DE212013000168U1 - Air filtering device and thus provided vehicle seat - Google Patents

Abstract

Vehicle seat-bound air filtration device: - an intake air filtering unit (20) having a supply air filter (22) and a fan (21) for supplying air to the supply air filter (22); A vehicle occupant presence sensor (30) or a plurality of such sensors for detecting the presence of a vehicle occupant on a vehicle seat; An intelligent electronic control unit (40) adapted to deactivate and activate the fan when the vehicle occupant is absent by the vehicle occupant presence sensor (30) or the plurality of such sensors and when activated by the vehicle occupant presence sensor (30) or the plurality of such sensors, the presence of the vehicle occupant is determined.

Description

TECHNICAL AREA

The invention is in the technical field of vehicle seats, and more particularly relates to a (vehicle seat side) air filtering device and a vehicle seat provided therewith.

STATE OF THE ART

In view of the rapid development and popularization of vehicles, more and more users are placing emphasis on the vehicle interior, and in particular on the odor impression of new vehicles. The odor impression (of the interior) of a new vehicle originates mainly from volatile organic compounds (VOC), such as methanol and benzene, which are emitted by the interior trim, such as plastic parts, seat foam material, fabrics and wiring harnesses. When the temperature of the vehicle interior reaches a certain value, the amount of volatile organic compounds emitted from the inner panel significantly increases, whereby the smell perceived in the vehicle interior is correspondingly pronounced.

Complaints caused by the odor pressure occur correspondingly frequently. Especially in the summer there are complaints because of the odor values due to increased temperature.

In order to get a grip on the odor impression in vehicles due to volatile organic compounds, it is common for manufacturers of motor vehicle parts to verify these connections and to maintain a critical value in order to keep the odor values in the vehicle at a customer-acceptable level. By this measure, the odor values can be kept low, but only with the use of various organic aids. There is therefore a need to further improve the odor impression in the vehicle interior.

One solution is to provide a VOC absorption filter based on activated carbon, cold catalysts, ionizers, and highly effective HIMOP filter layers in the on-vehicle ventilation system. Such VOC absorption filters based on activated carbon, cold catalysts, ionizers and highly effective HIMOP filter layers are capable of effectively and cyclically absorbing odor from the volatile organic compounds, thereby improving the odor impression in the vehicle interior. This type of vehicle seat-mounted ventilation system with air filtration is commonly connected to the air supply / heating system (of the vehicle) to provide a multi-function vehicle seat unit.

When the vehicle (engine) is running, however, this vehicle-mounted ventilation system with air filtering function tends to affect vehicle occupants in the operating state, perceive this operating condition as comfort-reducing and unpleasant.

Therefore, there is a need to prevent the air filtration system from affecting vehicle occupants to increase their comfort. To meet this need, a professional solution to the problem is needed.

SUMMARY

The present invention provides a vehicle seat-mounted air filtration device that is capable of increasing vehicle occupant comfort without affecting the (global) ventilation system or other vehicle occupants.

For this purpose, the following technical solution is proposed:

• – eine Zuluft-Filterungseinheit mit einem Zuluftfilter und einem Lüfter zum Zuführen von Luft zum Zuluftfilter;
• – einen Fahrzeuginsassen-Anwesenheitssensor oder mehrere derartige Sensoren zum Ermitteln der Anwesenheit eines Fahrzeuginsassen auf einem Fahrzeugsitz;
• – eine intelligente elektronische Steuerungseinheit, die dazu ausgelegt ist, den Lüfter bei durch den Fahrzeuginsassen-Anwesenheitssensor oder die mehreren derartigen Sensoren ermittelter Abwesenheit des Fahrzeuginsassen zu deaktivieren und zu aktiveren, wenn durch den Fahrzeuginsassen-Anwesenheitssensor oder die mehreren derartigen Sensoren die Anwesenheit des Fahrzeuginsassen ermittelt wird.

A vehicle seat bound air filtration device, comprising:

• A supply air filtration unit with a supply air filter and a fan for supplying air to the supply air filter;
• A vehicle occupant presence sensor or a plurality of such sensors for detecting the presence of a vehicle occupant on a vehicle seat;
• An intelligent electronic control unit configured to deactivate and activate the fan when the vehicle occupant is absent when the vehicle occupant is detected by the vehicle occupant presence sensor or the plurality of such sensors when the vehicle occupant presence is detected by the vehicle occupant presence sensor or the plurality of such sensors becomes.

Preferably, the vehicle occupant presence sensor or sensors of the vehicle-mounted air-filtering device are a human body capacitive sensor, a human body infrared detector, or a human body weight sensor.

