FR3137881A1 - Treatment device for vehicle seat and vehicle seat, in particular automobile, comprising such a treatment device - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a treatment device for a vehicle seat, said device comprising a distributor (1) of a treatment fluid, in the form of a mist of liquid droplets, and at least one nozzle (30) for distributing said droplets , said nozzle(s) (30) being configured to be positioned on the seat so that the droplets are deposited by gravity on a seat (32) and at least part of a backrest (34) of the seat (36) . Figure for abstract: Figure 2

Description

Treatment device for vehicle seat and vehicle seat, in particular automobile, comprising such a treatment device

The invention relates to a treatment device for a vehicle seat and a vehicle seat, in particular an automobile seat, comprising such a device. It is in particular intended for the disinfection of said seat.

The need for disinfection of surfaces in the passenger compartment of a motor vehicle has been confirmed in recent years with the development of the vehicle sharing phenomenon and recent health crises.

Many disinfection devices are known, such as lotions or wipes of disinfectant products to be applied by hand. We still know of bombs of disinfectant products to spray. They are used domestically and can also be used to disinfect surfaces in a motor vehicle.

Furthermore, it has already been proposed to use nebulization devices in vehicles with the aim of cooling their interior. They include a distributor making it possible to generate a mist of droplets of said fluid, in liquid form, and a fluid reservoir supplying the distributor.

The fluid contained in the reservoir risks being contaminated by various microbial organisms, possibly pathogenic. Indeed, its origin is not always controlled and/or contamination, due to the duration and/or storage conditions in the tank, may occur. It is thus known to carry out a microbicidal treatment of the fluid before its nebulization.

However, this microbicide treatment does not give the fluid disinfectant properties and its use remains limited to refreshing the passenger compartment. In addition, these devices are intended rather to have an effect on the passengers of the vehicle whereas, in terms of disinfection, the need rather targets the surfaces of their passenger compartment. Thus, with a nebulization device used to cool the passenger compartment, the objective is to have a mist of droplets likely to remain suspended in the air to cool it by evaporation, which cannot be suitable for a disinfection objective. surfaces, particularly vehicle seats.

There thus remains a need for technical solutions allowing the treatment of surfaces in vehicles and the invention proposes for this purpose a treatment device for a vehicle seat, said device comprising a distributor of a treatment fluid, in the form of a mist of liquid droplets, and at least one nozzle for dispensing said droplets, the said nozzle(s) being configured to be positioned on the seat so that the droplets are deposited by gravity on a seat and at least part of a backrest from the headquarters.

We thus have a product, namely the mist of droplets, having a treating effect and which will be able to be deposited on the largest possible part of the seat without having to resort to fog diffusion devices, this thanks to the choices of the location of the nozzles and by the effect of gravity.

According to various additional characteristics of the invention, which can be taken together or separately and which form as many embodiments of the invention:

- said fluid is a disinfectant fluid,

- said device comprises a main reservoir for said fluid,

- said main tank is located at a distance from said distributor,

- said device comprises a flexible circuit connecting said main reservoir to said distributor,

- said main reservoir is configured to store said fluid in liquid form,

- said device is configured for supplying said distributor from said main tank by gravity,

- said distributor comprises a buffer tank for said fluid,

- said distributor is configured to generate said droplets from the fluid contained in said buffer tank,

- said treatment device is configured so that said droplets are directed upwards at the outlet of said nozzles.

The invention also relates to a seat for a vehicle, in particular an automobile, said seat comprising a processing device as described above.

According to various additional characteristics of the invention, which can be taken together or separately and which form as many embodiments of the invention:

• said distributor is located in the seat back,
• said nozzles are located in an upper part of the seat,
• said nozzles are positioned so that the fog is deposited on at least 90% of a seat covering surface,
• said nozzles are located at an upper part of the backrest, in particular on the upper edge of the backrest,
• said main tank is located in a headrest of the seat,
• said headrest comprises a housing for said main tank,
• said headrest includes an access hatch to said housing.

The invention will be better understood, and other aims, details, characteristics and advantages thereof will appear more clearly during the detailed explanatory description which follows, of at least one embodiment of the invention given to as a purely illustrative and non-limiting example, with reference to the appended schematic drawings including:

schematically illustrates in front view an example of a treatment fluid distributor intended to equip a treatment device for a vehicle seat, according to the invention;

illustrates schematically in front view an example of a vehicle seat according to the invention;

schematically illustrates in perspective a rear part of the seat of the .

