JP2006151252A - Vehicle seat air-conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently condition the temperature of a seat surface with small energy. <P>SOLUTION: When an occupant locks a door for parking a vehicle at the time of getting out the vehicle, a seat air-conditioning control is started according to the lock, and it is judged that an object does not exist on a seat (S110). When it is judged that a current day is a summer day or a winter day (S120), a seat back is automatically inclined and folded forward (S130, S150). A blower and a Peltier module built in a seat cushion and a seat back respectively are actuated to transfer cooling wind or warm wind into a narrow space on an occupant contact surface (S140, S160), so that the narrow space is ventilated with small energy. When the occupant unlocks the door of a vehicle during parking (S170), the forward inclined seat back is returned to a reclinable condition in a normal seating posture according to the unlocking operation (S180). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle seat air conditioner.

Since the vehicle seat is hot during summer or cold during winter during parking, an occupant feels uncomfortable with the abnormal temperature of the seat immediately after getting into the vehicle. As a countermeasure against this, there has been a seat air conditioner that cools or heats the surface of the seat by blowing cold air from a Peltier module built in the seat and a blower (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2002-306276 A

  However, since the heat capacity of the seat is relatively large, the conventional technology has a problem that it takes time from the operation of the seat air conditioner until the seat air conditioning actually starts to work.

  For this reason, it is conceivable to operate the seat air conditioner for a long time before boarding the occupant who is parked, but the energy that can be used during parking is limited due to the relationship with the battery capacity. Couldn't get.

  An object of this invention is to adjust the temperature of a sheet | seat surface efficiently with little energy in view of the said point.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the invention described in claim 1, at least one of the seat portion (1) provided in the vehicle compartment and having the seat cushion (2) and the seat back (3), and the seat cushion and the seat back. A seat ventilator (2b, 2c, 3b, 3c) that is installed inside one of the seats and blows out air from the passenger contact surfaces (2e, 3e) of the seat, and the seat back is in a state where the seat back can be brought close to the seat cushion. A seat back forward tilting device (6) for changing the position between the tilted forward tilted state and a seat back forward tilted device by operating the seat back forward tilting device when the vehicle is parked. And a control device (10) for controlling to blow out the wind from the occupant contact surface.

  According to this invention, when the vehicle is parked, that is, when the occupant is away from the vehicle, the seat back of the vehicle seat is tilted forward so as to approach the seat cushion from the backrest-possible state in the occupant sitting posture during normal use. In the state, the wind is blown out from the passenger contact surface of the seat, that is, the air is blown only to a narrow space between the facing surfaces of the approaching seat back and the seat cushion, and the narrow space is ventilated to adjust the temperature. So it can reduce the energy for ventilation. Moreover, since the seat back is tilted forward so as to be close to the seat cushion, the seat occupant contact surface can not only prevent temperature changes due to heating by sunlight in summer or radiant cooling in winter, while parking, There is also an effect of maintaining the seat surface temperature immediately before the seat back is tilted, and the change of the seat surface temperature during parking to an abnormal temperature can be prevented with less energy.

  The seat ventilation device includes a blower (2b, 3b) and a Peltier module (2c, 3c), and blows out the conditioned air cooled or heated by the Peltier module from the passenger contact surface. be able to. Thereby, the sheet surface temperature can be positively cooled or heated.

  In addition, as described in claim 3, there is provided means (S <b> 120) for determining the season of the current day, and the control device can blow cooling air from the seat ventilation device when the determined season is summer. .

  Alternatively, as described in claim 4, when the season determined by the means for determining the season of the current day (S120) is the winter season, heated air can be blown from the seat ventilator.

  The means for determining the season of the current day determines whether it is summer or winter according to at least one of the outside air temperature, the amount of solar radiation, and the current day, as described in claim 5. Can do.

