Patent Application
20120001406
Airbag systems are commonly used on vehicles and especially in steering wheels. These airbags are designed to inflate during an accident to prevent the occupant from harmful impact with the steering wheel during a crash. Accordingly, the airbag system will generally be positioned in the steering wheel.
It is also known that most vehicle manufacturers want to have their logo or trademark on the steering wheel. These logos or trademarks are often colored images and are positioned on the steering wheel (such as on the cover of the steering wheel that is used to cover the airbag system). Some logos may also have a metallic chrome portion for improved appearance. Such positioning of the logo fosters brand recognition and also helps the vehicle occupant to remember that cars made by the vehicle manufacturer have airbags and are thus safer.
In order to further make the company's logo “stand out,” some parties have even begun to seek for ways to illuminate the logo/trademark. One example of this type of system is found in International Patent Publication No. WO 2007/084031, which document is expressly incorporated herein by this reference.
The present embodiments relate to ways to illuminate an airbag emblem on an airbag cover that do not involve electrical currents, electricity, etc. Rather, the methods described herein are for self-illuminating airbag emblems. These emblems are generally made of plastic. The plastic will generally be modified to include a self-illuminating material such as a phosphorescent material or self-luminous microspheres. It is this self-illuminating material that “glows in the dark” that provides illumination to the emblem.
In the embodiments involving phosphorescent materials (which are sometimes referred to as phosphorescent additives), the phosphorescent additive absorbs light from the sun or ambient light during daylight hours (i.e., periods of light). Then, at night or when the area is dark (such as in a tunnel, etc.), the phosphorescent material will illuminate and “glow in the dark.” The phosphorescent additives are added directly to the plastic that is used to make the cover and the emblem. The phosphorescent additive may be distributed substantially and evenly throughout the plastic.
For those embodiments that use self-luminous microspheres, the microspheres may be added directly to the plastic materials. For example, the microspheres may compose less than 20% of the total volume of the plastic. Alternatively, the self-luminous microspheres may be added to a paint that is deposited or added onto the emblem. Again, the microspheres will illuminate when it is dark to provide illumination to the emblem. The emblem incorporating the microspheres may also be used in conjunction with a metallic top layer. The metallic layer may (or may not) be translucent, such as a translucent chrome layer or a translucent aluminum layer. This metallic top layer will give the emblem a metallic appearance during daylight hours but will still allow the emblem to have an illuminated appearance (via the illumination provided by the microspheres) during periods of relative darkness (i.e., when there is sufficient absence of light that the emblem will appear to be illuminated).
While many of the present embodiments focus on emblems on steering wheel covers, the present embodiments using self-illumination materials in the plastic could equally be applied to other vehicle features and components. Specifically, if the component is made of plastic, the self-illuminating material could be added to this plastic to allow illumination of such features during nighttime hours. These features include telltales, graphics on passenger airbags, horn bugle graphics on the cover, seatbelt buttons, door handles, turn signals, levers, indicators, instrument buttons, etc. The plastic used to make any of these features could be covered with the translucent metallic layer or be left uncovered as desired.
In order that the manner in which the above-recited and other features and advantages of the invention are obtained will be readily understood, a more particular description of the invention briefly described above will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof which are illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are not therefore to be considered to be limiting of its scope, the invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which:
The presently preferred embodiments of the present invention will be best understood by reference to the drawings, wherein like parts are designated by like numerals throughout. It will be readily understood that the components of the present invention, as generally described and illustrated in the figures herein, could be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations. Thus, the following more detailed description of the embodiments of the present invention, as represented in the Figures, is not intended to limit the scope of the invention, as claimed, but is merely representative of presently preferred embodiments of the invention.
