Patent ID: 9024236
Filing Date: 2015-05-05
Classification: B62J,B62K

Abstract:
1. A grip heater controlling apparatus, comprising: a grip heater mounted on a steering handle of a vehicle; a single momentary switch directly operable by a driver of the vehicle; an amount-of-current controller for changing an amount-of-current level to the grip heater cyclically to at least three levels depending on a number of times that said single momentary switch is operated, said at least three levels include at least a maximum current level, a minimum current level and intermediate current levels; an interface circuit connected between said single momentary switch and said amount-of-current controller, said interface circuit consisting of a pull-up resistor and a filter for stabilizing a signal from said single momentary switch, wherein said filter consisting of a capacitor and a resistor and said interface circuit is connected to an input port of said amount-of-current controller to provide said signal from said single momentary switch after said signal has passed through said filter; an indicator for indicating the amount-of-current level, said indicator comprises fewer light-emitting elements than said at least three levels; and a plurality of emitter-grounded transistors each of which communicates to a light-emitting element of the light-emitting elements, wherein said amount-of-current controller supplies current to each of the plurality of emitter-grounded transistors for energizing the corresponding light-emitting elements of the indicator, wherein the maximum current level is indicated by having all of said light-emitting elements fully turned on, the minimum current level is indicated by having all of said light-emitting elements turned off, the intermediate current levels are indicated by a combination of the light-emitting elements that are fully turned on, the light-emitting elements that are turned off and the light-emitting elements that are at an intermediate luminance level, wherein the intermediate current levels having at least one combination of the light-emitting elements that is indicated by having one light-emitting element that is at the intermediate luminance level and the remaining light-emitting elements that are fully turned on, wherein in an initial state when a power supply switch of the vehicle is turned on, said amount-of-current controller minimizes the amount-of-current level, and when said single momentary switch is operated once in said initial state, said amount-of-current controller maximizes the amount-of-current level, wherein when the amount-of-current level is at a maximum, the amount-of-current level is reduced in stages each time said single momentary switch is operated.