Abstract: The present invention provides a manually retractable vehicle door mirror which can reduce the number of parts and improve efficiency of assembly operations as well as provide large bearing capacity at a location outwardly away from a shaft location to bear bending moments acting on a housing support member due to external forces. A housing support member is formed integrally with a shaft, annular wall, and a housing-support-member-side portion of a clutch, which are placed coaxially with a rotation axis. A housing is fixedly coupled to the housing support member. A base is formed integrally with a shaft passage hole, annular wall housing groove, and a base-side portion of a clutch, which are placed coaxially with a rotation axis. The shaft is rotatably inserted into the shaft passage hole, the annular wall is rotatably housed in the annular wall housing groove, and the housing support member is supported on the base in such a way as to be able to rotate around the rotation axis.

Abstract: The present invention provides a door mirror and assembly method therefor with improved assembly performance. A housing support member, housing, and base of a manually retractable door mirror are assembled using screws, a coil spring, and a plate. During assembly, the housing support member is supported in an upside-down position by a jig, and the housing and base are placed in sequence in an upside-down position on the housing support member from above. An electric drive mechanism, fitting, housing, and base of an electrically retractable door mirror are assembled using screws. During assembly, the electric drive mechanism is supported in an upside-down position by a jig, and the fitting, housing, and base are placed in sequence in an upside-down position on the electric drive mechanism from above.

Abstract: The present invention is intended to, when rotation of a mirror rotation unit in a power-folding mirror is mechanically locked and its drive motor is thereby locked, make it possible to correctly detect this locked state. A motor 10 for a power-folding mirror is reversibly driven by an H-bridge drive circuit 12 formed of FETs 1 to 4. When the motor 10 is driven in normal rotation by turning the FETs 1 and 4 on and turning the FETs 2 and 3 off, the FET 1 is periodically turned off to detect a voltage of a terminal 10a of the motor 10 by means of a voltage detection circuit 14. When the FET 1 is turned off and the motor 10 is not locked, the motor 10 generates power by means of its inertial rotation, and when locked, the motor 10 generates no power, so the voltage detected by the voltage detection circuit 14 changes according to whether or not the motor 10 is locked. A CPU 20 determines whether or not the motor 10 is locked according to the voltage detected by the voltage detection circuit 14.

Abstract: In an outer mirror with turn lamp having a structure in which a turn lamp assembly is mounted to a mirror housing, then a housing cover is placed over and mounted to the mirror housing, and a lens of the turn lamp assembly is exposed through an opening in the housing cover, misalignment between the lens of the turn lamp assembly and the opening in the housing cover is prevented. A protrusion is formed on a back surface near the innermost part of an opening in a housing cover. A hole is formed in the turn lamp assembly in a position facing the protrusion with the housing cover being placed over the mirror housing. When the housing cover is placed over the mirror housing, the protrusion is inserted into and engaged with the hole. This prevents misalignment between the lens of the turn lamp assembly and the opening in the housing cover.

Abstract: A mounting portion structure for stably temporarily fixing a door mirror is provided. Two temporary fixing pieces are formed to protrude on a gasket. Pawls are formed to direct outward at tips of the two temporary fixing pieces. The gasket is previously secured to the mirror base by a screw. The two temporary fixing pieces are inserted through an opening in a mirror mounting portion of a vehicle, and the pawls of the temporary fixing pieces are locked to facing edges of the opening to temporarily fix the mirror base to the mirror mounting portion. Then, the mirror base and the mirror mounting portion are permanently fixed by a screw.

Abstract: There is provided an outer mirror with turn lamp that facilitates assembling of a housing cover to a mirror housing and increases strength of the housing cover. A turn lamp assembly is mounted to a mirror housing. A housing cover is placed over and mounted to a partial area of the mirror housing. Thus, a lens of the turn lamp assembly is exposed through an opening formed in an outer position of the housing cover. The mirror housing and the housing cover are connected to each other with a ridge and a groove in end surfaces and abutting against and fitting each other. On a wall on an inner side of the mirror that constitutes a part of the component of the groove in the housing cover, at an assembling start position in an outer position outside the opening, an assembling leading rib is formed that protrudes in a direction abutting against the end surface of the mirror housing.

