US 5,929,786 · Granted 1999-07-27
The Blind Spot Warning System That Made Mirror Alerts Standard
Imagine a sensor that watches the areas beside your car you can't see in your mirrors, then flashes a warning light on both your side mirror and inside your rearview mirror to tell you a car is there. This patent locks down that dual-warning approach, so drivers get backup alerts in two places instead of just one.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers a dual-indicator system where blind spot detection sensors trigger warning lights at two locations: an exterior indicator assembly mounted near the side mirror, and a second indicator on the interior rearview mirror. What's protected here is the combination of using both exterior and interior displays to show the driver that an object is adjacent to the vehicle's side, providing redundant warnings before the driver changes lanes or turns.
Why it matters
This patent captures a practical safety innovation during the late 1990s when blind spot awareness was becoming a serious liability and design concern for automakers. By securing the dual-display approach, Donnelly established a template for how manufacturers could reduce accidents caused by unseen vehicles in blind zones. The redundancy concept—warning the driver in two places at once—became influential in how modern vehicles design their safety alert systems.
Real-world use
When you're sitting in a car with blind spot warning lights on the side mirrors that light up when another vehicle enters that zone, you're experiencing the exact technology this patent protects.
Original USPTO abstract
A vehicle blind spot detection display system displays indications from a blind spot detector. The system includes a first indicator assembly positioned on the vehicle in the vicinity of an exterior mirror and adapted to producing an indication at least of the presence of an object adjacent the corresponding side of the vehicle. A second indicator assembly is provided on the vehicle interior mirror assembly and adapted to producing an indication at least of the presence of an object adjacent the same corresponding side of the vehicle. In this manner, redundant indications are provided at both the interior and exterior mirrors in order to assist the driver in a premaneuver evaluation of conditions surrounding the vehicle.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 5,929,786
- Filing date
- 1998-07-20
- Grant date
- 1999-07-27
- Assignee
- Donnelly Corporation
- Inventor(s)
- SCHOFIELD; KENNETH, LYNAM; NIALL R.
- CPC class
- B60R21/01566
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