JP2012131462A - Seat for vehicle including heat-storage material - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a seat for a vehicle capable of using a heat-storage material several times after one regeneration treatment.SOLUTION: This invention includes the heat-storage material arranged at a surface layer of a seat 1 interior to face a sitting surface and using supercooling phenomenon and a heater 15 arranged at the rear surface of the heat-storage material. A plurality of the heat-storage materials 11,12,13 are disposed side by side in a spiral shape in the plane direction of the sitting surface. Respective heat-storage materials 11,12,13 can be dissipatedly crystallized separately by one trigger device 20 including triggers 26 respectively corresponding thereto.

Description

  The present invention relates to a seat including a heat storage material that is provided in a surface layer portion inside the seat so as to face a seating surface and that utilizes a supercooling phenomenon, and a heater that is provided on the back surface of the heat storage material.

  There exists following patent document 1 as this kind of sheet | seat. In Patent Document 1, one heat storage material having an area corresponding to the seating surface is provided in a planar manner on the surface layer inside the vehicle seat, and the heat storage material is crystallized until the seat is heated by the heater. The seating surface can be quickly heated by heat dissipation. While the vehicle is running, the heater is controlled in a temperature range that maintains the solidification temperature of the heat storage material, specifically in the range of 37 to 45 ° C. This is to prevent overheating of the sheet.

JP 7-155240 A

  This type of heat storage material needs to be regenerated by once crystallizing and dissipating heat, then again applying heat from the outside and liquefying. The regeneration temperature at this time generally requires a temperature of about 80 ° C. Moreover, it takes a certain amount of time to regenerate the heat storage material. In Patent Document 1, since the heat storage material is maintained at the solidification temperature while the vehicle is running, it is not regenerated. Therefore, although not explicitly disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is presumed that the regenerator material is regenerated by heating it with a heater at a higher temperature than when traveling while the vehicle is stopped. However, in Patent Document 1 having only one heat storage material, the heating effect by the heat storage material can be obtained only once after one regeneration process. This causes the following problems.

  For example, in the case of repeatedly getting on and off the vehicle in a short time, such as when going to a delivery company or shopping for a few shops, the heat storage material cannot be reliably regenerated while the vehicle is stopped. In this case, since the heat storage material is re-mounted before it is regenerated, the sheet cannot be heated by the heat storage material when boarding for the second time or later. Although it is conceivable that the heat storage material is heated to a high temperature (for example, about 80 ° C.) by a heater while the vehicle is running, it is not realistic because the occupant is hot and cannot be seated. In addition, depending on the performance of the heater, it may take a long time for the occupant to feel warmth by the heater, but if only one heat storage material is provided as in Patent Document 1, the heating effect by the heater can be obtained. In some cases, the heat storage material may dissipate heat.

  Therefore, the present invention solves the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide a vehicle seat that can use a heat storage material a plurality of times after one regeneration process.

  As a means for that, the present invention is a sheet comprising a heat storage material using a supercooling phenomenon provided on the surface layer portion inside the seat so as to face the seating surface, and a heater provided on the back surface of the heat storage material, A plurality of the heat storage materials are arranged side by side in the plane direction of the seating surface, and each heat storage material can be separately crystallized by heat dissipation by a trigger corresponding to each of the heat storage materials. The “trigger” means a mechanical or electrical stimulus or seed crystal that causes the heat storage material that has accumulated heat and is in a liquefied state to crystallize.

  According to this, by providing a plurality of heat storage materials that can be dissipated independently of each other, the heat storage materials can be used a plurality of times at an appropriate timing even after one regeneration process. Therefore, even in situations where the heat storage material cannot be completely regenerated, such as when getting on and off in a short period of time, the seat can be heated immediately after boarding each time by crystallizing a different heat storage material for each boarding. It is possible to improve the comfort when sitting. Further, even when heating by the heater takes a long time, the heating effect by the heat storage material can be maintained by radiating the heat storage material in stages. Moreover, since each heat storage material is arranged in parallel by the plane direction with respect to the seating surface, all each heat storage material has faced the seating surface, and can obtain the heating effect of the same extent each time. That is, when only one heat storage material is provided so as to face the entire seating surface as in Patent Document 1, in the case of providing a plurality of heat storage materials, the depth direction of the seat (the heat storage material provided in the surface layer portion) It can only be stacked on the back side. This reduces the heating effect of the heat storage material provided in the deep layer. On the other hand, such a problem does not occur if they are arranged side by side in the plane direction.

