Vehicle exterior component

Abstract

To provide a vehicular exterior trim capable of simplifying a manufacturing process.SOLUTION: The electromagnetic-wave transmitting cover 12 includes a heater module 30 and a cover base 20 made of resin. The heater module 30 includes a heater base 31 made of resin and an electrical conductive portion 40 made of an electrical conductive material. The heater base 31 includes a base body 32 bonded to the 20b of the rear surface (21a of the bottom surface) of the cover base 20, and a tubular housing 35 protruding rearward from the base body 32. The conductive portion 40 includes a heater portion 41 wired along the front surface 32a, and an extension portion 42 formed by bending an end portion of the conductive portion 40 in the extending direction and extending from the heater portion 41. A distal end portion 42b of the extension portion 42 protrudes from the base member body 32 and is disposed inside the housing 35, and constitutes a contact portion electrically connected to the mating connector 101.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an exterior part for a vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes a millimeter-wave transparent cover for a vehicle that is placed in front of a millimeter-wave radar device. This millimeter-wave transparent cover includes a cover base material, a heater film, and a connector. The cover base material forms the front surface of the millimeter-wave transparent cover.

[0003] The heater film is disposed adjacent to the rear portion of the cover substrate. The heater film includes a film substrate and a heat generating portion provided on the front surface of the film substrate and generating heat when electricity is applied. A portion of the heat generating portion protrudes from the film substrate.

[0004] The connector includes a connector housing and a pair of terminal portions assembled to the connector housing. The front end of the connector housing is embedded in a cover substrate. The terminal portions include a rectangular rod-shaped base portion and a plate-shaped extending portion that bends and extends from the front end of the base portion. The base portion is inserted into the connector housing. The extending portion is joined by soldering to a portion of the heat-generating portion that protrudes from the film substrate. The joint portion between the extending portion and the heat-generating portion is covered by the cover substrate via the solder. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2023-67011 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, in conventional vehicle exterior accessories including such millimeter wave transmitting covers, the terminal portion is provided as a separate member from the heat generating portion, and therefore a process of joining the two by soldering or the like is required. This poses a problem in that the manufacturing process for the vehicle exterior accessory becomes more complicated by the joining process. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] Various aspects of vehicle exterior accessories for solving the above problems will be described below. [Aspect 1] A vehicle exterior accessory comprising a heater module and a resin cover that covers the heater module from the outside of the vehicle, wherein the heater module has a resin base material and a conductive portion formed of a conductive material, the base material has a base material main body that is joined to the inner surface of the cover and a cylindrical housing that protrudes from the base material main body toward the inside of the vehicle, the conductive portion is wired along the outer surface of the base material main body that is joined to the inner surface of the cover and has a heater portion that generates heat when electricity is passed through it, and an extension portion that is formed by bending an end of the conductive portion in the extension direction and extends from the heater portion, the tip of the extension portion protrudes from the base material main body and is positioned inside the housing, and constitutes a terminal portion that is electrically connected to a mating connector.

[0008] According to the above configuration, the outer surface of the base body is joined to the inner surface of the cover, thereby producing an exterior part for a vehicle in which the heater portion is disposed between the cover and the base body. In addition, according to the above configuration, the tip of the extension functions as a terminal that is electrically connected to the mating connector. Therefore, when the mating connector is electrically connected to the tip, electricity is passed through the conductive portion. Thus, the heater generates heat, which heats the cover.

[0009] Furthermore, with the above-described configuration, the extension portion, whose tip portion functions as the terminal portion, is formed by bending the end of the conductive portion. Therefore, compared to conventional vehicle exterior parts in which the heater portion and the terminal portion are formed separately and joined by soldering or the like, the process of joining the heater portion and the terminal portion is unnecessary. Therefore, the manufacturing process for the vehicle exterior part can be simplified.

