Handle

Abstract

To provide a handle that is able to simply dispose a conductive portion at an edge part of a skin body and is excellent in the strength of the edge part of the skin body including the conductive portion.SOLUTION: A handle 1 includes a rim portion 3 for a gripping operation, the rim portion including: a rim covering portion 20 extending in a predetermined direction; a skin body 23 covering at least a part of a surface of the rim covering portion 20; and a sewn portion 24 for fixing the skin body 23 to the rim covering portion 20 by sewing the skin body 23. By means of a sewing thread, which is a blended yarn composed of a plurality of threads, the sewn portion 24 is formed so as to sew side edge parts 23a, 23a extending in a predetermined direction of the skin body 23 wound around the rim covering portion 20 and facing each other. At least the thread whose rigidity is not large is conductive and a conductive portion 28 is formed in at least a part of the sewn portion 24.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a handle provided with a grip portion having an epidermal body.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, there has been a demand to add functions to the steering wheel, which is a handle of an automobile. For example, in order to detect biometric information of an occupant who grips the rim portion, which is a grip portion, a conductive portion is arranged at a portion that comes into contact with the finger or the like of the occupant in the rim portion. In such a steering wheel, when an epidermal body such as leather is applied to the rim portion for the purpose of improving the design, it is difficult to set the conductive portion on the surface of the epidermal body, particularly at the stitching portion. Therefore, by using a conductive thread for the stitching portion, it is possible to impart a conductive function to the stitching portion as well (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, since the conductive thread generally has inferior rigidity compared to a normal stitching thread, if the conductive thread is exposed on the surface of the epidermal body, it is likely to be worn by the operation of the occupant. Therefore, it is required to prevent the conductive function from being unexpectedly impaired due to wear.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of such points, and an object thereof is to provide a handle in which a conductive portion can be simply arranged at the edge of an epidermal body and the edge of the epidermal body including the conductive portion has excellent strength.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The handle according to claim 1 includes a grip portion main body extending in a predetermined direction, a skin body covering at least a part of the surface of the grip portion main body, and a stitching portion for fixing the skin body to the grip portion main body by stitching the skin body. The stitching portion is formed by stitching, with a stitching thread which is a blended yarn composed of a plurality of threads, the edges of the skin body that extend in the predetermined direction and face each other and are wound around the grip portion main body. At least some of the threads have conductivity although they do not have relatively high rigidity, and a conductive portion is formed in at least a part of the stitching portion.

[0007] The handle according to claim 2 is the handle according to claim 1, wherein a main conductive portion is disposed at a position that does not overlap with the stitching portion between the grip portion main body and the skin body.

[0008] The handle according to claim 3 is the handle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the conductive portion has a heater function or a sensor function. [Effect of the Invention]

[0009] According to the handle of claim 1, a conductive portion excellent in durability can be arranged at the edges of the skin bodies stitched to each other by ensuring rigidity with a thread having relatively high rigidity.

[0010] According to the handle of claim 2, in addition to the effect of the handle of claim 1, when the edges of the skin body are stitched with a stitching thread, it is possible to prevent the sewing needle and the main conductive portion from interfering with each other and damaging the main conductive portion, and a conductive portion can be formed by the main conductive portion in a range other than the conductive portion in the grip portion. Therefore, a wide range of the grip portion can be used as a conductive portion.

[0011] According to the handle of claim 3, in addition to the effect of the handle of claim 1 or 2, the grip portion can be provided with a heater function and a sensor function. [Brief Description of the Drawings]

[0012]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0013] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0014] In Fig. 2(a), reference numeral 1 denotes a steering handle (steering wheel) for a vehicle such as an automobile. In the present embodiment, the handle 1 is exemplified by a steering wheel in which a boss portion 2 located at the central portion is surrounded by a rim portion (grip) 3 which is an annular or arcuate gripping portion, and the boss portion 2 and the rim portion 3 are connected by a radial spoke portion 4. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and a joystick type or the like may be used. The handle 1 is attached to a steering shaft which is a steering shaft usually provided on the vehicle in an inclined state. Hereinafter, the handle 1 will be described with the arrow U direction being the upper side and the arrow D direction being the lower side when viewed from the passenger side. In addition, regarding the front-rear, left-right directions, in each figure, the arrow L direction is the left side and the arrow R direction is the right side based on the direction seen from the passenger seated in the driver's seat. Further, regarding each part of the handle 1, the position and shape will be described with reference to the steering reference state shown in Fig. 2(a), that is, the neutral position (neutral).

