JPS61218475A - Heater for steering wheel - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent folds from occurring in a sheet member as well as to make its setting to a steering wheel ever so easy, by holding a heater wire between two sheets of the sheet member, while forming plural pieces of notch parts on an edge part of two sides in a longitudinal direction of both these sheets. CONSTITUTION:A heater 1 is constituted of two sheets of sheet members 2 and 3 forming both bulged parts 2a and 3a at one side, a heater wire 4 being held between both these sheet members 2 and 3 and covered with an insulating material, a temperature sensitive element 5 held between both bulged parts 2a and 3a and a connecting part between the heater wire and a lead wire 6. And, each notch part 8 being formed in V-shaped form is installed in the remotest position form a wiring position of the heater wire 4 on each edge part of two sides in a longitudinal direction of both these sheet members 2 and 3, that is, each edge part of these sheet members 2 and 3 corresponding to a concave part of a wiring pattern of the heater wire 4. According to this method, folds are preventable from producing in the said edge part of these sheet members 2 and 3 and, what is more, its setting to the steering wheel can be made so easily.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Object of the Invention (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a steering wheel heater that warms a grip portion of a ring portion of a steering wheel.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, it has been proposed to attach a heating element to the grip of a steering wheel of an automobile, a motor boat, etc. to warm the hands at the beginning of driving in winter when the temperature is low. In order to reduce manufacturing costs and provide versatility, this heating element is provided only in a part of the grip part of the ring part, and its shape is an elongated planar shape such as a rectangle or an ε-shaped ellipse. This is desirable.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, when the planar elongated heating element is mounted on the three-dimensionally curved surface of the grip portion of the steering wheel, it is difficult to bend the heater wire and the sheet member that protects the heater wire. However, there are problems in that it is difficult to separate from the three-dimensionally curved surface of the grip, and it wraps quickly. In addition, since a flat object is aligned with a three-dimensional curved surface, there is a problem in that wrinkles occur at the edges of the bent part. There was also a problem with the installation process, which was that it would shift.

Structure of the Invention (Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it eliminates the unevenness caused by the wrinkles on the surface of the grip, improves the appearance quality, and improves the grip. To provide a steering wheel heater that can be easily attached to the three-dimensionally curved surface of the steering wheel. That is, the heater wire is sandwiched between two sheet members having a planar elongated shape, and a plurality of notches are formed on the edges of two longitudinal sides of the sheet members.

(Function) When a flat, elongated heater is attached to the grip of a steering wheel that has a three-dimensionally curved surface, the edge of the bent portion of the seat located on the center side of the steering wheel is compressed, and the heater moves toward the center. Since protruding wrinkles are likely to form, notches are provided at multiple locations on both edges of the seams 1 to 1 to prevent wrinkles from forming by opening and closing the notches. In addition, the heater fits easily into the grip of the steering wheel, making it easy to install.

(Example) An example embodying the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 indicates the entire heater, which has a substantially rectangular shape in plan, and has bulges 2a and 3a formed on one side of the heater.
sheet members 2 and 3, a heater wire 4 sandwiched between the two sheet I members 2 and 3 and covered with an insulating material, and a temperature sensor sandwiched between the bulges 2a and 3a. It is composed of an element 5.

The connection portion 7 between the heater vA4 and the lead wire 6 and the temperature sensing element 5 are sandwiched between the bulges 2a and 3a.

Of the two sheet members 2 and 3, the inner sheet member 2 is made of 100% polyester fibers such as twill weave or knit weave, and is flame retardant. The other sheet member 3, which is the outer side, is made of a non-woven fabric made of 100% polyester and subjected to flame retardant treatment so that it has less elasticity than the sheet member 2. has been done.

Reference numeral 8 denotes a V-shaped notch, which is located at the farthest position from the wiring position of the heater wire 4 on the edges of the two longitudinal sides of the sheet members 2 and 3; They are arranged in a staggered manner at the edges of the sheet members 2 and 3 corresponding to the concave portions of the wiring patterns.

When the heater 1 is attached to a steering wheel, the edges of the two sides of the seat members 2 and 3 on which these notches 8 are arranged are compressed, and the edge located on the center side of the steering wheel is compressed, and the outer periphery of the steering wheel is compressed. The edges located on the sides are placed under tension.

