Toilet seat heating device

Abstract

The invention provides a toilet seat heating device which can realize early temperature rise by improving at least the material of a heating conductor. A toilet seat heating device (100) is provided with: a heat-generating conductor (10) comprising a plurality of carbon nanotubes and an adhesive for adhering the carbon nanotubes to each other; an electrical insulating sheet (20) on which the heating conductor (10) is fixed; and a pair of electrodes (30) electrically connected to both ends of the heat-generating conductor (10).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a toilet seat heating device, and more particularly to a toilet seat heating device using a heat-generating conductor composed of a carbon nanotube (hereinafter referred to as “CNT”) or the like. Background Art

[0002] Patent document 1 discloses a planar heating element that can prevent or inhibit the peeling of a heating layer from a substrate while achieving a desired heating amount. The planar heating element includes: a first substrate; a heating layer formed on the surface of the first substrate and containing a conductive material; and two electrodes disposed on the first substrate in a manner separated from each other and in contact with the heating layer, wherein the conductive material is composed of a carbon material and graphene, or is composed of peeled graphene. In the planar heating element described in patent document 1, the conductive material must be composed of a carbon material and graphene, and a material without graphene is positioned as a comparative example.

[0003] Patent Document 1: Paragraph (0044) of Japanese Patent No. 6174223, etc. Summary of the invention

[0004] Problem that the invention aims to solve However, conventional toilet seat heating devices are usually powered on in a low-temperature standby state, and when switched to use, the supply voltage is increased to achieve a desired temperature rise in a short time of several seconds to several tens of seconds.

[0005] However, from the perspective of the recent SDGs, the following are necessary: ​​(1) to eliminate the low-temperature standby state during normal use and turn off the power supply, (2) to increase the supply voltage when switching to use, but to save power in the overall situation including normal use, and (3) to increase the temperature rise rate by eliminating the standby state.

[0006] However, although the relationship between the temperature rise and time of the planar heating element is not disclosed in Patent Document 1, in Patent Document 1, graphene must be used as a conductive material, but generally graphene has a relatively low thermal conductivity compared to CNT, and the temperature rise is generally slow, which inevitably hinders the realization of the above (3).

[0007] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a toilet seat heating device capable of realizing a temperature rise at an early stage by devising at least the material of a heat-generating conductor.

[0008] Means used to solve problems In order to solve the above problems, the toilet seat heating device of the present invention comprises: A heat-generating conductor comprising a plurality of carbon nanotubes and a binder for bonding the carbon nanotubes to each other; an electrical insulating sheet on which the heat-generating conductor is fixed; and A pair of electrodes is electrically connected to both ends of the heat-generating conductor.

[0009] The toilet seat heating device may be installed on the surface of the toilet seat or on the back of the toilet seat.

[0010] Furthermore, the material of the electrical insulating sheet may be polyethylene terephthalate, polypropylene, polyethylene, polycarbonate or polyimide.

[0011] The electrodes may be formed of a conductive paste such as a silver paste or a copper paste.

[0012] In addition, for example, when installed on the surface of a toilet seat, or when a back cover cannot be installed on the toilet seat even when installed on the back of a toilet seat, the design sheet may be located on the back side of the opposite surface relative to the surface of the toilet seat.

[0013] Moreover, for example, when the toilet seat is mounted on the back side, a reflecting member for directing heat toward the user may be included. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] Figure 1 This is a perspective view showing a schematic structure of the toilet seat heating device 100 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

[0015] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 Schematic AA cross-sectional view of .

[0016] Figure 3 yes Figure 1 An enlarged top view of a portion of the toilet seat warming device 100 is shown.

[0017] Figure 4 yes Figure 3 Schematic BB cross-sectional view of .

[0018] Figure 5 This is a graph showing the measurement results of the surface temperature of the heat-generating conductor 10 when a DC voltage is applied to a pair of electrodes 30 arranged parallel to each other (in a state where the heat-generating conductor 10 is not attached to a toilet seat).

