CN1784631A - Vehicle rearview mirror components and assemblies with these components installed - Google Patents

Abstract

A mirror (110) comprising: an electro-optic mirror assembly (111) and a thin-profile bezel (144) mounted around a perimeter of the electro-optic mirror assembly. The electro-optic mirror assembly is supported on the carrier in a layered configuration by means of an adhesively bonded heater and foam tape. Including may be bonded to the edge of the front surface of the front element of the electro-optic mirror assembly and/or may be bonded and/or interlockingly mechanically mounted to the edge of the carrier. Alternatively, the frame may be a strip of paint or a thin coating material. The bezel may be molded in place or may be pre-molded and elastically elongated so as to be combinable. In one form, the bezel includes laterally extending fins that prevent viewing of the interior of the mirror casing through the bezel.

Description

Vehicle rearview mirror components and assemblies with these components installed

Cross References to Related Applications

This application is a continuation-in-part of patent application filed September 30, 2002 as U.S. Patent Application No. US2004/0061920A1, published April 1, 2004, entitled " U.S. Patent Application No. 10/260,741 for ELECTROCHROMIC DEVICES HAVING NO POSITIONA OFFSET BETWEEN SUBSTRATES" (Electrochromic Devices Without Positional Offset Between Substrates), and now U.S. Patent No. 6560,004 issued in 2001 Titled "COUPLED ELECROCHROMIC COMPOUNDS WITHHPHOTOSTABLE DICATION OXIDATION ATATES" (Coupled Electrowhite Compounds with Photostable Dicationic Oxidation States), filed on June 19, is currently the 1999 issue of U.S. Patent No. 6,249,369 A continuation of U.S. Patent Application No. 09/350,879, filed July 9, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

technical field

The present invention relates generally to electro-optic devices and devices incorporating these devices. More particularly, the present invention relates to electro-optical devices for use in architectural windows or vehicle rear view mirrors.

Background technique

Electro-optic components are used in a variety of applications including optical shutters, variable attenuation filters, and windows in buildings and vehicles. Electro-optic elements are most commonly used in rearview mirror assemblies used in vehicles. The electro-optical rearview mirror is automatically controlled to change the reflectivity of the mirror in response to optical sensors pointing backwards and forwards in order to reduce glare from headlights in the image reflected to the driver's eyes.

Figure 1A shows an exploded view of parts of a rear view mirror assembly 5 used in a typical exterior rear view mirror assembly. Component 5 includes electrochromic mirror element 10, frame 50, and carrier plate 70 (FIG. 1B). The components may further include gaskets 60 and 62 which are positioned on either side of the electrochromic mirror element 10 and which are arranged to form a secondary seal around the periphery of the mirror element 10 . As best shown in Figure IB, electrochromic element 10 includes a substantially transparent front element 12, typically formed of glass, having a front surface 12a and a rear surface 12b. Electrochromic element 10 further includes a rear element 14 spaced slightly from element 12 . A seal 16 is formed between the elements 12 and 14 around their periphery so as to define between them a sealed chamber into which the electrochromic medium is supplied. Preferably, elements 12 and 14 have a conductive layer on the surface facing the chamber so as to be able to apply a potential across the electrochromic medium. These electrodes are electrically isolated from each other and are individually connected to a power source by means of first and second bus connectors 34a and 34b. To facilitate connection of the bus connectors 34a, 34b, the elements 12 and 14 are typically vertically offset so that a bus connector can be secured along the bottom edge of one element while the other bus connector can be secured to the top of the other element. side. Bus connectors 34a, 34b are typically spring clips, similar to those disclosed in well known U.S. Patent Nos. 6,064,509 and 6,062,920, to ensure that they remain physically and electrically bonded to the inwardly facing surfaces of components 12 and 14 on the upper electrode layer. Once the electrochromic element 10 has been fabricated and the bus clips 34a, 34b installed, the mirror part 5 can be assembled. As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B , the bezel includes a front lip 51 that continues onto a portion of the front surface 12 a of the front element 12 . Typically, front lip 51 continues over a sufficient portion of front surface 12a to obscure human view of the seal and protect seal 16 from possible UV degradation. As can be seen from FIG. 1B , the width D1 of the front lip 51 of the bezel 50 depends on a number of factors, including the offset distance D2 of the elements 12 and 14 . Also, the bus connector clips 34a and 34b need to extend beyond the peripheral edges of the components 12 and 14, which requires a wider frame. Typical prior art bezels have a front lip with a width D1 of 5 mm or more.

Before inserting the electrochromic mirror element 10 into the frame 50, an optional front gasket 60 may be provided behind the front lip 51 so as to be compressed between the front surface 12a of the front element 12 and the frame 50. between the inner surfaces of the front lip 51. The mirror element 10 is then placed within the bezel 50 and an optional rear gasket 62 may be provided along the periphery of the rear surface of the element 14 . Instead of or in addition to incorporating front and/or rear gaskets, the bezel/mirror interface area may also be filled or encapsulated with materials such as urethane, silicone, or Sealing materials such as epoxy resin. A carrier plate 70, typically formed of engineering grade rigid plastic or a material similar to that used for frame 50, is then pressed onto the rear surface of element 14 with gasket 62 compressed therebetween. A plurality of tabs 52 may be formed inside the bezel so as to snap the carrier plate 70 in place to secure the mirror element 10 within the bezel. The carrier plate 70 is typically used to mount the mirror components to the outer mirror frame. More specifically, a positioner (shown as element 740 in Figure 57) may be mounted within the mirror frame and mechanically coupled to the carrier plate 70 to enable remote adjustment of the position of the mirror component within the mirror frame.

Although the above structure is easily manufacturable, it raises a problem in terms of appearance in relation to the width of the front lip of the bezel of the electrochromic mirror component. In particular, the front lip of the bezel is typically wider than any used on undimmed (non-electro-optic) mirrors due to the need to accommodate bus clips, the offset position of elements 12 and 14, and obscuring the line of sight of the seals. The width of the front lip of the bezel is wide. In some vehicles, only the driver's side exterior mirror is electro-optic, while the passenger's side mirror is undimmed.

Accordingly, there is a need for an improved electro-optic exterior mirror assembly that reduces the front width of the bezel, or does not include a front bezel at all.

Furthermore, in vehicle applications, electro-optic mirror elements are becoming more and more common for interior and exterior, driver's and passenger's side, and front-view mirrors. When incorporated into a vehicle rearview mirror assembly, a typical electro-optic element will have an effective field of view that is smaller than the area defined by the perimeter of the element itself. The effective field of view is primarily limited by the construction of the component itself and/or the associated bezel.

Various attempts have been made to provide an electro-optical element having an effective field of view substantially equal to the area defined by its periphery. Assemblies incorporating these elements have also been proposed.

What is needed is an improved electro-optic mirror assembly. Improvements are also needed in assemblies incorporating such improved electro-optic mirror components.

content of the invention

In one aspect of the present invention, an electro-optic rearview mirror for a vehicle includes an electro-optic mirror assembly including a front element and a rear element defining a cavity therebetween, and has a Indoor electro-optic materials. A bracket supporting the electro-optical mirror component. A bezel is configured around the periphery of the electro-optic mirror assembly and has a front lip continuing to a portion of the front surface of the front element, and has a rear lip extending to an edge of the bracket, the rear lip being secured to the bracket on the edge.

In another aspect of the present invention, a rearview mirror for a vehicle includes an electro-optical mirror assembly including a front element and a rear element defining a cavity therebetween, and having a Indoor electro-optic materials. A bracket supporting the electro-optical mirror component. A bezel configured around the periphery of the electro-optic mirror part and having a front lip that continues and is joined to an edge portion of the front surface of the front element, and further has a front lip at least partially along a side of the electro-optic mirror part Extended side flanges.

In another aspect of the invention, a rearview mirror assembly for a vehicle includes a mirror frame defining an interior and a front opening and having a positioning device mounted therein. A mirror element and a bracket supporting the mirror element are positioned within the front opening and are operatively mounted to the positioning means for angular adjustment. A bezel is arranged around the periphery of the mirror element. The bezel has laterally extending fins that slideably engage the inner surface of the mirror frame for sealing the interior from viewing the interior of the mirror frame.

In another aspect of the invention, a variable reflectivity mirror for a vehicle includes a mirror component. a frame disposed around the periphery of the mirror component and mounted thereto, the frame having laterally extending flexible wings extending in an outer lateral direction, the wings being adapted to be flexibly bonded to the inner surface of the mirror frame, Used to enclose an interior space to prevent seeing inside the mirror frame.

In another aspect of the invention, an electro-optic variable reflectivity mirror for a vehicle includes a front element having a front surface and a rear surface with a first layer of conductive material disposed thereon. The mirror further includes a rear element having a front surface and a rear surface, the front surface of the rear element having a second layer of conductive material disposed thereon. A seal is provided to sealably couple the elements together in spaced relation to each other so as to define a chamber. An electro-optic material is disposed within the chamber. A strip of substantially opaque material is arranged on the rear surface of the front element, the strip is arranged along its edge and extends around its periphery.

Another aspect of the present invention provides an electrochromic rearview mirror for a vehicle, including a frame, an electrochromic mirror component and a frame. The electrochromic mirror assembly includes front and rear elements defining a chamber between the front and rear elements within which the electrochromic material is disposed. The front element has a front surface and an edge defining the front surface. A bezel covers the edge of the front element, but extends less than 1mm over the front surface.

In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mirror element comprising a substantially transparent first substrate and a second substrate, wherein the first substrate comprises a substantially transparent substrate on at least one surface thereof. and having a first electrical contact, said second substrate comprising an at least partially reflective conductor on its surface and having a second electrical contact, wherein the first and second contacts are at the edge of the mirror element The upper limit defines a substantially continuous portion.

In a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mirror element comprising a substantially transparent first substrate and a second substrate, wherein the first substrate comprises a substrate surrounding the substantially transparent first substrate. An at least partially reflective ring on the periphery of at least one surface of the sheet, the second substrate includes at least a partially reflective conductor on at least one surface, wherein the reflectivity of the at least partially reflective conductor and the reflectivity of the at least partially reflective ring are substantially same as above.

In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mirror element comprising substantially transparent first and second substrates secured to each other in spaced relation to each other via a seal to define a cavity , wherein the sealing member is substantially transparent, and the substantially transparent first substrate comprises a spectral filter material near its periphery.

In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mirror assembly comprising a substantially transparent first substrate and a second substrate, the first substrate comprising a substantially transparent conductor on at least one surface thereof, and having a first electrical contact, said second substrate comprising an at least partially reflective conductor on at least one surface thereof and having a second electrical contact, wherein the length occupied by the combined first and second electrical contacts is, Below about 0.5 times the overall length defined by the periphery of the mirror element.

Still another aspect of the present invention provides a mirror element comprising a substantially transparent first substrate comprising a conductor of low surface resistance on its second surface, wherein the conductor of low surface resistance has about Surface resistance of 1.0Ω/□ to about 10Ω/□.

In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mirror element comprising a substantially transparent substrate comprising electrical conductors having a variable surface resistance, wherein the surface resistance is lower near an associated electrical contact, and Proportional to the distance from the contact point, the sheet resistance becomes higher and higher.

In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mirror element comprising a first substantially transparent substrate including a substantially transparent conductor on a second surface thereof, and further comprising a first perimeter length. The mirror element further includes a second substrate comprising a second perimeter length and further comprising an electrical conductor having a sheet resistance between about 0.05Ω/□ and about 8.0Ω/□, wherein the first perimeter length greater than the second perimeter length.

Still another aspect of the present invention provides a mirror element comprising a substantially transparent first substrate and a second substrate, the first substrate comprising a substantially transparent conductor on its second surface, and further Including the first perimeter length, the substantially transparent first substrate further includes a thickness of less than 2.0 mm, the second substrate includes a second perimeter length, and further includes an electrical conductor.

A further aspect of the present invention provides a mirror element comprising a substantially transparent first substrate having a thickness of less than 2.0 mm, the substantially transparent first substrate comprising There are substantially opaque materials.

Another aspect of the present invention provides an electro-optical rearview mirror element, comprising a first substrate and a second substrate, the first substrate has a second surface lamination of materials at least on a portion close to its second surface , the second substrate has a second substrate stack of material on at least a portion close to one of its surfaces, wherein the second surface stack of material has a b ^* value lower than that of the second substrate of material The b ^* value of the stack.

In yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electro-optic rearview mirror element comprising a first portion of a second surface conductive electrode substantially electrically insulated from a second portion of the second surface conductive electrode.

A further aspect of the present invention provides an electro-optic rearview mirror element, including a first substrate and a second substrate. The first substrate has a hydrophilic stack of materials at least in a portion proximate to the first surface, and the first substrate further includes a first conductive electrode, a spectral filter material, and an adhesion promotion material at least in a portion proximate to the second surface. The second substrate has a second conductive electrode, a reflective material and a protective coating material at least proximate the third surface portion.

Another aspect of the present invention provides an electro-optic rearview mirror element, comprising a first substrate and a second substrate, and the two substrates are fixed to each other in a spaced relationship via a main sealing material comprising a spacer, Wherein the second surface stack of materials is substantially free of regions of spacer-related distortion.

In at least one embodiment, there is provided an electro-optical element comprising front and rear substrates except for portions of the edges of the substrate which are recessed or provided with tabs to facilitate contact with an associated conductive coating Also, have substantially parallel peripheries. In at least one related embodiment, the "second surface" of the front substrate is provided with one or more conductive layers of substantially transparent, highly conductive material. In at least one additional embodiment, the "third surface" of the rear substrate is provided with one or more highly conductive layers; the second surface of the front element may also have one or more highly conductive conductive layers. layer. In at least one other related embodiment, the component is mounted to a carrier having an integral border only near the edges associated with the contacts that come into contact with the conductive coating. In at least one further embodiment, the element is provided on one of the first or second surfaces with an at least partially opaque coating around the periphery of the front substrate such that the associated seal cannot be seen. In at least one related embodiment, the peripheral coating has a reflectivity that substantially matches that of the remainder of the reflective element. In another related embodiment, the peripheral coating is a spectral filter that substantially blocks ultraviolet and/or infrared radiation from reaching the associated seal; Instead, the spectral filter can be incorporated into a corresponding substrate. If a coating such as a reflective material is applied to the first or second surface around the periphery of the mirror in order to mask the seal and/or contact areas, the reflected color of the coating becomes important. Typically, it is desirable to produce a color that is neutral or substantially uniform across the visible spectrum, or to produce a reflected color that matches the color of the remainder of the mirror element in its clear or bleached state. When such a coating is applied to the second surface above the transparent conductor, the apparent color of the coating is influenced by the optical properties of the transparent conductor when viewed from the front. The color can be controlled by the choice of material used to make the transparent conductor and the thickness of the material. If color neutrality is desired, a color suppressing layer can be used when depositing the transparent conductor, or a very thick conductor (about 3 wavelengths or more) can be used which inherently has a low color content. Alternatively, a perimeter coating may be applied to the second surface of the first substrate prior to depositing the transparent conductor. All of the techniques described above for minimizing the color contribution of the transparent conductor can also be applied if the second surface peripheral coating is black or substantially colored. As an example, the colorimetry of the first surface chromium deposit was -0.99 for a ^* and +0.24 for b ^* , and the coating had a reflectivity of about 65%. An exemplary electrochromic exterior mirror has a colorimetry of -2.1 for a ^* , +3.1 for b ^* , and a reflectance of approximately 58%. In this example, the difference in reflectivity can be observed visually, however, for most applications this matching of reflectivity is acceptable. A difference in reflectivity between the perimeter reflector and the main reflector is preferred, and a difference in reflectivity between the perimeter reflector and the main reflector is most preferred. Similarly, the colors of the two coatings appear to be equal. Comparing this to the example of the second surface with a coating of chrome deposited on half-wavelength ITO, the colorimetry and reflectance were measured to be -6.2 for a ^* and +9.1 for b ^* , for a reflectance of about 50 %. In this case, the difference in color is significant and impermissible. When comparing the color of the chrome on the first surface to that of the electrochromic mirror, the measured color difference has a C ^* of 3.1, compared to a color difference of 7.3 between the electrochromic element and the chromium coating on the half-wavelength ITO. These examples also show that preferably the difference in color as measured by C ^* is less than about 5, most preferably about 3 or less. If the peripheral coating is substantially opaque and is applied to one of the first or second surfaces of the first substrate before the first substrate is assembled on the second substrate, and if the Where the reflector is substantially opaque, it is difficult to visually inspect the primary seal and end plug for defects. If a UV-cured plug material is used, it is also difficult to properly cure the plug material because the plug area area is shielded from the front and back by the substantially opaque coating. For these reasons, it is highly desirable to mask or remove the peripheral portion of the substantially opaque reflective material on the surface 3 or 4 of the second substrate. If a highly conductive reflector/electrode material is used on surface 3, most of the reflector electrode in the seal/plug area can be masked or removed, while still retaining a uniform coloring of the EC mirror. Reflectors/electrodes can also be applied on substantially transparent conductors such as ITO. The reflector/electrode may be masked during deposition, or a portion of the reflector/electrode may be removed in the seal and/or plug area to enable inspection and/or curing.

In another further embodiment, a substantially transparent sealing material is used. In at least one related embodiment, the substantially transparent encapsulant is capable of withstanding ultraviolet and/or infrared light directly impinging thereon without loss of its bond strength.

In at least one other embodiment, a front substrate is provided that is larger than the rear substrate such that contacts to the associated conductive substrate are hidden from view.

These and other features, advantages and objects of the present invention will be further understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art by referring to the following detailed description, claims and accompanying drawings.

Description of drawings

Figure 1A is an exploded perspective view of a portion of a conventional external electro-optic mirror assembly;

FIG. 1B is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the conventional external electro-optic mirror assembly shown in FIG. 1A;

Figure 2 schematically represents a front view of an interior/exterior electro-optical rearview mirror system for a motor vehicle, wherein the exterior mirror is equipped with the exterior mirror assembly of the present invention;

Fig. 3 A is the enlarged sectional view of the electro-optic mirror element comprising the form of the first embodiment of the present invention taken on line III-III of Fig. 2;

Figure 3B represents a cross-sectional view of an electro-optic mirror element comprising a light source;

FIG. 3C represents a cross-sectional view of an electro-optic mirror element comprising a small protrusion for contact with an associated conductive layer;

Figure 4A is a top plan view of a rear substrate having electrodes formed thereon, which may be used in the electro-optic mirror shown in Figure 3A;

4B is a front plan view of an electro-optic mirror element comprising a substantially continuous peripheral edge and having a tab/groove portion for connection to a contact area on an associated conductive layer;

Fig. 4C is a front plan view of an electro-optical mirror element similar to that shown in Fig. 4B, except having a more nearly rectangular shaped periphery with a small protrusion/groove portion on one of its inner edges;

Figure 4D shows an electro-optical mirror element having a front substrate larger than an associated rear substrate;

Figure 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an electro-optic mirror element incorporating a form of a second embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an electro-optic mirror element incorporating a form of a second embodiment of the present invention;

7A is a top plan view of a rear substrate having electrodes formed thereon, which may be used for the electro-optic mirror element shown in FIG. 6;

Figure 7B is a top plan view of the rear substrate shown in Figure 7A, and additionally having a seal formed thereon, which may be used in the electro-optic mirror element shown in Figure 6;

Figure 8 A is a top plan view of a rear substrate having an electrode formed thereon, which may be used in the electro-optic mirror element shown in Figure 6;

Figure 8B is a top plan view of the rear substrate shown in Figure 8A, and additionally having a seal formed thereon, which may be used in the electro-optic mirror element shown in Figure 6;

Figure 8C is an exploded view showing front and rear substrates with electrodes formed thereon, which may be used in the electro-optic mirror element of the present invention;

Figure 8D is a top plan view of the rear substrate shown in Figure 8A, additionally having a seal formed thereon;

Figure 9 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an electro-optic mirror element incorporating a form of a third embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 10 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an electro-optic mirror element comprising a form of a fourth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an electro-optic mirror element in the form of a fifth embodiment of the present invention;

12 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an electro-optical mirror element in the form of a sixth embodiment of the present invention;

13 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an electro-optic mirror element in the form of a seventh embodiment of the present invention;

14 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an electro-optical mirror element in the form of an eighth embodiment of the present invention;

15 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an electro-optical mirror element in the form of a ninth embodiment of the present invention;

16 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an electro-optic mirror element in the form of a tenth embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 17 A is the magnified cross-sectional view of the electro-optical mirror element comprising the form of the eleventh embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 17B is the enlarged cross-sectional view of the electro-optic mirror element comprising the form of the twelfth embodiment of the present invention;

18 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an electro-optic mirror element in the form of a thirteenth embodiment of the present invention;

19 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an electro-optical mirror element in the form of a fourteenth embodiment of the present invention;

20 is a graph showing the relationship between frame force and deflection for various materials that can be used to manufacture a frame according to a fourteenth embodiment of the present invention;

21A is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an electro-optical mirror element comprising a form of a fifteenth embodiment of the present invention;

21 B is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an electro-optic mirror element comprising a form of a sixteenth embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 21 C is a top plan view of a rear substrate with electrodes formed thereon, which can be used for the electro-optic mirror element shown in Figure 21 B;

21D is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an electro-optical mirror element including an edge seal according to a seventeenth embodiment of the present invention;

21E is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an electro-optic mirror element including an edge seal according to an eighteenth embodiment of the present invention;

22 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an electro-optic mirror element in the form of a nineteenth embodiment of the present invention;

23 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an electro-optical mirror element in the form of a twentieth embodiment of the present invention;

24 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an electro-optic mirror element including an edge seal according to a twenty-first embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 25 is a top plan view of an electro-optic mirror element showing the preparation of edge seals used in various embodiments of the invention;

26 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an electro-optic mirror element comprising an edge seal according to a twenty-second embodiment of the present invention;

27 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an electro-optic mirror element including an edge seal according to a twenty-third embodiment of the present invention;

28 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an electro-optic mirror element comprising an edge seal according to a twenty-fourth embodiment of the present invention;

29A is a first enlarged cross-sectional view of an electro-optic mirror element including an edge seal according to a twenty-fifth embodiment of the present invention;

29B is a second enlarged cross-sectional view of an electro-optic mirror element including an edge seal according to a twenty-fifth embodiment of the present invention;

30 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an electro-optic mirror element including an edge seal according to a twenty-sixth embodiment of the present invention;

31 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an electro-optic mirror element including an edge seal according to a twenty-seventh embodiment of the present invention;

32 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an electro-optic mirror element comprising an edge seal according to a twenty-eighth embodiment of the present invention; and

33 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an electro-optic mirror element including an edge seal according to a twenty-ninth embodiment of the present invention;

Figures 34-42 are magnified fragmentary sectional views of the edges of eleven additional mirror structures, each of which has a frame that covers the edges of the electro-optic mirror elements from an aesthetic point of view, in Figures 34-35A, 36 , the bezel is bonded to the edge of the bracket of the electro-optical mirror element, and in Figures 37-42, is mechanically interlockingly fitted to the edge of the bracket;

Figures 43-46 are magnified fragmentary cross-sectional views of the edges of six additional mirror structures, each having a bezel, from the front that covers the edges of the electro-optic mirror elements from an aesthetic point of view, in Figures 43-44 , the frame also covers one side of the edge, and in Figures 45-46, the frame only partially covers one side of the edge;

Figures 47-49 are sectional views of an enlarged fragment of the edge of three additional mirror structures, each having an edge of an electro-optical mirror element coated with a strip of material, Figure 47 showing a complete cross-section from the front surface The strip that side extends, Fig. 48 represents the strip that partly extends on one side from front surface, Fig. 49 represents the strip that is limited on the second surface of electro-optic mirror element;

Figures 50-51 are cross-sectional views of an enlarged fragment of a bezel having a C-shaped cross-section covering the side edges of the electro-optic mirror element and wrapping around the first and fourth surfaces of the electro-optic mirror element, however, it Also comprising elastic flexible fins extending laterally away from the electro-optic mirror element, extending into frictional contact with the mirror frame;

Figure 52 shows a plan view of the carrier with integral inner brackets;

Figure 53 shows a side view of the carrier plate with the integral inner bracket of Figure 52;

Figure 54 represents the front view of interior rearview mirror assembly;

Figure 55 shows a cross-sectional view of the interior rearview mirror assembly;

Figure 56 shows an exploded view of the interior rearview mirror assembly;

Figure 57 shows an exploded view of the exterior rearview mirror assembly;

Figure 58 represents a controlled vehicle;

Figure 59A shows an exploded view of an exterior rearview mirror;

Figure 59B shows an assembly comprising an electro-optical element;

Figure 60 shows an interior rearview mirror assembly incorporating electro-optic elements;

61A-C respectively represent a first surface plan view, a fourth surface plan view and a cross-sectional view of an electro-optic element;

Figure 62 shows an enlarged view of Figure 61C;

63A-H represent graphs of color-related characteristics for various electro-optic element compositions;

64A-I illustrate various techniques for establishing electrical connections to the second and third surface conduction electrodes;

65A-N illustrate various conductive clips for establishing electrical connections to second and third surface conduction electrodes; and

66A-C show cross-sectional views of two bracket assemblies for use with electro-optic elements in rearview mirror assemblies;

Figure 67 is a schematic side cross-sectional view of an exterior rear view mirror assembly having a shock resistant element.

Detailed ways

Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numerals will be used for the same or like parts throughout the drawings. In the drawings, the represented structural elements are not drawn to scale, and some parts are exaggerated relative to other parts for emphasis and ease of understanding.

As stated above, the electro-optic mirror assembly offers the advantage of reducing the width of the front lip of the bezel, the width of the reduced front lip is preferably about 4 mm or less, more preferably the width is less than about 3.6 mm , while still extending across the entire width of the seal, and preferably extending beyond about 0.5 mm of the innermost edge of the seal, sufficient to obscure the seal from view. According to certain aspects of the invention, the bezel may even be eliminated due to the inventive technique additionally used to block the view of the seal through the first transparent element. According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided an inventive bezel manufactured from a material which has not previously been used for the manufacture of bezels. If an elastic frame material with a Shore A hardness of less than 60 is used for the exterior mirror and an elastic frame material with a Shore A hardness of less than 50 is used for the interior mirror, a flat frame profile design may be used, It has sharp corners which meet the requirements of European standards for the edges of moving vehicles. If the frame material used for exterior mirrors has a hardness greater than 60 Shore A and for interior mirrors has a hardness of less than 50 Shore A, at all corners and/or edges, A radius greater than 2.5mm must be maintained. Thus, when the frame is made of elastic material, there is greater flexibility in design. In at least one embodiment, there is provided a bezel fabricated from a material having a Shore A hardness of less than 60; in a related embodiment, the material has a Shore A hardness of less than 50. In at least one embodiment, a bezel is provided having corners and edges with a radius greater than 2.5 mm.

One of the common creative techniques for most of the embodiments described below is to reduce or eliminate the positional deviation of the transparent element of the electro-optical element, so that the width of the frame can be reduced accordingly. Thus, the various embodiments described below accomplish this task through novel methods of altering the electrical coupling to electrodes on electro-optical devices. After an overview of the possible common structural elements of each of the embodiments, each embodiment is described in detail below.

