The present invention generally relates to a decorative piece intended to be mounted on a motor vehicle, and in particular on a steering wheel of said vehicle.
It is known in the prior art to cover a decorative material such as wood with a transparent or translucent varnish to obtain a decorative piece that is pleasing to look at and touch and that withstands wear, like that described in document US 2005276874. However, the method for manufacturing the disclosed decorative piece is complicated, since it in particular has the drawback of requiring a second step during which a fastening portion is made on the back of the piece.
One aim of the present invention is to resolve the drawbacks of the prior art document mentioned above, and in particular, first of all, to propose a decorative piece arranged to be mounted on a vehicle steering wheel with a high-quality appearance, while being simple and inexpensive to manufacture.
To that end, a first aspect of the invention relates to a decorative piece for a vehicle arranged to be mounted on a steering wheel of the vehicle, comprising:
A transparent material refers to a material that allows light to pass, that does not shield one's view, and a translucent material refers to a material that allows rays of light to pass, but does not allow a clear distinction of the contours or colors of the objects.
Advantageously, the fastening portion has at least one U-shaped section. Such a section is advantageous to cooperate with the foam of the steering wheel, which makes it possible to guarantee correct positioning during assembly. This is also useful to guarantee a controlled deposition of a glue or an adhesive that may be added between the decorative piece and the steering wheel only at the bottom of the U-shaped section.
Advantageously, the fastening portion comprises retaining means such as clips arranged to keep the decorative piece on the steering wheel.
Advantageously, the translucent material is polyurethane. It is for example possible to consider an injectable polyurethane.
Advantageously, the protective portion and the fastening portion are made in a single and same operation. This makes it possible to guarantee better docking between the decorative piece and the steering wheel, since the allowances between the fastening portion and the decorative core are reduced. Indeed, a reaction operation as proposed by the prior art requires positioning allowances that are necessarily passed on to the dimensional allowances of the final decorative piece.
Advantageously, the decorative core is completely covered by the transparent or translucent material.
A second aspect of the invention relates to a vehicle steering wheel comprising at least one decorative piece according to the first aspect.
A third aspect of the invention relates to a motor vehicle comprising at least one decorative piece according to the first aspect.
A fourth aspect of the invention relates to a method for manufacturing a decorative piece for a vehicle arranged to be mounted on a steering wheel, comprising the following steps:
Other features and advantages of the present invention will appear more clearly upon reading the following detailed description of one embodiment of the invention provided as a non-limiting example and illustrated by the appended drawings, in which:
As shown in
On the rear face, the fastening portion 30 has a U-shaped section to be able to be fastened on a vehicle steering wheel, and on the front, opposite face, a protective portion 20 covers the decorative core 10.
To make the decorative core 10 visible to the occupants of the vehicle, the material used to produce the protective portion 20 is transparent or translucent, i.e., it allows light to pass completely, or at least diffusely. For example, a polyurethane varnish is perfectly suitable for forming the protective portion 20, since this material is transparent and, once polymerized, such a polymer is very resistant to wear and scratches.
In order to simplify the manufacturing of the decorative piece according to the invention, the same material is used to produce the fastening portion 30, and it is possible to consider making these two parts (the protective portion 20 and the fastening portion 30) during the same manufacturing operation, for example a pressurized injection molding operation.
In order to hide the edges of the leather jacket 44, the decorative piece is fastened on the rim via the fastening portion 30 (for example, by gluing), so that the decorative core hides the edges of the jacket 44. Lastly, the protective portion 20 makes it possible to protect the decorative core 10 from wear and friction.
It will be understood that various modifications and/or improvements that are obvious to one skilled in the art may be made to the various embodiments of the invention described in the present description without going beyond the context of the invention defined by the appended claims. In particular, reference is made to wood for the decorative core, but it is possible to consider having other materials, such as carbon fiber, Kevlar, glass fiber, or even a technical plastic that copies the appearance of one of the aforementioned materials and that must be protected and fastened on the steering wheel.
Furthermore, mention is made of fastening of the decorative piece on the steering wheel by gluing, but it is possible to consider other fastening means, such as clipping by clipping tabs, ultrasonic welding, for example.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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1556646 | Jul 2015 | FR | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/EP2016/066094 | 7/7/2016 | WO | 00 |