[0015] The boss portion 2 is attached to the steering shaft and is located at the rotation center of the handle 1.

[0016] The rim portion 3 is a part that the occupant (driver) grips to operate the steering wheel 1. That is, the rim portion 3 is a part for steering operation. The rim portion 3 is formed to extend in a predetermined direction (shown by the arrow X). In the illustrated example, the rim portion 3 is formed to extend in the rotational direction of the steering wheel 1, that is, the circumferential direction. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the predetermined direction is the rotational direction of the steering wheel 1 which is the circumferential direction of the rim portion 3, that is, the longitude direction or the circumferential direction in the front view or the large-diameter direction.

[0017] A plurality of spoke portions 4 are provided. In the present embodiment, three spoke portions 4 are provided so as to connect the left and right side portions and the lower portion of the boss portion 2 and the rim portion 3, but it is not limited thereto. For example, two spoke portions may be provided, or four or more spoke portions may be provided.

[0018] And, as shown in FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b), the steering wheel 1 has an armature 10 which is a steering wheel main body portion. The armature 10 is made of a metal such as an alloy of aluminum or magnesium, for example. The armature 10 includes a boss armature portion 12 corresponding to the boss portion 2, a rim armature portion 13 as a gripping portion armature portion corresponding to the rim portion 3, and a spoke armature portion 14 corresponding to the spoke portion 4. The spoke armature portion 14 is continuously and integrally formed from the boss armature portion 12, and the rim armature portion 13 is fixed to the spoke armature portion 14 by welding or the like and integrally formed. And, in the armature 10, the rim armature portion 13 and the connecting portion between the rim armature portion 13 of the spoke armature portion 14 are covered by a covering portion 15.

[0019] The boss armature portion 12 constitutes the core of the boss portion 2. The boss armature portion 12 has a substantially cylindrical boss having a serration structure that meshes with the steering shaft. A module 17 such as an airbag device is disposed in the boss armature portion 12. The boss portion 2 is constituted by the boss armature portion 12 and the module 17. The back side of the boss armature portion 12 is covered with a cover body that is also called a back cover, a lower cover, or a body cover.

[0020] The rim core metal part 13 constitutes the core of the rim part 3. In the present embodiment, the rim core metal part 13 is formed in an annular shape or an arc shape that continues throughout the entire circumference.

[0021] The spoke core metal part 14 constitutes the core of the spoke part 4. The spoke core metal part 14 is provided radially from the boss core metal part 12. Note that the spoke core metal part 14 is not necessarily provided in all the spoke parts 4, and some of the spoke parts 4 may be constituted by a finisher, a cover body, etc. without the spoke core metal part 14.

[0022] The covering part 15 is a resin layer formed of, for example, synthetic resin or the like. For example, as the covering part 15, a material obtained by finely foaming a soft foamed polyurethane resin or the like is used. The covering part 15 has a rim covering part 20 that is a gripping part main body part covering the rim core metal part 13, and a spoke covering part 21 that covers an end part of the spoke core metal part 14 that is continuous with the rim core metal part 13.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 1(a), the rim covering part 20 is formed in a shape that is easy for an occupant to grip, such as a circular cross-sectional shape or an elliptical cross-sectional shape, for example.

[0024] As shown in FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b), the spoke covering part 21 is continuous with the rim covering part 20 and covers up to a position adjacent to the module 17 or the finisher at the end part of the spoke core metal part 14 on the rim core metal part 13 side.

