Patent Application
20050046279
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to steering wheels and more particularly to steering wheels having controls for activating other vehicle systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
For the comfort and convenience of the drivers of vehicles, vehicle manufacturers have placed controls for the operation of the vehicle's windshield wipers, high beams and other accessories on the dash and steering columns of vehicles. Some have placed controls on the steering wheel of the vehicle. In the U.S. Pat. No. 4,616,224 issued Oct. 7, 1986 to Reighard, a multifunction steering wheel is taught where the controls for a plurality of vehicle functions are placed on a control pad attached to center of the vehicle's steering wheel. To operate the controls the driver must remove one hand from the steering wheel and search for a particular control. In U.S. Patent Application Publication no. 2003/0023353 A1 published Jan. 30, 2003 to Badarneh, at least two multifunction switches are mounted on opposite sides of a vehicle steering wheel. These switches may be mounted on opposing spokes of a steering wheel or at the ten and two o'clock positions so that a driver doesn't have to remove any hand from the steering wheel to operate different vehicle functions. The switches are actuated in an interactive fashion with the aid of indications or markings on a dashboard display. This arrangement requires the driver to direct attention from the road and further requires the use of processors and means for encoding and decoding signals.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,835,512 issued May 30, 1989 to Bratton teaches providing a high beam indicator lamp in a recess in the top center portion of the vehicle's steering wheel. The wiring is routed through the rim and spokes of the steering wheel. Wiring is routed to the steering column in a manner as the wiring for the horn.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a steering wheel high beam switch solving the aforementioned problems is desired.
The steering wheel high beam switch of the present invention provides a switch at the ten and/or two o'clock position to permits a driver to quickly locate the high beam switch of a vehicle and turn on the high beams without removing hands from the steering wheel. The switch is positioned in a recess on the backside of the steering wheel not visible to a driver. Wiring through the steering wheel connects the switch with the vehicle's headlight switch, the high and low beams of the vehicle and the high beam indicator lamp in the vehicle's dashboard display.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide steering wheel high beam switch on the rim of a steering wheel.
It is another object of the invention to provide a steering wheel high beam switch that can be activated without the driver moving a hand from the steering wheel.
It is a further object of the invention to allow a driver to more quickly locate and actuate the high beams of a vehicle.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a high beam switch remote from the on/off switch for the lights of a vehicle.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.
These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.
Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.
The present invention provides a conventional steering wheel 40 as seen in
Wiring 43 is provided through the steering wheel 40 for connecting high beam switches 41,42 with the vehicle's on/off headlight switch 45, to the high beams 52 and low beams 50 of the vehicle and to the high beam indicator 30 on the vehicle's dashboard display 29. The wiring 43 is passed through channels formed in the steering wheel 40 that open into the recesses 46 receiving the high beam switches 41, 42.
After a driver turns on the headlight switch 45 of a vehicle to activate the low beams 50, the high beams 52 can be quickly actuated and the low beams 50 turned off at any time while driving without moving one's hands from the steering wheel. The high beam switches 41, 42 may also be placed at other suitable locations on steering wheel 40, such as at the three and nine o'clock positions or the five and seven o'clock positions.
It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.
