JP2002231423A - Cloth-like heater - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cloth-like heater capable of preventing a stoppage of current-carrying by disconnection, easy in installation, causing no sense of incompatibility even at seating time, and used for a seat of a vehicle. SOLUTION: This cloth-like heater 1 used for the seat of the vehicle is formed by connecting respective heating elements 9 in parallel to a power source by knitting a large number in a zigzag shape as a whole by crossing the heating elements 9 composed of conductive fiber by depositing metal on chemical fiber with extensible/contractible base cloth 8 composed of fabric so as to be mutually electrically continued while imparting looseness. Thus, since the heating elements 9 can extend and contract together with the base cloth 8 even when body weight complicatedly acts on the seat at seating time, the disconnection can be prevented, and even if the disconnection is caused, since the heating elements 9 are mutually electrically continued in a crossing place, the current-carrying can be continued so that the cloth-like heater 1 can be maintained at a required temperature. Since the base cloth 8 can be thinly formed and the heating elements 9 can be formed in a thin diameter, installing performance to the seat is improved, and the sense of incompatibility is not caused at seating time.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cloth heater used for a vehicle seat or the like in which a heating element made of conductive fibers is woven into an elastic base cloth.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, not only railways but also automobiles have been heated using electric heaters in their seats. As such an electric heater, for example, a double-winding tubing heater in which an auxiliary heating element wire is wound around a core yarn, a main heating element wire is wound via a separation layer made of an electric insulating material, and insulation coating is performed is known. . This electric heater is usually twisted and attached between two cloth bodies to form a sheet heater, and this sheet heater is attached to, for example, a seat portion of a car seat and a surface layer portion of a backrest portion. You. When energized, both the main heating element wire and the auxiliary heating element wire of the electric heater generate heat, causing the temperature of the sheet heater to rise, and thereafter, electricity is applied only to the main heating element wire, and the heater circuit is turned on. It is controlled to an appropriate temperature via a controller that controls the power supply incorporated in the vehicle, and is designed to maintain comfort even when traveling in cold climates.

[0003]

However, in the seat of an automobile, since the weight acts in a complicated manner on the seat, particularly when the vehicle is moved up and down, tension is applied to the planar heater, that is, the electric heater. In addition, the heater may be disconnected before the life of the heater has been reached, and the running comfort may be impaired. In addition, there is a limit in reducing the diameter of the electric heater, and since the two cloths for holding the electric heater are required, there is a limit in forming the sheet heater thinly, and the seat has a limit. There is room for improvement in the ease of attachment to the surface layer and uncomfortable feeling when sitting.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a sheet heater, that is, a cloth heater that can be prevented from being turned off due to disconnection, can be easily mounted, and does not cause a sense of discomfort when seated. That is.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention employs the following configuration.

That is, the cloth-like heater is formed by a stretchable base fabric and a heating element made of conductive fibers woven into the base fabric so as to allow expansion and contraction.

[0007] In this way, the braided heating element can expand and contract together with the stretchable base cloth, so that excessive tension and compression force do not act on the heating element, and the weight of the seat is reduced when the user sits down. Even when the operation is complicated, it is possible to prevent the heating element from being disconnected.

[0008] The conductive fibers may be crossed so as to be electrically conductive to each other while having a slack, and a large number of them may be knitted in a zigzag shape as a whole.

With this configuration, even when a force is applied to expand or contract the base cloth in any direction, such as a vertical direction, a horizontal direction, or an oblique direction, at the time of sitting or the like, the heating element follows and expands and contracts. As a result, disconnection due to the action of an external force can be reliably prevented.

Further, since a large number of conductive fibers are woven in the base cloth in a zigzag manner so as to be electrically conductive and intersect so as to be electrically conductive, the conductive fibers may be unexpectedly caused. Even if there is a disconnection, it is possible to conduct electricity continuously except at the disconnection location and continue energization.
The cloth heater can be maintained at a required temperature.

The density of the heating element can be adjusted by changing the distance between the conductive fibers woven into the base cloth.

The conductive fiber can be formed by depositing a metal on a chemical fiber. Thereby, the diameter of the heating element can be reduced, the flexibility is excellent, and the knitting into the base cloth can be performed smoothly. In addition, since the base fabric can be formed with a thin knitted fabric, the fabric heater can also be formed with a small thickness,
It can be easily mounted on a seat or the like, and does not cause discomfort during sitting.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A cloth heater according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 1, a cloth heater 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a seat 3 and a backrest 4 of an automobile seat 2.
And the seat surface is heated.

The cloth heater 1 is, as shown in FIG.
A heating element 9 made of conductive fibers is woven in a zigzag shape on a stretchable base cloth 8 made of a knitted fabric of a warp yarn 6 and a weft yarn 7. In a state where the electric wires 11 connected to the power supply via the connected connectors 10 are bundled, the electric wires 11 are sewn so as to be electrically connected to the heating elements 9, and the respective heating elements 9 are connected in parallel to the power supply. The electric power supplied to the heating element 9 is controlled by a controller (not shown) incorporated in the circuit of the cloth heater 1.