[0025] And, as shown in FIGS. 1(a) and 2(a), in the covering portion 15, mainly the surface of the rim covering portion 20 is covered by the skin body 23. The skin body 23 is formed in a thin sheet shape by natural leather, synthetic leather, synthetic resin, or the like, and is wound around the surface of the rim covering portion 20 to cover the entire rim covering portion 20. The surface of the skin body 23 forms the surface of the rim portion 3. In the present embodiment, the skin body 23 is divided into a plurality of parts so as to cover the entire rim portion 3 and the range extending in the predetermined direction in which the rim portion 3 extends, which is the weft direction of the rim portion 3 in the present embodiment. And each skin body 23 is curved along the meridian direction or the cross-sectional circumferential direction or the small diameter direction of the rim portion 3 so as to wrap the rim covering portion 20, and both side edge portions 23a, 23a which are edge portions extending in the weft direction are on the inner edge side of the rim covering portion 20, that is, on the side facing the boss portion 2, in other words, at positions on the rotation center side of the handle 1, and face each other without a gap or substantially without a gap in the meridian direction, and these both side edge portions 23a, 23a are sewn to each other by the sewing portion 24 and fixed to the covering portion 15 (rim covering portion 20).

[0026] The sewing portion 24 includes a sewing thread 26 which is a blended yarn composed of a plurality of threads, and the sewing thread 26 is arranged in a zigzag shape across the side edge portions 23a, 23a. In the present embodiment, stitch portions 27, 27 are formed along the side edge portions 23a, 23a, and the sewing thread 26 is arranged in a zigzag shape by being stretched between these stitch portions 27, 27 on the front side of the skin body 23. The stitch portion 27 is a decorative sewing portion for design which forms an intermittent line on the front side of the skin body 23, and is arranged at a position near the side edge portion 23a of the skin body 23. In the illustrated example, the sewing portion 24 and the stitch portion 27 form a catch stitch, which is also called a so-called European stitch, and the sewing thread 26 is sewn so as to be alternately hooked on one stitch portion 27 and the other stitch portion 27 which are displaced from each other in the weft direction of the rim covering portion 20, and the stitch portion 27 is curved by the sewing thread 26. The sewing thread 26 is located entirely exposed on the surface of the skin body 23. Therefore, the sewing thread 26 is at a position where the fingers of the occupant holding the rim portion 3 can directly touch it.

[0027] Among the plurality of threads, at least one thread with relatively low rigidity (not the highest rigidity) of the suture thread 26 has conductivity. For example, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1(b), the suture thread 26 is composed of a non-conductive thread 26a, which is a thread with relatively high rigidity, and a conductive thread 26b, which is a thread with relatively low rigidity, twisted together one by one. That is, in the present embodiment, the non-conductive thread 26a is a normal thread with higher rigidity than the conductive thread 26b, and the conductive thread 26b has the lowest rigidity among the suture threads 26. As the conductive thread 26b, for example, a thread made of a conductive material such as metal plating is used. A part of the suture thread 26 that constitutes the suture part 24, i.e., the conductive thread 26b, constitutes the conductive part 28 as shown in FIG. 1(a). That is, by suturing the epidermal body 23 with the suture thread 26, the position of the conductive thread 26b, that is, the position of the conductive part 28, is determined. Therefore, in the illustrated example, the conductive part 28 is formed between the stitch parts 27, 27. Not limited to this, the suture thread 26 may have conductivity of two or more types of threads with relatively low rigidity among the blended threads composed of three or more types of threads with different rigidities. Or when the price of the non-conductive thread is high, a blended thread composed of a plurality of types of conductive threads with relatively low prices and different rigidities may be used. Also, as long as it includes a non-conductive thread 26a with higher rigidity than the conductive thread 26b, it is not necessary for the conductive thread 26b to have the lowest rigidity among the suture threads 26, and the suture thread 26 may include a non-conductive thread with lower rigidity than the conductive thread 26b. The thread that constitutes the stitch part 27 may be arbitrarily selected, but basically, it is preferable to use a thread with higher rigidity than the suture thread 26 (non-conductive thread 26a).