[0010] [Aspect 2] The vehicle exterior part according to [Aspect 1], wherein the substrate body is bonded to the inner surface of the cover with the heater portion sandwiched therebetween. When joining a heater module to a cover, it is possible to injection-molde the cover using the heater module as an insert member. However, this method presents the following problem. Specifically, the heater, which is wired on the outer surface of the base body, is in close contact with the inner surface of the cover when the cover is molded. In this case, when the molten resin is cooled and solidified during the injection molding process, the portion of the cover that is in close contact with the heater absorbs heat and cools and solidifies faster than the other portions. This results in a difference in the amount of thermal shrinkage between the portion of the cover that is in close contact with the heater and the other portions. As a result, there is a risk of sink marks occurring on the outer surface of the cover at the positions corresponding to the portions of the cover that are in close contact with the heater.

[0011] In this regard, according to the above-described configuration, the vehicle exterior part is manufactured by bonding the base material body, which is molded separately from the cover, to the inner surface of the cover with the heater portion sandwiched therebetween. Therefore, the sink marks described above do not occur on the outer surface of the cover due to insert molding, and the appearance of the cover is prevented from being impaired.

[0012] [Aspect 3] The cover has a recess formed by hollowing out the inner surface, and the heater module is fitted into the recess, in accordance with aspect 1 or aspect 2 of the vehicle exterior accessory.

[0013] According to the above configuration, the heater module is housed in the recess of the cover. Therefore, the heater module is more stably joined to the cover than in a configuration in which the heater module is simply joined to the inner surface of a flat cover. This improves the adhesion between the heater module and the cover.

[0014] [Embodiment 4] The vehicle exterior part according to [Embodiment 3], wherein the inner peripheral surface of the recess and the outer peripheral surface of the base body are formed with recesses and protrusions that engage with each other. According to the above-described configuration, the anchor effect of the uneven shape firmly bonds the base body, and therefore the heater module, to the cover, thereby further improving the adhesion between the heater module and the cover.

[0015] [Aspect 5] The base material body has a through hole that penetrates the extension portion, and the extension portion has a retaining portion that engages with the inner surface of the through hole to prevent the extension portion from slipping out of the through hole. This is an exterior part for a vehicle described in any one of [Aspect 1] to [Aspect 4].

[0016] According to the above configuration, the retaining portion engages with the inner circumferential surface of the through hole, thereby preventing the extension portion from coming off the base body. Therefore, for example, when manufacturing a vehicle exterior part, if the conductive portion is attached to the base body by inserting the extension portion into the through hole of a pre-formed base body, the retaining portion prevents the extension portion, and therefore the conductive portion, from coming off the base body. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the conductive portion from coming off the base body during the manufacturing process of the vehicle exterior part. [Effects of the Invention]

[0017] According to the present invention, the manufacturing process for vehicle exterior parts can be simplified. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a rear view showing an electromagnetic wave transmission cover as an exterior part for a vehicle according to one embodiment. [Figure 2]FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the conductive portion forming step. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the heater module forming step. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a bonding step for bonding the heater module to the cover. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a modified example of the electromagnetic wave transmission cover. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0019] An embodiment of a vehicle exterior accessory will be described below with reference to Figures 1 to 5. In this embodiment, the present invention is embodied as an electromagnetic wave transparent cover 12 attached to the front of a vehicle 10. In the following description, the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle 10 will be simply referred to as the fore-and-aft direction, and the front and rear in the fore-and-aft direction will be simply referred to as the front and rear.

[0020] (Electromagnetic wave transparent cover 12) As shown in Figures 1 and 2, a radar device 11 and an electromagnetic wave transparent cover 12 are provided at the front of a vehicle 10. The radar device 11 is an on-board sensor that transmits and receives electromagnetic waves to detect objects outside the vehicle. The radar device 11 transmits electromagnetic waves having a wavelength of 1 mm to 10 mm and a frequency of 30 GHz to 300 GHz, so-called millimeter waves. In this embodiment, the transmission direction of the millimeter waves from the radar device 11 coincides with the front-to-rear direction.

