JP2003332030A - Car seat heater - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce power consumption while obtaining a quick heating sensation upon rising in a car seat heater using a planar heating element with a self-temperature-control function. <P>SOLUTION: Heating elements 3, 6 are separately formed as a cushion part and a back part, and the heating values of the individual heating elements are changed. A sensitive part of warmth is convergently warmed to obtain a quick heating sensation while power consumption is reduced. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a car seat heater using a sheet heating element having a self-temperature control function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional car seat heater is shown in FIG. In a conventional car seat heater, as shown in FIG. 9, a tubing heater 101 is arranged in a meandering manner on a base material 100 such as unwoven cloth and is fixed by sewing or adhering to a sewing machine. 102 is a thermostat for temperature control, 10
3 is a harness in which lead wires for power feeding are bundled. Figure 10
Shows the seat mounting state of the car seat heater 104, and the seat heater is provided between the wadding 106 made of urethane foam provided on the back side of the seat cover fabric 105 and the seat pad 107 made of urethane foam molded into a seat shape. 104 is attached. Since seating comfort is emphasized in the seats of automobiles, when the tubing heater 104 is used, the convex portion due to the heater impairs the seating comfort. Therefore, the wadding 106 is thickened so that the convex portion due to the heater is not felt. It had been.

As for the amount of heat generated, when the temperature inside the vehicle is low and the seat is cold, the amount of heat generated is given, and when the inside of the vehicle and the seat are getting warm, the thermostat 1
The temperature is controlled by 02 and the applied voltage is turned on / off to adjust the amount of heat generation.

[0004]

In recent years, efforts have been made to reduce the power consumption of electric products and the like from the viewpoint of global environment protection, and energy saving of battery power has become indispensable in automobiles as well. However, in the conventional seat heater, the wadding 106 is used for seating comfort.
However, there is a problem in that the power consumption for heating the seat increases because the thickness cannot be reduced.

There is also a method of using a planar heating element having a self-temperature control function as a heating element for the purpose of reducing the power consumption by thinning the wadding 106. In the planar heating element, a conductive material made of a metal powder such as silver or copper is applied as an electrode on a base material, and the heating element is applied so as to be electrically connected to the electrode. As the heating element, a base polymer made of a crystalline polymer and a conductive fine powder such as carbon black, metal powder or graphite dispersed in a solvent are used.
3689, JP-A-6-96843, JP-A-8-12011
82 and the like have been proposed. By applying a voltage to the electrodes, a current flows and the heating element generates heat. Since the heating element has a positive temperature characteristic (hereinafter referred to as PTC) in which the resistance value rapidly increases when reaching a certain predetermined temperature due to the volume expansion of the crystalline polymer, the heat generation amount of the heating element becomes small when the predetermined temperature is reached. It has a self-temperature control function that suppresses the temperature rise.

By heating the entire surface of the planar heating element uniformly, the heating temperature of the heater can be lowered, and since there is no unevenness on the surface, the wadding 106 can be made thin and power consumption can be reduced.