[0028] The conductive part 28 has a heater function or a sensor function. The conductive part 28 is electrically connected to an in-vehicle control device 29 such as an ECU located on the vehicle body side. The in-vehicle control device 29, together with the conductive part 28, functions as, for example, a heater part that directly warms the hand of the occupant holding the rim part 3, a detection part that detects the holding / non-holding of the rim part 3 by the occupant (hands-on / off detection (HoD)), or a detection part that measures the biological information of the occupant (such as heartbeat, pulse, myoelectricity, blood flow, etc.).

[0029] The conductive portion 28 may be arranged continuously over the entire circumference of the rim portion 3, or may be arranged intermittently. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 2(a), the conductive portion 28 is arranged continuously over a range of the rim portion 3 excluding the connecting portion between the rim portion 3 and the spoke portion 4.

[0030] Preferably, as shown in FIG. 1(a), a main conductive portion 30 is arranged between the skin body 23 and the rim covering portion 20. The main conductive portion 30 is formed in a sheet shape, for example. The main conductive portion 30 may be embedded in the rim covering portion 20, but in the present embodiment, it is wound around the surface of the rim covering portion 20 and sandwiched and held between the rim covering portion 20 and the skin body 23. The main conductive portion 30 can be arranged at any position of the rim portion 3. In the present embodiment, the main conductive portion 30 is curved along the meridian direction, cross-sectional circumferential direction, or minor diameter direction of the rim portion 3 so as to wrap the rim covering portion 20, and extends and is arranged over the weft direction, front view circumferential direction, or major diameter direction of the rim portion 3.

[0031] Both side edges 30a, 30a of the main conductive portion 30, which are edges extending in the weft direction, are opposed to each other with a gap therebetween in the meridian direction on the inner edge side of the rim covering portion 20, that is, the side facing the boss portion 2, in other words, the rotation center side of the handle 1, and are in a position that does not overlap with the stitching portion 24. That is, both side edges 30a, 30a of the main conductive portion 30 are in positions separated from both side edges 23a, 23a of the skin body 23, which are the stitch portions 27, 27 in the present embodiment, in the meridian direction of the rim portion 3 (rim covering portion 20). Therefore, the main conductive portion 30 is in a complementary relationship with the conductive portion 28 in the meridian direction of the rim portion 3 (rim covering portion 20), and is arranged so as to cover the whole or substantially the whole of the surface of the rim covering portion 20 except for the position overlapping with the conductive portion 28.

[0032] The main conductive part 30 is a functional component having a heater function or a sensor function, similar to the conductive part 28. The main conductive part 30 is electrically connected to the in-vehicle control device 29 together with the conductive part 28. The in-vehicle control device 29 functions as, for example, a heater part that indirectly warms the hand of a passenger holding the rim part 3, a detection part that detects the holding / non-holding of the rim part 3 of the passenger (hands-on / off detection (HoD)), or a detection part that detects the biometric information of the passenger, together with the conductive part 28 and / or the main conductive part 30. For example, when the main conductive part 30 has a sensor function, the epidermal body 23 becomes an insulating layer, a capacitor is formed between the hand of the passenger holding the rim part 3 and the main conductive part 30, and the in-vehicle control device 29 functions as a detection part by detecting a change in the capacitance of the capacitor. Note that the in-vehicle control device electrically connected to the conductive part 28 and the in-vehicle control device electrically connected to the main conductive part 30 may be set separately.

