steering wheel

Abstract

The present application relates to a steering wheel, which comprises a wheel rim assembly and a light emitting assembly, the wheel rim assembly is formed with an inner cavity, and the light emitting assembly is accommodated in the inner cavity to emit light towards the wheel rim. The wheel rim assembly comprises a cladding layer, a shell and a light transmission cover, the cladding layer defines the inner cavity and is provided with a cutout, the shell is accommodated in the inner cavity to support the cladding layer, the shell is formed with a connecting groove corresponding to the cutout of the cladding layer, and the light transmission cover is arranged at the cutout of the cladding layer and is inserted into the connecting groove of the shell, and the light emitted by the light emitting assembly can pass through the connecting groove, the cutout and the light transmission cover in sequence. The end edge of the cladding layer at the cutout is clamped between the light transmission cover and the shell, and a positioning portion for limiting displacement of the end edge of the cladding layer is formed between the light transmission cover and the cladding layer and / or between the shell and the cladding layer.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to automobile accessories, and in particular, to steering wheels. BACKGROUND

[0002] Some automobiles employ a light-emitting steering wheel to provide a visual warning to the driver or to provide a backlit display when driving at night. The light-emitting steering wheel includes a rim assembly and a light-emitting assembly encapsulated by the rim assembly. The rim assembly includes a cladding layer formed with a cutout, a housing supporting the cladding layer, and a light-transmissive cover capped at the cutout and connected to the housing. The light-emitting assembly includes a light-emitting body and a circuit board supporting the light-emitting body. Light emitted by the light-emitting body can pass through the cutout and be emitted outwards.

[0003] In order to fix the end edge of the cutout of the cladding layer, the prior art usually forms a groove between the housing and the light-transmissive cover and fixes the cladding layer by inserting it into the groove. In order to ensure reliable fixation of the cladding layer, the insertion height must be kept greater than 4 mm. However, this results in an excessively large encapsulation height of the light-emitting assembly, thereby occupying / interfering with the armature space. In addition, considering the insertion of the cladding layer into the groove, there is a gap between the cladding layer and the surrounding parts, and the size of the gap is difficult to control during assembly, resulting in increased assembly difficulty.

[0004] Therefore, it is desirable to provide a steering wheel that is simple to assemble and can reduce the encapsulation height. SUMMARY

[0005] The present application aims to provide a steering wheel that is simple to assemble and can reduce the encapsulation height of the light-emitting assembly.

[0006] The present application provides a steering wheel including a rim assembly and a light-emitting assembly. The rim assembly is formed with an inner cavity, and the light-emitting assembly is accommodated in the inner cavity to emit light towards the rim assembly. The rim assembly includes a cladding layer, a housing, and a light-transmissive cover. The cladding layer defines the inner cavity and is formed with a cutout. The housing is accommodated in the inner cavity to support the cladding layer. The housing is formed with a connecting groove corresponding to the cutout of the cladding layer. The light-transmissive cover is capped at the cutout of the cladding layer and is inserted into the connecting groove of the housing. Light emitted by the light-emitting assembly can pass through the connecting groove of the housing, the cutout of the cladding layer, and the light-transmissive cover in sequence. The end edge of the cladding layer at the cutout is clamped between the light-transmissive cover and the housing. A positioning portion for limiting displacement of the end edge of the cladding layer is formed between the light-transmissive cover and the cladding layer and / or between the housing and the cladding layer.

[0007] According to an embodiment of the present application, the light-transmitting cover comprises a cover body and a connecting portion extending from a bottom surface of the cover body towards the inner cavity, the positioning portion comprises a protruding portion protruding from the bottom surface of the cover body and a recessed portion recessed from a top surface of the end edge of the cladding layer and matched with the protruding portion.

[0008] According to an embodiment of the present application, the protruding portion and the recessed portion have sawtooth structures matched with each other in shape.

[0009] According to an embodiment of the present application, the connecting portion of the light-transmitting cover is formed with a plurality of clamping grooves, and the groove walls at the connecting grooves of the shell are correspondingly formed with a plurality of clamping protrusions protruding towards the center of the connecting grooves, and the light-transmitting cover is clamped to the shell by inserting the plurality of clamping protrusions into the plurality of clamping grooves correspondingly.

[0010] According to an embodiment of the present application, a top portion of the shell is formed with a recessed portion to accommodate the end edge of the cladding layer, and the recessed portion has a flat surface.

[0011] According to an embodiment of the present application, the light-emitting assembly comprises a light emitter and a circuit board for supporting the light emitter, and the circuit board is mounted on the shell.

