Vehicle exterior component

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2025016891-A1
Application number	US-202418756792-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jun 27, 2024
Priority date	Jul 5, 2023
Publication date	Jan 9, 2025
Grant date	—

Abstract

A vehicle exterior component includes a plate-shaped main body and a heater sheet and a connector that are arranged on the main body. The heater sheet includes a sheet base and a heater wire including two terminals. The heater wire includes a part excluding the two terminals that is laid out on the sheet base at a side closer to the main body. The connector includes a connector housing and two connector pins fixed to the connector housing. Each connector pin includes a first connecting portion and a second connecting portion electrically connected to one of the terminals of the heater wire outside the connector housing. The heater wire includes a part that is laid out on the sheet base so that 50% or greater of the heater wire in a thickness direction of the main body is embedded in the sheet base.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A vehicle exterior component, comprising:
a main body that is plate-shaped and formed by a plastic molded article; and a heater sheet and a connector that are arranged on the main body, wherein the heater sheet includes a sheet base arranged on the main body, and a heater wire configured to be heated when energized and including two ends defining two terminals, the heater wire includes a part excluding the two terminals that is laid out on the sheet base at a side closer to the main body, the connector includes a connector housing fixed to the main body, and two connector pins fixed to the connector housing, each of the connector pins includes a first connecting portion configured to be coupled to a power supplying device, and a second connecting portion electrically connected to a corresponding one of the terminals of the heater wire outside the connector housing, and the heater wire includes a part that is laid out on the sheet base so that 50% or greater of the heater wire in a thickness direction of the main body is embedded in the sheet base.

2 . The vehicle exterior component according to claim 1 , wherein
the second connecting portion of each of the connector pins includes an extension that extends away from the connector housing in a direction orthogonal to the thickness direction, and the sheet base and each of the terminals extend to where the sheet base and each of the terminals are located at one side of the extension in the thickness direction and the main body is located at an opposite side of the extension.

3 . The vehicle exterior component according to claim 2 , wherein the extension of each of the connector pins includes a groove extending toward the first connecting portion from an end surface of the extension that is farther from the first connecting portion, the groove being open in a surface of the extension that is closer to the sheet member in the thickness direction.

4 . The vehicle exterior component according to claim 3 , wherein
the heater wire has a circular cross section, and when A 1 represents a dimension in the thickness direction of a part of the heater wire embedded in the sheet base, B 1 represents a diameter of the heater wire, and D 1 represents a depth of the groove, A 1 , B 1 , and D 1 are set to values satisfying the relationship of A 1 +D 1 >B 1 .

5 . The vehicle exterior component according to claim 2 , wherein
the connector housing projects from the main body toward one side in the thickness direction, when an end of the connector housing at the side closer to the main body defines a basal end, the main body includes a support that supports the connector housing in part of a region that extends around the connector housing and includes at least the basal end in a projecting direction of the connector housing, and in the region that extends around the connector housing, when a region located at a side of the sheet base opposite to the extensions of the connector pins in the thickness direction defines a sheet rear surface region, the support is located in the region that extends around the connector housing at a location that differs from the sheet rear surface region.

6 . The vehicle exterior component according to claim 1 , wherein
a surface of the second connecting portion of each of the connector pins at a side closer to the main body in the thickness direction and a surface of the sheet base at a side closer to the main body in the thickness direction are adjacent to and flush with each other in a direction orthogonal to the thickness direction, each of the terminals is electrically connected to the second connecting portion of the corresponding connector pin and extends from the sheet base toward the first connecting portion of the corresponding connector pin in a state contacting the surface of the second connecting portion that is closer to the main body in the thickness direction, and the second connecting portion of each of the connector pins includes a groove extending toward the first connecting portion from an end surface of the second connecting portion that is farther from the first connecting portion, the groove being open in the surface of the second connecting portion that is closer to the main body in the thickness direction.

7 . The vehicle exterior component according to claim 6 , wherein
the heater wire has a circular cross section, and when A 1 represents a dimension in the thickness direction of a part of the heater wire embedded in the sheet base, and D 2 represents a depth of the groove, A 1 and D 2 are set to values satisfying the relationship of D 2 >A 1 .

8 . A vehicle exterior component, comprising:
a main body that is plate-shaped and formed by a plastic molded article; and a heater sheet and a connector that are arranged on the main body, wherein the heater sheet includes a sheet base arranged on the main body, and a heater wire configured to be heated when energized and including two ends defining two terminals, the heater wire includes a part excluding the two terminals that is laid out on the sheet base at a side closer to the main body, the connector includes a connector housing fixed to the main body, and two connector pins fixed to the connector housing, each of the connector pins includes a first connecting portion configured to be coupled to a power supplying device, and a second connecting portion electrically connected to a corresponding one of the terminals of the heater wire outside the connector housing, the second connecting portion of each of the connector pins includes an extension that extends away from the connector housing in a direction orthogonal to the thickness direction, the sheet base and each of the terminals extend to where the main body is located at an opposite side of the extension in the thickness direction, and the extension of each of the connector pins includes a groove extending toward the first connecting portion from an end surface of the extension that is farther from the first connecting portion, the groove being open in a surface of the extension that is closer to the sheet member in the thickness direction.

Assignees

• Toyoda Gosei Kk

Inventors

• Fukagawa Koji
• Matsui Tatsuya
• Hashimoto Moriyuki
• Okumura Koji

Classifications

• B60R13/005

  Manufacturers' emblems, name plates, bonnet ornaments, mascots or the like; Mounting means therefor · CPC title

• B60R16/02

  electric {constitutive elements} · CPC title

• H05B3/286 Primary

  the insulating material being an organic material, e.g. plastic · CPC title

• H05B2203/016

  Heaters using particular connecting means · CPC title

• H05B3/86 Primary

  the heating conductors being embedded in the transparent or reflecting material {(H05B3/845 takes precedence)} · CPC title