Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Toyota Jidosha K.k.

Toyota Gosei Co., Ltd.

Kazushi Noda

Hiroshi Ito

Takayuki Kamiya

Mitsuhiro Nawashiro

Hiroshi Sugihara

Yoshio Sano

Akihiro Misawa

Makoto Kanai

Yukihiko Umeda

Hiroshi Mitsunaga

Takemasa Yasukawa

Osamu Yamanaka

Hideki Kokubu

Makoto Tamaki

Tadaoki Ichikawa

Tetsu Mizushiro

Hisatoshi Ota

Tetsuo Tanabe

Moriyuki Komatsu

Akihiro Honma

A charging device charges an in-vehicle battery for an electric vehicle by a power supply fed from an attachment plug extending from an external power supply. The charging device includes: a charging inlet; a housing recess formed within the charging inlet; a charging connector disposed within the housing recess; and an illumination light source embedded in an upper peripheral wall of the housing recess. The illumination light source emits light downward, and an optical axis thereof is positioned closer to an opening of the housing recess than a front surface of the charging connector. A first irradiation light emitted toward the opening of the housing recess than the optical axis is emitted obliquely downward from the charging inlet. A second irradiation light emitted toward a bottom of the housing recess than the optical axis is emitted to the charging connector.

Charging device including a housing recess

A light-emitting elementhas a rod-shaped light-emitting element, an LED lamp, and a lensfor converging light from the LED lamp to an end face of the rod-shaped light-emitting element. The lenshas a scattering area around the centerline of an extremity thereof, and the scattering area scatters light in proximity to the centerline, thereby irradiating an inner peripheral surface of the rod-shaped light-emitting elementwith the light.

Light-emitting device, and lens used in the same

An LED lamp apparatus includes an LED and a light diffuser located on a light emission side of the LED. The light diffuser is made of at least one light transmittable material and has a light diffusing member at a peripheral portion of a light passing area of the LED. Alternatively, the light diffuser may be formed of at least one light transmittable material, and the light diffusing member may be located at a center portion of the light passing area of the LED.

LED lamp apparatus

The invention is directed to provide a vehicle interior illumination device which has a high illuminating effect and which can be used for various kinds of illumination in a vehicle. The illumination device disposed in a roof portion of the interior of a vehicle, including: a first light-emitting section having a first light source constituted by a plurality of first LEDs disposed at substantially regular spaces; and a second light-emitting section having a second light source constituted by a second LED, and a second outer lens with which a light emission side of the second light source is covered and by which light emitted from said second light source is converged and radiated out.

Illumination device

An LED lamp apparatus comprises LED, a circuit member, and a case member. The case member has an LED seat for holding the LED. The circuit member has metal plates embedded in the case member. The metal plates have LED connection members exposed from the case member. The LED connection members have been resistance welded respectively to leads of the LED.

An illumination device is composed by arranging a shutter member on a light emitting side of an LED light source, capable of changing a condition of light illuminating the outside when a position or the shutter member is changed by slide or rotation.

A lamp unit provided with an LED light source is attached to the back surface of an inside handle vessel, and the position of the light source is fixed. Then, the inside handle vessel together with the lamp unit is installed in a door trim.

Inside handle illuminator

A light diffusion preventing structure, suitable for use in vehicles, is provided on a structural member having a hole for passing light from a light source through the structural member and onto a target area. The hole has a three-dimensional shape that has a first opening located near the light source and a second opening located on the opposite side with an inner peripheral surface running between. Both the edge of the second opening and the inner peripheral surface are located completely outside a zone defined by projecting imaginary straight lines from the point light source through the first opening. A second set of imaginary straight lines running between the edge the first opening and the opposite edge of the second opening define at least one crossing angle, the measure of which should preferably not exceed 160 degrees.

