Antiglare safety rearview mirror for automotive vehicles

Claim 2

For an automotive vehicle, a safety day and night driving rearview mirror providing as mounted functionally in a normal vehicle environment, a reflective imaging area for the driver and having a horizontal extent and a vertical extent and comprising: in said imaging area, a band over said horizontal extent having reflectivity reduced to a degree that, from following vehicle headlights imaged on the said band, glare is dimished to a level non-interfering with safe night driving vision of a driver; said band extending across the functional horizontal extent of said imaging area above and adjacent a portion of said imaging area having markedly higher refLectivity; said band and portion merging into each other in a margin region gradually increasing from the low reflectivity of said band to the higher reflectivity of said portion; said band having a vertical dimension sufficient to enable the driver easily to maintain the image of following headlights within said band by slight tilting of the head, even with changing inter-vehicle spacing.

Claim 3

A safety rearview mirror as described in claim 1, wherein: said imaging area is horizontally elongated and planar and includes areas of higher reflectivity both above and below and horizontally co-extensive with said band.

Claim 4

A safety rearview mirror as described in claim 2, wherein: both the upper and lower margins of said band merge through regions of increasing reflectivity into said areas of higher reflectivity.

Claim 5

A safety rearview mirror as described in claim 1, wherein: said reflective imaging area is provided as a front silvered surface on a substrate conventionally mountable in a vehicle environment.

Claim 6

A safety rearview mirror as described in claim 4, wherein: said band is provided as a semi-silvered portion of said front silvered surface.

Claim 7

A safety rearview mirror as described in claim 1, wherein: a layer of light filtering or absorbant material is applied in a band over an imaging area of uniform reflectivity to provide a said band of reduced reflectivity whereby said glare is diminished to a level non-interfering with safe night driving vision of an average driver.

Claim 8

A safety rearview mirror as described in claim 1, wherein: said reflective imaging area is provided as a front silvered surface on a glass substrate having on its back surface a light absorptive layer; said band is provided as a semi-silvered portion of said front silvered surface between upper and lower more fully silvered areas of high reflectivity; both horizontal margins of said band merge through regions of increasing density and reflectivity into said areas of higher reflectivity.

Claim 9

A safety rearview mirror as described in claim 7, wherein: said band of diminished reflectivity has a vertical dimension greater than about three-eighths inch.

Claim 10

A safety rearview mirror as described in claim 1, wherein: said imaging area includes areas of higher reflectivity above and below and horizontally co-extensive with said band; and said band is shaped over its horizontal extent to appear horizontally parallel to a road surface as viewed by the driver in said mirror.

Claim 11

A safety rearview mirror as described in claim 1, wherein: in said vehicle at a distance from a vehicle design-contemplated average position of a driver''s eyes, the said band in vertical extent subtends an angle of about 1.3* in a vertical plane extending from said position to said mirror.

Claim 12

For an automotive vehicle, a safety day and night driving rearview mirror providing, as mounted functionally in a normal vehicle environment, a reflective imaging area for the driver and having a horizontal extent and a vertical extent and comprising: in said imaging area, a band running over said horizontal extent, having reflectivity reduced to a degree that, from following vehicle headlights imaged on the said band, glare is diminished to a level non-interfering with safe night driving vision of a driver; said band extending across the functional horizontal extent of said imaging area between upper and lower portions of said imaging area each having reflectivity markedly higher than said band; said band and each said portion merging into each other through a respective margin region having reflectivity gradually increasing from the low reflectivity of said band to the higher reflectivity of the respective said portion; said band having a vertical dimension sufficient to enable the driver easily to maintain the image of following headlights within said band by slight tilting of the head, even with changing inter-vehicle spaciNg.

Claim 13

For an automotive vehicle, a safety day and night driving rearview mirror providing, as mounted functionally in a normal vehicle environment, a reflective imaging area for the driver and having a horizontal extent and a vertical extent and comprising: in said imaging area, a band running over said horizontal extent, having reflectivity reduced to a degree that, from following vehicle headlights imaged on the said band, glare is diminished to a level non-interfering with safe night driving vision of a driver; said band extending across the functional horizontal extent of said imaging area between upper and lower portions of said imaging area each having reflectivity markedly higher than said band; said band and each said portion merging into each other through a respective margin region having reflectivity gradually increasing from the low reflectivity of said band to the higher reflectivity of the respective said portion; said band having a vertical dimension sufficient to enable the driver easily to maintain the image of following headlights within said band by slight tilting of the head, even with changing inter-vehicle spaciNg.