[0021] The electromagnetic wave transparent cover 12 is disposed in front of the radar device 11. The electromagnetic wave transparent cover 12 is disposed in a position perpendicular to the front-rear direction. Here, in this embodiment, the front-rear direction of the electromagnetic wave transparent cover 12 corresponds to the outside-inside direction of the vehicle 10. Furthermore, the "front" and "forward" of each part of the electromagnetic wave transparent cover 12 correspond to the "outside" and "outward" of the vehicle 10, and the "rear" and "rearward" of each part correspond to the "inside" and "inward" of the vehicle 10.

[0022] The electromagnetic wave transparent cover 12 includes a cover base material 20 and a heater module 30 . Each component will be described in detail below. (Cover substrate 20) As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the cover substrate 20 is a component that constitutes part of the outer shell of the vehicle 10 at the front of the vehicle 10. The cover substrate 20 corresponds to the cover of the present invention. The cover substrate 20 is generally flat and has a front surface 20a and a rear surface 20b. The front surface 20a of the cover substrate 20 constitutes the front surface of the electromagnetic wave transmission cover 12, i.e., the design surface of the electromagnetic wave transmission cover 12. From the perspective of improving design, a colored layer formed from a resin material with a dispersed colorant or a paint containing a color pigment is preferably provided on the front surface 20a. In this case, for example, the color of the colored layer can be matched to the color of the colored layer of the surrounding exterior components to achieve a unified appearance at the front of the vehicle 10. The cover substrate 20 has a recess 21 formed by recessing the rear surface 20b. The recess 21 has a bottom surface 21a and an inner peripheral surface 21b extending rearward from the edge of the bottom surface 21a. A plurality of engagement recesses 21c are formed on the inner peripheral surface 21b at intervals in the circumferential direction.

[0023] The cover substrate 20 is made of a resin material that is electromagnetically transparent (millimeter wave transparent). Examples of resin materials that can be used to form the cover substrate 20 include polypropylene (PP), polycarbonate (PC), acrylic resins such as polymethyl methacrylate resin (PMMA), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer (ABS) resin, acrylonitrile-ethylene-styrene copolymer (AES) resin, and acrylonitrile-styrene-acrylate copolymer (ASA) resin. Two or more of the above resin materials may also be used in combination. In this embodiment, the cover substrate 20 is made of PP.

[0024] (heater module 30) As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the heater module 30 includes a heater substrate 31 and a conductive portion 40. The heater substrate 31 includes a substrate main body 32 and a cylindrical housing 35. The substrate main body 32 is flat and has a front surface 32a and a rear surface 32b. The substrate main body 32 has a constant thickness in the front-to-rear direction. The substrate main body 32 is fitted into the recess 21. The front surface 32a of the substrate main body 32 is bonded to the rear surface 20b of the cover substrate 20, specifically, to the bottom surface 21a of the recess 21, via an adhesive layer 50. A known adhesive can be used as the adhesive for forming the adhesive layer 50. In this embodiment, an optically clear resin (OCR) is used as the adhesive for forming the adhesive layer 50. The rear surface 32b of the substrate main body 32 forms the rear surface of the electromagnetic wave transmission cover 12. The rear surface 32b is flush with the portion (general portion 22) of the rear surface 20b of the cover base material 20 other than the recessed portion 21. This allows the portion of the electromagnetic wave transmission cover 12 that is composed of the cover base material 20 and the base material main body 32 to have a constant thickness in the front-to-rear direction.

[0025] The substrate body 32 has a through hole 33 and a plurality of engaging protrusions 34. The through hole 33 penetrates the substrate body 32 in the front-rear direction. The plurality of engaging protrusions 34 protrude from the outer peripheral surface 32c of the substrate body 32. Each engaging protrusion 34 is provided at a position corresponding to a corresponding engaging recess 21c, and engages with the inner surface of each engaging recess 21c in the front-rear direction. The engaging recess 21c and the engaging protrusion 34 correspond to the mutually engaging concave-convex shape according to the present invention.

[0026] The housing 35 protrudes rearward from the rear surface 32b of the base body 32. The housing 35 has an opening 35a that opens rearward. The heater base material 31 is integrally molded from a resin material that is electromagnetically transmissive (millimeter wave transmissive). The same resin materials as those exemplified for the cover base material 20 can be used as the resin material for forming the heater base material 31. It is also possible to use resin materials containing various additives. In this embodiment, from the viewpoint of improving strength, the heater base material 31 is formed from PP containing glass.