However, when considering the human body which is the object to be heated, the thickness of subcutaneous fat, the number of sensory nerves, the surface skin temperature, the degree of gathering of blood vessels, etc. are different depending on the part of the human body, and the feeling of warmth is also different. Therefore, when the entire sheet is uniformly heated, there is a possibility that some parts may feel hot or some parts may feel insufficient. Also, at the time of start-up, it is possible to obtain sufficient warmth by concentrating and warming the parts where it is easy to feel warmth without evenly heating the entire seat, and it is possible to obtain a quick heat feeling and further power consumption. Can be reduced. However, many conventional car seat heaters uniformly heat the entire surface, and none of them change the calorific value depending on the site.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a car seat heater of the present invention has a plurality of cushion heating elements divided into cushions and a plurality of back portions divided into a backrest. It consists of a heating element, and by changing the amount of heat generated by each heating element of multiple cushion heating elements and multiple back heating elements, you can obtain sufficient warmth by concentrating and warming the areas where you can easily feel warmth. Therefore, the power consumption can be reduced.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The invention according to claim 1 is composed of a plurality of cushion heating elements divided into cushions and a plurality of back heating elements divided into a backrest.
By changing the amount of heat generated by the heating element, it is possible to concentrate and warm the part of the human body where warmth is easily felt, and it is possible to obtain sufficient warmth with a small amount of power and reduce power consumption.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the heating element is a self-temperature control device including a resistor made of a crystalline resin and a conductor provided on a flexible substrate, and an electrode electrically connected to the resistor. By using a PTC heating element having a function, the seat heater can be arranged immediately below the surface cloth, so that the power consumption can be further reduced.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the heating element is an electrode formed by impregnating a flexible base material, a resistor including a crystalline resin provided on the base material and connected to the electrode, and a conductor. By using the PTC heating element having the self-temperature control function, the electrodes are impregnated into the base material, and therefore reliability against bending and bending can be improved.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the heating element is formed by laminating and bonding an electrode formed by impregnating a flexible substrate and a resistor formed in a protective layer, so that the substrate is impregnated with the resistor. In addition, it is possible to obtain a heating element having excellent resistance temperature characteristics, and to eliminate variations in resistance coating in the printing and coating process, which facilitates management of resistance value and adjustment of heat generation amount.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the resistance values of the plurality of heating elements are changed according to the thickness of the resistors, so that even if the same voltage is applied using the heating elements having the same self-temperature control characteristic. Since the resistance value between the electrodes varies depending on the thickness of the resistor, the amount of heat generated can be changed.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the electrode of the PTC heating element is composed of a main electrode and branch electrodes electrically connected to the main electrode and the resistor and arranged in a branch shape. By changing the resistance value according to the difference in distance, even if the same voltage is applied using resistors having the same self-temperature control characteristics, the amount of heat generated can be changed because the resistance value between the electrodes is different. At the same time, since the PTC heating element is subdivided by the branch electrodes, the calorific value can also be subdivided and adjusted.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, since the heating elements having different self-temperature control characteristics are used, it is possible to change the temperature at which the resistance value rapidly increases and the rate of change, and to adjust the amount of heat generation. You can

The invention according to claim 8 uses a crystalline resin as an ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer, a saponified ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer, a low-density polyethylene, or a high-density polyethylene, either alone or in combination. It is possible to provide a heating element having different resistance temperature characteristics with a large resistance change rate.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, a low structure carbon black and a high structure carbon black are used in combination as a conductor, and with this structure,
Even a heating element using the same crystalline resin can provide a heating element whose rate of change in resistance with respect to temperature can be adjusted.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1) A first embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a car seat heater according to a first embodiment in which a seat is mounted. FIG. 2 is an external view of the cushion heating element of the first embodiment.

FIG. 1 shows a seat mounting state of a car seat heater, in which a cushion heating element 3 is mounted between a seat cover cloth 2 and a seat main pad 1 made of urethane foam molded into a seat shape. ing. Similarly, a back heating element 6 is mounted between the back main pad 4 and the back skin 5.

The cushion heating element 3 is a base material 7 such as a nonwoven fabric.
A first cushion heating element 8 and a second cushion heating element 9 are separately formed on the upper side, and are connected to a lead wire 12 for power supply via a first connecting portion 10 and a second connecting portion 11. A harness 13 is a bundle of power supply lead wires.

The heating element is formed by coating a base material with a conductive paste containing a conductive powder such as silver, copper or carbon to form an electrode, and then forming a crystalline resin such as a polyolefin resin or vinyl acetate resin. A resistor having a self-temperature control function including a conductor and a binder is applied so as to be electrically connected to the electrode. The heating element has a structure in which a binder surrounds a lump of crystalline resin in which the conductor is dispersed, and the binder physically connects the lumps of crystalline resin in which the conductor is dispersed.

As the binder, one kind or a mixture of two or more kinds of elastic materials such as synthetic rubber such as isopropylene rubber, butadiene rubber, nitrile rubber, ethylene propylene rubber or thermoplastic elastomer can be used.

In the above structure, the voltage applied to the first cushion heating element 8 on the rear side where the buttocks are in contact when seated and the second cushion heating element 9 on the front side where the thighs are in contact is changed to change the heating elements. The heat value of is adjusted. Similarly, in the back part, the back part heating element (not shown) on the lower side of the back part heating element that the waist contacts and the second back part heating element (not shown) that the back contacts The amount of heat generated by the heating element is adjusted by changing the voltage applied.

FIG. 3 shows the time variation of the amount of heat generated by each heating element.