Figure 2 is a front view schematically illustrating the interior mirror assembly 110 and two exterior rearview mirror assemblies 111a and 111b for the driver's side and passenger side respectively, all of which are suitable for mounting to a motor vehicle in a conventional manner , wherein each mirror faces the rear of the vehicle and can be seen by the driver of the vehicle, providing a view to the rear. The inner mirror assembly 110 and the exterior rearview mirror assemblies 111a and 111b may include Canadian Patent No. 1,300,945 mentioned above, U.S. Patent No. 5,204,778, U.S. Patent No. 5,451,822, U.S. Patent No. 6,402,328, Or photosensitive electronic circuits of the type illustrated and described in U.S Patnt No. 6,386,713, and other circuits capable of sensing glare and ambient light and providing drive voltages to electro-optic elements, the descriptions of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

Mirror assemblies 110, 111a and 111b are substantially identical in that like numerals denote like parts of the interior and exterior mirrors. These components may differ slightly in construction, however, like numbered components function in substantially the same manner and achieve substantially the same results. For example, the shape of the front glass element of the interior mirror 110 is generally longer and narrower than that of the exterior mirrors 111a and 111b. There are also some different performance criteria for the interior mirror 110 compared to the exterior mirrors 111a and 111b. For example, when fully cleaned, the interior mirror 110 should generally have a reflectance value of about 70% to about 85% or higher, while the exterior mirror typically has a reflectance value of about 50% to 65%. Also, in the United States (as supplied by automakers), the passenger side mirror 111b typically has a spherically curved or convex shape, while the driver's side mirror 111a and the interior mirror must currently be flat. In Europe, the driver's side mirror 111a is generally flat or aspheric, while the passenger's side mirror 111b has a convex shape. In Japan, both exterior mirrors have a convex shape. Although the focus of the present invention is generally on the exterior mirrors, the following description is also generally applicable to all mirror assemblies of the present invention, including interior mirror assemblies. Furthermore, certain aspects of the present invention may be implemented in electro-optic components for other applications, such as architectural windows, or similar applications, or even in other forms of electro-optic devices.

3A shows a cross-sectional view of an exterior mirror assembly 111 made in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present invention, which includes a substantially transparent front element 112 having a front surface 112a and a rear surface 112b, and a front surface 114a and a rear surface. Rear element 114 of 114b. In order to describe this structure more clearly, the following names will be used below. The front surface 112a of the front glass element is referred to as a first surface, and the rear surface 112b of the front glass element is referred to as a second surface. The front surface 114a of the rear glass element is referred to as the third surface, and the back surface 114b of the rear glass element is referred to as the fourth surface. Chamber 125 is defined by substantially transparent conductor electrode 128 (disposed on second surface 112b ), electrode 120 (deposited on third surface 114a ), and circular inner wall 132 of sealing member 116 . An electrochromic medium 126 is housed within chamber 125 . The edges of elements 112 and 114 preferably have "zero offset," where "zero offset" means that they are on average less than about 1 mm from perfect alignment, or, more preferably, within about 0.5 mm of perfect alignment . The zero offset may extend completely around elements 112 and 114, or may extend along some portions thereof, for example, along edge portions having bus connectors or conductors for the electrochromic material circuitry. This small or zero offset results in further reduction of the edge borders (see, e.g., items 144 (FIG. 18), 144a (FIG. 19), 182 (FIG. 21B), 182b (FIG. 21E), 166 (FIG. 22), Or 344-344P (Fig. 34-51)) overall width and dimensions.

As widely used and described herein, an electrode or layer "mounted" on the surface of a component refers to an electrode or layer placed directly on the surface of the component, or placed on another coating, An electrode or layer on a layer or layers, the further coating, layer or layers are provided directly on the surface of the component.

The front transparent member 112 may be any material that is substantially transparent and has sufficient strength to withstand the varying temperatures, pressures, etc. found in a typical automotive environment , to be able to operate. Front element 112 may be constructed of any type of glass, including borosilicate glass, soda lime glass, float glass, or any other material described below, e.g., transparent in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum polymers or plastics. The front element 112 is preferably a thin sheet of glass. Besides being not necessarily transparent in all applications, the rear element must satisfy the operating conditions set forth above and can therefore consist of polymers, metals, glass, ceramics, preferably glass sheets.

The electrodes 120 on the third surface 114a are sealably bonded to the second surface 112b in a spaced and parallel relationship to each other by means of a sealing member 116 disposed near the outer peripheries of both the second surface 112b and the third surface 114a. on the electrode 128. The sealing member 116 may be any material capable of adhesively bonding the coating on the second surface 112b to the coating on the third surface 114a so as to seal the periphery so that the electrochromic material 126 does not escape from the chamber 125 in the leak. As will be described below, the transparent conductive coating layer 128 and/or the layer of the electrode 120 may be removed at the upper portion where the sealing member is provided. In this case, the sealing member 116 should bond well to the glass.

The performance requirements for the peripheral sealing member 116 used in an electrochromic device are similar to those for peripheral sealing used in a liquid crystal device (LCD), which are well known in the art. The seal must have good adhesion to glass, metals, and metal oxides; must have low permeability to oxygen, moisture, vapors, and other harmful vapors and gases; must not interfere with the electrochromic Or the liquid crystal materials react with each other and can't poison them. The peripheral seal can be coated by methods commonly used in the LCD industry, for example, by screen printing or spreading. Due to its low processing temperature, thermoplastic, thermosetting or ultraviolet curing type organic sealing resins are preferred. Such organic resin sealing systems for LCDs are described in U.S. Patent Nos. 4,297,401, 4,418,102, 4,695,490, 5,596,023, and 5,596,024. Epoxy-based organic sealing resins are preferred because of their excellent adhesion to glass, low oxygen permeability and good solvent resistance. The epoxy resin can be UV cured, as described in U.S. Patent No. 4,297,401, or thermally cured, for example, using a compound of liquid epoxy resin with liquid polyamide resin or dicyandiamide, or, can Gather them together. Epoxy resins may contain fillers or thickeners to reduce their fluidity and shrinkage, such as fumed silica, silicon dioxide, mica, clay, calcium carbonate, alumina, etc., and/or pigments, Used to add color. By utilizing mixtures of monofunctional, bifunctional and multifunctional epoxy resins and curing agents, the concentration of crosslinks in the cured resin can be controlled. Additives such as silanes, titanates, or sulfur or phosphorus compounds can be used to improve the hydrolytic stability and adhesion of the seal, spacers such as glass or plastic beads or rods can be utilized to control the final seal thickness and Substrate spacing. Suitable epoxy resins for the peripheral seal member 116 include, but are not limited to: "EPONRESIN" 813, 825, 826, 828, 830, 825, 828, 830, available from Shell Chemical Co., Houston, Texas. 834, 862, 1001F, 1002F, 2012, DPS-155, 164, 1031, 1074, 58005, 58006, 58034, 58901, 871, 872, and DPL-862; "ARALITE" available from Ciba Geugy Hawthorne, New York "GY6010, GY6020, CY9579, GT7071, XU248, EPN1139, PY307, ECN1235, ECN1273, ECN1280, MT0163, MY720, MY0500, MY0510, and PT810; and "3E" available from Dow Chemical Co., Midland, Michigan 1 R. "3E 317, 361, 383, 661, 662, 667, 732, 736, "D.E.N." 354, 354LV, 431, 438, 439, and 444. Suitable epoxy resin curing agents include V-15, v-25 and V-40 polyamides from Sheu Chemical CO.; "AJICURE" PN-23, PN-34, PN-34, Ajinomoto Co., Tokyo, Japan; and VDH; "CUREZOL" AMZ, 2MZ, 2E4MZ, C11Z, C17Z, 2PZ, 2IZ, and 2P4MZ available from Shikoku Fine Chemicals, Tokyo, Japan; "ERISYS" DDA available from CVC Specialty Chemicals, Maple Shade, New Jersey or U-405, 24EMI, U-410 and U-415 accelerated DDA; and "AMICURE" PACM, 2049, 352, CG, CG325 and CG-1200 available from AirProducts, Allentown, Pennsylvania. Suitable fillers include fumed silica such as "CAB-O-SIL" L-90, LM-130, LM-5, PTG, M-5, MS- 7. MS-55, TS-720, HS-5, and EH-5; "AEROSIL" R972, R974, R805, R812S, R202, US204, and US206 available from Degussa, Akron, Ohio. Suitable clay fillers include BUCA, CATALPO, ASP NC, SATINONE 5, SATINONE SP-33, TRANSLINK 37, TRANSLINK 77, TRANSLINK 445, and 555 commercially available from Engelhard Corporation, Edison, New Jersey. Suitable silica fillers are SILCRON G-130, G-300, G-100-T and G-100 commercially available from SCMChemicals, Baltimore, Maryland. Suitable silane coupling agents for improving the hydrolytic stability of the seal are Z-6020, Z-6030, Z-6032, Z-6040, Z-6075 and Z-6075 available from Dow Chemical Co., Midland, Michigan. -6076. Suitable precision micro-glass beads are commercially available in mounting size assortments from Duke Scientific, Palo Alto, California. Seals may be manufactured according to the techniques of U.S. Patent Nos. 5,790,29 and 6,157,480, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

Another suitable method of maintaining precise spacing between the glass sheets is to add plastic fibers to the sealing material. If these fibers are cut from monofilaments at an aspect ratio (length to diameter) of about 2.5 to 3 to 1, it is particularly effective at keeping the two substrates from slipping during seal curing. The glass spheres act as ball bearings that move between the substrates during the seal curing process. Fibers made from high-temperature polyester (PEN) or polyetherimide (Ultem) can help prevent substrate movement when added to the encapsulant at around 1% by weight because the fibers are randomly oriented and some The fibers will be positioned so that they will not roll. These plastic spacers have the additional advantage that they more closely match the thermal expansion of the cured organic sealing material so that there will be less sealing stress during thermal cycling.

A layer of substantially transparent conductive material 128 is deposited onto second surface 112b, functioning as an electrode. The substantially transparent conductive material 128 may be any material that bonds well to the front element 112, does not attack any material in the electrochromic device, and is resistant to Anti-freezing salt erosion in the atmosphere or on the road, with minimal diffuse or specular reflectance, high light transmission, near neutral color, and good electrical conductivity. The transparent conductive material 128 can be as described in "Tranparent Conductive Multilayer-System for FPD Application" by J.Stollenwerk, B.Ocker, K.H.Kretschmer of LEYBOLD AG, Alzenau, Germany Fluorine-doped tin oxide, doped zinc oxide, indium zinc oxide (Zn3In2O6), indium tin oxide (ITO), ITO/metal/ITO (IMI), materials described in U.S. Patent No. 5,202,787 mentioned above , for example, TEC20 or TEC15 available from Libbey Owens-Ford Co. of Toedo, Ohio, or other transparent conductors. In general, the conductivity of transparent conductive material 128 will depend on its thickness and composition. Compared with other materials, IMI generally has excellent electrical conductivity. However, it is known that IMIs suffer from faster environmental degradation and suffer from delamination. In the IMI structure, the thickness of the various layers can vary, but, generally, the thickness of the first ITO layer ranges from about 10 Å to about 200 Å, the thickness of the metal layer ranges from about 10 Å to about 200 Å, and the second The thickness of the ITO layer is from about 10 Å to about 200 Å. If desired, an optional layer or layers of color suppressing material (not shown) may be deposited between transparent conductive material 128 and second surface 112b for suppressing any undesired portions of the electrochromic spectrum. reflection.

A reflector/electrode 120 combination is preferably provided on the third surface 114a. The reflector/electrode combination 120 includes at least one layer of reflective material that acts as the reflective layer of the mirror and also forms an integral electrode that contacts any of the components of the electrochromic medium in a chemically and electrochemically stable relationship. The reflector/electrode may be primarily reflective, or as is known U.S. Patent No. 6,700,692 to William L. Tonar et al., issued March 2, 2004, entitled "ELECTROCHROMIC RERVIEW MIRRORASSMBLY INCORPORATING A DISPLAY/SIGNAL LIGHT" described, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, may also be partially transmissive/partially reflective (or "transflective"). As an alternative, the electrochromic device may comprise a transparent conductive material on the third surface acting as an electrode, and a reflector on the fourth surface. However, a combination of "reflector" and "electrode" and placing both on the third surface is preferred as this makes the fabrication of the device less complex and allows the device to operate with higher performance. The combined reflector/electrode 120 on the third surface is generally more conductive than conventional transparent electrodes used on the third surface. Alternatively, the composition of the transparent conductive electrode on the second surface can be changed to a composition with lower conductivity (less expensive and easier to produce and manufacture), but remains similar to what can be obtained with a fourth surface reflector device faster coloring speed while substantially reducing the overall cost and time required to produce electrochromic devices. However, if and when performance is paramount for a particular design, a moderately high conductivity transparent electrode such as ITO, IMI, etc. can be used on the second surface. High conductivity (ie, less than 250 Ω/□ (ohms per square centimeter), preferably less than 15 Ω/□, most preferably between 15 Ω/□ and about 0.01 Ω/□) reflector/electrode on the third surface The combination with a high conductivity substantially transparent electrode on the second surface will not only result in an electrochromic device with a more even overall coloration, but can also increase the coloration speed. Furthermore, in the fourth surface mirror assembly, there are two substantially transparent electrodes with relatively low conductivity, and in the third surface mirror used previously, there are substantially transparent electrodes and a electrode with low conductivity. Conductive reflectors/electrodes, and, likewise, a long incoming and outgoing current bus on the front and rear elements are required to ensure proper tinting speed and tinting uniformity. The third surface electrode of at least some embodiments of the present invention is metallic and can have high electrical conductivity, thus, even for a small or irregular contact area, a very uniform voltage or voltage across the conductive surface. potential distribution. Thus, the present invention provides greater design flexibility by allowing the electrical contacts for the electrodes of the third surface to be very small (if required), yet still maintain adequate coloration speed and uniformity of coloration.

Ideally, thin glass is included in the construction of the exterior rearview mirror in order to reduce the overall weight of the mirror so that the mechanism for manipulating the orientation of the mirror is not overly heavy. Reducing weight also improves the dynamic stability of the mirror assembly when it is subjected to vibrations. Alternatively, reducing the weight of the mirror element may allow more electronic circuitry to be placed within the mirror frame without increasing the weight of the mirror frame. Thin glass tends to warp or crack, especially when exposed to extremely harsh environments. This problem was significantly ameliorated by the use of an improved electrochromic device incorporating two thin glass elements with an improved gel material. Such an improved device is disclosed in the well-known ELECTROCHROMIC MIRROR WITH TWO GLASS ELEMENT S AND A GELLED ELECTROCHROMIC MEDIUM, filed April 2, 1997. In the U.S. Patent No.5,940,201 of the electrochromic mirror). The entire content of this patent is hereby incorporated by reference. The addition of a combined reflector/electrode on the third surface of the device further helps to remove any residual double image caused by the two glass elements being out of parallel. Thus, preferably, chamber 125 contains a freestanding gel that interacts cooperatively with thin glass elements 112 and 114 to create a mirror that functions as one thick single piece, Rather than just using a sealing member to hold the two thin glasses together. In a free-standing gel, which includes a solution and a cross-linked polymer matrix, the solution is dispersed in the polymer matrix and continues to function as a solution. Likewise, at least one solution-phase electrochromic material is within the solvent of the solution and thus, as part of the solution, is dispersed in the polymer matrix (commonly referred to as a "gelled electrochromic medium"126 ). This allows the mirror to be made from thinner glass in order to reduce the overall weight of the mirror, yet maintain sufficient structural integrity so that the mirror will withstand the extremely harsh environments typically found in automobiles condition. This will also help maintain uniform spacing between the thin glass elements, which improves the uniformity of the mirror's appearance (eg tinting). This structural unity results from combining the free-standing gel, first glass element 112, and second glass element 114 in such a way that they no longer move independently, but act as a thick, single member. wherein the free-standing gel, first glass element 112, and second glass element 114 each have sufficient strength properties to function effectively in an electrochromic mirror. Such stability includes, but is not limited to: resistance to flexing, twisting, bending, and cracking, and improved image quality in reflected images, e.g., less distortion, double images, uniformity of color, and Independent vibration of each glass element. But while it is important to combine the front and rear glass elements, it is equally (if not more) important to ensure that the electrochromic mirrors operate properly. The freestanding gel must be bonded to the electrode layer (including the reflector/electrode if the mirror has a third surface) on the wall of such a device, but must not interact with the electrode layer and the electroluminescent electrode disposed in the chamber 116. The electron transfer between the color-changing materials is disturbed. Furthermore, the gel must not shrink, crack, or leak over time, so that the gel itself results in low image quality. Ensuring that the freestanding gels bond to the electrode layers well enough to bond the front and rear glass elements and do not deteriorate over time, allowing the electrochromic reaction to occur despite their being in solution, This is an important aspect of the present invention. When using a first surface reflector around the periphery of the electro-optical mirror, and where the main reflector is located on one of the other surfaces, the distance between the two reflective surfaces results in a shadow area when the mirror is viewed from an angle . This shadow increases in size for thicker substrates and decreases in size for thinner substrates. The shadow produces a region of discontinuous reflection, which is undesirable when viewing an object in a mirror. In order to minimize this shadowing, it is preferred to use a substrate with a thickness of less than 2.0mm first. More preferably, a first substrate of about 1.8 mm or smaller is used, and more preferably, a first substrate of about 1.1 mm or smaller is utilized.

To do its job properly, the mirror must correctly represent the reflected image, which cannot be done when the glass element (on which the reflector is mounted) tends to bend or bend while the driver is looking at the reflected image. Buckling or bending occurs primarily due to pressure points exerted by the mirror's mounting and adjustment mechanisms, as well as differences in the coefficients of thermal expansion of the various components used to house the exterior mirror elements. These components include a carrier plate, bezel and frame for mounting the mirror element to the mechanism (bonded to the mirror by adhesive) to operate or adjust the position of the mirror. Many mirrors also have an encapsulation material that acts as a secondary seal. Each of these components, materials and adhesives has a different coefficient of thermal expansion, and when heated and cooled, they will expand and contract to different degrees and will exert stress on the glass elements 112 and 114 . In very large mirrors, hydrostatic pressure becomes a concern, causing double image problems as the front and rear glass elements bow outward at the bottom of the mirror and inward at the top. By combining the front and rear glass elements, the thin glass/freestanding gel/thin glass combination acts like a thick single piece (still allowing the electrochromic mirror to behave properly), thereby reducing or eliminating the Problems with buckling, bowing, warping, double images, and degradation and uneven coloring of electrochromic media.

The synergistic interaction between the glass element of the present invention and the freestanding gel also improves the safety profile of electrochromic static 110 with thin glass elements. In addition to being softer, thin glass is more prone to cracking than thick glass, by combining freestanding gels with thin glass, the overall strength is improved (as discussed above) and further limits its crushing and dispersion, and Easy to clean in case of device breakage.

An improved cross-linked polymer matrix used in at least one embodiment of the present invention is disclosed in the well-known U.S. Patent No. 5,928,572 issued March 15, 1996 entitled "ELECTROCHROMIC LAYER AND DEVICES COMPRISINGSAME" middle. The entire contents of this patent are hereby incorporated by reference.

Typically, electrochromic mirrors are manufactured with glass elements having a thickness of about 2.3 mm. A preferred thin glass element according to at least one embodiment of the present invention has a thickness of about 1.1 mm, which results in a weight saving of the substrate of more than 50%. This reduced weight. This ensures that the mechanism for manipulating the orientation of the mirror, commonly referred to as the carrier plate, is not overloaded and further provides a significant improvement in the vibration stability of the mirror.

Thus, in at least one embodiment, the front transparent element 112 is preferably a glass sheet having a thickness in the range of 0.5 mm to about 1.8 mm, preferably the thickness ranges from 0.5 mm to 1.6 mm, More preferably, from about 0.5 mm to 1.5 mm, even more preferably, from about 0.8 mm to about 1.2 mm, with a presently most preferred thickness of 1.1 mm. Rear element 114 is preferably a glass sheet having a thickness in the same range as element 112 .

When both glass elements are made relatively thin, the vibration performance of the inner or outer mirror is improved - although the effect is more pronounced for the inner mirror. These vibrations, caused by engine operation and/or vehicle motion, affect the rearview mirror so that the mirror assembly acts as a weight on the end of the vibrating outrigger beam. Such vibrating mirrors lead to blurring of the reflected image, which is relevant for safety and at the same time an unpleasant phenomenon for the driver. The frequency at which the mirror vibrates increases as the weight applied to the end of the cantilever (ie, the mirror element mounted on the carrier plate on the exterior mirror or the mirror mount on the interior mirror) decreases. If the frequency of the mirror vibration is increased to about 60 Hz, the blurring of the reflected image will not visually cause the driver's displeasure. Furthermore, as the vibration frequency of the mirror increases, although the mirror vibrates, the distance it moves is significantly reduced. Thus, by reducing the weight of the mirror elements, the entire mirror becomes more stable against vibrations and improves the driver's ability to see what is behind the vehicle. For example, an endoscope with two glass elements with a thickness of 1.1 mm has a first mode of vibration with a horizontal frequency of about 55 Hz, whereas a mirror with two glass elements of 2.3 mm has a horizontal frequency of about 45 Hz the first vibration mode of . This 10 Hz difference produces a noticeable improvement in how the driver sees a reflected image.

A resistive heater (not shown) may be provided on the fourth glass surface 114b for heating the mirror to clear ice, snow, fog or mist on the mirror. The resistive heater can optionally be an ITO layer, fluorine doped tin oxide, or other heater layers or structures known in the art for the first and/or fourth surfaces.

Referring again to FIG. 2 , a rearview mirror embodying aspects of the present invention may include a frame or bezel 144 that extends around the entire perimeter of each individual assembly 110 , 111a and/or 111b . Bezel 144 conceals and protects the bus connectors (if present) and seals. Various bezel designs are known in the art, such as those taught and claimed in U.S. Patent No. 5,448,397 mentioned above.

Circuits such as those taught in Canadian Patent No. 1,300,945 and U.S. Patent Nos. 5,204,778, 5,434,407, 5,451,822, 6,402,32, and 6,386,713 mentioned above are connected to electrode 120 and transparent electrode 128 and are capable of controlling A potential applied across 120 and transparent electrode 128 , thus electrochromic medium 126 will darken, thereby attenuating light passing through the medium by varying amounts, thereby changing the reflectivity of the mirror containing the electrochromic medium 126 . The circuitry used to control the reflectivity of the electrochromic mirror preferably includes an ambient light sensor (not shown) and a glare sensor 161, which may be positioned behind the mirror glass and viewed through a portion from which the reflective material has been completely or partially removed. Alternatively, the glare sensor can also be placed outside the reflective surface, for example, within the bezel 144, or as described below, the sensor can be placed on a uniformly deposited transflective (partially transmissive, partially reflective) on top of the coating. Additionally, as described below, one or more regions of the electrode and reflector, such as 146, may be completely or partially removed to allow a vacuum fluorescent display, such as a compass, clock, or other indicium, to be displayed to the vehicle driver, Alternatively, as will also be described below, the light emitting display assembly may be exhibited by a uniformly deposited transflective coating. The invention can also be applied to mirrors using only one video chip light sensor for measuring both glare and ambient light, which sensor is further able to determine the direction of glare. An automatic mirror for the interior of a vehicle produced according to this invention can also control one or two exterior mirrors as slaves in an automatic mirror system in which the individual mirror elements are independently controllable.

Features of at least one embodiment of the invention are described below with reference to FIGS. 3A and 4A . Figure 4A shows a top view of a second transparent element 114 with electrodes 120 deposited thereon, which may be used with the structure shown in Figure 3A. As shown in FIG. 4A, the electrode 120 is divided into two distinct electrode regions—a first portion 120a and a second portion 120b—that are electrically insulated by a region 120c free of electrode material or any other conductive material. Physically separate. Electrode material should not be present in the region 120c, so that there is no opportunity for current to flow directly from the first region 120a to the second region 120b. There are many ways to remove the electrode material 120 from the region 120c, for example, chemical etching, laser ablation, physical removal by scraping, and the like. Deposition onto region 120c can also be avoided by using a mask during deposition of the electrodes.

As shown in FIG. 3A, second region 120b of electrode 120 is in electrical contact with electrochromic medium 126 at third surface 114a of the electrochromic device, while first portion 120a is in electrical contact with electrochromic medium 126 by region 120c, seal 116, or both. The color changing medium 126 is isolated. However, the first region 120a is bonded to the transparent electrode 128 on the second surface 112b of the electrochromic device by means of an electrical conductor extending around part or most of the periphery of the seal. Thus, between portions of electrode layers 120 and 128, a short circuit is effectively provided. This short causes the bus conductive clips normally mounted on the outer periphery of the first transparent element 112 to be mounted to the second element 114 instead. More specifically, the electrical connection between the power source and the transparent electrode 128 on the second surface can be made by connecting busbars (or conductive clips 119 a ) to the first portion 120 a of the electrode layer 120 . The electrical connection to the second part 120b may be accomplished by means of a conductive clip 119b mounted to an extension 120d of the part 120b, wherein the extension 120d extends to the outer periphery of the element 114 . An advantage of this configuration is that it allows connection to the transparent conductive material 128 almost all the way around the perimeter, thereby improving the speed of darkening and clearing of the electrochromic medium 126 . As will be further described below for other embodiments, the conductive clips 119a and 119b may be replaced with other forms of electrical connectors.

FIG. 3A shows two different forms of electrical conductors for bonding the first portion 120 a of the electrode 120 to a portion 128 . As represented on the left side of the device, conductive particles 116b may be distributed through portions of encapsulation material 116 such that a portion of encapsulation 116 is conductive. Preferably, the seal 116 is not conductive across its entire width, but electrically isolates the conductive portion of the seal from the electrochromic medium 126 and does not provide a short circuit between the electrode 128 and the second portion 120b of the electrode 120 . In this way, the driving potential from the power source passes through the first portion 120 a of the electrode 120 and the conductive particles 116 b in the sealing member 116 before reaching the transparent conductor 128 .

In this structure, the sealing member 116 is made of a typical sealing material, such as epoxy resin 116a, which contains conductive particles 116b. The conductive particles can be very small, such as plastic coated with gold, silver, copper, etc., with a diameter in the range of about 5 microns to about 80 microns, in which case there must be a sufficient number of particles to ensure that the electrodes 120 Sufficient electrical conductivity between the first portion 120a and the transparent electrode 128. Alternatively, the conductive particles can be large enough to act as spacers, eg, glass or plastic beads coated with gold, silver, copper, or the like. In turn, the conductive particles may also be in the form of flakes or other suitable shapes, or a combination of different shapes.

Various methods can be used to ensure that no conductive particles enter the region 120b, for example, disposing non-conductive materials in the region 120c of the electrode 120, which is completely free of conductive materials. A dual dispenser may be used to deposit the seal 116 with the conductive particles 116b onto the first region 120a while depositing the non-conductive material into the electrode region 120c. A general way to ensure that no conductive material reaches the electrode area 120c is to ensure that the seal 116 has the proper flow characteristics so that during assembly, when the sealant is squeezed out, the conductive portion 116b tends to stay and only the non-conductive portion 116 The conductive portion flows into region 112b. Another method is to sprinkle a non-conductive material between the substrates, cure the sprinkled non-conductive material alone or partially, and then inject conductive epoxy resin between the two substrates.