[0012] According to an embodiment of the present application, the shell comprises a mounting pin extending from a bottom surface of the shell, and the circuit board is fixedly connected to the mounting pin.

[0013] According to an embodiment of the present application, the rim assembly further comprises a support seat arranged in the inner cavity, one side of the support seat is used for supporting the shell, and the other side of the support seat is used for supporting the cladding layer, and the support seat comprises a rigid body and a foamed body distributed around the rigid body.

[0014] According to an embodiment of the present application, the light-emitting assembly does not directly contact a top portion of the support seat.

[0015] According to an embodiment of the present application, a portion of the light-transmitting cover corresponding to the cutout is made of transparent material, and other portions of the light-transmitting cover are made of non-transparent material.

[0016] Therefore, according to the steering wheel of the present application, on the one hand, the cutout end edge of the cladding layer is horizontally clamped between the light-transmitting cover and the shell, so that the packaging height of the light-emitting assembly can be reduced, and at the same time, since the cutout end edge does not need to be inserted, the steering wheel can be easily assembled. In addition, since the light-emitting assembly is directly mounted on the shell, the light-emitting assembly can be fixed without using a back cover, which can further reduce the packaging height of the light-emitting assembly. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0017] Features, advantages, and technical and artistic effects of exemplary embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like reference numerals denote like elements, and the following matters need to be understood in describing and interpreting the drawings: that

[0018] Figure 1 A perspective view schematically illustrating an overall structure of a steering wheel according to an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0019] Figure 2 A cross-sectional view schematically illustrating the steering wheel according to an embodiment of the present application, cut along a line A-A of Figure 1

[0020] Figure 3 A cross-sectional view schematically illustrating the steering wheel according to an embodiment of the present application, cut along a line B-B of Figure 1

[0021] Figure 4 A perspective view schematically illustrating a light-transmissive cover according to an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0022] Figure 5 An exploded view schematically illustrating the steering wheel according to an embodiment of the present application is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] Hereinafter, a specific embodiment of a steering wheel according to the present application will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following detailed description and drawings are provided to illustrate the principles of the present application, and the present application is not limited to the preferred embodiments described, and each of the embodiments described by the present application can be used alone or in any combination, and the scope of protection of the present application is defined by the claims.

[0024] In addition, spatially relative terms, such as "upper", "lower", "outer", "inner", "top", and "bottom", etc., are used to describe the relative position relationship between elements shown in the drawings and another element. Accordingly, the spatially relative terms can be applied to directions different from the directions shown in the drawings. It is obvious that, although all the spatially relative terms refer to the directions shown in the drawings for easy explanation, those skilled in the art can understand that the directions different from the directions shown in the drawings can be used.

[0025] Figure 1 A perspective view schematically illustrating an overall structure of a steering wheel according to an embodiment of the present application is shown. Figure 2 A cross-sectional view schematically illustrating the steering wheel according to an embodiment of the present application, cut along a line A-A of Figure 1 Figure 3 A cross-sectional view schematically illustrating the steering wheel according to an embodiment of the present application, cut along a line B-B of Figure 1 Figure 4 A perspective view schematically illustrating a light-transmissive cover according to an embodiment of the present application is shown.​​​​Figure 5 An exploded view of a steering wheel according to an embodiment of the present application is schematically shown. The following description is made with reference to Figures 1 to 5 A steering wheel according to an embodiment of the present application is described.

[0026] As Figures 1 to 3 shown, a steering wheel 10 according to an embodiment of the present application includes a rim assembly 100 and a light emitting assembly 200. The rim assembly 100 is formed with an inner cavity 300, and the light emitting assembly 200 is housed in the inner cavity 300 to emit light toward the rim assembly 100. As clearly observed from Figure 2 and Figure 3 , the light emitting assembly 200 is entirely located in the inner cavity 300. In other words, the light emitting assembly 200 is entirely surrounded by the rim assembly 100.

[0027] The rim assembly 100 includes a cladding layer 110, a housing 120, and a light-transmissive cover 130. The cladding layer 110 defines the inner cavity 300, and the cladding layer 110 is substantially cylindrical, thus, as shown, the inner cavity 300 has a substantially circular cross-section. The cladding layer 110 is provided with a cutout 111 having a substantially arc shape, as shown from Figure 1 Figure 1 and Figure 5 , the housing 120 is received in the inner cavity 300 and supports the cladding layer 110. The housing 120 is formed with a connecting groove 122 corresponding to the cutout 111 of the cladding layer 110. The connecting groove 122 extends through the top of the housing 120 from top to bottom. The light-transmissive cover 130 is capped at the cutout 111 of the cladding layer 110 and is inserted into the connecting groove 122 of the housing 120. Light emitted by the light emitting assembly 200 can sequentially pass through the connecting groove 122 of the housing 120, the cutout 111 of the cladding layer 110, and the light-transmissive cover 130 to be emitted, as shown from Figure 2 and Figure 3 , the cladding layer 110, the housing 120, and the light-transmissive cover 130 together realize the encapsulation of the light emitting assembly 200.

