Full display mirror assembly with through bezel infrared illumination

1 . A mirror assembly for a vehicle, the mirror assembly comprising:

a housing;

a bezel assembly formed of a first material that is substantially opaque to a visible spectrum of light and substantially transmissive to an infrared spectrum of light and including at least one localized region formed of a second material that includes, at least in part, a combination of the first material mixed with a dye that is substantially opaque to the visible spectrum of light and substantially transmissive to the infrared spectrum of light;

a plurality of button regions, each button region comprising:

an illumination element located in the housing and oriented to project infrared illumination through the at least one localized region; and

at least one sensor located proximate each illumination element and each sensor is configured to detect increases in the presence of the infrared spectrum of light; and

a control system configured to obtain the detected increases in the presence of the infrared spectrum of light from the at least one sensor and generate a user input associated with the button region with the at least one sensor.

2 . The mirror assembly of claim 1 , wherein the first material and the second material include a resin.

3 . The mirror assembly of claim 2 , wherein the second material is color matched with the first material.

4 . The mirror assembly of claim 1 , wherein the at least one sensor in each button region is located between the illumination element and a bottom edge of the bezel assembly.

5 . The mirror assembly of claim 1 , further including a partially reflective, partially transmissive element located in the housing and a display located behind the partially reflective, partially transmissive element.

6 . The mirror assembly of claim 5 , wherein the control system is further configured to generate a visual information on the display as a result of the user input.

7 . The mirror assembly of claim 6 , wherein the visual information includes a menu with a list of user options that include functions associated with at least one of the mirror assembly and the vehicle.

8 . The mirror assembly of claim 1 , wherein the user input is different for each of the button regions.

9 . The mirror assembly of claim 1 , further including a partially reflective, partially transmissive element located in the housing and a display located behind the partially reflective, partially transmissive element, and wherein each button region includes a non-digital marking on the partially reflective, partially transmissive element aligned with the button regions to visually notify a user of the locations of the button regions.

10 . The mirror assembly of claim 1 , wherein the button regions are located along a bottom edge of the bezel assembly.

11 . The mirror assembly of claim 1 , wherein the at least one sensor in each button region includes two sensors located on opposite sides of the illumination element.

12 . The mirror assembly of claim 1 , wherein each button region is on the at least one localized region.

13 . The mirror assembly of claim 12 , wherein the at least one localized region includes a plurality of localized regions and at least two of the button regions are located on different ones of the localized regions.

14 . A mirror assembly for a vehicle, the mirror assembly comprising:

a housing;

a bezel assembly formed of a first material that is substantially opaque to a visible spectrum of light and substantially transmissive to an infrared spectrum of light and including at least one localized region formed of a second material that includes, at least in part, a combination of the first material mixed with a dye that is substantially opaque to the visible spectrum of light and substantially transmissive to the infrared spectrum of light, wherein a front surface of the at least one localized region is optically polished;

an illumination element located in the housing and oriented to project infrared illumination through the at least one localized region;

a button region located proximate the illumination element, the button region comprising at least one sensor configured to detect increases in the presence of the infrared spectrum of light; and

a control system configured to obtain the detected increases in the presence of the infrared spectrum of light from the at least one sensor and generate a user input associated with the button region with the at least one sensor.

15 . The mirror assembly of claim 14 , wherein the bezel assembly includes a raised texture proximate the button region to visually notify a user of the location of the button region.

16 . The mirror assembly of claim 14 , wherein the user input effectuates functions associated with at least one of the mirror assembly and the vehicle.

17 . A mirror assembly for a vehicle, the mirror assembly comprising:

a housing;

a bezel assembly formed of a first material that is substantially opaque to a visible spectrum of light and substantially transmissive to an infrared spectrum of light and including at least one localized region formed of a second material that includes, at least in part, a combination of the first material mixed with a dye that is substantially opaque to the visible spectrum of light and substantially transmissive to the infrared spectrum of light;

an illumination element located in the housing and oriented to project infrared illumination through the at least one localized region;

a button region located proximate the illumination element, the button region comprising two sensors located on opposite sides of the illumination element and configured to detect increases in the presence of the infrared spectrum of light; and

a control system configured to obtain the detected increases in the presence of the infrared spectrum of light from the two sensor and generate a user input associated with the button region with the at least one sensor.