  Further, as described in claim 6, when it is determined that an object is present on the occupant contact surface, the control device operates the seat back forward tilting device so that the seat back can be backrested. be able to. That is, when the passenger is not seated on the passenger contact surface or when an object is placed on the seat, the seat back can be prevented from tilting forward.

  Whether or not an object is present on the occupant contact surface can be determined on the basis of a signal from the seating sensor provided with a seating sensor (17) as described in claim 7.

  The invention according to claim 8 is provided with means (14) for generating a door lock signal indicating a locked state or an unlocked state of the door of the vehicle, and the control device, when the door lock signal indicates the locked state of the door, The seat back is tilted forward, and when the door lock signal indicates the unlocked state of the door, the seat back forward tilting device is operated so that the seat back can be backrested.

  According to the present invention, for example, when the door is locked when the occupant leaves the vehicle at the time of parking, based on the door lock signal that changes from the unlocked state of the door to the locked state, the seat back forward tilting device is provided. That is, the forward tilting operation of the seat back can be automatically started. Alternatively, when the door is unlocked when entering the parked vehicle, the seat back is raised from the forward tilted state to the backable state based on the door lock signal that changes from the locked state to the unlocked state. Thus, the seat back forward tilting device can be automatically activated.

  In addition, the code | symbol in the bracket | parenthesis of each said means shows the correspondence with the specific means as described in embodiment mentioned later.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1A and 1B are side views of a seat portion 1 used for a vehicle seat in the present embodiment, in which FIG. 1A is a backrest state of a seat back 3 in a normal seating posture, and FIG. Each of the forward tilt states is shown. 2A and 2B are cross-sectional views of the sheet 1 in FIG.

  A seat portion 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is for a driver's seat, a seat cushion 2 on which an occupant sits, and a seat back 3 and a seat that are connected to the seat cushion 2 by a reclining mechanism 5 and on which the occupant rests. And a headrest 4 attached to the back 3.

  Then, the seat back 3 in the present embodiment is moved from the backrest-possible state (FIG. 1 (a)) to the forward tilt state (FIG. b)) is driven to rotate forward of the vehicle.

  That is, the backrest enabled state refers to a tilted state of the seat back 3 when the occupant sits on the seat portion 1 and leans against the seat back 3 (normal seating posture). Further, the forward tilt state means that the occupant contact surface 3e of the seat back 3 is close to or in contact with the occupant contact surface 2e of the seat cushion 2 and the space between the occupant contact surfaces 2e and 3e is minimized. The state where the seat back 3 is rotated and moved forward of the vehicle. Then, the servo motor 6 as the seat back forward tilting device rotates forward or backward to rotate the seat back 3 so that the seat back 3 can be backrested and forward tilted.

  Inside the seat cushion 2 and the seat back 3 covered with the seat skins 2a and 3a, blowers 2b and 3b and Peltier modules 2c and 3c as seat ventilation devices are provided, respectively. The blowers 2b and 3b and the Peltier modules 2c and 3c as actuators are operated by the control device 10 (drive of the blower and heat exchange operation of the Peltier module), respectively.

  Air cooled or heated by the Peltier modules 2c and 3c is blown out of the passenger contact surfaces 2e and 3e by the blowers 2b and 3b. Note that the Peltier modules 2c and 3c are not necessarily required, and in that case, only the air blow by the blowers 2b and 3b is performed, whereby ventilation in the vicinity of the passenger contact surface of the seat 1 can be performed.

  The seat skins 2a and 3a, that is, the occupant contact surfaces 2e and 3e are provided with heat transfer sheets 2d and 2d in which air blowing holes are formed, and the chiller or the heat generated by the Peltier modules 2c and 3c is applied to the occupant contact surfaces 2e and 3e. The air blown to the outside of the passenger contact surfaces 2e and 3e is also heat-exchanged.

  Next, the control device 10 will be described. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the seat air conditioner of the present embodiment. The control device 10 is a well-known computer means and includes a RAM that temporarily stores data, a ROM that stores a predetermined program, and the like. Further, in the present embodiment, the control device 10 has a function of detecting the time measuring means 18 for measuring the current date and time and the moving position of the seat back 3.

