STEERING WHEEL

• US 20150197272A1
• Filed: 01/06/2015
• Published: 07/16/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/10/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyoda Gosei Company Limited (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyoda Gosei Company Limited (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: NONOYAMA, Yoshinori, ASANO, Masakazu
• Granted Patent: US 9,758,187 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 1/065 Steering wheels with heating and ventilating means heating and ventilation of steering wheel when connected to vehicle HVAC B60H1/00292
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 2203/003 using serpentine layout
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 3/34 flexible, e.g. heating nets or webs
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 74/20834 Hand wheels

Abstract

A steering wheel includes a ring part, a boss part, spoke parts that connect the ring part and the boss part, a steering wheel main body that includes a core and a covering layer covering the ring part and the spoke parts in the vicinity of the ring part of the core, and a heater unit that warms up at least a portion of the ring part. The heater unit includes a heater main body that includes a base material having a sheet body and a linear heater, and is disposed in a state where an outer face side of the heater main body is covered by a cover layer of the covering layer and a connection part that connects the linear heater and a terminal of a lead wire for power feeding.

Claims

1. A steering wheel comprising:

a ring part to be gripped on steering;

a boss part that is arranged at a substantial center of the ring part;

a plurality of spoke parts that connect the ring part and the boss part;

a steering wheel main body that includes a core arranged to interconnect the ring part, the boss part and the spoke parts, and a covering layer covering the ring part and the spoke parts in the vicinity of the ring part of the core; and

a heater unit that warms up at least a portion of the ring part and includes;

a heater main body that includes a base material having a sheet body having flexibility and a linear heater supported by the base material, and is disposed in a state where an outer face side of the heater main body is covered by a cover layer of the covering layer; and

a connection part that connects the linear heater and a terminal of a lead wire for power feeding extending from the boss part,

wherein the core or covering layer is formed with an accommodation concave portion recessed from a surrounding thereof and configured to accommodate therein the connection part, in a vicinity of a boundary part between the ring part and the spoke part, and

wherein an outer surface of the accommodation concave portion is covered by a surface-side material arranged on a surface-side of the steering wheel and composed of a constitutional component for the steering wheel arranged in a vicinity of the cover layer or spoke part.