As for the amount of heat generated by each heating element at the time of rising, considering the human body as the object to be heated, the lumbar region near the spinal cord where blood vessels gather tends to feel the warmest most easily, so the back heating unit in contact with the lumbar region The lower back first heating element has a high heating value, and the contact area when sitting is large, and because the clothes are normally used to protect against cold, the buttocks, which are weak against cold, come into contact with the rear first By setting the heat generation amount of the cushion heating element to be high, it is possible to promptly feel sufficient warmth even if the total heat generation amount is small.

Further, since the PTC heating element is used as the heating element, the heating value of the heating element becomes small when the temperature reaches a predetermined temperature, and the temperature rise is suppressed. Therefore, temperature control such as thermostat and input switching is performed. It is possible to perform comfortable temperature control because the means is unnecessary and the amount of heat generation is gradually attenuated.

(Embodiment 2) A second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the second heating element of the present invention. In FIG. 4, a substrate 1 made of fiber or non-woven fabric
4, a conductive paste containing a conductive powder such as silver, copper or carbon is impregnated and applied to form electrodes 15a and 15b,
Next, a resistor 16 including a crystalline resin 17 such as a polyolefin resin or a vinyl acetate resin, a conductor 18 and a binder 19 having a self-temperature control function is applied by printing so as to be connected to an electrode.

The resistor 16 is a conductor 18 as shown in FIG.
The conductive resin 18 and the binder 19 surround the lump of the crystalline resin 17 in which the binder 1 is dispersed.
The lumps of the crystalline resin 17 in which the conductors 18 are dispersed are physically connected by means of 9. The electrodes 15a and 15b are used as the base material 1
Since it is impregnated into No. 4, it is possible to enhance the reliability against bending and bending.

(Embodiment 3) A third embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the heating element of the third embodiment. In FIG. 6, a substrate 1 made of fiber or non-woven fabric
4, a conductive paste containing a conductive powder such as silver, copper or carbon is impregnated and applied to form electrodes 15a and 15b,
Next, the resistor 16 is applied by printing onto the protective layer 20 having an electric insulation function. Then, the base material 14 and the protective layer 20 are laminated so that the electrodes 15a and 15b and the resistor 16 are electrically connected.

By printing and applying the resistor 16 to the protective layer 20, the resistor 16 does not impregnate the substrate 14 and is made of a crystalline polymer even if a flexible substrate such as cloth or unwoven cloth is used. Since expansion is not hindered, it is possible to obtain a flexible sheet heating element having good resistance temperature characteristics. Also. It is possible to obtain a sheet-like heating element having no uneven heating distribution by eliminating unevenness of coating of the heating element in the printing coating step.

By forming the protective layer 20 as a thin film made of at least one of polyester resin and polyurethane resin, it is possible to obtain a planar heating element which does not impair the resistance temperature characteristic of the heating element. Therefore, it is possible to shield the heating element and the electrode from the outside air atmosphere and prevent damage due to contact with the outside.

Specifically, a conductive paste obtained by mixing silver powder, nitrile rubber and fluororesin powder is applied onto a base material made of unwoven cloth by screen printing and dried, and then the electrode 15 is formed.
After forming a and 15b, a paste of a resistor 16 containing ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer, carbon black, nitrile rubber, and fluororesin powder is applied by printing onto the protective layer 20 made of polyester resin. After that, the base material 14 and the protective layer 20 were laminated and adhered so that the electrodes 15a and 15b and the resistor 16 were electrically connected to each other to produce a planar heating element.

The resistance value (R20) of the sheet heating element thus obtained at 20 ° C. was 25Ω (area resistance value 3 kΩ / □), 20
Ratio of resistance value of 50 ℃ to resistance value of ℃ (R50 / R2
No. 0) was 3, and no decrease in resistance temperature characteristics was observed due to the use of the cloth substrate.

The heating element thus obtained was mounted under the epidermis of a car seat, and the heating element and the electrode were cracked after 100,000 repetitions in a durability test in which a hemisphere assuming a human kneecap was repeatedly loaded with a 50 mm stroke. It was confirmed that there was no occurrence of peeling.

By changing the resistance value of a plurality of heating elements according to the thickness of the resistors, even when the same voltage is applied using the heating elements having the same self-temperature control characteristic,
Since the resistance value between the electrodes varies depending on the thickness of the resistor, the amount of heat generation can be changed.