In another embodiment shown on the right side of the device of Figure 3A, a large electrical conductor 116b is provided which also acts as a spacer. Such large electrical conductors may be single wires, braided wires, conductive tape, or simply large particles or beads which are themselves conductive or coated with a conductive material.

The seal 116 need not contain conductive particles or other electrical conductors 116b, but instead a conductive member or material 116c is placed on or within the outer edge of the seal 116 so as to connect the transparent conductive material 128 to the first portion of the electrode 120. 120a are interconnected. Such conductive members 116c may be used in conjunction with electrical conductors within the seal, or between elements 112 and 114 .

Turning now to FIG. 3B , this figure shows a cross-sectional view of electro-optic mirror element 111 including a light source 130 mounted on circuit board 131 in such a manner that light emitted by light source 130 travels through element 111 to the viewer. In a preferred embodiment, the mirror element 111 comprises a substantially transparent first substrate 112 spaced apart from a second substrate 114 with a sealing member 116 therebetween. The substantially transparent first substrate has a first surface 112a and a second surface 112b. Preferably, the second surface comprises a highly conductive substantially transparent layer 128a, or layers 128a and 128b, having a surface resistance thereon of from about 1Ω/□ to about 10Ω/□, preferably from about 2Ω/□ to about Between 6Ω/□, more preferably about 3Ω/□. In embodiments where fast darkening rates and/or short contacts are desired, a highly conductive second surface substantially transparent conductive layer is desirable. Currently, wavelength ITO or full-wavelength SnO(F) with a surface resistance of 10 to 15Ω/□ is typically used on the second surface of the electro-optical mirror. In order to increase the darkening speed of the device and/or provide uniform electro-optic coloration, while at the same time reducing the length of the electrical contacts to the corresponding conductive layer, it is desirable to have a relatively low sheet resistance. This low sheet resistance can be achieved by providing thicker layers of conventional materials such as ITO, tin oxide, zinc oxide, or combinations thereof. If the coating has an optical thickness of two wavelengths or more, it is beneficial in terms of color intensity and color change to help reduce the end reflectivity of the associated mirror element, when compared to a non-thicker, about two wavelength When compared to a thinner coating of the color suppressing layer above or above, it offers advantages with respect to manufacturing variations. By combining layers of conductive metal oxides with metals or alloys, suitable low sheet resistance substantially transparent electrical conductors can be fabricated. These stacks may be ITO/silver/ITO, or ITO/silver alloy/ITO, or may be stacks used in the IG industry as low E claddings, eg ZnO/Ag/Zno/Ag/ZnO. Unlike the low E coatings used for windows, to be useful in electrochromic devices, the conductive interlayer should be continuous and the conductivity must reach the surface. In order to improve the conductivity of the intermediate layer, dopants such as aluminum or gallium can be added. These dopants increase the conductivity of the ZnO layer. To prevent oxidation of the metal or alloy, protective metals such as titanium or zinc can be applied during deposition. The element shown in FIG. 3B includes a four-layer stack coating 120b , 120c , 120d , 120e applied to the third surface 114a of the second substrate 114 . On the fourth surface 114b is coated an opaque material 115 with a notch for the light source 130 to project. Many variations of coatings and reflective, transflective and substantially transparent layers are disclosed in the US patents and US patent applications incorporated herein by reference. It should be understood that a coating of lower surface resistance may be provided in areas close to the relevant electrical contacts or around the periphery, allowing for an increase in surface resistance with increasing distance from the electrical contacts; especially when point contacts are employed, This is very applicable.

Turning now to FIG. 3C, there is shown a cross-sectional view of a mirror element comprising a substantially transparent first substrate 112 spaced apart from a second substrate 114 with a sealing member 116 therebetween. A substantially transparent conductive layer is coated on the second surface 112b and a reflective electrode layer is coated on the third surface 114a. Preferably, a substantially opaque material 176 is applied to the first surface 112a to prevent light from impinging on the sealing member 116 . Contacts 179, 181 are provided to facilitate electrical connection to the third and second surface conductive layers, respectively. In a preferred embodiment, the substantially opaque material has a reflectivity substantially equal to the reflectivity of the third surface reflective electrode layer. In another embodiment, the substantially opaque material transmits all wavelengths of light except those in the ultraviolet and/or infrared spectrum, and the sealing material is substantially transparent. A substantially opaque material may also be provided on the second surface 112b instead of the first surface 112a, or it may also be implemented on the first substrate. Applying a reflective material such as chromium, molybdenum, stainless steel, nickel or titanium to the periphery of the mirror on the first or second surface of the front substrate with appropriate edge treatment can produce no bezel or minimal The edge lip and/or bezel of the EC mirror assembly. Reflective materials need to exhibit good adhesion to glass or coatings of glass, and if used on surfaces, good abrasion resistance and good environmental stability (water, salt, etc.). It is also necessary to closely match the ring to the color and reflectivity of the EC endoscope system. If the EC mirror inherently has a reflectivity of roughly between 50% and 70%, the front surface chrome peripheral coating can be a good match. If the EC mirror system has a reflectivity greater than 70%, the reflection of the peripheral ring needs to be increased. By making the ring from a highly reflective hard metal (hardness 5 mhos or above), such as a metal from the platinum metal group including rhodium, platinum and ruthenium, it is possible without compromising wear resistance and chemical durability get to this point. Since these metals do not adhere well to glass or glass-like metal oxides, it is preferable to attach these highly reflective metals to a layer such as chrome that adheres well to glass. Thus, combinations coated with a highly reflective material such as rhodium, ruthenium, or platinum on a base layer such as chromium, molybdenum, or nickel will adhere well to glass-like materials with good abrasion resistance and good environmental durability. If a dark or black ring with low reflectivity is desired, coatings of materials such as "black chrome" or CrCu, Mo, and Fe or combinations thereof may be used. Rings of special colors can be made in a similar manner.

Figures 4B and 4C represent plan views of mirror elements with substantially zero positional misalignment between the front substrate 112 and the rear substrate 114, except in the small protrusion/recess areas 134, 135. Wherein, at said protrusion/recess areas 134, 135 contacts are made to the corresponding second and third surface conductive layers (not shown). The first and second substrates are secured to each other in spaced relation to each other via a sealing member 116 . As described with reference to Figure 3C, a substantially opaque material 176 is provided. In a preferred embodiment, as described herein, a low sheet resistance stack is provided on the second and third surfaces so that relatively short electrical contacts are sufficient. In at least one preferred embodiment, the length of the contacts bonded to the second and third surfaces is less than approximately 50%, preferably less than approximately 25%, of the length of the associated mirror element. In at least one variant embodiment, a point contact is provided on the second surface conducting layer, or on the third surface conducting layer, or on both the second and third surface conducting layers. In at least one embodiment, the contact to the second conductive layer is approximately 60% to 75% of the total length of the two contacts combined. In at least one embodiment, any of these "short electrical contact" systems may be combined with the integral bezel brackets described with respect to FIGS. 52 and 53 . Optionally, a substantially transparent sealing member and/or a substantially opaque material may be provided, in combination with short electrical contacts, as described herein. U.S. Patent No. 5,923,457, the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference, discloses alternative configurations for mirror elements according to various embodiments of the present invention.

As described herein for FIGS. 3B , 3C, 4B, 4C and other embodiments, if a coating and/or reflective material is applied around the periphery of the mirror on the first or second surface to mask the seals and/or contacts area, the aesthetics of the ring and the ring's edges become very important. If the edge of the mirror is chipped, especially if the chipping extends to the perimeter of the first or second surface and a reflective metallic material like chrome is applied to the perimeter and/or edge and to the protective layer If so, the fragmentation becomes very noticeable and sticks out like a beacon, bouncing light in all directions. Similarly, if the perimeter and/or edge crumbles after the chrome coating is applied, the crack will stand out as a dark void on the smooth shiny surface. Therefore, in order to produce high-quality mirrors, it is very important to produce a very strong uniform and aesthetically pleasing edge. Chipping associated with imperfections is most problematic relative to embodiments with narrow bezels or no bezels. Such a durable edge may be formed after coating with the reflective material, but is preferably formed immediately after cutting the mirror substrate to shape. Edges can be edged, ground, or sandblasted with an abrasive material to create a durable edge on glass. Typically, the edges of the glass are shaped or beveled using very hard abrasive particles such as alumina, silicon carbide, or diamond. The size of the particles used affects the roughness of the finished glass edge. The larger the abrasive particles, the rougher the surface formed. Generally, 80 to 120 mesh abrasive particles form a very rough surface, 300 to 500 mesh particles form a smooth surface, and 600 mesh and above particles form a nearly polished surface. A slight edge treatment of only 0.005" from the front corner of the substrate is probably all that is required if a mirror backer is used that holds the mirror by a thin bezel extending from the back around the edge of the mirror to cover a small portion of the end face of the edge of the mirror. All to do. If utilizing a mirror back with a lip that wraps around the edge of the mirror rim but not the mirror face, a more significant front edge treatment may be required to remove the front substrate 0.010" to 0.075" of the corner. If using a mirror back that does not cover either of the mirror faces or edges, it may be necessary to cover the entire edge and first surface perimeter/edge. In at least one embodiment, The edges of the two substrates are provided with an opaque material, or a material whose refractive index matches that of the substrates, to obtain an aesthetically appealing perimeter.

Turning now to FIG. 4D, a mirror element is shown comprising a front substrate 112 larger than the rear substrate 114 such that contacts (not shown in FIG. 4D) for contacting the second and third surface conductive layers are formed at within the periphery of the front substrate so that the contacts are not visible when looking from the front substrate to the rear substrate. As described for the other embodiments, a sealing member 116 is provided, and optionally a substantially opaque material 176 is provided. It should be understood that alternative embodiments may be provided with a front substrate positioned in alignment with the rear substrate by placing all on one edge, with contacts to the second and third surface conductive layers formed on the have an extension on the edge of the front substrate. In addition to the "J" and "C" type electrical contact clips described and shown herein, it should be understood that, particularly for components with large front plates, a "Z" type electrical contact clip may be provided. The Z-shaped electrical contact clip has a portion secured at one end to the second surface of the front substrate where the front substrate extends beyond the rear substrate and the Z-shaped electrical contact clip then follows the edge of the rear substrate Ascending, the opposite end of the Z-shaped electrical contact clip then extends along the fourth surface. In at least one embodiment, a Z-shaped electrical contact clip is provided for contacting the second surface and a J or C-shaped electrical contact clip is used for contacting the third surface. For embodiments with larger, wide electrical contact clips bonded to the substrate, the coefficient of thermal expansion of the conductive clip and the substrate substantially match, for example, if the substrate is glass, Kovar (Kovar, Iron-nickel alloy), stainless steel or Mo/Cu/Mo laminate electrical contact clip.

Another embodiment of an improved interconnection technique is shown in FIG. 5 , wherein a first portion of the sealing member 116 is coated directly onto the third surface 114 a and cured prior to coating the electrodes 120 . After the electrode 120 is deposited onto the third surface 114a covering the first portion of the sealing member 116, a portion of the cured sealing member 116 is chipped away to a predetermined thickness (depending on the desired distance between the second surface 112b and the third surface 114a). The spacing of the cells between them varies) leaving 116i as shown. The chamber spacing ranges from about 20 microns to 1500 microns, preferably, it ranges from 90 microns to 750 microns. By curing the first portion of the sealing member and machining it to a predetermined thickness (116i), glass beads are not required to ensure constant cell spacing. Glass beads are useful to provide cell separation, but give pressure points where they contact electrode 120 and transparent conductor 128 . By removing the glass beads, these pressure points can be removed. During processing, the electrode 120 coated on the first portion of the sealing member 116 is removed, leaving an area free of the electrode 120 . A second portion of the sealing member 116ii is then deposited onto the machined area of the first portion of the sealing member 116i, or deposited onto a coating corresponding to the second surface 112b of 116i, after assembly in a conventional manner, The sealing member 116ii is cured. Finally, an outer conductive sealing member 117 is optionally deposited onto the peripheral portion of sealing member 116 , forming an electrical contact between the peripheral edge of electrode 120 and the layer of transparent conductive material 128 . An advantage of this configuration is that it allows a connection to the transparent conductive material 128 close to all the way around the circumference, thereby improving the speed at which the electrochromic medium 126 is darkened.

Another embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 6 . This embodiment differs from the previous two embodiments in that the electrical conductor connecting the first portion 120a of the electrode 120 to the portion of the transparent electrode is a wire 150 or ribbon which may be coated with a conductive material 152 to improve the counter electrode layer contact, and thereby ensure the stability of the contact. The conductive material 152 can be conductive pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA), conductive ink, or epoxy resin filled with conductive particles, sheets or fibers made of silver, gold, copper, nickel, or carbon. If the conductive material 152 is sufficiently conductive, the wires 150 would not be required. For uniformity of tinting, it is desirable to keep the electrical resistance measured along the long edges of the mirror elements below 5 ohms, more preferably below 1 ohm, most preferably below 0.5 ohms. Many conductive inks or adhesives formulated for the electronics industry are suitable for this application. The ink or adhesive is preferably filled with conductive flakes, fibers or particles, or a combination of flakes, fibers or particles, and it is of sufficient filling weight and configured of sufficient width and thickness to achieve the desired conductivity level. An epoxy adhesive formulation with suitable electrical conductivity is: (by weight) epoxy resin D.E.R. 354 or 354LV (Dow Chemical Company) between about 10% and about 20%, most preferably, close to 13.5%, Ancamine2094 (Air Products and Chemical Inc.) between about 3% and 7%, most preferably about 4.5%, silver flake LCP 1-19 (Ames-Glod smith) between about 70% and about 85% Between, most preferably about 82%. Preferably, the volume resistivity of the filler material is kept below about 20 microohm-cm, more preferably below about 10 microohm-cm, and more preferably below micro5 ohm-cm. Similar to the first two embodiments, the electrode 120 is divided into a first part 120a and a second part 120b by a region 120c which is free of conductive material. Figure 7A shows a top plan view of the rear element 114 with the electrode coating 120 disposed thereon. To create the first and second portions, laser ablation, chemical etching, physical removal by scraping, or the like can be used to remove a portion of the electrode material to form the fine lines defining region 120c. This defines a first portion 120a along one side of the element 114, as shown in FIG. 7A. As shown in Figure 7B, a non-conductive seal 116 is formed around the entire periphery to define the outer boundary of a chamber 125 within which the electrochromic medium 126 is disposed. Then, an electrically conductive material 152, which can also function as a seal, is provided along the peripheral edge on which the first portion 120a of the electrode 120 is defined, wherein the electrically conductive material 152 can be provided with or without the wire 150. There are wires 150 . Conductive material 152 may be provided before or after substrates 112 and 114 are assembled together.

An alternative structure is shown in Figures 8A and 8B, in which two first portions 120a are defined on opposite sides of the element 114 and separated by corresponding non-conductive lines 120c. Such a configuration would allow electrical connections to be made on two opposing sides of element 114 . Seals 116 and 152 would be configured in a similar manner, but conductive seal 152 would be configured over all or part of both sections 120a. Wires may extend from the conductive seal 152 and be soldered to the conductive clip or directly to the circuit board through which power is supplied to the electrochromic mirror. To apply the wire and place it between the substrates 112 and 114, the wire 150 may be fed through the middle of a dispensing nozzle for dispensing encapsulant 152 directly to the desired portion of the coated element 114. partly on.

8C and 8D show another embodiment of the first embodiment of the invention. Specifically, FIG. 8C shows electrode etching of two electrodes 120 and 128, while FIG. 8D shows the preparation of seal 116 in which the outer portion of its width is conductive and the inner portion is non-conductive, similar to FIG. 3A Seals shown. The entire seal 116 could be conductive and the electrochromic device would operate, however, this configuration is not preferred for a solution phase device because when on the inner edge of the conductive seal and on the exposed portions of the electrodes 128a and 120a Separation of electrochromic species is enhanced when coloration of the electrochromic medium occurs. As shown in FIG. 8D , two fill ports 195 , 196 are provided at opposite ends of the electrochromic device, which provide electrical insulation for the conductive portion 116 b of the seal 116 . The plug material 197 used to plug fill ports 195 and 196 will be made of a non-conductive material to provide the necessary electrical isolation. The fill port is typically plugged with a UV curable adhesive. The adhesive is preferably a UV curable adhesive, but may also be heat melt or heat curable, or a combination of UV and heat curable adhesives. UV-curable adhesives are generally acrylate-based, epoxy-based, or vinyl ether-based, or combinations thereof, and are generally cured by free radical or cationic catalyzed polymerization.

FIG. 9 shows two variants of the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 . Referring to the left side of the device shown in FIG. 9, it can be seen that at least a portion of the peripheral edge of front surface 114a of element 114 can be beveled to provide a large seam 154 between elements 112 and 114. By providing this larger seam 154 , a larger diameter wire 150 can be inserted between elements 112 and 114 without additionally increasing the spacing between elements 112 and 114 , particularly within cavity 125 . Such a seam 154 may be provided by beveling the front surface 114a of the element 114 or by beveling the rear surface 112b of the front element 112 . As an alternative, between portions of the electrodes 120 and 128, instead of a single large diameter wire 150, multiple wires 150, or wire ropes of braided wires, are provided as electrical conductors. By providing the wires twisted together, the adhesive 152 can be more easily applied, the wires need not be made of the same material. For example, copper wire may be twisted with stainless steel, nylon, KEVLAR, or carbon fibers or wires to impart strength or other desired properties. Seam 154 may extend inwardly from the side edges of elements 112 and 114, for example, 0.02 inches. Although the seam could extend far enough into the device that the non-conductive seal 116 would cover the beveled portion of the electrode 120b, it would still be advantageous for the laser etched region 120c to ensure no electrical shorts. It should be noted that if the conductive adhesive 152 is sufficiently conductive, the wires 150 would not be necessary. In this case, the seam or border 154 would enable the use of a more conductive material 152, which would improve the overall conductivity of the contact area.

Fig. 10 shows another embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is also similar to the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, except that instead of etching a portion of the electrode 120 to provide an isolation area, a non-conductive coating or coating is provided between the electrode 120 and the coated wire 150. Material 156. The coating or material 156 may be formed from a thin layer of an organic resin such as epoxy, polyester, polyamide, or acrylic, or may be formed from an inorganic material such as SiO2, Ta2O5, or the like. This non-conductive material also helps keep the wires in place.

Fig. 11 shows another embodiment of the present invention. As shown, not only the rear electrode 120 is etched in an area along the peripheral portion on the third surface, but also the transparent front electrode 128 is etched to form a first portion 128a and a first portion 128a separated by a region 128c without conductive material. Second portion 128b (eg, see FIG. 8C). Front transparent electrode 128 may be etched along any peripheral portion of the second surface that does not coincide with electrode 120 throughout its length. Front transparent electrode 128 may be etched along any side that is different from the side on which electrode 120 is etched. A non-conductive seal 120 is thus formed around the periphery and over the etched portions 128c and 120c of the two electrodes. The edges of elements 112 and 114 will equalize each other. Epoxy seals 116 are preferably disposed about 0.010 to 0.015 inches inward at the top and bottom from the edges of elements 112 and 114, even with the glass edges at the sides. Conductive material 152 is then dispensed into the 0.010-0.015 inch channels at the top and bottom of the device. Then, for each of the top and bottom regions, a metal foil, copper tape, or other highly conductive material 160 may be bonded to the conductive epoxy/adhesive to provide contact to the electrodes 120 and 128. electrical contact. A webbing with a large surface area or a metal foil with holes in the interior or a roughened exterior surface or a thin conductive material improves the adhesion of this material to the conductive material 152 and the edge of the device.

Fig. 12 shows another embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment, to be used in electrochromic mirror and window applications, includes a conductive sealing material 152 deposited and cured onto each of the electrodes 120 and 128 . A non-conductive seal 116 is then dispensed between the conductive seals 152 and forward to provide electrical isolation from the electrochromic medium, if desired. Alternatively, a dual dispenser can be used to dispense both conductive and non-conductive sealants. Thus, a portion of the seal height acts as both the seal and the conductive bus. One advantage of this configuration is that for each of the two electrodes 120 and 128, the seal/conductive bus 152 can extend around the entire periphery of the electrochromic device. Preferably, the sealing material 152 is formed using silver-filled epoxy.

FIG. 13 is a slightly modified variant of the embodiment shown in FIG. 12 . Specifically, if the conductive material added to the epoxy seal portion 154 is not very compatible with the surrounding environment compared to silver, the non-conductive seal should be formed in two stages or with two separate non-conductive materials. For example, a non-conductive epoxy seal 116 may be disposed between electrochromic medium 126 and conductive seal 152 in a conventional manner. Next, the gap between conductive seal portion 152 may be filled with non-conductive material 162 and may extend along the edges of glass elements 112 and 114 . The advantage of using this method is that the sealing material 116 can be chosen from a material which is least susceptible to degradation caused by the electrochromic medium, while at the same time the sealing material 162 can be chosen from a material which is probably less permeable to moisture and oxygen.

Fig. 14 shows another embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment, equally suitable for mirrors and windows, provides a non-conductive seal 116 between electrodes 128 and 120 while defining the outer boundary of chamber 125 in which electrochromic medium 126 is disposed. An electrically insulating material 164 composed of ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM), polyester, polyamide, or other insulating material is disposed between the seal 116 and the edges of the elements 112 and 114, and has an electrical insulating material 164 attached to its opposite side. such as metal foil or copper mesh or other highly conductive materials. Conductor 166 may be secured to the opposite side of insulator 164 using a PSA. Conductive ink or epoxy 152 may be utilized to increase contact stability between electrical conductor 166 and electrodes 128 and 120 . The seal 116 is not necessary if the material 152, 166, 164 provides adequate environmental protection and does not interfere with the electrochromic medium.

Figure 15 shows an enhancement to the embodiment described above with respect to Figure 11. However, it will be appreciated that such enhancements may be used with any of the other embodiments described above or below. Specifically, its structure is modified such that the front surface 112a of the front element 112 is sloped around its outer peripheral surface to provide a sloped outer peripheral surface 170 having sufficient width to shade the seal 116/152 sight. With this design, bezels can be completely eliminated. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the conductive foil or mesh may be rolled back extended for connection to electrical contacts on the printed circuit board and heating circuit through which power may be supplied to selectively Changes the reflectivity of the mirror element. To further mask the seal from view, a coating 172 may be applied to the sloped surface 170 .

FIG. 16 shows a slightly different method for concealing the seal 116 from view. Specifically, the outer perimeter 175 of the front surface 112a of the front element 112 is sandblasted, roughened, or otherwise modified to obscure portions of the device that would otherwise be seen. Another approach is shown in FIG. 17A, in which a reflective or opaque paint/coating 176 is provided on a peripheral portion 175 of the front surface 112a of the front member 112. Such a reflective or opaque coating, paint or film, may be provided on the rear surface 112b of the front element 112, as shown in FIG. 17B.

Another way of concealing the seal is to utilize a clear seal material as disclosed in the well-known US Patent No. 5,790,298, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

The different methods of obscuring the view of the seal described in connection with FIGS. 15-17B may be used in combination or alone, and may be used with any of the embodiments described herein. For example, the sloped surface 170 shown in FIG. 15 may be sandblasted. Similarly, the gritblasted portion 175 of the surface 112a may also be sprayed and coated with a reflective or high refractive index material. Coatings or other materials may be applied using screen printing or other suitable methods. The reflective material combined with the roughened surface provides a diffuse mirror.

As mentioned above, other techniques can be used to improve the style and appearance of the bezel. For example, FIG. 18 shows the use of a bezel 144 having at least one surface thereon made of metal, such as chrome, chrome-plated plastic, or other material. Thus, at least a portion of the front surface of the bezel 144 will not have a black color, but will be reflective, resembling the appearance of a mirror itself, and thus difficult to distinguish from the rest of the mirror assembly. Frame 144 may be combined with a carrier 145 in any conventional manner.

Another reason the bezel is typically made fairly wide is to accommodate the difference in the coefficient of thermal expansion of the material from which the bezel is made and the material used to form the electrochromic element. Traditional bezels are made of strong, fairly rigid engineering plastics, such as polypropylene, ABS/PC, ASA, etc., and have a much larger coefficient of thermal expansion than glass mirrors. This difference in coefficient of thermal expansion, as the rigid frame shrinks around the mirror at low temperatures, creates enormous hoop stresses. As a result, conventional frames have ribs or define voids to accommodate differences in the coefficient of thermal expansion between the components and the frame. A solution to this problem is shown in FIG. 19, where the bezel 144a is formed using an elastic material that stretches and contracts as the electrochromic element expands/contracts.

The elastomeric material can be injection molded directly around the mirror element or resin transfer molded, for example, using injection molded PVC or polyurethane reaction injection molding (RIM). The elastic frame can be injection molded separately from elastic materials commonly referred to as thermoplastic elastomers (TPE), such as thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO, TPV), styrenic thermoplastic elastomer (TPS), polyester thermoplastic elastomer (TPC), nylon or polyamide thermoplastic elastomer (TPA), or vulcanized or polymerized rubber, polyurethane, silicone or fluoroelastomer, and then The frame thus formed is used for the mirror element. One method is to injection mold the elastomeric bezel into a "C" or "U" that is the shape and size of the mirror, or preferably slightly smaller than the shape and size of the mirror, then stretch it and place the bezel "Snaps onto" the mirror. Bezels manufactured in this form fit snugly to the mirror and withstand thermal shock and cycling well. One advantage of "C" or "U" shaped bezels is that they are made symmetrically from the front to the rear. This kind of bezel is made for the driver's side of the vehicle, and if rotated 180 degrees, will generally also Suitable for the passenger side of the vehicle, as the two mirrors are usually mirror images of each other. Another advantage is that a frame made for a flat mirror is also suitable for a convex mirror or an aspheric mirror, since the frame is flexible. Only one bezel requires tooling to mate to the left and right side planar, convex and aspheric mirrors, resulting in major cost, time and inventory savings. It is desirable to attach or fasten the bezel to the mirror and the back of the mirror by adhesive or mechanical means to avoid the bezel from dislodging from the mirror when the mirror is scratched with an ice scraper. The adhesive can be a one-component system, such as moisture-curing silicone, or urethane, and can be applied to the glass around the edge or to the "C" or "U" frame, or to both the glass and the bezel. Then, the border can be applied and the adhesive will cure over time. Two-component or solvent-based adhesives can also be used in this manner. Hot melt adhesive can also be applied to the perimeter of the mirror or the inside of the "C" or "U" shape of the bezel. The bezel can then be applied to the mirror while the adhesive is still hot, or the bezel/mirror assembly can be reheated to melt the hot melt adhesive and bond the bezel to the mirror. Mechanical means may also be used to capture or hold the elastic frame in place. Holes or slots may be formed in the back or sides of the frame to incorporate a more rigid back member. The elastic bezel can also be co-injected with a more rigid material to form an elastic section around the perimeter of the mirror and a more rigid section around the back of the mirror to hold the elastic section in place. The rigid portion will cover most of the back of the mirror and incorporate either a power pack or an adjustable mirror support that holds the mirror in place on the mirror frame housing. The mirror in this configuration can be mounted to the rigid back portion with adhesive or double sided tape. The rigid part may also cover only the perimeter of the back of the mirror and be mounted to a bracket which is combined with a power pack or adjustable mirror support. In short, the rigid part on the back of the mirror will mechanically hold the back of the mirror and the bezel in place. Adhesives can also be used to bond the elastic portion of the bezel or mirror back to the more rigid portion of the mirror back to hold it in place.