Abstract: The object of this invention is to provide a folding outer mirror, in which the cost reduction, the prevention of large sizes and heavy weights, and higher stiffness of the stopper mechanism can be obtained. The folding outer mirror includes a mirror base extending outside from a side surface of vehicle body, a mirror assembly attached rotatably to the mirror base, and a stopper mechanism for stopping the mirror assembly at a predetermined position. The stopper mechanism is provided with a base-side engaging surface formed in the mirror base, and a body-side engaging surface formed in the mirror assembly and being in plane contact with the base-side engaging surface at a predetermined position. The base-side engaging surface and the body-side engaging surface are formed such that a raising angle relative to a rotating direction of the mirror assembly becomes a sharp angle.

Abstract: For a turn lamp unit, a reflecting member is disposed in an inner space formed by a housing and lens section, wherein the reflecting member is fixed to the housing by a screw. The head portion of the screw is disposed inside a screw housing space arranged at the housing, and an opening of the screw housing space is closed by a waterproof moisture-transmission section. Further, since the inner space and screw housing space are communicated with each other through a breathing hole, one end of the breathing hole is continuous with the inside of the screw housing space closed by the waterproof moisture-transmission section, and the other end of the breathing section is continuous with the inside of the inner space.

Abstract: The present invention provides a hydrophilicity-restoring agent for removing inorganic matter from a hydrophilic surface whose hydrophilicity has been reduced by the adhesion of the inorganic matter to thereby restore the hydrophilicity of the hydrophilic surface, and provides a method for restoring the hydrophilicity of a hydrophilic surface using the hydrophilicity-restoring agent. A gel of a hydrophilicity-restoring agent is prepared by mixing a thickener such as polyethylene glycol and xanthan gum with an aqueous solution in which a ligand such as citric acid to form a chelate complex is dissolved. The hydrophilicity of the hydrophilic surface is restored by applying the hydrophilicity-restoring agent to the hydrophilic surface with a reduced hydrophilicity and removing the hydrophilicity-restoring agent after an appropriate lapse of time.

Abstract: The present invention provides a vehicle antifouling element that comprises a layer comprising a p-type semiconductor and a thin film that comprises an n-type semiconductor that is laminated on the surface of the p-type semiconductor layer. The thin film comprises a photocatalytic activity and the film thickness thereof is equal to or more than 5 nm and less than 60 nm.

Abstract: In a shaft structure of a retractable outer mirror, a shaft includes: a first member; and a second member. The first member includes: a base section having an attachment boss; a shaft section vertically arranged on the base section; and a catch part by which a catch member is caught. The second member includes: clutch parts that performs an engagement or a release of the engagement in response to rotation of a frame; and an insert portion inserted into a shaft section. The second member is fitted in with the shaft section from above a top end side of the shaft section.

Abstract: To provide a connector that incorporates a built-in electronic part, which allows for easy assembly for obtaining a required connection structure, ensures connection reliability, and prevents dislodging of the electronic part even when used in locations involving frequent vibrations.

Abstract: To provide a mirror with a monitor for a vehicle that allows display light to pass through a region of a mirror surface thereof to be visually recognized by a viewer, in which the viewability of the display is improved while suppressing the cost increase. A region of a mirror element that transmits display light is formed of a wire grid having a polarization direction that agrees with the polarization direction of the display light. A region of the mirror element adjacent to the wire grid is formed of a reflective film formed of a reflective metal film or a dielectric multilayer film. The grid of the wire grid is formed of Al thin lines, for example. The reflective film is formed of a Cr half mirror, for example. A dark color mask is disposed on the back surface of the Cr half mirror.

