A method to automatically activate at least one cold weather feature of a vehicle includes determining if the vehicle is in a state for activating at least one cold weather feature, and then determining at least one cold weather condition exists for activating at least one cold weather feature. When it is determined that at least one cold weather condition exists the at least one cold weather feature is automatically activated.

In a defroster structure, a first guide member is provided further toward a vehicle front side than a front-rear partitioning wall and at a vehicle transverse direction outer side, at an interior of a blow-out port. A second guide member is provided further toward a vehicle rear side than the front-rear partitioning wall and at the vehicle transverse direction outer side, at the interior of the blow-out port. The first guide member and the second guide member respectively extend toward the vehicle transverse direction outer side from a vehicle lower side toward a vehicle upper side.

Protection system for an optical sensor in a motor vehicle and for detecting an environment of the motor vehicle is provided, wherein the protection system comprises at least one cover for the optical sensor, which can be brought into a cover position in which the optical sensor is protected from environmental influences by the at least one cover. The protection system comprises a storage device for a plurality of covers, from which at least one cover can be moved into the cover position.

A system mounted on a vehicle for detecting an obstruction on a surface of a window of the vehicle, a primary camera is mounted inside the vehicle behind the window. The primary camera is configured to acquire images of the environment through the window. A secondary camera is focused on an external surface of the window, and operates to image the obstruction. A portion of the window, i.e. window region is subtended respectively by the field of view of the primary camera and the field of view of the secondary camera. A processor processes respective sequences of image data from both the primary camera and the secondary camera.

A sliding window assembly, a cable drive system and methods of operating the same, are disclosed. The sliding window assembly includes a guide track and a sliding window movable relative to the guide track. A heating element is coupled to the sliding window for heating the sliding window. A drum of a drive assembly rotates and includes a conductive terminal connected to a power supply of the vehicle. A cable is coupled between the sliding window and heating element and the drum. The drum rotates to mechanically wind or unwind the cable for moving the sliding window. A conductive element is coupled to at least one of the drum and the cable and is electrically connected to the cable and is movable during movement of the sliding window. The conductive element contacts the conductive terminal to provide electrical current to the cable for energizing the heating element.

A vehicle air-conditioning device is a heat pump type vehicle air-conditioning device including an external heat exchanger that performs heat exchange between refrigerant flowing the inside thereof and outside air. With the vehicle air-conditioning device, a controller functions as a temperature-difference calculation unit that calculates the temperature difference ΔT between the refrigerant in a refrigerant flow path on the exit side of the external heat exchanger and the outside air, and in addition, the controller functions as a frost formation determination unit that determines that frost formation is caused on the external heat exchanger on the basis of the elapsed time to of a state in which the temperature difference ΔT is equal to or larger than a frost-formation temperature difference at which the frost formation may be caused on the external heat exchanger.

A window glass heating device for a vehicle is provided with: a window heater; a window heater control unit that controls operation of the window heater based on an operation on an operation switch; a camera heater; and a camera heater control unit that controls supply of power to the camera heater to defog the camera-imaging window area. The camera heater control unit is configured to acquire window heater operation information which is operation information on operation of the window heater and to limit supply of power to the camera heater when it is estimated that the camera heater is potentially overheated by heat applied from the window heater to the camera heater based on the window heater operation information.

A vehicle window glass according to the present invention includes a glass plate having a defogger region and an antenna region, a defogger disposed in the defogger region and having a plurality of horizontal heating wires, and an antenna including at least an FM antenna and disposed in the antenna region, the FM antenna including a first power supply part disposed on the glass plate, and an FM antenna body having a first horizontal part, a second horizontal part closer to the defogger than is the first horizontal part and at least one vertical part linking both the horizontal parts, and connected to the first power supply part.

The invention relates to a method for regulating, by means of a computer, a resistive element arranged to deice and/or demist a support, the method comprising:

a) a loop for monitoring the temperature T and the moisture level H at the support;

b) a deicing and/or demisting sequence which, as long as the temperature T and the moisture level H monitored by the monitoring loop a) are indicative of an absence of frost or mist on the support, keeps the resistive element inactive and, in the contrary case, demands, in a step b2), the circulation of a current I in the resistive element so that the latter dissipates a thermal power P.sub.th, adjusted according to the temperature T and the moisture level H, and providing deicing or demisting of the support over a predetermined period D.sub.p.

A blocked imager detection system includes a rearview assembly having an actuator device. The actuator device is adjustable to tilt an electro-optic element, thereby moving the electro-optic element to an off-axis position which changes an activation state of a display module. The actuator device is also adjustable to tilt the electro-optic element in another direction, thereby moving the electro-optic element to an on-axis position which changes the activation state of the display module. An imager is configured to capture image data of a scene external to the controlled vehicle and to generate image data for display on the display module. When a controller determines that the operational capability of the imager to capture image data is at least partially diminished, the controller can generate a control signal indicating that imager performance has been compromised and deactivate the display module.