Preferably, the vehicle-mounted air-filtering device further comprises a manual switch for switching between modes, wherein
when the manual switch is not triggered, the intelligent electronic control unit deactivates the fan as soon as the human body is detected by the occupant presence sensor or the plurality of such sensors and activates the fan as soon as the human body is detected by the occupant presence sensor or the plurality of such sensors is not detected;
then, when the manual switch is triggered, the fan turns the fan on or off depending on the operation of the switch.

Preferably, the number of vehicle occupant presence sensors of the vehicle-mounted air-filtering device is one, or a larger number of such sensors are provided.

Preferably, in the vehicle-seat-attached air-filtering device, the vehicle occupant presence sensor (s) is also used to determine the use of the seatbelt and to judge the activation or deactivation of the airbag.

In the case of the vehicle-seat-mounted air filtration device, the intelligent electronic control unit is preferably connected to the occupant presence sensor (s) via a conductor strand.

Preferably, in the vehicle-seat-mounted air filtering device, the intelligent electronic control unit is connected to the fan via a wiring harness of the fan.

• – eine Zuluft-Trennschicht;
• – eine Filtermaterialschicht mit VOC-Absorbtionsvermögen, die mit der Zuluft-Trennschicht eine Zuluftfilterungs-Materialschicht bildet; und
• – eine mit einem Lufteinlass und einem Luftauslass versehene Hüllenstruktur zum allseitigen Abdecken der Zuluft-Filterungs-Materialschicht, wobei der Lüfter mit dem Einlass oder mit dem Auslass verbunden ist.

In the case of the vehicle-seat-mounted air filtration device, the supply air filter preferably has:

• - An incoming air separation layer;
• A filter material layer having VOC absorbability which forms a supply air filtering material layer with the supply air separation layer; and
• A shell structure provided with an air inlet and an air outlet for covering the supply air filtering material layer on all sides, wherein the fan is connected to the inlet or to the outlet.

It is also proposed a vehicle seat comprising a backrest and a seat surface, wherein at least one of the backrest and the seat surface is provided with the aforementioned air filtering device.

In the case of the vehicle seat, the air filtration device is preferably provided in the backrest and in the seat surface.

According to the above-mentioned technical solutions, when the air-filtering device according to the present invention seats a vehicle occupant in the seat, the vehicle occupant presence sensor (s) generates a signal indicative of the presence of a human body, and this signal is transmitted to the intelligent electronic control unit , which deactivates the fan accordingly. When the vehicle occupant leaves the seat, the vehicle occupant presence sensor (s) generates a signal indicative of the absence of a human body, and this signal is transmitted to the smart electronic control unit which activates the ventilator. Thereby, the invention effectively avoids the convenience of vehicle occupant caused by the vibration or noise of the fan, thereby achieving a filtering operation state for the interior of the vehicle that does not disturb the vehicle occupant present.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present utility model or those of the prior art, reference is made below to the drawings. The following drawings merely show some embodiments of the present invention, and those skilled in the art will recognize other embodiments from the drawings without the need for inventive step.

1 FIG. 10 is a block diagram of the supply air filtration device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

2 shows a cross-sectional view of the seat according to an embodiment of the invention.

3 shows a cross-sectional view of the seat according to the embodiment of the invention, in which a vehicle occupant has taken place.

4 shows a schematic view of a provided with the seat according to the invention vehicle.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

02

passenger

03

manual switch for switching between air filtering modes

04

air permeable seat top

05

seatback

06

seat

07

Support cushion of the seat

08

Air duct

10

Air filtration device

20

Supply air filtering unit

21

Fan

22

Supply air

23

Filter material layer

24

Wiring harness of the fan

30

Vehicle occupant presence sensor

31

conductor lane

40

intelligent electronic control unit

SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS

The present invention discloses a vehicle seat-mounted air filter device and integrated air filter device for increasing comfort for a vehicle occupant without affecting the vehicle interior air filtering system.

The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will become clear with reference to the figures. Obviously, the invention is not limited to the embodiments shown. Starting from the illustrated embodiments, further embodiments falling within the scope of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art without the need for the invention.

Referring to the drawing shows 1 3 is a block diagram of the supply air filtration device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the seat according to an embodiment of the invention, 3 shows a cross-sectional view of the seat according to the embodiment of the invention, in which a vehicle occupant has taken place, and 4 shows a schematic view of a provided with the seat according to the invention vehicle.

The air filtering device 10 In accordance with the present invention, it is used in conjunction with a vehicle seat and includes a supply air filtration unit 20 , Occupant presence sensors 30 and an intelligent electronic control unit 40 ,

In particular, the supply air filtration unit comprises 20 a supply air filter 22 and a fan 21 for supplying air to the supply air filter 22 , At the supply air filter 22 it may be a known type of cushion with VOC Absorbtionsvermögen. The fan 21 Used to circulate the air in the passenger compartment through the supply air filter 22 to thereby clean the air inside the vehicle.

