JP2022152440A - Coating member and steering wheel - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a coating member which can easily ensure a wider effective range of a functional component.SOLUTION: A coating member (20) has a skin material (30), a holder (40) arranged on an inner surface side of the skin material (30), and an electric line part (50) held by the holder (40). The skin material (30), the holder (40) and the electric line part (50) respectively have a pair of side end edges (31, 41, 51) arranged along a longer direction. Each side end edge (41) of the holder (40) is arranged on outer side in a width direction of the skin material (30) with respect to an insertion hole (21a) of the skin material (30) in a cross-sectional view orthogonal to the longer direction, and each side end edge (51) of the electric line part (50) is arranged on an inner side in the width direction of the skin material (30) with respect to the insertion hole (21a) of the skin material (30) in a cross-sectional view orthogonal to the longer direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a covering member to be wrapped around a steering wheel of a vehicle such as an automobile, and a steering wheel to which the covering member is fixed.

2. Description of the Related Art In a steering wheel (also referred to as a steering wheel) provided in a vehicle such as an automobile, a covering member is generally wound around and fixed to an annular rim along the circumferential direction of the rim. Such a covering member mainly has an elongated shape along the circumferential direction of the rim portion.

The covering member is, for example, wrapped around the rim main body of the rim to cover the rim main body, and is fixed to the rim main body such that a pair of side edges along the longitudinal direction of the covering member abut against each other. When fixing this covering member to the rim main body, the side edges of the covering member (the inner portion near the side edges of the covering member) where the side edges are butted against each other are attached along the circumferential direction of the rim. sewing may be performed. By attaching the covering member to the rim portion in this way, the feel and ease of gripping the steering wheel can be improved, and the anti-slip effect and improved operational feeling can be obtained.

The steering wheel has, for example, a heater function (heater unit) for warming the hands of the driver holding the steering wheel, a sensor function (sensor unit) for detecting when the driver is holding the steering wheel, etc. is known (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2019-137096 (Patent Document 1)).

In a conventional steering wheel, when a functional part such as that described above is provided, an electric circuit portion forming a heat-generating portion, etc., for example, by an electric wire or the like is provided and held on a holder (also called a mat portion). Further, the holding body for holding the electric circuit portion is attached and fixed to the back surface of the skin material (part of the covering member) such as leather covering the rim portion of the steering wheel.

JP 2019-137096 A

In a conventional steering wheel, when the covering member is provided with a functional part such as a heater function, the covering member usually has a holder to which the electric circuit part (heat generating part, etc.) as described above is fixed. It is formed by providing Further, the covering member is fixed to the rim portion (rim body portion) by being sewn while being wound around the rim portion of the steering wheel. In this case, in the sewing process, a pair of side edges of the covering member (specifically, the covering material) are abutted against each other in the longitudinal direction, and the pair of side edges of the covering member are circumferentially sewn together. The covering member is secured to the rim body by sewing along. In this sewing process, a plurality of sewing holes (insertion holes) are formed in a pair of side edge portions of the upholstery by piercing the upholstery with a sewing needle. A plurality of such sewing holes are provided along the longitudinal direction of the upholstery on both side edges of the upholstery.

However, when a plurality of sewing holes are provided along the longitudinal direction on each side edge of the upholstery material, for example, when looking at a cross section orthogonal to the circumferential direction of the rim, it is necessary to exhibit the required function. The installation range of the electric circuit part (effective range of the functional part) is limited by the position of the sewing hole, and the ineffective range of the functional part (non-installation range where the electric circuit part is not installed) tends to be widened. .

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a covering member capable of easily securing a wider effective range of functional parts, and a fixing member for the covering member. To provide a steering wheel.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a covering member that is wrapped around and sewn around an annular rim portion of a steering wheel, and is arranged along the circumferential direction of the rim portion. a sheet-like skin material that is attached to the skin material, a holder that is arranged on the inner surface side of the skin material, and an electric circuit part that is held by the holder, and the skin material extends in the longitudinal direction of the skin material. and a plurality of insertion holes provided along the longitudinal direction inside each side edge of the skin material. Each side edge of the holding body has a pair of side edges arranged along the longitudinal direction. and each side edge of the electric circuit portion is arranged on the inner side in the width direction of the skin material than the insertion hole of the skin material in a cross-sectional view orthogonal to the longitudinal direction. It is characterized by

In the covering member according to the present invention, it is preferable that the electric circuit portion includes a heat generation circuit that generates heat when energized, or a sensor circuit that detects that the rim portion is gripped.

