Mirror monitor using two levels of reflectivity and transmissibility

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9623802-B2
Application number	US-201514969260-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 15, 2015
Priority date	Oct 31, 2011
Publication date	Apr 18, 2017
Grant date	Apr 18, 2017

Abstract

A rear-view mirror and modular monitor system and method include an interior mirror that embeds a modular monitor behind see-through mirror glass. In some embodiments, the system includes multiple cameras, some in the vehicle, bus and/or truck, as well as some cameras outside the vehicle, bus and/or truck, advantageously providing the driver an opportunity to view what is happening, for example, in the back rows of the bus and/or cabin, while also using the mirror to look at objects in the bus and/or cabin that are visible using the mirror. The rear-view mirror and modular monitor system is configured to be easily assembled and/or disassembled when necessary for maintenance and/or to replace parts.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A rear-view mirror unit and modular monitor system for enhanced viewing by a vehicle operator of areas within or exterior to a bus or public transit vehicle comprising:
a rear-view mirror unit mounted forward of the vehicle operator, said rear-view mirror unit;
at least one monitor module removably connected to said rear-view mirror unit, said at least one monitor module viewable through said rear-view mirror unit, and said at least one monitor module removable from and reconnectable to said rear-view mirror unit without affecting the structure or position of said rear-view mirror unit; and
a first image capture device mounted at a first location on the vehicle and configured to capture and transmit at least a first image to said at least one monitor module, the first image being displayable on said at least one monitor module through said rear-view mirror unit.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein said rear-view mirror unit comprising a first area and a second area, and the first area and the second area are configured to be visually substantially similar when the at least one monitor module is not in use when viewed at least from a position at or near the vehicle operator.

3. The system of claim 2 , further comprising a video input switch configured to selectively activate said at least one mirror monitor module to display the first image received from said first image capture device and to deactivate said at least one mirror monitor module so as not to display the first image responsive to predetermined criteria including at least one of a manually selected view, an automatically selected view, and an event-triggered selected view, and wherein the first area and the second area are configured to be visually substantially similar when said video input switch deactivates said at least one monitor module.

4. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a gasket disposed between the rear-view mirror unit and the monitor module, said gasket being configured to channel visible light emitted from a display on the monitor module through the rear-view mirror unit, while providing protection for the display when the monitor module is fastened to the rear-view mirror unit.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein said rear-view mirror unit comprises a first area having a first reflectivity and a second area having a second reflectivity, and wherein the first reflectivity is substantially the same as the second reflectivity.

6. The system of claim 4 , wherein said rear-view mirror unit comprises a first area having a first reflectivity and a second area having a second reflectivity, and wherein the first reflectivity and the second reflectivity are between 25% and 40%.

7. The system of claim 4 , wherein said rear-view mirror unit comprises a first area having a first reflectivity and a second area having a second reflectivity, and wherein the first reflectivity and the second reflectivity are between 30% and 35%.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein said rear-view mirror unit comprises a first area having a first reflectivity and a second area having a second reflectivity, and wherein the first reflectivity is different than the second reflectivity.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the first reflectivity is between 20% and 30% and the second reflectivity is greater than 30%.

10. The system of claim 8 , wherein the first reflectivity and the second reflectivity are between 20% and 60%.

11. The system of claim 8 , wherein the first reflectivity is about 30% and the second reflectivity is about 45%.

12. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:
at least one image storage device configured for storage of the at least one image transmitted by said first image capture device; and
a protective enclosure encasing the first image capture device and the image storage device.

13. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:
a second image capture device mounted at a second location on the vehicle, and configured to capture and transmit a second image to the at least one monitor module; and
an input switch connected to the first image capture device and the second image capture device, and configured to provide at least one of the first image and the second image to the at least one monitor module responsive to at least one of a manually selected view, an automatically selected view, and an event-triggered selected view,
wherein the at least one monitor module further comprises at least two channels configured to respectively receive the first image and the second image, the at least one monitor module further configured to display the first image and the second image one of together in a multiple-feed configuration and individually in a single-feed configuration responsive to the input switch.

14. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a first audio capture device mounted on the vehicle, and the at least one monitor module further comprising a first audio input and at least one audio output device,
wherein the first audio capture device is configured to capture a first audio signal and provide the first audio signal to the first audio input of the at least one monitor module,
wherein the at least one audio output device of the at least one monitor module is configured to provide the first audio signal to the vehicle operator, and
wherein the at least one monitor module is configured to provide the first audio signal to the vehicle operator responsive to the first image being displayed on the at least one monitor module.

15. The system of claim 1 , wherein said rear-view mirror unit comprises a first area having a first reflectivity and a second area having a second reflectivity, and wherein the rear-view mirror unit further comprises a transition region disposed between the first area and the second area, the transition region have at least a reflectivity that is different from the first reflectivity and the second reflectivity.

16. The system of claim 1 , wherein said rear-view mirror unit further comprises a mirror unit backing, the mirror unit backing including a cut-out portion aligned with the first area of said rear-view mirror unit, and wherein said at least one monitor module is removably connected to the mirror unit backing and is aligned with the cut-out portion of the mirror unit backing and aligned with the first area of said rear-view mirror unit.

17. The system of claim 1 , wherein said rear-view mirror unit further comprises:
a mirror unit backing including a cut-out portion aligned with the first area of said rear-view mirror unit; and
a plurality of fasteners removably connecting said at least one monitor module to said mirror unit backing around a perimeter of the cut-out portion and aligning said at least one monitor module with the cut-out portion of the mirror unit backing and the first area of said rear-view mirror unit.

18. The system of claim 1 , wherein a rear side of said a rear-view mirror comprises a mirror unit backing including an aperture, and said at least one monitor module is configured to be inserted in the aperture of the mirror unit backing, fastened to the mirror unit backing using fasteners and aligned with the at least one of the see-through mirror glass section and the display aperture.

19. A method of applying a reflective coating to a mirror of a rear-view mirror unit and installing a modular monitor system for enhanced viewing by a vehicle operator of areas within or exterior to a bus or public transit vehicle, the method comprising:
applying at least a first reflective coating of a first ref

Assignees

• Rosco Inc

Inventors

• Englander Benjamin
• Serer Julian
• Plate Peter
• Balsam Gary

Classifications

• H04N7/181

  for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources · CPC title

• B60R2001/1253

  with cameras, video cameras or video screens · CPC title

• B60R2300/8026

  in addition to a rear-view mirror system · CPC title

• B60R2001/1215

  with information displays · CPC title

• B60R1/04

  mounted inside vehicle {(B60R1/025, B60R1/08 take precedence)} · CPC title