[0019] Figure 6 This is a graph showing the measurement results of the surface temperature of the heat-generating conductor 10 when a DC voltage is applied to a pair of electrodes 30 arranged parallel to each other (in a state where the heat-generating conductor 10 is attached to a toilet seat).

[0020] Figure 7This is a graph showing the measurement results of the surface temperature of the heat-generating conductor 10 when a DC voltage is applied to a pair of electrodes 30 arranged in a substantially figure eight shape (in a state where the heat-generating conductor 10 is not attached to a toilet seat).

[0021] Figure 8 This is a graph showing the measurement results of the surface temperature of the heat-generating conductor 10 (in a state attached to a toilet seat) when a DC voltage is applied to a pair of electrodes 30 arranged substantially in an eight-shaped shape.

[0022] Fig. 9 It is a perspective view showing a schematic structure of a toilet seat heating device 100 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

[0023] Fig.10 yes Fig. 9 Schematic AA cross-sectional view of .

[0024] Fig.11 is with Figure 4 Corresponding BB section view.

[0025] Fig.12 This is a graph showing the measurement results of the surface temperature of the heat-generating conductor 10 when a DC voltage is applied to a pair of electrodes 30 arranged parallel to each other in the toilet seat heating device 100 in a state of being attached to the back side of the toilet seat.

[0026] Description of Reference Numerals 10Heat-generating conductor 20 Electrical insulation sheet 30 A pair of electrodes 40 Design Films 50 reflective parts 100 Toilet seat heating device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] Hereinafter, a toilet seat warming device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0028] (Implementation method 1) Figure 1 This is a perspective view showing a schematic structure of the toilet seat heating device 100 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Figure 2 yes Figure 1 Schematic AA cross-sectional view of . Figure 1 and Figure 2 The figure shows a state where a pair of toilet seat heating devices 100 having a shape corresponding to the shape of the contact surface is mounted on the surface of an O-shaped toilet seat (the contact surface when the user sits down). The toilet seat heating device 100 can also be mounted on a U-shaped toilet seat.

[0029] Figure 3 yes Figure 1 An enlarged top view of a portion of the toilet seat warming device 100 is shown. Figure 4 yes Figure 3 Schematic BB cross-sectional view of . Figure 4 A heat-generating conductor 10 , an electrical insulating sheet 20 , a pair of electrodes 30 , and a design sheet 40 , which are described below, are shown.

[0030] The heat-generating conductor 10 includes a plurality of CNTs and a binder for bonding the CNTs to each other. The heat-generating conductor 10 can evenly disperse the CNTs so that currents of the same intensity flow. To this end, the heat-generating conductor 10 may also include a dispersant as needed.

[0031] The content ratio (wt %) of CNT and binder etc. also depends on their types, and can be set to, for example, 0.1:99.9 to 5.0:95.0.

[0032] In addition, making the directionality of CNTs consistent also helps to improve thermal conductivity. If the heat-generating conductor 10 is formed by printing and coating the electrical insulating sheet 20, the directionality can be made consistent because it has the characteristic that its printing direction is roughly consistent with the long axis direction of the CNT. In addition, since the current easily flows in the long axis direction of the CNT, the printing direction of the CNT can be an orthogonal direction relative to the extension direction of a pair of electrodes 30. In addition, in the case of using multilayer CNTs as CNTs contained in the material of the heat-generating conductor 10, since the multilayer CNTs have conductivity, it is also a method to form the heat-generating conductor 10 in a state where an electromagnetism along the orthogonal direction is applied.

[0033] CNT is not limited thereto, for example, CNT with a length of 5 μm to 100 μm and a diameter of 5 nm to 50 nm can be used. In addition, the longer the CNT is, the higher the thermal conductivity is. In addition, there is no limit to the number of layers of CNT, and either single-layer CNT or multi-layer CNT can be used, but generally single-layer CNT has a higher thermal conductivity than multi-layer CNT.

