JP2018113978A - Cool/warm device for pet - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cool/warm device for pet, the device that reduces impact more than before on a pet resting on a mat caused by sound and vibration generated by a temperature controller and improves the degree of freedom of the layout in which the mat is arranged more than the conventional one.SOLUTION: The cool/warm device for a pet includes: a cool/warm mat 10 on which a pet rests; and a cool/warm control unit 20 which makes a liquid adjusted to a target temperature flow into the cool/warm mat 10. In this device, the cool/warm mat 10 and the cool/warm control unit 20 are separated and, with a liquid flowing passages 30, 40 which are formed with a flexible material, the cool/warm control unit 20 and the cool/warm mat 10 are connected.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a pet cooling / heating device, and more particularly to a pet cooling / heating device that cools or heats a mat for resting a pet such as a dog to an appropriate temperature according to the temperature of fluid flowing in the mat.

  The number of pets has increased dramatically due to the recent pet boom. Now, it is said that 26.84 million heads of dogs and cats, which are representative pets, are kept for 17.25 million human children. Among them, the proportion of indoor breeding is 60% for dogs and 70% for cats. In particular, the intense heat in urban areas in summer is unusual, and some kind of temperature measures are necessary for indoor-breed pets.

  As a prior art for solving this problem, for example, Patent Literature 1 is disclosed. According to the pet animal bed disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is safe and can be used comfortably in a sealed place as well as in the summer when the ambient temperature is high, regardless of the humidity of the surroundings. It can be done.

  However, the pet animal bed disclosed in Patent Document 1 is provided with a bed part for resting a pet and a control part for controlling the temperature of the bed integrally adjacent to each other. A mechanism with motion such as a fan is incorporated. For this reason, there is an inconvenience that sounds and vibrations emitted from the control unit tend to adversely affect pets resting in the bed. This is because pets are particularly sensitive to sound and vibration.

  In addition, in the case of a device provided with the bed portion and the control unit integrally adjacent to each other like the pet animal bed disclosed in Patent Document 1, the position of the exhaust port and the power cord is fixed. There is an inconvenience that the degree of freedom of the layout for placing the bed is limited and the installation location is limited.

JP 2008-193971 A

  An object of the present invention is to improve the disadvantages of the conventional example, and in particular, to reduce the influence of sound and vibration emitted from the temperature control unit on a pet resting on the mat unit. It is another object of the present invention to improve the degree of freedom of layout in which the mat portion is arranged as compared with the related art.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention has the following configuration. That is,
In a pet cooling / heating device comprising a cooling / heating mat on which a pet rests and a cooling temperature control unit for flowing a liquid whose temperature is adjusted to a target temperature inside the cooling / heating mat,
A pet cooling / heating device in which the cooling / heating mat is separated from the cooling / temperature control unit, and the cooling / heating control unit and the cooling / heating mat are connected by a flow path for flowing the liquid formed of a flexible material.

According to the present invention, the cold / warm mat and the cool / warm control unit are separated and connected between them by a flexible liquid flow path, so that the distance between the cool / warm mat and the cool / warm control unit can be increased, and The liquid flow path having the flexibility to connect may be difficult to transmit vibration, and the influence of the sound and vibration emitted from the cold / warm control unit on the pet resting on the cold / warm mat can be reduced compared to the conventional case.
In addition, since the cold / warm mat and the cool / warm control unit are separated and connected by a flexible liquid flow path, the cold / warm mat has a certain degree of freedom even when the place where the cool / warm control unit is placed is limited. Since it can arrange | position, the freedom degree of the layout which arrange | positions a mat | matte part can be improved rather than before.