The force versus displacement curves shown in Figure 20 are for short segments cut from typical bezels made of different materials. These short fragments were fixed to a Chattilon (Greensboro, NC) apparatus and stretched. The force versus displacement curves show that a typical rigid material (Geloy, ASA/PC) used to make a state-of-the-art bezel, compared with a bezel made from an elastomer or rubber (950U, DP7 1050, RPT), increases with For small changes in displacement, the force increases rapidly. Therefore, when the frame made of these elastic materials is closely fitted with the glass mirror at room temperature, when the frame shrinks around the glass at low temperature, high hoop stress will not be generated. Conversely, a frame made of a rigid material such as ASA/PC that fits snugly at room temperature will develop high hoop stresses as the frame shrinks around the glass at low temperatures. The elastic border is preferably configured along at least the periphery of the front element 112 . Due to its elastic nature, the elastic bezel has a smaller periphery than at least the periphery of the front element, so that the elastic bezel fits snugly around the mirror element.

Some physical properties of the rigid and elastic frame materials are shown in Table 1 below. Some prior art rigid plastic materials have tensile moduli ranging from as low as 72,000 psi to as high as slightly over 350,000 psi. Rather, it is preferred that the elastic frame material has a tensile modulus of from 100 psi to 3,000 psi. Thus, the inventive elastic frame material has a tensile modulus of less than 72,000 psi, and can have a tensile modulus of less than about 3,000 psi. The lower the tensile modulus of the frame material, the lower the hoop stress value in systems where the thermal coefficients of the glass mirror surrounded by the plastic frame do not match.

Table 1 polymer Tensile modulus (100% secant) psi Tensile elongation, break (%) Tensile elongation, yield point (%) Tensile Strength, Yield Point (psi) Glass transition temperature (°F) Shore Hardness (R＝Rrockwell R) Bayer T84 PC/ABS 336000 75 4 8000 N/A 119R GE LG9000 PC/ABS 352000 75 N/A 7900 N/A 118R GE Geloy PC/ASA 324000 25 4-5 ^** 8600 N/A 114R Huntsman AP 6112-HS PP 72500-1100000 120 ^* 6 3550 N/A 98R Bayer Makrolon 3258 PC 348000 125 6 9100 N/A ~115R ^*** Texin 7-1050 polyether 1100(100%) 450 N/A 5000 -47 90A Texin 950 U polyether 2000(100%) 400 N/A 6000 -17 50D (～93A) Multibase Inc. Multi-Flex A3810 TPE 170(100%) N/A 700 725 N/A 45A Multibase Inc.Multi-Flex A4001 LC TPE 120(100%) 600 N/A 800 N/A 33A Multibase Inc. Multi-Flex A4710 S TPE 175(100%) 700 N/A 750 N/A 49A DSM Sarlink 4139D TPE 1550(100%) 588 N/A 2340 N/A 39D (～88A)

^* Taken from "Machinery's Handbook"

^** Data taken from WWW.matweb.com

^*** Data taken from Hardness Comparison Chart

Figure 21A shows a technique for providing electrical bonding to an electrochromic device such as the first embodiment. As shown, the first conductive clip 180 clips onto the element 114 so as to make electrical contact with the second portion 120b of the electrode 120 . A second conductive clip 182 is provided which is clamped around the entire device so as to be in contact with the front surface 112a of the front element 112 and the rear surface 114b of the rear element 114 . Electrical contact is made to the electrode 128 via the first portion 120a of the electrode 120 and via the conductive material 152 . A variation of this structure is shown in FIG. 21B where 182 is made in the same structure as clip 180 so that only the rear member 114 is clamped. The electrical bond between the conductive clip 182 and the electrode 128 is again formed by the conductive seal 152, within which any conductive wire 150 may be disposed. To make electrical connections to each electrode 120 or 128, one or more such conductive clips may be provided, as shown in FIG. 21C. The conductive clips 180 and 182 may be soldered or connected directly to the circuit board, or wires extending therebetween may be soldered to the conductive clips 180 and 182 . Figures 21D and 21E show additional variations of the conductive clips discussed above. In FIG. 21D , conductive clips 180 a and 182 a are modified such that they do not extend around rear surface 114 b of rear member 114 . In FIG. 21E , conductive clips 180 b and 182 b are modified so as to extend over and around front surface 112 a of front element 112 while also extending around rear surface 114 b of rear element 114 . As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, various modifications may be made in the design of the disclosed conductive clip without departing from the scope of the invention.

FIG. 22 shows a modification of the embodiment shown in FIG. 14 and described above. The structure shown in FIG. 22 differs in that one of the layers of conductive foil or mesh 166 extends outwardly behind the edges of elements 112 and 114, wraps around element 114, and is used to provide electrical support to a printed circuit board or heater circuit. on the connection. In addition, the rear surface 114b of the rear member 114 may be patterned with conductive electrodes to provide power to the metal foil 166 . Metal foil 166 on the opposite side of insulator 164 may similarly extend outward for connection to the other of electrodes 128 and 120 . Foil 166 may be cut with serrated scissors and effectively bent to form one or more connector clips. Metal foil 166 may be shaped as an electrical bus with tabs extending into the seal.

FIG. 23 shows another embodiment in which a conductive coating 190 is deposited on the periphery of the rear member 114. As shown in FIG. This cladding can be made of metal and coated with solder. Alternatively, the material may be wrapped around the edges of element 114 . This configuration allows contact only on the edge of element 114, providing electrical coupling to either or both of electrodes 120 and 128.

Another embodiment is shown in FIG. 24 . In this embodiment, the majority of the sealing member moves from between the front and rear elements 112 and 114 to onto the edges of the front and rear elements. Thus, the seals are mainly provided on the peripheral edges of the front and rear elements. As shown in Figure 24, the seal 200 is in contact with the front element 112 on both the periphery and rear surface of the front element. Similarly, the seal 200 contacts the rear element 114 on both the periphery and the front surface of the rear element. A first contact area where the seal 200 contacts the periphery of the front element 112 is greater than a second contact area where the seal 200 contacts the rear surface of the front element 112 . Similarly, the third contact area where the seal 200 contacts the periphery of the rear element 114 is greater than the fourth area where the seal 200 contacts the rear and front surfaces of the ÷ element 114 . As a result, the interface of the seal 200 and the front element 112 defines an oxygen permeation path length through which oxygen will move into the chamber 126, wherein the portion of the path length extending along the periphery of the front element 112 , is longer than the path length extending along the rear surface of the front element 112 . Similarly, another oxygen permeation path length is defined between the seal 200 and the rear member 114 through which oxygen will move into the chamber 126, wherein the portion of the path length extending along the periphery of the rear member 114, is longer than the portion of the path length extending along the front surface of the rear element 114 . By forming the seal 200 of the thin member 202 of the first material, and/or increasing the oxygen permeation path length compared to other electrochromic cells, the amount of oxygen permeation into the chamber 126 can be significantly reduced, wherein, The first material has an oxygen permeability lower than 2.0 cm ³ ·mm/m ² ·day·atm. A typical prior art seal, made of epoxy resin, has an oxygen permeability of 2.0-3.9 cm ³ ·mm/m ² ·day·atm, and a water permeability of 0.7-0.94 gm·mm/m ² ·day permeable, and is located primarily between the front and rear elements, and thus, has a short oxygen permeation path length.

The first material forming thin member 202 may be selected from the group consisting of metals, metal alloys, plastics, glass, and combinations thereof. The first material 2002 is bonded to the perimeter of the front and rear elements with the second material 204 . The second material may have a higher oxygen permeability than the first material, and may be a conductive adhesive or a conductive epoxy, at least in contact with one of the first and second conductive layers 120 and 128. electrical contact.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the sealing member 200 comprises a thin member 202 with low gas permeability bonded to the edges of the front and rear elements. Adhesive such as epoxy resin, PSA or hot melt adhesive may be applied in the form of a thin film to the thin member 202 having low gas permeability such as a metal thin or plastic thin film. Examples of materials that can be used as the thin member 202 include: polycarbonate (oxygen permeability 90.6-124 mm ³ mm/m ² ·day·atm, water permeability 3.82-4.33 gm·mm/m ² ·day), polystyrene Vinyl chloride (oxygen permeability 0.0152-0.2533 mm ³ ·mm/m ² ·day·atm, water permeability 0.01-0.08 gm·mm/m ² ·day), and multilayer films of plastic and/or metal. Such films may include inorganic layers or coatings such as SiO ₂ , Al ₂ O ₃ , Ta ₂ O ₅ , Al, chromium, etc., bonded to the edges of the front and rear glass elements with adhesives or glass frits . An example of a suitable multilayer film is a PE/PVC-PVDC film under the trademark SARANEX, which has an oxygen permeability of 0.2-0.79 mm ³ ·mm/m ² ·day·atm and an oxygen permeability of 0.06-0.16 gm·mm/m ² · water permeability of day.

The metal foil and film 202 are then wound around the front and rear substrates, where the front and rear substrates are maintained in spaced relation to each other at appropriate intervals. Adhesive 204 essentially bonds metal foil or film 202 to the edge of the substrate to form a gas and liquid seal around the perimeter of the electrochromic device. A fill port 206 can be added by leaving a gap in the foil or film edge seal member, or by punching a hole through it (FIG. 25). The filling hole can be welded closed if a metal foil is used for the edge sealing member. Alternatively, the fill hole may be plugged with an ultraviolet or visible light curable adhesive, or a hot melt adhesive, or an additional thin sealing member, such as a metal foil or film, bonded to the fill hole. If light transmissive films are utilized, UV or visible light curing adhesives can be used to bond the films. If an opaque metal foil is utilized, a hot melt adhesive, PSA, or other self-curing adhesive can be used. In this way, the area required for a seal mainly between the substrates can be eliminated, and the frame previously designed to cover this area can be made narrower or eliminated.

If a member with low gas permeability is bonded to the substrate side of the conductive region, this member can also serve as an electrical bus, making contact with the conductive electrodes of the electrochromic device. By creating a gap within the electrical continuity of the edge sealing member, electrical isolation of the electrodes can be maintained. For example, if a metal foil is utilized, small slits or gaps 206 (FIG. 25) can be created in the foil, for example, one of which acts as a fill hole and the other slit or gap opposite the fill hole The top and bottom electrodes are electrically isolated. Electrical continuity between the conductive edge seal member and the electrodes can be established in a number of ways. Conductive electrode coatings 120 and/or 128 can be wound onto the sides of the substrate (FIGS. 26 and 27), or a conductive coating or adhesive 208 (FIGS. 29A-32) can be applied to electrically connect to area on the desired edge bus. The conductive sealing member 202 may have indentations or creases 210 (FIG. 26) or include inwardly protruding extensions 214 (FIG. 28) for contacting the sides of the substrate by adhesive bonding of the sealing member to bring them into contact with each other. onto the electrode coating or edge coating 120,128. Electrical contact between the conductive edge seal member and the electrode coating or edge coating may be made using conductive particles within the adhesive or conductive adhesive 208 . Wires (212 in Figure 27), metal clips (216 in Figure 33), or other electrical conductors may then be used to make contact of the conductive edge seal 202 to the drive electronics of the electrochromic device. Electrochromic devices fabricated in this manner require little or no bezel covering the seal and contact areas. A more detailed discussion of Figures 29A-33 is provided below.

As shown in FIGS. 29A and 29B , both a conductive material 208 and a non-conductive material 204 can be utilized to secure a thin sealing member 202 to the perimeter of elements 112 and 114 . As shown in FIG. 29A, conductive material 208 provides an electrical connection from conductive layer 128 to first portion 202a of sealing member 202 (see FIG. 25). As shown in FIG. 29B , conductive material 208 provides an electrical connection from conductive layer 120 to second portion 202b of sealing member 202 . Portions 202a and 202b of thin sealing member 202 may be electrically insulated using the thin sealing member and fill openings, gaps, or slits in conductive material 208, as described above.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 30, the conductive layers 128 and 120 are constructed and oriented as shown in FIG. 25), the conductive material 208 also provides an electrical connection from the conductive layer 120 to the second portion 202b of the sealing member 202. As noted above, filled holes, gaps, or slits within the thin sealing member and conductive material 208 may be used to electrically insulate portions 202a, 202b of sealing member 202 .

FIG. 31 shows an embodiment similar to FIG. 30 except that regions 128a and 120a of conductive layers 120 and 128 are eliminated.

Figure 32 shows an embodiment wherein only the central portion of the adhesive material disposed between layers 120 and 128 is conductive, and a non-conductive material is used to bond the sealing member 202 to the periphery of the elements 112 and 114 superior. This provides an advantage that the conductive material 208 need not act as an adhesive with respect to the thin member 202 .

Figure 33 shows an embodiment in which a conductive clip 216 (similar to 182 in Figures 21B and 21C) may be utilized in combination with a thin sealing member 202, which may be a metal foil or the like. As shown, a solder bump 220 may be provided for soldering the thin metal foil 202 to the conductive clip 216 .

A method of connecting the electrodes of an electrochromic medium to a heating circuit or a flexible circuit board is disclosed in the well-known U.S. Patent No. Patent No. 6,657,767, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. In particular, the portion of the flexible circuit board on which the heating circuit is located may extend behind the edge of the element 114 and be rolled up so that it contacts the conductive material on the edge of the electrochromic device.

Another alternative to providing electrical contact is to provide a conductive layer or other material on the inner surface of the bezel 144, wherein the pressure exerted by the bezel will place a contact between the connector and the electrode layer itself or the conductive portion 152 of the seal. contact force between them.

As can be seen from the previous embodiments, portions of the seal can be made to function as electrical busses. The seal may be conductive across a portion of its width, a portion of its height, or across a portion of its length. The seals may be formed with conductive ink or epoxy and may be filled with metal flakes, fibers, particles, or other conductive materials as described above.

It should be noted that a zero-offset mirror with seals mostly between the substrates or on the edge of the substrates exhibits a very smooth outline, and may not need an actual border at all. For example, with a black or tinted seal between the substrates, an aesthetically pleasing mirror can be made simply by laminating a black or tinted paint on the edge of the mirror. The bezel will simply be constructed with a thin layer of paint or other material applied to the outside perimeter of the mirror so that it looks like a bezel. Similarly, such a thin coating may be applied so as to wrap over the edge portions, covering part or all of the area between the substrate seals. This process is also applied to mirrors where most of the seal is on the edge of the glass. A thin coat of paint or other material may be applied to the edge of the mirror to provide an aesthetically pleasing and uniform appearance edge. Furthermore, by providing a wider and more uniform seal, masking of the seal may not be necessary.

As will become apparent to those skilled in the art, each of the above-described embodiments provides the advantage that the offset in vertical position between the front and rear elements 112 and 114 is reduced Or eliminate, and thereby, shrink the corresponding part of the width of the border (if set). Other aspects of the invention can be used to obscure the seal from view or to provide a unique bezel. However, it should be understood that each aspect may be applied alone or in various combinations, independent of the implementation of any of the other aspects.

As noted above, FIGS. 34-42 are cross-sectional views of portions of eleven additional mirror structures, each with a bezel covering the outside edges of the electrochromic mirror element from an aesthetic point of view, the bezels of FIGS. 34-42 being incorporated into The bracket of the mirror assembly, and the bezel in Figures 37-42 is mechanically interlocked with (and potentially bonded to) the edge of one of the brackets in Figures 37-42.

In Figures 34-39, similar and identical parts are given the same reference numerals, but with additional text (eg "A", "B", etc.). This is done to reduce redundant discussion.

More specifically, in FIGS. 34-42, the electrochromic mirror assembly 310 includes front and rear glass mirror elements 312 and 314 defining therebetween a cavity 325 filled with an electrochromic Color-changing material326. and include the electrodes, conductive clips, seals, reflective layers, and other structures described above and shown in FIGS. 2-33. Elements 312 and 314 are shown with edges that preferably have "zero offset" (i.e., edges that are on average about 1 mm or less from perfect alignment, or more preferably, about 0.5 mm from perfect alignment or less, or most preferably about 0.2 mm or less from perfect alignment). It may be noted that the mirrors shown have zero offset extending completely around their perimeter, however, it is conceivable that some bezels may It is effective.

The mirror assembly 308 (FIG. 34) includes a bracket 360 with a substantially flat front surface 361, and further includes a substantially flat, thin heating element 362 and a double-sided adhesive foam tape 363 in layers A well-supported structure of the shape adhesively bonds the electrochromic mirror assembly 310 to the front surface 361. The front surface 361 of the bracket 360 is made as flat as possible so that the front and rear elements 312 and 314 do not experience local deformations that would unacceptably distort the reflected image. Depending on the flatness of the front surface 361, the front and rear elements 312 and 314 are made thicker or thinner. It is contemplated that bracket 360 may be a molded plastic part, or may be metal or other material. If the reader needs additional information on such a system, the reader is directed to patent 6,195,194, filed February 27, 2001, entitled "LIGHT-WEIGHT ELECTROCHRONIC MIRROR," and to patent 6,195,194, filed April 2, 2003, entitled " REARVIEW MIRRORWITH INTEGRATED FRAME", U.S. Patent Serial No. 10/405,526, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Bezel 344 ( FIG. 34 ) is mounted to mirror assembly 308 . The frame 344 has a C-shaped cross-section and forms a continuous ring extending around the periphery of the mirror part 310 in a manner similar to the three frames shown in FIG. 2 . The frame 344 (FIG. 34) includes a forwardly extending leg 365, a front lip 366 extending on the outer edge portion of the front surface 312a of the front member 312, and an outer edge portion on the rear surface 368 of the bracket 360. Extended rear lip 367. As shown in FIG. 34 , edge flange 369 on bracket 360 forms a rear groove 370 that receives rear lip 367 . The inner surface of the leg 365 fits closely with the edges of the front and rear members 312 and 314, while the inner surfaces of the lips 366 and 367 fit closely with the front surface 312a of the front member 312 and the rear surface 368 of the bracket 369, respectively. . In a preferred embodiment, bezel 344 is insert molded onto bracket 360 and rear lip 367 is bonded to rear surface 368 of bracket 360 as part of the molding process. Alternatively, rear lip 367 may be bonded or bonded as a secondary assembly process. It is contemplated that a front lip 366 may also be bonded to the front surface 312a of the front member 312 . It is also possible to bond the legs 365 to one edge of the front and rear members 312 and 314, although this is not a requirement nor a condition.

Alternatively, it is contemplated that the front lip 366 is formed in an "overbowed" condition such that the innermost tip 366' of the front lip 366 elastically fits onto the front surface 312a with a bias that is not affected by the front lip 366. The bonding of the outer part is kept apart. With this configuration, bezel 344 is an integral part of mirror assembly 308 , both helping to hold the assembly together and sealing the outer edges of electrochromic mirror assembly 310 .

The frame 344 has a particularly thin cross-sectional dimension 371 . This is the ideal condition sought by the original equipment manufacturer in order to allow the inner surface 383 of the exterior mirror frame 373 to have a smaller dimension 372 . This is an important feature for vehicle OEMs because the larger mirror assembly 310 allows for a larger field of view to the rear, and the smaller outer mirror frame 373 allows for a forward (i.e., in front of the vehicle) for a larger field of view. It is contemplated that the material of bezel 344 could be an elastomer or a more rigid thermoplastic or metallic material, as described above with respect to bezel 144a (FIG. 19). It is contemplated that the front lip 366, which is about 2 mm wide or narrower, will cover a continuous perimeter strip on the front surface 312a that is about 2 mm wide or narrower. However, it is conceivable that the lip 366 can cover a strip on the front surface as small as 1mm or narrow; Right and left sides) extend on the front surface 312a; alternatively, it can be made to not extend on the front surface 312a at all. Where the bezel does not cover any of elements 312 and 314, the entire front surface of element 312 may be utilized (ie, 100% of the front surface may be utilized to display a reflected image). This is believed to be novel and non-obvious to modern mirrors with electronic options, particularly electrochromic mirrors. (See Figures 3, 11, 13, 15-18, 23, 24, 26-28, 29B-33 and 49).

Bezel 344A (FIG. 35) is similar to bezel 344 (FIG. )similar. As a result, the rear lip 367A is disposed within a space 363A′ between the bracket 360A and the edge of the rear member 314 . Rear lip 367A terminates the outer edge of heater 362 and the outer side of foam strip 363 .

Bezel 344A' (FIG. 35) is similar to bezel 344A' except that bracket 360' has forwardly extending lip 360A1 within bezel 344A' that engages mating groove 360A2 in rear lip 367A' of the bezel. Likewise, the bracket 360A' is modified to include a hole 360A3 which allows a wire 364A4 to pass through and connect to an electrical conductor or clip 365A5 for operating the electrochromic material 326A.

Bezel 344B (FIG. 36) is similar to bezel 344A (FIG. 35) with a groove 370B formed in the front surface of bracket 360B. However, the front surface of the rear lip 367B of the bezel 344B is coplanar with the front surface of the bracket 360B, and the outer edge of the foam strip 363 (likewise, the heater 362) extends over the rear lip 367B.

Bezel 344C (FIG. 37) is identical to bezel 344 (FIG. )similar. It is contemplated that key 376C is molded onto mirror assembly 308 as part of the insert molding process of molding bezel 344C. However, it is also possible to make the keyed arrangement using heat riveting, or to form a protrusion into a key shape or form a rivet-like connection using sonic or mechanical methods.

Bezel 344D (FIG. 38) is similar to bezel 344C (FIG. 37) except keyway 375D faces in the opposite direction (i.e., one large end opens rearwardly), and key 376D extends from the front position into keyway 375D. .

Bezel 344E (FIG. 39) is similar to bezel 344D, with a rearwardly extending key 376E. Within bezel 344E, strap 363 extends over rear lip 367E. However, the key 376E is preferably located on or outside the outer edge of the foam strip 363 so as to minimize the possibility of the key 376E damaging the surface to which the strip 363 is bonded; however, this is not necessarily required.

Bezel 344F (FIG. 40) is similar to bezel 344C (FIG. 37) except that bezel 344F (FIG. 40) includes a large radius on the inside corner defined by the junction of leg 365F and front lip 366F. The large radius 377F creates a cavity that better ensures that the inside corner does not bond to one edge of the element 312 in a manner that causes the front lip 366F to move away from the front surface 312a. The radius 377F also creates a thinned portion on the front portion 378F of the leg 365F, both of which act as a resilient hinge center, preventing bending in other undesired areas along the leg 365F.

Bezel 344G ( FIG. 41 ) is similar to bezel 344F ( FIG. 40 ), except that bezel 344G includes a second, larger radius 379G at the corner formed by leg 365G and rear lip 367G. This would allow the leg 365G (and front lip 366G) to be adjusted to any undulation along the edge of the mirror assembly 308G, as might occur along a clip placed on the edge of the mirror component 310G.

Bezel 344H (FIG. 42) is similar to bezel 344G (FIG. 41) except that radius 377H at the front is made larger than front radius 377G. In turn, the radius 377H is also shifted so that the radius 377H is located under the front lip 366H rather than at the corner.

As noted above, FIGS. 43-46 are cross-sectional views of an enlarged fragment of the edges of four additional mirror structures, each of which has a bezel aesthetically covering the front edge of the electrochromic mirror element, The frame in Figures 43-44 also covers the entire side of the edge, however, the frame in Figures 45-46 only partially covers one side of the edge.

More specifically, bezel 344I (FIG. 43) is L-shaped and includes a leg 365I and front lip 366I, but does not include rear lip (367). Leg 365I is set slightly away from the edges of front and rear members 312 and 314, creating a gap 379I. Preferably, front lip 366I is insert molded and bonded to front surface 312a. The gap 379I prevents any irregularities along the edges of the front and rear elements 312 and 314 from deforming the legs 365I of the bezel 344I in a manner that shows through on the front lip 366I. Also, the gap 379I allows the legs 365I to flex and move as the elements 312/314 and the frame 344I undergo differential thermal expansion/contraction. Bezel 344J ( FIG. 44 ) is similar to bezel 344I ( FIG. 43 ), except that bezel 344J ( FIG. 44 ) does not include any gaps ( 379I ) between legs 365J and the edges of front and rear elements 312 and 314 . Legs 365J are joined to the side edges of elements 312 and 314, if desired.

Bezel 344K ( FIG. 45 ) is similar to bezel 344I ( FIG. 43 ), except that leg 365K is shortened so that it extends only slightly through cavity 325 . In turn, the ends 380K of the legs 365K are tapered towards the rear member 314 . Border 344L (FIG. 46) is similar to border 344J (FIG. 44), but border 344L (FIG. 46) includes an end 380L that terminates short of cavity 325 and is relatively blunt rather than tapered of. Specifically, end portion 380L terminates on an edge of front member 312 . For example, end 380L may be bonded to a side edge of element 312 as part of an insert molding operation.

47-49 show enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional views of the edges of three additional mirror structures, each having the edge of an electrochromic mirror coated with a strip of material. These configurations are described as bezels because they provide a bezel-like appearance, including a thin outline around mirror member 310 .

Border 344M (FIG. 47) is similar to border 344J in that it includes an L-shaped strip of material with a front lip 366M extending across its surface and through front and rear members 312 and 314. The side edge of the leg extends 365M. Examples of materials for the frame 344M, and processes for coating the frame 344M, are described above with respect to FIGS. 15-17B. (See, eg, coating 176, FIG. 17A, and, see non-conductive material 162, FIG. 12, and see resilient material 144a, FIG. 19).

Bezel 344N (FIG. 48) is similar to bezel 344M (and bezel 344L) in that bezel 344N includes a lip 366N and legs 365N. However, leg 365N is shortened so that it cannot extend to cavity 325 .

Border 344P ( FIG. 49 ) is similar to borders 344M and 344N in that it includes strips of applied material disposed along the side edges of front element 312 . However, the bezel 344P is coated on the second surface of the front element 312 (ie, within the cavity 325 ) and does not extend over the side edges of the front and rear elements 312 and 314 . Visually, the appearance is no different from bezel 344M (FIG. 47) and bezel 344N (FIG. 48). The material of the bezel 344P may be opaque, translucent, light absorbing, or reflective, or dark or light colored.

50-51 are cross-sectional views of an enlarged fragment of a bezel having a C-shaped cross-section covering the side edges of the electrochromic mirror element and wrapping onto the first and fourth surfaces of the electrochromic mirror element component . However, the bezel further includes a resiliently flexible fin extending laterally away from the electrochromic mirror element in frictional contact with the mirror bezel.