In these figures, the same reference corresponds to identical or similar elements.

The invention relates to a treatment device for a vehicle seat and a seat for a vehicle, in particular an automobile, comprising such a treatment device.

As illustrated in , said treatment device comprises a distributor 1 of a treatment fluid, in the form of a mist of liquid droplets.

Said distributor 1 comprises, for example, a conduit 2 for guiding microdroplets of liquid and/or an air flow generator 4, such as a blower, intended to circulate said microdroplets in said conduit 2. Said generator of air flow 4 opens into said guide conduit 2 and produces an air flow circulating according to the arrows illustrated in dotted lines.

Said distributor 1 further comprises, in particular, a nebulizer 10, configured to form a cloud of microdroplets from said fluid. In operation, said nebulizer 10 advantageously provides a continuous and relatively constant flow of microdrops, from a continuous and relatively constant flow of a fluid supply.

Said nebulizer 10 comprises, for example, a nebulization actuator 14, such as a piezoelectric actuator, and a nebulization tank 16, configured to contain the fluid to be nebulized, in liquid form, above the nebulization actuator 14 .

Said treatment device further comprises, in particular, a circuit 12 for supplying fluid to said nebulizer 10. Said circuit 12 for supplying said nebulizer 10 advantageously comprises a valve 18, configured to maintain a minimum height of liquid in said tank 16. It could be a solenoid valve. The minimum level is chosen to guarantee good generation of microdrops using the piezoelectric actuator.

Said nebulizer 10 here comprises a liquid level detector 21 in the tank 16. Said detector 21 is configured to selectively cause an opening or closing of the valve 18. This is, for example, a detector delivering a signal allowing a processing unit to trigger the valve 18 to control the opening and/or closing of the fluid supply circuit 12 of said nebulizer 10.

Preferably, said treatment device further comprises a main fluid reservoir 24, here connected to the nebulization tank 16 via the valve 18.

As will be developed below, said main reservoir 24 is located, for example, at a distance from said distributor. It is advantageously configured to store said fluid in liquid form.

Said main tank 24 is preferably removably connected to the rest of the supply circuit 12. It can thus be renewed when it is empty. Cumulatively or alternatively, it is rechargeable.

Preferably, the nebulizer 10 is supplied with fluid from the main reservoir 24 by gravity and said main reservoir 24 is positioned for this purpose. Such an embodiment makes it possible to avoid the use of a supply pump for the nebulizer 10 in the fluid supply circuit 12.

According to an alternative embodiment, not illustrated, said distributor comprises a buffer tank for said fluid, supplied from the main tank. Said distributor is then configured to generate said droplets from the fluid contained in said buffer tank, intended to supply the nebulizer, in particular the nebulization tank.

According to another alternative embodiment, not illustrated, the regulation of the liquid level in the nebulizer, in particular the nebulization tank, is carried out by air intake, without having to resort to a valve 18. For this, one end free from the supply circuit opens into the nebulization tank and/or into a cavity connected to the latter, at the same level as the desired liquid level in said tank. At the same time, said supply circuit and the main tank 24 are designed to be watertight. In this way, it is only when the liquid level is too low in the nebulization tank that air enters the supply circuit and the main tank, through said free end, this allowing the liquid to rise to the desired level in the nebulization tank, blocking the air entry.

As illustrated in Figures 2 and 3, said treatment device further comprises at least one nozzle 30 for distributing said droplets. It concerns in particular several nozzles, here three. They are intended to diffuse microdroplets, carried by the air flow, into the passenger compartment of the vehicle. In other words, at the outlet of said nozzles 30, the mist of droplets spreads in the passenger compartment, near the seat, marked 36.

In these figures, said distributor 1 is not visible. It is understood, however, that the nozzles 30 are connected to said distributor 1, for example to the guide conduit 2 of the distributor embodiment mentioned in relation to the .

According to the invention, said nozzle(s) 30 are configured to be positioned on the seat 36 so that the droplets are deposited by gravity on a seat 32 and at least part of a backrest 34 of the seat 36.

