Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.

Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Panasonic Corporation

Yuta Okazaki

Tsuyoshi Nishio

Hiroshi Naitou

Shinji Fujikawa

Nobuharu Katsuki

Hirotada Otake

Takeshi Matsumura

Youichi Kurosawa

Baku Sakaguchi

Grip sensor includes base material, sensor wire formed on base material, and sensor circuit electrically connected to an end of sensor wire. Sensor wire includes first wire portion on a side of sensor end, and a second wire portion on a side of power source end. In a state where base material is attached on a rim, second wire portion is disposed at an outer peripheral surface of the rim that is a site opposing a knee or thigh of a driver operating a steering wheel, and first wire portion is disposed at a front side and a rear side of the rim.

Grip sensor, steering wheel, and vehicle

Capacitive sensor includes sensor electrode, sensor circuit that is electrically connected to sensor electrode measures capacitance of sensor electrode, first impedance element, noise detection circuit that is electrically connected to sensor electrode through first impedance element and measures noise, and control circuit that switches between on and off of each of sensor circuit and noise detection circuit. Control circuit causes sensor circuit to measure the capacitance of sensor electrode by turning on sensor circuit and by turning off noise detection circuit and control circuit causes noise detection circuit to measure the noise by turning off sensor circuit and by turning on noise detection circuit.

Capacitive sensor and grip sensor

A steering wheel grip detection device includes a positive electrode terminal electrically connected to a positive electrode of a power source and a negative electrode terminal electrically connected to a negative electrode of the power source. The steering wheel grip detection device further includes a thermostat, a heater, and an inductance element that are electrically connected with one another in this order in series wiring from the positive electrode terminal to the negative electrode terminal, as well as a capacitor through which a wiring path from the thermostat to the heater is electrically connected with the negative electrode terminal. The steering wheel grip detection device has an electrostatic sensor circuit that is electrically connected with a wiring path from the inductance element to the heater and that detects a grip on a steering wheel by a capacitance value of the heater.

Steering wheel grip detection device

A steering wheel grip detection device includes a series circuit including an inductance element, a thermostat incorporated into a steering wheel, and a heater incorporated into the steering wheel; an electrostatic sensor circuit that detects a grip of the steering wheel by means of an electric or electromagnetic field; and a voltage detecting circuit that detects an open/closed state of the thermostat.

A steering wheel heater device including: a steering wheel heater configured of an electrical resistor which produces heat by electrical energy; an inductor; at least one switch; and a sensor circuit, wherein the inductor is connected in series to a first terminal of the steering wheel heater, the at least one switch turns on and off the supply of power to the steering wheel heater, the sensor circuit is electrically connected to the first terminal and determines whether a detected subject is in contact with a steering wheel based on a magnitude of capacitance of the steering wheel heater, and the at least one switch is at least one of a switch connected in series to the first terminal of the steering wheel heater via the inductor and a switch connected in series to a second terminal of the steering wheel heater.

Steering wheel heater device

An electrostatic steering wheel hold detection device includes: a first heater element located in a steering wheel, and has one end electrically connected to a power source; an inductor&#x2014;that is electrically connected to an other end of the first heater element; a second heater element that is included in the steering wheel, and has one end electrically connected to the other end of the first heater element via the inductor; and a sensor circuit that is electrically connected to a connection point between the first heater element and the inductor, and detects, from a change in capacitance at the connection point, whether or not the steering wheel is held. An other end of the second heater element is electrically connected to a ground. The second heater element is located lower than the first heater element in the steering wheel when the steering wheel is in a neutral position.

Electrostatic steering wheel hold detection device

A heater device includes: a base member; a heater wire; and a sensor which measures capacitance of the heater wire, wherein the heater wire forms a first wiring pattern and a second wiring pattern connected in series, the first wiring pattern and the second wiring pattern each include N wire blocks, the N wire blocks included in the first wiring pattern and the second wiring pattern are disposed in a manner that arrangement of the N wire blocks included in the first wiring pattern and arrangement of the N wire blocks included in the second wiring pattern are reversed in the circumferential direction of the rim and facing each other in a direction perpendicular to the circumferential direction, and a sum of sensitivity of the sensor to capacitance of a pair of wire blocks facing each other is substantially equal to that of another pair.

Heater device, steering wheel, and transport device

A grip sensor includes: a plurality of capacitive detectors which are disposed in a grip of a steering wheel of a vehicle, and output values which vary according to whether a human body is in contact; and a controller which determines, at a preset timing, a reference value to be subtracted from the values output from the plurality of capacitive detectors, to determine whether the human body is in contact, wherein the controller identifies, from among values output from the plurality of capacitive detectors at the preset timing, one or more values each having an absolute value smaller than a first threshold, and determines, as the reference value, one of the one or more values identified or an average of the one or more values identified.

Growing community of inventors

Osaka, Japan

Yuta Okazaki