Door mirror for an automobile

• US 8,210,726 B2
• Filed: 11/03/2010
• Issued: 07/03/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/25/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Murakami Corporation
• Original Assignee: Murakami Corporation
• Inventors: Suzuki, Kentaro, Sato, Yosuke
• Primary Examiner(s): Ton, Anabel
• Assistant Examiner(s): ALLEN, DANIELLE NICOLE
• Application Number:
  US12/938,631
• Publication Number:
  US 20110205747A1
• Time in Patent Office: 608 Days
• Field of Search: 362/501, 362/492, 362/494, 362/135, 362/140, 362/141, 362/540, 362/541, 362544-547, 362516-518, 362/464, 362/142, 362/234, 362/241, 362/251, 362/503, 362/506, 362/459, 359/841, 359/843, 359/874, 359/838, 359/876, 359/877, 359/881, 359/871, 248/480, 248/487, 340/468, 296/1.11
• US Class Current: 362/494
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/2665 on rear-view mirrors lighting devices for vehicle interior on or for rear-view mirrors B60Q3/258
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/06 mounted on vehicle exterior B60R1/025, B60R1/08 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/1207 with lamps; with turn indicators

Abstract

The present invention provides a door mirror for an automobile, in which molding errors are made difficult to occur in a housing and assembling accuracy between the housing and a lamp assy is improved. A housing applied to the door mirror for an automobile is divided into two parts, that is, an upper housing located on the upper side and a lower housing located on the lower side, and a lamp assy constituting a side-turn lamp is disposed between the upper housing and the lower housing. Since the housing is divided vertically into two parts, materials or colors of the upper housing and the lower housing can be made different so that a texture and an appearance of the housing can be easily changed. Moreover, assembling errors between the housing and the lamp assy due to deformation by injection molding or thermal deformation applied during painting can hardly occur, and a gap can be hardly generated between the housing and the lamp assy on the surface side of the housing.

Claims

1. A door mirror for an automobile, the door mirror comprising:

a cup-shaped housing divided into an upper housing made of resin and located on an upper side of the cup-shaped housing and a lower housing made of resin and located on a lower side of the cup-shaped housing;

a lamp assembly disposed between the upper housing and the lower housing;

a lamp exposed portion that separates a first divided end face formed at a lower end of the upper housing and a second divided end face formed at an upper end of the lower housing from each other so as to expose the lamp assembly; and

a joint portion that joins the first divided end face of the upper housing and the second divided end face of the lower housing together.

2. The door mirror for an automobile according to claim 1, wherein there are provided in the joint portion, a first locking piece located on an inner face of the upper housing, protruding downward across the first divided end face of the upper housing and hooked by an inner face of the lower housing;

and

a second locking piece located on the inner face of the upper housing, protruding upward across the second divided end face of the lower housing and hooked by the inner face of the upper housing.

3. The door mirror for an automobile according to claim 2, wherein on the inner face of the upper housing, a guide rib is installed upright which is inclined so as to approach the second locking piece as it goes upward, at a position where a distal end of the second locking piece is brought into contact when the second locking piece is inserted.

4. The door mirror for an automobile according to claim 1, further comprising a visor attached to a side of an opening of the cup-shaped housing, wherein on the upper housing and the lower housing, guide pieces located on the inner faces of the upper housing and the lower housing and protruding across an opening-side end face are provided, and the guide pieces are brought into sliding contact with an inner face of the visor.

5. A door mirror for an automobile, the door mirror comprising:

a cup-shaped housing divided into an upper housing made of resin located on an upper side of the cup-shaped housing and a lower housing made of resin located on a lower side of the cup-shaped housing;

a lamp assembly disposed between the upper housing and the lower housing; and

a visor attached to a side of an opening of the cup-shaped housing, wherein on the upper housing and the lower housing, guide pieces located on the inner faces of the upper housing and the lower housing and protruding across the opening-side end face are provided, and the guide pieces are brought into sliding contact with an inner face of the visor.