Photoelectrically Controlled Rear-view Mirror : Jacob Rabinow

Photoelectrically Controlled Rear-view Mirror
ca. 1956

A rear-view mirror is a wedge of glass with two surfaces: a silvered one producing a strong reflection and an un-silvered surface producing a much weaker reflection. A driver can tilt the mirror if bothered by the intensity of light reflected from it. Rabinow’s invention, which was equipped with a photocell, did this tipping automatically. After the Ford Motor Company expressed interest in the mirror, a parts supplier to Ford bought an option on the patent. It turned out Ford wanted to buy the mirror from the supplier for below cost. Oftentimes a supplier will consent to such an arrangement because the replacement of repair cost to the consumer is much higher than the cost of the original part, and the supplier has the opportunity to make a large profit. In this case, the supplier thought that if the automatic mechanism broke, the consumer would simply revert to manual adjustment. Rabinow never sold the patent.