1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. The block block diagram of embodiment shown in FIG. The whole block diagram which shows the modification of embodiment shown in FIG.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. The pet cooling / heating apparatus shown in FIG. 1 includes a cooling / heating mat 10 on which a pet rests, a cooling / warming control unit 20 that adjusts the temperature of the cooling / warming mat 10, and a liquid whose temperature is controlled by the cooling / warming control unit 20. A liquid supply path 30 for supplying liquid to the liquid path in 10 and a liquid return path 40 for returning the liquid that has passed through the liquid path in the cold / warm mat 10 to the cold / temperature control unit 20 are provided. Thus, it is one of the features of the present invention that the cool / warm mat 10 and the cool / warm control unit 20 are separated. The liquid supply path 30 and the liquid return path 40 connecting the cold / warm mat 10 and the cool / warm control unit 20 are covered with a cover 50 so that the pet does not bite and break. The liquid supply path 30, the liquid return path 40, and the cover 50 covering these have flexibility. Here, the size of the cool / warm mat 10, the size of the cool / warm control unit 20, the lengths of the liquid flow paths 30 and 40 and the cover 50 depicted in each figure are drawn in the convenient sizes shown in the drawings. The actual size and length of each element are not limited to those illustrated.

  FIG. 2 shows a detailed configuration of the cooling / heating control unit 20. The cold temperature control unit 20 includes a liquid tank 21 and a pump 22 that supplies the liquid contained in the liquid tank 21 to the liquid supply path 30.

  At least a part of the liquid tank 21 is formed of a material having high thermal conductivity, and a thermoelectric element 23 is attached to a portion having the high thermal conductivity. In the present embodiment, the thermoelectric element 23 is a Peltier element. One surface of the Peltier element 23 is in close contact with a portion having high thermal conductivity of the liquid tank 21, and a heat sink 24 is in close contact with the other surface. A ventilation fan 25 is provided at the tip of the fin of the heat sink 24. The ventilation fan 25 is attached to a ventilation hole provided in the housing 26 of the cooling / heating control unit 20. In the liquid tank 21, two Peltier elements 23 are mounted side by side on the same plane, and a heat sink 24 and a ventilation fan 25 are provided for each Peltier element 23.

  The liquid tank 21 is equipped with a liquid temperature sensor 61 that detects the temperature of the liquid in the tank. The output signal of the liquid temperature sensor 61 is input to the control unit 62. An operation unit 63 operated by the user and a display unit 64 that displays information to the user are connected to the control unit 62. Reference numeral 65 denotes a power supply unit that energizes each part of the cool / warm control unit 20. From the operation unit 63, setting of the target temperature and setting of the timer can be performed.

  When the power of the cold / warm control unit 20 is turned on, the pump 22 is operated, the liquid in the liquid tank 21 is fed to the liquid feed path 30, and the liquid that has passed through the liquid path in the cool / warm mat 10 is returned to the liquid return path 40. And returned to the liquid tank 21. Thereby, the liquid circulates between the liquid tank 21 and the cold / hot mat 10. Further, the ventilation fan 25 is rotationally driven by turning on the power of the cooling / temperature control unit 20. In the present embodiment, the liquid stored in the liquid tank 21 is tap water that is easy to obtain and handle.

  The control unit 62 stores the target temperature set by the operation of the operation unit 63, and has a predetermined current so that the liquid temperature in the liquid tank 21 grasped from the output signal of the liquid temperature sensor 61 approaches the target temperature. Control to energize the Peltier element 23 according to the direction and size is continued. Thereby, the temperature of the liquid in the liquid tank 21 approaches the set target temperature, and the temperature of the liquid flowing into the liquid path in the cool / warm mat 10 also approaches the target temperature. The temperature of the surface of the cold / warm mat 10 is also adjusted by the temperature of the liquid flowing through the liquid path in the cold / warm mat 10, and the pet resting on the cool / warm mat 10 rests while feeling a comfortable temperature according to the set target temperature. It becomes possible. The control unit 62 displays the target temperature set from the operation unit 63 on the display unit 64.

  Inside the cold / hot mat 10, a meandering liquid path is formed of a material having high thermal conductivity. While the liquid having a temperature close to the target temperature passes through the meandering liquid path, the surface temperature of the cold / warm mat 10 is brought close to the target temperature. However, the shape of the liquid path provided inside the cold / warm mat 10 is not necessarily limited to the meandering type, but may be a liquid path having another shape.

  Here, in order that the liquid having a temperature close to the target temperature sent from the cold / warm control unit 20 flows into the cold / warm mat 10 to be less affected by the outside air temperature, at least the surface of the liquid feed passage 30 is formed. Is preferably subjected to heat treatment.

