Vehicular rearview mirror with increased field-of-view

摘要

An optical element such as a reflector defining a differentiable fiducial surface having a first portion, with a flat region, that seamlessly adjoins, along a curved line, a second portion having a two-dimensionally curved region. The quality of optical imaging in the reflector is drastically improved by reducing the ratio of optical powers measured in two perpendicular directions along the two-dimensionally curved portion of the surface. The vehicular rearview assembly including such a reflector possesses a field-of-view (FOV) that is significantly higher than the FOV of a conventional flat mirror and facilitates visual access to a “blind spot” behind the vehicle.

主权项

1. An electrochromic (EC) mirror element having a front and comprising:
a first substrate having a first surface, the first substrate corresponding to the front; a second substrate having a second surface, the first and second substrates disposed in a spaced-apart and tangentially-parallel relationship with one another such as to form a gap between the first and second surfaces; and an EC medium in the gap, wherein each of the first and second surfaces is differentiable and includes a substantially flat portion and a two-dimensionally (2D) curved portion that adjoins said substantially flat portion along a curved line.