Steering wheel construction
AssigneeLubrizol Advanced Materials, Inc.
InventorsSatyanarayana Nistala, Christopher Seifert, Zhiguan Yang, Joseph J. Vontorcik, Jr.
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A steering wheel for a vehicle is provided which comprises a steering wheel rim, a hub base and at least one spoke, wherein the hub base is arranged inside the steering wheel rim and the hub base is connected to the steering wheel rim by the at least one spoke. The steering wheel is formed from a rigid, injection molded thermoplastic polyurethane material.
Claims48
A steering wheel for a vehicle comprising:
- a steering wheel frame, wherein the steering wheel frame comprises a first thermoplastic polyurethane material having (a) a weight average molecular weight of 50,000 to 350,000 Daltons;
- (b) a Notched Izod Impact Strength (3.2 mm/23° C.) of 1.5 to 30 ft-lb/in measured according to ASTM D256;
- (c) a flexural modulus of 80,000 to 2,300,000 measured according to ASTM D790;
- (d) Instrumented Dart Impact (Total Energy at 23° C.) of 100-900 in-lb measured according to ASTM D 3763;
- and (e) Tensile Modulus of 80,000 to 2,600,000 psi measured according to ASTM D638.
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A method of making a steering wheel comprising the steps of:
- forming a steering wheel frame by injection molding a first thermoplastic polyurethane material having (a) a weight average molecular weight of 50,000 to 350,000 Daltons;
- (b) a Notched Izod Impact Strength (3.2 mm/23° C.) of 1.5 to 30 ft-lb/in measured according to ASTM D256;
- (c) a flexural modulus of 80,000 to 2,300,000 measured according to ASTM D790;
- (d) Instrumented Dart Impact (Total Energy at 23° C.) of 100-900 ln-lb measured according to ASTM D 3763;
- and (e) Tensile Modulus of 80,000 to 2,600,000 psi measured according to ASTM D638.
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Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.