Magna Mirrors of America, Inc.

Donnelly Corporation

Donald S Rawlings

Darryl P De Wind

John T Uken

Carol L DeBoer

Niall R Lynam

Keith D Foote

Hamid R Habibi

Michael J Baur

David Kevin Willmore

Vernon R Nise

Tyson P DeJonge

Mitchell D Burkert

Mitchell D Burkhert

A vehicular frameless interior rearview mirror assembly includes a mirror head and a mounting portion. The mirror head includes a mirror reflective element and a mirror casing. The mirror reflective element includes a glass substrate having a planar front side and a planar rear side. No portion of the mirror casing overlaps the planar front side of the glass substrate of the mirror reflective element. A camera is disposed within the mirror casing. With the mounting portion of the mirror assembly mounted at an in-cabin side of a windshield of a vehicle, the camera views a driver of the vehicle, and when the mirror head is moved by the driver of the vehicle to adjust the rearward view provided by the mirror reflective element to the driver, the camera moves in tandem with movement of the mirror head. The camera is part of a driver monitoring system of the vehicle.

Frameless interior rearview mirror assembly

A vehicular frameless interior rearview mirror assembly includes a mirror head and a mounting portion. The mirror head includes a mirror reflective element and a mirror casing. The mirror reflective element includes a glass substrate having a planar front side and a planar rear side. No portion of the mirror casing overlaps the planar front side of the glass substrate of the mirror reflective element. A camera is disposed within the mirror casing behind the mirror reflective element. With the mounting portion of the mirror assembly mounted at an in-cabin side of a windshield of a vehicle, the camera views a driver of the vehicle, and when the mirror head is moved by the driver to adjust a rearward view of the driver, the camera moves in tandem with movement of the mirror head. The camera is part of a driver monitoring system of the vehicle.

A vehicular interior rearview mirror assembly includes a mounting portion, a mirror casing and a mirror reflective element. The reflective element includes a glass substrate having a planar front surface, a planar rear surface and a circumferential perimeter edge around a periphery of the glass substrate that extends across a thickness dimension separating the planar front surface from the planar rear surface. A front perimeter edge portion of the circumferential perimeter edge includes a rounded glass surface circumferentially around the periphery of the glass substrate, with the rounded glass surface at least partially spanning the thickness dimension of the glass substrate. The rounded glass surface has a radius of curvature of at least 2.5 mm. The planar rear surface of the glass substrate is coated with a coating. No portion of the mirror casing overlaps onto the rounded glass surface of the glass substrate.

An interior rearview mirror assembly for a vehicle includes a mirror casing and a prismatic interior reflective element. The reflective element comprises a wedge-shaped glass substrate having a perimeter edge about a periphery of the glass substrate and extending between first and second surfaces thereof. The glass substrate has a mirror reflector established at the second surface. A front surface of the perimeter edge provides a smooth curved transition at the perimeter edge between a perimeter region of the first surface and the mirror casing. The front surface of the perimeter edge is rounded with a radius of curvature of at least about 2.5 mm. No portion of the mirror casing encompasses the first surface of the glass substrate.

An exterior rearview mirror assembly for a vehicle includes a principal reflective element, a wide angle auxiliary reflective element and a back plate. The principal reflective element is disposed at a principal reflective element region of the back plate and has a cutout at a corner region thereof. The wide angle auxiliary reflective element is disposed at the auxiliary reflective element region of the back plate and is adjacent to the principal reflective element at the corner region of the principal reflective element. A single heater pad is disposed between the principal reflective element and the principal reflective element region of the back plate and between the wide angle auxiliary reflective element and the auxiliary reflective element region of the back plate. When powered, the single heater pad heats the principal reflective element and the wide angle auxiliary reflective element.

Exterior mirror with spotter mirror

A method of mounting a camera module at a vehicle windshield includes attaching an attaching portion of a bracket at an in-cabin surface of a vehicle windshield and attaching a mirror mounting base at the bracket, and attaching a mirror head at the mirror mounting base. With the attaching portion of the bracket attached at the in-cabin surface of the windshield, camera attaching structure of the bracket extends downward along the in-cabin surface of the vehicle windshield below the attaching portion. With the attaching portion of the bracket attached at the in-cabin surface of the vehicle windshield, the camera module is attached at the camera attaching structure of the bracket, whereby the lens of the camera module is below the attaching portion of the bracket and the camera module has a field of view through a portion of the vehicle windshield below the attaching portion.

Camera mounting system for a vehicle

An accessory system for a vehicle includes a bracket having an attaching portion and a pair of attaching arms extending from the attaching portion. A mirror mounting base is configured for attachment at the attaching portion. With the attaching portion attached at the in-cabin surface of the vehicle windshield, the attaching arms extend from a lower region of the attaching portion along the in-cabin surface of the vehicle windshield below the attaching portion, and a camera module is attached at the attaching arms so as to be located at the in-cabin surface of the vehicle windshield below the attaching portion and at least partially between the vehicle windshield and a mirror head pivotally attached at a pivot element of the mirror mounting base. A housing encases the bracket and the camera module, and encases a portion of the mirror mounting base with the pivot element protruding through the housing.

Accessory system for a vehicle

An interior rearview mirror assembly for a vehicle includes a mirror casing and a prismatic interior reflective element. The reflective element comprises a wedge-shaped glass substrate having a perimeter edge about a periphery of the glass substrate and extending between first and second surfaces thereof. The glass substrate has a mirror reflector established at the second surface. A front surface of the perimeter edge provides a smooth curved transition at the perimeter edge between a perimeter region of the first surface and the mirror casing. The front surface of the perimeter edge is rounded by at least one of grinding and polishing to provide a generally rounded curved surface between the first surface of the glass substrate and the mirror casing. The radius of curvature of the front surface is at least about 2.5 mm. No portion of the mirror casing encompasses the first surface of the glass substrate.

An accessory system for a vehicle includes a bracket configured for adhesive attachment at an in-cabin surface of the vehicle windshield. The bracket includes an attaching portion having an aperture therethrough and includes a pair of attaching arms extending from the attaching portion. An interior rearview mirror assembly has a mounting base that is attached at the attaching portion of the bracket with the bracket adhesively attached at the windshield. With the mounting base attached at the attaching portion, a rain sensor is disposed at the in-cabin surface of the windshield and the aperture of the attaching portion circumscribes the rain sensor. With the bracket adhesively attached at the windshield, a forward camera module is attached at the attaching arms of the bracket and generally at the in-cabin surface of the windshield so that an imager of the forward camera module has a field of view through the windshield.

A method of replacing an interior assembly includes removing a first interior assembly from a vehicle by detaching a first mounting base of the first interior assembly from a first mounting element adhesively attached at an in-cabin surface of the windshield of the vehicle. A second mounting element is provided and is attached at the in-cabin surface of the vehicle windshield at or near or at least partially around the first mounting element. A second mounting base of a second interior assembly is mounted at the first and second mounting elements, whereby the first and second mounting elements cooperate to support the second interior assembly at the vehicle windshield.

Growing community of inventors

Caledonia, MI, United States of America

Donald S Rawlings