US 5,371,659 · Granted 1994-12-06
The Mirror That Turns Your Car Into a Lit-Up Security Zone
Imagine a floodlight built into your car's side mirror that floods the ground around your vehicle with light when you hit a remote button. It creates a bright safety zone around your door and the back of the car, and a second light in the mirror warns other drivers when you're turning or braking—all without you having to touch a switch.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers a floodlight system mounted in an exterior vehicle mirror that projects light in a specific pattern downward and rearward to illuminate the area beside the vehicle. It also covers the remote wireless actuator (a base unit inside the car and a handheld transmitter) that turns the light on and off, plus a lockout mechanism that prevents the light from activating while the car is moving. Additionally, it protects a separate signal light in the mirror housing that projects light sideways and backward to alert other drivers during turns or braking.
Why it matters
This patent represents an early approach to improving vehicle security and visibility by moving functional lighting away from traditional fixed positions and into the mirror housing—a space that was mostly decorative until this design. It combines safety (lighting dark areas around the vehicle) with passive communication (signaling to other drivers without active driver input). Donnelly Corporation has long been a supplier of automotive mirrors and lighting systems, so this patent fits into a broader strategy of adding smart features to mirror assemblies rather than requiring separate aftermarket installations.
Real-world use
When you park in a dark lot at night and press your key fob, the light floods the ground beside your car door and behind the vehicle, letting you see threats before you exit. Meanwhile, anyone driving past sees the mirror light blink with your turn signal.
Original USPTO abstract
A floodlight that is adapted to projecting a pattern of light from the housing of a vehicle exterior mirror on an area adjacent a portion of the vehicle in order to create a lighted security zone in that area. The pattern extends laterally onto the vehicle and downwardly and rearwardly of the mirror housing. In this manner, the lighted security zone extends from the vehicle door to the rear of the vehicle. An actuator for the floodlight includes a base unit in the vehicle and a remote transmitter wherein the base unit is responsive to a signal from the remote transmitter in order to actuate the floodlight. The actuator may further include a lockout device in order to prevent actuation of the floodlight during operation of the vehicle. A signal light is additionally included in the exterior mirror housing in order to project a second pattern of light from the mirror housing extending laterally away from the vehicle and rearwardly of the vehicle. In this manner, the second pattern cannot be directly observed by the driver of the vehicle but may be observed by the driver of another vehicle passing the equipped vehicle. The signal light operates in unison with a turn signal, brake signal, or both, of the equipped vehicle.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 5,371,659
- Filing date
- 1993-02-01
- Grant date
- 1994-12-06
- Assignee
- Donnelly Corporation
- Inventor(s)
- PASTRICK; TODD W., MOLENKAMP; LINDA K., KOOPS; ROGER L.
- CPC class
- B60Q1/2665
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