  The control device 10 includes a door lock sensor 14 as an input terminal, an outside air temperature sensor 15 that is a means for detecting the temperature outside the vehicle interior, a solar radiation sensor 16 that is a means for detecting the amount of solar radiation incident on the vehicle interior, and a seating sensor 17. Is connected.

  When the door is locked or unlocked, the door lock sensor 14 generates a door lock signal indicating the locked or unlocked state of the door based on an operation signal of a door lock actuator (not shown). The door may be locked or unlocked by inserting a key into a key cylinder provided on the door by a passenger and manually operating the key, or by remote operation using a wireless terminal.

  The seating sensor 17 detects whether or not an object is placed on the seat cushion 2. That is, in the present embodiment, the seating sensor 17 is provided on the seat cushion 2, and when the occupant is sitting on the seat cushion 2, the electrical contact is turned on by the load of the occupant, and when the occupant is not sitting on the seat cushion 2 An electrical contact type is used in which the contacts are separated and turned off. Even when an object other than an occupant is placed on the seat cushion 2, the seating sensor 17 generates an ON signal.

  The time measuring means 18 determines the current date by the time counting function (calendar function) built in the control device 10 as described above, and the current date is either summer, winter or intermediate according to a preset date. It can be determined whether there is. Note that the timekeeping function may be other than that built in the control device 10, for example, the current date counted by the navigation system may be used.

  The actuator 11 driven by the control device 10 includes blowers 2b and 3b and Peltier modules 2c and 3c as seat ventilation devices, and a servo motor 6 as a seat back forward tilt device. Electric power for driving the actuator 11 is supplied from the in-vehicle battery 12 and the solar battery 13.

  When the ignition switch (not shown) is off during parking, the solar battery 13 generates power from sunlight and charges the in-vehicle battery 12. Therefore, the solar battery 13 may be used as a power supply source for driving the actuator 11 during parking. it can.

  Next, the contents of seat air conditioning control by the control device 10 will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a control routine. This control routine is executed by the control device 10 that is operated mainly by the electric power from the solar battery 13 when the ignition switch is turned off.

  First, in step S100, a door lock signal (lock signal) indicating that the door lock actuator is in a locked state is received from the door lock sensor 14 when the door is locked by an occupant to the control device 10 in the standby state. Entered.

  In step S <b> 110, it is determined whether an object is placed on the seat 1 based on the signal from the seating sensor 17. If it is determined that there is an object on the seat 1 (the occupant is seated), the present control routine is terminated without operating the seat back forward tilting device or the like, that is, without doing anything. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the object on the seat 1 from being damaged by tilting the seat back 3 forward. If it is determined that there is no object on the sheet 1, the process proceeds to step S120.

In step S120, it is determined whether the current date is summer or winter or an intermediate season (intermediate). Specifically, when the outside air temperature detected by the outside air temperature sensor 15 is higher than a first predetermined temperature (for example, 25 ° C.), or the amount of solar radiation detected by the solar radiation sensor 16 is a predetermined value (for example, 500 W / m ² ). At the above time, it is determined to be summer. Alternatively, when the outside air temperature is lower than a second predetermined temperature (for example, 20 ° C.), it is determined as winter. If it is determined that neither summer nor winter, it is determined as an intermediate period. Note that it is determined whether the current day is a summer period, an intermediate period, or a winter period preset by the time measuring means 18, and the season is determined comprehensively from the determination result based on the result and the outside air temperature and the amount of solar radiation. Good.

  If it is determined in step S120 that the vehicle is in the middle period, it is considered that there is no need to ventilate or air-condition the vicinity of the occupant contact surfaces 2e and 3e of the seat 1, and the seat back forward tilting device or the like is not operated. This control routine is finished.

