JPH0261978A - Heater unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a heater unit capable of being applied with machining such as quilting and having excellent feeling by providing the preset band-shaped heating elements in no contact with each other and connected to a pair of required current collecting faces on the fiber surface of a sheet-shaped base section. CONSTITUTION:Current collectors 2 made of a conductor plated layer of a pair of insulated electrodes 4 are provided together with a lead wire 4a or the like at the seal section 5 on the fiber surface forming a sheet-shaped base section 1. Band-shaped heating elements 3a-3e made of a conductor plated layer and connected to the current collectors 2 on both ends are provided on the fiber surface in no contact with each other to form a heater unit. The heating characteristic of the heating elements 3a-3e is not deteriorated even if small holes are bored by quilting machining according to this constitution, quilting machining with no feeling of foreign objects for the heating elements 3a-3e can be performed, and the heater unit for a car seat or the like with excellent feeling is obtained.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a heater unit used for automobile interior materials, furniture, bedding, clothing, house interior materials, and the like.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, heater units equipped with heating elements have been used, for example, in automobile seats (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 62
-66811@publication). As shown in FIG. 8, this heater unit 50 has two heavy bodies 51 and 52 pasted together, and a linear heating element 53 meanderingly arranged at a predetermined interval between them. ing. As shown in FIG. 9, this heater unit 50 is arranged between a main pad 55 and an outer skin 56 of the seat, and is connected via a lead wire. ! When the power source is turned on, the heating element 53 generates heat to warm the seat.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The conventional heater unit 50 described above has one heating element 53.
A book wire is arranged. In this case, there is a high possibility that the heating element 53 and the lead wires will be damaged, so it may be difficult or impossible to sew or punch a hole in a desired location of the heater unit 50. Therefore, since the sewing pattern must be adjusted to match the wiring pattern of the heating element, the degree of freedom in design is significantly reduced.

Since the heating element 53 has a higher rigidity than the surrounding can body, skin, etc., if the heating element 53 is disposed near the skin 56, there is an inconvenience that the heating element 53 gives a feeling of being a foreign body.

The present invention is intended to solve the above problems, and its purpose is to
An object of the present invention is to provide a heater unit that allows processing such as quilting and has an excellent tactile sensation with less foreign body sensation due to the heating element.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The heater unit of the present invention includes a sheet-like base formed by weaving, knitting, or accumulating fibers, and a sheet-like base formed at predetermined intervals on the surface of the fibers forming the sheet-like base. a pair of current collectors made of a conductive plating layer, and fibers extending radially from the current collectors and connecting the pair of current collectors without entanglement to form the sheet-like base. A plurality of band-shaped heating elements made of a conductive plating layer formed on the surface, a pair of electrodes that contact the current collector and are connected to lead wires that supply power; It is characterized in that it is comprised of a current collector and a sealing part that seals the electrode.

The sheet-like base in the present invention is! It is formed by weaving, knitting, or accumulating IN. As the material for the sheet-like base, any of natural fibers, synthetic fibers, semi-synthetic fibers, and a mixture of natural fibers and synthetic fibers may be used, but it is preferable to use a mixture of natural fibers and synthetic fibers. is good. Note that the mixing ratio of natural II and synthetic m fibers can be set in consideration of the use of the heater unit, etc. In other words, as the ratio of synthetic iin increases, the strength of the fabric increases, and as the ratio of natural m fibers, which have excellent retention properties for plated conductors, increases, the change in heater performance when subjected to repeated physical deformation increases. This is because it becomes smaller. It is also possible to provide an insulating layer on at least one surface of the sheet-like base using resin VJ thin film or the like which is integrally adhered onto the negative surface.

A pair of 1! The electric bodies are provided at predetermined intervals on the sheet-like base so as to be connected to a heating element, which will be described later.

These pair of current collectors may be positioned according to the wiring pattern of the heating element, and may be provided, for example, separately at both ends of the sheet-like base or close to one end portion. These current collectors are composed of a conductive plating layer, similar to the heating element described later. The shape of each current collector is preferably a block shape having a large area relative to the circumferential length of the current collector, such as a circle, an ellipse, a square, or a rectangle.

Each heating element is formed on the surface of the fiber forming the sheet-like base by a conductive plating layer, and has a band-like shape.

Each heating element is connected at both ends to a pair of current collectors.
Wiring is done without interlacing between the pair of electrodes.