  The heat storage materials are preferably arranged in a spiral shape parallel to each other. If each heat storage material is made linear, the range which can be heated with one heat storage material will become small. Therefore, in order to heat the seating surface as a whole, it is necessary to arrange a large number of heat storage materials in parallel, and it is necessary to simultaneously dissipate a plurality of heat storage materials at a time. On the other hand, if each heat storage material is arranged in a spiral shape, the seating surface can be entirely heated by one heat storage material, and there is no need to arrange more heat storage materials than necessary.

  Moreover, it is preferable that each said thermal storage material gives a trigger sequentially by one trigger apparatus. A plurality of trigger devices corresponding to each heat storage material can be provided, but if one trigger device can sequentially provide triggers to all the heat storage materials, the device can be simplified and the user can operate easily. .

  According to the present invention, a plurality of heat storage materials facing the seating surface are arranged side by side, and each heat storage material can be separately radiated and crystallized, so that the heat storage material is used a plurality of times after one regeneration process. can do.

It is a perspective view of a sheet. It is a cross-sectional view of a seat cushion. It is a partial cross section figure of a trigger device. It is a side view of a seat cushion. It is the sectional view on the AA line of FIG. It is the BB sectional view taken on the line of FIG.

  Hereinafter, typical examples of the storage sheet according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings as appropriate.

(Example)
The seat 1 is a seat for a vehicle such as an automobile, and as shown in FIG. 1, supports a seat cushion 2 that serves as a seating portion for the occupant, a seat back 3 that serves as a backrest for the occupant, and a head of the occupant. And a headrest 4. In the seat cushion 2, the center portion on the upper surface becomes a seating surface, and in the seat back 3, the center portion on the front surface becomes a seating surface. Reference numeral 5 denotes a side shield that covers the side surface of the seat cushion 2. As shown in FIG. 4, the side shield 5 is formed with a long hole 5a extending in the front-rear direction. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a plurality of protrusions 6 are integrally formed on the outer surface of the side shield 5 along the upper edge of the long hole 5a. The protrusions 6 are formed in the same number as the heat storage material (three in this embodiment), and the protrusions 6 are formed at equal intervals in the front-rear direction.

  Returning to FIG. 1, a plurality (three in the present embodiment) of heat storage materials 11, 12, and 13 and one heater 15 are arranged inside the seat cushion 2. In addition, one trigger device 20 for sequentially crystallizing the heat storage materials 11, 12, and 13 is provided in the side portion of the seat cushion 2 through the side shield 5 through the long hole 5 a. . Each of the heat storage materials 11, 12, and 13 is arranged in parallel in the planar direction so as to face the seating surface in the surface layer portion in the seat cushion 2, and the heater 15 is disposed on the back surface (deep layer side).

Each of the heat storage materials 11, 12 and 13 is composed of disodium hydrogen phosphate hydrate (Na ₂ HPO ₄ · 12H ₂ O), sodium acetate hydrate (CH ₃ COONa · 3H ₂ O), or sodium thiosulfate hydrate. Adjust the melting temperature by adding materials such as sodium pyrophosphate (Na ₄ P ₂ O ₇ · 10H ₂ O) to materials that show supercooling phenomena such as (Na ₂ S ₂ O ₃ · 5H ₂ O) The product is housed in a metal or resin container or the like. Each heat storage material 11, 12, 13 melts when it absorbs heat and becomes higher than the melting point, but once it is completely melted, it stores heat while maintaining the molten state without crystallizing even if the temperature drops below the melting point. It immediately crystallizes by releasing the latent heat of fusion by applying a mechanical or electrical stimulus or a seed crystal. In addition, although a heat storage material becomes hard by crystallizing, the hardness at the time of crystallization can be lowered | hung by increasing the hydrate of a supercooling phenomenon material. Each of the heat storage materials 11, 12, and 13 has a long and narrow shape, and as shown in FIG. 2, the heat storage materials 11, 12, and 13 are arranged in a spiral shape over the entire seating surface in parallel with each other. Is in contact with