[0028] The light-transmissive cover 130 according to an embodiment of the present application will be described below with reference to Figures 2 to 5 . As shown from Figure 2 and Figure 3 , the light-transmissive cover 130 includes a cover body 131 and a connecting portion 132 extending from a bottom surface of the cover body 131 toward the inner cavity 300. The cover body 131 has an arc-shaped outer surface and a flat bottom surface. The width of the cover body 131 is greater than the width of the cutout 111 of the cladding layer 110 and the width of the connecting groove 122 of the housing 120. Thus, the cover body 131 covers the cutout 111 of the cladding layer 110 and the connecting groove 122 of the housing 120. The connecting portion 132 is inserted into the connecting groove 122 of the housing 120 through the cutout 111 of the cladding layer 110, thereby connecting the light-transmissive cover 130 to the housing 120. ​

[0029] As shown in Figures 3 to 5 , a plurality of snap grooves 1320 are formed on the connecting portion 132, and a plurality of snap protrusions 1220 are correspondingly formed on the groove wall of the connecting groove 122 of the housing 120 and protrude toward the center of the connecting groove. When the connecting portion 132 is inserted into the connecting groove 122 of the housing 120, the plurality of snap protrusions 1220 on the groove wall of the connecting groove 122 can be correspondingly inserted into the plurality of snap grooves 1320 on the connecting portion 132, thereby allowing the light-transmissive cover 130 to be snap-coupled to the housing 120.

[0030] The portion 1310 of the cover body 131 corresponding to the cutout 111 of the cladding layer 110 is made of a transparent material (e.g., polycarbonate (PC), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), and polyamide (PA), etc.), while other portions of the light-transmissive cover 130 are made of a non-transparent material (e.g., acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), etc.). It should be understood that this is merely an example, and the light-transmissive cover of the present application is not limited thereto. For example, in some cases, the cover body of the light-transmissive cover can be integrally formed of a transparent material.

[0031] Referring again to Figure 2 and Figure 3 , the end edge of the cutout 111 of the cladding layer 110 is clamped between the light-transmissive cover 130 and the housing 120. Specifically, the end edge of the cutout 111 of the cladding layer 110 is clamped horizontally between the bottom surface of the cover body 131 of the light-transmissive cover 130 and the top surface of the housing 120.

[0032] A positioning portion 140 is formed between the light-transmissive cover 130 and the cladding layer 110 for limiting displacement of the end edge of the cutout 111 of the cladding layer 110 relative to the housing 120 and the light-transmissive cover 130, as shown in Figure 2 and Figure 3 . According to a preferred embodiment of the present application, the positioning portion 140 includes a protruding portion protruding from the bottom surface of the cover body 131 and a recessed portion recessed from the top surface of the end edge of the cutout 111 of the cladding layer 110 and cooperating with the protruding portion. Thus, by inserting the protruding portion formed on the cover body 131 into the recessed portion formed on the top surface of the cladding layer 110, displacement of the end edge of the cutout 111 of the cladding layer 110 relative to the light-transmissive cover 130 can be limited. In the present embodiment, the protruding portion and the recessed portion have a sawtooth structure with shapes adapted to each other. That is, each protruding portion and each recessed portion has a triangular cross section, respectively.

[0033] However, it should be understood that this is merely an example, and the positioning portion of the present application is not limited thereto. For example, in some embodiments, the positioning portion 140 can be formed between the cladding layer 110 and the housing 120, or can be formed between the light-transmissive cover 130 and the cladding layer 110 and between the cladding layer 110 and the housing 120. For another example, in some embodiments, the cross section of each protrusion and each recess can have a rectangular, semicircular, or other shape that is adapted to the shape of the other.

[0034] The top of the housing 120 is formed with a recess having a substantially flat surface. Thus, when the cutout 111 end edge of the cladding layer 110 is clamped between the light-transmissive cover 130 and the housing 120, the recess can accommodate the cutout 111 end edge of the cladding layer 110 and a portion of the cover body 131 of the light-transmissive cover 130. Therefore, the arc-shaped outer surface of the light-transmissive cover 130 can be made not to protrude beyond the outer surface of the cladding layer 110, so that the steering wheel 10 has a substantially uniform appearance. Meanwhile, since the arc-shaped outer surface of the light-transmissive cover 130 does not protrude beyond the outer surface of the cladding layer 110, the installation height of the rim assembly 100 can be reduced.

