CN114954619A

CN114954619A - Steering wheel

Info

Publication number: CN114954619A
Application number: CN202110197139.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 徐琳琳; 桑瑞刚; 祝艳琳
Original assignee: Autoliv Development AB
Current assignee: Autoliv Development AB
Priority date: 2021-02-22
Filing date: 2021-02-22
Publication date: 2022-08-30
Also published as: WO2022174691A1

Abstract

The invention provides a steering wheel. The steering wheel includes a steering wheel rim, and further includes an optical indicating assembly disposed on the steering wheel rim, the optical indicating assembly including a controller and a plurality of light emitting units, wherein the plurality of light emitting units are controlled by the controller to independently perform actions with respect to each other, and the optical indicating assembly indicates information related to a vehicle or a road condition through a preset pattern and/or a preset color formed by a combination of actions of the plurality of light emitting units.

Description

Steering wheel

Technical Field

The present invention relates to automobile parts, and in particular to steering wheels.

Background

Some automotive steering wheels are capable of emitting light. The steering wheel rims of these steering wheels are illuminated when the glowing member is illuminated so that the steering wheel glows at the rim. The steering wheel is provided with a luminous steering wheel rim, so that on one hand, the decorative effect is achieved, and the steering wheel is attractive; on the other hand, in the case of poor lighting (e.g., at night), the illuminated steering wheel rim can provide an illumination function. However, in addition to the decorative effect and the illumination function described above, a configuration in which the steering wheel emits light at the rim is expected to provide more functions.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to provide a steering wheel with an information indication function.

The invention provides a steering wheel, which comprises a steering wheel rim,

wherein, the first and the second end of the pipe are connected with each other,

further comprising an optical indicating assembly disposed on the rim of the steering wheel, the optical indicating assembly comprising a controller and a plurality of light emitting units, wherein the plurality of light emitting units are controlled by the controller to perform actions independently with respect to each other, and the optical indicating assembly indicates information related to a vehicle or a road condition through a preset pattern and/or a preset color formed by a combination of actions of the plurality of light emitting units.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the steering wheel rim has a light-transmissive layer for defining an inner cavity, and the optical indication assembly is arranged completely in the inner cavity.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the optical indicating assembly further includes a light guide member including a plurality of light guide portions provided in one-to-one correspondence with the plurality of light emitting units, and an inner surface of each of the plurality of light guide portions facing the plurality of light emitting units is provided as a molding surface.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, at least one of the plurality of light emitting units and the plurality of light guiding portions is configured such that a distribution direction is adapted to a shape of a part of the light transmissive layer, and the light emitting units are provided on a flexible circuit board.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the light guide member further includes a case for supporting the light-transmitting layer, and the case includes a transparent portion and a non-transparent portion which are integrally formed, and the light guided by the light guide member is transmitted to the light-transmitting layer through the transparent portion.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the optical indicator assembly further comprises a supporting seat, wherein the supporting seat comprises a rigid body and a foaming body distributed around the rigid body, one side of the foaming body is used for supporting the optical indicator assembly, and the other side of the foaming body is used for supporting the light-transmitting layer.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, both sides of the case opposite in a first direction are bonded to the foam, and both sides of the case opposite in a second direction are fixed to the foam via fixing portions, and the first direction is different from the second direction.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the combination of actions of the plurality of light emitting units comprises: a combination of emitting light in a specific color, or a combination of emitting light by only a specific light-emitting unit among the plurality of light-emitting units, or a combination of emitting light in a preset timing.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the profiled surface is provided as a serrated surface or an arcuate convex surface.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of light emitting units are provided to be arranged along a circumferential direction of the steering wheel to form a semicircular or circular light emitting ring.

Drawings

Features, advantages and technical effects of exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like numbering represents like elements, and wherein:

fig. 1 schematically shows a steering wheel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 schematically shows an exploded view of a steering wheel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 schematically shows a cross-section of a steering wheel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4(a), 4(b), and 4(c) each schematically show a part of a steering wheel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 5(a), 5(b) and 5(c) each schematically show a part of a steering wheel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, a specific embodiment of a steering wheel according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following detailed description and drawings are included to illustrate the principles of the invention, which is not limited to the preferred embodiments described, but rather are intended to cover various embodiments of the invention, alone or in any combination, and the scope of the invention is defined by the claims.

In addition, spatially relative terms (such as "upper," "lower," "left," and "right," etc.) are used to describe one element's relative positional relationship with another element as illustrated in the figures. Spatially relative terms may thus apply in other orientations than those illustrated in the figures, when used. It will be apparent that although for ease of illustration all of these spatially relative terms refer to directions as indicated in the drawings, those skilled in the art will appreciate that directions other than those indicated in the drawings may be used.