  As the heater 15, an electric heater in which a heating wire such as a nichrome wire is stretched on an insulating plate can be used as a representative. However, a material in which an insulating plate is coated with carbon or a PTC material is also used. it can. The heater 15 has an area capable of heating the seating surface as a whole. Although not shown, the heater 15 is connected to a power source such as a battery via an electric cord.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 6, the trigger device 20 includes an operation lever 21, a pressing rod 22, a compression spring 23, an outer rail 24, an inner rail 25, a seed crystal 26, a housing 27, and the like. The operation lever 21 covers the long hole 5a on the outer surface of the side shield 5 and is slidable in the front-rear direction. The compression spring 23 is fixed to the inner surface of the operation lever 21, and an elongated rod-like pressing rod 22 is joined to the tip of the compression spring 23 via a sliding member 28. Thereby, the pressing rod 22 and the sliding member 28 are always urged inward of the sheet 1. The pressing rod 22 has such a strength that it does not deform even when it receives an urging force (pressing force) by the compression spring 23. The sliding member 28 is larger than the width dimension (vertical dimension) of the long hole 5 a and slides in the front-rear direction along the outer surface of the side shield 5 including the protrusion 6.

  The outer rail 24 is fixed in the front-rear direction so as to face the elongated hole 5 a inside the side shield 5, and the inner rail 25 is slidably engaged with the outer rail 24. Further, the inner rail 25 has an insertion hole having substantially the same diameter (slightly larger) as the pressing rod 22. The pressing rod 22 is inserted into the long hole 5 a and the insertion hole of the inner rail 25, and can slide within the long hole 5 a by the inner rail 25. A flange 22a having a diameter larger than that of the inner rail 25 is formed at an intermediate portion of the pressing rod 22, and when the flange 22a abuts against the inner surface of the inner rail 25, the pressing rod 22 and the operation lever 21 are detached. Is prevented. Further, the outer rail 24 is provided with a long hole that allows the slide movement of the pressing rod 22 in the longitudinal direction, and the outer surface of the housing 27 is also opened to allow the sliding movement of the pressing rod 22.

  The casing 27 is a flat hollow cylindrical member whose inner and outer surfaces are open. A plurality of (two in this embodiment) partition walls 27 a corresponding to the number of heat storage materials are provided on the inner edge of the housing 27. Each space partitioned by each partition wall 27a is filled with silicon 29 having a certain elasticity, and a seed crystal 26 (a seed crystal of sodium acetate in this embodiment) is embedded therein. The seed crystal 26 serves as a trigger for crystallizing (nucleating) the heat storage material. Further, the various crystals 26 face the inner side surface opening of the housing 27. In addition, the base ends of the heat storage materials 11, 12, and 13 are in contact with the various crystals 26 through the inner surface openings of the housing 27. The pressing rod 22 has a length dimension capable of pressing the silicon 29.

  Next, a method for using the sheet will be described. First, at an initial position before the occupant is seated on the seat 1, the operating lever 21 is in a position where the sliding member 28 rides on the protrusion 6 as shown by the solid line in FIG. 3 and FIG. 5. As a result, the pressing rod 22 is pulled outward, so that the pressing rod 22 and the silicon 29 are in a separated state. At this time, each of the heat storage materials 11, 12, and 13 stores heat in a molten state by heat applied from the heater 15 while the vehicle is stopped. When the occupant sits on the seat 1 in a cold region or in winter, the seat 1 is cold as it is and the body is cooled. Therefore, the heater 15 is operated by turning on a switch (not shown) provided at an appropriate position in the passenger compartment. However, it takes some time to heat the sheet 1 with the heater 15. Therefore, the operation lever 21 is operated to crystallize the heat storage material, and the seating surface of the seat 1 can be quickly heated by heat dissipation at that time.

  Specifically, the operation lever 21 is slid by a predetermined amount in the front-rear direction. At this time, the inner rail 25 is slidably guided in the outer rail 24 through the pressing rod 22, so that the sliding member 28, the pressing rod 22 and the like can be smoothly slid. Then, as shown in an imaginary line (two-dot chain line) in FIG. 3 and FIG. 6, the sliding member 28 slides on the outer surface of the side shield 5, and the sliding member 28 riding on the protrusion 6 It falls between the protrusions 6 by the urging force. Thereby, when the pressing rod 22 is pushed inward and the silicon 27 is pushed, the seed crystal 26 is also pushed inward and bites into the corresponding heat storage material. Then, using this as a kick (trigger), the molten heat storage material is crystallized from the base end to the tip, and heat dissipation is started. At this time, since each of the heat storage materials 11, 12, and 13 is arranged in a spiral shape, the entire seating surface can be heated only by one heat storage material. Heat dissipation ends when the heat storage material is completely crystallized. After the heat dissipation by the heat storage material is completed, the sheet 1 is heated by the heater 15. At this time, since the heater 15 is controlled to a comfortable temperature (about 40 to 45 ° C.), the heat storage material is not regenerated. The heat storage material once crystallized is regenerated at a high temperature (about 80 ° C.) by the heater 15 while the vehicle is stopped. Immediately after using the heat storage material or when getting off the vehicle, the sliding member 28 is run on any one of the protrusions 6 in order to regenerate the heat storage material. This is because the seed crystal 26 cannot be regenerated if it remains in the heat storage material.

