WO2005006923A1

WO2005006923A1 - Spacer for air circulation path

Info

Publication number: WO2005006923A1
Application number: PCT/JP2004/010028
Authority: WO
Inventors: Hiroshi Ichigaya
Original assignee: Seft Development Laboratory Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2003-07-18
Filing date: 2004-07-14
Publication date: 2005-01-27
Also published as: JP2005034533A

Abstract

A spacer for an air circulation path, where the spacer is capable of being produced at low cost and prepared as one having a large area and has excellent mass-productivity. A spacer (30) is used to form an air circulation path for circulating outside air or cooled or dehumidified air in the vicinity of the surface of the human body. The spacer (30) for an air circulation path has a substantially flat mesh-like member (31) and ridge portions (32). Plastic is used as the material for the mesh-like member (31). The ridge portions (32) are formed regularly on the surface of the mesh-like member (31). The spacer (30) can be made from the mesh-like member (31). For example, the mesh-like member (31) is sandwiched between two heated dies (male die, female die), and the mesh-like member (31) is pressed by the dies to easily form the ridge portions (32) on it.

Description

Specification

Spacer for air flow passage

Technical field

The present invention relates to a spacer for an air flow passage used to form an air flow passage through which external air or cooled or dehumidified air flows near the surface of a human body. Background art

[0002] The present inventor has proposed a human-body-contact air conditioner capable of removing moisture or suppressing a rise in body temperature by circulating external air or the like near the surface of a human body, and a human-body-type air conditioner. A spacer used in an air conditioner has been devised (for example, see Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2).

An air conditioner with a close contact with a human body includes an air flow passage for allowing external air or cooled or dehumidified air to flow near the surface of the human body, and a blowing means for forcibly generating a flow of air inside the air flow passage. Provided, for example, for clothes, mats, cushions, etc. Further, the spacer is for forming an air flow passage, and has, for example, a plate-shaped member and a number of protrusions formed thereon. As such a spacer, a material in which a plate-shaped member and a protruding portion are formed physically by injection molding of plastic is used for practical use.

[0003] Patent Document 1: WO 01/15573 pamphlet

Patent Document 1: WO 01/24664 pamphlet

Disclosure of the invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

[0004] However, conventionally, since the spacer is formed by injection molding of plastic, there has been a problem that the amount of plastic used is large and the manufacturing cost is high. In addition, it is necessary to use a large-area spacer for an air-conditioning device that is applied to a human body, such as a mat placed on a bed, but a powerful large-area spacer is formed by injection molding. It was difficult to do.

[0005] Furthermore, human body adhesion applied to mats laid on beds or sofas, vehicle seats, and the like. The spacers used in portable air conditioners are flexible enough not to impair the cushioning inherent in mats and sheets, and have pressure resistance enough to withstand the pressure from the human body. It is necessary to have durability.

[0006] The present invention has been made based on the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a spacer for an air flow passage which can be manufactured at low cost, can have a large area, and is excellent in mass productivity. That is. Further, the present invention has been made based on the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a spacer for an air flow passage having excellent flexibility and pressure resistance. Means for solving the problem

[0007] The invention according to claim 1 for achieving the above object is to provide an air circulation system for forming an air flow passage for flowing external air or cooling or dehumidified air near the surface of a human body. A road spacer, comprising: a mesh member made of plastic; and a plurality of convex portions formed on a surface of the mesh member.

[0008] The invention according to claim 2 is the air flow passage spacer according to claim 1, wherein the mesh-like member is constituted by a plurality of linear member forces, and the portion where the convex portion is formed. In another part of the mesh member, the thickness of the linear member in a direction substantially perpendicular to the surface of the mesh member is reduced.

[0009] The invention according to claim 3 is the air flow passage spacer according to claim 2, wherein polypropylene or a plastic containing polypropylene is used as a material of the mesh-like member. It is.

[0010] The invention according to claim 4 is the air flow path spacer according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the spacer is provided between a human body and an object in contact with the human body.

The invention's effect

[0011] The spacer for an air flow passage according to the present invention includes a mesh-shaped member made of plastic.

By providing a plurality of protrusions formed on the surface, the amount of plastic used per unit area can be reduced. Therefore, the spacer for the air flow passage can be manufactured at low cost, and the weight of the spacer for the air flow passage can be reduced. Also, roll it in a roll Since the spacer for the air flow passage can be obtained by continuously forming the mesh member thus formed, the spacer for the air flow passage is excellent in mass productivity and has a large surface area.

Even a spacer for an air flow passage having a product can be easily manufactured.

[0012] Further, with respect to a part of the mesh member in a portion other than the portion where the convex portion is formed, the thickness of the linear member in a direction substantially perpendicular to the surface of the mesh member is formed to be small. The flexibility of the portion where the thickness of the linear member is reduced can be increased, and therefore, the entire air flow passage spacer can have flexibility in a direction substantially perpendicular to the surface of the mesh member. . In particular, by using polypropylene or a plastic containing polypropylene as the material of the mesh member, the tensile strength and the repeated durability of the mesh member are improved as the thickness of the mesh member is reduced. The pressure resistance and durability of the spacer can be increased.

Brief Description of Drawings

FIG. 1 (a) is a schematic plan view of an air conditioning mat using the air flow passage spacer of the first embodiment, and FIG. 1 (b) is a schematic cross-sectional view of the air conditioning mat as viewed in the direction of arrows AA. It is.

FIG. 2 (a) is a schematic plan view of a part of the air flow passage spacer of the first embodiment, and FIG. 2 (b) is a schematic side view of a part of the air flow passage spacer. .

FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of a part of a spacer for an air flow passage according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 4 (a) is a schematic plan view of a hinge portion formed on a linear member in the air flow passage spacer, and FIG. 4 (b) is a schematic side view of the hinge portion.

Explanation of symbols

Air conditioning mat

11 Lower plate

12 Cloth

13 Force distribution means

14 Air inlet

15 Air outlet

16 Cross Flow '

17 Switch 18 Plug

30, 300 Spacer for air flow passage (mesh spacer)

31, 310 mesh member

31a, 31b, 310a, 310b Linear member

32, 320 convex

330 Hinge 咅 B

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the invention according to the present application will be described with reference to the drawings. First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

The air flow passage spacer according to the first embodiment is used to form an air flow passage that allows external air or cooled or dehumidified air to flow near the surface of a human body. This air flow passage is used, for example, in a body-contact type air conditioner that can remove moisture by suppressing the flow of external air or the like in the vicinity of the surface of the human body and suppress a rise in body temperature. Hereinafter, a case will be described in which the air flow passage spacer of the first embodiment is applied to an air conditioning mat as a human body contact type air conditioner.

[0017] First, the air conditioning mat will be briefly described. FIG. 1A is a schematic plan view of an air conditioning mat using the air flow path spacer of the first embodiment, and FIG. 1B is a schematic cross-sectional view of the air conditioning mat as viewed in the direction of arrows AA.

[0018] The air conditioning mat 10 shown in Fig. 1 is a mat used by laying on a bed, and is for preventing a person from getting stuffy when lying down on the bed. The air conditioning mat 10 includes a lower plate 11, a spacer 30 for an air flow passage, a fabric 12, a force distribution means 13, an air inlet 14, an air outlet 15, a cross flow fan 16, A switch 17 and a plug 18 are provided.

[0019] The lower plate 11 is a soft flat plate-shaped member on which the air flow passage spacer 30 is placed. The air flow passage spacer 30 is for securing a space through which air flows. The air flow passage spacer 30 will be described later in detail. The force distribution means 13 and the cloth 12 are placed on the air flow path spacer 30 in this order. As the cloth 12, a cloth having low air circulation and good moisture permeability is used. In FIG. 1A, the cloth 12 covers the surface of the force distribution means 13 and the upper and lower side surfaces. in this way, A substantially flat air flow passage is formed between the lower plate 11 and the fabric 12 by an air flow passage spacer 30. A person will lie on this fabric 12.

The force dispersing means 13 is for dispersing the force received from the human body and applying it to the air flow passage spacer 30 when a person lies down on the cloth 12. As the force distribution means 13, for example, a mesh member is used. Generally, the force dispersing means 13 is flexible without necessarily using a mesh-like means, and any means having a small thermal resistance and excellent moisture permeability can be used as the force dispersing means 13. Can be used. By using the force dispersing means 13, the rugged feeling of the convex portion 32 of the air flow passage spacer 30 hitting the body is suppressed, and a part of the fabric 12 is formed by the convex portion 32 of the air flow passage spacer 30. It is possible to prevent the air from getting into the gap and hindering the flow of air.

As shown in FIG. 1 (b), the left side surface of the air flow passage spacer 30 is open so that air can be sucked in. This open portion is the air inlet 14. The right side surface of the air flow passage spacer 30 is also open, and an air outlet 15 for discharging air to the outside is provided at the end of the open portion.

The cross flow fan 16 is a belt-shaped air supply source, and for forcibly generating an air flow in the air flow passage spacer 30. The cross flow fan 16 is attached to the foot of a person lying on the cloth 12. Further, the cross flow fan 16 rotates in a direction to discharge the air in the air flow passage spacer 30 to the outside from the air outlet 15. The switch 17 is for turning on and off the drive of the cross flow fan 16.

The plug 18 is for connecting to a commercial power supply.

[0023] Since the air-conditioning mat 10 has such a configuration, when the cross flow fan 16 is rotated, the air in the space in the air flow passage spacer 30 is exhausted, and the space becomes negative pressure. Therefore, external air flows into the air flow passage spacer 30 from the air inlet portion 14 and flows through the air flow passage spacer 30. When a person is sleeping on the air conditioning mat 10, sweat from the human body enters the air flow passage spacer 30 through the cloth 12. Then, the entered moisture is discharged to the outside by the air flowing through the air flow passage spacer 30. Also, if the air flow is high, the fabric 12 will not warm up due to body temperature. Even at night, people can sleep comfortably. In particular, the effect can be further enhanced by flowing dehumidified or cooled air rather than flowing the external air through the air flow passage spacer 30 as it is.

Next, the air flow path spacer 30 of the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 2A is a schematic plan view of a part of the air flow passage spacer 30 of the first embodiment, and FIG. 2B is a schematic side view of a part of the air flow passage spacer 30. is there.

As shown in FIG. 2, the air flow path spacer 30 of the first embodiment includes a substantially planar mesh-shaped member 31 and a plurality of convex portions 32. The mesh member 31 has a plurality of linear members 31a arranged at regular intervals in the horizontal direction and a plurality of linear members 31b arranged at regular intervals in the longitudinal direction. The plurality of projections 32 are regularly formed on the surface of the mesh-like member 31. As a material of the mesh member 31, plastic is used. Further, the air flow passage spacer 30 can be made based on the mesh member 31. For example, the mesh member 31 is sandwiched between two heated molds (male mold and female mold), and the mesh member 31 is pressed by the molds. Can be easily formed. Hereinafter, the air flow passage spacer 30 having such a configuration is also referred to as a “mesh spacer”.

[0026] The mesh spacer 30 has a number of advantages as follows. That is, first, since the mesh spacer 30 is obtained by molding the mesh-shaped member 31, the amount of plastic used per unit area can be reduced. Therefore, the mesh spacer 30 can be manufactured at low cost, and the weight of the mesh spacer 30 can be reduced. Second, since the projections 32 themselves are also mesh-shaped, the projections 32 do not hinder the flow of air. Third, it is possible to obtain the mesh spacer 30 having various characteristics by adjusting the thickness, the interval, and the like of the linear members 31a and 31b constituting the mesh member 31. For example, by increasing the thickness of the linear members 31a and 31b and narrowing the interval between the linear members 31a and 31b, it is possible to produce a mesh spacer 30 having a very high pressure resistance. By reducing the thickness of the linear members 3 la and 31 b and increasing the distance between the linear members 31 a and 31 b, it is possible to produce a mesh spacer 30 that is not very high in pressure resistance but is very lightweight. . Fourth, using a mesh-like member 31 wound in a roll, and forming it continuously. Therefore, since the mesh spacer 30 can be obtained, the mesh spacer 30 is excellent in mass productivity, and can be easily manufactured even if the mesh spacer 30 has a large area. Thus, it can be said that the mesh spacer 30 is ideal for use as a spacer for securing an air flow passage.

The mesh member 31 may be a plastic plate having a structure in which a large number of holes are formed in a flat plate, and may have an opening ratio on its surface of 30% or more. Les ,. In this case, portions other than the holes are considered as linear members. Here, the “opening ratio on the surface” refers to the ratio of the area of the linear member formed on the surface of the mesh-shaped member to the area of the entire surface.

[0028] The air flow passage spacer according to the first embodiment includes a mesh-shaped member made of plastic and a plurality of convex portions formed on the surface of the mesh-shaped member. Use of less is required. Therefore, the spacer for the air flow passage can be manufactured at low cost, and the weight of the spacer for the air flow passage can be reduced. Further, since a spacer for an air flow passage can be obtained by continuously forming a mesh-shaped member wound in a roll shape, the spacer for an air flow passage is excellent in mass productivity. In addition, even a spacer for an air flow passage having a large area can be easily manufactured.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of a part of the air flow passage spacer according to the second embodiment, and FIG. 4 (a) is a schematic view of a hinge portion formed on a linear member in the air flow passage spacer. A plan view, and FIG. 4 (b) is a schematic side view of the hinge portion.

[0030] The mesh spacer has various advantages as described in the first embodiment. However, if it is necessary to greatly increase the pressure resistance of the mesh spacer, the linear member itself must be thickened, but this reduces the flexibility of the mesh spacer. become. The spacer for the air flow passage of the second embodiment is designed to solve the problem of force and strength and to improve both the pressure resistance and the flexibility. Is an improvement of

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a spacer (mesh spacer) 300 for an air flow passage according to the second embodiment includes a mesh member 310, a plurality of convex portions 320, and a plurality of hinges. With part 330 The Here, the mesh member 310 includes a plurality of linear members 310a arranged at regular intervals in the horizontal direction and a plurality of linear members 31 Ob arranged at regular intervals in the vertical direction. The difference between the mesh spacer 300 of the second embodiment and that of the first embodiment is that a plurality of hinge portions 330 are formed on the mesh member 310 and that polypropylene is used as the material of the mesh member 310. Point. Other points are the same as those of the first embodiment.

The hinge part 330 is a part of the mesh member 310 in a part other than the part where the convex part 320 is formed, and is a part on which a hinge force is applied. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the hinge portion 330 is a portion formed by reducing the thickness of the linear members 310a and 310b in a direction substantially perpendicular to the surface of the mesh member 310. In FIG. 3, the hinge portions 330 that are strong are indicated by black circles. It is formed on each part of the linear members 310a and 310b. Here, the “direction substantially perpendicular to the surface of the mesh member 310” means a direction substantially perpendicular to the surface in contact with the human body when the mesh spacer 300 is used for the air conditioning mat 10. Therefore, in FIG. 3, the thicknesses of the linear members 310a and 310b in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface are reduced so that the thicknesses of the linear members 310a and 310b in the vertical direction are not reduced.

The hinge portion 330 is formed by crushing a part of the linear members 310a and 310b along a direction substantially perpendicular to the surface of the mesh member 310 to form a flat shape. Specifically, by utilizing the property that the plastic is softened by heating, a predetermined mold that has been heated is pressed against the mesh-shaped member 310, so that the hinge force is easily applied to a part of the linear members 310a and 310b. It can be quenched. Of course, when the protrusion 320 is formed, the hinge 330 can be formed simultaneously with the formation of the protrusion 320. As described above, it is very easy to form the hinge portion 330 on the mesh member 310.