[0033] In this way, in the handle 1 where the suture thread 26, which is a blended yarn composed of a plurality of yarns and constitutes the suture part 24 that stitches the epidermal body 23 covering at least a part of the surface of the rim covering part 20, stitches the side edges 23a, 23a of the epidermal body 23 wound around the rim covering part 20, at least one of the yarns forming the suture thread 26 having relatively low rigidity is used as the conductive yarn 26b, and the conductive part 28 is formed on at least a part of the suture part 24. Therefore, the conductive part 28 can be arranged without impairing the designability (design property) at the side edges 23a, 23a of the epidermal body 23 stitched to each other, that is, at the joining part of the epidermal body 23, and the rigidity is ensured by the non-conductive yarn 26a having relatively high rigidity, so that the strength of the joining part of the epidermal body 23 including the conductive part 28 is excellent.

[0034] That is, when the epidermal body 23 is stitched at the side edges 23a, 23a, considering the damage caused by interference with the sewing needle, basically the conductive part can be arranged only at a position where it does not interfere with the sewing needle. In the present embodiment, by mixing the conductive yarn 26b into the suture thread 26 itself constituting the suture part 24, the conductive part 28 can be arranged on the rim part 3 without considering the interference with the sewing needle.

[0035] In particular, since the rim portion 3 is a part that the occupant (driver) frequently grips, by ensuring rigidity with the non-conductive thread 26a, even if the occupant frequently grips the rim portion 3, it is possible to suppress the suture thread 26 from being cut or worn out over time, and the conductive portion 28 can be reliably maintained for a long time.

[0036] Further, by arranging the main conductive portion 30 at a position that does not overlap with the sewing portion 24 between the rim covering portion 20 and the skin body 23, when the side edge portions 23a, 23a of the skin body 23 are sewn together with the sewing thread 26, it is possible to prevent the sewing needle and the main conductive portion 30 from interfering and damaging the main conductive portion 30. In addition, since a conductive portion can be formed by the main conductive portion 30 in a range other than the conductive portion 28 in the rim portion 3, a wide range of the rim portion 3 can be used as a conductive portion. In particular, in the present embodiment, since the conductive portion 28 and the main conductive portion 30 are positioned so as to complement each other on the surface of the rim covering portion 20, a conductive action can be provided to the whole or substantially the whole of the rim portion 3.

[0037] Since the conductive portion 28 has a heater function or a sensor function, the rim portion 3 can be provided with a heater function and a sensor function.

[0038] Similarly, since the main conductive portion 30 has a heater function or a sensor function, in a wide range of the rim portion 3, in the present embodiment, the whole or substantially the whole of the rim portion 3 can be used as a heater or a sensor. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of a portion that is not warmed on the fingers of the occupant gripping the rim portion 3, or the occurrence of a portion on the rim portion 3 where it is not possible to detect that the occupant is gripping the rim portion 3 or the biometric information of the occupant.

Industrial Applicability

[0039] The present invention can be suitably used, for example, as a steering handle for vehicles such as automobiles.

Explanation of Signs

[0040] 1 Handle 3 Rim portion which is a gripping portion 20 Rim covering portion which is a main body portion of the gripping portion 23 Epidermal body 23a Side edge which is an edge 24 Suture 26 Suture thread 26a Non-conductive thread which is a thread 26b Conductive thread which is a thread 28 Conductive part 30 Main conductive part

Claims

1. A handle for gripping operation, comprising: a gripping portion main body extending in a predetermined direction; a skin body covering at least a part of the surface of the gripping portion main body; and a stitching portion for fixing the skin body to the gripping portion main body by stitching the skin body, wherein the stitching portion is formed by stitching, with a stitching thread which is a blended yarn composed of a plurality of threads, the edges of the skin body that extend in the predetermined direction and face each other and are wound around the gripping portion main body, and at least a part of the threads having relatively low rigidity have conductivity, and a conductive portion is formed in at least a part of the stitching portion. The handle is characterized by the above.

2. A main conductive portion is disposed at a position that does not overlap with the stitching portion between the gripping portion main body and the skin body. The handle according to claim 1, characterized by the above.

3. The conductive portion has a heater function or a sensor function. The handle according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by the above.

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