Claims
- 1. A conversation mirror/intercom for a vehicle, the mirror/intercom comprising:
a vehicle accessory configured to mount to a roof area of a vehicle near a forward vehicle occupant; a conversation mirror coupled to said accessory, wherein the mirror is configured to provide visual contact between the forward vehicle occupant and a rearward vehicle occupant; and an intercom including:
a first microphone supported in close proximity with the conversation mirror; and a first speaker operably coupled to the first microphone, wherein the intercom provides verbal communications between the forward vehicle occupant and the rearward vehicle occupant.
- 2. The mirror/intercom as defined in claim 1 and further including a mirror frame mounted to said vehicle accessory for movement between stored and use positions and wherein said conversation mirror is mounted to said mirror frame.
- 3. The mirror/intercom as defined in claim 1 wherein said mirror is convex.
- 4. The mirror/intercom as defined in claim 1 and further including an electrical switch cooperating with said mirror frame and vehicle accessory for applying electrical operating power to said intercom when said mirror frame is moved from a stored to a use position.
- 5. The mirror/intercom of claim 1 wherein the vehicle accessory is an overhead console.
- 6. The mirror/intercom of claim 5 wherein the overhead console includes at least one of the following: a sunglass storage compartment, a garage door opening transmitter, and overhead electronics.
- 7. The mirror/intercom of claim 1 wherein the mirror is pivotally coupled to the accessory.
- 8. The mirror/intercom of claim 1 including a support coupled to the accessory, wherein the mirror is coupled to the support.
- 9. The mirror/intercom of claim 8 wherein the support comprises a frame extending at least partially about the mirror.
- 10. The mirror/intercom of claim 8 wherein the microphone is at least partially received within the support.
- 11. The mirror/intercom of claim 8 wherein the support is pivotally coupled to the accessory.
- 12. The mirror/intercom of claim 8 wherein the microphone is coupled to at least one of the accessory, the support, and the mirror.
- 13. The mirror/intercom of claim 1 including:
a second microphone proximate a rear seat area; and a second speaker supported in close proximity to the conversation mirror.
- 14. The mirror/intercom of claim 1 wherein the mirror has a curvature such that the vehicle driver can see faces of a plurality of rear seat passengers when the accessory is mounted to the roof area.
- 15. The mirror/intercom of claim 1 wherein the intercom is configured to mute existing audio output from a stereo system when the intercom is in use.
- 16. The mirror/intercom of claim 15 wherein the mirror moves between a stored position and a use position, and wherein existing audio output from a stereo system is muted in response to movement of the mirror to the use position.
- 17. The mirror/intercom of claim 1, wherein the mirror is adapted to pivot between a raised position in which the mirror faces a roof of a vehicle in a lowered position in which the mirror faces a rear of the vehicle.
- 18. An intra-vehicle communication system comprising:
a surface configured to be mounted to a vehicle interior proximate a first occupant, wherein the surface is further configured to display an image of a second occupant of the vehicle; and an intercom comprising:
a microphone supported in close proximity with the surface; and a speaker operably coupled to the microphone to transmit sound from the microphone, wherein the intercom is configured to at least partially mute existing audio output from a stereo system.
- 19. The system of claim 18 including a mirror providing the surface, wherein the surface reflects the image.
- 20. The system of claim 19, wherein the mirror is convex.
- 21. The system of claim 18, wherein the surface moves between a stored position and a use position, and wherein existing audio output from the stereo system is muted in response to movement of the surface to the use position.
- 22. The system of claim 18, wherein the surface moves between a stored position and a use position, and wherein the intercom is actuated upon movement of the surface from the stored position to the use position.
- 23. The system of claim 18 including a vehicle accessory, wherein the surface is coupled to the accessory.
- 24. The system of claim 23, wherein the vehicle accessory is an overhead console.
- 25. The system of claim 24, wherein the overhead console includes at least one of the following:
a sunglass storage compartment, a garage door opening transmitter, and overhead electronics.
- 26. The system of claim 23, wherein the surface is pivotally coupled to the accessory.
- 27. The system of claim 23 including a support coupled to the accessory, wherein the surface is coupled to the support.
- 28. The system of claim 27, wherein the support comprises a frame extending at least partially about the surface.
- 29. The system of claim 27, wherein the microphone is at least partially received within the support.
- 30. The system of claim 27, wherein the support is pivotally coupled to the accessory.
- 31. The system of claim 27, wherein the microphone is coupled to at least one of the accessory, the support and the surface.
- 32. The system of claim 18, wherein the intercom includes:
a second microphone configured to be supported proximate to the second occupant; and a second speaker configured to be supported in close proximity to the surface.
- 33. The system of claim 18, wherein the surface is actuatable between an image displaying mode and image non-displaying mode and wherein the intercom is configured to mute existing audio output in response to actuation of the surface to a display mode.
- 34. The system of claim 33, wherein the surface is movable between a viewing position in which the surface is in the image displaying mode and a stored position in which the surface is in the image nondisplaying mode.
- 35. A method for a first vehicle occupant to communicate with a second vehicle occupant, the method comprising:
viewing the second vehicle occupant while not facing the second vehicle occupant; speaking into a microphone of an intercom having a speaker proximate the second vehicle occupant during the viewing; and muting existing audio output from a vehicle stereo system while speaking into the microphone.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application is a divisional application claiming priority under 35 U.S.C. § 120 from co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/132,333 filed on Aug. 12, 1998 by Steven P. Dykstra and entitled CONVERSATION MIRROR/INTERCOM, the full disclosure of which is incorporated by reference.
Divisions (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09132333 |
Aug 1998 |
US |
Child |
10324650 |
Dec 2002 |
US |