The occupant presence sensors 30 serve to determine the presence of a vehicle occupant on the vehicle seat. If by the occupant presence sensors 30 the presence of a human body is detected disables the intelligent electronic control unit 40 the fan 2 , When by the vehicle occupant presence sensors 30 the absence of the human body is detected, activates the intelligent electronic control unit 40 the fan 2 ,

When a vehicle occupant is present in the seat, the vehicle occupant presence sensors in accordance with the air filtering device of the present invention generate a signal indicative of the presence of a human body and send it to the smart electronic control unit 40 , which then deactivates the fan. When the vehicle occupant leaves the seat, the vehicle occupant presence sensors generate a signal indicative of the absence of the human body and send it to the smart electronic control unit, which then activates the ventilator. Therefore, the invention can effectively prevent the deterioration of comfort caused to passengers by the vibration or the noise of the fan, and to ensure a trouble-free operation state for the vehicle interior.

After the ignition (IGN) of the vehicle is turned on, the vehicle occupancy presence sensors check 30 the presence of a vehicle occupant and send signals to the intelligent electronic control unit 40 over a ladder strand 31 , The intelligent electronic control unit 40 controls the ON / OFF switching of the fan 21 comprehensive supply air filtration unit 20 via a fan wiring harness 24 , According to the invention, the ON / OFF switching of the supply air filtration unit is dependent on the presence of a vehicle occupant 02 established.

When the absence of a vehicle occupant by the vehicle occupant presence sensors 30 is detected after the ignition (IGN) of the vehicle has been turned on, the intelligent electronic control unit activates 40 automatically the operation of the filter ventilation device. At this time, the fan is running 21 the filter ventilation device. The fan 21 Forcibly guides the air inside the vehicle interior through a relevant air duct 08 and the supply air filter 22 where the air stream is a filter material layer 23 of the supply air filter 22 which can be realized as an activated carbon filter layer, as a filter ion adsorption layer, as a cold catalyst, as an ionizer or as a highly efficient sintered particle filter medium. As a result, the volatiles (volatile organic compounds) in the air in the supply air filter 22 absorbed, dissolved and purified and purified air flows back into the vehicle interior, where it passes through the fan 21 to Carrying out the air exchange is sucked into the seat again. These filtering cycles achieve a (cyclical) re-filtering and cleaning of the air inside the vehicle.

In a specific embodiment of the invention, the vehicle occupant presence sensors are 30 to electronic pressure switching elements, infrared detectors or weight sensors each for detecting the human body. That is, in the vehicle occupant presence sensors 30 These may be electronic human body sensing electronic switching elements located in or under the seat cushion, such as capacitive sensors, infrared sensors, weight sensors for detecting the human body, etc.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the vehicle occupant presence sensors 30 inside or outside the housing of the air filtration device 10 be attached, and that the vehicle occupant presence sensors 30 are mounted either inside or outside the seat or in the vehicle interior.

It is noted that the air filtration device 10 In addition to the automatic vehicle interior (air) filtering operation, depending on whether or not a vehicle occupant is present on the vehicle seat, it may be configured for a manual vehicle interior (air) filtering operation that can be activated by a vehicle occupant. In other words, the air filtration device according to the invention 10 also a manual switch 03 for switching between vehicle interior air filtering modes.

When the manual switch 03 not triggered, disables the intelligent electronic control unit 40 the fan 21 once the presence of the human body by the vehicle occupant presence sensors 30 is determined. The intelligent electronic control unit 40 activates the fan 21 once the absence of the human body by the vehicle occupant presence sensors 30 is determined. Once the manual switch 03 is triggered, the fan becomes 21 depending on the operation of the manual switch 03 on or off.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the air filtration device comprises 10 both the automatic mode as the manual mode for filtering the ambient air and the air in the vehicle interior. When a vehicle occupant 02 seated on the seat, the air filtering device automatically stops the filtering process, but allows the manual mode to filter the air. In other words, the manual mode for air filtration is independent of the presence / absence of the vehicle occupant, so it is not affected.

The seat-related air filtering function of the air filtering device can thus by triggering the manual switch 03 To enable or disable switching between filter modes. In this case, the operation is by the intelligent electronic control unit 40 manually controlled. The fan 21 the Zuluftfilterungsvorrichtung 20 can be designed for air supply to the interior of the seat at different speeds. It is capable of supplying air to both the filters and the seat (or vehicle occupant seated thereon), thereby increasing comfort to the vehicle occupant.

It is noted that the automatic operating mode for filtering the vehicle interior air and the manual operating mode for filtering the vehicle interior air of the air filtering device 10 can be independent of each other. When these two modes are commonly available, the manual mode for filtering the vehicle interior air has a higher control priority than the automatic mode for filtering the vehicle interior air. That is, even if the air filtering device 10 in the automatic mode for filtering the vehicle interior air, the air filtering device is running 10 in the case of intervention of the manual mode for filtering the vehicle interior air switches to its operating state.

