Interior rearview mirror system incorporating a directional information display

An interior rearview mirror system for a vehicle, said interior rearview mirror system comprising:

• an interior rearview mirror assembly, said interior rearview mirror assembly comprising a reflective mirror element housed in a mirror housing, said housing connecting to a mirror support by a pivot member, said mirror housing adjustable by a driver of the vehicle in order to set a rearward field of view of said reflective element, said mirror support comprising a mount for attaching said assembly to a portion of the interior of the vehicle;
• said reflective element comprising an electrochromic reflective element having a reflectivity which is variable in accordance with a voltage applied thereto;
• said interior rearview mirror assembly comprising a directional information display, said directional information display displaying directional information derived from a compass sensor, said compass sensor disposed within said mirror housing of said rearview mirror assembly, said compass sensor comprising a magneto-responsive sensor selected from the group consisting of a magneto-resistive sensor, a magneto-capacitive sensor and a magneto-inductive sensor;
• and
• wherein said assembly comprises electrical circuitry for controlling the display intensity of said directional information display, said electrical circuitry comprising at least one light sensor responsive to the ambient light level adjacent said interior rearview mirror assembly, said electrical circuitry controlling the intensity of said directional information display in relation to the ambient light level adjacent said interior rearview mirror assembly, said electrical circuitry at least partially mounted on a circuit member within said housing of said interior rearview mirror assembly, and wherein said compass sensor is mounted on said circuit member.

An interior rearview mirror system for a vehicle, said interior rearview mirror system comprising:

• an interior rearview mirror assembly, said interior rearview mirror assembly comprising a reflective mirror element housed in a mirror housing, said housing connecting to a mirror support by a pivot member, said mirror housing adjustable by a driver of the vehicle in order to set a rearward field of view of said reflective element, said mirror support comprising a mount for attaching said assembly to a portion of the interior of the vehicle;
• said reflective element comprising an electrochromic reflective element having a reflectivity which is variable in accordance with a voltage applied thereto;
• said interior rearview mirror assembly comprising at least one light sensor;
• said interior rearview mirror assembly further comprising a directional information display, said directional information display displaying directional information derived from a compass sensor, said compass sensor disposed within said mirror housing of said rearview mirror assembly;
• and
• wherein said interior rearview mirror assembly comprises a plurality of at least two electrical accessories and wherein said plurality of at least two electrical accessories comprises at least two accessories selected from the group consisting of a trainable garage door opener, a universal home access system, an INTERNET interface, a remote keyless entry receiver, a video device, a rain sensor, a trip computer, an intrusion detector, a phone, an interior light, a seat occupancy detector, a phone attachment, a headlamp controller, a printer, a transmitter/receiver, a modem, an instrumentation light, a console light, a solar panel, a windshield defogger device, an antenna, a loudspeaker, a microphone, a digital message recorder, a magnetic tape message recorder, a phone control panel, and a digital storage device.