  In addition, the control unit 62 has a function of turning on / off the power supply of the cooling / warming control unit 20 according to the setting of the timer. When the on-timer is set from the operation unit 63, the control unit 62 starts energization from the power supply unit 65 to each unit after the set time or the set time has elapsed. When the off timer is set from the operation unit 63, the control unit 62 stops energization from the power supply unit 65 to each unit after the set time or the set time has elapsed. By these, the cold temperature control unit 20 can be operated or stopped at a preset time.

  The liquid tank 21 is provided with a lid 27 that can be opened and closed. The lid 27 is exposed on the surface of the casing of the cool / warm control unit 20, and the user opens the lid 27 to allow the liquid inside the liquid tank 21 to flow. It can be discharged, refilled and replaced.

  Here, the size and arrangement of the elements inside the cooling / heating control unit 20 shown in FIG. 2 are for convenience of illustration, and the actual size and arrangement of each element are the same as those shown in FIG. It is not limited to. Similarly, the size of the cooling / heating control unit 20 and the size of the cooling / heating mat 10 shown in FIG.

  FIG. 3 shows a modified example in which the flow path 30 is divided into a plurality of flow paths, and a flow path branching unit 70 that joins the plurality of liquid return paths 40 is attached. The flow path branching unit 70 divides the liquid supply path 30 into a plurality of flow paths, thereby enabling the liquid to be supplied to the plurality of cold / warm mats 10. The liquid discharged from the cold / warm mat 10 can be returned to the liquid tank 21. With this flow path branching unit 70, a plurality of cold / thermal mats 10 can be connected to a single cold / warm control unit 20 and used. Can be used.

  In the above embodiment, the control unit 62 may control the blowing direction and the rotation speed of the ventilation fan 25 in order to promote the temperature of the liquid in the liquid tank 21 to approach the target temperature.

  According to the embodiment described above, by using a separate type in which the cool / warm mat 10 and the cool / warm control unit 20 are separated, the distance between the cool / warm mat 10 and the cool / warm control unit 20 can be increased and the cool / warm mat can be separated. By connecting the 10 and the cold / warm control unit 20 with a flexible material that is difficult to transmit vibration, the influence of the sound and vibration emitted from the cool / warm control unit on the pet resting on the cold / warm mat is reduced compared to the conventional case. Can do.

  Further, since the cold / warm mat 10 and the cool / warm control unit 20 are separated, and the cool / warm mat 10 and the cool / warm control unit 20 are connected by a flexible linear material, Even if the place where the unit 20 is placed is limited according to the position of the exhaust port and the power cord, there is still a degree of freedom in the place where the cool / warm mat 10 is placed. This can be improved compared to the prior art.

10 Cooling Mat 20 Cooling Control Unit 21 Liquid Tank 22 Pump 23 Thermoelectric Element (Peltier Element)
24 Heat sink 25 Ventilation fan 26 Cooling temperature control unit casing 27 Liquid tank lid 30 Liquid supply path 40 Liquid return path 50 Cover 61 Liquid temperature sensor 62 Control section 63 Operation section 64 Display section 70 Flow path branching unit

Claims (3)

In a pet cooling / heating device comprising a cooling / heating mat on which a pet rests and a cooling temperature control unit for flowing a liquid whose temperature is adjusted to a target temperature inside the cooling / heating mat,
A pet cooling / heating device in which the cooling / heating mat is separated from the cooling / temperature control unit, and the cooling / heating control unit and the cooling / heating mat are connected to each other by a liquid flow path for flowing the liquid formed of a flexible material. The pet cold temperature according to claim 1, further comprising a protective cover for covering the material forming the liquid flow path in order to protect the flexible material forming the liquid flow path from damage due to the behavior of the pet. apparatus. The pet cooling / heating device according to claim 1 or 2,
Among the liquid flow paths, a liquid supply path for supplying liquid from the cold / warm control unit to the cold / warm mat is branched into a plurality, and a plurality of liquid return paths for returning the liquid from the cold / warm mat to the cold / warm control unit are merged. It has a channel branch part,
One cold / warm mat can be connected to each pair of one branched liquid supply path and one liquid return path before joining, and one cold / warm control unit includes a plurality of cold / warm mats. A pet cooling / heating device that can be connected.

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