Referring now to
The plastic material used to construct the cover includes one or more phosphorescent additives 18. These additives are added directly to the plastic material. As shown in
As shown in
The “glow in the dark” element of the present embodiments means that the emblem 14 may be illuminated without any type of electricity or electrical current. Rather, this emblem 14 is a self-illuminated emblem. This provides significant advantages as it can reduce the costs associated with producing the illuminated emblem (as no wiring or illumination costs are incurred). Further, the emblem 14 will not require any light guiding features to get the light from a light source to the emblem, nor is there a requirement for a special design of the emblem. Because no wiring is used in this configuration, there is no chance of defects in the wiring, etc. that would render illumination of the emblem defective. Moreover, the present embodiments, do not affect the deployment of the airbag in any way.
It should also be noted that the present embodiments provide for the possibility of illumination of the emblem 14 with multiple different colors. This may occur by using phosphorescent additives 18 that are different colors when illuminated. Such different phosphorescent additives 18 means that a portion of the emblem 14 would be one color and other portions of the emblem 14 could be a second color, a third color, etc. Those skilled in the art would appreciate how to implement such embodiments.
It is also possible to have illumination in multiple colors by using known 2-K or 3-K molding techniques. Such molding techniques use “multi shot” molds designed to “overmold” within a single molding cycle and is processed on specialized injection molding machines with two or more injection units. Within the mold, pairs of Identical cores and pairs of different cavities are provided. After injection of a first material (for example, a plastic having one color of self-luminous additive) the component is rotated on the core from the one cavity to another. This second cavity differs from the first in that the detail for the second material (for example, a plastic having a different color of self-luminous additive) is included. The second material is then injected into the second cavity detail before the completed part is ejected from the mold. Of course, a skilled artisan using these techniques could mold an emblem that illuminates in two or more colors.
Further embodiments may be constructed in which the emblem 14 is coated so that it has a metallic look (such as with aluminum, chromium, or a PVD (Physical Vapor Deposit) material to provide this metallic “look”). Such embodiments would have a metallic look in the daylight, but an illuminated look during darkness. The coating could operate to hide the illumination during the daylight hours.
It should also be noted that the present embodiments may be added to other types of vehicle apparatus 30. (The airbag cover 10 is a type of a vehicle apparatus). Thus, as shown in
Referring now to
If a metallic layer 116 is used, the emblem 114 has a metallic appearance during periods of daylight because the metallic layer 116 covers the microspheres 118. Thus, the emblem 114 has a metallic appearance during the day (or periods of light) but has an illuminated appearance during periods of darkness and/or night hours. The metallic layer 116 may operate to hide the illumination of the microspheres 118 during periods of illumination (such as daylight hours) but then allow illumination of the emblem 114 during periods of relative darkness (such as nighttime hours). This is especially true if the metallic layer 116 is a translucent metallic layer such as metallic chrome or aluminum. Thus, during the day, the emblem 114 may not appear to be illuminated. The microspheres may also be available in multiple illuminating colors, thereby giving the manufacturing flexibility and the ability to create a visually appealing design.
The microspheres 118 contemplated and disclosed herein can have a half-life of 12.5 years in their ability to provide illumination which may be superior to other possible sources of illumination for the emblem 114. (This means that after 12.5 years, half of the microspheres 118 will no longer provide illumination). However, the microspheres 118 require no electrical charge to provide the illumination, which greatly reduces the cost of implementation of the illuminated emblem 114 to manufacturers. The microspheres are also very inexpensive and may comprise less than 20% of the total plastic (i.e., less than 20% of the total amount of the plastic material) to provide adequate illumination of the emblem 114. This solution may be significantly less expensive than other illumination sources (i.e., less than $0.05 U.S. dollars as opposed to $8.00 U.S. dollars).
Of course, additional embodiments may be constructed in which the microspheres 118 are not added directly to the plastic during the plastic manufacturing process. Such other embodiments include depositing on the emblem 114 and/or painting the emblem 114 with a paint containing the microspheres 118. The paint may be painted (or otherwise added) to the emblem 114 after the emblem 114 is formed of a non-luminous material.
Again, although the embodiments of
For example,
The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its structures, methods, or other essential characteristics as broadly described herein and claimed hereinafter. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative, and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims, rather than by the foregoing description. All changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US09/33514 | 2/9/2009 | WO | 00 | 9/27/2011 |