  If it is determined in step S120 that the current day is summer, the seatback forward tilting device (servo motor 6) is operated in step S130 to move the seatback 3 from the backrest enabled state to the forward tilted state (seat In step S140, the fans 2b and 3b and the Peltier modules 2c and 3c are operated to blow cooling air from the passenger contact surfaces 2e and 3e.

  Thereby, since the cooled air is blown into only the narrow space between the facing surfaces 2e and 3e of the seat back 3 and the seat cushion 2 which are close to each other and the narrow space is ventilated, energy for cooling is reduced. can do. Moreover, since the seat back 3 is tilted forward so as to be close to the seat cushion 2, the passenger contact surfaces 2e and 3e of the seat 1 can not only prevent temperature changes due to heating due to sunlight in the summer while parking. There is also an effect of maintaining the seat surface temperature immediately before the seat back is tilted, and the change of the seat surface temperature during parking to an abnormal temperature can be prevented with less energy.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S120 that the current date is winter, in step S150, the seat back forward tilting device (servo motor 6) is activated to move the seat back 3 from the backrest enabled state to the forward tilted state. In step S160, the blowers 2b and 3b and the Peltier modules 2c and 3c are operated to blow out hot air heated from the passenger contact surfaces 2e and 3e.

  Thereby, since the heated air is blown into only the narrow space between the facing surfaces 2e and 3e of the seat back 3 and the seat cushion 2 that are close to each other and the narrow space is ventilated, the energy for heating is reduced. can do. Moreover, since the seat back 3 is tilted forward so as to approach the seat cushion 2, the passenger contact surfaces 2e and 3e of the seat 1 can not only prevent temperature changes due to radiation cooling in winter, There is also an effect of maintaining the seat surface temperature immediately before the seat back is tilted, and the change of the seat surface temperature during parking to an abnormal temperature can be prevented with less energy.

  Next, in step S170, a door lock signal (lock release signal) indicating that the door lock actuator is unlocked by the door lock sensor 14 when the door of the parked vehicle is unlocked by the occupant. Whether or not is input is determined. That is, the control device 10 monitors a change in the door lock signal in a state where the seat air conditioning control is performed in the parked vehicle.

  When the unlocking signal is input, in step S180, the seat back forward tilting device (servo motor 6) is operated to move the seat back 3 from the forward tilted state to the backrestable state, and the seat is moved. Return to the original.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the passenger gets off, when the door is locked to park the vehicle, the seat air-conditioning control is started according to the locking, and there is no object on the seat 1. If it is determined and the current day is parked and it is determined that the vicinity of the occupant contact surfaces 2e and 3e of the seat is in the summer or winter when the temperature may change to an abnormal temperature (abnormally high temperature or abnormally low temperature) The seat back 3 is tilted forward and folded, and the blowers 2b and 3b and the Peltier modules 2c and 3c, which are seat ventilators built in the seat cushion 2 and the seat back 3, are actuated to operate the occupant contact surfaces 2e and 3e. Air conditioning air (cooling air or warm air) is sent to a narrow space to ventilate the space.

  Further, when the passenger unlocks the door to get into the parked vehicle, the seat back 3 that has been tilted forward is automatically caused in response to the unlocking operation, and the backrest in a normal sitting position is possible. Can be returned to.

  In this way, the routine operation normally performed by the passenger, such as locking or unlocking the door, automatically changes the vicinity of the passenger contact surface of the seat into a narrow space, and only this narrow space can be ventilated with air conditioning air, so there is little Energy consumption can suppress discomfort due to abnormal temperature on the seat surface when seated. And in order to continue this seat air-conditioning control in the parked vehicle, the operation | movement by the solar battery as auxiliary power supply is possible, and consumption of a vehicle-mounted battery can be suppressed.

