Decorative part for vehicle and method for manufacturing same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11648889-B2
Application number	US-202117499491-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 12, 2021
Priority date	Oct 21, 2016
Publication date	May 16, 2023
Grant date	May 16, 2023

Abstract

A vehicle decorative part includes a decorative main body and a heater. The decorative main body is configured to be attached to a vehicle at a front side in a transmission direction of millimeter waves from a millimeter wave radar and has a millimeter wave transparency. The heater has a heating element that emits heat when energized. At least a part of the heating element is located in an irradiation region of the millimeter waves in the heater. As a millimeter wave attenuation reducing configuration that reduces attenuation of the millimeter waves passing through the heater, the heating element is incorporated in the heater in a condition where an area proportion of an area of a section of the heating element that occupies the irradiation region to an area of the irradiation region is set such that an attenuation amount of the millimeter waves is less than or equal to a permissible value.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A vehicle decorative part comprising:
a decorative main body that is configured to be attached to a vehicle at a front side in a transmission direction of millimeter waves from a millimeter wave radar to decorate the vehicle and has a millimeter wave transparency, wherein
the decorative main body includes
a transparent member, which is made of a plastic,
a base, which is made of a plastic and located at a rear side in the transmission direction of the transparent member, and
a decorating layer, which is located between the transparent member and the base,

the base is divided into a front base and a rear base, which is located at a rear side in the transmission direction of the front base,
the front base is made of the same plastic as the rear base,
the front base and the rear base are joined to each other,
the front base includes
a general section, and
a protrusion, which protrudes frontward in the transmission direction relative to the general section,

the front base is thicker in a section including the protrusion than in a section including the general section, and
a depression formed in a rear surface in the transmission direction of the front base at a position behind the protrusion is filled with the same plastic as the base.

2. The vehicle decorative part according to claim 1 , wherein the depression is filled with a part of the rear base.

3. A method for manufacturing a vehicle decorative part, wherein the vehicle decorative part includes a decorative main body,
the decorative main body is configured to be attached to a vehicle at a front side in a transmission direction of millimeter waves from a millimeter wave radar to decorate the vehicle and has a millimeter wave transparency,
the decorative main body includes
a transparent member, which is made of a plastic, and
a base, which is made of a plastic and located at a rear side in the transmission direction of the transparent member, and
the base is divided into a front base and a rear base, which is located at a rear side in the transmission direction of the front base,
the method comprising, after the transparent member and the front base are formed sequentially, forming the rear base at the rear side in the transmission direction of the front base by insert molding using, as an insert, an intermediate molded part that includes the transparent member and the front base,
wherein the front base includes a general section and a protrusion that protrudes frontward in the transmission direction relative to the general section,
the front base is thicker in a section including the protrusion than in a section including the general section, and
the insert molding is performed such that a depression formed in a rear surface in the transmission direction of the front base at a position behind the protrusion is filled with a part of the rear base.

Assignees

• Toyoda Gosei Kk

Inventors

• Okumura Koji
• Maeda Hideto

Classifications

• G01S7/03 Primary

  Details of HF subsystems specially adapted therefor, e.g. common to transmitter and receiver · CPC title

• H01Q1/44

  using equipment having another main function to serve additionally as an antenna {, e.g. means for giving an antenna an aesthetic aspect}(H01Q1/27 - H01Q1/34 take precedence) · CPC title

• G01S2013/9327

  Sensor installation details · CPC title

• G01S13/931

  of land vehicles · CPC title

• H01Q1/42

  Housings not intimately mechanically associated with radiating elements, e.g. radome · CPC title