[0027] 1 and 2, the conductive portion 40 has a heater portion 41 and a pair of extension portions 42. The heater portion 41 is a portion that generates heat when current is applied, and is disposed between the front surface 32a of the base material main body 32 and the bottom surface 21a of the cover base material 20. The heater portion 41 is wired in a predetermined wiring pattern along the front surface 32a of the base material main body 32, with the heater portion 41 being approximately half-embedded in the front surface 32a. In this embodiment, the heater portion 41 is wired in a wiring pattern that has a plurality of straight portions 41a that extend parallel to one another in the vertical direction of the vehicle 10, and a plurality of connecting portions 41b that connect the ends of the straight portions 41a that are adjacent in the vehicle width direction (see FIG. 1).

[0028] The pair of extension portions 42 are bent from the heater portion 41 and extend rearward. The pair of extension portions 42 are formed by both ends of the conductive portion 40 in the extension direction. Each extension portion 42 has a base end 42a inserted into the through-hole 33 and a tip end 42b protruding from the base body 32 and extending rearward. The base end 42a is provided with a protruding retaining portion 42c that engages with the inner circumferential surface 33a of the through-hole 33. The retaining portion 42c protrudes from the base end 42a in a direction intersecting the front-rear direction. The tip end 42b is disposed inside the housing 35. Together with the housing 35, the tip end 42b constitutes a connector to which a connector (mating connector 101) of the device 100 for supplying power to the heater portion 41 is detachably connected. More specifically, the tip end 42b constitutes a terminal portion to which the mating connector 101 is electrically connected. The housing 35 is configured so that the housing (not shown) of the mating connector 101 can be inserted through the opening 35a.

[0029] The conductive portion 40 is formed of a conductive material. An example of the conductive material is a conductor such as a nichrome wire, which is generally considered to have a high electrical resistance. In this embodiment, the conductive portion 40 is formed of a rectangular conductor.

[0030] (Method of manufacturing the electromagnetic wave transmission cover 12) Next, a method for manufacturing the electromagnetic wave transmission cover 12 will be described with reference to Figures 3 to 5. The electromagnetic wave transmission cover 12 is formed by sequentially undergoing a conductive portion forming step, a heater module forming step, and an adhesion step.

[0031] As shown in Fig. 3, first, a rectangular conductor 40A is bent into a predetermined wiring pattern (see Fig. 1) to form a heater portion 41. Then, a pair of end portions of the conductor 40A are bent and predetermined positions of the end portions are pressed to form a pair of extending portions 42 each having a protruding retaining portion 42c. This results in a conductive portion 40 including the heater portion 41 and the pair of extending portions 42 (this is the conductive portion forming step). For ease of explanation, one of the pair of extending portions 42 is not shown in Fig. 3.

[0032] As shown in Fig. 4, when attaching the conductive portion 40 to the heater base material 31 that has been formed into a predetermined shape in advance, first, the extension portion 42 is inserted into the through hole 33. At this time, the retaining portion 42c engages with the inner circumferential surface 33a of the through hole 33, thereby preventing the extension portion 42 from coming off the through hole 33. Furthermore, as the extension portion 42 is inserted into the through hole 33, the heater portion 41 is pressed against the front surface 32a of the base material main body 32 while being heated. This results in the heater module 30 being fixed with the heater portion 41 about halfway recessed into the front surface 32a of the base material main body 32 (this is the heater module forming process).

[0033] As shown in FIG. 5, the heater module 30 is fitted into the recess 21 of the cover substrate 20, which has been formed into a predetermined shape in advance. At this time, the substrate main body 32 is adhered to the bottom surface 21a of the recess 21 with the heater section 41 sandwiched therebetween by the OCR that has been applied in advance to the bottom surface 21a of the recess 21. Furthermore, the multiple engaging protrusions 34 protruding from the substrate main body 32 engage in the front-rear direction with the inner surfaces of the multiple engaging recesses 21c formed in the recess 21. This results in the substrate main body 32, and therefore the heater module 30, being firmly bonded to the cover substrate 20. In this way, an electromagnetic wave transparent cover 12 is obtained in which the heater section 41 is disposed between the cover substrate 20 and the substrate main body 32 (this is the bonding process).

