Research On Evolution Of Automobile Steering Wheel

The automobile has been past more than 120 years. During its evolution, the important part-steering wheel, which usually holds the safty of driver and passengers in an automobile, changes its appearance in shape, structure, function, materials, color, and size.This article tries to investigate historical information, and searches after the evolvement of the appearance of steering wheel. It analyses the extensive influence of external factors to the appearance of steering wheel; seeks after the early automobile's steering device in 19 century in chronological order; analyzes the process from four-spoke to three-spoke and two-spoke steering wheel appearance in the evolvement from 1890 to 1990; researchs the evolvement of the steering wheel appearance since 1990, including common ones, concept ones and central controlled ones; summarizes the changes of steering wheel color from single color to various colors considering driver's psychology and physiology; and the changes of steering wheel materials from metal and plastic to many compound materials; and the changes of steering wheel function from turning to multifunction integration; and the changes of steering wheel section size from small to large. Meanwhile it analyzes three important elements in evolvement of steering wheel likes "humanity design", "coordinating relations in internal and external environment of automobile" and "use of high-tech".According to the technique system evolution pattern of TRIZ, it discusses the rules of automobile steering system evolvement in structure, manipulation functions and appearance. The structure of steering system follows the course of single-hinge mechanism, multi-hinge mechanism of parallel link steering system, hydraulic power transmission, pneumatic power transmission and electrical power transmission, which keeps to the course of "increasing flexibility" evolvement of TRIZ. Then it concludes one trend of steering system which depends on "filed power". The appearance of steering wheel is segmented and designed based on the "technique system segmentation rule" of TRIZ, such as fan-shaped steering wheel. The function of steering wheel follows one pattern of the technique system evolution of TRIZ that is "a system trends to integrate multifunction, and then try to condense itself". From the handle or rail steering system to multi-function steering wheel, and to concept system without steering wheel, it is right a process from simple system to complex system, and then developing to simple system.Through collecting and analysing technical patents of steering wheel from 1985 to 2006, it gets the curve of patents number-time, curve of patents level-time, curve of performance-time, curve of benefit-time. And it compares these four curves with TRIZ technique maturity forecast curves, and uses technique maturity forecast method of TRIZ to forecast that the technology of steering wheel are in the mid ripe period in life circle.In the end, the author preconceives the possible evolutive trends of the appearance of steering wheel based on the forecast result.