Apparatus for and method of controlling grip heater

• US 20050173406A1
• Filed: 01/18/2005
• Published: 08/11/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 01/18/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company), Faltec Company Limited (TPR Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Honda Access KK (Honda Motor Company), Mitsubishi Cable Industries Limited (Mitsubishi Materials Corporation)
• Inventors: Oishi, Yasuo, Okai, Ryuichi, Moriwaki, Hideyuki, Kurumagawa, Hiroshi
• Granted Patent: US 9,024,236 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 219/482
• CPC Class Codes: B62J 33/00 Arrangements for warming riders specially adapted for cycles
• CPC Class Codes: B62K 21/26 Handlebar grips twist grips B62K23/04

Abstract

A grip heater controlling apparatus controls an amount of current supplied from a power supply to a grip heater mounted on a handle grip on the steering handle of a motorcycle. The grip heater controlling apparatus has a single momentary switch operable by the driver of the motorcycle, and an amount-of-current controller for changing the amount of current cyclically to at least three levels, including 0, depending on the number of times that the momentary switch is operated.

Claims

1. An apparatus for controlling an amount of current supplied from a power supply to a grip heater mounted on a steering handle of a vehicle, comprising:

a single momentary switch operable by the driver of the vehicle; and

an amount-of-current controller for changing the amount of current cyclically to at least three levels depending on the number of times that said momentary switch is operated.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein in an initial state when a power supply switch of the vehicle is turned on, said amount-of-current controller minimizes the amount of current, and when said momentary switch is operated once in said initial state, said amount-of-current controller maximizes the amount of current.

3. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

an indicator controlled by said amount-of-current controller, for indicating the amount of current.

4. An apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said vehicle has a speedometer and a handle grip, further comprising a unit disposed between said speedometer and said handle grip, said momentary switch and said indicator being mounted on said unit, said momentary switch being positioned more closely to said handle grip than said indicator.

5. An apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said indicator comprises fewer light-emitting elements than said levels, and said levels are indicated when said light-emitting elements are turned off, fully turned on, and turned on at an intermediate luminance level.

6. An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said indicator comprises an array of said light-emitting elements, and said light-emitting elements are successively turned on at said intermediate luminance level or fully turned on from an end of said array depending on said levels.

7. An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said light-emitting elements comprise three light-emitting elements.

8. An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said light-emitting elements are adjusted in luminance under PWM control, and turned on at said intermediate luminance level at a duty ratio ranging from 5 to 20%.

9. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said amount-of-current controller has a voltage monitor for detecting a power supply voltage of said power supply, and said amount-of-current controller minimizes the amount of current when said power supply voltage as detected by said voltage monitor is equal to or less than a first threshold.

10. An apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said amount-of-current controller automatically resumes energization of said grip heater based on said levels when said power supply voltage returns to a second threshold larger than said first threshold.

11. An apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising:

an indicator controlled by said amount-of-current controller;

wherein said amount-of-current controller continuously turns on or off said indicator to indicate said amount of current when said power supply voltage exceeds a second threshold larger than said first threshold, and flickers at least a portion of said indicator when said power supply voltage is equal to or less than said first threshold.

12. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

an indicator controlled by said amount-of-current controller;

wherein said amount-of-current controller changes said amount of current and continuously turns on or off said indicator to indicate said amount of current when the on-time of said momentary switch in a single turn-on cycle is less than a predetermined time, and flickers at least a portion of said indicator when the on-time of said momentary switch in a single turn-on cycle is equal to or longer than said predetermined time.

13. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said levels comprise a range from three to seven levels.

14. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said amount-of-current controller performs a masking process to make any operation of said switch invalid within a predetermined time after a power supply switch of the vehicle is turned on.

15. A method of controlling an amount of current supplied from a power supply to a grip heater mounted on a steering handle of a vehicle, comprising the steps of:

using a single momentary switch operable by the driver of the vehicle; and

changing the amount of current cyclically to at least three levels depending on the number of times that said momentary switch is operated.

16. A method according to claim 15, further comprising the steps of:

setting the amount of current to 0 when a power supply switch of the vehicle is turned on; and

maximizing the amount of current when said momentary switch is operated once in said initial state.