The present invention relates to automotive rearview mirrors and methods of adjustment thereof.
In the chronicles of automotive safety history, the earliest known use of a rearview mirror in an automotive vehicle appeared on Ray Harroun's racecar in the inaugural Indianapolis 500 race in 1911. To maximize the benefit provided by rearview mirrors, virtually all rearview mirrors are now adjustable. In the most recent decade, most premium automotive vehicles now have rearview mirrors with power adjustment allowing the vehicle operator to utilize an electrical switch to adjust the rearview mirrors. Before adjusting the position of a driver's side (left in North America, right in England and Africa) or passenger side mirror, the driver has to select which mirror needs to be adjusted. The selection of which mirror requires adjustment is often accomplished via a switch with three position; right, neutral, and left. The neutral position is the one wherein no mirror is selected to prevent any incidental adjustments.
Three position switches are generally expensive, add weight to the motor vehicle, as well as complexity and also provide additional failure modes. In addition in most motor vehicles, the side mirror controls are on the driver's left side armrest. This location is subject to vibration (when the door is slammed or closed) and potential moisture (when the vehicle window is left open or when the weather seals wear off). It is desirable to provide a window adjustment system wherein a switch would not have to be provided which additionally has the function of mirror selection but can simply be utilized for adjustment function therefore reducing its complexity, weight, and enhancing its reliability.
To make manifest the above noted and other manifold desires, a revelation of the present invention is brought forth. In one of many preferred embodiments, the present invention brings forth a system and method of utilization thereof for adjusting multiple rearview mirrors in an automotive vehicle. The system includes a switch to allow a vehicle operator to provide input to adjust a rearview mirror. A sensory system is provided to determine which mirror the driver intends to adjust. A controller is provided which is cognizant of a driver's intended mirror and causes the intended mirror to respond to the driver's switch input.
Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.
The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:
The following description of the preferred embodiment(s) is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention, its application, or uses.
Referring to
The system 7 can be enhanced by further having a facial recognition system. The recognition system can take its data from an onboard storage, an external data source which is plugged in by the vehicle operator, or from the cloud. The recognition system, upon recognizing a previous driver, will automatically adjust some or all of the mirrors to the position wherein they were in when the driver last utilized the vehicle. This feature is very useful in situations where more than one person often utilize the same vehicle and have different preferred adjustment locations. In another embodiment, the recognition system is also be utilized for situations wherein a new driver utilizes the vehicle, such as a rental car, that the system places the rearview mirrors in suggested best positions based upon the head position of vehicle driver. This adjustment occurs even upon start up of the vehicle without the vehicle operator utilizing the switch. Also on suggested positions for vehicle driver, the controller is made cognizant not only of the driver's head position, or the driver's pupil with relationship to the rest of the sclera, but is also made aware of the driver's seat position forward or rearward, the base seat height, base seat tilt, or the tilt of the seat back to attempt to optimize the suggested rearview mirror positions. Another alternate feature of the mirror adjustment system is that there is a USB port 57 placed in the vehicle to allow the vehicle operator to tell the vehicle their prior preferred mirror adjustment positions. This feature is highly useful for frequent travelers when utilizing rental vehicles and saves the vehicle traveler of readjusting all of the rearview mirrors.
In operation a driver starts the vehicle. The sensory system 22 informs the controller 40 of the identity of the driver, head position and eye focus from a determination from the eyes pupil location. If the driver is known, the controller 40 adjusts the rearview mirrors to the driver's prior selected position. If the driver is new to the vehicle, the controller adjusts the rearview mirrors to a suggested position based upon drivers head position and seat position. If suggested adjusted position is unsatisfactory to the driver, upon the drivers contact with the switch 20 the sensory system determines the rearview mirror the driver intends to adjust. The controller 40 is made cognizant of the driver intended mirror, and then selects that mirror to respond to the switch input. The driver's facial features and mirror adjusted positions are them stored in a memory onboard, or into a driver's memory key, or into a cloud for future use.
The description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature and, thus, variations that do not depart from the gist of the invention are intended to be within the scope of the invention. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention.