JP2006069327A - Vehicular seat air-conditioning device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicular seat air-conditioning device improving comfort of an occupant when seated in a seat, even if there is a difference in surface temperature between a seat cushion and a seat back. <P>SOLUTION: The vehicular seat air-conditioning device comprises cold air ventilating devices 5, 6 ventilating cold air from surfaces of the seat cushion 2 and the seat back 1 through air passages 11, 12 respectively provided in the seat cushion 2 and the seat back 1; a temperature detecting means 21 detecting physical amount R1, R2 having relative relationships of the surface temperatures of the seat cushion 2 and the seat back 1; an air amount distribution changing means 8 changing the distribution of the amount of air ventilated from the surface of the seat cushion 2 by the cold air ventilating devices 5, 6 and the amount of the air ventilating from the surface of the seat back 1; and an air amount controlling means 20 controlling the air amount distribution changing means 8 so as to ventilate the cold air from one of the sear cushion 2 and the seat back which has higher temperature on the basis of the physical amount R1, R2 detected by the temperature detecting means 21. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle seat air conditioner that blows air from the surface of a vehicle seat.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known an apparatus in which air is blown from the surface (seat surface) of a vehicle seat toward the back or buttocks of the occupant in order to increase the comfort of the occupant during seating (for example, patent document) 1). According to this, a blower is provided below the seat cushion, and air from the blower is guided to the surfaces of the seat cushion and the seat back through the air passages in the seat cushion and the seat back, respectively, and blown toward the passenger.

JP 2003-299551 A

  By the way, for example, when direct sunlight hits the seat cushion directly, the temperature of the seat cushion is higher than that of the seat back. In this case, if the air is blown from the surfaces of the seat cushion and the seat back at a certain rate as in the device described in the above publication, the comfort of the passenger cannot be sufficiently satisfied.

  An air conditioner for a vehicle seat according to the present invention includes a cold air blowing device that blows cooling air from the surfaces of the seat cushion and the seat back through air passages respectively provided in the seat cushion and the seat back, and the seat cushion and the seat. Temperature detection means for detecting a physical quantity correlated with the surface temperature of the back, and an air volume distribution change for changing the air volume distribution between the air volume blown from the surface of the seat cushion and the air volume blown from the surface of the seat back by the cold air blowing device. And air volume control means for controlling the air volume distribution changing means based on the physical quantity detected by the temperature detecting means so that the cooling air is preferentially blown from the higher surface temperature of the seat cushion and the seat back. It is characterized by.

  According to the present invention, the amount of air blown from the surface of the seat cushion and the amount of air blown from the surface of the seat back so that the cooling air is preferentially blown from the higher surface temperature of the seat cushion and the seat back. Since the air volume distribution is controlled, even when there is a difference in the surface temperature between the seat cushion and the seat back, the discomfort of the occupant when seated can be efficiently eliminated.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of an air conditioner for a vehicle seat according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a vehicle seat having an air conditioner according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram thereof. The vehicle seat has a seat back 1 that mainly supports the back and waist of the occupant and a seat cushion 2 that mainly supports the buttocks of the occupant. In the vicinity of the surface (sitting surface) of the seat back 1 and the seat cushion 2, thin plate-like PTC heaters 3 and 4 are provided over the entire seat. The PTC heaters 3 and 4 have a so-called PTC characteristic that the resistance value increases as the temperature increases.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a blower 5 is disposed below the seat cushion 1. A Peltier element 6 is provided on the downstream side of the blower 5, and the air blown by the blower 5 is cooled by the Peltier element 6 and guided to the branch portion 7. Excess heat generated in the Peltier element 6 is wasted through the exhaust unit 9 by the air blown from the blower 5 as shown in FIGS. The blower 5 and the Peltier element 6 constitute a cold air blower.

  The branch portion 7 is provided with a switching door 8 for switching the air path so as to be rotatable, and air from the blower 5 is supplied to the air passage 11 inside the seat back and the air passage inside the seat cushion according to the opening degree of the switching door 8. 12 respectively. That is, when the door opening is minimum (0%), all the air from the blower 5 is guided to the air passage 11 on the seat back side, and when the door opening is maximum (100%), all the air from the blower 5 is on the seat cushion side. It is guided to the air passage 12. An air blowing portion is provided on the entire surface of the seat back 1 and the seat cushion 2, and the air guided to the air passages 11 and 12 is blown toward the occupant through these blowing portions.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the controller 20 includes a PTC heater 3, 4, a resistance detector 21 that detects a resistance value between terminals according to the temperature of each PTC heater 3, 4, a blower 5, and a switching door 8. Are connected to the door actuator 22, the Peltier element 6, the seat cooling sw23 that commands the cooling operation of the seat air conditioner, and the seat heating sw24 that commands the heating operation. The controller 20 executes the following processing in response to signals from the resistance detector 21, the seat cooling sw23, and the seat heating sw24, and controls the PTC heaters 3, 4, the blower 5, the door actuator 22, and the Peltier element 6 respectively. Is output.

  3 and 4 are flowcharts showing an example of processing in the controller 20. This flowchart is started by turning on an engine key switch, for example. First, in step S1 of FIG. 3, it is determined whether or not the sheet cooling sw23 is on. If step S1 is affirmed, the process proceeds to step S2, and the resistance values R1, R2 of the PTC heaters 3, 4 detected by the resistance detector 21 are read. When the resistance values R1 and R2 of the PTC heaters 3 and 4 are detected, a weak current that does not cause the PTC heaters 3 and 4 to generate heat is instantaneously supplied to the PTC heaters 3 and 4, respectively.

  In step S3, a difference (R2-R1) between the resistance values R1 and R2 is calculated, and a control signal is output to the door actuator 22 in accordance with (R2-R1) based on the preset characteristics shown in the drawing, and the switching door 8 To control the opening degree. According to the characteristic of step S3, when (R2-R1) is smaller than the predetermined value a, the door opening is minimum (0%), and the air from the blower 5 is the air on the seat back side as shown in FIG. Only the passage 11 is guided. When (R2-R1) is larger than the predetermined value b, the door opening degree is maximum (100%), and as shown in FIG. 6, the air from the blower 5 is guided only to the air passage 12 on the seat cushion side. When (R2-R1) is greater than or equal to the predetermined value a and less than or equal to the predetermined value b, the door opening increases with an increase in (R2-R1), and the air from the blower 5 is on the seat back side as shown in FIG. It is guided to both the air passage 11 and the air passage 12 on the seat cushion side.

  Here, the predetermined value “a” is obtained when the surface temperature of the seat back 1 is made higher than that of the seat cushion 2 in a state where an occupant is seated on the seat, that is, when (R2−R1) is gradually reduced. 2 corresponds to (R2-R1) when the heat of the part in contact with 2 becomes the main factor of discomfort, and is determined in advance by an actual vehicle experiment or the like. Similarly, the predetermined value b is applied to the seat back 1 when the temperature of the seat cushion 2 is made higher than that of the seat back 1 with an occupant seated on the seat, that is, when (R2-R1) is gradually increased. This corresponds to (R2-R1) in the case where the heat of the contacted part becomes the main factor of discomfort, and is determined in advance by an actual vehicle experiment or the like. For example, a <0, b> 0 are set.

  Next, in step S4, it is determined whether or not the cold air blowing device is operating, that is, whether or not air is blown by the blower 5 and the Peltier element 6 is acting with the cooler. If step S4 is denied, the process proceeds to step S5. If affirmed, step S5 is passed and the process returns. In step S5, the cold air blower is operated. That is, the blower 5 is driven and the Peltier element 6 is energized to cause the Peltier element 6 to act as a cooler to blow cooling air. In addition, although illustration is abbreviate | omitted, the operation | movement of a cold air blower will stop if sheet | seat cooling sw23 is turned off at the time of the action | operation of a cold wind blower.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1 that the sheet cooling sw23 is off, the process proceeds to step S6 in FIG. In step S6, it is determined whether or not the seat heating sw24 is on. If the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S7, and if the determination is negative, the process returns. In step S7, the resistance values R1, R2 of the PTC heaters 3, 4 detected by the resistance detector 21 are read. Next, in step S8, it is determined whether or not a timer for stopping the operation of the PTC heaters 3 and 4 is operating. If step S8 is negative, the timer is started in step S9. If step S8 is positive, step S9 is passed and the process proceeds to step S10.

  In step S10, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time t seconds has elapsed. Here, the predetermined time t is a time for stopping the operation of the PTC heaters 3 and 4 and sampling the resistance values R1 and R2 by the resistance detector 21. If step S10 is negative, the process proceeds to step S11, and it is determined whether or not the resistance value R1 of the seat back PTC heater 3 is greater than a predetermined value c. Here, the predetermined value c is a limit resistance value R1 at which the occupant does not feel uncomfortable due to overheating when the seat back surface is heated by operating the PTC heater 3, and is determined in advance by an actual vehicle experiment or the like.

  When step S11 is denied, it progresses to step S12, and it is determined whether the PTC heater 3 for seat backs is operating. If step S12 is negative, the PTC heater 3 is operated in step S13. If step S12 is positive, step S13 is passed and the process proceeds to step S14. If step S11 is affirmed, the operation of the PTC heater 3 is stopped in step S17.

  In step S14, it is determined whether or not the resistance value R2 of the seat cushion PTC heater 4 is greater than a predetermined value d. Here, the predetermined value d is a limit resistance value R2 at which the occupant does not feel uncomfortable due to overheating when the seat cushion surface is heated by operating the PTC heater 4, and is determined in advance by an actual vehicle experiment or the like. When step S14 is denied, it progresses to step S15, and it is determined whether the PTC heater 4 is operating. If step S15 is negative, the PTC heater 4 is operated in step S16, and if step S15 is positive, step S16 is passed. If step S14 is positive, the operation of the PTC heater 4 is stopped in step S18.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S10 that the predetermined time t has elapsed, the process proceeds to step S19, and the timer is stopped. Next, in step S20, it is determined whether or not the seat back PTC heater 3 is operating. If the determination is affirmative, the operation of the PTC heater 3 is stopped in step S21. If the determination is negative, step S21 is passed and step S22 is performed. Proceed to In step S22, it is determined whether or not the seat cushion PTC heater 4 is operating. If the determination is affirmative, the operation of the PTC heater 4 is stopped in step S23, and if the determination is negative, step S23 is passed. Although illustration is omitted, if the seat heating sw24 is turned off when the PTC heaters 3 and 4 are operated, the operations of the PTC heaters 3 and 4 are stopped.

Next, main operations of the vehicle seat air conditioner according to the present embodiment will be described.
(1) Seat cooling When the seat is cooled, the passenger turns on the seat cooling sw23. As a result, the cold air blower is activated, and the air blown by the blower 5 is cooled by the Peltier element 6 (step S5). At this time, if the surface temperatures of the seat back 1 and the seat cushion 2 are substantially equal, the difference (R2-R1) in the resistance values of the PTC heaters 3 and 4 is a <(R2-R1) <b. I feel the heat of the seat cushion 2 to the same extent. In this case, the opening degree of the switching door 8 is controlled to a value (for example, 50%) according to (R2-R1) according to the characteristics of FIG. 3 (step S3). As a result, as shown in FIG. 7, the air from the blower 5 is guided to both the air passage 11 on the seat back side and the air passage 12 on the seat cushion side, and cooling air blows out from the surfaces of the seat back 1 and the seat cushion 2, respectively. Is done. As a result, passenger discomfort due to the heat of the seat can be eliminated.

  On the other hand, for example, as shown in FIG. 8, when the seat cushion 2 is exposed to sunlight through the window glass, the surface temperature of the seat cushion 2 becomes higher than that of the seat back 1, and the occupant feels the heat of the seat cushion 2 more. I feel uncomfortable. In this case, the resistance value R2 of the PTC heater 4 is larger than the resistance value R1 of the PTC heater 3, and the difference (R2-R1) increases as the temperature difference between the seat cushion 2 and the seat back 1 increases. When (R2-R1) is larger than the predetermined value b, the opening degree of the switching door 8 becomes maximum (100%) (step S3). As a result, as shown in FIG. 6, all the air from the blower 5 is guided to the air passage 12 on the seat cushion side, and cooling air is blown out only from the surface of the seat cushion 2. As a result, the amount of air blown from the surface of the seat cushion is increased, and passenger discomfort can be effectively eliminated.