As a result, each heating element connecting a pair of current collectors is connected by a large number of converging Il fibers, thereby forming an "electrical flow path." The wiring pattern of the heating element is
Although it can be set freely, it is preferable that the width is 3 am or more to prevent wire breakage even if the thread passes through the quilting process. Further, the resistance value r of each circuit section is determined by r-nR (n: number of circuits, R: overall resistance value), and thereby it is possible to set a circuit that generates a uniform amount of heat throughout. In particular, if you want to make the amount of heat generated per unit area uniform, increase the width of each heating element in proportion to the number of heating elements per unit area, and reduce the electrical resistance of the heating element in that area. By lowering , the amount of heat generated per unit area can be made uniform. Note that the heating element can be formed by electroless plating using, for example, nickel, copper, gold, silver, cobalt, chromium, or the like. Note that it is preferable that the current collector and the heating element are integrally formed at the same time.

The electrode is provided in contact with the current collector described above.

Therefore, it is preferable that the shape of the electrode be the same as the shape of the current collector.The material of the electrode is not particularly limited as long as it is conductive, and for example, a copper plate or the like can be used. This electrode can be attached integrally with the seal portion, for example, when the seal portion, which will be described later, is provided on the sheet-like base.

The seal portion electrically seals and protects the heating element, current collector, and electrode. At the same time, it is preferable to also seal the connection portion to which the lead wire is connected. The seal portion can be formed directly onto the mounting portion by molding, for example, using a hardening resin such as epoxy resin or polyamide resin.

[Function] In the heater unit of the present invention, when a voltage is applied between a pair of electrodes via a lead wire, a current flows from one current collector in contact with one electrode to each heating element. dispersed,
fl! to which the other end of each heating element is connected! ! , /j and flows to the other electrode. At this time, the heating element generates heat due to its resistance.

[Effects of the Invention] In the heater unit of the present invention, since the heating element is made of a conductive plating layer, when the heating element is quilted, it is easy for a needle or the like to penetrate the heating element. is rarely completely disconnected. Therefore, it becomes possible to perform processing such as quilting without seriously affecting product performance.

Further, since the heating element is formed substantially on the same plane as the surface of the sheet-like base and has flexibility, even when the heater unit is used in a portion that comes into contact with the human body, the feeling of a foreign body can be eliminated and the tactile sensation is excellent.

[Example] Specific examples of the heater unit of the present invention will be described below based on the accompanying drawings.

(First Example) FIG. 1 is a plan view of the heater unit of this example, FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view of a pair of current collectors, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view of a portion of a pair of current collectors. FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the sheet-like base.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the heater unit of this embodiment includes a sheet-like base 1, a pair of current collectors 2, and a heating element 3.
The main components are a pair of electrodes 4, a seal portion 5, and an insulator 116.

The sheet-like base 1 is formed into a predetermined thickness by weaving threads made of a mixture of polyester and cotton in a ratio of 65:35, and has a rectangular shape. An elongated hole 1a for attaching a seal portion 5, which will be described later, is formed at one longitudinal end of the sheet-like base 1.

The pair of current collectors 2 are made of a conductive plating layer formed by plating nickel on the fiber surface of the sheet-like base 1 by electroless plating, and have circles with a diameter of 51 Ill on both sides of the elongated hole 1a in the longitudinal direction. formed into a shape.

The heating element 3 is made of a conductive plating layer formed by plating one surface of the sheet-like base 1 with nickel simultaneously with the pair of current collectors 2 by electroless plating. This heating element 3 is
It is composed of five circuits 38 to 3e formed in a band shape, both ends of which are connected to a pair of current collectors 2, extend radially from each current collector 2, and intertwine with the sheet-like base 1. It is wired without any problem. Each of the circuits 38 to 3e of the heating element 3 is made thicker as it is longer so that the resistance 1ie ((heat generation amount) becomes the same, and the thicker the circuits 38 to 3e in the denser part are made so that the resistance 1ie ((heat generation amount) The heat generation amount per area is set to be uniform.In addition, each circuit 3a to 30
is formed to have a width of 31 or more. Note that the heating element 3 and the current collector 2 were formed as follows.

(1) A paste with a predetermined viscosity is prepared by mixing the complexed reduced catalyst metal, a reducing agent, and a viscous substance.

(2) The paste is printed on the sheet-like base 1 in a desired pattern using a printing machine.

(3) 50 to 200 sheets of base printed with paste
Perform dry heat treatment or moist heat treatment at a temperature of °C.

(4) After cleaning, nickel is applied to the printed paste part by dipping it in a nickel plating bath, and after cleaning, it is dried.

Examples of the complexing agent include amines such as ammonia, medylamine, aniline, and ethylenediamine, 7-minocarboxylic acids such as glycine and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, 7-minoalcohols such as ethanolamine and jetanolamine, oxalic acid, succinic acid, Carboxylic acids such as maleic acid can be used.

As the reduction catalyst metal, for example, platinum group metals such as platinum, palladium, ruthenium, and rhodium, and iron group metals such as nickel, cobalt, and iron can be used.

