror reflective element for viewing of displayed video images by the driver of the equipped vehicle viewing said mirror reflective element.

11 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 17/446,855Filed 3 Sep 2021 · continuation
Priority: 23 Aug 2017
Published: US 2022/0017015 A120 Jan 2022
Granted: 5 Jul 2022
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification18 codes

B60R 1/08
Rear-view mirror arrangements: involving special optical features, e.g. avoiding blind spots , e.g. convex mirrors; Side-by-side associations of…
B60R 1/12
Optical viewing arrangements; Real-time viewing arrangements for drivers or passengers using optical image capturing systems, e.g. cameras or…:…
B60K 35/223
Display screens: flexible displays
B60K 35/28
Output arrangements, i.e. from vehicle to user, associated with vehicle functions or specially adapted therefor: characterised by the type of the…

Family

Application62/549,101Us provisional application · filed 23 Aug 2017
PCT/US2018/047675Parent of this continuation · filed 23 Aug 2018
US 2022/0017015 A1Pre-grant publication · published 20 Jan 2022
Application16/640,750Parent of this continuation
US 11,110,864 B2Parent of this continuation
US 2020/0215984 A1Published application
US 11,377,034 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.