  The pattern (order or the like) for crystallizing the plurality of heat storage materials 11, 12, and 13 is not particularly limited, and may be appropriately selected depending on the use situation, preference, and the like. For example, when repeatedly getting on and off in a short time, one or more (only a part of all) are crystallized for each seating, and another heat storage material is crystallized at the next seating. Thus, the seat 1 can be heated immediately after sitting every time. Thereby, even when the heat storage material once crystallized cannot be completely regenerated, the heat storage material can be used a plurality of times by one regeneration process. Further, if heating by the heater 15 is not in time even if a certain heat storage material is crystallized, another heat storage material is subsequently crystallized until the heating effect by the heater 15 is obtained. Heating time can be extended. In addition, when the heating effect of only one heat storage material cannot be satisfied due to severe environments such as extremely cold regions, the heating effect of the heat storage material is improved by simultaneously crystallizing a plurality of heat storage materials at a time. It can also be made.

  The number of crystallizing heat storage materials can be adjusted by the amount of slide movement of the operation lever 21. Specifically, if the operating lever 21 is slid largely and the sliding member 28 is dropped from the protrusion 6 at a plurality of locations, a plurality of heat storage materials can be crystallized at a time. If the operation lever 21 is slid small, only one heat storage material is crystallized.

  2 and 3, each of the heat storage materials 11 and 12 is defined with an initial position where the sliding member 28 rides on the rearmost protrusion 6 and the operating lever 21 is located at the rear end of the sliding range. Although the case where the operation lever 21 is slid forward is illustrated when crystallizing 13, the initial position of the operation lever 21 may be anywhere. For example, in the initial position, the sliding member 28 rides on the protrusion 6 in the middle portion, and the operation lever 21 can be operated forward and / or backward therefrom. In this case, the order in which the heat storage material is crystallized can be freely selected according to the sliding direction of the operation lever 21. Of course, the sliding member 28 rides on the foremost protrusion 6 at the initial position, and the operation lever 21 can be slid rearward therefrom.

  Although it is not preferable because the number of times of use of the heat storage material is reduced, the sliding member 28 does not necessarily have to run on the protrusion 6 at the initial position. This is because even in this case, a heat storage material other than the heat storage material in which the seed crystal 26 bites in at the initial position can be used.

(Modification)
As mentioned above, although the typical Example of this invention was described, it can change variously in the range which is not restricted to this but does not deviate from the summary of this invention. For example, in the above embodiment, the three heat storage materials 11, 12, and 13 are arranged in parallel, but two to four or more can be arranged in parallel. Each heat storage material does not necessarily need to be arranged in a spiral, and may be arranged in a straight line. In the above embodiment, the seed crystal 26 is used as a trigger. However, the crystal can be crystallized using an electrical or mechanical stimulus as a trigger.

  In the above embodiment, each heat storage material is sequentially crystallized by one trigger device 20, but the trigger device 20 is not necessarily required. For example, a plurality of push buttons corresponding to each heat storage material can be provided, and each heat storage material can be crystallized by pressing each push button.

  In the above embodiment, the heat storage materials 11, 12, 13 and the heater 15 are provided only on the seat cushion 2, but may be provided on the seat back 3.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Seat 2 Seat cushion 5 Side shield 5a Long hole 6 Protrusion 11,12,13 Heat storage material 15 Heater 20 Trigger apparatus 21 Operation lever 22 Press rod 23 Compression spring 24 Outer rail 25 Inner rail 26 Seed crystal 27 Case 28 Sliding member

Claims (3)

A sheet comprising a heat storage material provided on the surface layer portion inside the seat so as to face the seating surface and utilizing a supercooling phenomenon, and a heater provided on the back surface of the heat storage material,
A plurality of the heat storage materials are juxtaposed in the planar direction of the seating surface,
Each heat storage material can be crystallized by heat radiation separately by a trigger corresponding to each heat storage material.   The vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein the heat storage materials are arranged in a spiral shape parallel to each other. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, further comprising one trigger device capable of sequentially giving a trigger to each of the heat storage materials.

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