Further, according to the present invention, there is provided a steering wheel in which a covering member having the structure described above is fixed to the rim portion.

According to the covering member and the steering wheel of the present invention, it is possible to easily ensure a wider effective range of functional parts.

1 is a front view showing a steering wheel according to an embodiment of the invention; FIG. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a cross section taken along line II-II shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the structure in a flat state before being wrapped around the rim of the covering member; and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a cross-section of a rim portion of a conventional steering wheel. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the structure of a conventional covering member before being wound around a rim.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below, and various modifications can be made as long as they have substantially the same configuration as the present invention and have similar effects. It is possible. For example, as long as the steering wheel has an annular rim portion, the shape, dimensions, design, etc. of the steering wheel are not limited to the following examples.

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a steering wheel according to this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a cross section taken along line II-II shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the structure in a flat state before being wrapped around the rim portion of the covering member.

In FIG. 3, each member (skin material, holder, and electric circuit portion) forming the covering member is shown to be thicker than the actual product in order to make it easier to understand. Further, in FIG. 3, in the sewing process performed to fix the covering member to the rim main body of the steering wheel, an insertion hole formed by piercing the covering member with a sewing needle is indicated by a phantom line. Further, for example, when a covering member fixed to the rim main body by sewing is removed from the rim main body and extended flat, the covering member has an insertion hole indicated by a phantom line in FIG. 3 in the longitudinal direction. Several are provided along the

In the following description, the direction along the circumferential direction of the steering wheel is referred to as the longitudinal direction or front-rear direction of the covering member. Further, in a state in which the covering member is fixed to the rim portion, the direction orthogonal to the circumferential direction of the rim portion and along the outer peripheral surface of the rim portion is referred to as the width direction or the lateral direction of the covering member.

Furthermore, in a state in which the covering member is spread flat before being fixed to the rim portion, the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the covering member and along the outer surface or the inner surface of the covering member is the width direction or the left-right direction of the covering member. Say. Further, the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the covering member and perpendicular to the outer surface or inner surface of the covering member is referred to as the thickness direction or vertical direction of the covering member. Furthermore, in the front view of the steering wheel (Fig. 1), the direction toward the center of the annular rim (or the steering pad described later) is defined as the inner peripheral direction, and the direction away from the center of the rim is defined as the inner peripheral direction. Circumferential direction.

The steering wheel 1 of this embodiment includes a steering body 2, a steering pad (pad body) 3 disposed on the side of the steering body 2 facing the driver and having an airbag module built therein, and a steering body. 2, a lower cover (not shown) covering the back side opposite to the occupant facing surface. The steering body 2 includes an annular rim portion (grip portion) 10 that is gripped by the driver, a boss portion (not shown) arranged in the center portion of the rim portion 10 and supporting the steering pad 3, and a portion between the rim portion 10 and the boss portion. and three spokes 4 connecting the In this embodiment, the rim portion 10 has an annular shape when the steering wheel 1 is viewed from the front (see FIG. 1). In the present invention, the shape of the rim portion is not limited to an annular shape. For example, the rim portion may be formed in a partially arcuate shape or in a shape other than an annular shape.

The rim portion 10 of the steering body 2 has, as shown in FIG. In this embodiment, the covering member 20 is arranged over the entire circumference of the rim portion 10 . In the present invention, the installation range of the covering member on the rim portion is not particularly limited, and the covering member may be fixed so as to cover the rim main body portion in at least a partial area in the circumferential direction of the rim portion.

Although not specifically illustrated, the rim main body 11 is formed of a metal core (rim core) that serves as a core material (skeleton) and a resin coating that wraps around the core. . The resin coating portion is made of foamed polyurethane resin or the like, for example. A cross section of the rim main body portion 11 perpendicular to the circumferential direction of the rim portion 10 has a circular or substantially circular shape. In the present invention, the shape and material of the rim main body are not particularly limited. may be formed in

The covering member 20 has an elongated sheet-like form, and is flexible and moderately stretchable. Moreover, the covering member 20 may have not only a portion covering the rim main body portion 11 but also a portion covering a portion of the spoke portion 4 .