Abstract: To facilitate discrimination of a curb, a gutter or the like by using an infrared illuminating device and an infrared-sensitive image pickup device mounted on an exterior mirror of a vehicle when the vehicle is pulled over to a shoulder at night. Two illuminating devices having optical axes oriented downward are mounted on a housing of a side mirror at a distance from each other in the lateral direction of a vehicle. The illuminating devices alternately emit infrared light downwardly. An image pickup device sensitive to infrared light having an optical axis oriented downward is mounted on the housing at a middle position between the left and right illuminating devices. An image taken by the image pickup device is displayed on an image monitor disposed at a position where the monitor can be viewed from the driver seat.

Abstract: The present invention provides a vehicle mirror and a manufacturing method therefor which allow the rear face side of a mirror element to be dark-colored without using a color plate or color coating. A mirror element is configured by forming a semitransparent reflective film made of a dielectric multilayer film on the front face of a flat transparent substrate. A dark-colored self-adhesive film is attached to the rear face of the mirror element. The dark-colored self-adhesive film is configured by forming an adhesive layer on the rear face of a dark-colored film layer by means of application. Grid-like air release channels are formed at fine pitches with minimal depth on an entire surface of the adhesive layer. After the dark-colored self-adhesive film is attached to the rear face of the mirror element, the grid-like air release channels visible from a front side of the mirror element are eliminated by heating and/or pressurizing.

Abstract: A door mirror which includes a camera for checking the side of a vehicle which is in a blind spot of a driver, has a door mirror body having a through hole formed for lens side part of the camera to be inserted therein, and a camera cover having an opening part for exposing the lens part formed, and the camera cover has the first abutting surface which abuts on the outer surface of the door mirror body with elasticity.

Abstract: To provide a dielectric multilayer filter, such as an IR cut filter and a red-reflective dichroic filter, that produces an effect of reducing incident-angle dependency and has a wide reflection band. A first dielectric multilayer film 30 is formed on the front surface of a transparent substrate 28, and a second dielectric multilayer film 32 is formed on the back surface of the transparent substrate 28. The width W1 of the reflection band of the first dielectric multilayer film 30 is set narrower than the width W2 of the reflection band of the second dielectric multilayer film 32. The half-value wavelength E2L of the shorter-wavelength-side edge of the reflection band of the second dielectric multilayer film 32 is set between the half-value wavelength E1L at the shorter-wavelength-side edge and the half-value wavelength E1H at the longer-wavelength-side edge of the reflection band of the first dielectric multilayer film 30.

Abstract: In a mirror for an automobile, the adoption of resin mirror body to a mirror plate can decrease the weight of the mirror body, and the mirror plate is fixed onto a mirror holder through the welding. Therefore, this eliminates the usage of both-sided adhesive tape or adhesive agent, makes assembly processes less complicated, and thus the reduction in production cost is achieved. Furthermore, since the mirror plate can be fixed onto the mirror holder firmly and strongly even when the mirror plate is not pressed strongly to the mirror holder, excessive load on the mirror holder or the mirror plate becomes avoided. In addition, at the time of the production stage, some dimensional variation in the edge part of the mirror holder or the peripheral edge of the mirror plate becomes easily acceptable.

Abstract: A side mirror 14 which improves a working efficiency for mounting.

Abstract: On the surface of Fresnel lens part which is formed on the back face of the lens in a door mirror, grain is provided. This grain includes the first grain formed in the first area positioned in the outside of the boundary extending in the front and rear direction of a vehicle, and the second grain formed in the second area positioned in the door panel side of the boundary, and the concavity depth of the second grain is deeper than that of the first grain. Consequently, illumination intensity of the light irradiated toward the face of the door panel from the deeper grain side of the second area can be reduced compared with the illumination intensity of the light toward the footstep from the shallower grain side of the first area. Adoption of such lens makes possible to apply in the various vehicle models through changing only the boundary position and concavity depth of the grain on the face of the Fresnel lens part.