Light diffusion preventing structure

A vehicle display device such as a speed meter including indicators, many segments illuminated in two or more colors by plural LEDs and an indicator control circuit. The indicators dispose the segments so as to display a variable such as a car speed in a bar graph or in the form of a number. The indicator control circuit displays the variable by controlling the lighting of the LEDs and changes an emitted light color of indication based on a fixed color changing reference value in accordance with a value of the variable. The control circuit controls a duty ratio of a supply current or a current value in a predetermined set value range determined on the basis of the color changing reference value. Namely, brightness of the emitted light color before a color change is gradually decreased, while brightness of the emitted light color after the color change is gradually increased.

Vehicle display device

A steering column cover is provided with a closeable opening through which the connecting and releasing of a connection between a column side terminal block and a column side connector can be easily accomplished. The opening is closed by a door having a projection for preventing an error in establishing a proper connection.

Steering column cover

A horn circuit for an automotive vehicle features a transistor amplifying circuit which functions to amplify an output current of a horn switch. With the help of this transistor amplifying circuit, the horn switch makes the horn circuit operative in order to actuate the horn, regardless of depressive strength applied to the switch operation. A diaphragm or membrane switch which is a small current type is usable, whereby a low-cost and highly reliable horn circuit for the automotive vehicle is realized.

Horn for an automotive vehicle

Apparatus for heating and cooling a steering wheel includes a skin layer coupled to the outside surface of the steering wheel, a heat conductive plate coupled to an inside surface of the skin layer, a thermal storage core extending along a central portion of the steering wheel, and at least one thermoelectric transducer thermally coupled between the heat conductive plate and the thermal storage core. The thermoelectric transducer either generates heat or absorbs heat in accordance with the direction of a current flowing through the transducer. When the steering wheel is hot, current is caused to flow through the transducer in a first direction so that the transducer absorbs heat. The transducer absorbs the heat from the heat conductive plate and passes it to the thermal storage core. In turn, the heat conductive plate absorbs the heat on the skin layer of the steering wheel, thus cooling the steering wheel. When the steering wheel is too cold, the current is caused to flow in a second direction in the transducer so that the transducer generates heat. This generated heat is provided to the heat conductive plate, which in turn, heats the skin layer of the steering wheel.

Heated or cooled steering wheel

A steering wheel including a ring portion covered with a covering portion, a heat insulating material provided at least at a part on the external circumferential surface of the covering portion at least at the grip of the ring portion, a heating member provided at least at a part of external circumferential surface of the heat insulating material and a surface leather further covering external circumferential surface of said heating member. The heat insulating material is covering the total circumference on the covering portion while a heating member covers only a part of circumferential surface of heat insulating material. And the heat insulating material is made of any one of polymers such as neoprene rubber foam, chloroprene rubber, chloroprene rubber foam, polyethylene foam, polyurethane and polyurethane foam and expanded material of them. The heating member forms a heater made of a heater wire and a pair of sheet members holding the heater wire.

Steering wheel

A steering wheel has a ring, a boss positioned at the center of the ring, a spoke connecting the boss to the ring, a horn pad positioned on the boss. The horn pad has a shock absorber and a horn cover. Between the shock absorber and the horn cover is disposed a horn switch. The horn switch has a base plate fixed to the shock absorber, a horn plate positioned above and opposed to the base plate, a sheet spring member having a base portion fixed to the base plate through an insulating plate, and a plurality of foot portions supporting the horn plate, movable contact points secured to the foot portions of the sheet spring and fixed contact points secured to the base plate so as to be opposed to the movable contact points. The distance between the horn plate and the base plate is kept within the predetermined distance by means of engaging portions formed on the horn plate and the insulating plate, respectively. When the horn plate is pushed through the horn cover, the engaging portions are unengaged and the horn plate moves downward so that the foot portions flex downward. The movable contact points come in contact with the fixed contact points. As a result electric current flows into a horn through the horn switch to sound the horn.

Growing community of inventors

Aichi-ken, Japan

Kazushi Noda