JP2014172410A - Steering wheel - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a steering wheel with proper cooling efficiency.SOLUTION: A steering wheel 1 for steering a vehicle has a rim 2 and a spoke part 3. The steering wheel 1 includes a Peltier element 10 that is arranged in the rim 2 in such a manner that an endothermic side is directed toward an outer surface side, a heat pipe 11 that is arranged in such a manner that the side of one end is brought into thermal contact with a radiating surface of the Peltier element 10, and a radiation fin 12 that cools the side of the other end of the heat pipe 11. Thus, the rim can be efficiently cooled.

Description

  The present invention relates to a steering wheel provided with a cooling device.

  Under a hot summer environment, the interior of a parked vehicle becomes extremely hot, and in particular, a steering wheel that receives solar radiation may exceed 80 ° C. In such a situation, there is an inconvenience that the occupant cannot grip the steering wheel and cannot start driving immediately, and the steering wheel cannot be gripped firmly during driving.

  In order to solve this problem, a technique has been proposed in which a heat pipe is arranged on the rim of the steering wheel and the rim is cooled by cooling the heat pipe with a Peltier element arranged at the hub portion at the center of the steering wheel (for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-210267

  However, since the heat pipe is cooled by the Peltier element to cool the rim, there is a problem that the cooling efficiency is low and a sufficient cooling effect cannot be obtained.

  The present invention solves the above-described conventional problems, and an object thereof is to provide a steering wheel with good cooling efficiency.

  In order to solve the above-described conventional problems, a steering wheel according to the present invention has a rim and a spoke portion, and is a steering wheel for steering a vehicle. A thermoelectric conversion element disposed, a heat pipe disposed with one end side being in thermal contact with the heat radiation surface of the thermoelectric conversion element, and a cooling means for cooling the other end side of the heat pipe It is.

  The steering wheel of the present invention has an effect that the rim can be efficiently cooled.

The top view which looked at the steering wheel which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention from the front side The top view which looked at the steering wheel which concerns on Embodiment 1 from the back surface side Sectional drawing of the principal part of the steering wheel which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG.

  1st invention has a rim and a spoke part, and is a steering wheel for steering a vehicle, a thermoelectric conversion element arranged in the rim with an endothermic surface facing an outer surface side, and one end side Is provided with a heat pipe disposed in thermal contact with the heat radiation surface of the thermoelectric conversion element, and cooling means for cooling the other end side of the heat pipe.

  Since the outer periphery of the rim is cooled by the thermoelectric conversion element and the heat radiation surface of the thermoelectric conversion element is cooled via the heat pipe, the heat absorption efficiency of the cooling conversion element is improved and the rim can be efficiently cooled.

  In a second aspect based on the first aspect, the heat pipe can be disposed without affecting the storage location of an airbag or the like by being disposed on the vehicle body side of the spoke portion.

  According to a third invention, in the first or second invention, the heat pipe is disposed away from the core material disposed in the spoke portion, so that the heat pipe is thermally affected by the core material. Therefore, the heat radiation surface of the thermoelectric conversion element can be cooled, and the cooling efficiency of the rim does not decrease.

  According to a fourth invention, in the first to third inventions, the heat pipe is disposed at a higher position on the other end side than the one end side in the normal position of the steering wheel, thereby cooling the heat on the heat radiation surface of the thermoelectric conversion element. It becomes easy to transmit to the side, the cooling efficiency of the thermoelectric conversion element can be improved, and the cooling efficiency of the rim can be improved.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

(Embodiment 1)
1 is a plan view of a steering wheel according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention as viewed from the front side, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the steering wheel as viewed from the back side, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the main part of the steering wheel. It is.

  The steering wheel 1 according to the present embodiment includes a rim 2, a spoke portion 3 that supports the rim 2, and a hub 4 that is positioned at the center of the rim 2. The steering wheel 1 is provided with a core material 5 made of steel or aluminum as a skeleton, and the core material 5 is embedded over almost the entire circumference of the rim 2 and is formed integrally with the hub 4 and is also present in the spoke part 3. doing.

  The rim 2 has a cushion layer 6 that covers the core material 5 with foamed rubber or foamed resin. On the surface layer of the cushion layer 6, a skin 7 made of genuine leather, synthetic leather, or the like is attached in order to impart a high quality appearance and touch. An air bag (not shown) or the like is disposed on the occupant side of the spoke portion 3 and the hub 4 and is covered with a decorative member 8, and the vehicle side of the spoke portion 3 is covered with a cover body 9.

  In the present embodiment, four spoke portions 3 are formed, and other spoke portions 3 are formed in a substantially horizontal direction at the normal position where the steering wheel 1 is not rotated (the state shown in FIGS. 1 and 2). It is formed wider than the spoke part 3.

  In the rim 2, a Peltier element 10, which is a thermoelectric conversion element, is disposed at an extended position of the spoke portion 3 on the right side in FIG. 2. The Peltier element 10 has a heat absorption surface and a heat dissipation surface, and is a device that moves heat from the heat absorption surface to the heat dissipation surface by applying a voltage. Further, the Peltier element 10 has a characteristic that the heat absorption surface and the heat dissipation surface are switched by reversing the polarity of the voltage to be applied, and can switch between cooling and heating.