[0034] <Actions and Effects of This Embodiment> (1) The electromagnetic wave transparent cover 12 includes a heater module 30 and a resin cover base material 20 that covers the heater module 30 from the front of the vehicle 10. The heater module 30 includes a resin heater base material 31 and a conductive portion 40 formed of a rectangular conductor wire. The heater base material 31 includes a base material main body 32 that is bonded to the bottom surface 21a of the cover base material 20 and a cylindrical housing 35 that protrudes rearward from the base material main body 32. The conductive portion 40 includes a heater portion 41 that is wired along the front surface 32a and generates heat when current is applied, and an extension portion 42 that is formed by bending both ends of the conductive portion 40 in the extension direction and extends from the heater portion 41. A tip portion 42b of the extension portion 42 protrudes from the base material main body 32 and is disposed inside the housing 35, and constitutes a terminal portion that is electrically connected to the mating connector 101.

[0035] According to this configuration, the front surface 32a of the base material main body 32 is adhered to the rear surface 20b (bottom surface 21a) of the cover base material 20, thereby producing an electromagnetic wave transparent cover 12 in which a heater section 41 is arranged between the cover base material 20 and the base material main body 32.

[0036] Furthermore, according to the above configuration, the tip portion 42b of the extension portion 42 functions as a terminal portion that is electrically connected to the mating connector 101. Therefore, when the tip portion 42b is electrically connected to the mating connector 101, electricity is passed through the conductive portion 40. In this way, the heater portion 41 generates heat, and the cover base material 20 is heated.

[0037] Furthermore, according to the above configuration, the extension portion 42, whose tip portion 42b functions as a terminal portion, is formed by bending the end portion in the extension direction of the conductive portion 40. Therefore, compared to conventional electromagnetic wave transparent covers in which the heater portion 41 and the terminal portion are formed separately and joined by soldering or the like, the process of joining the heater portion 41 and the terminal portion is not required. Therefore, the manufacturing process of the electromagnetic wave transparent cover 12 can be simplified.

[0038] (2) The base material body 32 is adhered to the rear surface 20b (bottom surface 21a) of the cover base material 20 with the heater portion 41 sandwiched therebetween. When joining the heater module 30 to the cover base material 20, it is conceivable to injection-molde the cover base material 20 using the heater module 30 as an insert member. However, this method presents the following problem. Specifically, the heater section 41, which is wired to the front surface 32a of the base material main body 32, comes into close contact with the rear surface 20b (bottom surface 21a) of the cover base material 20 when the cover base material 20 is molded. In this case, when the molten resin is cooled and solidified in the injection molding process, the portion of the cover base material 20 that is in close contact with the heater section 41 cools and solidifies faster than the other portions due to the heat absorbed by the heater section 41. This results in a difference in the amount of thermal shrinkage between the portion of the cover base material 20 that is in close contact with the heater section 41 and the other portions. As a result, there is a risk of sink marks occurring on the front surface 20a of the cover base material 20 at positions corresponding to the portions of the cover base material 20 that are in close contact with the heater section 41.

[0039] In this regard, according to the above configuration, the electromagnetic wave transmission cover 12 is manufactured by adhering the base body 32 of the heater base 31, which is molded separately from the cover base 20, to the rear surface 20b (bottom surface 21a) of the cover base 20 with the heater portion 41 sandwiched therebetween. Therefore, the above-mentioned sink marks do not occur on the front surface 20a of the cover base 20 due to insert molding. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the appearance of the cover base 20 from being impaired.

[0040] (3) The cover base material 20 has a recess 21 formed by recessing the rear surface 20b. The heater module 30 fits into the recess 21. According to this configuration, the heater module 30 is housed in the recess 21 of the cover base material 20. Therefore, the heater module 30 is joined to the cover base material 20 in a more stable state than in a configuration in which the heater module 30 is joined to the rear surface 20b of the cover base material 20 that is simply formed in a flat plate shape. Therefore, the adhesion between the heater module 30 and the cover base material 20 can be improved.

[0041] (4) The inner peripheral surface 21b of the recess 21 and the outer peripheral surface 32c of the base body 32 are formed with the engaging recess 21c and the engaging protrusion 34 as uneven shapes that engage with each other. According to this configuration, the uneven shape has an anchor effect, which firmly bonds the base body 32, and therefore the heater module 30, to the cover base material 20. Therefore, the adhesion between the heater module 30 and the cover base material 20 can be further improved.

[0042] (5) The base material body 32 has a through hole 33 that penetrates the extension portion 42. The extension portion 42 has a retaining portion 42c that engages with an inner circumferential surface 33a of the through hole 33 to prevent the extension portion 42 from coming out of the through hole 33.

[0043] According to this configuration, the retaining portion 42c engages with the inner circumferential surface 33a of the through hole 33, thereby preventing the extension portion 42 from coming off the base body 32. Therefore, for example, when manufacturing the electromagnetic wave transmission cover 12, if the conductive portion 40 is attached to the base body 32 by inserting the extension portion 42 into the through hole 33 of the base body 32 that has been molded in advance, the retaining portion 42c prevents the extension portion 42, and therefore the conductive portion 40, from falling off the base body 32. Therefore, during the manufacturing process of the electromagnetic wave transmission cover 12, it is possible to prevent the conductive portion 40 from falling off the base body 32.

[0044] <Example of change> This embodiment can be modified as follows: This embodiment and the following modifications can be combined and implemented within the scope of technical compatibility.

[0045] The conductive portion 40 is not limited to being formed from a rectangular conductor wire as illustrated in this embodiment. For example, it may be formed by punching a metal plate into a predetermined shape and then bending it. In this case, the retaining portion 42c is not limited to being formed by press working, but may be formed simultaneously with punching the metal plate.

[0046] The retaining portion 42c may be omitted from the conductive portion 40. In this case, the electromagnetic wave transmission cover 12 may be configured so that the extending portion 42 is press-fitted into the through hole 33 by reducing the cross-sectional area of ​​the through hole 33 along the planar direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction.

[0047] The uneven shape according to the present invention is not limited to the one formed by the engaging recesses 21c and the engaging protrusions 34 exemplified in this embodiment. For example, instead of the engaging recesses 21c, protrusions may be protruded from the inner circumferential surface 21b, and instead of the engaging protrusions 34, recesses may be provided on the outer circumferential surface 32c to engage with the protrusions, and the uneven shape may be formed by the protrusions and recesses.

[0048] The inner peripheral surface 21b of the recess 21 and the outer peripheral surface 32c of the base body 32 do not need to have interlocking concave and convex shapes. In this case, the inner peripheral surface 21b and the outer peripheral surface 32c may be bonded via the adhesive layer 50 in addition to the bottom surface 21a and the front surface 32a.

[0049] The heater module 30 is not limited to the heater module 30 in which the heater substrate 31 and the conductive portion 40 are integrated by inserting the extension portion 42 of the conductive portion 40 into the through-hole 33, as exemplified in this embodiment. For example, the heater substrate 31 and the conductive portion 40 may be integrated by injection molding the heater substrate 31 using the conductive portion 40 as an insert member.

[0050] The heater base material 31 is not limited to a base material body 32 and a housing 35 that are integrally molded. For example, the heater base material 31 may be formed by bonding the base material body 32 and the housing 35, which are molded separately, with an adhesive or the like.

[0051] The electromagnetic wave transparent cover 12 is not limited to one in which the cover base material 20 and the heater module 30 are bonded together via the adhesive layer 50. For example, the electromagnetic wave transparent cover 12 may be one in which the cover base material 20 and the heater module 30 are bonded together by injection molding the cover base material 20 using the heater module 30 as an insert member.

[0052] The cover base material 20 having the recess 21 may be molded in advance by injecting and filling the cavity of a mold with molten resin, or the cover base material 20 having the recess 21 may be formed by machining, such as cutting, the rear surface of a flat cover base material obtained by injection molding.

[0053] As illustrated in this embodiment, the electromagnetic wave transparent cover 12 does not need to have the rear surface 32b of the base material main body 32 flush with the general portion 22 of the rear surface 20b of the cover base material 20. That is, the electromagnetic wave transparent cover 12 may have the rear surface 32b located forward of the general portion 22, or the rear surface 32b may have the rear surface 32b located rearward of the general portion 22.

[0054] The cover according to the present invention is not limited to the cover substrate 20 having the recess 21 as exemplified in this embodiment. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, it can also be embodied as a flat cover substrate 120 having a constant thickness in the front-to-rear direction. In this case, the cover substrate 120 and the heater module 30 may be joined by adhering the substrate body 32 of the heater substrate 31 to the rear surface 120b of the cover substrate 120 via an adhesive layer 50 (see FIG. 6). Alternatively, the cover substrate 120 may be joined to each other by injection molding the cover substrate 120 using the heater module 30 as an insert member. In either case, it is sufficient that the heater section 41 is disposed between the cover substrate 120 and the substrate body 32.

[0055] The radar device 11 is not limited to one that transmits and receives millimeter waves as illustrated in this embodiment, but may also be one that transmits and receives near-infrared rays. In this case, the electromagnetic wave-transmitting cover 12 as a whole only needs to be transparent to near-infrared rays.

[0056] The vehicle exterior accessory according to the present invention is not limited to one that constitutes the outer shell of the vehicle 10 at the front of the vehicle 10, and may be disposed in any position as appropriate as long as it is disposed in front of the radar device 11 in the transmission direction of the electromagnetic waves from the radar device 11. In this case, the vehicle exterior accessory may be, for example, one that constitutes the outer shell of the rear of the vehicle 10, such as a rear bumper, or one that constitutes the outer shell of the side of the vehicle 10, such as a side garnish. [Explanation of symbols]

[0057] 10...Vehicle 11...Radar equipment 12...Electromagnetic wave transparent cover 20,120...Cover base material 20a...Front 20b,120b…Rear side 21...recess 21a…Bottom surface 21b…Inner peripheral surface 21c...engagement recess 22…General section 30...Heater module 31...Heater substrate 32...Base material body 32a...Front 32b…Rear side 32c…Outer surface 33...Through hole 33a…Inner peripheral surface 34…Engagement convex portion 35…Housing 35a...Opening 40...Conductive part 40A…Conductor 41...Heater section 41a...Straight section 41b...Connection part 42...Extending part 42a...Proximal end 42b...Tip 42c...Prevention part 50...adhesive layer 100...Equipment 101...Mating connector

Claims

1. An exterior accessory for a vehicle, comprising: a heater module; and a resin cover that covers the heater module from the outside of the vehicle, the heater module has a resin base material and a conductive portion formed of a conductive material, the base material includes a base material main body joined to the inner surface of the cover, and a cylindrical housing protruding from the base material main body toward an interior of the vehicle, the conductive portion includes a heater portion that is wired along an outer surface of the base body that is joined to the inner surface of the cover and generates heat when current is applied, and an extension portion that is formed by bending an end portion of the conductive portion in an extension direction and extends from the heater portion, a tip end of the extension portion protruding from the base body and disposed inside the housing, and constituting a terminal portion electrically connected to a mating connector; Exterior parts for vehicles.

2. The substrate body is bonded to the inner surface of the cover with the heater portion sandwiched therebetween. The vehicle exterior part according to claim 1 .

3. the cover has a recess formed by recessing an inner surface, The heater module is fitted into the recess. The vehicle exterior part according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The inner peripheral surface of the recess and the outer peripheral surface of the base body are formed with concave and convex shapes that engage with each other. The vehicle exterior part according to claim 3.

5. the base body has a through hole that penetrates the extension portion, The extension portion has a retaining portion that engages with an inner circumferential surface of the through hole to prevent the extension portion from coming out of the through hole. The vehicle exterior part according to claim 1 or 2.

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