  Further, when the surface temperature of the seat back 1 becomes higher than that of the seat cushion 2, the resistance value R1 of the PTC heater 3 is larger than the resistance value R2 of the PTC heater 4, and the occupant becomes more uncomfortable with the heat of the seat back 1. feel. In this case, if (R2-R1) is smaller than the predetermined value a, the opening degree of the switching door 8 becomes the minimum (0%) (step S3). As a result, as shown in FIG. 5, all the air from the blower 5 is guided to the air passage 11 on the seat back side, and cooling air is blown out only from the surface of the seat back 1. As a result, the amount of air blown from the surface of the seat back 1 is increased, and passenger discomfort can be effectively eliminated.

(2) Seat heating When the seat is heated, the passenger turns on the seat heating sw24. At this time, if the resistance values R1 and R2 of the PTC heaters 3 and 4 are equal to or less than the predetermined values c and d, respectively, the PTC heaters 3 and 4 are operated and the surface of the sheet is heated (steps S13 and S16). Thereby, the discomfort of the passenger due to the coldness of the seat can be eliminated. On the other hand, when the resistance values R1 and R2 of the PTC heaters 3 and 4 are larger than the predetermined values c and d, the operations of the PTC heaters 3 and 4 are stopped (steps S17 and S18). As a result, the seat can be prevented from being overheated, and passenger comfort is improved.

  When the seat is heated, the timer is activated, and the operations of the PTC heaters 3 and 4 are stopped every predetermined time t (step S21, step S23). The controller 20 reads the resistance values R1 and R2 of the PTC heaters 3 and 4 when the operation is stopped (step S7), and controls the operation of the PTC heaters 3 and 4 based on the resistance values R1 and R2 (steps S11 to S18). . In this case, a weak current is passed through the PTC heaters 3 and 4 in order to detect the resistance values R1 and R2, but the weak current is not so high as to cause the PTC heaters 3 and 4 to generate heat, and the detected resistance values R1 and R2 Corresponds to the resistance value when the heater is stopped. Thus, since the surface temperatures of the seat back 1 and the seat cushion 2 are detected by the resistance values R1 and R2 of the PTC heaters 3 and 4, there is no need to separately provide a temperature sensor or the like for controlling the PTC heaters 3 and 4.

According to the above embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) A switching door 8 is provided at a branching portion 7 to the air passages 11 and 12 downstream of the blower 5, and the switching door 8 is controlled by a difference (R 2 −R 1) between the resistance values R 1 and R 2 of the PTC heaters 3 and 4. I did it. That is, when (R2-R1) is larger than the predetermined value b, all the air from the blower 5 is guided to the seat cushion side, and all the air from the blower 5 smaller than the predetermined value a is guided to the seat back side. As a result, the cooling air is preferentially blown toward the hotter of the seat back 1 and the seat cushion 2, and the passenger's discomfort due to the hot seat can be efficiently eliminated.
(2) When (R2-R1) is not less than the predetermined value a and not more than the predetermined value b, the opening degree of the switching door 8 is increased with an increase in (R2-R1), and the air volume distribution is gradually changed. did. As a result, cooling air is blown out from the seat back and the seat cushion in accordance with the temperature difference between the seat back 1 and the seat cushion 2, and the passenger's discomfort can be effectively eliminated.

(3) Since the resistance values R1 and R2 of the PTC heaters 3 and 4 for seat heating are detected and the switching door 8 is controlled using the resistance values R1 and R2, a temperature sensor or the like for detecting the seat surface is provided. There is no need to provide it separately, and the cost can be reduced.
(4) The operation of the PTC heaters 3 and 4 is stopped every predetermined time t during seat heating, and the resistance values R1 and R2 after the stop are read to control the PTC heaters 3 and 4. As a result, the temperature of the sheet surface can be accurately detected, and it is not necessary to separately provide a temperature sensor or the like for controlling the PTC heaters 3 and 4, thereby reducing the cost.

