Seat heater for driver's seat and driver's seat for automobile

Abstract

The invention relates to a driver seat heater and a driver seat for an automobile. The seat heater for the driver's seat is arranged on a seat cushion of the driver's seat for the automobile, and the seat cushion of the driver's seat for the automobile is provided with: a main part for supporting the buttocks and thighs of an occupant; and left and right side cushion parts provided on both sides of the main part in the left-right direction of the seat and extending from the main part to the upper side of the seat. The seat heater for the driver's seat comprises a main heater arranged on a main part; and a side heater disposed only on the right side of the left and right side cushion parts.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a driver's seat for an automobile, and more particularly to a driver's seat heater provided on a seat cushion of the driver's seat. Background Art

[0002] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2021-185084 discloses a planar heating element (seat heater) provided on a seat cushion of a vehicle seat. The seat cushion has a seat surface portion (main portion) provided in the center in the left-right direction, and left and right extension portions (left and right side cushion portions) provided on the left and right outer sides of the seat surface portion and supporting the side portions of the occupant. The seat heater has a first heater provided on the main portion, and left and right second heaters provided on the left and right side cushion portions.

[0003] In the above-mentioned prior art, the seat heater is arranged in the main part of the seat cushion and the left and right side cushion parts, so the wiring length of the seat heater becomes longer and the power consumption increases. Therefore, from the perspective of saving fuel consumption (saving power consumption in electric vehicles), there is room for improvement. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present disclosure takes the above-mentioned facts into consideration, and an object of the present disclosure is to provide a driver's seat heater and a vehicle driver's seat that can achieve both ensuring the comfort of the occupant and saving power.

[0005] A first aspect of the present disclosure is a seat heater for a driver's seat, which is arranged on a seat cushion of a driver's seat of an automobile. The seat cushion of the driver's seat of an automobile comprises: a main portion, which supports the buttocks and thighs of an occupant; and left and right side cushion portions, which are arranged on both sides of the main portion in the left and right directions of the seat and extend from the main portion toward the top of the seat, wherein the seat heater for the driver's seat comprises: a main heater, which is arranged on the main portion; and a side heater, which is arranged only on the side cushion portion on the right side of the left and right side cushion portions.

[0006] The first scheme is a seat heater for a driver's seat provided on a seat cushion of a driver's seat of an automobile. The seat cushion comprises: a main portion, which supports the buttocks and thighs of the passenger; and left and right side cushion portions, which are provided on both sides of the main portion in the left-right direction of the seat and extend from the main portion to the top of the seat. The seat heater for a driver's seat provided on the seat cushion comprises: a main heater, which is provided on the main portion; and a side heater, which is provided only on the right side cushion portion of the left and right side cushion portions. For a passenger sitting on a driver's seat of an automobile, there is a tendency that the leg opening angle of the right leg for operating the accelerator pedal is larger than the leg opening angle of the left leg. Therefore, the thigh of the right leg can be well heated by the above-mentioned side heater, thereby ensuring the comfort of the passenger. Moreover, a side heater is not provided on the left side cushion portion, so that power saving can be sought.

[0007] Regarding the driver's seat seat heater of the second scheme, in the first scheme, the main heater and the side heater are composed of different heating wires, and when the vehicle equipped with the vehicle driver's seat can perform automatic driving and the vehicle is traveling in automatic driving mode, the side heater is disconnected.

[0008] In the second embodiment of the driver's seat heater, when the vehicle is driving in the automatic driving mode, that is, when the passenger sitting in the driver's seat of the vehicle does not need to operate the accelerator pedal with his right leg, the side heater composed of a heating wire different from the main heater is turned off. This can further save power.

[0009] As for the seat heater for the driver's seat of the third scheme, in the first scheme or the second scheme, the main heater has: a left-side heater, arranged on the left side portion of the main part; and a right-side heater, arranged on the right side portion of the main part, and the right-side heater is arranged on the outside of the left-side heater in the left-right direction of the seat.

[0010] In the third embodiment of the driver's seat heater, the right heater disposed on the right side of the main portion of the seat cushion is disposed on the outer side of the left side of the seat in the left-right direction of the seat than the left heater disposed on the left side of the main portion. Thus, for a passenger sitting on the driver's seat of the automobile, the thigh of the right leg, which tends to open its legs wider than the left leg, can be well heated by the right heater.

[0011] A fourth aspect of the present invention provides a driver's seat for an automobile, comprising: a cushion pad constituting a cushion member of a seat cushion; a seat cushion skin covering the cushion pad; and a driver's seat heater according to any one of the first to third aspects, disposed between the cushion pad and the seat cushion skin.

[0012] In the fourth aspect of the automobile driver's seat, the driver's seat heater is disposed between the cushion pad of the cushion member constituting the seat cushion and the cushion skin covering the cushion pad. The driver's seat heater is the driver's seat heater of any one of the first to third aspects, and thus the above-mentioned effects are obtained.