According to a specific embodiment of the invention, the number of vehicle occupant presence sensors is 30 one or more than one such sensor is provided. The vehicle occupant presence sensors 30 are also used to determine seat belt usage and to assess whether the airbag is deployed or not tripped. That is, the vehicle occupant presence sensors 30 may include functions related to the vehicle occupant, such as the function of reminding the vehicle occupant to wear the seatbelt, and the function of judging whether the airbag is deployed or not tripped. Several vehicle occupant detection functions are therefore in one and the same vehicle occupant presence sensors 30 integrated.

In a specific embodiment of the present invention, the supply air filter comprises 22 an inlet air separation layer, a filter material layer and a shell structure.

In particular, the filter material layer forms 23 with VOC absorbency together with the supply air separation layer, a supply air filtration material layer. The envelope structure provided with an air inlet and an air outlet covers the supply air filtering material layer on all sides. The fan 21 is connected to the inlet or to the outlet. In the event that the fan 21 Connected to the inlet, the fan is capable 21 Air in the supply air filter 22 to blow. In the event that the fan 21 Connected to the outlet, the fan is capable 21 Air from the supply air filter 22 to suck.

The vehicle seat according to the invention comprises a backrest 05 and a seat 06 where at least either the backrest 05 or the seat 06 provided with air filtering device.

It is noted that the backrest as well as the seat can both be provided with the above-mentioned air filtering device.

The foregoing description of the disclosed embodiments is intended to enable those skilled in the art to redesign and utilize the invention. The skilled artisan will readily apparent various modifications. The general principle set forth herein may be realized with other embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The invention is therefore not limited to the embodiments explained herein. Rather, it is determined by the principle according to the invention expressed in them.

Claims (10)

Vehicle seat-connected air filtration device: - an intake air filtering unit ( 20 ) with a supply air filter ( 22 ) and a fan ( 21 ) for supplying air to the supply air filter ( 22 ); A vehicle occupant presence sensor ( 30 ) or a plurality of such sensors for detecting the presence of a vehicle occupant on a vehicle seat; - an intelligent electronic control unit ( 40 ), which is adapted to the fan by the vehicle occupant presence sensor ( 30 ) and disable the plurality of such sensors of detected absence of the vehicle occupant when activated by the vehicle occupant presence sensor (FIG. 30 ) or the plurality of such sensors, the presence of the vehicle occupant is determined. Vehicle seat bound air filtration device according to claim 1, characterized in that it is in the vehicle occupant presence sensor ( 30 ) or the plurality of such sensors is a capacitive sensor for a human body, an infrared detector for the human body or a weight sensor for the human body. A vehicle seat bound air filtering device according to claim 1, further comprising a manual switch (10). 03 ) for switching between air filtering modes, characterized in that when the manual switch ( 30 ), the intelligent electronic control unit ( 40 ) the fan ( 21 ) as soon as the human body is detected by the occupant presence sensor ( 30 ) or the plurality of such sensors is detected, and the fan ( 21 ) is activated as soon as the human body is detected by the occupant presence sensor ( 30 ) or the plurality of such sensors is not detected; then when the manual switch ( 03 ) is triggered, the fan ( 21 ) depending on the operation of the switch ( 03 ) the fan ( 21 ) turns on or off. Vehicle seat bound air filtration device according to claim 3, characterized in that the number of vehicle occupant presence sensors ( 30 ) is one or more than one. Vehicle seat bound air filtration device according to claim 3, characterized in that the vehicle occupant presence sensor or sensors (s) ( 30 ) is also used to determine the use of the seatbelt and to assess the activation or deactivation of the airbag. Vehicle seat-mounted air filtration device according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the intelligent electronic control unit ( 40 ) over a conductor strand ( 31 ) with the occupant presence sensor (s) ( 30 ) connected is. Vehicle seat-mounted air filtration device according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the intelligent electronic control unit ( 40 ) via a cable harness ( 24 ) of the fan ( 21 ) is connected to this. Vehicle seat-bound air filtration device according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the supply air filter ( 22 ): - an incoming air separation layer; A filter material layer ( 23 ) having VOC absorbability that forms a supply air filtration material layer with the supply air separation layer; and A cover structure provided with an air inlet and an air outlet for covering the supply air filtering material layer on all sides, wherein the fan ( 21 ) is connected to the inlet or to the outlet. A vehicle seat comprising a backrest and a seat surface, wherein at least one of the backrest and the seat surface is provided with an air filtering device, characterized in that the air filtering device corresponds to the air filtering device according to any one of claims 1 to 8. Vehicle seat according to claim 9, characterized in that the air filtering device is provided in the backrest and in the seat surface.

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