Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47C—CHAIRS; SOFAS; BEDS
  • A47C7/00—Parts, details, or accessories of chairs or stools
  • A47C7/62—Accessories for chairs
  • A47C7/72—Adaptations for incorporating lamps, radio sets, bars, telephones, ventilation, heating or cooling arrangements or the like
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60N—SEATS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLES; VEHICLE PASSENGER ACCOMMODATION NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B60N2/00—Seats specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement or mounting of seats in vehicles
  • B60N2/56—Heating or ventilating devices
  • B60N2/5678—Heating or ventilating devices characterised by electrical systems
  • B60N2/5685—Resistance

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a method for production of a heating element, in accordance with the preamble of appended claim 1.
• the present invention also relates to a heating element intended for production in accordance with the above- mentioned method, in accordance with the preamble of appended claim 4.
• the object of the present invention is to provide a method and a heating element for vehicle seats which solve the above-mentioned problem so that vehicle seats may be provided with heating elements at an additional cost which is very limited and with an increased ride comfort.
• Fig. 1 is an exploded view which shows schematically the construction of an example of a heating element for use in connection with the method according to the invention.
• Fig. 2 is a cross-section of a vehicle seat with a heating element during the production process
• Fig. 3 is an exploded view which illustrates schematically the method for production of a vehicle seat according to the invention.
• the basic idea according to the present invention is to provide a heating element with as simple a design as possible, and to limit the steps of handling of the element and the handling time before mounting thereof in a vehicle seat. In this manner, lower requirements may be made on the mechanical design of the element as regards the handling before the assembly stage, which thereby reduces the additional costs required for providing a vehicle seat with a heating element. Nevertheless, in order to obtain reasonable handling properties, the heating element is preferably provided with layers which are removed either before the mounting of the heating element during the production process or alternatively during a certain stage in the process.
• the heating element 1 before the production of the vehicle seat is best apparent from Figs. 1 and 3.
• the heating element consists of an active component in the form of one or several heating loops 2 which consist of an electrically conducting resistance wire.
• this wire is produced from a metal or a metal alloy with a suitable resistance in order to generate heat when a voltage is applied over the terminals 4, 5 of the wire.
• the wire may be non-insulated or insulated by means of conventional insulation materials.
• the wire is surrounded by three protection and/or carrier layers 6, 7, 8.
• the upper carrier layer 6 is produced for example from a polyethene foil which is relatively tough and durable and which is intended to simplify the handling of the heating element before the assembly stage and during a first step thereof, which will be described in greater detail below.
• a carrier layer 7 of a material which can be fused together with a layer 9 in the upholstery material 10 of the vehicle seat is arranged between the upper carrier layer 6 and the heating loop 2, which will be described in greater detail below.
• This carrier layer 7 is for example produced from a polyurethane foil and thus possesses, besides its function as a carrier for locating the wire according to a predetermined loop shape, also the function of locating the heating loop in a particular position in the vehicle seat.
• the locating of the carrier layer 7 and the heating loop is attained for example by means of glue spots or glue lines 11 which are shown schematically in Fig. 3.
• a third protective layer or carrier layer 8 is attached by means of for example a glue composition against the heating loop.
• this protective layer 8 is made of a so called release paper, which is thus to be removed before the element is arranged next to the upholstery layer, either before the production process or as a first step in the production process.
• the two upper carrier layers 6, 7 are attached together by means of the relatively favourable adhesive properties of the materials or by means of a not shown adhesive.
• the method and the heating element according to the invention relates to the type of vehicle seat production where the filling or the core forming the elastic comfort-providing carrier for the upholstery material is not formed until the upholstery has been arranged on the finished core, but instead is formed by means of filling expanding cold foam, for example polyurethane foam, into a mould of expanding cold foam in order to produce the comfort-supplying elastic core 13.
• expanding cold foam for example polyurethane foam
• the upholstery material 10 is first put into the mould 12 with its outer side, made for example from a layer 14 of fabric, turned towards the wall 15 of the mould.
• the upholstery material 10 also consists of an internal layer 9 of for example a polyurethane foil which is firmly attached directly to the layer of fabric or to an intermediate foam material.
• the upholstery material 10 is produced and finished in a previous step, for example by means of flame lamination or glueing.
• the heating element 1 according to the invention may be attached to the inside of the upholstery material, i.e. to its polyurethane film 9, or may alternatively be arranged in a separate step in the mould 12 against the upholstery material.
• the lower carrier layer or protective layer 8 i.e. the so called release paper
• the heating element is arranged in a predetermined position against the inside of the upholstery material 10.
• the heating element is heat pressed at a temperature of for example 175-180° C so that the fusible carrier layer 7 fuses together with the inner layer 9 of the upholstery material.
• both of these layers are made from the same material, i.e. polyurethane foil. In this manner, the heating loop is fixed against the upholstery material 10.
• the heating element is provided with an upper carrier layer 6, the latter is removed in a subsequent step.
• the upper carrier layer 6 is thus manufactured from a material which does not fuse together during said heat pressing operation.
• the location of the heating element is completely fixed against the upholstery material, after which the core 13 is produced by filling the cold foam 13, after which the foam expands during a fermentation process and completely fills the inner parts of the mould and is attached to the inner layer 9 of the upholstery material, which in the shown example is also made from the same material as the foam material, i.e. polyurethane.
• the layer 9 also prevents the expanding foam from entering and penetrating the upholstery material.
• the present vehicle seat or more precisely a part thereof, is thus essentially finished after clean cutting and applying a possible rear side.
• the heating element already in connection with its insertion is provided with a supply wire which extends from the upholstery material and the core for connection to a not shown control unit for controlling the power supplied from the voltage source of the vehicle.
• the heating element may in principle consist of a single carrier layer, i.e. the carrier layer 7.
• this layer may be provided with a structure which is adapted to each application, for example a porous structure or a structure provided with holes or grids, in order to provide air-permeability and thereby also improved comfort.
• the carrier layer may in principle be entirely sealed. It is obvious that the layers of the heating element and the heating loop are closely connected to each other. Also, for clarity the different components are shown interspaced in Fig. 2, whereas in reality these are closely arranged against one another.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Aviation & Aerospace Engineering (AREA)
• Transportation (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Chair Legs, Seat Parts, And Backrests (AREA)
• Mattresses And Other Support Structures For Chairs And Beds (AREA)

Priority Applications (1)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=20390913

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (3)

Cited By (4)

Citations (2)

• 1993
  • 1993-08-26 SE SE9302784A patent/SE505520C2/sv not_active IP Right Cessation
• 1994
  • 1994-08-25 AU AU75491/94A patent/AU7549194A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1994-08-25 WO PCT/SE1994/000776 patent/WO1995005766A1/en active Application Filing

Patent Citations (2)

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