Steering Wheel Matte Light Emission for Daylight Visibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing steering wheel configurations face challenges in ensuring that light emitted from a light source inside the steering part is easily recognizable by the driver, particularly due to the influence of sunlight reflected by the steering part during daytime driving.
Innovation Solution
A steering wheel design that includes a light source inside the steering part and a light emission portion on the steering part, with a matte layer having transparency and containing fine particles for matting applied to the surface of the light emission portion, which helps to irregularly reflect sunlight and enhance the visibility of the emitted light.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If a light source is provided inside the steering part to transmit information to the driver, then information transmission capability is improved, but the light becomes less recognizable due to sunlight reflection during daytime driving
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies a matte layer with specific optical properties (transparency and fine particles for matting) to the light emission portion surface. This creates a localized quality change that selectively affects light reflection characteristics in the area where light is emitted, allowing the emitted light to remain recognizable while reducing harmful sunlight reflections in that specific zone.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the surface parameters of the light emission portion by adding a matte layer with specific optical properties. This layer has transparency to allow light passage while containing fine particles that modify the reflection characteristics, changing the surface from potentially highly reflective to having diffused reflection properties that reduce glare while maintaining light visibility.
2Illumination intensity
If the steering part surface is made transparent to allow light emission, then light transmission is improved, but sunlight reflection interferes with light recognition
Solution Approach 1:
The matte layer is applied specifically to the light emission portion surface, creating a localized treatment that addresses the harmful reflection issue only where light is emitted. This local quality change allows other parts of the steering part to maintain their original transparent properties without being affected by the matte coating.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the harmful effect of sunlight reflection into a beneficial effect by using the matte layer's fine particles to diffuse both the emitted light and reflected sunlight. This transformation turns the potentially harmful specular reflection into beneficial diffused reflection that reduces glare while maintaining visibility of the emitted light.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The proposed solution effectively prevents the driver from having difficulty recognizing the light emitted from the light source inside the steering part, even under the influence of sunlight, by ensuring that the light is uniformly and easily recognizable.
Implementation Method 1
a surface of the light emission portion is provided with a matte layer having transparency and containing fine particles for matting
Implementation Method 2
containing fine particles for matting
Data Source
AI summary
A steering wheel includes a boss portion connected to a steering center shaft of a vehicle, a steering part to be gripped by a driver of the vehicle and steered by being rotated about the steering center shaft, a light source provided inside the steering part, and a light emission portion provided on the steering part. The light emission portion transmits light emitted from the light source to emit the light from a rear surface of the steering part. A surface of the light emission portion is provided with a matte layer having transparency and containing fine particles for matting.