[0035] As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the light-transmissive cover 130 is formed with a cover body 131 and a transparent portion 1310. The cover body 131 is formed with a plurality of protrusions 132 and a plurality of recesses 133. The transparent portion 1310 is formed with a plurality of protrusions 134 and a plurality of recesses 135. The protrusions 132 and the recesses 133 are arranged alternately, and the protrusions 134 and the recesses 135 are arranged alternately. The protrusions 132 and the recesses 133 are adapted to the shape of the protrusions 134 and the recesses 135, respectively. Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the light-transmissive cover 130 is formed with a cover body 131 and a transparent portion 1310. The cover body 131 is formed with a plurality of protrusions 132 and a plurality of recesses 133. The transparent portion 1310 is formed with a plurality of protrusions 134 and a plurality of recesses 135. The protrusions 132 and the recesses 133 are arranged alternately, and the protrusions 134 and the recesses 135 are arranged alternately. The protrusions 132 and the recesses 133 are adapted to the shape of the protrusions 134 and the recesses 135, respectively.

[0036] The circuit board 220 is mounted on the housing 120. Therefore, the light-emitting assembly 200 is supported by the housing 120. According to a preferred embodiment of the present application, the housing 120 includes mounting pins 121 extending from the bottom surface of the housing 120, and the circuit board 220 can be fixedly connected to the mounting pins 121, for example, by snapping or welding. It should be understood that this is merely an example, and the mounting manner of the circuit board of the present application is not limited thereto. For example, in some cases, the circuit board can be directly welded to the inner wall of the housing.

[0037] In some embodiments, in order to further make the light emitted by the light-emitting body 210 propagate uniformly, the light-emitting assembly can further include a light guide (not shown) between the light-emitting body and the light-transmissive cover. The light guide can make the light emitted by the light-emitting body pass through and can make it continue to propagate toward the light-transmissive cover 130 uniformly.

[0038] With reference to the foregoing description Figure 2 And Figure 3 The rim assembly 100 according to the embodiment of the present application further comprises a support seat 150. The support seat 150 is accommodated in the inner cavity 300, one side (upper side) of the support seat 150 is used to support the shell 120, and the other side (lower side) of the support seat 150 is used to support the cladding layer 110. The support seat 150 comprises a rigid body 151 and a foamed body 152 distributed around the rigid body 151. The top of the foamed body 152 of the support seat 150 has a flat surface to support the shell 120, and the bottom of the foamed body 152 of the support seat 150 has a circular arc-shaped surface to support the cladding layer 110. In this way, the cladding layer 110 is jointly supported by the shell 120 and the foamed body 152, the shell 120 is used to support the upper half of the cladding layer 110, and the foamed body 152 is used to support the lower half of the cladding layer 110.

[0039] The rigid body 151 of the support seat 150 makes the support seat 150 have sufficient rigidity. The foamed body 152 of the support seat 150 can make the support seat 150 more easily have a shape adapted to the cladding layer 110 to reliably support the cladding layer 110. In addition, the foamed body 152 also advantageously reduces the weight of the steering wheel 10.

[0040] In Figure 2 And Figure 3 The rigid body 151 has an inverted U-shaped shape, which further advantageously reduces the weight of the steering wheel 10 while ensuring that the support seat 150 has sufficient rigidity. It should be understood that this is merely an example, and the support seat of the present application is not limited thereto, for example, in some cases, the support seat can be formed only by a rigid body or only by a foamed body.

[0041] In addition, it can be seen from Figure 2 And Figure 3 that the proportions of the support of the cladding layer 110 by the shell 120 and the foamed body 152 are not the same, specifically, the shell 120 supports a smaller part of the cladding layer 110, and the foamed body 152 supports a larger part of the cladding layer 110, but this is merely an example, and the proportions of the support of the cladding layer 110 by the two can be adjusted according to actual conditions.

[0042] As described above, the light emitting assembly 200 is supported by the shell 120, so the light emitting assembly 200 does not directly contact the top of the support seat 150. Specifically, the light emitting body 210 and the circuit board 220 of the light emitting assembly 200 can be mounted to the shell 120 at a position spaced a distance from the top of the support seat 150. Therefore, a space can be formed below the circuit board 220, which is advantageous for heat dissipation of the circuit board 220.