Fig. 1 schematically shows a steering wheel according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 schematically shows an exploded view of a steering wheel according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 3 schematically shows a cross-section of a steering wheel according to an embodiment of the present invention. A steering wheel according to an embodiment of the present invention is described below with reference to fig. 1 to 3.

As shown in fig. 1, a steering wheel 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a steering wheel rim 11 and an optical indicating assembly 12, wherein the optical indicating assembly 12 is disposed on the steering wheel rim 11 and indicates information related to a vehicle or a road condition. The optical indicating assembly 12 will be described in more detail below.

As shown in fig. 2 and 3, in the steering wheel 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the optical indicating assembly 12 includes a controller (not shown) and a plurality of light emitting units 121.

The controller may be located, for example, at any suitable location on the steering wheel 10, including, but not limited to, within the spokes of the steering wheel, the underside of the driver airbag, within the optical indicating assembly. The controller may include various devices with processing capabilities including, but not limited to, general purpose processors, special purpose processors, microprocessors, microcontrollers, Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), etc. The control device may include computer-executable instructions that are executed to perform the actions described herein. The control means may comprise one or more memories. The memory may be used to store data, instructions, software, code, and the like. The memory may include semiconductor memory such as Random Access Memory (RAM), Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), Programmable Read Only Memory (PROM), Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EPROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM), flash memory, and the like. The memory may also include, for example, any memory using paper media, magnetic media, and/or optical media, such as paper tape, hard disk, magnetic tape, floppy disk, magneto-optical disk (MO), CD, DVD, Blue-ray, and the like.

In the steering wheel 10 of the present invention, the plurality of light emitting units 121 are controlled by the controller to perform actions independently with respect to each other, and are formed by a preset pattern and/or a preset color formed by the combination of the actions of the plurality of light emitting units 121. Several examples will be provided below to help understand the independent action of the plurality of light emitting units of the present invention, and for convenience of this description, an example will be described based on the steering wheel shown in fig. 5 (a). Specifically, the steering wheel shown in fig. 5(a) includes a steering wheel rim 11 and an optical indicating assembly 12 disposed on the steering wheel rim 11, and the optical indicating assembly 12 includes five light emitting units, i.e., a first light emitting unit 120-1, a second light emitting unit 120-2, a third light emitting unit 120-3, a fourth light emitting unit 120-4, and a fifth light emitting unit 120-5, and the five light emitting units are arranged in a column in a radial direction of the steering wheel.

In one example, the combination of actions of the five light emitting units may include: a combination of emitting light in a specific color, that is, a combination of emitting light in a specific color by the first light emitting unit 120-1, the second light emitting unit 120-2, the third light emitting unit 120-3, the fourth light emitting unit 120-4, and the fifth light emitting unit 120-5. Also, in one case, the combination of the actions of the five light emitting units includes: the combination of five light-emitting units emitting light in a single specific color can be defined as follows: the single specific color may be set to green to represent that the traffic signal lamp is green, and thus, if the five light emitting units each emit light in green, it represents that the traffic signal lamp in front is displayed green; the single specific color may also be set to red to indicate that the traffic signal lamp is red, and thus, if the five light emitting units are all lighted in red, it indicates that the traffic signal lamp in front is displayed in red to assist the driver in driving safely. In addition, in another case, the combination of the actions of the five light emitting units includes: the combination of five different specific colors of light emitted by the five light-emitting units can be further defined as follows: the combination of the five different specific colors indicates that the multimedia function is turned on, wherein the first light emitting unit 120-1 emits light in red, the second light emitting unit 120-2 emits light in green, the third light emitting unit 120-3 emits light in blue, the fourth light emitting unit 120-4 emits light in orange, and the fifth light emitting unit 120-5 emits light in pink.

In one example, the combination of actions of the five light emitting units may include: a combination in which only a specific light emitting unit of the five light emitting units emits light. For example, only the first light emitting unit 120-1, the second light emitting unit 120-2, and the third light emitting unit 120-3 emit light with a certain color, and the fourth light emitting unit 120-4 and the fifth light emitting unit 120-5 do not emit light to indicate the vehicle battery remaining capacity.