[0034] The adhesive may be one or more thermoplastic resins, curable resins, rubbers, or other adhesives. The viscosity of the adhesive varies depending on the coating method for the electrical insulating sheet 20, but may be, for example, 100 mPa·s to 5000 mPa·s.

[0035] The material of the electrical insulating sheet 20 is polyethylene terephthalate, polypropylene, polyethylene, polycarbonate or polyimide. The heat-generating conductor 10 is formed on at least one surface of the electrical insulating sheet 20 by screen printing, dispensing coating, gravure printing, gravure offset printing, offset printing, inkjet printing, etc. When the adhesive is dried, the heat-generating conductor 10 is fixed to the electrical insulating sheet 20.

[0036] The pair of electrodes 30 are formed at both ends of the long side of the heating conductor 10. Both ends of the pair of electrodes 30 extend to both ends of the short side of the heating conductor 10. The electrodes 30 can be made of one or more high conductivity materials such as copper and silver.

[0037] The pair of electrodes 30 can be formed, for example, by applying a conductive paste, a paste-like high-conductivity material, onto the heat-generating conductor 10. The more parallel the pair of electrodes 30 are to each other, the more uniform the current flowing through the heat-generating conductor 10 is, and this is preferred. When silver paste is used as the conductive paste, for example, 1.0×10 -5 ~1.0×10 -4 About 100g of conductive paste will do.

[0038] The pair of electrodes 30 are electrically connected to a commercial power source through electrical wiring (not shown). When the toilet seat heating device 100 is turned on, a voltage is applied to the pair of electrodes 30, and a current flows from one electrode to the other electrode through the heat conductor 10.

[0039] Since most of the CNTs contained in the heat-generating conductor 10 are black, when the electrical insulating sheet 20 is light-transmissive and the toilet seat warming device 100 is mounted on the surface of the toilet seat, the design sheet 40 is provided from the viewpoint of appearance. Therefore, from the viewpoint of the function of the toilet seat warming device 100 itself, the design sheet 40 does not need to be an essential component.

[0040] In other words, for example, when the electrical insulating sheet 20 itself has a design feature, or when the toilet seat heating device 100 is installed on the back of the toilet seat as in Embodiment 2 described later, and a back cover is installed on the toilet seat, the design sheet 40 may not be included.

[0041] Figure 5-6 Graph showing the measurement results of the surface temperature of the heat-generating conductor 10 when a DC voltage is applied to a pair of electrodes 30 arranged parallel to each other. Figure 5-6 The horizontal axis represents time [s], Figure 5-6 The vertical axis of represents the surface temperature [° C.] When an AC voltage is applied to the pair of electrodes 30 , the same measurement result is obtained as when a DC voltage is applied.

[0042] Figure 5 The measurement results of the state not installed on the toilet seat are shown. Figure 6 The measurement results of the state of being mounted on a relatively thick toilet seat (about 7.8 mm) are shown. In addition, the thickness of the toilet seat portion is relatively thicker than that of Embodiment 2 described later.

[0043] These temperature measurements are performed by installing four temperature sensors (thermocouples) T1 to T4 on the surface of the heat-generating conductor 10 of the toilet seat heating device 100 and sensing the measured values ​​of each temperature sensor T1 to T4 at 1 second intervals while applying a DC voltage of 24 V to the electrode 30 of the toilet seat heating device 100.

[0044] The temperature sensors T1 to T4 are mounted in this order at substantially equal intervals along the long side of the heat generating conductor 10 at substantially the center of the short side of the heat generating conductor 10 , so that the temperature sensors T1 and T4 are at both ends of the long side of the heat generating conductor 10 .

[0045] in addition, Figure 5-6 The temperature measurement conditions are as follows.

[0046] Temperature measurements were performed at room temperature 27°C and humidity 50%RH.

[0047] The pair of electrodes 30 were each produced by applying a silver paste so as to have a width of 6.0 mm.