  In the above embodiment, the control of the air conditioner is started by turning on the engine key switch. However, the air conditioner may be operated before the passenger gets on the vehicle, for example, by a command from a remote control switch. As a result, when the occupant is seated, the seat is already cooled according to the temperature of the seat back 1 and the seat cushion 2, and the comfort of the occupant can be enhanced.

  In the above embodiment, the resistance values R1 and R2 of the PTC heaters 3 and 4 are detected, and the opening degree of the switching door 8 is controlled according to the difference between the resistance values (R2−R1). If the air volume distribution is controlled so that the cooling air is preferentially blown from the higher surface temperature of the seat back 1 and the seat back 1, the configuration of the vehicle seat air conditioner is not limited to that described above. Note that preferentially blowing means blowing air so that the air volume from the higher surface temperature is relatively larger than the air volume from the lower surface temperature.

  Air volume distribution changing means other than the switching door 8 may be used. Although the resistance values R1 and R2 of the PTC heaters 3 and 4 are detected as temperature detection means, the sheet surface temperature may be detected by a temperature sensor or the like. Although the Peltier element 6 is used as the cold air blowing device, the cooling air from the air conditioner mounted on the vehicle may be guided to the air passages 11 and 12. The processing in the controller 20 as the air volume distribution changing means is not limited to the above. Although the thin PTC heaters 3 and 4 are used as the heating means, other types of heating means may be used. If the resistance values R1 and R2 of the PTC heaters 3 and 4 are detected in a state where the operation of the PTC heaters 3 and 4 is temporarily stopped, and the PTC heaters 3 and 4 are controlled based on the resistance values R1 and R2. The configuration of the heating control means is not limited to that described above. That is, the present invention is not limited to the vehicle seat air conditioner of the embodiment as long as the features and functions of the present invention can be realized.

1 is a side sectional view of a vehicle seat showing a configuration of a vehicle seat air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention. The block diagram of the vehicle seat air conditioner of FIG. The flowchart (the 1) which shows an example of the process in the controller of FIG. The flowchart (the 2) which shows an example of the process in the controller of FIG. The figure which shows an example of operation | movement of the vehicle seat air conditioner in case of (R2-R1) <a. The figure which shows an example of operation | movement of the vehicle seat air conditioner when (R2-R1)> b. The figure which shows an example of operation | movement of the vehicle seat air conditioner in case of a <= (R2-R1) <= b. The figure which shows one condition in which (R2-R1)> b is materialized.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Seat back 2 Seat cushion 3, 4 PTC heater 5 Blower 6 Peltier element 8 Switching door 11, 12 Air passage 20 Controller 21 Resistance detector R1, R2 Resistance value

Claims (3)

A cold air blowing device that blows cooling air from the surfaces of the seat cushion and the seat back through air passages provided in the seat cushion and in the seat back, respectively.
Temperature detecting means for detecting a physical quantity correlated with the surface temperature of the seat cushion and the seat back;
Air volume distribution changing means for changing the air volume distribution of the air volume blown from the surface of the seat cushion and the air volume blown from the surface of the seat back by the cold air blowing device;
Air volume control means for controlling the air volume distribution changing means based on the physical quantity detected by the temperature detection means so that cooling air is preferentially blown from the seat cushion and the seat back having a higher surface temperature. An air conditioner for vehicle seats. In the vehicle seat air conditioner according to claim 1,
Further comprising heating means for energizing and heating the surfaces of the seat cushion and the seat back,
The vehicle seat air conditioner characterized in that the physical quantity is a resistance value of the heating means. The air conditioner for a vehicle seat according to claim 2,
The apparatus further comprises a heating control unit that temporarily stops the operation of the heating unit and controls the heating unit based on a resistance value of the heating unit detected by the temperature detection unit in the operation stopped state. A vehicle seat air conditioner.

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