(Embodiment 4) Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of the heating element of this embodiment. In this embodiment, the cushion heating element 3 has a first cushion heating element 8 and a second cushion heating element 9 which are separately formed on a base material 7 such as a non-woven fabric, and the main electrodes 22a and 22B have a connecting portion 21. It is connected to the lead wire 12 for power supply via.
Reference numeral 13 is a harness in which lead wires for power feeding are bundled. First
The branch electrode 23 of the cushion heating element 8 is connected to the main electrodes 22a and 22b, and the resistor 16 is connected to the branch electrode 23.
Printed to connect with. Similarly, the branch electrode 24 and the resistor 16 are applied by printing onto the second cushion heating element 9. And the first cushion heating element 8
And the second cushion heating element 9 are connected via the main electrodes 22a and 22b.

In the above structure, the branch electrode 23 provided on the first cushion heating element 8 and the branch electrode 24 provided on the second cushion heating element 9 are made to have different electrode intervals, so that the resistance of the resistor 16 is reduced. The value can be changed, and the amount of heat generation can be changed even when the same voltage is applied using resistors having the same self-temperature control characteristic. Further, by individually adjusting the intervals of the branch electrodes, the PTC heating element can be subdivided by the branch electrodes, and the calorific value can also be subdivided and adjusted.

(Fifth Embodiment) Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described. In this embodiment, a resistor having a different self-temperature control function is used for each heating element provided separately in the cushion section and the back section. FIG. 8 shows the time change of the heat generation amount of each heating element when different heating elements are used.

For the first back heating element and the first cushion heating element, a resistor having a resistance value ratio of 50 ° C. to a resistance value of 20 ° C. (R50 / R20) of 2.8 is used. A 2.2 resistor was used for the second cushion heating element and the second back heating element. Further, the second back heating element was adjusted to have a high resistance value at 50 ° C. by adjusting the distance between the branch electrodes or the thickness of the resistor in order to reduce the amount of heat generation.

By using the above-mentioned resistor, the amount of heat generated by each heating element at the time of rising is as follows: And the amount of heat generated by the first cushion heating element is large,
When the inside of the car and the seats get warm, the amount of heat generated becomes uniform. Further, the heat generation amount of the second back heating element having a small contact area is set to be lower than that of the other heat generating portions. In this way, even if the total calorific value is small, it is possible to concentrate and warm the part where it is easy to feel the warmth of the human body, and it is possible to obtain a sufficient feeling of warmth and warmth with a small amount of power, which reduces power consumption. it can.

(Sixth Embodiment) Next, a sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described. In this embodiment, as the crystalline resin, ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer, saponified ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer, low density polyethylene and high density polyethylene are used alone or in combination.

That is, when an ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer is used, it is about 60 ° C. to 90 ° C., when an ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer saponification product is about 90 ° C. to 100 ° C., and in the case of low density polyethylene, 90 ° C to 110 ° C, and in the case of high-density polyethylene, it has a resistance rise region (PTC characteristic) for steep temperatures of about 110 ° C to 120 ° C.
In various temperature ranges from 60 ° C. to 120 ° C., it is possible to obtain a sheet heating element having a good resistance change rate and good PTC characteristics. The above-mentioned temperature corresponds to the heat generation temperature when the heat retention load is applied, and the heat generation temperature when no load is applied is about 20 to 30 ° C lower (room temperature 20 ° C).

(Embodiment 7) Next, a seventh embodiment of the present invention will be described. In this embodiment, the conductor is a combination of low structure carbon black and high structure carbon black. With this configuration, even if the PTC heating element uses the same crystalline resin, P with various gradients is used.
It is possible to provide a PTC heating element having a changed TC characteristic, that is, a rate of change in resistance with respect to temperature, which can be adjusted.

Specifically, as the conductor, low structure carbon black such as Diablack G (manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemical Co., particle size 80 nm, DBP oil absorption 85 ml / 100 g) and MA600 (manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemical Co., Ltd.). , Particle size 2
A PTC heating element using high structure carbon black having a thickness of 0 nm and a DBP oil absorption of 120 ml / 100 g) was used. Here, the low structure carbon black has a particle size of about 50 or more and is relatively large, and the DBP oil absorption amount is between about 50 and 100. The high structure carbon black has a particle size of 50 nm or less and a DBP
An oil absorption of about 100 or more is meant.