[0034] Since the hinge portion 330 is formed on the mesh member 310 as described above, the hinge portion 330 has a force S flexibility. Can have flexibility. The thinner the hinge portion 330 is, the more flexible the mesh spacer 300 is. In the second embodiment, polypropylene is used as the material of the mesh member 310. Polypropylene is characterized by the fact that the thinner it is, the better the tensile strength and the repeated durability are due to the hinge effect. This characteristic of polypropylene is used for the hinges of storage cases that are often used at home and for various purposes. Therefore, by using polypropylene as the material of the mesh member 310 and forming the hinge portion 330 on the mesh member 310, both the pressure resistance and the flexibility of the mesh spacer 300 can be increased.

When the hinge portion 330 has high pressure resistance, it is desirable to use polypropylene as the material of the mesh-like member 310 as described above, but, of course, it is necessary to use pure polypropylene. Plastics containing an appropriate proportion of polypropylene may be used, taking into account other properties to be added to the mesh mesh spacer 300.

The spacer for the air flow passage of the second embodiment has the same effects as those of the first embodiment.

In particular, in the second embodiment, polypropylene is used as the material of the mesh-shaped member, and the hinge portion is formed in the mesh-shaped member, so that both the pressure resistance and the flexibility of the spacer for the air flow passage can be improved. it can.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the gist.

In the first and second embodiments described above, the case where the air flow passage spacer is used in a human body contact type air conditioner has been described. It can also be used for purposes similar to the purpose of the spacer used in the body contact type air conditioner, for example, for providing an air passage between a human body and an object in contact with the human body. That is, by providing the air flow passage spacer of the present invention between the human body and an object in contact with the human body, it is possible to secure a space for flowing air between the human body and the object. Therefore, even if air is not forced to flow through the space, a certain effect can be expected. For example, by providing the air flow path spacer of the present invention between a person's back and a portion in contact with the back of the rucksack, an air flow path is secured between the back and the rucksack. That can be S. At this time, the air in the air flow passage spacer is heated by body temperature, rises inside the air flow passage spacer, and an air flow is generated between the back and the rucksack. As a result, the back can be prevented from being stuffy to some extent.

Industrial applicability

As described above, the air flow passage spacer according to the present invention includes a mesh-shaped member made of plastic and a plurality of convex portions formed on the surface thereof. Uses less plastic. Therefore, the spacer for the air flow passage can be manufactured at low cost, and the weight of the spacer for the air flow passage can be reduced. Further, since a spacer for an air flow passage can be obtained by continuously forming a mesh-shaped member wound in a roll shape, the spacer for an air flow passage is excellent in mass productivity. Further, even a spacer for an air flow passage having a large area can be easily manufactured. Therefore, the spacer for an air flow passage of the present invention forms an air flow passage for the purpose of forming an air flow passage in a human body contact type air conditioner such as an air conditioning mat, or between a human body and an object in contact with the human body. Can be used for purpose.

Claims

The scope of the claims

[1] A spacer for an air flow passage used to form an air flow passage through which outside air or cooled or dehumidified air flows near the surface of a human body,

A spacer for an air flow path, comprising: a mesh member made of plastic; and a plurality of protrusions formed on a surface of the mesh member.

[2] The mesh member has a plurality of linear member forces, and a part of the mesh member in a portion other than the portion where the protrusion is formed is substantially perpendicular to the surface of the mesh member. 2. The air flow passage spacer according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of the linear member in a direction is reduced.

3. The spacer for an air flow passage according to claim 2, wherein polypropylene or a plastic containing polypropylene is used as a material of the mesh member.

[4] The spacer for an air flow passage according to claim 1, 2 or 3, which is provided between a human body and an object in contact with the human body.