The covering member 20 of the present embodiment has a pair of left and right side edges arranged along the longitudinal direction of the covering member 20 and a pair of left and right side edges arranged along the longitudinal direction of the covering member 20 in a flat state before being attached to the rim body portion 11 . It has a front end and a rear end (not shown) arranged at one end and the other end of the direction. The covering member 20 is formed such that the longitudinal dimension of the covering member 20 corresponds to the circumferential dimension of the inner peripheral side of the rim main body 11, and the widthwise dimension of the covering member 20 is: It is formed corresponding to the length of the circumference (circumference) of the rim body portion 11 in a cross section orthogonal to the circumferential direction.

In this embodiment, the covering member 20 is fixed to the rim body portion 11 with the left and right side edges of the covering member 20 arranged on the inner peripheral side of the rim portion 10 . Therefore, when the covering member 20 is fixed to the rim main body portion 11 , the central portion facing the outer peripheral surface of the rim main body portion 11 and the left and right portions facing the inner peripheral surface of the rim main body portion 11 . and side edges. Here, the side edge portion of the covering member 20 refers to a region (range) including the side edge of the covering member 20 and the portion near the side edge (the skin material 30, the holder 40, and the electric Same definition in line unit 50).

As shown in FIG. 3, the covering member 20 of this embodiment is held by the skin material 30 forming the outer surface of the covering member 20, the holder 40 fixed to the inner surface of the skin material 30, and the holder 40. and an electric circuit section 50 . The skin material 30, the holder 40, and the electric circuit portion 50 forming the covering member 20 have a pair of left and right side edges 31, 41, 51 arranged along the longitudinal direction of the covering member 20, respectively. Here, the left and right side edges 31 of the skin material 30 are defined as first side edges 31, the left and right side edges 41 of the holder 40 are defined as second side edges 41, and the left and right side edges of the electrical circuit portion 50 are defined as first side edges 31. Let the edge 51 be the 3rd side edge 51. FIG.

The skin material 30 is made of, for example, leather or synthetic resin, and has an elongated sheet-like shape. The skin material 30 has moderate flexibility and stretchability. The longitudinal dimension and widthwise dimension of the skin material 30 correspond to the longitudinal dimension and widthwise dimension of the covering member 20, respectively. In this case, the dimension in the width direction of the skin material 30 is at least greater than the dimension in the width direction of the holder 40 and the electric circuit portion 50 .

The holder 40 is made of foamed resin such as urethane foam or polyethylene foam, and has an elongated sheet-like shape. Since the holding body 40 is made of foamed resin, it is possible to pierce the holding body 40 with a sewing needle in sewing for fixing the covering member 20 to the rim body portion 11 of the steering wheel 1 as described later. can be made easier, and the sewing process can be performed smoothly. The holder 40 is preferably formed softer than the skin material 30 .

The holding body 40 is arranged between the skin material 30 and the rim body portion 11 when the covering member 20 is wound around the rim body portion 11 . When the left and right side edges of the covering material 30 are sewn together by sewing the covering member 20, the left and right side edges of the holding body 40 are also sewn together with the side edges of the covering material 30. . At least part of the holding body 40 may be fixed to the skin material 30 by adhesion or the like before the holding body 40 is sewn.

The electric circuit portion 50 of the present embodiment is a functional component having a heater function that generates heat by applying an electric current, and the inner surface of the holder 40 (the surface opposite to the outer surface of the holder 40 facing the skin material 30) ). The electric circuit portion 50 is formed by arranging electric wires (heater wires) that serve as circuits for flowing current in a wavy, meandering manner so as to occupy, for example, a predetermined area (region). Also, the electric circuit section 50 is connected to an electrode (not shown) that supplies electric power. In addition, in the present invention, the arrangement of the electric wires forming the electric circuit portion 50 is not particularly limited.

In the covering member 20 of the present embodiment, in the state (FIG. 3) before being wound around the rim portion 10, the electric circuit portion 50 is fixed and held on the inner surface of the holding body 40, and the holding body 40 is It is arranged on the inner surface of the skin material 30 . In this case, the holder 40 may be fixed to the inner surface of the skin material 30 by adhesion or the like.

A plurality of through holes (sewing holes) 21a are formed on the right and left side edges of the upholstery material 30 by piercing a sewing needle in the sewing process for fixing the covering member 20 to the rim main body 11 (Fig. 3). The insertion holes 21a are provided at regular intervals (or approximately regular intervals) along the longitudinal direction of the skin material 30 at the left and right side edges of the skin material 30, respectively. In this case, the insertion hole 21 a is provided at a position closer to the inside of the skin material 30 in the width direction than the left and right first side edges 31 of the skin material 30 . Since the insertion hole 21a is provided at a position away from the first side edge 31 of the skin material 30, the strength of the side edge of the skin material 30 can be appropriately secured. In the present invention, the insertion holes 21a respectively provided at the left and right side edges of the skin material 30 are arranged at regular intervals (or approximately regular intervals) as long as they are arranged in a row along the longitudinal direction. It does not have to be.