As the viscous substance, for example, natural pastes such as wheat flour starch, guar gum, and sodium alginate, pastes processed from cellulose, synthetic pastes such as polyvinyl alcohol and sodium polyacrylate, O/W emulsion pastes, etc. may be used. Can be done.

A pair of electrodes 4 has a length of 7 cm and a width of 101-1 and a thickness of 0°251.
1 copper plate, which is connected to a pair of current collectors 2 on one side of the sheet-like base 1, respectively.

After forming a pair of current collectors 2 and a heating element 3 on a sheet-like base 1, this 'R electrode is arranged so as to contact each of the pair of current collectors 2, and is fixed by a seal part 5. There is.

Further, one end side of a lead l1Ja, which is connected to a power source (not shown), is branched into two prongs and connected to each electrode 4 by soldering.

The seal portion 5 is integrally and compactly formed so as to pass through the elongated hole 1a of the sheet-like base 1 and sandwich the pair of electrodes 4 from both sides of the sheet-like base 1. As a result, as shown in FIG. 3, the seal portion 5 maintains the contact state between the joined current collector 2 and the electrode 4, and electrically seals them. This seal portion 5 is formed by molding using epoxy resin. That is, a pair of current collectors 2 formed on a sheet-like base 1 and a pair of electrodes 4 to which lead wires 4a are connected are kept in a bonded state, and the part and the elongated hole 1a are accommodated in the mold cavity. Molding molds are placed on both sides of the sheet-like base 1 so that a liquid epoxy resin is introduced and solidified. In this epoxy resin, the parts provided on both sides of the sheet-like base 1 are connected through the elongated hole 1a, so the seal part 5 itself has high rigidity, and troubles such as poor contact due to fatigue of the electrode part are avoided. It has excellent durability.

As shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 4, the insulation H6 covers the entire sheet-like base 1 including the heating element 3 formed on the surface of the fibers forming the sheet-like base 1, and is made of antimony trioxide and Preferably 1 flame retardant such as a halogen compound
It consists of a urethane resin containing 0% by weight or less. This insulating layer 6 is formed by providing the seal portion 5 on the sheet-like base 1, impregnating the sheet-like base 1 with a urethane resin whose viscosity is adjusted to have good permeability, and drying it. As a result, the urethane resin is applied to the sheet-like base 1.
It penetrates into the inside of the thread constituting the heat generating element 3 and covers the entire surface of the heat generating element 3, thereby electrically insulating and protecting the heat generating element 3. In addition, a sheet-shaped urethane resin containing a flame retardant may be pasted onto the sheet-like base, or the sheet-like base may be dipped in molten urethane resin.

The heater unit of this embodiment is configured as described above. This heater unit is used by being attached to a desired seat or the like. In this case, when the power is turned on via the lead wire 4a, the current flows through one electrode 4 and is dispersed from one current collector 2 to each circuit 3a to 3e of the heating element 3, and the current flows through one electrode 4. It gathers in the body 2 and flows to the other electrode 4.

At this time, the heating element 3 generates heat due to its resistance.

In the heater unit of this embodiment, since the heating element 3 is formed of a conductive plating layer on the surface of the sheet-like base 1,
Quilting processing is possible, and even if the quilting thread penetrates, there is a very low possibility that the heating element 3 will be disconnected.

Since the pair of current collectors 2 are formed in a circular shape with a large area relative to the circumferential length, contact with the electrode 4 is more reliable, and the conductor plating layer makes the heating element 3
Since it is formed integrally with the wire, the possibility of wire breakage is extremely low. Furthermore, a pair of conductors 2 and 1II4i4
is placed close to one end of the sheet-like base 1, and the seal portion 5 is
Because it is integrated and compactly installed, 'Ifl
There is less possibility that the amount of heat generated will change due to damage to the pole 4, and reliability can be increased.

Since the heating element 3 is provided on the sheet-like base 8I11 without protruding from its surface and has flexibility, it does not feel like a foreign body at all even when used on a part that comes into contact with the human body, such as a seat sheet, and has no tactile sensation. Excellent. Therefore, it can be installed directly under the skin of the seat, and the responsiveness of the heating effect is excellent.

Furthermore, since the wiring of the heating element 3 is glued by attaching a conductor such as nickel to the paste-applied portion, the wiring pattern can be freely selected.

Furthermore, by adjusting the viscosity of the paste, the heating element 3 can be plated by penetrating the inside of the sheet-like base 1 with the conductor, so it is not susceptible to repeated physical deformation or large local deformation. However, the deterioration in heat generation performance is small.

Since the insulating layer 6 is provided on the entire surface of the sheet-like base 1, it is possible to prevent water from adhering to the heating element 3 and cause electrical leakage, and also to prevent the heating element 3 from peeling off from the sheet-like base 1. It can be prevented.