In one example, the combination of actions of the five light emitting units may further include: a combination of light emission according to a preset timing. In one case, the preset timing is set to be spaced by a predetermined time between two common light emitting actions of all the light emitting units, for example, five light emitting units emit light collectively once every second, that is, five light emitting units emit light with a certain color flashing. For example, when five light-emitting units emit light in red blinking, this indicates that the driver is alerted to a blind spot or the like; when the five light-emitting units emit light in green flashing, the indication reminds the driver that the vehicle enters the automatic driving mode. In another case, the preset timing is set such that the five light emitting units sequentially emit light for a predetermined time interval, for example, the first light emitting unit 120-1 emits light at a time T1, the second light emitting unit 120-2 emits light at a time T1+1s, the third light emitting unit 120-3 emits light at a time T1+2s, the fourth light emitting unit 120-4 emits light at a time T1+3s, and the fifth light emitting unit 120-5 emits light at a time T1+4s, to indicate that the multimedia function is turned on.

It should be noted that the specific color, the specific interval time, and the like in the above examples are for convenience of description and are not intended to limit the steering wheel of the present invention, and the above examples of the steering wheel of the present invention may be modified according to practical situations, for example, the specific color may be selected according to practical situations.

And, although the above example is based on the steering wheel shown in fig. 5(a), in the steering wheel of the present invention, the arrangement of the plurality of light emitting units is not limited to one row in the radial direction, and the plurality of light emitting units may also be arranged in one row in the circumferential direction of the steering wheel to form a semicircular or circular light emitting ring. Further, the plurality of light emitting units may be provided in other shapes, for example, as shown in fig. 5(b), the plurality of light emitting units 120 are arranged in a matrix shape of a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns arranged in the radial direction and the circumferential direction of the steering wheel, respectively, and as shown in fig. 5(c), the plurality of light emitting units 120 are arranged in a cross shape of a row and a column arranged in the radial direction and the circumferential direction of the steering wheel, respectively.

A steering wheel according to an embodiment of the present invention is described below with continued reference to fig. 2 and 3.

As shown in fig. 2 and 3, in the steering wheel 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the rim 11 of the steering wheel has a light-transmitting layer 13 for defining an inner cavity, which is shown in fig. 2 as having an elliptical cross section. And, optical indicator assembly 12 is disposed entirely within the interior cavity, as shown in fig. 3. This makes the optical indicating assembly 12 of the steering wheel 10 less susceptible to contamination by foreign matter such as dust, thereby advantageously ensuring a long service life of the optical indicating assembly 12. The steering wheel of the present invention is not limited thereto and the arrangement of both the light-transmitting layer and the optical indicating member may be differently set according to actual circumstances, for example, the optical indicating member is partially exposed outside the light-transmitting layer.

And, in the embodiment shown in fig. 2 and 3, optical indicator assembly 12 further includes a light guide, a housing, a support base, and a flexible circuit board, which are described in detail below.

As shown in fig. 2 and 3, a plurality of light emitting units 121 may be disposed on a flexible circuit board 122, and the flexible circuit board 122 may be fixed on a support base of the steering wheel 10 via a glue layer 125. Preferably, the glue layer 125 is formed of a glue capable of providing a high strength glue force, and is commercially available. And specifically, in this example, the support base includes a rigid body 14 and a foam 15 distributed around the rigid body 14, a flexible circuit board 122 and a plurality of light emitting cells 121 disposed thereon are fixed on the foam 15 via a glue layer 125, and the flexible circuit board 122 and the plurality of light emitting cells 121 disposed thereon are fixed on an upper side surface shown as the foam 15 in fig. 3. Furthermore, as clearly shown in fig. 3, the flexible circuit board 122 and the plurality of light emitting units 121 are distributed over a substantially arc, and the upper half portion of the cross section of the steering wheel rim 11 of the steering wheel 10 is likewise a substantially arc, and therefore, it can also be understood that the flexible circuit board 122 and the plurality of light emitting units 121 are each adapted to the shape of the upper half portion of the light-transmissive layer 13.

As shown in fig. 2 and 3, the light guide member of the optical indicator assembly 12 includes a plurality of light guide portions 123 disposed in one-to-one correspondence with the plurality of light emitting units 121, and similarly, the plurality of light guide portions 123 are distributed over a substantially arc to fit a shape of a portion of the light-transmissive layer 13. Thus, a reasonable utilization of the light source can be advantageously ensured for optimal brightness and uniformity. Also, an inner surface of each of the plurality of light guide parts 123 facing the plurality of light emitting units 121 is provided as a molding surface, examples of which are respectively illustrated in fig. 4(a) -4 (c), which may be a plurality of arc-shaped convex surfaces, a serrated surface, a single arc-shaped convex surface. It can be understood that the angle of the light-emitting cover can be adjusted by optimizing the local structure of the light guide part or the adjustment of the angle of the optical teeth, thereby further ensuring the reasonable utilization of the light source.