(Other embodiments)
In the above embodiment, the air blowers 2b and 3b and the Peltier modules 2c and 3c as the seat ventilation device blow out the conditioned air from both the seat cushion 2 and the seat back 3, respectively. That is, since the space between the occupant contact surfaces 2e and 3e of the seat when the seat back 3 is tilted forward is narrow, only the seat ventilation device of either the seat cushion 2 or the seat back 3 is operated so that the air conditioned Even if it blows out, the ventilation effect of the space between passenger | crew contact surfaces and the temperature control effect can be acquired.

  Furthermore, in the above embodiment, when it is determined that the current date falls in the intermediate period, nothing is performed as the seat air conditioning control, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, only the forward tilt of the seat back 3 may be performed even in the intermediate period. Thereby, the seat surface temperature change at the time of a passenger | crew's alighting can be suppressed.

  Alternatively, even during the intermediate period, if the outside air temperature or the amount of solar radiation changes during parking, and the season determination changes from the intermediate period to the summer or winter season, the seat back 3 is tilted forward at that time and the occupant You may make it blow off an air-conditioning wind between contact surfaces.

  On the other hand, even in the summer or winter season, when the outside air temperature or the amount of solar radiation changes during parking and the season determination changes, the operating state of the Peltier modules 2c and 3c is changed according to the determined season. It can be changed to stop, heating, or cooling. Thereby, energy consumption can be further suppressed.

It is a side view of the seat part of this embodiment, (a) shows the backrest possible state in a normal seating posture, and (b) shows the forward tilt state of a seat back. It is sectional drawing of a seat part, (a) shows the backrest possible state in a normal seating posture, (b) shows the forward leaning state of a seat back. It is a block diagram which shows the whole structure of a seat air conditioner. It is a flowchart which shows the control routine of this embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

2b, 3b ... blower, 2c, 3c ... Peltier module, 2d, 3d ... heat transfer sheet,
2e, 3e ... occupant contact surface, 6 ... servo motor (seat back forward tilt device),
10: Control device.

Claims (8)

A seat portion (1) provided in the vehicle compartment and having a seat cushion (2) and a seat back (3);
A seat ventilator (2b, 2c, 3b, 3c) which is provided inside at least one of the seat cushion and the seat back and blows out air from the passenger contact surfaces (2e, 3e) of the seat part;
A seat back forward tilting device (6) for changing the position of the seat back between a state in which the seat back can be backrested and a forward tilted state that is tilted forward so as to approach the seat cushion;
A control device for controlling the seat back to be in the forward tilted state by operating the seat back forward tilting device when the vehicle is parked, and for operating the seat ventilating device to blow out the wind from the passenger contact surface (10) and
A vehicle seat air-conditioning apparatus comprising: The said seat ventilation apparatus is equipped with an air blower (2b, 3b) and a Peltier module (2c, 3c), and blows off the air-conditioning wind cooled or heated by the said Peltier module from the said passenger | crew contact surface. The vehicle seat air-conditioning apparatus described. The means (S120) for determining the season of the present day is provided, and the control device blows cooling air from the seat ventilation device when the determined season is summer. Vehicle seat air conditioner. The means (S120) for determining the season of the current day is provided, and the control device blows heated air from the seat ventilation device when the determined season is winter. Vehicle seat air conditioner. The means for determining the season of the current day determines whether it is summer or winter according to at least one of the outside air temperature, the amount of solar radiation, and the current day. The vehicle seat air-conditioning apparatus described. When it is determined that an object is present on the occupant contact surface, the control device operates the seat back forward tilting device so that the seat back is in a state in which the seat back can be placed. The vehicle seat air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 5. The seat part is provided with a seating sensor (17),
The vehicle seat air conditioner according to claim 6, wherein the control device determines that an object is present on the occupant contact surface based on a signal from the seating sensor. Means (14) for generating a door lock signal indicating a locked state or an unlocked state of the door of the vehicle;
The control device is configured such that when the door lock signal indicates the locked state of the door, the seat back is tilted forward, and when the door lock signal indicates the unlocked state of the door, the seat back can be backrested. The vehicle seat air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the seat back forward tilting device is operated.

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