In this embodiment, the Peltier element 10 is formed in a thin shape having flexibility, and is disposed on the outer periphery of the cushion layer 6 of the rim 2 and is shaped along the cushion layer 6 by the skin 7. Is maintained. Between the cushion layer 6 and the skin 7, a thin heat transfer plate (not shown) made of a material having good heat conductivity such as aluminum is disposed over the entire circumference of the rim 2, and the heat transfer plate is a Peltier plate. The device 10 is configured to be in thermal contact with the outer peripheral surface of the element 10 and to transfer the cooling or heating of the Peltier element 10 to the entire circumference of the rim 2.

  One end of a heat pipe 11 is sandwiched between the Peltier element 10 and the cushion layer 6 of the rim 2, and a radiating fin 12 is disposed on the other end side of the heat pipe 11 as a cooling means for the heat pipe 11. The blower fan 13 is disposed so as to face the radiating fins 12. A heater (not shown) is embedded in the radiation fin 12.

  The heat pipe 11, the radiating fin 12 and the blower fan 13 are disposed on the vehicle body side of the spoke portion 3 on the right side in FIG. A gap is formed between them. Further, the heat pipe 11 is arranged so that one end side in contact with the Peltier element 10 is lower than the other end side.

  The operation and action of the steering wheel 1 configured as described above will be described below.

  When an energization instruction is given to the Peltier element 10, the Peltier element 10 is connected to the rim 2 via the heat transfer plate in a state where the temperature inside the vehicle is high according to the output of the temperature sensor that detects the temperature inside the vehicle. When the entire circumference is cooled and the vehicle interior temperature is low, the rim 2 is heated via the heat transfer plate. In the present embodiment, the rim 2 is set to be cooled in a state where the vehicle interior temperature is 50 ° C. or higher, and the rim 2 is heated in a state where the vehicle interior temperature is 20 ° C. or lower.

  The energization instruction to the Peltier element 10 is performed by operating a switch provided on the vehicle or operating an engine key. Moreover, you may comprise so that electricity supply to the Peltier device 10 may be started by unlocking the door of a vehicle. By adopting a configuration in which energization is started by unlocking the door, the operation of the steering wheel 1 can be started quickly by cooling or heating the rim 2 in a shorter time.

  When the in-vehicle temperature is high, the Peltier element 10 cools the rim 2 via the heat transfer plate, with the outer peripheral surface in contact with the heat transfer plate serving as the heat absorption surface. The surface that contacts the heat pipe 11 of the Peltier element 10 becomes a heat radiating surface, and the heat absorption efficiency on the heat absorbing surface side of the Peltier element 10 is improved by radiating heat to the heat pipe 11.

  The heat radiated to the heat pipe 11 is transmitted to the heat radiating fins 12 disposed on the other end side of the heat pipe 11, and is cooled by the ventilation of the blower fan 13. Since the heat pipe 11 is disposed so that the other end side where the radiation fins 12 are disposed is higher, the heat radiated by the Peltier element 10 is easily transmitted to the radiation fin 12 side, and the heat absorption surface of the Peltier element 10 The heat absorption efficiency on the side can be improved and the rim 2 can be efficiently cooled.

  When the vehicle interior temperature is low, the Peltier element 10 heats the rim 2 via the heat transfer plate, since the surface in contact with the heat transfer plate is a heat dissipation surface. The surface of the Peltier element 10 that contacts the heat pipe 11 is the heat absorption surface. The heater embedded in the radiation fin 12 heats the heat pipe 11, thereby improving the heat absorption efficiency from the heat absorption surface of the Peltier element 10 and efficiently heating the rim 2.

  Since the core material 5 is formed integrally with the hub 4, the core material 5 tends to become high temperature due to a thermal influence from the vehicle body side. Since the heat pipe 11 is arranged so as to form a gap with the core material 5, the thermal influence from the core material 5 can be reduced, and in particular, a decrease in cooling efficiency when cooling the rim 2 is suppressed. can do.

Since the Peltier element 10 is disposed on the vehicle body side of the spoke portion 3, it is not exposed to the outside and is stored without affecting the storage location of the airbag or the like disposed on the passenger side of the hub 4. can do. Moreover, since the ventilation of the ventilation fan 13 which cooled the radiation fin 12 can be ventilated to the vehicle body side, and it does not blow toward the passenger | crew, it does not make a passenger | crew feel uncomfortable.

  The present invention provides a steering that can be efficiently cooled, and can be used in a wide range of vehicles, machine tools, ships, and the like.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Steering wheel 2 Rim 3 Spoke part 4 Hub 5 Core material 6 Cushion layer 7 Skin 9 Cover body 10 Peltier element 11 Heat pipe 12 Radiation fin 13 Fan

Claims (4)

A steering wheel for steering a vehicle having a rim and a spoke portion, and a thermoelectric conversion element disposed on the rim with an endothermic surface facing the outer surface;
A heat pipe disposed in thermal contact with the heat dissipation surface of the thermoelectric conversion element on one end side;
And a cooling means for cooling the other end of the heat pipe. The steering wheel according to claim 1, wherein the heat pipe is disposed on a vehicle body side of the spoke portion. The steering wheel according to claim 1, wherein the heat pipe is disposed apart from a core material disposed in the spoke portion. The steering wheel according to claim 1, wherein the heat pipe is disposed higher on the other end side than the one end side at a normal position of the steering wheel.