As shown in FIG. 3, the base fabric 8 of the cloth heater 1 is a warp yarn 6 composed of a number of polyester filaments having excellent heat resistance. Chain loop made of string form 1
2 are formed in a knitted fabric joined by the weft thread 7 inserted between the loops 12 to impart elasticity. Then, four meshes are formed within one swing width of each heating element 9 so that a large number of heating elements 9 made of conductive fibers in which copper is vapor-deposited on nylon fibers are braided with decorative yarn, and are electrically connected to each other. And are woven into the base fabric 8 in a zigzag shape as a whole.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the heating element 9 has a slack so as to allow expansion and contraction, and overlaps the warp yarn 6 at the intersection of the warp yarn 6 and the weft yarn 7. , Are woven into the base fabric 8.

The knitting of the elastic base cloth 8 and the heating element 9 can be performed by using a warp knitting machine such as an ordinary tricot knitting machine. Further, the base fabric 8 having the elasticity is formed by a warp knitting structure such as a single denby or a double denby knitted by such a warp knitting machine, and as described above, the heating element 9 is electrically connected. It is also possible to form the cloth-like heater 1 by intersecting each other and knitting it in a zigzag shape as a whole.

Further, as the warp yarn 6 and the weft yarn 7,
Not only polyester fibers, but also any of synthetic fiber yarns such as nylon fibers, natural fiber yarns such as cotton yarns, and blended yarns of natural fiber yarns and chemical fiber yarns can be used.

Further, as the core yarn of the conductive fiber, not only nylon but also other chemical fibers such as polyester can be used, and natural fiber yarn such as cotton yarn, and chemical fiber yarn of natural fiber yarn can be used. Can also be used. Aluminum, silver, or the like may be used as the metal to be deposited. Further, as the conductive fiber, a metal-plated fiber, a composite fiber obtained by adding a conductive substance such as carbon to the fiber, or the like can be used.

The cloth heater according to the embodiment of the present invention is configured as described above, and its operation will be described below.

The heating element 9 is knitted in a zigzag shape as a whole into a stretchable base cloth 8 having a slack so as to allow expansion and contraction. Even if a force is applied to expand or contract the heating element 9 in any direction, such as a vertical direction, a horizontal direction, or an oblique direction, the heating element 9 can follow and expand and contract. Disconnection can be reliably prevented.

Further, as described above, the heating element 9 is woven in a zigzag shape as a whole, and is woven so as to cross each other so as to be electrically connected to each other. Even if there is a disconnection, conduction can be continued by conducting with each other except at the disconnection location, and the cloth heater 1 can be maintained at a required temperature as a whole.

Since the conductive fibers can be formed by depositing a metal on chemical fibers, the heating element 9 can have a small diameter.
It is excellent in flexibility and can be smoothly knitted into the base fabric 8. Further, since the base cloth 8 into which the heating element 9 is knitted is thin, the cloth-like heater 1 can also be formed thin, and
It can be easily mounted on a vehicle or the like and does not cause discomfort during sitting.

The cloth heater of the present invention can be used not only for the seat of a vehicle such as an automobile described above, but also for a heating device such as an electric cushion or an electric carpet.

[0026]

As described above, according to the present invention, a heating element made of conductive fiber is woven into a stretchable base fabric with slack to form a cloth heater to be mounted on a seat of a vehicle or the like. Therefore, even when the weight acts on the seat in a complicated manner, such as when the user sits down, the heating element itself expands and contracts together with the elastic base cloth, so that disconnection can be prevented.

Further, as described above, since the heating elements cross each other so as to be electrically connected to each other and are woven in a zigzag shape as a whole, they may be disconnected due to an unexpected situation. Also, the heating elements are electrically connected to each other except at the disconnected portions, so that the energization can be continued and the cloth heater can be maintained at a required temperature.

Further, since the base fabric can be formed with a thin knitted fabric and the heating element has a small diameter, the cloth heater can be made thin, which makes it easy to mount on a seat or the like, and also makes the user feel uncomfortable while sitting. Does not occur.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing a state in which a cloth heater of the present invention is mounted on an automobile seat.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway plan view in which main parts of the above are enlarged.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view showing details of knitting of the cloth heater according to the first embodiment;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cloth-shaped heater 2 Car seat 3 Seat part 4 Backrest part 5 Surface layer part 6 Warp thread 7 Weft thread 8 Base cloth 9 Heating element 10 Connector 11 Electric wire 12 Loop

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) D04B 21/00 D04B 21/00 B 4L031 21/14 21/14 Z D06M 11/83 F24D 13/02 E F24D 13/02 D06M 11/00 CF term (reference) 3B084 JF02 3K034 AA02 AA09 AA12 AA25 AA35 BA10 BB10 BB15 HA01 JA01 3L011 BV00 3L072 AA01 AB04 AB10 AC02 AD19 4L002 AC03 BA06 BB02 CA04 EA01 A02A03 A03 A03 A03

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A cloth heater formed by a stretchable base cloth and a heating element made of conductive fibers woven into the base cloth so as to allow expansion and contraction. 2. The cloth heater according to claim 1, wherein the conductive fibers cross each other so as to be electrically connected to each other while having a slack, and are woven in a zigzag shape as a whole. 3. The cloth heater according to claim 1, wherein the conductive fiber is formed by depositing a metal on a chemical fiber.