Hydrophilic mirror and method of producing the same

• US 6,525,882 B1
• Filed: 12/15/1999
• Issued: 02/25/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 12/18/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nippon Sheet Glass Company Limited (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nippon Sheet Glass Company Limited (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Yamamoto, Toru, Hirata, Masahiro
• Primary Examiner(s): CHANG, AUDREY Y
• Application Number:
  US09/460,970
• Time in Patent Office: 1,168 Days
• Field of Search: 359/580, 359/584, 359/586, 359/588, 359/589, 359/350, 359/359, 359/360, 359/507, 359/509, 65/601, 65/602, 427/161, 427/162, 427/164
• US Class Current: 359/584
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/08 Mirrors vehicle mirrors involving special optical features B60R1/08
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/0816 Multilayer mirrors, i.e. having two or more reflecting layers G02B5/0883, G02B5/0891 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/0833 comprising inorganic materials only
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/0883 with a refractive index gradient rugate filters G02B5/289
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/10 with curved faces

Abstract

A hydrophilic mirror comprising a glass substrate having on the main surface side thereof a layer having a refractive index n1 at 550 nm, a layer having a refractive index n2 at 550 nm, a tin oxide layer having a refractive index n3 at 550 nm, and an overcoat in this order, the refractive indices n1, n2 and n3 satisfying the relationship: n1≧n3>n2, and having a visible light reflectance of 70% or more.

Claims

1. A hydrophilic mirror comprising a glass substrate having on one of the two main surface sides thereof (1) a layer having a refractive index n1 at 550 nm, (2) a layer having a refractive index n2 at 550 nm, (3) a tin oxide layer having a refractive index n3 at 550 nm, and (4) an overcoat in this order, the refractive indices n1, n2, and n3 satisfying the relationship:

n1≧

n3>

n2, and having a reflectance of 70% or more of visible light incident on the coated side, wherein said overcoat is of at least one of silicon oxide, aluminum oxide, zirconium oxide, cerium oxide, and titanium oxide.

2. A hydrophilic mirror according to claim 1, wherein said tin oxide layer (3) has a rutile structure.

3. A hydrophilic mirror according to claim 1, wherein said overcoat has a silicon oxide content of 80% or more.

4. A hydrophilic mirror according to claim 1, wherein said layer (1) having a refractive index n1 mainly comprises silicon.

5. A hydrophilic mirror according to claim 1, wherein said layer (2) having a refractive index n2 mainly comprises silicon oxide.

6. A hydrophilic mirror according to claim 1, which further has an undercoat between said glass substrate and said layer (1) having a refractive index n1.

7. A hydrophilic mirror according to claim 6, wherein said undercoat is a tin oxide layer.

8. A hydrophilic mirror according to claim 1, wherein the outermost surface profile on the coated side has a center-line average roughness Ra of 0.5 to 25 nm.

9. A hydrophilic mirror according to claim 8, wherein the tin oxide layer (3) having a refractive index n3 has a center-line average surface roughness Ra of 0.5 to 25 nm.

10. A hydrophilic mirror according to claim 1, wherein the outermost surface on the coated side has a mean spacing Sm of 4 to 300 nm between profile peaks at a mean line, and further wherein Sm is defined by JIS B0601-1994.

11. A hydrophilic mirror according to claim 1, wherein said layer (1) having a refractive index n1 has a thickness of 15 to 45 nm, said layer (2) having a refractive index n2 has a thickness of 20 to 170 nm, said layer (3) having a refractive index n3 has a thickness of 10 to 200 nm, and said overcoat has a thickness of 0.1 to 90 nm.

12. A hydrophilic mirror according to claim 11, wherein said layer (1) having a refractive index n1 has a thickness of 15 to 35 nm, said layer (2) having a refractive index n2 has a thickness of 40 to 150 nm, said layer (3) having a refractive index n3 has a thickness of 10 to 90 nm, said overcoat has a thickness of 0.1 to 85 nm, and the reflection color of light incident on the coated side is such that when defined by reference to the CIE LAB color scale system specified in JIS Z 8729-1980, (a^*2+b^*2) is 0 to 10.

13. A hydrophilic mirror according to claim 1, which further has an opaque layer on the uncoated back side thereof.

16. A method of producing a hydrophilic mirror according to claim 4, wherein said layer having a refractive index n1, said layer having a refractive index n2, and said tin oxide layer having a refractive index n3 are formed by thermal pyrolysis on hot glass.

14. A method of producing a hydrophilic mirror comprising forming on the main surface side of a glass substrate (1) a layer having a refractive index n1 at 550 nm, (2) a layer having a refractive index n2 at 550 nm, (3) a tin oxide layer having a refractive index n3 at 550 nm, and (4) an overcoat in this order, the refractive indices n1, n2, and n3 satisfying the relationship:

n1≧

n3>

n2, and said overcoat being of at least one of silicon oxide, aluminum oxide, zirconium oxide, cerium oxide, and titanium oxide.

15. A method of producing a hydrophilic mirror according to claim 14, which further comprises forming an undercoat between said glass substrate and said layer having a refractive index n1.