[0048] The pair of electrodes 30 were arranged in parallel at intervals of 49 mm. At this time, the length of the inner electrode was 295 mm, and the length of the outer electrode was 325 mm.

[0049] A DC voltage of 24 V was applied to the pair of electrodes 30. At this time, the resistance value between the pair of electrodes 30 was measured and found to be 25.4Ω. In addition, a digital multimeter CD770 manufactured by Sanwa Electric Meters was used for measuring the resistance value.

[0050] Table 1 summarizes Figure 5 Part of the measurement results shown. "Time (seconds)" in Table 1 is the time after a 24V DC voltage is applied to the pair of electrodes 30, and "T1 (°C)" to "T4 (°C)" are the measurement results of temperature sensors T1 to T4, respectively. The same applies to Tables 2 to 4 described later.

[0051] [Table 1] Time (seconds) T1（℃） T2（℃） T3（℃） T4（℃） 1.0 28.7 28.2 29.5 27.8 2.0 30.4 31.8 31.2 32.8 3.0 33.9 33.5 34.5 32.8 4.0 35.7 35.3 34.5 34.4 5.0 37.3 38.8 37.9 36.0 6.0 40.7 40.6 37.9 39.2 7.0 42.3 40.6 41.1 40.9 8.0 45.3 45.3 42.8 43.9 9.0 46.9 45.3 46.0 45.4 10.0 47.6 47.7 47.5 46.1 11.0 48.3 50.1 49.0 46.8 12.0 51.1 51.5 51.9 50.9 Figure 5 The measurement results are shown in Table 1, temperature sensors T1~T4: For example, the temperature exceeded 30.0°C (+3.0°C) 2 seconds after voltage was applied (30.4°C, 31.8°C, 31.2°C, and 32.8°C, respectively). For example, the temperatures exceeding 40.0°C (+13.0°C) were 7 seconds after voltage application (42.3°C, 40.6°C, 41.1°C, and 40.9°C, respectively). For example, the temperatures all exceeded 50.0° C. (+23.0° C.) after 12 seconds of voltage application (51.1° C., 51.5° C., 51.9° C., and 50.9° C., respectively).

[0052] [Table 2] Time (seconds) T1（℃） T2（℃） T3（℃） T4（℃） 4.0 30.7 30.3 29.7 30.3 5.0 31.3 30.3 30.8 30.7 6.0 32.1 31.8 31.2 31.7 … … … … … 31.0 40.7 40.4 39.8 39.8 32.0 40.8 40.4 39.8 40.3 33.0 41.2 40.9 40.7 40.3 34.0 41.6 41.3 40.7 40.9 35.0 41.6 41.3 40.7 40.9 … … … … … 96.0 51.4 50.6 49.7 49.9 97.0 51.5 50.6 49.8 50.1 98.0 51.5 50.9 49.9 50.1 99.0 51.8 51.1 50.1 50.3 100.0 51.8 51.1 50.1 50.4 Figure 6 The measurement results are shown in Table 2, temperature sensors T1~T4: For example, the temperature exceeded 30.0°C (+3.0°C) after 5 seconds of voltage application (31.3°C, 30.3°C, 30.8°C, and 30.7°C, respectively). For example, the temperatures exceeding 40.0°C (+13.0°C) were 33 seconds after voltage application (41.2°C, 40.9°C, 40.7°C, and 40.3°C, respectively). For example, the temperatures all exceeded 50.0° C. (+23.0° C.) after 99 seconds of voltage application (51.8° C., 51.1° C., 50.1° C., and 50.3° C., respectively).

[0053] Figure 7-8 is a graph showing the measurement result of the surface temperature of the heat-generating conductor 10 when a DC voltage is applied to a pair of electrodes 30 arranged in a substantially figure-eight shape, which is equivalent to Figure 5-6 .