[0013] Effects of the Invention

[0014] As described above, in the driver's seat heater and the automobile driver's seat of the present disclosure, it is possible to achieve both ensuring the comfort of the occupant and saving power. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Hereinafter, the specific embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail based on the following drawings, wherein:

[0016] Figure 1 It is a top view showing a driver's seat for an automobile according to the embodiment.

[0017] Figure 2 It is a plan view showing a state in which the seat cushion surface is omitted from the illustration of the seat cushion of the driver's seat of the automobile according to the embodiment.

[0018] Figure 3 It is used to describe the angle of the passenger's legs. Figure 2 The corresponding top view. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] Below, refer to Figure 1 to Figure 3 A driver's seat 10 for an automobile according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is described. It should be noted that in each figure, in order to facilitate observation of the drawings, some of the reference numerals are sometimes omitted. In addition, the arrows FR and LH appropriately recorded in each figure respectively indicate the front and left of the driver's seat for an automobile. In the following, when only the front, back, left, right, up, and down directions are used for description, the directions relative to the driver's seat 10 for an automobile are indicated.

[0020] like Figure 1 As shown, the driver's seat 10 of the automobile of the present embodiment includes: a seat cushion 12 for a passenger of the automobile to sit on; a seat back 14 for supporting the back of the passenger; and a headrest 16 for supporting the head of the passenger. The above-mentioned automobile has, for example, a level 2 or level 3 automatic driving function, and can switch between an automatic driving mode and a manual driving mode.

[0021] The seat cushion 12 includes: a cushion frame (not shown) as a frame; a cushion pad 18 as a cushion member supported by the cushion frame; a cushion skin 20 as a skin member covering the cushion pad 18; and a driver's seat seat heater 30 disposed between the cushion pad 18 and the cushion skin 20. The cushion frame is made of, for example, metal. The cushion pad 18 is made of, for example, a foam such as polyurethane foam. The cushion skin 20 is made of, for example, a plurality of skin sheets made of cloth, leather, synthetic leather, etc., sewn together.

[0022] The seat cushion 12 includes a main portion 12M that supports the buttocks and thighs of the occupant from below, and left and right side cushion portions 12L and 12R that are provided on both sides of the main portion 12M in the left-right direction and extend upward from the main portion 12M. The main portion 12M constitutes the left-right central portion of the seat cushion 12, and the left and right side cushion portions 12L and 12R constitute the left-right side portions of the seat cushion 12.

[0023] like Figure 2 As shown in FIG. 1 , the driver's seat heater 30 includes a heater body 32 and a sheet-like base material 34 that supports the heater body 32. The heater body 32 is a member in which a heating wire (heat wire) such as a nickel-chromium alloy wire is bent into a wavy shape, but Figure 1 to Figure 3 The heater body 32 is schematically shown in the figure. The base material 34 is, for example, a non-woven fabric. It should be noted that the heater body 32 can be any linear, sheet-shaped or film-shaped member that can generate heat by passing electricity. In addition, the base material 34 is not limited to non-woven fabrics, and any flexible sheet-shaped or film-shaped material can be used.

[0024] The heater body 32 includes a main heater 32M disposed in the main portion 12M of the seat cushion 12, and a side heater 32R disposed only in the right side cushion portion 12R of the left and right side cushion portions 12L and 12R. The driver's seat heater 30 does not include a side heater disposed in the left side cushion portion 12L. In addition, no heater other than the driver's seat heater 30 is disposed in the seat cushion 12.

[0025] The main heater 32M and the side heater 32R are composed of different (separate) heating wires. The main heater 32M includes a left heater 32ML disposed on the left side of the main part 12M and a right heater 32MR disposed on the right side of the main part. The right heater 32MR is disposed slightly outside the left heater 32ML in the left-right direction.

[0026] The base material 34 includes a main base material 34M disposed in the main portion 12M of the seat cushion 12 and a side base material 34R disposed in the right side cushion portion 12R. The main heater 32M, i.e., the left heater 32ML and the right heater 32MR, is mounted on the main base material 34, and the side heater 32R is mounted on the side base material 34R.

[0027] Both ends of the heating wires constituting the main heater 32M and the side heater 32R are disposed, for example, at the rear end of the seat cushion 12 and are electrically connected to a temperature control device not shown in the figure. The temperature control device is electrically connected to a control device not shown in the figure mounted on the driver's seat 10 of the automobile and a temperature sensor not shown in the figure disposed on the seat cushion 12. When a signal from the control device is input, the temperature control device controls the power supply to the main heater 32M and the side heater 32R so that they become a specified temperature corresponding to the signal input from the control device. In the present embodiment, the temperature control device is configured to: when the temperature obtained by the temperature sensor is lower than the temperature corresponding to the signal input from the control device, the main heater 32M and the side heater 32R are powered on to increase the temperature of the main heater 32M and the side heater 32R, and when the temperature exceeds the temperature corresponding to the above signal, the power supply to the main heater 32M and the side heater 32R is stopped.