More specifically, bezel 344Q (FIG. 50) is C-shaped, not unlike bezel 144 (FIG. 2), or bezel 144a (FIG. 19) and bezel 344 (FIG. 34). The frame 344Q (FIG. 50) includes a leg 365Q creating a gap 379Q to the edges of the front and rear members 312 and 314, and further includes a front lip 366Q extending over the front surface 312a of the front member 321, and A rear lip 367Q extends on the rear surface 314b of the rear member 314 . A flexible wing extends from the midpoint on leg 365Q in an outboard direction. The fins 382Q are shown getting thinner as they extend toward their tops, although it is contemplated that the fins could have different shapes. Mirror frame 373 includes an inner surface 383Q bounded by fins 382Q. Preferably, fins 382Q are only slightly bonded to inner surface 383Q so that minimal frictional resistance occurs when angular adjustment of mirror assembly 308 is made within mirror frame 373 . Thus, the power pack connected to bracket 360Q and making angular adjustments to the mirror assembly keeps its power requirements for adjustments low. It should be noted that the fins 383Q can be designed to allow a small gap between the fins 382Q and the inner surface 383Q, especially if desired at the maximum angular position of the mirror assembly. The fins 382Q allow the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the mirror member 310 to be maximized relative to the opening 384Q defined by the frame 373 . This is an important feature for the original equipment manufacturer of the vehicle because the larger mirror assembly 310 allows for a larger field of view to the rear and the smaller outer mirror frame 373 allows for a larger field of view to the front .

Border 344R (FIG. 51) is similar to inclusion 344Q, except that border 344R (FIG. 51) includes foreshortened legs 365R and a front lip 366R similar to inclusion 344L (FIG. 46). Resilient fins 382R extend laterally outwardly from legs 365R and are in slight sliding contact with inner surface 383R of frame 373 .

It is contemplated that the borders 344-344R may be extruded, molded, or bonded to the front surface 312a of the front element 312; ) on the front and side surfaces; and/or extruded/molded/coated onto the mirror component 310 (comprising elements 312, 314, bracket 360, heater 362, and foam tape); and/or extruded /molded/applied onto the bracket 360; and/or extruded/molded/applied onto the side edges of one or both of the elements 312, 314. For example, technology is available to extrude polymers directly onto window glass. See U.S. Patent No. 5,158,638, Osanami, entitled "METHOD OF KAKING WINDOWGLASS WITH A GASKET," issued October 27, 1992, for a teaching method of direct coating/extrusion on glass elements, the entirety of which is at Cited here as a reference.

Turning now to Figures 52 and 53, a bracket 360 is shown with an integral border 366 on the "inside edge" only. A bracket with an integral bezel is preferred for use with the elements depicted in Figures 4A, 4B and 4C. A related method of assembly is to provide a double-sided adhesive layer, such as tape or foam, and to bond the component to the bracket with an integral frame so that the relevant contacts with the relevant conductive layers are placed on the frame's Inside the socket 366a. More preferably, the bezel is arranged on the edge closest to the relevant vehicle element (ie the inner edge).

It is contemplated that the concepts of the present invention (including those described below in connection with FIGS. 58-66C ) could be used in conjunction with mirrors (interior and/or exterior) with many different options to create synergistic and unobtrusive Combinations that offer previously impossible, surprising and unexpected advantages. For example, turning now to FIG. 54 , an interior mirror assembly 502 includes a bezel 555 (similar to any of bezel 144 , and/or 344 - 344R ) and housing 556 . The bezel and housing combine to define a mirror frame for housing components other than reflective elements and information displays. Well-known U.S. Patents 6,102,546; 6,407,468; 6,420,800; and 6,471,362, which describe various frames, housings, and related fastening structures for use in the present invention, are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

As shown in FIG. 54 , the mirror assembly may include top and/or bottom microphones 559 . Examples of microphones for use with the present invention are described in the well known U.S. Patent Application Serial numbers 09/444,176 and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US2002/0110256 A1, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference . As shown in Figures 54-56, microphones 561 and 560 may be mounted on the top of the mirror assembly, the bottom of the mirror assembly, the back side of the mirror housing, or anywhere within the mirror housing or bezel. Preferably, two microphones are housed into the mirror assembly, near each end, in recessed portions on the back of the mirror housing, as shown in Figures 54-56. These systems may be at least partially integrated, centrally controlled with the information display, and/or may share components with the information display. In addition, the control status of these systems and/or devices can be displayed on related information displays.

With further reference to FIG. 54 , mirror assembly 502 includes first and second lighting assemblies 567 , 571 . Various lighting assemblies and luminaires for use with the present invention are described in commonly known U.S. Patents 5,803,579, 6,335,548, and 6,521,916, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. As further shown in FIG. 56, each lighting assembly preferably includes a reflector, a lens and an illuminator (not shown). Most preferably, there are two lighting assemblies, one generally arranged to illuminate the front passenger seating area and the second generally arranged to illuminate the driver seating area. There may be only one or there may be another light assembly, for example, one to illuminate the center console area, the overhead area, or the area between the front seats.

With further reference to FIG. 54 , mirror assembly 502 includes first and second switches 575 , 577 . Suitable switches for use with the present invention are described in detail in well-known U.S. Patents 6,407,468, 6,420,800, 6,471,362 and 6,614,579, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. These switches may be incorporated to control lighting assemblies, displays, mirror reflectivity, voice control systems, compass systems, telephone systems, highway tollgate interfaces, telemetry systems, headlight controls, rain sensors, and the like. Any other display or system described herein, or in documents cited by reference, may be incorporated anywhere in the relevant vehicle and may be controlled using the switches.

With further reference to FIG. 54 , mirror assembly 502 includes indicator 583 . Various indicators for use with the present invention are described in well known U.S. Patents 5,803,579, 6,335,548, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. These indicators can indicate the status of displays, mirror reflectivity, voice control systems, compass systems, telephone systems, highway tollgate interfaces, telemetry systems, headlight controls, rain sensors, and more. Any other display or system described herein or in documents cited by reference may be incorporated anywhere in the relevant vehicle and may have a status depicted by the indicator.

With further reference to FIG. 54 , mirror assembly 502 includes first and second light sensors 586 , 588 . Preferred photosensors for use in the present invention are described in detail in well-known US Patents 5,923,027 and 6,313,457, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. A glare sensor and/or ambient environment sensor automatically controls the reflectivity of the self-darkening reflective element and the intensity of the information display and/or backlight. The glare sensor is used to sense the headlights of the towed vehicle and the ambient sensor is used to detect the ambient light conditions in which the system operates. In another embodiment, a sky sensor arrangement may be included to detect the light intensity generally above and in front of the relevant vehicle, the sky sensor may be used to automatically control the reflectivity of the self-darkening element, the external light of the controlled vehicle and the /or the strength of the information display.

With further reference to FIG. 54 , mirror assembly 502 includes first, second, third, and fourth operator interfaces 590 , 591 , 592 , 593 located within mirror bezel 555 . Each operator interface shown includes a backlit information display "A", "AB", "A1", "12". It should be understood that these operator interfaces may be incorporated anywhere in the associated vehicle, for example, into mirror housings, auxiliary modules, instrument panels, overhead consoles, dashboards, seats, center consoles, and the like. Suitable switch structures are described in detail in well-known US Patents 6,407,468, 6,420,800, 6,4713,62 and 6,614,579, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. These operator interfaces can control: lighting assemblies, displays, reflectivity of mirrors, voice control systems, compass systems, telephone systems, highway tollgate interfaces, telemetry systems, headlight controls, rain sensors, and more. Any of the other displays or systems described herein and in the references may be incorporated anywhere within the relevant vehicle and may be controlled by the operator interface. For example, the user may program the display to depict predetermined information, or to scroll through a series of information, or may use associated sensor inputs to enter setpoints associated with certain operating Upon occurrence of a given event, some information is displayed. In one embodiment, for example, a given display may be unilluminated until the temperature of the engine reaches above a threshold, and the temperature of the engine is automatically displayed when the temperature of the engine exceeds the threshold. As another example, a proximity sensor located at the rear of a vehicle could be connected to a controller and combined with a display in a rearview mirror to indicate to the driver the distance to an object; the display could be made into a bar , the rod can have a length proportional to a given distance.

Although the specific location and numbering of these additional components are shown in FIG. 52, it should be understood that more or less individual components may be incorporated in the relevant vehicle at any location, as in the cited references as described.

Turning now to FIG. 55, this figure shows a cross-sectional view of a mirror assembly 602 having a reflective electrochromic mirror component 605 mounted to an inner panel frame 621 with a double-sided adhesive foam strip 622 . Fixing member 634 is screwed onto (or is integrally formed by) plate frame 621 and defines a ball portion 624 which is joined to crowns in two ball mounts 657 with tubular assemblies 657′. department. The portion depicted in FIG. 55 is taken along the cutting line VI-VI of FIG. 54 . 55 shows the preferred positional relationship of information display 626 and/or backlight (not specifically shown, located at the bottom of mirror assembly 625 ) relative to reflective element 605 within the frame defined by housing 656 and bezel 655 . Bezel 655 is also like any of bezels 144 and 344-344R. Mirror assembly 602 is shown including a microphone; first operator interface; along with a circuit board 695; mirror mount 657 and auxiliary module 658. Mirror mount 657 and/or auxiliary module 658 may include compass sensors, cameras, headlight controls, additional microprocessors, rain sensors, additional information displays, additional operator interfaces, and the like.

Turning now to FIG. 56, an exploded view of mirror assembly 702 is shown. Figure 56 provides additional details regarding the preferred positional relationship of the various components, as well as additional structural details of the mirror assembly. Mirror assembly 702 includes reflective element 705 positioned within bezel 755 and mirror housing 756 . The bezel 755 is suitable similar to any of the bezels 144, and 344-344R previously described. A mirror mount 757 is included for mounting the mirror assembly in the vehicle. It should be noted that in this application, those familiar with the design of vehicle mirrors could redesign, replacing the bezel 755, mirror housing 756, and tubular mount with the bezel 344(-344R), mirror frame 373, and bracket 360 previously described. Seat 757. It should be understood that in addition to the power pack regulator, a number of accessories may be incorporated into the mount 757 and/or on the plate frame bracket 621, for example, rain sensors, cameras, headlight controls, additional microphones , additional information display, compass sensor, etc. These systems may be integrated, at least partially integrated, under common control with the information display, and/or share components with the information sensor. In addition, the status of these systems and/or controlled devices can thus be displayed on an associated information display.

The mirror assembly 702 shown in Figure 56 further includes a third information display 726 with a third information display backlight 737, 738, 739; first and second microphones 760, 761; and includes other known options , for example, first reflector with first lens; second reflector with second lens; glare sensor; ambient light sensor; backlight with first, second, third, and fourth operator interfaces First, second, third and fourth operator interfaces 790, 791, 792, 793 of 790a, 791a, 792a, 793a; circuit board 795 with compass sensor module 799; and with input/output bus interface 797 Daughter board 798.

Preferably, the lighting assembly, with associated light sources, is manufactured in accordance with the teachings of the well-known U.S. Patents U.S. Patent 5,803,579 and 6,335,548, and U.S. Patent application serial number 09/835,278, all of which The contents are incorporated herein by reference.

Preferably, the glare sensor and ambient light sensor are active light sensors, as described in commonly known U.S. Patents 6,359,274 and 6,402,328, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Electrical output signals from one or both of the above sensors may be used as input to a controller on circuit board 740 or 795 to control the reflectivity of reflective element 705 and/or the intensity of the third information display backlight. Details of the various control circuits used herein are described in commonly known U.S. Patents 5,956,0121; 6,084,700; 6,222,177; 6,244,716; 6,247,819; It is cited here as a reference. These systems may form an integral body, at least in part, under common control with the information display and/or share components with the information sensor. In addition, the status of these systems and/or controlled devices can thus be displayed on an associated information display.

Although the compass sensor module 799 is shown mounted on the circuit board 795 in FIG. 56 , it should be understood that the sensor module could be located within the mount 757 with the accessory module 758 located near the mirror assembly 702 or within the associated vehicle. anywhere in the vehicle, such as under the dashboard, in the overhead console, in the center console, in the trunk, in the engine compartment, etc. Known in U.S. Patents 6,023,229 and 6,140,933, and the well-known U.S. Patent application serial number 60/360,723 and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. , detailing various compass systems for use with the present invention. These systems may form an integral body, at least in part, under common control with the information display, and/or share components with the information sensor. In addition, the status of these systems and/or controlled devices can thus be displayed on an associated information display.

Daughter board 798 is in operative communication with circuit board 795 . Circuit board 795 may include a controller 796, such as a microprocessor, and daughterboard 798 may include an information display. For example, the microprocessor receives a signal from the compass sensor module 799, processes the signal and transmits the signal to the daughterboard to control the display to indicate the direction of the corresponding vehicle. As described here and in the cited references, the controller may receive input from a light sensor, rain sensor (not shown), automated vehicle exterior light controller (not shown), microphone, global positioning system (not shown) , telecommunication system (not shown), operator interface, and many other devices receive signals and control information displays to provide visual indications.

Controller 796 may, at least in part, control mirror reflectivity, outside light, rain sensors, compass, information displays, windshield wipers, heaters, defrosters, defoggers, air conditioners, telemetry systems, such as Speech recognition systems such as voice control systems based on digital signal processors, and vehicle speed. Controller 796 may receive signals from switches and/or sensors associated with any of the devices described herein and cited in order to automatically operate any of the other devices described herein and cited therein. The controller 796 may, at least partially, be located outside the mirror assembly, or may include a second controller at another location in the vehicle, or an additional controller throughout the vehicle. The separate processors can be configured for serial and parallel communication via the Bluetooth protocol, wireless communication, via the vehicle bus, or via a CAN bus or any other suitable communication.

According to the present invention, exterior light control systems may be incorporated as described in the well-known patent documents incorporated herein by reference: U.S. Patent 5,990,469; 6,008,486; 6,130,421; 6,130,448; ；5,837,994；6,403,942；6,281,632；6,291,812；6,469,739；6,465,963；6,429,594；6,379,013；6,611,610；6,621,616；6,587,573；和U.S.Patentapplication serial number 60/404,879；和US Patent ApplicationPublications Nos.US2002/0005472 A1、2003/0107323 A1和US2004/ 0021853 A1. These systems may be integral, at least partially integrated, under common control with the information display, and/or share components with the information sensor. In addition, the status of these systems and/or controlled devices can thus be displayed on an associated information display.

Humidity sensor and windshield fog detector systems are described in commonly known U.S. Patents 5,923,027 and 6,313,457, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. These systems may be integral, at least partially integrated, under common control with the information display, and/or share components with the information sensor. In addition, the status of these systems and/or controlled devices can thus be displayed on an associated information display.

U.S. Patent 6,262,831, the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference, describes a power supply for use with the present invention. These systems may be integral, at least partially integrated, under common control with the information display, and/or share components with the information sensor. In addition, the status of these systems and/or controlled devices can thus be displayed on an associated information display.

It is contemplated that the present invention will be useful in interior or exterior rear view mirrors. The interior or exterior rearview mirror has an electro-optic mirror element, a convex mirror element, a spherical mirror element, a planar mirror element, a non-planar mirror element, a hydrophilic mirror element, and a mirror element with a third surface and a fourth surface reflector. It is further contemplated that the present invention is useful for mirrors of the transparent reflective type, or for mirrors having a third, A fourth surface mirror element is useful. Furthermore, the present invention is useful for mirrors having a first or third surface heater, an anti-scratch layer, and a circuit board including a flexible circuit board, and the circuit board and heating Combinations of heaters, for example, heaters with embedded or integrated non-heating functions such as signal ellipses and signal diffusers, positioning holes or windows for the passage of light. The invention is also useful for encapsulated or snap-fit or elastic bezels, and also for brackets with extremely flat surfaces. At the same time, additional options can be integrated into the mirror including: signal lights, main lights, radar distance detectors, puddle lights, signal displays, light sensors and indicators and warning lights, with activity A hinge holder, and an integral frame for receiving and supporting said components. Furthermore, it is contemplated that the present mirrors may include manual folding or powered folding mirrors, deployable mirrors, and mirrors with a wide field of view with information on the mirror such as "objects in mirror are less likely than Shown closer" or other markers such as "heated" or "auto-dimming". Furthermore, the invention is useful for blue glass mirrors or "blue chemical" darkening mirrors. Furthermore, good performance can be obtained by combining this concept with mirrors that have "zero offset" (i.e., the difference between perfect alignment of the edges of the mirror elements averages less than about 1 mm, or more preferably less than about 0.5 mm), the electrochromic mirror components of the front and rear glass mirror elements, an edge seal including a fully reflective or opaque edge seal, and/or or second surface chrome or chrome bezel.

Although the present invention has been generally described in conjunction with electrochromic mirrors such as mirrors and architectural windows, those skilled in the art will appreciate that aspects of the present invention can be used in conjunction with other electro-optic devices .

Turning now to FIG. 57 , there is shown an exploded view of an exterior rear view mirror assembly 705 having a frame 710 connected to an attachment member 715 by a telescoping extension 720 . In at least one embodiment, the telescoping extension 720 includes a single arm having a linear actuator for extending and retracting the telescoping extension from the interior of the associated vehicle. Telescoping extension 720 may include a rack and pinion type linear actuator, an electric solenoid type linear actuator, a pneumatic piston, or a hydraulic actuator. The frame 710 may be manufactured such that it pivots about the telescoping extension in the axial direction. In addition, the telescoping extension can be made such that the frame can be folded inwardly towards the associated vehicle and outwardly away from the associated vehicle. Attachment member 715 is made to be received by vehicle mount 725 . The vehicle mount may be affixed to a door panel, to a front pillar, to a front fender, to a window assembly, or anywhere that the driver would normally see the rear of the associated vehicle. It should be appreciated that the telescoping extension may comprise two or more arms and that, regardless of the number of arms used, the frame may be configured to pivot and fold. It should also be understood that the frame can be attached to a non-telescoping extension at the location indicated by reference numeral 720a such that the frame pivots about the joint 720a so that the mirror can be positioned closer or further away from the vehicle as desired; The components can be accompanied by a dynamic positioning mechanism so that the drive can be done inside the vehicle.

It should be understood that mirror frames, extensions and accessory members may be made such that telescoping, pivoting and folding require manual operation.

A wiring harness 730 with connectors 735 is provided to couple the exterior mirrors with associated equipment located inside the associated vehicle. The wiring harness can be made to provide frame extension, folding and pivoting, or it can be made to provide reflective element control, power, turn signal actuation, mirror heater control, mirror element positioning, light sensor interface, External mirror circuit board interface, radio transceiver interface, information display interface, antenna interface, light source and control, emergency strobe lights, and all other electrical components described here. It should be understood that within the vehicle, where appropriate, an operator interface is provided for each of these components.

A mirror element locator 740 is provided for aligning the associated reflective element within the frame from the associated vehicle interior. It will be appreciated that a corresponding operator interface is provided within the vehicle for positioning of the reflective element.

Positioners 740 are mechanically connected to the bracket to provide a fixed structure for supporting and moving the associated reflective elements. Examples of suitable brackets are described in U.S. Patent Nos. 6,195,1946,239,899, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

In at least one embodiment, double-sided adhesive foam 750 is utilized to secure the reflective element to the bracket. In some cases, holes 751 may be provided in the double-sided adhesive foam to accommodate the positioning of various components.

In at least one embodiment, in the rearview mirror assembly, a circuit board 755 is provided. Circuit board 755 may include light sources such as turn signal lights, keyhole illuminators, or exterior door area illuminators as taught in U.S. Patent No. 6,441,943, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference, information displays, antennas, radio Transceivers, reflective element controllers, exterior mirror communication systems, remote keyless entry systems, proximity sensors, and interfaces for other devices described herein.美国专利U.S.Patent Nos.6,244,716、6,523,876、6,521,916、6,441,943、6,335,548、6,132,072、5,803,579、6,229,435、6,504,142、6,402,328、6,379,013、和6,359,274揭示了可以用于一个和多个实施例中的各种电气部件和电路板, the contents of each of these US patents are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

In at least one embodiment, a rearview mirror assembly is provided with a heater 760 for improving the operation of the device and for melting frozen precipitation that may be present. Examples of various heaters are disclosed in U.S. Patent Nos. 5,151,824, 6,244,716, 6,426,485, 6,441,943, and 6,356,376, the entire disclosures of each of which are incorporated herein by reference.

In at least one embodiment, the reflective element has a variable reflectivity characteristic. The variable reflectivity reflective element may include a first substrate 765 and a second substrate 770 held in spaced relation to each other by a seal 775 so as to define a chamber therebetween. The reflective element can be fabricated to define a convex element, an aspheric element, a planar element, a non-planar element, a wide field element, or a combination of these various elements in different areas to define a complex mirror The shape of the component. The first surface of the first substrate may include a hydrophilic or hydrophobic coating to improve handling. The reflective element may include transflective properties such that a light source or information display may be positioned behind the element and project light therethrough. The reflective element may comprise a scratch-resistant layer on exposed surfaces of the first and/or second substrate. The reflective element may comprise areas free of reflective material, eg etched into stripes or lettering, so as to define an information display area.各种反射元件的例子在以下的美国专利中进行过描述，所述专利为U.S.PatentNos.5,682,267、5,689,370、6,064,509、6,062,920、6,268,950、6,195,194、5,940,201、6,246,507、6,057,956、6,512,624、6,356,376、6,166,848、6,111,684、6,111,684 , 6,193,378, 6,239,898, 6,441,943, 6,037,471, 6,020,987, 5,825,527, and 5,998,617, the entire disclosures of each of these patents are incorporated herein by reference.

Preferably, the chamber contains an electrochromic medium. The electrochromic medium is preferably capable of selectively attenuating light passing through it and preferably has at least one solution phase electrochromic material and preferably at least one additional electroactive material, which may be a solution Phase, surface limited, or precipitated onto the surface. However, the presently preferred media are solution-phase redox electrochromic media as disclosed, for example, in the well-known U.S. Patent Nos. , 5,336,448, 5,808,778, and 6,020,987; the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. If a solution-phase electrochromic medium is used, it can be inserted into the chamber through the sealable fill port using known techniques, eg, by vacuum backfilling or similar techniques.

Electrochromic media preferably include electrochromic anode and cathode materials, which can be grouped into the following categories:

(i) Single layer - The electrochromic medium is a single layer of material that may include small non-uniform domains and includes solution phase devices in which the material is contained in a solution in an ionically conductive electrolyte and, when During electrochemical oxidation and reduction, it stays in solution. Anode and cathode materials that can be used in single-layer electrochromic media are disclosed in the following patent documents: U.S. Patent No. 6,193,912 entitled "NEAR INFRARED-ABSORBING ELECROCHROMIC COMPOUNDS AND DEVICES COMPRISINGSAME"; STABILIZEDELECTROCHROMIC DEVICES”的U.S.Patent No.6,188,505；标题为“ANODIC ELECTROCHROMIC MATERIAL HAVING ASOLUBILIZING MOIETY”的U.S.Patent 6,262,832；标题为“ELECTROCHROMIC MEDIA WITH CONCENTRATIONENHANCED STABILTY PROCESS FOR PREPARATIONTHEREOF AND USE IN ELECTROCHROMIC DEVICE”的U.S.Patent No.6,137,620：标题为“ELECTROCHROMICMATERIALS WITH ENHANCED ULTRAVIOLET STABILITY”的U.S.Patent nNo.6,195,192：标题为“SUBSTITUTEDMETALLOCENES FOR USE AS AN ANODICELECTROCHROMIC MATERIAL AND ELECTROCHROMICMEDIA AND DEVICES COMPRISING SAME”的U.S.PatentNo.6,392,783；以及标题为“COUPLED ELECTEOCHROMICCOMPOUNDS WITH PHOTOSTABLE DICATION OXIDATIONSTATES”的U.S Patent No. 6,249,369; the disclosures of these patents are incorporated herein by reference.根据标题为“IMPROVEDELECTREOCHROMIC LAYER AND DEVICES COMPRISINGSAME”的U.S.Patent No.5,928,572，或者标题为“ELETROCHROMICPOLYMERIC SOLID FILMS，MANUFACTURINGELECTROCHROMIC DEVICES USING SUCH SOLID FILMS，AND PROCESSES FOR MAKING SUCH SOLID FILMS ANDDEVICES”的国际专利申请International Patent ApplicationNo.PCT /USD98/05570, Solution Phase Electroactive Materials Can Be Contained in a Continuous Solution Phase of a Crosslinked Polymer Matrix, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

At least three electroactive materials, at least two of which are electrochromic, can be combined to give a preselected color, as in U.S. Patent No. entitled "ELECTROCHROMICMEDIUM CAPBLE OF PRODUCTING A PRESELECTED COLOR". 6,020,97, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. This ability to select the color of the electrochromic medium is particularly beneficial when designing an information display for the relevant element.

The anode and cathode materials may be combined or joined using a bridging unit as described in International Application No. PCT/WO97/EP498 entitled "ELECTROCHROMIC SYSTEM", the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference . Anode materials or cathode materials can also be connected using a similar method. The concepts described in these applications can be further combined to produce a wide variety of linked electrochromic materials.

Alternatively, single layer media including anode and cathode materials may be incorporated into a polymer matrix as described in: International Application No. PCT/Wo98 entitled "ELECTROCHROMIC POLYMER SYSTEM" /EP3862, titled "ELECTROCHROMIC POLYMERIC SOLID FILMS,

MANUFACURING ELECTROCHROMIC DEVVICEC USINGSOLID FILMS, AND PROCESSE FOR MAKING SUCH SOLIDFILMS AND DEVICES" U.S. Patent no. 6,002,511 or International Patent Application No. PCT/US98/05570, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Also includes a medium in which one or more materials in the medium undergo a phase change during operation of the device, for example, a deposition system in which a material is contained in an ionically conductive electrolyte In solution in , the material forms a layer, or part of a layer, on the conductive electrode when electrochemical oxidation or reduction occurs.

Multilayer - The dielectric is formed into multiple layers and includes at least one material that is directly attached to or confined in the vicinity of a conductive electrode, and remains attached or confined in the vicinity of the conductive electrode when electrochemical oxidation or reduction occurs state on it. Examples of electrochromic media of this type are thin films of metal oxides such as tungsten oxide, iridium oxide, nickel oxide and vanadium oxide. A medium comprising one or more organic electrochromic layers would also be considered a multilayer medium, eg, polythiophene, polyaniline, or polypyrrole attached to an electrode.

In addition, the electrochromic medium may also include other materials, such as light absorbers, light stabilizers, heat stabilizers, antioxidants, thickeners, or viscosity regulators.

Preferably, the gel is incorporated into an electrochromic device, as disclosed in well-known U.S. Patent No. 5,940,201, issued April 2, 1997, entitled "AN ELECTROCHROMIC MIRROR WITH TWO THINGLASS ELEMENT AND A GELLED ELECTROCHROMIC MEDIUM" describe. The entire content of this US patent is incorporated herein by reference.