In FIG. 3, the holding body 40 of this embodiment has the left and right second side edges 41 of the holding body 40 positioned closer to the covering member 20 than the positions of the left and right insertion holes (sewing holes) 21a provided in the upholstery material 30. It is formed so as to be arranged on the outside in the width direction. Thereby, the holder 40 can be provided in a wide range in the width direction with respect to the skin material 30 . As a result, the electric circuit portion 50 held by the holder 40 can be provided over a wide range in the width direction.

In addition, since the second side edges 41 of the holding body 40 are arranged outside the positions of the insertion holes 21 a in the width direction, the left and right first side edges of the covering member 30 with respect to the width direction of the covering member 20 31 and the positions of the left and right second side edges 41 of the holder 40 can be brought closer. Therefore, when the covering member 20 is wound around the rim main body 11 and fixed, the outer surface of the covering member 20 (the outer surface of the skin material 30) is covered with a step between the inner surface of the skin material 30 and the inner surface of the holder 40. It is possible to make it difficult to generate the resulting uneven shape. Furthermore, when the shape (square shape) of the second side edge 41 of the holder 40 is exposed to the outer surface of the skin material 30, unevenness occurs. , the position of the second side edge 41 can be made difficult to be exposed to the outer surface of the skin material 30 by being positioned outside the position of the insertion hole 21a of the skin material 30 in the width direction. This makes it more difficult for the outer surface of the covering member 20 to be uneven. Therefore, in this embodiment, the appearance quality of the steering wheel 1 can be improved. Furthermore, it is possible to prevent the steering wheel 1 from becoming uncomfortable due to the uneven shape.

In the holding member 40 of this embodiment, the left and right second side edges 41 of the holding member 40 are arranged inside the covering member 20 in the width direction of the left and right first side edges 31 of the skin material 30 . ing. Thereby, the holder 40 can be stably hidden on the inner surface side of the skin material 30 . Moreover, the covering member 20 can be stably fixed to the rim main body portion 11 in a state in which the left and right first side edges 31 of the upholstery material 30 are butted against each other.

In this case, the widthwise interval C1 between the position of the first side edge 31 of the skin material 30 and the position of the second side edge 41 of the holder 40 is preferably 1 mm or more and 3 mm or less. Since the width dimension between the first side edge 31 and the second side edge 41 is 3 mm or less, the electric circuit portion 50 can be easily provided widely in the width direction, and the appearance quality of the steering wheel 1 can be improved. can be improved easily. Since the width dimension between the first side edge 31 and the second side edge 41 is 1 mm or more, the holder 40 can be easily hidden on the inner surface side of the skin material 30 .

Through-holes (sewing holes) 21b are formed in the left and right side edge portions of the holding body 40 in the above-described sewing process. Left and right insertion holes 21b provided in the holder 40 communicate with left and right insertion holes 21a provided in the skin material 30 . In this case, the positions of the plurality of insertion holes 21a provided in the skin material 30 and the positions of the plurality of insertion holes 21b provided in the holder 40 correspond (coincide) with each other. A sewing thread (not shown) for fixing the covering member 20 to the rim body 11 of the steering wheel 1 is inserted through the insertion hole 21a of the upholstery 30 and the insertion hole 21b of the holding body 40 .

In FIG. 3, the electric circuit portion 50 of the present embodiment has the left and right third side edges 51 of the electric circuit portion 50 positioned closer to the positions of the left and right insertion holes 21a and 21b provided in the skin material 30 and the holder 40. , are arranged inside the covering member 20 in the width direction. This prevents the sewing needle from piercing and damaging the electric circuit portion 50 during the sewing process for fixing the covering member 20 to the rim main body portion 11, and allows the electric circuit portion 50 to stably perform its function (heater function). be able to.

In this case, the widthwise interval C2 between the insertion holes 21a and 21b of the skin material 30 and the holder 40 and the position of the third side edge 51 of the electric circuit portion 50 is preferably 1 mm or less. Thereby, the electric circuit portion 50 can be provided more widely in the width direction.