[0043] According to an embodiment of the present application, the cladding layer 110 can include a plurality of layers, such as a leather layer and a foaming layer, from outside to inside, to obtain a cladding layer 110 with a desired thickness and / or good touch. It should be understood that when the light emitting assembly 200 does not emit light, the light of the external environment enters the human eye after being reflected by the inner side of the light-transmitting cover 130, and compared with the light of the external environment, the light reflected by the inner side of the light-transmitting cover is weaker, thereby making it difficult to observe the internal structure of the steering wheel rim from the outside. On the contrary, when the light emitting assembly emits light, the light emitted by the light emitting assembly 200 will be obviously stronger than the light of the external environment, so that the human eye is easy to capture the light of the light emitting assembly to identify the light passing through the rim assembly 100.

[0044] Therefore, in the steering wheel according to the present application, since the cutout end edge of the cladding layer is clamped horizontally between the light-transmitting cover and the housing, the packaging height of the light emitting assembly can be reduced, and at the same time, since the insertion operation of the cutout end edge is not required during installation, the steering wheel can be easily assembled. In addition, since the light emitting assembly is directly mounted on the housing, the light emitting assembly can be fixed without using a back cover, which can further reduce the packaging height of the light emitting assembly. Therefore, the steering wheel of the present application has the advantages of simple assembly and reduced packaging height of the light emitting assembly.

[0045] As described above, although the exemplary embodiments of the present application have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings in the description, the present application is not limited to the above-described specific embodiments, and the scope of protection of the present application should be defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A steering wheel (10) comprising a rim assembly (100) and a light-emitting assembly (200), the rim assembly (100) being formed with an inner cavity (300), the light-emitting assembly (200) being accommodated in the inner cavity (300) to emit light towards the rim assembly (100), characterized in that the rim assembly (100) comprises a cladding layer (110) defining the inner cavity (300) and being provided with a cutout (111), a housing (120) accommodated in the inner cavity (300) to support the cladding layer (110), the housing (120) being formed with a connecting groove (122) corresponding to the cutout (111) of the cladding layer (110), and a light-transmitting cover (130) covering the cutout (111) of the cladding layer (110) and being inserted into the connecting groove (122) of the housing (120), light emitted by the light-emitting assembly (200) being able to sequentially pass through the connecting groove (122) of the housing (120), the cutout (111) of the cladding layer (110) and the light-transmitting cover (130), and an end edge of the cladding layer (110) at the cutout (111) is clamped between the light-transmitting cover (130) and the housing (120), a positioning portion (140) for limiting displacement of the end edge of the cladding layer (110) being formed between the light-transmitting cover (130) and the cladding layer (110) and / or between the housing (120) and the cladding layer (110); the light-transmitting cover (130) comprises a cover body (131) and a connecting portion (132) extending from a bottom surface of the cover body (131) towards the inner cavity (300), the positioning portion (140) comprises a protruding portion protruding from the bottom surface of the cover body (131) and a recessed portion recessed from a top surface of the end edge of the cladding layer (110) and cooperating with the protruding portion, and a plurality of clamping grooves (1320) are formed on the connecting portion (132) of the light-transmitting cover (130), a plurality of clamping protrusions (1220) protruding towards a center of the connecting groove (122) are correspondingly formed on groove walls of the connecting groove (122) of the housing (120), and the light-transmitting cover (130) is clamped to the housing (120) by correspondingly inserting the plurality of clamping protrusions (1220) into the plurality of clamping grooves (1320).

2. Steering wheel according to claim 1, characterized in that The protruding portion and the recessed portion have sawtooth structures matching each other in shape.

3. The steering wheel of claim 1, wherein A top portion of the housing (120) is formed with a recessed portion to accommodate the end edge of the cladding layer (110), the recessed portion having a flat surface.

4. The steering wheel of claim 1, wherein The light-emitting assembly (200) comprises a light emitter (210) and a circuit board (220) for supporting the light emitter (210), the circuit board (220) being mounted on the housing (120).

5. A steering wheel according to claim 4, characterised in that The shell (120) comprises a mounting pin (121) extending from a bottom surface of the shell (120), and the circuit board (220) is fixedly connected to the mounting pin (121).

6. The steering wheel of claim 1, wherein The rim assembly (1) further comprises a support seat (150) arranged in the inner cavity (300), one side of the support seat (150) being used for supporting the shell (120), and the other side of the support seat (150) being used for supporting the cladding layer (110), the support seat (150) comprising a rigid body (151) and a foamed body (152) distributed around the rigid body (151).

7. A steering wheel according to claim 6, characterised in that The light-emitting assembly (200) does not directly contact the top of the support seat (150).

8. The steering wheel of claim 1, wherein, The part (1310) of the light-transmitting cover (130) corresponding to the cutout (111) is made of transparent material, and other parts of the light-transmitting cover (130) are made of non-transparent material.

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