In at least one embodiment, the rearview mirror assembly is provided with an electro-optical element having a substantially transparent seal. Provided in U.S. Patent No. 5,790,298

Examples of substantially transparent seals and methods of forming substantially transparent seals, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

In at least one embodiment, the rearview mirror assembly includes 780 for protecting associated seals from damaging light and providing an aesthetically pleasing appearance. Various bezels are disclosed in U.S. Patent Nos. 5,448,397, 6,102,546, 6,195,194, 5,923,457, 6,239,898, 6,170,95, and 6,471,362, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Referring to FIG. 58, a controlled vehicle 1105 is shown having a driver's side exterior rearview mirror 1110a, a passenger's side exterior rearview mirror 1110b, and an interior rearview mirror 1115. Details of these and other components are described here. Preferably, the controlled vehicle includes a unit magnification interior rearview mirror. As used herein, a unit magnification mirror refers to a planar or planar mirror with a reflective surface that, when viewed directly through the surface at the same distance, is free from imperfections that do not exceed usual manufacturing tolerances. The height angle and width of an image of an object are equal to the height angle and width of the object. A prismatic day-night adjustable rear view mirror in which at least one relevant position provides unit magnification is here considered to be a unit magnification mirror. Preferably, the mirror provides a field of view having a built-in horizontal angle of at least 20 degrees as measured from the projected viewpoint and sufficient vertical angle so that when the controlled vehicle is occupied by a driver and four passengers or If less, the permissible occupancy capacity specified on the basis of an average occupancy weight of 68 kg is occupied, providing a view of a level road surface extending to the rear of the controlled vehicle from a point not greater than 61 m on the horizon. It should be understood that the line of sight may be partially obscured by seated occupants or head restraints. The position of the driver's eye reference point is preferably a position according to norms or standards suitable for ninety-five percent of male drivers. Preferably, the controlled vehicle comprises at least one unit magnification exterior mirror. Preferably, the exterior mirror provides the driver of the controlled vehicle with a view of a horizontal road surface extending to the horizon from a line perpendicular to a longitudinal plane tangent to the controlled vehicle at its widest point and extending from The 10.7m section behind the driver's eyes extends 2.4m, with the seat in the rearmost position. It should be understood that this line of sight may be partially obscured by the rear body or fender profile of the controlled vehicle. Preferably, the position of the driver's eye reference point is preferably a position according to norms or standards suitable for ninety-five percent of male drivers. Preferably, the passenger side mirror is not obscured by a corresponding unwiped portion of the windshield, and is preferably adjustable by tilting both horizontally and vertically from the driver's seated position. In at least one embodiment, the controlled vehicle includes a convex mirror mounted on the passenger side. Preferably, the mirror is made to adjust by tilting both horizontally and vertically. Preferably, each exterior mirror includes a reflective surface of not less than 126 cm (cm ² ?) and is arranged to provide the driver with a rearward view along the relevant side of the vehicle being controlled. Preferably, the average reflectance of any one mirror, determined according to SAER Recommended Practice J964, OCT84, is at least 35 percent (40 percent for many European countries). For embodiments in which the mirror element is capable of multiple reflectivity levels, such as with an electro-optical mirror according to the invention, the minimum reflectivity level in day mode will be at least thirty-five percent (at Europe adopts 40 percent) In night mode, the minimum albedo level will be at least 4 percent.

With further reference to FIG. 58, the controlled vehicle 1105 may include various exterior lights, for example, headlight assemblies 1120a, 1120b, dirty condition lights 1130a, 1130b, front turn signal indicators 1135a, 1135b, taillight assemblies 1125a, 1125b , rear turn indicators 1126a, 1126b, rear emergency flashers 1127a, 1127b, reverse lights 1140a, 1140b and parking lights (CHMSL) 1145 mounted high in the center.

As described in detail herein, a controlled vehicle may include at least one control system incorporating various components that provide shared functionality with other equipment of the vehicle. The example of the control system described here integrates components related to the automatic control of the reflectivity of at least one rearview mirror element and the automatic control of at least one exterior light. Such a system may include at least one camera sensor, which may be located in a rearview mirror, front pillar, center pillar, rear pillar, CHMSL, or elsewhere within or on the vehicle being controlled. The images obtained, or the positions of these images, can be used for automatic vehicle equipment control. The acquired images, or their positions, may alternatively or additionally be displayed on one or more displays. At least one display can be arranged discreetly behind the transflective or at least partially transmissive electro-optical element. A common controller may be configured to generate drive signals for at least one mirror element and control signals for at least one other device.

Turning now to Figures 59A and 59B, various components of exterior rearview mirror assembly 1110a are shown. As described in detail herein, the electro-optic mirror element may include a first substrate 1220a secured to a second substrate 1225 in spaced relation to each other via a primary seal 1230, forming a cavity therebetween. room. At least a portion of the primary seal is voided to form at least one chamber fill port 1235 . The electro-optic medium is inserted into the cavity and the fill opening is hermetically closed by a plug material 1240 . Preferably, the plug material is a UV curable epoxy or acrylic material. Also shown is a spectral filter material 1245a near the periphery of the element. Preferably, the conductive clips 1250, 1255 are secured to the element via a first adhesive material 1251, 1252, respectively. The components are secured to the carrier 1260 via a second adhesive material 1265 . Preferably, the electrical connection from the exterior rear view mirror to other components of the controlled vehicle is done via connector 1270 . The carrier plate 1260 is secured to an associated frame mount 1270 via positioners 1280 . Preferably, the frame mount is coupled to the frame 1275a, 1275b and secured via at least one fastener 276a. Preferably, the frame mount includes a swivel portion configured to engage the swivel mounts 277a, 277b. The swivel mount is preferably configured to engage a vehicle mount 278 via at least one fastener 278a. Additional details of these components, nearby components, their interconnection and operation will be provided here.

With further reference to Figure 59B, the exterior rear view mirror assembly 1110a is oriented to reveal the field of view of the first substrate 1220a with spectral filter material disposed between the observer and the main seal (not shown). Blind spot lights 1285, keyhole illuminators 1290, puddle lights 1292, turn signal lights 1294, optical sensors 1296, partial combinations thereof, or combinations thereof, incorporated into the rearview mirror assembly such that they are after the element. Preferably, the devices 1285, 1290, 1292, 1294, 1296 are fabricated in conjunction with mirror elements so as to be at least partially concealed, as discussed in detail in the references cited herein. Details of these components, additional components, their interaction and operation are provided here.

Turning now to FIG. 60, the interior rearview mirror assembly 1115 is shown when viewing the first substrate 1322 with the spectral filter material 1345 disposed between the observer and the primary seal material (not shown). The illustrated mirror element is disposed within a movable frame 1375 and engages a fixed frame 1377 on a mounting surface 1381 . The first indicator 1386, the second indicator 1387, the operator interface 1391 and the first optical sensor 1396 are disposed on the chin of the movable frame. The first information display 1388, the second information display 1389 and the second optical sensor 1397 are positioned within the assembly such that they are located behind the element with respect to the viewer. As described with respect to the exterior rearview mirror assembly, it is preferred that the devices 1388, 1389, 1397 are at least partially concealed. For example, a "window" may be formed on the third and/or fourth surface coating of the associated mirror element and made to provide a platinum group metal (PGM) (i.e., iridium, osmium, palladium, platinum, rhodium, and ruthenium). Thus, the "glare" impinging on the associated "covert" optical sensor will first pass through the first surface stack (if any), the first substrate, the second surface stack, the electro-optic medium, the platinum group metal and , and finally, the second substrate. The platinum group metals function to impart continuity to the third surface conductive electrode, thereby reducing coloration variations of the electro-optic medium associated with the window.

Turning now to Figures 61A-61C, a discussion of additional features of the present invention is provided. FIG. 61A shows rear view mirror element 1400a as viewed from first substrate 1402a with spectral filter material 1496a disposed between the observer and primary seal material 1478a. A first isolation region 1440a is provided to substantially electrically isolate the first conductive portion 1408a from the second conductive portion 1430a. Perimeter material 1460a is applied to the edge of the component. Figure 61B shows the rearview mirror element 1400b as viewed from the second substrate with the primary seal material 1478b disposed between the observer and the spectral filter material 1490b. A second isolation region 1486a is provided to substantially electrically isolate the third conductive portion 1418a from the fourth conductive portion 1487b. Perimeter material 1460b is applied to the edge of the component. Preferably, the first isolation region 1440a and the second isolation region 1486b are positioned as close as possible to the surrounding material 1460a and 1460b, respectively, so that the first isolation region 1440a and the second isolation region 1486b will become less noticeable, but the second isolation region A conductive portion 1408a and a third conductive portion 1418b are still electrically isolated from the second conductive portion 1430a and the fourth conductive portion 1487b, respectively. Figure 61C shows rearview mirror element 1400c as viewed from the LXI-LXI section line of either of the elements of Figures 61C or 61C. A first substrate 1402c is shown secured in spaced relation to a second substrate 1412c via a primary seal material 1478c. Spectral filter material 1496c is disposed between the viewer and primary seal material 1478c. First and second conductive clips 1463c, 1484c, respectively, are provided to facilitate electrical connection to the components. Perimeter material 1460c is applied to the edge of the element. It should be understood that the primary seal material may be applied by methods commonly used in the LCD industry such as screen printing or dispensing. U.S. Patent No. 4,094,058 to Yasutake et al., the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference, describes methods that may be used. These techniques allow the application of primary seal material to individual cut-to-shape substrates, or the application of multiple primary seal shapes on one large substrate. The large substrate coated with multiple primary seals is then laminated to another large substrate, and after at least partial curing of the primary seal material, the laminate can be cut into individual mirror shapes. This multiple processing technique is commonly used as the method for manufacturing LCDs and is sometimes referred to as an array process. Electro-optic devices can be fabricated using similar processes. All coatings such as transparent conductors, reflectors, spectral filters and, in the case of solid-state electro-optic devices, electro-optic layers, can be coated and patterned on large substrates, if desired. The coating can be patterned using a number of techniques, for example, coating the coating through a mask, by selectively coating a patterned dissolvable layer underneath the coating, and removing the soluble layer after the coating has been applied. Blanket removal, laser ablation or etching on top of the dissolved layer. These patterns, which can include alignment marks or targets, can be used to precisely align or position the substrates throughout the manufacturing process. This is usually done optically, using pattern recognition techniques, such as vision systems. Alignment marks or targets can also be applied directly to the glass, for example by sandblasting, laser or diamond scribing, etc., if desired. Before lamination, in order to control the space between the laminated substrates, a spacer medium can be put into the main seal material or coated on the substrates. The spacer medium or mechanism may be applied to the areas of the laminate that will be cut from the finished individual mirror assemblies. If the device is a solution-phase electro-optic mirror element, the stacked array can be cut to shape either before or after filling and plugging the fill ports with the electro-optic material.

Figure 62 shows rearview mirror element 1500, which is an enlarged view of the element shown in Figure 61C to provide greater detail. Component 1500 includes a first substrate 1502 having a first surface 1504 and a second surface 1506 . First conductive electrode portion 1508 and second conductive electrode portion 1530 applied to second surface 1506 are substantially electrically isolated from each other via first isolation region 1540 . As can be seen, in at least one embodiment, the isolation region is configured such that the spectral filter material 1596 and the corresponding attachment material 1593 are also substantially electrically insulative so as to define first and second spectral filter material, respectively. The device material portions 1524, 1536 define first and second attachment material portions 1527, 1539, respectively. The portion of the first isolation region 1540, 1440a, 1440b, 1440c shown may extend parallel within a portion of the primary seal material 1578 near its center. It should be appreciated that this region of the isolation region 1540 may be located such that a viewer will not readily perceive lines within the spectral filter material; for example, a portion of the isolation region may be substantially aligned with the inside edge of the spectral filter material 1596 Basically arranged in a straight line. It should be appreciated that when any portion of the isolation region 1540 is inside the primary seal material, discontinuities in electro-optic material coloration and/or clarity may be observed, as described in greater detail elsewhere herein. This operational characteristic can be used to elicit a subjectively visually appealing element.

With further reference to FIG. 62 , the illustrated element 1500 includes a second substrate 1512 passing through a third surface 1515 and a fourth surface 1514 . Third and fourth conductive electrode portions 1518 , 1587 , respectively, proximate third surface 1515 are substantially electrically isolated from each other via second isolation region 1586 . The illustrated second isolation regions 1586, 1486a, 1486b, 1486c extend parallel within a portion of the primary seal material 1578 near its center. It should be understood that the portion of the isolation region 1586 can be positioned such that a viewer will not readily see a line in the spectral filter material; The inner edge 1597 is aligned in a straight line. It should be appreciated that when any portion of the isolation region 1586 is inside the primary seal material, discontinuities in electro-optic material coloration and/or clarity may be observed, as described in greater detail elsewhere herein. This operational characteristic can be used to elicit a subjectively visually appealing element. As further shown in FIG. 62 , reflective material 1520 may be applied between optional protective coating 1522 and third conductive electrode portion 1518 . It should be understood that any of the materials disclosed in the following patent documents can be used to define a single surface coating, such as a hydrophilic coating on a first surface, a composite stack of coatings, for example applied to a first , Conductive electrode materials, spectral filter materials, adhesion materials, reflective materials, protective layer materials on the second, third and fourth surfaces, the patent documents are: U.S. Patent No.5,818,625, 5,825,527, 6,166,848, 6,356,376, 6,193,378, and 6,111,683, U.S. Patent Application Serial Nos. 09/602,919, 10/260,74, and 10/115,800, and U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. US 2004/0032638 A1/002000. It should be understood that both third surface and fourth surface reflector embodiments are within the scope of the present invention. In at least one embodiment, the material applied to the third surface and/or the fourth surface is formed to provide partially reflective/partially transmissive characteristics for at least a portion of the corresponding surface stack. In at least one embodiment, the material applied to the third surface is integrated to provide a combined reflector/conductive electrode. It should be understood that additional "third surface" material may extend to the outside of the main seal, in which case it will be understood that the corresponding isolation region is extended by the additional material. Having the primary seal visible through the fourth surface facilitates inspection and UV curing of the plug material. Various embodiments of the invention will include specific surface portions that, distinct from other portions, have a coating or stack of coatings; for example, may be in front of a light source, an information display, an optical sensor, or a combination thereof A "window" is formed to selectively transmit a particular band of one or more wavelengths of light, as described in many of the references cited herein.

61A-61B and 62, the first isolation region 1540 cooperates with the primary sealing material 1575 to define the second conductive electrode portion 1530, the second spectral filter material portion 1536 and the second adhesion promotion material portion 1539 are substantially in the same direction as the first conductive electrode portion 1530. Conductive electrode portion 1508, first spectral filter material portion 1524, and first adhesion promoting material portion 1527 are electrically insulated. This configuration allows conductive material 1548 to be placed such that first conductive clip 1563 is in electrical communication with third conductive electrode portion 1518 , reflective material 1520 , optional protective layer 1522 , and electro-optic medium 1510 . It will be apparent that, particularly in embodiments where the conductive material 1548 is applied to the element prior to placing the first conductive clip 1569, the conductive material may at least partially separate the joints 1557, 1566, 1572, 1575. Preferably, the material or combination of materials forming third conductive electrode portion 1518, or first conductive clip 1563, and conductive material 1548 is selected so as to facilitate durable electrical communication between the conductive clip and the material leading to the electro-optic medium. Second isolation region 1586 cooperates with primary encapsulant material 1575 to define fourth conductive electrode portion 1587 that is substantially in contact with third conductive electrode portion 1518, reflective layer 1520, optional protective material 1522 and The electro-optic medium 1510 is electrically insulating. This configuration allows the conductive material 1590 to be positioned such that the second conductive clip 1584 is in electrical communication with the first attachment material portion 1527 , the first spectral filter material portion 1524 , the first conductive electrode portion 1508 and the electro-optical medium 1510 . It will be apparent that, particularly in embodiments where the conductive material 1590 is applied prior to placement of the first conductive clip 1585 , the conductive material may at least partially separate the joints 1585 , 1588 , 1589 . Preferably, the material or combination of materials forming the first conductive electrode portion 1508, the first conductive clip 1584, the attachment material 1593, the spectral filter material 1596, and the conductive material 1590 are selected so as to facilitate communication between the conductive clip and the electro-optic medium. Durable electrical communication between materials.

Preferably, the perimeter material 1560 is chosen such that the resulting visible edge surface is visually appealing and such that a good bond is obtained at the joints 1533 , 1545 , 1554 . It should be understood that at least a portion of the first substrate 1502 in the region near the first corner 1503, the edge 1505, the second corner 1507, and combinations thereof can be processed to have smooth ridges and depressions apparent to a viewer. . It is within the scope of the present invention to modify a portion of a surface, a corner, an edge, or a combination thereof to define "sloped," "rounded," or a combination thereof. The well known US Patent Application Publication US Application Publication No. US2004/0061920 A1 describes various mechanisms for accomplishing edge processing. The handling of edges is also discussed above. The corresponding treatment improves the visual appearance and durability of the element.

Turning now to Figures 63A-F and Tables 1-3, the colors that appear as a result of having an indium tin oxide conductive electrode between the first substrate and the chromium spectral filter material are described. In the description of the mirror element of the examples contained here, when the electro-optic medium is in the "transparent" state, the reflectivity associated with the chrome spectral filter material/indium tin oxide conductive electrode, relative to the reflectance of the third surface reflector In terms of rate, the chrome spectral filter material/indium tin oxide conductive electrode results in a bluer hue. As shown in the tables included here, the b ^* of the reflector is higher than that of ^chromium /indium tin oxide. As described herein, the use of aluminum in combination with or instead of chromium provides additional color rendering options for spectral filter materials. Table 1 summarizes the various color characteristics, namely, for seven unique configurations of spectral filter materials, second surface conductive electrodes, and associated materials, including Y-reflective (A10); a ^* ; b ^* ; C ^* and no including the Y reflection.

Table 1 Albedo trail (tracking) A10 D65-2 (including specular reflection) D65-2 Macbech Color Eye 7000 Y a ^* b ^* C ^* Does not include Y specular reflection 1 856cstio 11.665 2.088 -5.491 5.874 0.01 2 cswchr 38.312 -3.477 4.183 5.439 0.133 3 cswchral 61.366 -3.108 6.965 7.627 0.186 4 half-chral 61.679 -4.484 12.279 13.072 0.376 5 half-chr 41 -5.929 12.809 14.114 0.073 6 Tec15chr 23.76 0.984 8.603 8.659 1.322

7 Tec15 11.284 -3.363 0.442 3.392 0.162

1-Glass/856Ang.Al2O3/half-wavelength (optical thickness) ITO

2- above 1 plus opaque chrome layer

3- 1 above plus about 30Ang.Cr / 250Ang.Al

4- Glass/half-wavelength ITO/opaque chrome layer

5-Glass/half-wavelength ITO/30Ang.Chrome/250Ang.Aluminum

6 - Glass/Tec15/Opaque Chrome

7-Tee15

Table 2 summarizes the various color characteristics for various indium tin oxide (ITO) second surface conductive electrode valve combinations located between the first substrate and the opaque chromium spectral filter material, i.e., a ^* ; b ^* ; C ^* and (A10) including Y specular reflection. The data contained in this table represent the ability to control the b ^* values obtained by varying the thickness of the ITO from about 65% to about 100% of 1/2 wavelength. The particular thickness expected to achieve a given color may vary slightly according to deposition parameters affecting optical constants. The color of a particular stack can vary to some extent depending on the choice of process parameters, as well as process fluctuations that cause small, but sometimes significant, optical constants of the materials used. offset. For example, if the physical density of the coating is increased, the half-wavelength optical thickness of ITO will correspond to a smaller physical thickness, and the increase in absorption in the ITO coating will reduce the reflectivity of the second surface ITO plus chrome stack . This does not negate the fact that, within the range of optical constants normally associated with ITO, for example, when coating ITO with a half-wavelength optical thickness (relative to 550nm) with chromium, will tend to produce a Toned reflections.

Table 2 TCO including specular plus chrome Trail a ^* b ^* C ^* A10Y 85CHR -6.801 2.486 7.241 44.829 80CHR -6,717 -0.829 6.768 44.375 75CHR -6.024 -4.031 7.248 43.759

70CHR -5.613 -5.426 7.807 42.917 65CHR -5.227 -6.639 8.45 42.64 100CHR -7.06 12.85 14.662 45.255

Table 3 summarizes the various color characteristics for various indium tin oxide (ITO) second surface conductive electrode valves, ie, a ^* ; b ^* ; C ^* ; including Y specular (A10). The data contained in this table represent the values of the results produced by varying the thickness of ITO from about 65% to about 100% of 1/2 wavelength.

table 3 Includes TCO specular reflection Tail (tracking) a ^* b ^* C ^* A10Y Thickness () 65CLR -0.988 15.535 15.567 15.678 1095 100CLR 13.588 -17.765 22.366 8.967 1480 85CLR 8.376 2.896 8.863 11.352 1306 80CLR 4.481 11.34 12.193 12.892 1253 75CLR 1.565 15.019 15.101 14.275 1194 70CLR -0.276 15.654 15.656 15.259 1135

Materials for the transparent second surface conduction electrode typically have a refractive index of about 1.9 or greater. It is known to minimize the effect of color on these conductive electrode materials by using multiplied plates of half wavelength thickness, by using the thinnest layers that can be applied, or by using some "non-shiny glass structures". Non-flare structures will typically utilize high and low index layers underneath a high index conductive coating (see, for example, Roy Gordond U.S. Patent Nos. 4,377,613 and 4,419,386), or, an intermediate Refractive index layers (see U.S. Patent No. 4,308,216 to Roy Gordon) or utilize graded refractive index layers (see, for example, U.S. Patent No. 4,440,822 to Roy Gordon) to minimize the effect of color.

Utilize a partially transmissive layer such as thin chrome adjacent to glass in order to provide better adhesion than might be used for metals which have better reflectivity than chrome Metals with high rates, such as platinum group metals (PGM) (i.e., iridium, osmium, palladium, platinum, rhodium, and ruthenium), silver, aluminum, and alloys of these metals with each other, such as silver-gold, artificial platinum, or other metals . Some improved reflectivity of the second material will be achieved when these other metals or alloys are placed behind the partially transmissive adhesion promoting layer. It would be beneficial to overcoat the spectral filter material with a material that improves the durability of the spectral filter, whether it is in contact with a transparent conductive protective layer or directly in contact with the electro-optic medium. It should be understood that the reflector may be a dichroic stack. The spectral filter material can include a single material, such as chromium, or it can include a stack of materials, such as: 1) chromium, rhodium, ITO; 2) molybdenum; 3) chromium, rhodium, TC; 4) chromium, Platinum group metals, ITO; 5) ITO, silver, ITO; 6) ITO, silver alloy, ITO; 7) Zno, silver/silver alloy, ZnO; 8) transparent conductor, metal reflector, transparent conductor; silicon, ITO and 9) Silicon, ZnO.

In particular, aluminum that is in direct contact with electro-optic media tends to degrade when subjected to multiple coloring/finishing cycles. It has been proven that a protective layer of chromium improves its durability. When using an ITO protective layer, a material such as silicon can improve the bond strength between the ITO and the glass-like substrate. Other materials, such as platinum group metals (PGM) (i.e., iridium, osmium, palladium, platinum, rhodium, and ruthenium), can be coated to improve adhesion, reflectivity, conductivity, electrode stability, any of them, Their partial combinations or their combinations and features.

As revealed in the figures and tables above, the thickness of the ITO can be chosen so as to produce the desired reflected color. If the ITO coating is about 25% thinner, that is, about 1,120 Ang. instead of 1,140 Ang. This results in a bluer shade, lower b ^* . But this will also reduce the conductivity of the ITO coating. The reflectivity of the cladding will also be slightly higher than that of conventional half-wavelength optical thickness claddings, where the minimum reflectivity is around 550nm.

If the thickness of ITO is increased from 1/2 wavelength to the point where blue is achieved for ITO plus chromium stack, the color is more prone to shift due to thickness variation during deposition and/or due to viewing angle differences in practical applications. shift. ITO coatings deposited intentionally thinner than 1/2 wavelength optical thickness, as discussed above, also exhibit relatively low levels of haze when overcoated with chromium, as shown in Table 2.

Differences between coatings can be measured using options available on some reflectance spectrophotometers that include spherical reflectance. It is important to verify that this measurement is actually measuring scattered light and not mainly a small amount of reflected component. In general, shorter wavelength light is more easily scattered. This fact is a good indicator when used to determine whether a given reading is actually the expected intensity of the measured scattered light. The MacBeath Color Eye 7000 is a spectrophotometer, and at this point it gives a good measure of blur.

As used herein, the terms "haze" and "blur" should be understood to refer to the property of scattering in a thin film, or the property of non-specular reflection. Haze can be caused by a number of factors including: incompletely oxidized layers, size of crystals within the layer, roughness of the surface, nature of the interface of the layer, clean quality of the substrate, partial combinations thereof and combinations thereof.

These properties will vary with processing conditions and/or materials. This is especially true for processing conditions, since even within a processing "batch" or "charge" of a coating, the degree of haze can vary. Nonetheless, for ITO layers coated with chromium, and viewed through glass, with or without a color suppression liner or anti-glare liner, comparable results were obtained with coatings similarly obtained with Tec15 glass from Libbey Owens Ford. Both can form coatings with much less haze.

Alumina can be utilized as a backing layer to help control the hue of the spectral filter material stack, as well as an oxide mixture to create the correct refractive index. Utilizing a mixture of ITO and _SiO2 and/or SiO as a backing layer of ITO is particularly beneficial for controlling the hue of the obtained spectral filter material stack. The use of ceramic targets for ITO is often considered to enable tighter process control over properties such as film thickness. Sputtering targets comprising mixtures of ITO and SI and/or oxidation states of SI may be utilized. This liner potentially enables the use of an in-line coating system where the gas flow is not substantially isolated from suction or mediation gates between the cathodes used to deposit the liner and the ITO layer. A mixture of ITO and SiO ₂ with at least a few percent SiO ₂ will maintain sufficient conductivity so that RF (radio frequency) sputtering is not required. Radio frequency (RF) sputtering, compared with intermediate frequency (MF) sputtering or direct current (DC) sputtering, often requires electrical isolation and impedance matching, which is not straightforward to include in a thin film coating system.

Since, according to regulations, 35% (40% in many European countries) reflectivity of vehicle rearview mirrors is required, (clear state of electro-optic mirror elements), in order for the surrounding area to be included in the field of view, calculations need to be made in order to have such reflectivity rate level. In the data with chromium on Tec glass 15, this minimum value cannot be met.

Fluorine-doped tin oxide deposited by CVD with measurable haze is known as part of an anti-glare structure for electro-optical devices. Various thicknesses of ITO are known for providing conductive electrodes. It was not previously known that the b ^* of the ITO conductive electrode and chromium spectral filter material stack could be pre-controlled by varying the thickness of the ITO. As shown in Table 1, when pyrolytically deposited fluorine-doped tin oxide (Tec15 composed of LOF) with anti-glare structure was overcoated with chromium, significantly more blurred.

In embodiments where the spectral filter material is located near the first surface, the distance between the first surface and the third or fourth surface may advantageously be minimized. When transitioning from the main reflector onto the spectral filter material, the greater the distance between the reflector and the first surface, the greater the discontinuity in the image reflected by the element. This problem is exacerbated as the viewing angle increases.

In embodiments where the spectral filter material is adjacent to the second surface of the element, and an additional coating such as a hydrophilic coating is on the first surface, the optical properties of both coatings will affect the appearance of the periphery of the device, and Adjustments to the layers may be required to achieve the best perimeter appearance. In the case of electro-optical elements with hydrophilic coatings as described in the following patent documents, the first surface coating has a reflectivity significantly lower than the preferred embodiment of the second surface spectral filter material described here Examples of reflectance, wherein the patent documents are: US Patents 6,447,123, 6,193,378 and application serial No.09/602,919, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. This will cause the hue and/or chroma at the periphery of the device to be more dependent on the coating on the second surface than on the coating on the first surface. Even so, the colors are specifically chosen to go from close to the perceived yellow to blue, +b ^* to -b ^* transition points, respectively, or from close to red to green, +a ^* to -a ^* transition points, respectively At this point, these differences tend to become more perceptible. When attempting to match the hue of the spectral filter material to the hue of the full field of view of the reflector, when compared to the field of view of the entire element, by implementing the teachings here, it is possible to avoid causing more yellow to less yellow , or a small difference in material that transitions from less blue to more blue. Similar contrast in red or green tones can be controlled.

