Rear-view mirror assembly for motor vehicles
A rear-view mirror arrangement for a motor vehicle, having a mirror assembly held on a carrier plate. The mirror assembly includes a liquid-crystal cell to view following traffic, and which has a variable reflectance controllable via a control device. The mirror assembly has a transparent plate arranged on a front side thereof and a rear-side reflective coating adjacent to and pointing toward the carrier plate. The rear-view mirror arrangement is automatically dimmable and heatable, and includes an optical liquid-crystal cell to produce a permanently clear optical image for the vehicle occupant as a user. In order to provide a heatable effect, an areal heating element is arranged on the carrier plate to generate thermal radiation, and a housing gap is disposed between the carrier plate and the mirror assembly such that the thermal radiation is to transmitted to a radiation-absorbing coating arranged on a reflective coating of the mirror assembly.
1. A rear-view mirror arrangement for a motor vehicle, comprising:
a carrier plate;
a mirror assembly including a liquid-crystal cell, a transparent layer arranged on a front side thereof, a rear-side reflective layer, and a radiation-absorbing coating on the rear-side reflective layer;
a housing gap between the carrier plate and the mirror assembly; and
an areal heating element to generate thermal radiation which is transmitted through the housing gap to the radiation-absorbing coating, thereby heating the mirror assembly.
2. The rear-view mirror arrangement of claim 1 , wherein the carrier plate comprises a carrier base plate and a carrier plate rim.
3. The rear-view mirror arrangement of claim 2 , wherein the carrier base plate has bearing points to support the mirror assembly in a spaced apart arrangement with respect to the carrier base plate.
4. The rear-view mirror arrangement of claim 2 , further comprising:
a second housing gap between the carrier plate rim and the mirror assembly; and
a seal which completely closes off and seals the second housing gap.
5. The rear-view mirror arrangement of claim 1 , wherein the areal heating element is attached to the carrier base plate.
6. The rear-view mirror arrangement of claim 1 , wherein the areal heating element is adhesively bonded to the carrier base plate.
7. The rear-view mirror arrangement of claim 1 , wherein the transparent layer comprises a glass or plastic.
8. A rear-view mirror arrangement for a motor vehicle, comprising:
a carrier plate;
a mirror assembly having a first transparent layer, and a liquid-crystal cell with a multi-layered structure that includes a transparent front-side carrier layer, a transparent rear-side carrier layer, an electrically actuable liquid-crystal layer arranged between the transparent front-side carrier layer and the transparent rear-side carrier layer, a non-transparent, reflective layer, and a radiation-absorbing coating on the non-transparent, reflective layer;
a housing gap between the carrier plate and the mirror assembly; and
an areal heating element to generate thermal radiation which is transmitted through the housing gap to the radiation-absorbing coating, thereby heating the mirror assembly.
9. The rear-view mirror arrangement of claim 8 , wherein the carrier plate comprises a carrier base plate and a carrier plate rim.
10. The rear-view mirror arrangement of claim 9 , wherein the carrier base plate has bearing points to support the mirror assembly in a spaced apart arrangement with respect to the carrier base plate.
11. The rear-view mirror arrangement of claim 9 , further comprising:
a second housing gap between the carrier plate rim and the mirror assembly; and
a seal which completely closes off and seals the second housing gap.
12. The rear-view mirror arrangement of claim 8 , wherein the areal heating element is attached to the carrier base plate.
13. The rear-view mirror arrangement of claim 8 , wherein the areal heating element is adhesively bonded to the carrier base plate.
14. A rear-view mirror arrangement for a motor vehicle, comprising:
a carrier plate;
a mirror assembly having:
a first layer composed of a transparent material, and
a liquid-crystal cell with a multi-layered structure that includes a second layer composed of a transparent material arranged behind the first transparent layer, a third layer comprising an electrically actuable liquid-crystal, arranged behind the second transparent layer, a fourth layer composed of a transparent material arranged behind the third layer, a fifth layer composed of a non-transparent, reflective material, and a radiation-absorbing coating on the fifth layer;
a housing gap between the carrier plate and the mirror assembly; and
an areal heating element to generate thermal radiation which is transmitted through the housing gap to the radiation-absorbing coating, thereby heating the mirror assembly.
15. The rear-view mirror arrangement of claim 14 , wherein the carrier plate comprises a carrier base plate and a carrier plate rim.
16. The rear-view mirror arrangement of claim 15 , wherein the carrier base plate has bearing points to support the mirror assembly in a spaced apart arrangement with respect to the carrier base plate.
17. The rear-view mirror arrangement of claim 15 , further comprising:
a second housing gap between the carrier plate rim and the mirror assembly; and
a seal which completely closes off and seals the second housing gap.
18. The rear-view mirror arrangement of claim 14 , wherein the areal heating element is attached to the carrier base plate.
19. The rear-view mirror arrangement of claim 14 , wherein the areal heating element is adhesively bonded to the carrier base plate.