[0028] The control device is electrically connected to an automatic driving control device for controlling the automatic driving of the automobile, and the control device is configured to always stop the temperature control device from energizing the side heater 32R when the automobile is traveling in the automatic driving mode (i.e., always disconnect the side heater 32R). The control device is configured to allow the temperature control device to energize the side heater 32R when the automobile is traveling in the manual driving mode. Thus, the side heater 32R is configured to be disconnected according to the detection result of the temperature sensor.

[0029] Next, the operation and effects of this embodiment will be described.

[0030] In the above-structured driver's seat 10 for automobiles, a driver's seat seat heater 30 is provided on the seat cushion 12. The seat cushion 12 includes a main portion 12M that supports the buttocks and thighs of the occupant, and left and right side cushion portions 12L, 12R that are provided on both sides of the main portion 12M in the left-right direction of the seat and extend upward from the main portion 12M. The driver's seat seat heater 30 includes a main heater 32M that is provided on the main portion 12M, and a side heater 32R that is provided only on the right side cushion portion 12R of the left and right side cushion portions 12L, 12R.

[0031] like Figure 3As shown, for the passenger P sitting on the driver's seat 10 of the automobile, there is a tendency that the leg opening angle θ1 of the right leg RF operating the accelerator pedal is larger than the leg opening angle θ2 of the left leg LF. Therefore, by providing a side heater 32R on the right side support pad 12R which is expected to come into contact with the thigh RT of the right leg RF, the thigh RT of the right leg RF can be heated well, thereby ensuring the comfort of the passenger P. Moreover, the side support pad 12L on the left side which has little chance of coming into contact with the thigh LT of the left leg LF except for passengers with large bodies is not provided with a side heater, thereby shortening the wiring length of the heating wire and suppressing wasteful power consumption. Thus, power saving and cost reduction can be achieved. It should be noted that in Figure 3 CL is the left-right center line of the seat cushion 12 .

[0032] Furthermore, in the driver's seat heater 30, when the vehicle is traveling in the automatic driving mode, that is, when the passenger P sitting in the driver's seat 10 of the vehicle does not need to operate the accelerator pedal with the right leg RF, the side heater 32R composed of a heating wire different from the main heater 32M is turned off. This can further save power.

[0033] In addition, in the driver's seat seat heater 30, the main heater 32M includes a left heater 32ML disposed at the left side of the main part 12M and a right heater 32MR disposed at the right side of the main part 12M. The right heater 32MR is disposed at the outer side of the left heater 32ML in the left-right direction. Thus, for the passenger P sitting in the driver's seat 10 of the automobile, the thigh RT of the right leg RF, which tends to have a larger leg opening angle than the left leg LF, can be well heated by the right heater 32MR.

[0034] It should be noted that in the above embodiment, the right heater 32MR of the main heater 32M is arranged on the outside in the left-right direction than the left heater 32ML, but this is not limited to this. The right heater 32MR and the left heater 32ML may also be arranged in a left-right symmetrical structure.

[0035] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the main heater 32M and the side heater 32R are formed of different heating wires, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the main heater 32M and the side heater 32R may be formed of a single heating wire.

[0036] In addition, the present disclosure can be variously modified within the scope not exceeding the gist thereof. In addition, the scope of rights of the present disclosure is of course not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments.

Claims

1. A seat heater for a driver's seat, arranged on a seat cushion of a driver's seat of an automobile, the seat cushion of the driver's seat of the automobile comprising: a main portion, supporting the buttocks and thighs of an occupant; and left and right side cushion portions, arranged on both sides of the main portion in the left and right directions of the seat and extending from the main portion to the upper side of the seat, wherein: The driver's seat heater comprises: a main heater, disposed in the main portion; and The side heater is provided only on the right side cushion portion of the left and right side cushion portions.

2. The seat heater for a driver's seat according to claim 1, wherein: The main heater and the side heater are composed of different heating wires, When the vehicle equipped with the vehicle driver's seat is capable of automatic driving and the vehicle is traveling in an automatic driving mode, the side heater is turned off.

3. The seat heater for a driver's seat according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The main heater has: a left heater disposed on a left side portion of the main portion; and a right heater, arranged on the right side of the main part, The right heater is arranged on the outer side of the left heater in the left-right direction of the seat.

4. A driver's seat for an automobile, comprising: Cushion pads, cushioning components that make up the seat cushion; A seat cushion surface covering the cushion pad; as well as The driver's seat heater according to claim 1 or 2 is arranged between the cushion pad and the seat cushion surface.

5. A driver's seat for an automobile, comprising: Cushion pads, cushioning components that make up the seat cushion; A seat cushion skin, covering the cushion pad; and The driver's seat heater according to claim 3 is disposed between the cushion pad and the seat cushion surface.

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