Description of instance mirror element

A particularly advantageous element structure consistent with FIGS. 61A-61C and 62 includes a first substrate of glass approximately 1.6 mm thick with an oxide layer having a thickness of approximately 0.4 wavelength (approximately 80% of 1/2 wavelength). An indium tin conductive electrode coated by sputtering onto substantially the entire second surface. At least a portion of the first corner, edge, and second corner is treated such that about 0.25 inches of material is removed from the second surface and about 0.5 inches of material is removed from the first surface. Apparently, during processing, a portion of the conductive electrode is removed. About 400 Å thick chrome spectral filter material was applied to a width of about 4.5 mm about the periphery of the first substrate near the conductive electrodes. A conductive stabilizing material of platinum group metals (PGM) (i.e., iridium, osmium, palladium, platinum, rhodium, and ruthenium) was coated to a thickness of about 100 Å in a width of about 2.0 cm to the near spectral filter of the first substrate. near the perimeter of the device material. A first isolation region about 0.025 mm wide is laser etched with a portion extending within its width parallel to the primary encapsulant region to separate the first and second conductive electrode portions, the spectral filter The material portion and the attachment-promoting material portion are substantially electrically insulated. A second glass substrate having a thickness of about 1.6 mm having conductive electrodes about 0.5 wavelength thick on substantially the entire third surface is provided. A second isolation region approximately 0.025 mm wide is laser etched with a portion parallel to and extending within the width of the primary seal material to substantially electrically isolate the third and fourth conductive electrode portions. Adjacent to the portion of the third conductive electrode substantially defined by the primary seal, a reflective material of chrome was coated to a thickness of about 400 Å. An optional coating of ruthenium is applied to a thickness of about 120 Å near the reflective material substantially defined by the inside edge of the primary seal. A primary seal material is provided comprising an epoxy having a cycloaliphatic amine curing agent and approximately 155 μm substantially spherical glass spheres to secure first and second surfaces in spaced relation to each other to define out of a chamber. A substantially rigid polymer matrix electro-optic medium is provided within the cavity, between the first conductive electrode portion and an optional overlay coating, through a plug opening in the primary encapsulant material as known from U.S. Patent Taught in U.S. Patents 6,248,263, 6,407,847, and 6,671,080, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. The plug opening is hermetically closed by irradiating the bottom of the plug with UV light through the third and fourth surfaces using a UV curable material. Inspect the cured primary seal material and plug material by looking forward at the fourth surface viewing element. Between the second adhesion-promoting material portion, the third conductive electrode portion, and the first conductive clip, near the outer edge of the main sealing material, a conductive material is coated, which includes bisphenol F epoxy functional resin with a viscosity of about 4000 cp, the resin includes a cycloaliphatic amine curing agent with a viscosity of about 60 cp, and silver flakes with a tap density of about 3 g/cc and an average particle size of about 9 μm. This same conductive material is applied adjacent the outer edge of the primary seal material between the first adhesion promoting material portion, the fourth conductive electrode portion and the second conductive clip. Between the conductive clip and the fourth surface of the second substrate, a double-sided, pressure-sensitive adhesive material is disposed. After the first and second conductive clips are placed, the conductive material is cured. Prior to the application of the conductive material, the primary seal material is partially cured; the curing of the additional primary seal material coincides with the curing of the conductive material. This curing process helps to prevent distortion of the components and overall improves the associated adhesion, sealing and conductivity properties.

The description of such example mirror elements is provided for purposes of illustration and should in no way be construed as limiting the scope of the invention. As described throughout this specification, there are many variations for a given element and each component of the associated rearview mirror assembly.

In an embodiment of the invention having a highly reflective spectral filter material coated between the second surface of the first substrate and the primary seal, it has been demonstrated that the use of a specially selected spacer material is essential for eliminating beading. Twisting is beneficial. Glass beads are typically added to the bead seal in order to control the spacing between the substrates forming the chamber containing the electro-optic medium. The diameter of the preferably substantially spherical glass beads is a function of the desired "cell" spacing.

Glass beads function well as spacers in electro-optic devices with two transparent substrates, where a transparent front substrate and a reflector are arranged on the surface 3 or 4 . These spacers also work well in devices with spectral filter material on the first surface or within the first substrate. However, when the spectral filter material is applied close to the primary seal and the second surface, "dimples" or small distortions are produced in the chrome spectral filter material by typical glass spacer beads and in the resulting mirror element These dimples are visible in the sealed area of the seal. These indentations are also visible in the mirror element having the third surface, but they are only visible when viewing the mirror element looking at the fourth surface. These third surface indentations in the reflector are not visible in the resulting mirror element when viewed once mounted on the vehicle.

Conversely, these dimples can be easily seen when the spectral filter material is adjacent to the second surface and covers the primary seal material area. These dimples are created at least in part by high stress areas near the glass spacer beads. Typically, the primary seal material comprises a substantially rigid heat cured epoxy; preferably a cycloaliphatic amine curing agent. The curing temperature of epoxy materials is often greater than 150 degrees Celsius. There is often a significant difference in thermal expansion between commonly used ceramic glass beads (low coefficient of thermal expansion) and epoxy materials (high coefficient of thermal expansion). At least a portion of the glass spacer bead contacts the top material of the respective stack of materials proximate the second and third surfaces of the substrate when the seal sets and cures at the elevated temperature. As the mirror element cools, the sealing material undergoes a much larger contraction than the spacer bead during subsequent seal curing cycles, and stress develops around the spacer bead, creating distorted areas or indentations in the material stack. These distorted areas, or indentations, are visually apparent when the substrate includes reflectors on the surface that is in contact with the primary seal material.

There are several ways to remove these distorted regions. More resilient or flexible primary seal materials may be utilized that do not inherently create high stress areas. A more compressible spacer may be utilized such that the spacer expands and contracts as stress develops. A rupturable spacer may also be utilized, such that the spacer ruptures when the primary seal material cures, in order to relieve localized stresses. A room temperature or low temperature cure encapsulant with low cure shrinkage can be utilized, which will eliminate or minimize the stress associated with thermal expansion. Thermal expansion more closely matched seal materials and spacers can be used to eliminate or minimize the stresses associated with thermal expansion, for example, plastic spacer beads and plastic seal material, ceramic spacer beads and ceramic seal material, or contain thermal expansion Sealing material and/or spacer beads for modified fillers. Spacer beads in the encapsulant can be eliminated at the same time if proper component manufacturing methods are used to control component gaps ("cell" spacing). For example, a spacer medium such as PMMA beads or fibers dissolved in an electro-optic medium can be applied to the area inside the primary seal to control component gaps during curing of the encapsulant. It is also possible to mechanically hold the component substrates apart until the seal has cured.

Example 1 Main seal with spacer

A thermal cure epoxy masterbatch was made using 96 parts by weight of Dow 431 epoxy novolac resin, 4 parts of fumed silica and 4 parts of 2-ethyl-4-methylimidazole. 2 parts by weight of the spacer materials described below were added to a small portion of the above masterbatch. A small amount of this epoxy/spacer mixture was then placed on a 1" x 2" x 0.085" thick chrome-coated glass so that the epoxy mixture was in contact with the chrome reflector. The 1" x 0.085" ITO-coated A 1" x 0.085" piece of glass was placed on top and the glass interlayer was clamped so that the glass piece was lowered to the lowest point onto the spacer material. The element is then cured at about 180 degrees Celsius for about 15 minutes. Subsequently, once the element has returned to room temperature, look at the chrome and visually inspect the dent as if it were on surface 2.

Example 2 Primary Seal Material

Utilizing the heat cured epoxy of Example 1 with 140um glass beads resulted in a very severe visible dent pattern.

Example 3 Primary Seal Material

Utilizing the thermally cured epoxy of Example 1 plus plastic beads (Techpolymer, Grade XX-264-Z, 180um average particle size, Sekisui Plastics Co. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan) did not induce a visible dent pattern.

Example 4 Primary Seal Material

Utilizing the heat cured epoxy of Example 1 plus plastic fibers (Trilene, 140um diameter monofilament wire cut to 450um lengths, Berkley, Spring Lake, IA) did not cause a visible dent pattern.

Example 5 Primary Seal Material

Utilizing the heat cured epoxy of Example 1 plus hollow ceramic beads (Envirospheres, 165um average particle size, Envirospheres PTY Ltd., Lindfield, Australia) resulted in a very slight but acceptable visible dent pattern.

Example 6 Primary Seal Material

Using room temperature cured epoxy did not cause a dent pattern that would be seen after one week at room temperature.

Example 7 Primary Seal Material

Utilizing two parts by weight of glass beads (140um) added to the UV curable adhesive from Dymax Corporation, Torrington CT d Dymax 628 and compressing the adhesive to two parts as described above Between the glass substrates, causing a very slight but acceptable pattern of indentations that can be seen. The adhesive is UV cured at room temperature.

Insulation Materials

Turning now to Figures 64A-I, various options for selectively contacting specific portions of the second and third surface conduction electrode portions 1705, 1710 are shown. As can be appreciated, the structure of FIG. 62 results in conductive material in contact with at least a portion of each of the second and third surface conduction electrode portions.

One way in which the spectral filter material 1715 adjacent to the first surface conductive electrode can be electrically isolated from the portion of the conductive electrode is to coat at least a portion of the spectral filter material with an organic or inorganic insulating material.

When a spectral filter material such as chromium metal is applied through a mask (e.g., by vacuum sputtering or evaporation) onto the top of the transparent conductor of the second surface during the coating operation, it is possible in the same process A non-conductive coating is applied through a mask to electrically insulate the second conductive electrode from the third conductive electrode in the conductive sealing region.

Example 1 Insulating Materials: Spectral filter materials include metals, metal alloys, metal layers, metal alloy layers, or combinations thereof, such as chromium, molybdenum, stainless steel, or aluminum, rhodium, platinum, palladium, silver/gold, platinum, and ruthenium , often over an adhesion-promoting material such as chromium, is vacuum-deposited through a mask onto a transparent conductor (such as ITO) to cover the sealing area. An insulating material such as silicon, silicon dioxide, chromium oxide, aluminum oxide, titanium oxide, tantalum oxide, zirconium oxide, or yttrium oxide can be applied on top of the metal layer using a mask to mask the desired spectral filter material area. Electrically insulated from other conductive parts. Such electrically insulating material is not applied to, or removed from, portions of the spectral filter material or portions of the receiving/conductivity promoting material that are required to be conductive.

One way to reduce the size of the bezel or eliminate the need for the bezel is to use a conductive material as part of the conductive bus to create a component with substantially no offset between the peripheral edges of the first and second substrates. In order to use the preferred conductive material, it is necessary to create an insulating portion of the conductive material on the second and/or third surface. If a portion of each surface were not insulated in non-overlapping areas, the second and third surfaces would be shorted to each other by the conductive material. The third surface may be electrically isolated on one side of the element and the second surface will be electrically isolated on the opposite or adjacent side of the element. Preferably, the conductive material is removed from the desired areas using a laser. Laser separation is preferably located between the conductive material of the component and the visible active area. More preferably, the isolated regions are arranged such that the cathode and the anode are not simultaneously present on the same surface and in contact with the electro-optic medium. When the anode and cathode are on the same surface, plus either an anode or a cathode on an adjacent surface, there will be residual slowly erasing color along the isolated areas. Furthermore, for the anodes located on the second and third surfaces between the seal and the isolation area, the color produced by the anode is visible between the primary seal material and the isolation area. Similarly, if a cathode is located on the third surface and the second surface between the primary seal material and the isolation area, the color produced by the cathode is visible from the front between the isolation area and the primary seal material.

An isolation region may be included in the mirror element with spectral filter material between the observer and the primary sealing material. With the spectral filter material on the first surface, the mirror element can be fabricated much the same as described for the element not comprising the spectral filter material. When the spectral filter material is adjacent to the second surface, the isolated region is visible when viewing the first surface.

A typical laser-defined isolation region is between 0.007-0.010 inches wide. By making that isolated area 0.002-0.005 inches wide, it will become less noticeable. The isolation area is preferably located within the main encapsulation material area and extends the length of the element to provide a large electrical contact area. When the isolated area is on top of the main seal material area, the color or transparency of the seal can be adjusted to help hide the isolated area. The isolated area can be incorporated into graphics or text on the mirror element. The isolation region may be incorporated into a disclaimer on the mirror element, included in the manufacturer's logo, or other graphics and/or text. It should be understood that the laser line may be positioned along the inner edge of the spectral filter material. In this configuration, the laser line is largely invisible because the laser line coincides with the edge of the spectral filter material. After removal of the electro-optic medium on the same substrate, some residual color appears, however, most of the colored area is hidden from view behind the spectral filter material. The only part of the laser line that can be seen is a short line segment that penetrates the spectral filter material near the edge in two places.

Another method of insulating conductive materials is to utilize a non-conductive layer between the conductive material and the surface to be insulated, eg, dielectric ink, or a compressed thin layer of non-conductive epoxy or other resin. It may be desirable to utilize an isolation region close to the third surface, since the isolation region is not visible when viewing the first surface. By utilizing a non-conductive epoxy on the second surface, the first isolation region is not required. This is particularly desirable when the second surface has a spectral filter material. Very thin layers can be obtained by diluting the non-conductive epoxy. This is important because sufficient area must be provided for the application of conductive material. Preferably, the non-conductive epoxy is only fast curing. For example, place the material in an 85c oven for about two minutes. If the non-conductive epoxy is fully cured and partially covers a contact with the primary associated spacer bead, an undesired, non-uniform cell spacing may result. By partially curing the non-conductive material, the spacer beads will more easily penetrate the layers during final curing without affecting the cell separation.

By extending at least a portion of the third surface conductive electrode below the primary encapsulant material region and above the second peripheral edge, an external electrical connection to the third surface of the electro-optic mirror element with the second surface spectral filter material can be formed. When coating on the edge of a piece of glass (such as vacuum sputtering), on a sharp edge or rough surface, the conductivity of the coating will be reduced, and the coating process will not typically be on the side of the glass or Provides a durable coating on the edges. In order to do this without loss of conductivity, a good seam or finish at the corners and/or edges of the substrate is helpful to provide a smooth transition from the third surface to the edge. Unpolished rough abrasive surfaces have lower electrical conductivity at typical third surface coating thicknesses. The smoother the surface and the transition from the third surface to the edge, the better the conductivity. It is also helpful to have an edge sputtering target used to coat the glass during the coating process to provide a more uniform and durable coating.

It is conceivable that the coating could extend beyond the edge of the glass and onto the back of the glass so that an electrical connection to the third surface could be made to the back of the mirror element. The reflective third surface is typically more conductive than the second surface conductive electrode, and thus, no conductive material may be required. Thus, the primary sealant can be dispensed all the way to the edge of the substrate. It is possible for the third surface material to extend over the edge on one side only. The opposing substrate may include an isolated region and conductive material on the third surface since it is not visible.

For the third surface material extending over the edge of the substrate, an L-clip can be used instead of the J-clip, since there is no need to insert the clip part between the second and third surfaces. The L-clip just needs to be long enough to make contact with the conductive part on the edge. A conductive epoxy may be used to bond to the third surface, on the edge to the L-clip. A pressure sensitive adhesive can be used on the back of the L-clip to secure it to the fourth surface.

Another way to make electrical connections to the third surface, and insulate it from the second surface, is to use conductive ink or epoxy to connect the third surface to the edge. The conductive ink or epoxy is diluted and applied to the edge of the substrate that is in contact with the third surface, but not in contact with the second surface. With diluted conductive epoxy, the conductive paths can be coated such that contacts are formed at the edges or on the back of the mirror element. L-clamps can be used to contact and cure in place. During curing, the L-clip can be held in place with a pressure-sensitive adhesive and strain relief with connecting wires.

As mentioned elsewhere herein, establishing electrical contact to the second and third surface conductive electrodes involves the coordination of a series of individually designed components. Turning to Figures 65A-I, various options for conductive clips are depicted. Throughout this specification, the configuration of the conductive clips is discussed in conjunction with the conductive material.

Another way to make an electrical connection to the third surface, and insulate it from the second surface, is to use conductive ink or epoxy to connect the third surface to the edge. The conductive ink or epoxy is diluted and applied to the edge of the substrate that is in contact with the third surface, but not in contact with the second surface. With this diluted conductive epoxy, a conductive path can be applied to make contacts at the edge or on the back of the mirror element. L-clamps can be used to contact and cure in place. During curing, the L-clip can be held in place with a pressure-sensitive adhesive and strain-relieved with connecting wires.

As mentioned elsewhere herein, establishing electrical contact to the second and third surface conduction electrodes typically involves the coordination of a series of individually designed components. Turning to Figures 65A-I, various options for conductive clips are depicted. Throughout this specification, the configuration of the conductive clips is discussed in conjunction with the conductive material.

A preferred conductive material comprises 27.0 g of Dow 354 resin - bisphenol F epoxy functional resin. 9.03g of Air Products Ancamine 2049 - cycloaliphatic amine curing agent with a viscosity of preferably -4000cP. Viscosity preferably ~60cP, 164g AmesGoldshith LCP1-19VS silver - a silver flake with a tap density of ~3g/cc and an average particle size of ~6 microns.

As described herein, at least one embodiment includes a perimeter material surrounding the periphery of the component. A preferred perimeter material consists of 120g Dymax with some filler added, (0.40g 6-24 silver flake available from Ames Goldshmith, 1.0g silver coated glass flake (i.e. available from Conduct-o-fil available from Potters industries, 12.0 g of ground SK-5 glass filler available from Schott glass or a combination thereof and ground to a powder sieved through a 325 mesh). The material can be applied to the edge of the guide mirror using a variety of techniques. One technique is to load the material into a 30cc syringe with a needle (-18 gauge). The needles may be oriented in a vertical position such that air pressure (<50 psi) is used to dispense peripheral material onto the edge of the element while the element is mechanically rotated on a robotic arm or other mechanical device. The applied edge material can then be cured with UV light. Full cure can be achieved in 20 seconds or less. A robot can be used to rotate the element while it is curing, preventing sagging.

The purpose of the perimeter material is to: protect the bus parts; hide the conductive material, clips, seals, glass edges, etc.; protect the cut edges of the glass and provide a visually appealing appearance of the mirror element. This can also be achieved by using traditional plastic frames, metal seals, elastic frames, etc.

Many different materials (eg, epoxies, silicones, urethanes, acrylics, rubber, hot melt adhesives) and curing mechanisms can be used for this edge treatment. The preferred curing method is ultraviolet radiation. A combination of UV and thermal curing can be utilized if fillers, dyes or pigments etc. that are opaque to the UV portion are used. Fillers such as glass or reflective silver, which aid UV penetration by transmission, scattering or internal reflection, are preferred for good deep cure. Preferably, the perimeter material has a gray color or appearance resembling a ground glass edge, or is dark or black in color. Color can be changed through the use of organic dyes, mica, impregnated mica, pigments, and other fillers. A darker, more charcoal-like look can be achieved by choosing different fillers and varying amounts of filler. Less ground glass will make the color of the above formula darker and duller. Using only ground glass (or flakes or other glass particles) having a different refractive index than the edge resin binder will give the appearance of a ground glass edge or a rough (glass) rounded edge. Some additives are denser than the medium in which they are contained. Fumed silica may be added to help prevent precipitation of heavier components (metal and glass particles); 2% by weight fumed silica is sufficient in the preferred process.

Other methods of applying peripheral material to the edge of the element include using a roller, wheel, brush, doctor blade or forming blade, spraying or printing.

Perimeter edge materials selected for vehicle exterior use preferably meet the following test criteria. These standards simulate the external environment associated with a typical motor vehicle: UV stabilized (2500kJ in a UV aging tester) - the material does not yellow or crack or crack when exposed directly to UV light; heat resistance - Little or no color change, no loss of adhesion; Moisture resistance - little or no color change, no loss of adhesion; Thermal cycling - no loss of adhesion, no cracking; CASS or salt spray - protects the underlying metallization and conductive epoxy system; no loss of adhesion and no visible signs of substratum erosion and high pressure water test - no loss of adhesion after the elements were subjected to the aforementioned tests.

Perimeter edge materials selected for automotive exterior applications preferably meet the following test criteria. These standards simulate the external environment associated with a typical vehicle: UV stabilized (2500kJ in a UV weatherometer) - material does not yellow or crack or crack when exposed to direct UV light; heat resistance - color Little or no change, no loss of adhesion; Moisture resistance - little or no change in color, no loss of adhesion; Thermal cycling - no loss of adhesion, no cracking; CASS or salt spray - protects the underlying metallization and Conductive epoxy system; no loss of adhesion and no visible signs of substrate erosion and high pressure water test - no loss of adhesion after the elements were subjected to the aforementioned tests.

With further reference to Figures 64A-I, various embodiments of structures for second and third surface electrode contacts are shown. Figure 64A shows a structure similar to those discussed elsewhere herein, except with a first surface stack and/or a fourth surface stack. The term "stack" herein refers to materials disposed adjacent to a given surface of a substrate. Preferably, the first surface laminate is selected from hydrophilic coatings, as described in commonly known U.S. Patent Application No. 09/602,919, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. Preferably, the second, third and fourth surface stacks are as disclosed herein or in commonly known U.S. Patent No. 5,818,625, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

In one embodiment, the first surface stack comprises at least four layers with alternating high and low refractive indices. Specifically, the first surface stack may sequentially include: a first layer with a high refractive index, a second layer with a low refractive index, a third layer with a high refractive index, and a fourth layer with a low refractive index. Preferably, the third layer is made of a photocatalytic material, and the fourth layer is made of a material that increases the hydrophilicity of the photocatalytic layer by generating hydroxyl groups on its surface. Suitable hydrophilicity enhancing materials include _SiO2 and _Al2O3 , _{with SiO2} being most preferred. Suitable photocatalytic materials include: TiO ₂ , ZnO, ZnO ₂ , SnO ₂ , ZnS, CdS, CdSe, Nb ₂ O ₅ , KTaNbO ₃ , KTaO ₃ , SrTiO ₃ , WO ₃ , Bi ₂ O ₃ , Fe ₂ O ₃ and GaP, _TiO2 is most preferred. By forming the outermost layers of _TiO2 and _SiO2 , the first surface stack exhibits good self-cleaning hydrophilic properties, similar to those obtained in state-of-the-art hydrophilic coatings applied to conventional mirrors , wherein said conventional mirror has a reflector disposed on the rear surface of a single front glass element. Preferably, the SiO ₂ outer layer has a thickness of less than 800 Å, more preferably less than 300 Å, most preferably less than 150 Å. If the SiO ₂ outer layer is too thick (eg, greater than about 1000 Å). The underlying photocatalytic layer cannot "clean" the _SiO2 hydrophilic outer layer, at least for a short period of time. In one embodiment, two additional layers (a first layer and a second layer) are provided for reducing the level of unwanted reflectivity on the front surface of the mirror element and providing any necessary color compensation/suppression , in order to provide the desired tinting of the mirror. Preferably, the first layer is made of a photocatalytic material and the second layer is made of a hydrophilic enhancing material so as to contribute to the hydrophilic and photocatalytic properties of the coating. Thus, the first layer can be made of any one of the above-described photocatalytic materials or their mixtures, and the second layer can be made of any of the above-described hydrophilic enhancing materials or their mixtures. Preferably, the first layer is made of _TiO2 and the second layer is made of _SiO2 .

Figure 64B illustrates the use of an insulating material to substantially electrically insulate the conductive epoxy from at least a portion of the corresponding second and/or third surface stack.

Figure 64C illustrates the use of regions substantially free of conductive electrode material on corresponding second and/or third surface stacks to substantially electrically insulate the conductive material.

Figures 64D-H show various embodiments of configurations for the connection of the anode and cathode to the second and third surface conduction electrodes, respectively. Preferably, the surface resistance of the third surface electrode is smaller than the surface resistance of the second surface conductive electrode. Thus, the cathode contact area may be substantially smaller than the anode contact area. It should be understood that in some embodiments the anode and cathode connections may be reversed.

The structure of Figure 64I can be used to make a rearview mirror assembly with no bezel or a very narrow bezel that does not include a spectral filter. If both the perimeter seal and electrode contact means 1790i are displaced substantially towards the edge of the mirror, no spectral filter is required to cover the seal/contact area. When this method is used for the manufacture of the mirror element, the mirror element is substantially darkened up to the peripheral edge in the glare stripe environment. In this way, most or all of the seal and contact area can be visibly from the periphery of the mirror substrate 1, surface 2 and substrate 2, surface 3 to the edge of substrate 1 and substrate 2 move up.

In at least one embodiment, the top edge of the first substrate and the bottom edge of the second substrate are coated with a conductive epoxy to transfer conductivity from the conductive electrodes of each substrate to the edge of the substrate. The conductive epoxy is preferably formulated with the following formulation: 3.3 g D.E.R. 354 epoxy resin (Dow Chemical, Midland, MI), 1.12 g Ancamine 2049 (Air Products and Chemicals, Reading PA) and 20.5 g silver flakes with an average particle size of 7 um , the tap density is 3.0-4.0g/cc, mix them well into a uniform paste.

The conductive epoxy mixture was diluted with enough toluene to produce a low viscosity conductive varnish that could be easily applied to the edge of the substrate. Place the coated substrate in an oven at 60C for 15 to 20 minutes to evaporate the toluene.

A thin layer of uniformly filled epoxy with conductive particles (Z-axis conductors) was spread onto 0.001" thick copper foil. Z-axis epoxy (5JS69E) was formulated as follows: 18g D.E.N.438, 2g D.E.N.431( Dow Chemical, Midland, MI), 1.6g US-206 fumed silica (Degussa Corporation, Dublin, Oh), 6.68g Ancamine2049 and 10.0g silver flake FS28 (Johnson Matthy, Royston, Hertfordshire, UK) were mixed into a homogeneous Paste. The silver flakes had a tap density of 2.3 g/cc, and an average average particle size of 23 um. The cured film of the epoxy formulation became conductive in the z-axis and non-conductive in the x or y axis. Dilute this z-axis conductive epoxy with enough toluene or THF solvent to create a suitable viscosity for spreading to a thin, uniform thickness on copper foil. The solvent is then evaporated in a 60C oven About 5 minutes. The epoxy left after the solvent has evaporated is slightly sticky. The edges of the two substrates are aligned with virtually no offset. Precisely maintain the distance between the substrates using precision sized PMMA beads as spacers. A small piece of polyimide film resin tape about 2 mm wide is used on one end that extends across the two substrates and the compartment space. After assembly, the polyimide film resin tape will eventually be Remove from the cell and use a polyimide film resin strip not wetted by epoxy as the fill port. Then place copper foil with conductive epoxy on the peripheral edge of the component so that the epoxy completely wets both sides. The edge of the substrate. The component is then cured in an oven at 200C for 15 minutes. After curing, on the copper foil, a small space is formed on each side to electrically connect the copper foil on the top of the component to the copper foil on the bottom of the component. Insulation. Copper foil covers the polyimide film resin tape and the polyimide film resin tape is removed. The opening created by removing the polyimide film resin tape is used to fill the component. Then with UV cured adhesive This opening was plugged.The opening on the opposite side was also plugged with UV curable adhesive, but prior to filling.

