US 6,477,464 · Granted 2002-11-05
The Rearview Mirror That Became Your Car's GPS Navigator
Imagine your car's rearview mirror doing double duty: it reflects the road behind you AND displays turn-by-turn GPS directions right there in front of you. Instead of fumbling with a separate GPS unit, drivers see navigation instructions scrolling across the mirror itself, keeping their eyes on the road.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers a rearview mirror system that integrates a scrolling display into the interior mirror housing and connects it to a GPS receiver to show turn-by-turn navigation data. What's protected here is the specific combination of the reflective mirror element, the housing, the scrolling display technology, and the GPS data integration—essentially locking down the idea of embedding navigation directly into a vehicle's primary mirror.
Why it matters
This patent represents an early attempt to consolidate in-car technology by putting navigation where drivers naturally look. In the early 2000s, GPS was still a novelty in consumer vehicles, and this design reduced dashboard clutter while keeping critical directional information visible. Donnelly Corporation, a major automotive supplier, was positioning itself at the intersection of mirrors and smart vehicle tech when aftermarket GPS was still dominating the market.
Real-world use
When a driver glances in the rearview mirror to check traffic behind them, they could simultaneously catch their next turn instruction scrolling across that same mirror display.
Original USPTO abstract
A vehicular rearview mirror-based navigation system includes a rearview mirror system, including an interior rearview mirror assembly, having an interior reflective element and interior mirror housing for the interior reflective element. The interior rearview mirror assembly further includes a scrolling display. The scrolling display displays scrolling driver informational messages on the scrolling display. The interior rearview mirror assembly may include a global-positioning system display receiving an output from a global-positioning system receiving system and displaying turn-by-turn information to a vehicle driver.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 6,477,464
- Filing date
- 2001-03-05
- Grant date
- 2002-11-05
- Assignee
- Donnelly Corporation
- Inventor(s)
- MCCARTHY KEVIN C., UHLMANN EUGENIE V., LYNAM NIALL R.
- CPC class
- B60R11/0247
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