[0054] Figure 7-8 The measurement conditions and Figure 5-6 Compared with the measurement conditions of , the arrangement of the pair of electrodes 30 is different. Specifically, the electrodes 30 are arranged in a figure eight shape (electrode length: 310 mm and 370 mm) with a spacing of 65 mm on the wire installation side (temperature sensor T4 side) and a spacing of 48 mm on the opposite side (temperature sensor T1 side). In addition, the outer electrode length is 370 mm, the inner electrode length is 310 mm, and the resistance value is 25.3Ω.

[0055] [Table 3] Time (seconds) T1（℃） T2（℃） T3（℃） T4（℃） 1.0 28.4 28.3 25.9 26.8 2.0 30.0 28.3 28.3 27.9 3.0 31.6 31.2 29.5 30.2 4.0 34.7 31.2 32.0 31.4 5.0 34.7 33.9 33.2 32.4 … … … … … 10.0 45.4 43.0 41.6 39.1 11.0 46.8 44.2 41.6 40.1 12.0 48.1 44.2 42.8 42.0 … … … … … 20.0 59.3 55.4 54.6 49.5 21.0 60.7 57.0 54.6 50.1 22.0 61.4 57.0 55.4 51.3 Figure 7 The measurement results are shown in Table 3, temperature sensors T1~T4: For example, the temperatures exceeding 30.0°C (+3.0°C) were 4 seconds after voltage application (34.7°C, 33.9°C, 33.2°C, and 32.4°C, respectively). For example, the temperatures exceeding 40.0°C (+13.0°C) were 11 seconds after voltage application (46.8°C, 44.2°C, 41.6°C, and 40.1°C, respectively). For example, the temperatures all exceeded 50.0° C. (+23.0° C.) after 21 seconds of voltage application (60.7° C., 57.0° C., 54.6° C., and 50.1° C., respectively).

[0056] [Table 4] Time (seconds) T1（℃） T2（℃） T3（℃） T4（℃） 6.0 31.3 30.7 29.5 29.6 7.0 32.1 30.9 30.5 29.7 8.0 32.6 31.6 30.5 30.1 9.0 32.6 31.6 30.6 30.7 … … … … … 68.0 45.5 43.1 41.1 39.8 69.0 45.8 43.1 41.2 40.1 70.0 46.2 43.3 41.2 40.1 … … … … … 219.0 59.1 54.8 51.8 49.9 220.0 59.1 54.8 51.8 49.9 221.0 59.2 54.8 51.8 50.0 222.0 59.3 54.8 51.9 50.1 Figure 8 The measurement results are shown in Table 4, temperature sensors T1~T4: For example, the temperature exceeded 30.0°C (+3.0°C) after 8 seconds of voltage application (32.6°C, 31.6°C, 30.5°C, and 30.1°C, respectively). For example, the temperatures exceeding 40.0°C (+13.0°C) were 45.8°C, 43.1°C, 41.2°C, and 40.1°C after 69 seconds of voltage application. For example, the temperatures all exceeded 50.0° C. (+23.0° C.) after 221 seconds of voltage application (59.2° C., 54.8° C., 51.8° C., and 50.0° C., respectively).

[0057] (Implementation method 2) Fig. 9 is a perspective view showing a schematic structure of a toilet seat heating device 100 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention, and Figure 1 correspond. Fig.10 yes Fig. 9 Schematic AA cross-sectional view of Figure 1 correspond. Fig. 9 and Fig.10 The toilet seat heating device 100 is shown in a state where the nichrome wire of a known toilet seat heating device is arranged. The toilet seat heating device 100 of this embodiment can also be attached to the back side of a U-shaped toilet seat.

[0058] Fig.11 is with Figure 4 Corresponding BB section view. Fig.11 In addition to being able to Figure 4 In addition to the heat-generating conductor 10 , the electrical insulating sheet 20 , and the electrode 30 , which are the same components as described above, a reflective member 50 that can be selectively provided is also shown. In addition, the toilet seat warming device 100 of the present embodiment does not include the design sheet 40 .

[0059] The reflective member 50 reflects the heat generated from the heat-generating conductor 10 toward the user by applying a voltage to the electrode 30. The reflective member 50 is not limited thereto, and may be, for example, aluminum foil.

[0060] Fig.12 is a graph showing the measurement results of the surface temperature of the heat-generating conductor 10 when a DC voltage is applied to a pair of electrodes 30 arranged in parallel with each other in the toilet seat heating device 100 installed on the back of the toilet seat. Figure 6 In addition, Fig.12The measurement results of the state of being mounted on a relatively low-thickness toilet seat (about 2.0 mm) are shown. In addition, the thickness of the toilet seat portion is relatively thinner than that of the first embodiment described above.

[0061] Since the toilet seat heating device 100 is installed on the back of the toilet seat, Fig.12 The measurement results shown are the measurement results of the temperature after heat transfer from the back side to the surface of the toilet seat. In addition, in order to facilitate the temperature measurement, the toilet seat back cover was removed from the toilet seat and the measurement was performed in a state where the reflective member 50 was not provided.

[0062] [Table 5] Time (seconds) T1（℃） T2（℃） T3（℃） T4（℃） 16.0 30.1 30.1 29.6 29.7 17.0 30.1 30.1 30.2 30.3 18.0 30.5 30.7 30.2 30.3 … … … … … 46.0 40.3 40.1 39.5 39.8 47.0 40.3 40.5 40.0 40.3 48.0 40.9 41.0 40.1 40.7 … … … … … 86.0 51.0 51.4 49.8 50.6 87.0 51.0 51.5 50.2 50.6 88.0 51.0 51.9 50.3 50.6 Fig.12 The measurement results are shown in Table 5, temperature sensors T1~T4: For example, the temperature exceeded 30.0°C (+3.0°C) after 17 seconds of voltage application (30.1°C, 30.1°C, 30.2°C, and 30.3°C, respectively). For example, the temperature exceeded 40.0°C (+13.0°C) after 47 seconds of voltage application (40.3°C, 40.5°C, 40.0°C, 40.3°C, respectively). For example, the temperatures all exceeded 50.0° C. (+23.0° C.) after 87 seconds of voltage application (51.0° C., 51.5° C., 50.2° C., and 50.6° C., respectively).

[0063] If you will Fig.12 The measurements shown are consistent with Figure 6 Compared with the measurement results shown in FIG. 1 , the surface temperature of the toilet seat rises slightly slower due to the influence of the heat transfer loss corresponding to the thickness of the toilet seat. However, if the toilet seat back cover is installed on the toilet seat and the reflector 50 is installed, the heat transfer loss should be reduced, so it is considered that Fig.12 The data shown in Table 5 will also improve.

[0064] As described above with respect to the toilet seat heating device 100 of the present invention, since the heat-generating conductor 10 is manufactured without including graphene, a relatively high thermal conductivity can be achieved, and a rapid temperature rise can be achieved.

Claims

1. A toilet seat heating device, characterized in that: include: A heat-generating conductor comprising a plurality of carbon nanotubes and a binder for bonding the carbon nanotubes to each other; an electrical insulating sheet on which the heat-generating conductor is fixed; as well as A pair of electrodes is electrically connected to both ends of the heat-generating conductor.

2. The toilet seat heating device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The toilet seat heating device is installed on the surface of the toilet seat.

3. The toilet seat heating device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The toilet seat heating device is installed on the back side of the toilet seat.

4. The toilet seat heating device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The material of the electrical insulating sheet is polyethylene terephthalate, polypropylene, polyethylene, polycarbonate or polyimide.

5. The toilet seat heating device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The electrodes are formed of a conductive paste.

6. The toilet seat heating device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The design sheet is located on the back side of the surface opposite to the surface of the toilet seat.

7. The toilet seat heating device according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also included is a reflective component that directs heat toward the user.

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