(Modified example) FIG. 5 is a plan view of the heater unit of this modification.

The heater unit of this modification differs from that of the first embodiment in the pattern of the circuits 23a to 23e of the heating element 23.

That is, the wiring patterns of each of the circuits 23a to 23e are linear, and since their lengths are not uniform, the longer the wiring pattern, the wider the width, and the wiring pattern is stepped so that the resistance value of each circuit 238 to 23e is constant. There is.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 6 is a plan view of the heater unit of this embodiment, and FIG. 7 is an enlarged plan view showing a concentrated portion of the heating elements.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, in the heater unit of this embodiment, a pair of electrodes 44 are arranged at both ends of a sheet-like base 41 in the longitudinal direction. The sheet-like base 41 includes
A pair of elongated holes 41a are formed at both ends in the force direction, and a pair of current collectors (not shown) are formed inside both elongated holes 41a. 9 with both ends connected to
A heating element 43 is formed of book circuit parts 43a to 43i. The heating element 43 is a conductive plating layer formed by plating nickel by electroless plating as in the J1 embodiment. Also, the sealing portion 45 and the insulation I1 layer 46 are also formed by plating with nickel using the electroless plating method as in the J1 embodiment. It is formed in the same manner as in the example.

The heater unit of this embodiment enables quilting processing as in the case of the first embodiment, and provides effects such as an excellent tactile sensation without the foreign body sensation caused by the heating element 43. Furthermore, since the pair of electrodes 44 are spaced apart from each other by GQ +j, there is less possibility that the circuits 43a to 431 of the heating element 43 will be short-circuited, which is advantageous in terms of stability and long life.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 4 relate to a first embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a plan view of a heater unit, FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view of a pair of current collectors, and FIG. The figure is a sectional view taken along the line I-1 in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view showing a part of the sheet-like base. FIG. 5 is a plan view of a heater unit according to a modified example. 6 and 7 relate to the second embodiment, in which FIG. 6 is a plan view of the heater unit, and FIG. 7 is a plan view showing an enlarged portion of the current collector. 8 and 9 relate to a conventional heater unit, with FIG. 8 being a sectional view thereof, and FIG. 9 being a perspective view of a seat equipped with the heater unit. 1...Sheet-like base 3...Heating element 4a...Lead wire 6...11W4 2...Current collector 4...Electrode 5...Seal portion Patent applicant Toyota Boshoku Co., Ltd. Tokai Senko Co., Ltd. Agent Patent Attorney Hiroshi Okawa Figure 4 Figure 2 ■ Figure 3 Figure 7 Figure 8 Procedure Amendment (Voluntary) 1. Display of the case 1986 Patent Request No. 212830 2 Name of the invention Heater unit 3 Person making the amendment Relationship to the case Patent applicant 1-1 Toyotacho, Kariya City, Aichi Prefecture Representative Mitsuru Tsuchiya, Toyota Boshoku Co., Ltd. Kenji Tsujii, representative of Nito Kaisenko Co., Ltd., Nitta-ichi, Nishikajima-cho, Nishi-Kasugai-gun, Aichi Prefecture, 4 Kodama Building, 3-3 Meieki, Nakamura-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi Prefecture, 450 Kodama Building (N story) <052> 583-9720)5
, Column 6 of Detailed Description of the Invention of the specification subject to amendment, Contents of amendment (1) In line 5 of page 11 of the specification, the term "carboxylic acids, etc." has been replaced with [carboxylic acids, tartaric acid, citric acid, salicylic acid Hydroxycarvone etc! Alcohols such as ethylene glycol, glycerin, etc.” (2) Between lines 5 and 6 of page 11 of the specification: ``Reducing agents include phosphoric acids such as small sphinic acids and phosphorous acid, and their salts, dithionite acid, sulfinic acid, etc.'' Sulfuric acids and their salts, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and other fludevides can be used.'' is inserted. (3) From line 15 to line 16 on page 13 of the specification, the statement ``by dipping the sheet-like base in a molten urethane resin'' has been changed to ``by dipping the sheet-like base in an aqueous dispersion of urethane resin.'' Correct by dipping and drying. that's all

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A pair of aggregates consisting of a sheet-like base formed by weaving, knitting, or accumulating fibers, and a conductive plating layer formed at a predetermined interval on the surface of the fibers forming the sheet-like base. a band-shaped conductor plating layer formed on the surface of a fiber that extends radially from the current collector and connects the pair of current collectors without entanglement to form the sheet-like base; A plurality of heating elements, a pair of electrodes that contact the pair of current collectors and are connected to lead wires that supply power, and a seal portion that seals the heating elements, the current collector, and the electrodes. A heater unit comprising: