Elastic Steering Wheel Sensor Structure for Single-Sided Printing
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Solution Overview
Problem
The current manufacturing process for flexible sensor layers in steering wheels involves complex double-sided printing of conductive layers, which leads to inaccuracies due to base material contraction, resulting in reduced production yield.
Innovation Solution
A sensing steering wheel design featuring a retractable sensor with an elastic conductive substrate and an elastic sensing layer, integrated with an isolation layer, eliminates the need for double-sided printing by using an elastic conductive substrate as both a base and shielding layer, reducing manufacturing costs and improving yield.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a non-conductive base material is used for the sensor layer, then electrical insulation is provided, but a complex double-sided printing process is required to create conductive layers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the base material and shielding layer into a single elastic conductive substrate. This eliminates the need for separate non-conductive base material and separate shielding layer, reducing the number of printing steps from double-sided printing to single-sided printing, thereby simplifying the manufacturing process.
Solution Approach 2:
The elastic conductive substrate serves multiple functions simultaneously: it acts as the base material for the sensor layer, provides electrical shielding, and serves as the flexible support structure. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate components and reduces manufacturing complexity.
2Manufacturing precision
If silver paste is printed on one side of the base material and then baked, then the conductive layer is formed, but the base material contracts during baking leading to inaccuracies when printing the other side
Solution Approach 1:
By combining the base material and shielding layer into a single elastic conductive substrate, the patent eliminates the sequential double-sided printing process that causes dimensional instability. The single-sided printing on the elastic conductive substrate avoids the contraction issue entirely.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the material parameter from traditional non-conductive base material to elastic conductive material, which maintains dimensional stability during the printing and baking process while providing both structural support and electrical shielding functions.
3Productivity
If double-sided printing of silver paste is performed, then both sides become conductive, but the overall production yield is lowered due to contraction inaccuracies
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the base material and shielding layer functions into a single elastic conductive substrate, eliminating the need for double-sided printing. This single-sided printing approach on the elastic substrate maintains printing accuracy and significantly improves production yield by avoiding the contraction-related defects.
Data Source
AI summary
A sensing steering wheel includes a wheel handle and a sensor. The sensor is retractably sleeving onto the wheel handle, and the sensor includes an elastic conductive substrate and an elastic sensing layer. The elastic sensing layer is disposed on the elastic conductive substrate, and the elastic sensing layer includes a plurality of sensing lines and a plurality of sensing patterns connected to the plurality of sensing lines, respectively.