Exterior rearview mirror assembly for vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10053015-B2
Application number	US-201715619629-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 12, 2017
Priority date	Jun 25, 2013
Publication date	Aug 21, 2018
Grant date	Aug 21, 2018

Abstract

An exterior rearview mirror assembly for a vehicle includes a mirror head and a mounting base, with a camera module disposed at the mirror head. The camera module includes a camera having a field of view exterior of the vehicle when the mirror assembly is attached at the vehicle. The camera module is extendable and retractable relative to a mirror casing of the mirror head. With the camera module retracted and with the mirror assembly attached at the vehicle, the camera module is oriented such that its field of view encompasses a blind spot region at least at the body side of the vehicle. With the camera module extended and with the mirror assembly attached at the vehicle, the camera module may be oriented such that its field of view encompasses a region at least along a body side of a trailer being towed by the vehicle.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A exterior rearview mirror assembly for a vehicle, said exterior rearview mirror assembly comprising:
a mirror head and a mounting base;
wherein said mirror head comprises a mirror casing and a reflective element;
wherein said mounting base is configured for attachment of said exterior rearview mirror assembly at a body side of an equipped vehicle;
a camera module disposed at said mirror head;
said camera module comprising a camera having a field of view exterior of the equipped vehicle when said exterior rearview mirror assembly is attached at the equipped vehicle;
said camera operable to capture image data;
wherein said camera module is extendable and retractable relative to said mirror casing;
wherein, with said camera module retracted and with said exterior rearview mirror assembly attached at the equipped vehicle, said camera module is oriented such that the field of view of said camera encompasses a blind spot region at least at the body side of the equipped vehicle;
wherein, with said camera module extended and with said exterior rearview mirror assembly attached at the equipped vehicle, said camera module is oriented such that the field of view of said camera encompasses a region at least along a body side of a trailer being towed by the equipped vehicle;
wherein the equipped vehicle comprises a display screen viewable by a driver of the equipped vehicle, and wherein said display screen is operable to display video images derived from image data captured by said camera of said camera module when said exterior rearview mirror assembly is attached at the equipped vehicle; and
wherein the horizontal field of view of said camera is in accordance with the following formula:

α
=

tan

-
1

⁡

(

W
d

)

M

where α is the horizontal field of view of said camera (degrees), W is the width of said display screen (meters), d is the distance between said display screen and the driver's eyes (meters), and M is the magnification (unitless).

2. A exterior rearview mirror assembly for a vehicle, said exterior rearview mirror assembly comprising:
a mirror head and a mounting base;
wherein said mirror head comprises a mirror casing and a reflective element;
wherein said mounting base is configured for attachment of said exterior rearview mirror assembly at a body side of an equipped vehicle;
a camera module disposed at said mirror head;
said camera module comprising a camera having a field of view exterior of the equipped vehicle when said exterior rearview mirror assembly is attached at the equipped vehicle;
said camera operable to capture image data;
wherein said camera module is extendable and retractable relative to said mirror casing;
wherein, with said camera module retracted and with said exterior rearview mirror assembly attached at the equipped vehicle, said camera module is oriented such that the field of view of said camera encompasses a blind spot region at least at the body side of the equipped vehicle;
wherein, with said camera module extended and with said exterior rearview mirror assembly attached at the equipped vehicle, said camera module is oriented such that the field of view of said camera encompasses a region at least along a body side of a trailer being towed by the equipped vehicle; and
wherein said camera module is extendable and retractable via a mechanism that extends and retracts said camera module and that pivots said camera module about a vertical pivot axis.

3. The exterior rearview mirror assembly of claim 2 , wherein, with said camera module retracted and with said exterior rearview mirror assembly attached at the equipped vehicle, the field of view of said camera partially overlaps a field of view provided by the reflective element of said exterior rearview mirror assembly.

4. The exterior rearview mirror assembly of claim 2 , wherein the equipped vehicle comprises a display screen viewable by a driver of the equipped vehicle, and wherein said display screen is operable to display video images derived from image data captured by said camera of said camera module when said exterior rearview mirror assembly is attached at the equipped vehicle.

5. The exterior rearview mirror assembly of claim 4 , wherein the field of view of said camera is determined by at least one of (a) the width of said display screen, (b) the distance between said display screen and the driver's eyes, and (c) the amount of magnification allowed in video images displayed by said display screen.

6. The exterior rearview mirror assembly of claim 2 , wherein the field of view of said camera comprises a principal axis, and wherein the principal axis of the field of view of said camera is directed at least partially outwardly away from the body side of the equipped vehicle when said camera module is retracted and with said exterior rearview mirror assembly attached at the equipped vehicle.

7. The exterior rearview mirror assembly of claim 6 , wherein the principal axis of the rearward field of view of said camera is directed at least partially rearward along the body side of the equipped vehicle when said camera module is extended and with said exterior rearview mirror assembly attached at the equipped vehicle.

8. The exterior rearview mirror assembly of claim 2 , wherein the field of view of said camera is between a minimum of 9 degrees and a maximum of 90 degrees.

9. The exterior rearview mirror assembly of claim 2 , wherein, with said camera module extended and with said exterior rearview mirror assembly attached at the equipped vehicle, said camera is oriented inward toward the equipped vehicle so that the trailer at least partially occludes the field of view of said camera.

10. The exterior rearview mirror assembly of claim 2 , wherein the equipped vehicle comprises a display screen viewable by a driver of the equipped vehicle, and wherein said display screen is operable to display video images derived from image data captured by said camera of said camera module when said exterior rearview mirror assembly is attached at the equipped vehicle, and wherein, with said camera module extended and with said exterior rearview mirror assembly attached at the equipped vehicle, the driver viewing said display screen sees the body side of the trailer being towed.

11. The exterior rearview mirror assembly of claim 2 , wherein extension and retraction of said camera module is motorized.

12. The exterior rearview mirror assembly of claim 2 , wherein extension and retraction of said camera module is powered by a motor that is controlled by a switch inside the equipped vehicle that is operable by a driver of the equipped vehicle when said exterior rearview mirror assembly is attached at the equipped vehicle.

13. A exterior rearview mirror assembly for a vehicle, said exterior rearview mirror assembly comprising:
a mirror head and a mounting base;
wherein said mirror head comprises a mirror casing and a reflective element;
wherein said mounting base is configured for attachment of said exterior rearview mirror assembly at a body side of an equipped vehicle;
a camera module disposed at said

Assignees

• Magna Mirrors Of America Inc

Inventors

• Peterson Kenneth C
• Huizen Gregory A

Classifications

• H04N23/57

  Mechanical or electrical details of cameras or camera modules specially adapted for being embedded in other devices · CPC title

• B60R1/072

  for adjusting the mirror relative to its housing · CPC title

• B60R1/002

  specially adapted for covering the peripheral part of the vehicle, e.g. for viewing tyres, bumpers or the like (integrated in the windows B60R1/001; combined with rear-view mirrors B60R1/08) · CPC title

• B60R2001/1215

  with information displays · CPC title

• B60R2001/1253

  with cameras, video cameras or video screens · CPC title