Thus, according to the invention, a large surface of the seat 36 is treated. The droplets serve as a vector for the treatment effect. What is more, thanks to their own weight, the droplets are deposited on the target surface, without means of diffusion other than those possibly necessary for the generation of the mist of droplets upstream of the nozzles 30, in the distributor 1. The invention thus presents the advantage, among other things, of a high level of integration into the vehicle.

Said fluid is, for example, a disinfectant fluid. By this we mean a chemical and/or physical product, in fluid form, intended to eliminate and/or inactivate microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses and/or protozoa.

For example, the fluid is a solution comprising at least one of the following active agents:

- oxygenated water ;

- an alcohol such as for example cetearyl glucoside, alcohol cetearate or decaglycerol stearate;

- PCA Copper;

- colloidal silver.

Said treatment device is configured so that said droplets are directed, for example, upwards at the outlet of said nozzles 30, in particular vertically, according to the arrows marked 37.

Said nozzles 30 are positioned so that the fog is deposited on at least 90% of a covering surface of the seat, more precisely on 90% of an upper surface 38 of the seat 32 and a front surface 40 of the seat. file 34.

Preferably, said nozzles 30 are located at an upper part of the backrest 34. Even more precisely, they are located on an upper edge 42 of said backrest 34.

Said seat 36 is here provided with a headrest 44. Said headrest 44 is connected to the backrest 34 by two rods 46 advantageously allowing adjustment of the position, in particular the height and/or orientation, of the headrest 44. Said rods extend between a base of the headrest 44 and the upper edge 42 of the backrest 34 into which they sink.

Said nozzles 30 are located, for example between said rods 46 and/or between said rods 46 and side edges 48 of the backrest 34.

Said distributor 1 is located, for example, in the backrest 34 of the seat 36, in particular in the part illustrated in a hatched manner in the , that is to say, in an upper half of file 34.

Preferably, said main reservoir 24 is located in the headrest 44. Said headrest 44 here comprises a housing 50, illustrated in hatched form in the .

We understand that the main tank 24 is thus located above the distributor 1. As mentioned above, this arrangement allows the distributor 1 to be supplied by gravity from the main tank 24.

Said treatment device comprises a flexible circuit connecting said main reservoir 24 to said distributor 1, in particular to the nebulizer 10. This is, for example, the supply circuit 12 mentioned in relation to the embodiment of the . Said circuit comprises, for example, one or more conduits, not shown, passing through at least one of the rods 46. The flexibility of the circuit has the advantage of allowing adjustment movements of the headrest 44.

As more particularly illustrated in , said headrest 44 comprises a hatch 52 for access to said housing 50. Said hatch is, for example, hinged on an edge 54 of said housing 50 in order to be able to open and close, here according to the arrow marked 56.

Preferably, said processing device is configured to be activated when the vehicle is stationary, without passengers inside. It is therefore intended to operate between two phases of vehicle use and allows passengers to have disinfected seats when they enter the vehicle.

Claims (10)

Treatment device for a vehicle seat, said device comprising a distributor (1) of a treatment fluid, in the form of a mist of liquid droplets, and at least one nozzle (30) for distributing said droplets, the said nozzle(s) (30) being configured to be positioned on the seat so that the droplets are deposited by gravity on a seat (32) and at least part of a backrest (34) of the seat (36). Device according to claim 1 wherein said fluid is a disinfectant fluid. 3. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, configured so that said droplets are directed upwards at the outlet of said nozzles (30). 4. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising a main reservoir (24) for said fluid, said device being configured for supplying said distributor (1) from said main reservoir (24) by gravity. Seat for a vehicle, in particular an automobile, said seat (36) comprising a processing device according to any one of the preceding claims. Seat according to claim 5 wherein said distributor (1) is located in the backrest (34) of the seat (36). Seat according to any one of claims 5 or 6 in which said nozzles (30) are positioned so that the fog is deposited on at least 90% of a covering surface of the seat (36). Seat according to any one of claims 5 to 7 wherein said nozzles (30) are located on an upper edge (42) of the backrest (34). Seat according to any one of claims 5 to 8, claim 5 being taken in its connection with claim 4, wherein said main reservoir (24) is located in a headrest (44) of the seat. Seat according to claim 9 in which said headrest (44) comprises a housing (50) of said main tank (24), said headrest (44) comprising an access hatch (52) to said housing (50).