JP2001112670A - Surface heater and heating toilet seat device having the heater - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a surface heater which enhances the workability in assembling of the surface heater and enables uniform heating even in a portion having a three-dimensionally curved surface near the inner periphery of the seating surface of the toilet seat, near the outer periphery thereof, etc. SOLUTION: The surface heater formed by coating a heating element having mixed paper consisting of conductive fibers and a plurality of electrodes mounted at this mixed paper with an insulating layer is laminated with an adhesive layer on one surface of this insulating layer and is provided with a non-tacky adhesive release film on another surface.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a planar heater in which electrodes are attached to a mixed paper manufactured by uniformly dispersing conductive fibers and non-conductive fibers, and a heating toilet seat using the planar heater as a heat source. It concerns the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in a conventional heating toilet seat device, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, a heater unit 34 having a tubing heater 31 (linear heating element) laid on the surface of a heat conductive film 32 in a meandering manner is attached to an inner surface of a toilet seat body 35 with an adhesive 33.
And it was configured to be integrated. Since the heater having this configuration is a low-cost and highly reliable heat source, it is used in a wide range such as an electric carpet and an electric blanket in addition to the heating toilet seat device.

However, in such a heater, since the area difference between the tubing heater 31 and the heat conductive film 32 is too large, there is a problem that temperature unevenness between the vicinity of the tubing heater 31 and other portions is large. was there. In particular, in a device for directly heating a portion of a human body that does not wear clothes, such as a heated toilet seat, the temperature unevenness is sensitively sensed, resulting in a significant decrease in commercial value.

Accordingly, recently, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Sho 60-1
In JP-A-07287, etc., a planar heater in which a resistance heating element itself is formed in a layer shape is proposed. By providing electrodes at both ends of the heating element, the planar heater generates heat at almost all points of the sheet material, thereby enabling uniform heating. Furthermore, by using a special ceramic or carbon fiber as the resistance heating element, it becomes possible to radiate not only conduction heat but also infrared rays, and it is possible to widen a heating variation and a use range of the heater.

[0005]

However, since the sheet heater is electrically conductive as it is, it is necessary to take measures to prevent electric shock when it is used in an apparatus that heats by contacting the human body. Must be covered with an insulating film. In order to attach this to a device having a curved surface such as a heating toilet seat device, a method of applying and applying an adhesive to the device side or the sheet heater side can be considered, but if the entire surface is to be pasted at one time, In addition, wrinkles may occur, resulting in uneven temperature and damage to the planar heater.

Further, it has been physically difficult to attach the toilet seat to the back side of a portion having a three-dimensional curved surface such as a shape near the inner circumference and the outer circumference of the seating surface. In other words, if the planar heater is formed in a three-dimensional shape that matches the shape of the toilet seat, the performance of the heater will be degraded, and the two-dimensional shape must be used. As a result, the heat of the heater is not transmitted to the vicinity of the inner periphery and the outer periphery of the seating surface, and the temperature is lower than that of other portions, which causes discomfort at the time of sitting.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and enhances the workability of assembling a planar heater, and provides a portion having a three-dimensional curved surface near the inner periphery and the outer periphery of the toilet seating surface. It is an object of the present invention to provide a planar heater capable of performing uniform heating even if it is provided.

[0008]

Means for Solving the Problems and Action / Effects In order to solve the above problems, the invention according to claim 1 comprises a mixed paper made of conductive fibers and a plurality of electrodes attached to the mixed paper. In a planar heater in which the provided heating element is covered with an insulating layer, an adhesive layer is laminated on one surface of the insulating layer, and a non-adhesive member is provided on the other surface.

In the conventional sheet heater attaching operation, when an adhesive is applied to a base material such as a toilet seat, a masking step is required, and it is difficult to eliminate the uneven application of the adhesive layer. Further, waste occurs due to application of the adhesive outside the bonding range. In addition, since the adhesive is adhered to the entire surface of the bonding portion of the base material, the bonding operation is difficult, and a bonding error is likely to occur.

In the present invention, since the sheet heater is provided with an adhesive and a non-tacky release film, the number of steps during the attaching operation can be reduced. Further, since the bonding is performed without applying the adhesive, the unevenness of the adhesive layer can be eliminated, and the adhesive can be attached only to the bonding portion of the base material, so that the adhesive is not wasted. Furthermore, since the sticking operation can be performed at any time while peeling off the non-adhesive release film, sticking errors can be reduced.

[0011] It is preferable that the planar heater insulates a portion of the outer peripheral portion where the conductive portion is exposed.

In a conventional sheet heater using mixed paper made of conductive fibers, the sheet heater is provided with an insulating property for preventing electric leakage, so that the entire sheet heater is sealed with an insulating layer such as a laminated film. Alternatively, it has a structure in which it is covered by impregnation with a thermosetting resin or the like. Therefore, in manufacturing, it is necessary to cut the conductive mixed paper into a desired shape and then perform the above-described processing, which has been a cause of deteriorating the mass productivity of the heater.

In the present invention, when manufacturing the planar heater, first, a mixed paper made of conductive fibers as a raw material is laminated in a roll shape, and a portion cut into a target shape in that state is, for example, heated. Insulating resin such as curable,
By covering the exposed portion of the mixed paper made of the conductive fiber on the outer peripheral portion, it is possible to manufacture a planar heater that reliably has insulation while improving workability and productivity during mass production of the heater. .

It is preferable that the planar heater covers only the surface opposite to the electrode installation surface with an insulating layer.

In the case where an electrode is attached to a mixed paper made of conductive fibers to form a sheet heater, if the entire surface is insulated by covering the entire surface, it becomes impossible to attach the electrode or perform a printing process. On the other hand, if the electrodes are attached or printed in an uncovered state, the heater has no rigidity, and the workability is reduced.

In the present invention, when manufacturing the planar heater, it is possible to paste or print an electrode on the conductive mixed paper in a state where only one side is covered with an insulating layer,
Workability, productivity, and mass productivity during heater production can be improved.

It is preferable that the planar heater includes a heat conductive film.

With this configuration, heat can be conducted without causing temperature unevenness even on a three-dimensional curved surface, such as the inner peripheral side and the outer peripheral side of the heating toilet seat, where it is difficult to attach the planar heater.

It is preferable that the heat conductive film has conductivity and the mixed paper and the heat conductive film are insulated.

It is known that a metal such as aluminum or copper is efficient for the heat conductive film. However, these metals have conductivity, and when they come into direct contact with the mixed paper made of conductive fibers, an electric current flows to the metal side, so that they do not serve as a heater.

In the present invention, a film having better thermal conductivity can be obtained by laminating an insulating layer on a metallic (conductive) heat conductive film.

It is preferable to connect an earth to the heat conductive film.

A conductive material such as a nail or a needle is attached to the base material,
When the heater reaches the heater, electric current flows to the human body through the conductive material, and there is a risk of electric shock.

In the present invention, by connecting the conductive heat conductive film to the ground, even if a conductive material is touched, if the conductive film reaches this film, the current is released to the ground. Therefore, electric shock of the human body can be prevented.

The planar heater emits infrared rays, and preferably includes a member that reflects infrared rays.

When a planar heater that emits infrared light is attached to the back surface of the base material, the conduction heat is directly transmitted to the front surface side of the base material, but the infrared rays are not concentrated on the front surface side of the base material but are radiated. There is a problem that the effect of infrared rays cannot be sufficiently exhibited due to diffusion.

In the present invention, by providing a member that reflects infrared rays, the infrared rays can be concentrated on the surface side of the base material, and the heating efficiency can be further improved.
Further, if the infrared reflecting member is made of the heat conductive film, the heater can be made compact and the cost can be reduced by reducing the number of parts.

By using the above planar heater as a heat source of the heating toilet seat, the seating surface can be uniformly heated to improve the usability, and the heating efficiency is excellent, and there is no risk of electric shock or electric leakage. A heated toilet seat with excellent safety can be obtained.

[0029]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a planar heater according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as an example applied to a heating toilet seat. (Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 shows a manufacturing process of a sheet heater according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The insulating layer 2 is coated on one side only by lamination such as lamination on the mixed paper 1 made of roll-shaped conductive fibers. At this time, the insulating layer 2 may be formed by spraying an insulating resin (not shown). The adhesive layer 3 is uniformly and uniformly laminated on the surface of the insulating layer 2 opposite to the surface of the mixed paper 1 by a roll coater 4, and a non-viscous release film 5 is laminated on the adhesive surface.

As an alternative to the above method, the adhesive may be applied by spraying, but it is more difficult to laminate the adhesive evenly and uniformly than with a roll coater. Further, instead of separately laminating the insulating layer 2 and the adhesive layer on the mixed paper 1 made of roll-shaped conductive fibers, an adhesive having both insulating properties and adhesive properties is laminated, and the adhesive is formed. A non-viscous release film 5 may be laminated on the surface opposite to the mixed paper surface.

In the next step, as shown in FIG. 2, the sheet heater raw material 6 manufactured in the above step is insulated only on one side, so that the non-insulated side has an electrode 7
Can be provided. Generally, a metal foil having good conductivity is used for the electrode 7, but a conductive material may be formed by printing such as screen printing.

The insulating layer 8 is formed by laminating a film or coating with an insulating resin on the conductive portion of the surface heater on which the electrode 6 is formed, except for the portion from which the lead wire is taken out. Then, the state 9 of the double-sided laminate is completed.

From the state 9 of the double-sided lamination, the sheet heater 10 is cut into a toilet seat-shaped sheet heater 10 as shown in FIG. At this time, as shown in FIG. 4, in the cross section taken along line AA ′ of the sheet heater 10, the mixed paper 1 is exposed from the left and right outer peripheral portions. Then, the end portion of the mixed paper exposed at the outer peripheral portion is covered with an insulating resin 11 such as a thermosetting resin, and is subjected to an insulation treatment, whereby electric leakage and electric shock can be prevented.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment, in which a heat conductive film 22 is provided on a planar heater 21.
An example in which the toilet seat body 23 is attached to the inner surface on the back side of the seating surface to form a heating toilet seat device is shown. FIG. 6 shows a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB '.

The vicinity of the inner circumference 25 and the outer circumference 26 of the toilet seat body 23 is rounded, so that
1 cannot be pasted to this part. Therefore, if the heat conductive film 22 is adhered so as to cover the sheet heater 21 and is also applied to the back surfaces of the R portions of the inner periphery 25 and the outer periphery 26, the heat of the sheet heater 21 is transferred.
This part can be heated as well.
As the heat conductive film 22, a heat conductive film which has been formed into a three-dimensional curved surface in advance may be attached with an adhesive, but in consideration of increasing the degree of freedom of the attached shape, a ductile heat conductive film may be used. Is more preferred.

The heat conductive film 2 of the planar heater 21
In the state where the two surfaces are insulated, use an electrically conductive heat conductive film such as aluminum, and connect this film to the ground 24 so that conductive materials such as nails and needles can be used. Even in the case of touching, since the electricity is released to the ground, the electric shock to the human body can be prevented.

Further, if the heat conductive film 22 is formed of a material that reflects infrared rays, such as aluminum, it reflects infrared rays radiated below the toilet seat and concentrates the infrared rays toward the seating surface of the toilet seat. Can increase the heating efficiency.

The planar heater of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned heating toilet seat, but can be used for an electric carpet, an electric blanket and the like.

According to the planar heater of the present invention, the workability of assembling the planar heater is improved, and uniform heating is possible even in a portion having a three-dimensional curved surface such as near the inner circumference and the outer circumference of the seat seating surface. A simple planar heater can be obtained.
Moreover, while reducing the danger to the human body due to electric leakage and the like, the efficiency of the infrared heater can be maximized to improve the heating efficiency.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a process of forming an insulating coating on one surface of a mixed paper made of conductive fibers.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a step of attaching an electrode to an insulating layer.

FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of the sheet heater shown in FIG. 2 cut into a toilet seat shape and subjected to an insulation treatment.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line AA ′ of the sheet heater shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a heating toilet seat device using a planar heater according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line BB ′ of the heating toilet seat device shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a heating toilet seat device when a conventional heater unit is used.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: mixed paper roll made of conductive fiber, 2: insulating layer, 3
... Adhesive, 4 ... Roll coater, 5 ... Release film, 6
... sheet heater raw material, 7 ... electrode, 8 ... insulating layer, 9 ... double-sided lamination state, 10 ... sheet heater, 11 ... insulating resin,
21: planar heater, 22: heat conductive film, 23: toilet seat body, 24: ground, 25: inner circumference, 26: outer circumference, 31
... tubing heater wire, 32 ... thermal conductive film, 3
3: adhesive, 34: heater unit, 35: toilet seat body

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A planar heater in which a heating element having a mixed paper made of conductive fibers and a plurality of electrodes attached to the mixed paper is covered with an insulating layer, an adhesive is applied to one surface of the insulating layer. A planar heater comprising a stack of layers and a non-adhesive member on the other surface. 2. The planar heater according to claim 1, wherein a portion of the outer peripheral portion of the planar heater where a conductive portion is exposed is insulated. 3. The planar heater according to claim 1, wherein only the surface of the planar heater opposite to the electrode installation surface is covered with an insulating layer. 4. The planar heater according to claim 1, wherein said planar heater includes a heat conductive film. 5. The heat conductive film has conductivity,
The planar heater according to claim 4, wherein the mixed paper and the heat conductive film are insulated. 6. The planar heater according to claim 5, wherein a ground is connected to the heat conductive film. 7. The planar heater according to claim 4, wherein the planar heater emits infrared rays, and includes a member that reflects infrared rays. 8. The planar heater according to claim 7, wherein said infrared reflecting member is said heat conductive film. 9. A heating toilet seat device comprising the planar heater according to claim 1.