Next, a method for fixing the covering member 20 of this embodiment to the rim main body 11 of the steering wheel 1 will be described.

When fixing the covering member 20 to the rim main body portion 11 , first, the covering member 20 is moved in the circumferential direction of the rim main body portion 11 so that the central portion of the covering member 20 in the width direction is brought into contact with the outer peripheral portion of the rim main body portion 11 . Along with this, the left and right side edges of the covering member 20 are brought closer to the inner peripheral side of the rim main body 11, and the left and right side edges of the covering member 20 (the left and right side edges of the skin material 30) are brought to the rim main body. 11 are butted (or partially overlapped) on the inner peripheral side.

Subsequently, the left and right side edge portions of the covering member 20 are sewn while the left and right side edges of the covering member 20 are butted against each other. As a result, insertion holes 21a and 21b are formed in the left and right side edges of the covering material 30 and the holder 40, and the left and right side edges of the covering member 20 are pulled by the sewing thread inserted through the insertion holes 21a and 21b. can be fixed with the left and right side edges of the upholstery material 30 butted against each other. In this embodiment, a portion of the covering member 20 may be fixed to the rim main body 11 with an adhesive or the like when performing this sewing process.
By performing the above operations, the covering member 20 can be fixed to the rim body portion 11 along the circumferential direction of the rim portion 10 .

In the steering wheel 1 in which the covering member 20 is fixed to the rim main body portion 11 in this way, as shown in FIG. (effective range 25 of functional components described later) can be easily secured, thereby narrowing the ineffective range 26 of functional components in which the electric circuit section 50 is not installed.

Here, regarding the sizes of the effective range 25 and the ineffective range 26 of the electrical circuit section 50 (functional component) provided on the rim section 10 of the present embodiment, by comparing with the rim section of a conventional general steering wheel, More specific description will be given.

For example, as a conventional rim portion 70 and a covering member 80 are shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the conventional rim portion 70 has a covering member 80 wound around a rim body portion 71 and fixed thereto. A conventional covering member 80 has a skin material 90 , a holder 100 fixed to the inner surface of the skin material 90 , and an electric circuit section 110 held by the holder 100 .

In this case, in the conventional holding body 100, in the sewing process for fixing the covering member 80 to the rim body portion 71, the sewing needle can easily pierce the covering member 80 and the holding body 100 can be prevented from being damaged by the sewing needle. In order to do this, the left and right side edges 101 of the holder 100 are arranged inward in the width direction from the positions of the insertion holes 81 formed in the upholstery 90 by the sewing needles.

In addition, the electrical circuit portion 110 held by the holding body 100 is determined in consideration of the versatility and processing accuracy of the holding body 100 and the electrical circuit portion 110 so that the left and right side edges 111 of the electrical circuit portion 110 are It was formed so as to be arranged inward in the width direction by 3 mm to 10 mm with respect to the positions of the left and right side edges 101 of the body 100 . For this reason, in the case of the conventional covering member 80, there is a maximum width of about 15 mm between the position of one side edge 91 of the skin material 90 and the position of one side edge 111 of the electrical circuit portion 110. In some cases, gaps (clearances) were formed. Such an interval becomes an invalid range 86 (for example, a range in which the heater function cannot be exhibited) of the functional component in which the electric circuit portion 110 is not installed in the covering member 80 .

Therefore, in the case of the conventional rim portion 70 formed by fixing the covering member 80 to the rim main body portion 71, when looking at the cross section perpendicular to the circumferential direction of the rim portion 70 (see FIG. 4), the rim portion 70 On the outer peripheral surface of , a large invalid range 86 of the functional component is formed, and the effective range 85 of the functional component is narrowly restricted. For example, in the case of the conventional covering member 80 , the invalid range 86 of the functional parts sometimes occupies about 30% of the outer peripheral surface of the rim portion 70 . As a result, it becomes difficult to warm the entire rim portion 70 , and a temperature difference may occur on the outer peripheral surface of the rim portion 70 .

Furthermore, in the case of the conventional covering member 80, the positions of the left and right side edges 91 of the skin material 90 and the positions of the left and right side edges 101 of the holder 100 are widely separated in the width direction. In addition, the left and right side edges 101 of the holder 100 are arranged adjacent to the positions of the sewn portions of the upholstery 90 (positions of the insertion holes 81), and the side edges 101 of the holder 100 are square-shaped. is positioned immediately inside the sewing portion in the width direction (see FIG. 5). In this case, when the covering member 80 is wound around the rim main body portion 71 and fixed by sewing, the sewing thread presses the upholstery material 90 and the side edge 101 of the holder 100 at the position of the insertion hole 81. On the outer surface of the member 80 (the outer surface of the skin material 90), a step between the inner surface of the skin material 90 and the inner surface of the holder 100 and the shape of the side edge of the holder 100 are copied to form an uneven shape (stepped portion). They tended to form and sometimes reduced the visual quality and feel of the steering wheel.

On the other hand, according to the covering member 20 of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the effective range of the functional parts, which is the installation range of the electric circuit section 50, is larger than that of the conventional covering member 80 (FIG. 4). 25 can be secured widely, and the invalid range 26 of the functional parts can be narrowed. As a result, the area of the rim portion 10 of the steering wheel 1 that cannot be heated by the heater function of the electric circuit portion 50 can be reduced, and the rim portion 10 can be effectively warmed. Moreover, it is possible to make it difficult for the temperature difference to occur on the outer peripheral surface of the rim portion 10 .

In addition, in the covering member 20 of the present embodiment, the skin material 30 and the holding body 40 are simultaneously sewn and fixed by sewing. Therefore, it is possible to effectively prevent the positions of the holder 40 and the electric circuit portion 50 from being shifted with respect to the skin material 30 . Furthermore, according to the covering member 20 of this embodiment, as described above, the positions of the left and right first side edges 31 of the skin material 30 and the positions of the left and right second side edges 41 of the holder 40 are brought closer to each other. As a result, the outer surface of the covering member 20 is less likely to be uneven due to the difference in level between the inner surface of the skin material 30 and the inner surface of the holder 40 . In addition, since the second side edge 41 of the holding body 40 is located outside the position of the sewing portion (the position of the insertion holes 21a and 21b) in the width direction, the second side edge 41 of the holding body 40 is pulled by the sewing thread. 41 can no longer be suppressed. This makes it difficult for the shape of the second side edge 41 to be exposed to the outer surface of the upholstery material 30, thereby more effectively suppressing the occurrence of uneven shapes. As a result, it is possible to suppress deterioration in appearance quality and feel (feel) of the steering wheel 1 .

In the above-described embodiment, the electric circuit portion 50 that exhibits the heater function is formed by arranging electric wires (heater wires) through which current flows in a plane. The configuration of the electric circuit unit to be used is not particularly limited. The electric circuit part of the heater function may be formed of, for example, conductive cloth or metal film instead of the electric wire described above. Further, the electric circuit part provided in the covering member of the present invention is not limited to the functional part having the heater function as described above, and for example, has a sensor function for detecting that the driver grips the steering wheel. It may be formed as a functional component (sensor circuit, etc.) or a functional component that exhibits other functions.

1 steering wheel 2 steering body 3 steering pad (pad body)
4 spoke part 10 rim part (grip part)
11 rim body portion 20 covering member 21a insertion hole (sewing hole)
21b insertion hole (sewing hole)
25 Effective range 26 Ineffective range 30 Skin material 31 First side edge 40 Holder 41 Second side edge 50 Electric circuit portion 51 Third side edge C1 The position of the first side edge of the skin material and the first side edge of the holder Distance in the width direction between the position of the 2nd side edge C2 Distance in the width direction between the position of the insertion hole and the position of the 3rd side edge of the electric circuit part

Claims (3)

A covering member wrapped around an annular rim portion of a steering wheel and sewn,
A sheet-shaped skin material arranged along the circumferential direction of the rim portion, a holding body arranged on the inner surface side of the skin material, and an electric circuit portion held by the holding body,
The skin material has a pair of side edges arranged along the longitudinal direction of the skin material, and a plurality of insertion holes provided along the longitudinal direction inside each side edge of the skin material. ,
The holding body and the electric circuit portion each have a pair of side edges arranged along the longitudinal direction,
Each side edge of the holding body is arranged outside the insertion hole of the skin in the width direction of the skin in a cross-sectional view perpendicular to the longitudinal direction,
A covering member, wherein each side edge of the electric circuit portion is disposed inside the skin material in the width direction of the insertion hole of the skin material in a cross-sectional view orthogonal to the longitudinal direction. 2. The covering member according to claim 1, wherein the electric circuit portion includes a heat generation circuit that generates heat when energized, or a sensor circuit that detects that the rim portion is gripped. A steering wheel, wherein the covering member according to claim 1 or 2 is fixed to the rim portion.

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