65A-N illustrate various embodiments regarding the structure of the conductive clip. Generally, each conductive clip shown defines a substantially "J" shaped cross-section.

The embodiment of Figure 65A shows a solder bump with electrical connection posts affixed thereto. In at least one embodiment, the first and second conductive clips are formed in combination with a carrier board (as described in detail herein) to form a "plug" type electrical connector.

Figure 65B shows a series of apertures at least partially through the first clip portion to facilitate mechanical and/or electrical contact with conductive material.

Fig. 65B shows a conductive clip having a fourth clip portion defining a solder pool for solder connection of wires to the clip.

Figures 65C-E show various clip configurations that include electrical connection protrusions. Figure 65E shows a series of holes extending through the third portion of the clip, providing a stress relief area to accommodate variations in the coefficient of thermal expansion of the material.

Figure 65F shows a raised portion on the clip along with the wire crimp to spatially isolate the wire contact area from the component.

Figures 65G-K show various alternative clip configurations for the clips described above.

Figure 65L shows a structure with two large holes for strain relief along with four protrusions on the third clip portion.

Figures 56M-N show various alternative clip configurations.

Turning now to FIGS. 66A and 66B , the mirror element is then shown received by a bracket assembly 1900 . The bracket assembly includes a substantially rigid portion 1901 integrally formed with a flexible peripheral gripping portion 1903 . The substantially rigid portion and the soft peripheral gripping portion may be co-molded, molded separately and bonded to each other, designed to friction fit together, molded separately and fused together, or a combination thereof combination. Regardless, the soft peripheral gripping portion 1903 is preferably designed to create an interface 1909 between the soft peripheral gripping portion and the surrounding material behind the dome 1913 such that the binding force is created from near the dome to near the tip 1907 , the constraining force at least partially holds the element near the bracket assembly, as desired. Additional bonding material may be utilized to further hold the components adjacent to the bracket assembly. It should be understood that peripheral portion 1903 may be fabricated at least in part from material bonded to peripheral material 1960 such that retention forces are also produced on the rigid portion 1901 side of dome 1903 along interface 1911; 1903 may not extend to the top of the vault, or may just extend to the rear of the vault, as shown in Figure 66B. Preferably, the perimeter tip 1907 is slightly beveled in order to provide a pleasant transition to the element, whether or not the perimeter portion extends behind the dome. It should be appreciated that the perimeter material can be shaped to provide at least one edge substantially parallel to surface 1915 and the perimeter portion can be designed to give a more pronounced transition between the dome and interface 1909 .

Figure 66C typically represents the post-molding condition of the soft peripheral gripping portion. Figure 66B typically represents the installation location of the flexible peripheral gripping portion. This mounting position allows the soft peripheral clamping portion to conform to potential irregularities in the glass profile. Figure 66B shows the mechanical interlock between the rigid portion of the bracket and the flexible peripheral gripping portion. This is useful for materials that are desired to be bonded together, whether by bonding or by a molding process. The mechanical interlocks may be spaced around the perimeter of the assembly as desired. Figure 66C shows a cross-section without the mechanical interlock. Two types of cross-sections are available depending on the requirements. Another difference between FIG. 66B and FIG. 66C is the height of the flexible peripheral gripping portion from the back side of the bracket. Figure 66B limits the height of the soft peripheral gripping portion from the back of the bracket by placing some soft peripheral gripping portion between the glass and the bracket at the location of the heater/foam assembly. This potentially eliminates the collision condition within the frame. Figure 66C can be used to allow placement of the heater/foam assembly on the edge of the glass perimeter. This will allow the glass assembly to be heated all the way to the edge. However, it could potentially create mirror assembly collision conditions inside the mirror frame.

Figure 67 shows an exterior rearview mirror assembly 2000 with anti-vibration components. Exterior rearview mirror assembly 2000, as described above, includes: mirror element 2002, carrier plate 2004, LED module 2006 bonded to carrier plate 2004, retainer 2008 and frame 2010 (with other components described above in connection with FIG. 59A Together). The LED module 2006 includes a plurality of LEDs 2012 adapted to emit light through openings in the mirror element 2002 when a turn signal is activated. In the depicted embodiment, the LED module 2006 includes a resilient rod 2014 extending outward therefrom. The resilient rod 2014 is made to be inserted into a mating opening 2016 in the frame 2010 . The resilient rods 2014 are made to abut against the sides of the mating opening 2016 in order to reduce vibration of the mirror element 2002 within the frame 2010 . It is further contemplated that resilient rod 2014 may optionally extend into an opening in retainer 2008 as well. Furthermore, it is contemplated that the LED module may have a plurality of rods 2014 , each rod 2014 extending into an opening in the frame 2010 and/or the positioner 2008 . Furthermore, if the LED module 2006 is loaded into the carrier plate 2004, it is contemplated that the rod 2006 may extend within the carrier plate 2004 from the chamber holding the LED module.

Although the invention has been described in detail herein in terms of some preferred embodiments, many modifications and changes can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. Accordingly, it is our intention that the invention be limited only by the scope of the appended claims and not by the details and instrumentalities which describe the embodiments shown herein. It should be understood that components depicted for a given figure may be combined with other components to obtain embodiments with numerous combinations.

Claims (131)

1. An electrochromic rearview mirror for a vehicle, comprising: an electrochromic mirror assembly comprising a front element and a rear element defining a chamber therebetween and having an electrochromic material disposed within said chamber; a bracket supporting the electrochromic mirror component; a bezel configured around the periphery of the electrochromic mirror assembly and having a front lip extending over part of the front surface of the front element and having a rear lip extending to the edge of the bracket, the rear lip are fastened to the edge of the bracket. 2. The rearview mirror of claim 1, wherein the rear lip includes at least one key that interlockably engages at least one groove on the edge of the bracket. 3. The rearview mirror according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the frame is elastic. 4. Rear view device according to claim 3, characterized in that the perimeter of the frame is smaller than the perimeter of the front element when in an unstressed state. 5. The rearview mirror of claim 1, wherein the frame includes a flexible fin extending laterally outward. 6. The rearview mirror according to claim 5, wherein the fin is made of elastic material. 7. A rear view device as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the bezel is formed from a material having a tensile modulus of less than 72,000 psi. 8. A rearview mirror for a vehicle, comprising: an electrochromic mirror assembly comprising a front element and a rear element defining a chamber therebetween and having an electrochromic material disposed within said chamber; a bracket supporting the electrochromic mirror assembly; and a bezel configured around the periphery of the electrochromic mirror component, and having a front lip extending and joining on an edge portion of the front surface of the front element, and further having a front lip at least partially along the electrochromic A side flange extending from one side of the mirror part. 9. A mirror as claimed in claim 8, wherein the bezel comprises plastic which is co-extruded and bonded to the front element. 10. The mirror of claim 8, wherein the bezel comprises a coating applied to the edge portion. 11. A rearview mirror for a vehicle, comprising: a mirror frame defining an interior and a front opening and having an adjustment device mounted therein; mirror element; a bracket supporting the mirror element, the bracket being positioned within the front opening and operatively mounted to the adjustment device for angular adjustment; and A bezel is disposed about the periphery of the mirror element, the bezel having laterally extending fins slidably engaged with the inner surface of the mirror frame for enclosing the interior from view to the interior of the mirror frame. 12. A mirror as claimed in claim 11, wherein the mirror element comprises a front element and a rear element defining a chamber therebetween and the electrochromic material is disposed within the chamber. 13. A variable reflectivity mirror for a vehicle comprising: mirror parts; and a frame disposed around the periphery of the mirror component and mounted thereto, the frame having laterally extending flexible wings extending in an outer lateral direction, the wings being adapted to be flexibly bonded to the inner surface of the mirror frame, Used to enclose an interior space to prevent seeing inside the mirror frame. 14. The mirror of claim 13, wherein the mirror element comprises a front element and a rear element, the front element and the rear element defining a cavity therebetween, in which Configure electrochromic materials. 15. An electrochromic variable reflectivity mirror for a vehicle, comprising: a front element having a front surface and a rear surface, the rear surface having a first layer of conductive material disposed thereon; a rear element having a front surface and a rear surface, the front surface of the rear element having a second layer of conductive material disposed thereon; a seal sealingly joining said elements together in spaced relation to each other so as to define a chamber; an electrochromic material disposed within the chamber; and A strip of opaque material is arranged along its edge on the rear surface of the front element and extends around its periphery. 16. A mirror as claimed in claim 15, characterized in that the strip is completely inside the edge of the front element. 17. A mirror as claimed in claim 15 or 16, wherein the opaque material is opaque. 18. A mirror as claimed in claim 15 or 16, wherein the opaque material is reflective. 19. An electrochromic rearview mirror for a vehicle, comprising: frame; An electrochromic mirror component comprising a front element and a rear element defining a chamber between the front element and the rear element in which the electrochromic material is disposed; the front The element has a front surface and an edge defining the front surface; and A bezel covering the edge of the front element but extending less than 1mm over the front surface. 20. The mirror of claim 19, wherein said bezel does not extend over said front surface and does not cover or touch the front surface such that 100% of the front surface is exposed and available as observation area. 21. The mirror of claim 19 , wherein the front surface includes a strip extending around the perimeter of the front surface near the edge, and at least 50% of the length of the strip is undisturbed. covered by a border. 22. The mirror of claim 19, wherein the front surface includes a strip extending around the perimeter of the front surface near the edge, and wherein at least a portion of the strip is not completely covered by the bezel. 23. A mirror element comprising: a substantially transparent first substrate comprising a substantially transparent conductor on at least one surface thereof and having a first electrical contact; and A second substrate comprising an at least partially reflective conductor on at least one surface thereof and having a second electrical contact, wherein the first and second contacts define a mirror element edge basically continuous part. 24. mirror element as claimed in claim 23, is characterized in that, described first substantially transparent substrate and described second substrate are mutually fixed with the relation spaced apart from each other via sealing member, so that define a cavity room. 25. A mirror element as claimed in claim 24, characterized in that said chamber contains at least one electro-optic medium. 26. The mirror element of claim 25, wherein said at least one electro-optic medium is selected from the group consisting of gels, solution phases and solids. 27. The mirror element of any one of claims 23-26, wherein the substantially transparent electrical conductor comprises a sheet resistance of between about 1.0 Ω/□ to about 10 Ω/□. 28. The mirror element of claim 27, wherein the substantially transparent electrical conductor comprises a sheet resistance of about 2Ω/□. 29. The mirror element according to any one of claims 23-26, wherein said substantially transparent electrical conductor comprises at least one layer selected from the group comprising: Zinc oxide, doped zinc oxide, IMI, and ITO. 30. A mirror element as claimed in any one of claims 23-26, wherein the at least partially reflective electrical conductor comprises a sheet resistance of less than 0.5Ω/□. 31. The mirror element according to any one of claims 23-30, wherein said substantially transparent electrical conductor is disposed on said first substantially transparent conductor by sputtering, evaporation, chemical vapor deposition or electroplating. on said at least one surface of the upper transparent substrate. 32. The mirror element of any one of claims 23-26, wherein the at least partially reflective electrical conductor comprises a sheet resistance of between about 0.05Ω/□ to 0.50Ω/□. 33. The mirror element of claim 32, wherein the at least partially reflective electrical conductor comprises a sheet resistance of about 0.1 Ω/□. 34. The mirror element according to any one of claims 23-33, wherein said at least partially reflective conductor comprises at least one layer selected from the group comprising: Silver or silver-gold. 35. The mirror element according to any one of claims 23-34, wherein said at least partially reflective electrical conductor is disposed on said second base by sputtering, evaporation, chemical vapor deposition or electroplating. on said at least one surface of the upper transparent substrate. 36. The mirror element according to any one of claims 23-35, wherein the first electrical contact is at least 100% of the combined total length of the first electrical contact and the second electrical contact. Between about 0.6 and about 0.8 times. 37. The mirror element according to any one of claims 23-36, wherein the second electrical contact is at least 100% of the combined total length of the first electrical contact and the second electrical contact. Between about 0.2 and about 0.4 times. 38. The mirror element of claim 23, further comprising an at least partially reflective ring surrounding a perimeter of at least one surface of said first substantially transparent substrate. 39. The mirror element of claim 38, wherein the reflectivity of the at least partially reflective electrical conductor and the reflectivity of the at least partially reflective ring are substantially the same. 40. The mirror element of claim 24, wherein the seal comprises a substantially transparent material. 41. The mirror element of claim 40, further comprising a spectral filter material surrounding a perimeter of at least one surface of said first substantially transparent substrate. 42. A mirror element as claimed in claim 41 wherein said spectral filter material comprises ultraviolet spectral filtering properties. 43. The mirror element of claim 41, wherein the spectral filter material includes infrared spectral filtering properties. 44. The mirror element of claim 23, wherein the first and second electrical contacts are located on an inner edge of the mirror element. 45. The mirror element of claim 23, further comprising a frame, the frame being between about 1.5 mm and about 4.0 mm. 46. A mirror element as claimed in claim 45, characterized in that said frame is integrally formed with a carrier plate. 47. A mirror element as claimed in claim 46, characterized in that the frame is only adjacent the inner edge. 48. The mirror element of claim 23, wherein said first substantially transparent substrate has a thickness of less than 2.0 mm. 49. The mirror element of claim 23, wherein the second substrate has a thickness of less than 2.0 mm. 50. A mirror element comprising: a substantially transparent first substrate comprising an at least partially reflective ring around a perimeter of at least one surface of said substantially transparent first substrate; and A second substrate comprising an at least partially reflective conductor on at least one surface, wherein the reflectivity of the at least partially reflective conductor and the reflectivity of the at least partially reflective ring are substantially the same. 51. The mirror element of claim 50, wherein the reflectivity of the reflective ring differs from the reflectivity of the at least partially reflective electrical conductor by less than ten percent. 52. A mirror element as claimed in claim 50, wherein the at least partially reflective ring comprises chrome. 53. The mirror element of claim 50, wherein the at least partially reflective conductor comprises silver. 54. The mirror element according to any one of claims 50-53, wherein said first and second substantially transparent substrates are fixed to each other in spaced relation to each other via a seal so as to define a chamber. 55. A mirror element as claimed in any one of claims 50-55, characterized in that said chamber contains at least one electro-optic medium. 56. The mirror element of claim 55, wherein said at least one electro-optic medium is selected from the group consisting of gels, solution phases and solids. 57. A mirror element as claimed in any one of claims 50-55, wherein said first substantially transparent substrate has a thickness of less than 2.0 mm. 58. A mirror element as claimed in any one of claims 50-57, characterized in that the second substrate has a thickness of less than 2.0 mm. 59. A mirror element comprising: a substantially transparent first substrate, and a second substrate secured to each other in spaced relation to each other via a seal to define a chamber, wherein the seal is substantially clear, and the The substantially transparent first substrate includes a spectral filter material proximate a surrounding portion thereof. 60. The mirror element of claim 59, wherein the substantially transparent first substrate has a thickness of less than 2.0 mm. 61. A mirror element as claimed in claim 59 or 60, characterized in that the second substrate has a thickness of less than 2.0 mm. 62. A mirror element as claimed in claim 59 or 60, wherein the spectral filter material substantially blocks light from impinging on the seal. 63. A mirror element as claimed in claim 59 or 60, wherein the spectral filter material substantially prevents ultraviolet radiation from reaching the seal. 64. A mirror element as claimed in claim 59 or 60, wherein the spectral filter material substantially prevents infrared radiation from impinging on the seal. 65. A mirror assembly comprising: A mirror element selected from the group consisting of the element claimed in claim 23 , the element claimed in claim 50 and the element claimed in claim 59 . 66. The mirror assembly of claim 65, further comprising at least one additional device from the group consisting of an interior lighting assembly, an illuminated operator interface, an information display, a voice control system, an Training radio transceivers, microphones, compass sensors, compass systems, digital sound processing systems, digital voice processing systems, telephone systems, highway tollgate interfaces, telemetry systems, external light controllers, humidity sensors, long-range radio navigation systems, Global positioning system, variable albedo reflector, vehicle vision system, accessory module, remote keyless entry system, wireless communication interface, CAN bus interface, serial bus interface, parallel bus interface, optical sensor, camera, climate control Select from the group of systems, power supplies, controllers, transflective reflectors, tire pressure monitoring systems, navigation systems, lane departure warning systems, turn signals, keyhole lighting, door area lighting, security lights, cruise control where appropriate come out. 67. The mirror assembly of claim 66, wherein the information display is selected from the group consisting of vacuum fluorescent displays, segmented LED displays, matrix LED displays, organic light emitting diode displays, liquid crystal displays, backlit indicia Select from the group of Displays, Plasma Displays, and Gas Discharge Displays. 68. The mirror assembly of claim 66, wherein said at least one illuminated operator interface comprises a button, a slide switch, a toggle switch, a "thumbwheel" switch (e.g., a variable positioners), rotary switches, “rocker” switches, and “latch” pushbutton components are selected. 69. A mirror element comprising: a substantially transparent first substrate comprising a substantially transparent conductor on at least one surface thereof and having a first electrical contact; and A second substrate comprising an at least partially reflective conductor on at least one surface thereof and having a second electrical contact, wherein the combined first and second electrical contacts occupy a perimeter defined by the mirror element less than about 0.5 times the total length. 70. The mirror element of claim 69, wherein said first substantially transparent substrate has a thickness of less than 2.0 mm. 71. A mirror element as claimed in claim 69 or 70, characterized in that the second substrate has a thickness of less than 2.0 mm. 72. The mirror element of any one of claims 69-71, wherein the combined first and second electrical contacts occupy less than about 0.4 times the total length defined by the perimeter of the mirror element . 73. A mirror element as claimed in any one of claims 69 to 71 wherein said first and second electrical contacts are substantially continuous with each other. 74. A mirror element as claimed in any one of claims 69-71, wherein the first and second electrical contacts extend linearly along a common edge of the mirror element. 75. A mirror element as claimed in any one of claims 69-71, wherein the first and second electrical contacts extend tangentially along an edge of the mirror element. 76. The mirror element of any one of claims 69-71, wherein the combined first and second electrical contacts occupy less than about 0.25 times the total length defined by the perimeter of the mirror assembly . 77. A mirror element comprising: a substantially transparent first substrate comprising a low surface resistance conductor on its second surface, wherein said low surface resistance conductor comprises about 1.0 Ω/□ to Surface resistance between about 10Ω/□. 78. The mirror element of claim 77, wherein the low sheet resistance electrical conductor comprises a sheet resistance of less than 8Ω/□. 79. The mirror element of claim 77 or 78, wherein the substantially transparent electrical conductor comprises a sheet resistance of between about 2.0 Ω/□ to about 4 Ω/□. 80. A mirror element as claimed in any one of claims 77-79, wherein said first substantially transparent substrate has a thickness of less than 2.0 mm. 81. A mirror element as claimed in any one of claims 77 to 80, wherein said second substrate has a thickness of less than 2.0 mm. 82. The mirror element according to any one of claims 77-81, wherein said substantially transparent conductor comprises at least one element selected from the group comprising zinc oxide, doped zinc oxide, IMI, and ITO. selected layer. 83. The mirror element according to any one of claims 77-82, wherein said substantially transparent electrical conductor is disposed on said substantially transparent second conductor by sputtering, evaporation, chemical vapor deposition or electroplating. on at least one surface of a substrate. 84. The mirror element according to any one of claims 77-83, further comprising a second substrate comprising at least partially reflective conductors, wherein said at least partially reflective conductors are included in Surface resistance between about 0.05Ω/□ and 0.5Ω/□. 85. The mirror element of claim 84, wherein the at least partially reflective electrical conductor comprises a sheet resistance of about 0.1 Ω/□. 86. A mirror element as claimed in claim 84 or 85, wherein said at least partially reflective electrical conductor comprises at least one layer selected from the group consisting of silver or silver-gold. 87. The mirror element according to any one of claims 84 or 86, wherein an at least partially reflective conductor is disposed on said substantially transparent second substrate by sputtering, evaporation, chemical vapor deposition or electroplating. on said at least one surface of the sheet. 88. A mirror element comprising a substantially transparent substrate comprising an electrical conductor having a variable surface resistance, wherein said surface resistance is lower near an associated electrical contact and is different from that away from the contact. The distance becomes proportionally higher. 89. The mirror element of claim 88, wherein said first substantially transparent substrate has a thickness of less than 0.2 mm. 90. A mirror element as claimed in claim 88 or 89, further comprising a second substrate, wherein said second substrate has a thickness of less than 2.0mm. 91. The mirror element according to any one of claims 88-90, further comprising a second substrate comprising an at least partially reflective electrical conductor with low sheet resistance, wherein the The surface resistance is lower close to the relevant electrical contact and becomes higher in proportion to the distance from the contact. 92. A mirror element comprising: a substantially transparent first substrate comprising a substantially transparent conductor on a second surface thereof, and further comprising a first perimeter length; and A second substrate comprising a second perimeter length and further comprising an electrical conductor having a surface resistance of between about 0.05Ω/□ to about 8.0Ω/□, wherein the first perimeter length greater than the second perimeter length. 93. The mirror element of claim 92, further comprising a Z-clip connector in contact with said substantially transparent electrical conductor. 94. The mirror element of claim 92, further comprising a J-clip connector in contact with said electrical conductor of said second substrate. 95. The mirror element of claim 92, further comprising a C-clip connector in contact with said electrical conductor of said second substrate. 96. The mirror element according to any one of claims 92-95, further comprising a substantially transparent seal disposed between said substantially transparent first substrate and said first substrate. between the two substrates so as to define a chamber therebetween. 97. The mirror element of claim 96, further comprising a spectral filter material disposed near a peripheral portion of the substantially transparent first substrate so as to prevent selected light rays from irradiated onto the seal, 98. A mirror element comprising: A substantially transparent first substrate comprising a substantially transparent conductor on its second surface and further comprising a first perimeter length, said substantially transparent first substrate further comprising a conductor of less than 2.0 mm thickness; and A second substrate including a second perimeter length and further including electrical conductors. 99. The mirror element of claim 98, said electrical conductor comprising a sheet resistance of between about 0.05 Ω/□ to about 8.0 Ω/□. 100. The mirror element of claim 98 or 99, further comprising a second substrate, wherein the second substrate has a thickness of less than 2.0 mm. 101. A mirror element as claimed in any one of claims 98-100, wherein said first perimeter length is greater than said second perimeter length. 102. The mirror element defined in any one of claims 98-100, wherein the first perimeter length is less than the second perimeter length. 103. A mirror element comprising: A substantially transparent first substrate having a thickness of less than 2.0 mm, said substantially transparent first substrate comprising a substantially opaque material proximate a peripheral portion thereof. 104. An electro-optic rearview mirror element comprising: a first substrate having a second surface stack of material proximate at least a portion of its second surface; and A second substrate having a second substrate stack of material adjacent at least a portion of at least one surface thereof, wherein said second surface stack of material has a lower b ^* value than said material The b ^* value of the second substrate stack. 105. The electro-optical rearview mirror element of claim 104, wherein the second surface stack of materials comprises indium tin oxide. 106. The electro-optical rearview mirror element of claim 104, wherein the second surface stack of material comprises chrome. 107. The electro-optical rearview mirror element of claim 104, wherein the second surface stack of materials comprises ruthenium. 108. The electro-optical rearview mirror element according to any one of claims 104-107, wherein said second substrate stack of materials comprises indium tin oxide. 109. An electro-optic rearview mirror element according to any one of claims 104-107, wherein said second substrate stack of materials comprises chromium. 110. An electro-optical rearview mirror element according to any one of claims 104-107, wherein said second substrate stack of materials comprises ruthenium. 111. An electro-optical rearview mirror element as claimed in any one of claims 104-110, wherein at least a portion of the primary sealing material is visible when looking towards the fourth surface. 112. An electro-optical rearview mirror element as claimed in any one of claims 104-110, wherein at least a portion of the plug material is visible when looking towards the fourth surface. 113. An electro-optical rearview mirror element as claimed in any one of claims 104-112, wherein the first portion of the second surface conduction electrode is substantially electrically insulated from the second portion of the second surface conduction electrode. 114. The electro-optic rearview mirror element according to any one of claims 104-112, wherein the third portion of the third surface conduction electrode is substantially electrically insulated from the fourth portion of the third surface conduction electrode . 115. An electro-optic rearview mirror element comprising: A first portion of a second surface conduction electrode substantially electrically insulated from a second portion of said second surface conduction electrode. 116. The electro-optic rearview mirror element of claim 115, wherein said first portion is substantially electrically insulated from said second portion via an isolation region. 117. The electro-optical rearview mirror element according to claim 116, characterized in that said isolated regions are formed by laser. 118. The electro-optic rearview mirror element of claim 116, wherein at least a portion of said isolation region is equal to or less than 0.003 inches wide. 119. An electro-optic rearview mirror element comprising: A first substrate having a hydrophilic stack of materials adjacent at least a portion of a first surface, said first substrate further comprising a first conductive electrode adjacent at least a portion of a second surface, a spectral filter materials and additional materials; and A second substrate having a second conductive electrode adjacent at least a portion of the third surface, a reflective material and a protective coating material. 120. The electro-optic rearview mirror element of claim 119, said hydrophilic stack of materials comprising at least one material selected from the group consisting of ITO, _TiO2 and _SiO2 . 121. An electro-optical rear view mirror element as claimed in claim 119 or 120, said spectral filter material comprising chrome. 122. The electro-optic rearview mirror element as claimed in any one of claims 119-121, said adhesion enhancement material comprising ruthenium. 123. The electro-optic rearview mirror element of any one of claims 119-122, said first conductive electrode comprising indium tin oxide. 124. The electro-optic rearview mirror element of any one of claims 119-122, said second conductive electrode comprising indium tin oxide. 125. An electro-optic rearview mirror element as claimed in any one of claims 119-124, said reflective material comprising chrome. 126. The electro-optic rearview mirror element of any one of claims 119-125, said protective coating comprising ruthenium. 127. The electro-optical rearview mirror element according to any one of claims 119-126, the second surface stack of said material has a b ^* value lower than the b of the second substrate stack of said material ^* value. 128. An electro-optic rearview mirror element comprising: A first substrate and a second substrate, the first substrate and the second substrate are secured to each other in spaced relation to each other via a primary seal material comprising a spacer, wherein the second surface stack of materials is substantially free of A region of distortion associated with the spacer. 129. The electro-optical rearview mirror element of claim 128, wherein the spacer flexes as stress develops during curing of the primary seal material. 130. The electro-optic rearview mirror element according to claim 128 or 129, wherein said spacer has a first coefficient of thermal expansion, said primary seal material has a second coefficient of thermal expansion, wherein said first and second The two thermal expansion coefficients are basically equal. 131. The electro-optic rearview mirror element according to any one of claims 128-130, wherein the combination of said primary seal material and said spacer is selected from the group consisting of : plastic beads and plastic primary seal material; ceramic beads and ceramic primary seal material; primary seal material or spacer containing thermal expansion coefficient modifying filler; and primary seal material and thermal expansion coefficient modifying filler containing spacer.

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