Frameless interior rearview mirror assembly

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11577648-B2
Application number	US-202217662446-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 9, 2022
Priority date	Apr 23, 2009
Publication date	Feb 14, 2023
Grant date	Feb 14, 2023

Abstract

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.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A vehicular frameless interior rearview mirror assembly, the vehicular frameless interior rearview mirror assembly comprising:
a mirror head and a mounting portion;
wherein the mounting portion comprises a mounting base configured to attach the vehicular frameless interior rearview mirror assembly to an attachment element that is adhered at an in-cabin side of a windshield of a vehicle equipped with the vehicular frameless interior rearview mirror assembly;
wherein the mounting base attaches to the attachment element at the windshield of the equipped vehicle via a breakaway joint;
wherein the mirror head is pivotable relative to the mounting portion via at least one ball-and-socket pivot joint;
wherein the mirror head comprises a mirror reflective element and a mirror casing;
wherein, when the mirror head is moved relative to the mounting portion, the mirror reflective element and the mirror casing move in tandem with movement of the mirror casing;
wherein the mirror reflective element comprises a front glass substrate having a planar front side and a planar rear side;
a circumferential perimeter glass edge circumscribing a periphery of the front glass substrate, the circumferential perimeter glass edge spanning a thickness dimension of the front glass substrate separating the planar front side from the planar rear side;
wherein no portion of the mirror casing overlaps the planar front side of the front glass substrate;
wherein a camera is disposed within the mirror casing;
wherein, with the mounting portion of the vehicular frameless interior rearview mirror assembly mounted at the in-cabin side of the windshield of the equipped vehicle, the camera views a driver of the equipped vehicle;
wherein, with the mounting portion of the vehicular frameless interior rearview mirror assembly mounted at the in-cabin side of the windshield of the equipped vehicle and when the mirror head is moved by the driver of the equipped 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; and
wherein the camera is part of a driver monitoring system of the equipped vehicle.

2. The vehicular frameless interior rearview mirror assembly of claim 1 , wherein no portion of the mirror casing encroaches the circumferential perimeter glass edge circumscribing the periphery of the front glass substrate.

3. The vehicular frameless interior rearview mirror assembly of claim 1 , wherein a front perimeter glass edge portion of the circumferential perimeter glass edge comprises a rounded glass surface circumscribing the periphery of the front glass substrate, and wherein the rounded glass surface at least partially spans the thickness dimension of the front glass substrate, and wherein the rounded glass surface has a radius of curvature of at least 2.5 mm, and wherein, with the mounting portion of the vehicular frameless interior rearview mirror assembly mounted at the in-cabin side of the windshield of the equipped vehicle, the rounded glass surface of the front glass substrate is exposed to and is contactable by the driver of the equipped vehicle.

4. The vehicular frameless interior rearview mirror assembly of claim 1 , wherein a portion of the mirror casing circumscribes and abuts the circumferential perimeter glass edge circumscribing the periphery of the front glass substrate.

5. The vehicular frameless interior rearview mirror assembly of claim 4 , wherein the portion of the mirror casing that circumscribes and abuts the circumferential perimeter glass edge circumscribing the periphery of the front glass substrate comprises a bezel portion of the mirror casing.

6. The vehicular frameless interior rearview mirror assembly of claim 4 , wherein the portion of the mirror casing that circumscribes and abuts the circumferential perimeter glass edge circumscribing the periphery of the front glass substrate comprises a plastic molding, and wherein the plastic molding that circumscribes and abuts the periphery of the front glass substrate without overlapping the planar front side of the front glass substrate comprises an outermost part.

7. The vehicular frameless interior rearview mirror assembly of claim 6 , wherein the plastic molding contacts the circumferential perimeter glass edge of the front glass substrate.

8. The vehicular frameless interior rearview mirror assembly of claim 6 , wherein the plane of the planar front side of the front glass substrate is generally flush with the outermost part of the plastic molding of the portion of the mirror casing that circumscribes and abuts the circumferential perimeter glass edge circumscribing the periphery of the front glass substrate.

9. The vehicular frameless interior rearview mirror assembly of claim 8 , wherein, with the plastic molding of the mirror casing circumscribing and abutting the circumferential perimeter glass edge of the front glass substrate, the outermost part of the plastic molding provides a curved transition between the planar front side of the mirror reflective element and another part of the mirror casing.

10. The vehicular frameless interior rearview mirror assembly of claim 9 , wherein the outermost part of the plastic molding providing the curved transition between the planar front side of the mirror reflective element and the other part of the mirror casing comprises an outer curved surface.

11. The vehicular frameless interior rearview mirror assembly of claim 10 , wherein the outer curved surface of the outermost part of the plastic molding provides a curved transition between the planar front side of the front glass substrate and a less-curved part of the plastic molding.

12. The vehicular frameless interior rearview mirror assembly of claim 11 , wherein the less-curved part of the plastic molding is contiguous with the outer curved surface of the outermost part of the plastic molding.

13. The vehicular frameless interior rearview mirror assembly of claim 12 , wherein the plastic molding contacts the circumferential perimeter glass edge of the front glass substrate.

14. The vehicular frameless interior rearview mirror assembly of claim 9 , wherein the outermost part of the plastic molding providing the curved transition between the planar front side of the mirror reflective element and the other part of the mirror casing lacks an exposed sharp edge that, with the mounting portion of the vehicular frameless interior rearview mirror assembly mounted at the in-cabin side of the windshield of the equipped vehicle, is contactable by the driver of the equipped vehicle.

15. The vehicular frameless interior rearview mirror assembly of claim 1 , wherein the mirror reflective element nests in the mirror casing.

16. The vehicular frameless interior rearview mirror assembly of claim 1 , wherein the at least one ball-and-socket pivot joint comprises two ball-and-socket pivot joints.

17. The vehicular frameless interior rearview mirror assembly of claim 1 , wherein the attachment element that is adhered at the in-cabin side of the windshield of the equipped vehicle comprises a mirror mounting button.

18. The vehicular frameless interior rearview mirror assembly of claim 1 , wherein the camera is disposed in the mirror casing behind the mirror reflective element.

19. The vehicular frameless interior rearview mirror assembly of claim 18 , wherein, with the mounting portion of the vehicular frameless interior rearview mirror assembly mounted at the in-cabin side of the windshield of the

Assignees

• Magna Mirrors Of America Inc

Inventors

• De Wind Darryl P
• Rawlings Donald S
• Uken John T

Classifications

• G02B5/08

  Mirrors {(vehicle mirrors involving special optical features B60R1/08)} · CPC title

• C03C2217/25

  Metals · CPC title

• B24B51/00

  Arrangements for automatic control of a series of individual steps in grinding a workpiece (if applicable to other machine tools, G05B takes precedence) · CPC title

• G02F1/153

  Constructional details · CPC title

• G02B7/182

  for mirrors · CPC title