As shown in fig. 2 and 3, the case of the optical indicating assembly 12 is used to support the light-transmitting layer 13, and includes a transparent part 1242 and a non-transparent part 1241 which are integrally formed, and the plurality of light guide parts 123 are fixed at the transparent part 1242, here, it can also be understood that the light guide member and the case are integrally formed, and the light guided by the light guide member (specifically, the light guide part) is transmitted to the light-transmitting layer 13 through the transparent part 1242. Preferably, the transparent part 1242 of the case may also be provided with a light guiding function and/or a light scattering function to achieve optimal brightness and uniformity. In addition, scattering particles can be added to the transparent part 1242 of the housing to improve light uniformity and avoid seeing the granular sensation of the light source. Specifically, as a preferred embodiment, the transparent part 1242 and the non-transparent part 1241 of the case are implemented by an integrated structure of two-color injection molding, the transparent part 1242 of the case may be made of PC, PA, PMMA, and the non-transparent part 1242 of the case may be made of PC-ABS, PBT-PC.

Further, as shown in fig. 2, as a preferred embodiment, both sides of the case opposing in the first direction, that is, both left and right sides in fig. 2 are bonded to the foam 15, and both sides of the case opposing in the second direction, that is, both front and rear sides in fig. 2 are fixed to the foam 15 via fixing portions, which may be, for example, elongated members having mushroom heads, and, in the present preferred embodiment, the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction. This fixing means can reliably fix the housing and the light guide to the foam 15. Therefore, as shown in fig. 3, the upper side of the foam body 15 is fixed with the optical indication member 12 and the housing, and the lower side is in contact with the light-transmitting layer 13, thereby supporting the optical indication member and the light-transmitting layer at both sides, respectively. However, this is merely an example, and the steering wheel of the present invention is not limited thereto, and the housing is provided in a different manner, for example, separately from the light guide, or in a different manner, for example, riveted or welded to the foam.

As described above, although the exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been described in the description with reference to the drawings, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the scope of the present invention should be defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A steering wheel (10) comprising a steering wheel rim (11),

it is characterized in that the preparation method is characterized in that,

further comprising an optical indicating assembly (12) arranged on the steering wheel rim (11), the optical indicating assembly (12) comprising a controller and a plurality of light emitting units (121), wherein the plurality of light emitting units (121) are controlled by the controller to perform actions independently with respect to each other, and the optical indicating assembly (12) indicates information related to a vehicle or a road condition by a preset pattern and/or a preset color formed by a combination of actions of the plurality of light emitting units (121).

2. The steering wheel (10) according to claim 1, wherein the steering wheel rim (11) has a light-transmissive layer (13) for defining an inner cavity, and the optical indication assembly (12) is arranged entirely in the inner cavity.

3. The steering wheel (10) according to claim 2, wherein the optical indicating assembly (12) further comprises a light guide member including a plurality of light guide portions (123) provided in one-to-one correspondence with the plurality of light emitting units (121), and an inner surface of each of the plurality of light guide portions (123) facing the plurality of light emitting units (121) is provided as a molded surface.

4. The steering wheel (10) according to claim 3, wherein at least one of the plurality of light emitting units (121) and the plurality of light guide portions (123) is configured such that a distribution direction is adapted to a shape of a portion of the light-transmissive layer (13), and the plurality of light emitting units (121) are provided on a flexible circuit board (122).

5. The steering wheel (10) according to claim 3, further comprising a case (124) for supporting the light-transmitting layer (13), and wherein the case (124) includes a transparent portion (1242) and a non-transparent portion (1241) which are integrally formed, and wherein the light after being guided via the light guide is transmitted to the light-transmitting layer (13) through the transparent portion (1242).

6. The steering wheel (10) according to claim 5, further comprising a support seat comprising a rigid body (14) and a foam body (15) distributed around the rigid body (14), one side of the foam body (15) being for supporting the optical indication assembly (12) and the other side being for supporting the light transmissive layer (13).

7. The steering wheel (10) according to claim 6, wherein both sides of the case (124) opposite in a first direction are bonded to the foam body (15), and both sides of the case (124) opposite in a second direction are fixed to the foam body (15) via fixing portions, and the first direction is different from the second direction.

8. The steering wheel (10) of claim 1, wherein the combination of actions of the plurality of light emitting units (121) comprises: a combination of emitting light in a specific color, or a combination of emitting light by only a specific light-emitting unit among the plurality of light-emitting units, or a combination of emitting light in a preset timing.

9. The steering wheel (10) according to claim 3, wherein the profiled surface is provided as a serrated surface or an arcuate convex surface.

10. The steering wheel (10) according to claim 3, wherein the plurality of light emitting units (121) are provided to be arranged along a circumferential direction of the steering wheel (10) to form a semicircular or circular light emitting ring.