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Interior rearview mirror with automatic dimming feature
*
Rain sensor*
Th e int e rior re arvie w mirror w ith a uto -
m atic d im min g f e ature re d u c e s blin din g
fro m f ollo w in g traffic b y a d a ptin g th e
int e n sity of th e refle ct e d im a g e s to
c orre s p o n d to le v e ls of lig ht re gist ere d
by th e u nit's s e nsors. T h e mirror re v erts
to its u n dim m e d s e ttin g a s s o on a s th e
lig ht s o urc e dis a p p e ars. O n e la m p
s e n sor is m o u nt e d o n th e fro nt of th e
mirror h o u sin g . T his s e ns or, w hic h is
dire ct e d forw ard, m e as ur e s lig ht inte n -
sity in th e are a a h e a d of th e v e hicle .
Th e s e c o n d s e n s or is inte grat e d w ithin
th e mirror's gla ss. Th e ele ctronic
c o ntrol syste m c o m p are s th e lig ht
int e n sity fro m fro nt a n d re ar. T h e diff er-
e n c e pro vid es th e b a sic p ara m eter
us e d to m o dul at e a n ele ctric al c urre nt
a n d in d u c e c h e mi c al c h a ng e s in a
s e mis olid la y e r in c orp orat e d in th e le ns.
46 c us 0 3 6
Th e s e mis olid re a cts c h e mi c ally to this
ele ctric al c urr e nt, thus providin g
di m min g of th e mirror thro u g h a n infi-
nit ely - v aria ble ra n g e (ele c tro c hro mic
te c h n olo gy).
A s a re sult, it is n o lo n g er n e c e s s ary to
di m th e mirror m a nu ally, a n d th e driv er
c a n c o n c e ntrate c o m pl e t ely on traffic
c o n ditio ns.
D e p e n din g o n th e d e gre e of w etn e s s o n
th e win d shi eld , th e rain s e n sor c o ntrols
th e o p eratio n of th e w in d s hield wip e rs.
Infrare d lig ht is c arri e d alo ng th e surfa c e
of th e w in d s hiel d in an optic al c o n d u ctor
in su c h a m a nn er th at it is r e fle cte d
c o m plet ely w h e n th e win d shi e ld is dry.
Th e q u a ntity of refle c t e d lig ht is
m e asure d. If th ere is m oistur e o n th e
gla s s, th e a m o u nt of light refle c t e d is
re d u c e d sin c e th e infrare d lig ht at th e
surf a c e of th e w in d s hi e l d c a n e s c a p e .
Th e q u a ntity of refle c t e d lig ht is thu s a
m e ans of g a u ging th e d e gre e of w e tn e ss
on th e w in d s hield . W h e n th e s yst e m is
s e t to th e "Intermitt e nt " wip e r s p e e d, th e
wip ers re a ct i m m e diately – if w at e r is
s pla s h e d o nto th e w in d s hield b y v e hicl e s
trav elin g ah e a d of you, for e x a m ple. A s a
re s ult, th e rain s e n s or pro vid e s a c ontri-
b utio n to drivin g s af e ty a n d c o mf ort.
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