With this structure, the low-structure carbon black has a large resistance temperature characteristic, that is, a characteristic that the degree of sharp rise of resistance at a predetermined temperature (near the melting point of the used crystalline resin) is large. On the other hand, high structure carbon has a low resistance temperature characteristic, while resistance stability (stability of resistance value due to repeated temperature history) is higher than that of low structure carbon black. It is possible to provide a PTC heating element having predetermined resistance-temperature characteristics and excellent resistance stability by using the carbons of both types in combination at an arbitrary ratio depending on the crystalline resin used.

Although two types of carbon black have been described in the above embodiment, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to this. As low-structure carbon black, # 5 (Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation, particle size 7
6 nm, DBP oil absorption 70 ml / 100 g), as high structure carbon black, MA600 (Mitsubishi Chemical Co., Ltd., particle size 20 nm, DBP oil absorption 120 m)
1/100 g), Printex L (manufactured by Degussa, particle size 23 nm, DBP oil absorption amount 115 ml / 100 g) and the like may be used.

[0050]

As described above, according to the present invention, sufficient warmth can be obtained with a small amount of electric power, and power consumption can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a seat mounting sectional view of a car seat heater according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an external view of a cushion heating element of Example 1.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a temporal change in heat generation amount of each heating element.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a second heating element of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram of the resistor.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a heating element according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of a heating element according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a time change of a heat generation amount of each heating element when different heating elements are used.

FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram of a conventional car seat heater.

FIG. 10 is a view showing a seat mounting state of a conventional car seat heater.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 seat main pad 2 seat skin 3 cushion heating element 4 back main pads 5 back skin 6 back heating elements 7 Base material 8 First cushion heating element 9 Second cushion heating element 10 First connection 11 Second connection 12 lead wire 13 harness 16 resistor 20 Protective layer 22a 22b Main electrode 23 Branch electrodes 24 branch electrodes

Front page continuation (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) H05B 3/14 H05B 3/14 F // B60H 1/34 651 B60H 1/34 651A (72) Inventor Masayuki Terakado Osaka Prefecture 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma-shi, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 3K034 AA07 BB10 BB16 BC12 CA14 CA22 GA04 HA04 JA09 3K058 AA02 AA81 AA88 BA01 CE05 CE23 CE26 3K092 PP15 QA05 QB21 RF02 RF13 RF22 VV16 VV21 V22VV16 VV21

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of cushion heating elements divided into cushions and a back heating element divided into a backrest, wherein each of the plurality of cushion heating elements and the back heating element is individually provided. A car seat heater characterized by changing the amount of heat generated by the heating element. 2. The PTC having a self-temperature control function, wherein the heating element comprises a resistor containing a crystalline resin and a conductor provided on a flexible substrate and an electrode electrically connected to the resistor. The car seat heater according to claim 1, which is a heating element. 3. A self-temperature control, wherein the heating element comprises an electrode formed by impregnating a flexible base material, and a resistor which is connected to the electrode and which is provided on the base material and includes a crystalline resin and a conductor. The car seat heater according to claim 1, which is a PTC heating element having a function. 4. The heating element comprises an electrode impregnated into a flexible base material, and a resistor containing a crystalline resin and a conductor formed by coating on a protective layer having an electrical insulating function, and the base material P having a self-temperature control function of electrically connecting the electrode and the resistor by laminating and bonding the protective layer
The car seat heater according to claim 1, which is a TC heating element. 5. The car seat heater according to claim 1, wherein the resistance values of the plurality of heating elements are changed according to the thickness of the resistors. 6. The electrode of the PTC heating element is composed of a main electrode and branch electrodes which are electrically connected to the main electrode and the resistor and are arranged in a branch shape. The resistance value varies depending on the distance between the branch electrodes. The car seat heater according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the temperature is changed. 7. The car seat heater according to claim 2, wherein heating elements having different self-temperature control characteristics are used. 8. The crystalline resin used for the PTC heating element is ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer, saponified ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer, low density polyethylene or high density polyethylene, alone or in combination. The car seat heater according to claim 1. 9. The car seat heater according to claim 2, wherein the conductor of the PTC heating element is a combination of low structure carbon black and high structure carbon black.