Therefore, by opening and closing the notches 8 provided at a plurality of locations, the above-mentioned compressive force and tensile force are relieved, thereby preventing wrinkles from forming. The depth d of the V-shaped notch 8 is approximately 3 to 8 mm to prevent deformation near the notch from affecting the heater wire 4 when attached to the steering wheel grip 19. .

Reference numeral 9 denotes a sheet member 2.3 whose corners and corners are formed into an R shape, and when the heater 1 is mounted on the steering wheel, the two sheet members 2, 3 from these ends are
It is designed to prevent the peeling of 3.

When the heater 1 formed in this way is mounted on a steering wheel, the rectangular portion in which only the heater wire 4 is sandwiched between the sheet members 2 and 3 is attached to the ring portion 18, as shown in FIG. corresponding to the grip part 19 of the heater wire 4.
The connecting portion 7 between the lead wire 6 and the bulging portions 2a and 3a, to which the temperature sensing element 5 is sandwiched, are attached to the spoke portion 10 in such a manner that they correspond to the back surface of the spoke portion 10.

In order to prevent the heat from escaping to the center of the ring part 18, the heater 1 is provided with a polyurethane layer 12 covering the core metal 11 of the ring part 18, with a heat insulating material 13 such as chloroprene rubber interposed therebetween, so that the heat does not escape to the center of the ring part 18. The outer skin 14 covers the outer surface of the outer skin 14.

A pair of left and right heaters 1 attached to the grip part 19 are connected in series, and the heater 1 attached to one side (the right side in FIG. 3) has an overcurrent prevention element connected in series with the heater wire 4. A temperature fuse 15 is connected. Therefore, neither the left nor the right heater 1 will be heated abnormally. When the heater 1 is attached to the steering wheel, the notch 8 formed on the edges of the two long sides of the heater 1 opens and closes to fit perfectly on the three-dimensional curved surface of the ring part. In close contact. In other words, the notches 8 at the edges of the heater 1 that receive tensile force are opened, and the notches 8 at the edges that receive compressive forces are closed, thereby absorbing wrinkles and distortions that occur in the heater 1.

Therefore, in order to prevent the occurrence of wrinkles, it should be removed while pulling 4=J.
There is no need to move the heater wire 4, and there is no need to move the mounting position or break the heater wire 4. In addition, the bulging portion 2a, which is formed with a protrusion due to the connecting portion 7 between the heater wire 4 and the lead wire 6 and the temperature sensing element 5, is located on the back surface of the spoke portion 10 that does not affect steering operation. Since the driver does not touch the protrusion of the heater 1 when operating the steering wheel, there is less risk of disconnection at the connection between the heater wire 4 and the lead cotton 6 or failure of the temperature sensing element 5. .

In addition to the embodiments described above, the shape of the notch 8 of the present invention may be arbitrarily changed without departing from the spirit of the invention, such as making the shape of the notch 8 U-shaped, ■-shaped, or shaped. It is possible.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION As described in detail, according to the present invention, when a heater seat member having an elongated planar shape is attached to a grip portion of a steering wheel having a three-dimensionally curved surface, the tensile force of the seat member can be reduced. By opening the notch in the edge to be subjected to compression, and closing the notch in the edge to be compressed, wrinkles can be prevented from forming on the edge and the appearance quality can be improved. In addition, since the seat can be installed in a state where it fits well with the grip portion of the steering wheel, this installation work can be easily carried out, which is an excellent effect.

[Brief Description of the Drawings] Fig. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the heater embodying the present invention, Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the same, and Fig. 3 shows the heater mounted on the steering wheel. Plan view,
FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line A--A in FIG. 3. Heater wire 4, sheet members 2 and 3, and bulge portion 2a. 3a, notch 8 Patent applicant Toyoda Gosei Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. Toyota Motor Corporation Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A heater wire (4) is sandwiched between two sheet members (2, 3) having a planar elongated shape, and
3) A steering wheel heater characterized in that a plurality of notches (8) are formed on the edges of two sides in the longitudinal direction. 2. A patent characterized in that the notch (8) has a V-shape and is formed in a staggered manner at the edge facing the recess of the heater wire (4) arranged in a meandering manner. A steering wheel heater according to claim 1. 3. A bulge (2a, 3a) on one side of the sheet member (2, 3)
), and a contact portion (7) between the heater wire (4) and the lead wire (6) is provided within the bulge portion (2a, 3a). Steering wheel heater.