Communications: electrical – Visual indication – Using light emitting diodes
Reexamination Certificate
2002-05-23
2003-10-07
Crosland, Donnie L. (Department: 2632)
Communications: electrical
Visual indication
Using light emitting diodes
C340S425500, C340S426110, C362S494000, C362S800000, C359S844000, C348S143000, C348S148000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06630888
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention generally concerns a rearview mirror, particularly for motor vehicles, having an integral display element and a picture taking device.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is common knowledge to equip vehicles with so-called back-up aid facilities, which feature one or more sensors. The sensors may, for instance operate on an ultrasonic basis and be placed on the rear of the vehicle. Evaluation and display apparatuses, connected to said sensors, may be placed in the cockpit or the driver's compartment. In particular, for large commercial vehicles, such trucks as semi-trailers, articulated vehicles, and the like, back-up aid facilities furnish great help for the driver. With such help in back-up maneuvering, a display can be made of the distance to an obstruction or to a target of the maneuvering, for instance, to a loading dock. The sensor(s) placed at the rear of a vehicle determine the distance to an obstruction or the said target and this distance is displayed on a monitor in the driver's compartment. The distance can be shown either directly in meters and centimeters by means of a seven segment display, or the display will exhibit one or more of preferably different colored signal lamps (Light Emitting Diodes, hereinafter LEDs) by means of which the distance to an obstruction or the target of the maneuvering is shown in definite increments. Additionally, acoustic signals can be employed.
Where back-up maneuvering is concerned, the driver is, in great measure, dependent upon the information, which is seen in the outside rearview mirror. With the aid of the rearview mirrors, which are, as a rule, on both sides of the cab, the driver is in a position to maneuver safely. This depends, of course, on appropriate know-how and experience. In connection with a back-up aid of the described kind, very large vehicles with a non-visible rear area can maneuver with safety.
The disadvantage in the described situation is that during the maneuvering with the help of the two rearview mirrors and the back-up aid, the driver's attention is being given continually to one of the two rearview mirrors, or between two rearview mirrors, and must then wander also to a display arranged on or in the instrument board. This stresses the concentration and also impairs the exactness of judgement regarding the images in the mirrors or in the back-up aid display. The latter is particularly significant if very highly contrasting brightness conditions exist between the image in the rearview mirrors and that of the back-up aid display, since the eye always requires a certain elapsed time to adapt to a bright-dark, dark-bright change in the viewing field. Further, the image in the rearview mirror(s) and the display, as a rule, lie at different distances, so that the eye in the continual change of view requires also a certain accommodation time for this. All these factors add up to the point that upon back-up maneuvering with the help of the rear view mirrors and the display of a back-up aid a great deal of know-how and concentration are expected from the driver during the operation.
As introduced above, the drivers of trucks or other vehicles have available very little, if any, field of sight to the rear. These drivers, when backing or maneuvering, are especially dependent upon one or the other of the external rearview mirrors in order to maneuver safely. In practice, often a single mirror with a single mirror pane or glass does not suffice, even when there is respectively one mirror to the left and another to the right, that is to say, one mirror placed on the driver's side and one on the passenger's side. A single mirror is, in most cases, not in a position to reflect to the driver all the important zones to the sides and rear of the vehicle. Thus it has become known, to place on the sides of the vehicle a plurality of mirrors with differently adjusted angles to enable the driver to have the great possible panoramic field of view. An installation of such a plurality of rearview mirrors is, however, costly, deteriorates the streamlining of the vehicle, and thus increases the consumption of fuel. In the case of certain vehicles, particularly busses, this is also not desirable from the standpoint of design. Further, with an increasing number of mirrors, the number of mirror surfaces likewise increases. This naturally increases the possibilities of breakage.
In the case of a change of drivers, then the position of the majority of the mirrors must also be set anew, which is time consuming and likewise impractical. In addition, all mirror surfaces must be regularly cleaned and provided with heating apparatuses, in order to assure a continuous line of sight to the rear.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention creates a rearview mirror, which enables the driver of a vehicle to accept along with the information communicated to him by the rearview mirrors additional information without having to take his eyes off the rearview mirrors.
To achieve the above purpose, the present invention proposes a rearview mirror, particularly for motorized vehicles, with a mirror pane, wherein in the top view direction, behind the mirror pane, is placed at least one radiation emitting, display element, which radiates through the mirror pane.
Within the scope of the present invention, there would be one radiation emitting display element located behind the mirror pane, whereby this display element would emit its radiation through the mirror pane.
Mirror panes, for instance such as Chrome-glass, to a certain degree are transparent for such radiation as enters through the back side of the mirror pane.
At the same time, the mirror panes remain reflective and mirror-like, when seen from the front side. The present invention makes use of this, since it places at least one radiation emitting display element behind the mirror pane. This display, associated with this element, for an observer in front of the mirror, lies, more or less in the mirror pane plane and the information transmitted by the display element appears through the mirror pane “in” the usual reflected image, which is reflected from the mirror pane.
In this way, it is possible to place the emitting display element(s) of back-up aid facilities, in accord with the teachings of the present invention, behind the mirror pane. When this is done, these display elements merge their corresponding information through the mirror pane, blending into the reflective image on the mirror pane. The observer then receives thus, at one glance, information from the mirror image on the mirror pane, as well as information from the display element(s). The view of the driver need no longer be divided between the mirror and a separate display apparatus. The driver's view need not wander back and forth to the instrument panel, but his attention remains, during the back-up maneuver, solely on the mirror. This is the result of all the collected data for the back-up operation being presented at one glance. More precise and fatigue-free driving becomes possible by these measures.
The display element can radiate in the spectrum of either visible or infrared light. In practice, the emission of light in the visible spectrum is used in the majority of cases, since with such light a direct optical display is possible. For certain applications, an emission of infrared can be of interest, for instance, for information which is not visible to the naked eye, or for coding between the vehicle and a stationary point for supervision and registration. In this regard, it should be mentioned that the object of the present invention is directed toward bringing radiation emitting display elements in general behind the mirror pane.
A direct visual information transmission to the driver by means of these display elements is only a possible and an especially advantageous application of the concept of the invention. In accord with a further embodiment, a plurality of light radiating display elements may advantageously be assembled in groups behind the mirror pane. In t
Lang Heinrich
Renner Christopher
Seiboth Wolfgang
Crosland Donnie L.
Dority & Manning P.A.
Lang-Mekra North America LLC
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