Seat material

Abstract

When a seat cushion made of a foamed soft material is thinned to reduce its weight, there is a drawback in that there is no room to form a duct (air distribution groove) integrally with the seat cushion by foam molding. [Solution] In the seat member 10 integrally formed with a foamed soft member 12 provided on the seating surface side and a foamed hard member 14 provided on the backside of the foamed soft member 12, the foamed hard member 14 has an internal passage 18 for air conditioning air, a first through hole 20 that communicates with the air conditioning air passage 18 and opens on one side of the foamed hard member 14, and a second through hole 22 that communicates with the air conditioning air passage 18 and opens on the other side of the foamed hard member 14, and the foamed soft member 12 has a third through hole 24 that communicates with the air conditioning air passage 18 via the second through hole 22 and opens on the seating surface side.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a seating member, and more specifically to a seating member that can provide a seated occupant with a comfortable cooling or heating sensation by allowing conditioned air to circulate between the interior of the seat and the seating surface or backrest surface. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, an air conditioner (hereinafter referred to as an air conditioner) installed in a vehicle such as a passenger car adjusts the temperature inside the vehicle relative to the outside air temperature to provide a comfortable temperature environment (cooling or heating) for the occupants. The air conditioner's air outlets (louvers) for cold and hot air are generally installed in the instrument panel, and the occupants indirectly experience the cooling temperature or heating temperature.

[0003] However, some high-end car models have temperature-adjusted air blown out from the seating surface or backrest surface of the seating member, allowing the seated person to directly feel the cooling (or heating) temperature. For example, Figs. 2 and 3 of JP 2005-95343 A disclose an air-conditioned seat in which a molded body 6 having an air distribution passage 41 is embedded in a cushion pad main body 5. There are also seating members that, instead of blowing out the above-mentioned temperature-adjusted air from the seat, suck the air into the seat to give the seated person a cool feeling. In addition, the seating member referred to in this specification refers to either the seat cushion that serves as the seating portion or the seat back that serves as the backrest portion, or both the seating portion and the backrest portion. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2005-95343 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] A seat member (so-called air-conditioned seat) having the function of blowing (or sometimes sucking) the temperature-adjusted air to the seating portion or backrest portion needs to have a groove-shaped duct inside the seat member to guide the temperature-adjusted air sent from the air conditioner to the seating surface or backrest surface of the seat member. As disclosed in paragraph

[0023] of the above-mentioned JP-A-2005-95343, this duct is made by forming an elastically deformable resin sheet into a bag-shaped molded body 6 by a blow molding method or the like, and providing an air distribution passage 41 inside. However, the duct needs to have rigidity so that it will not deform even if it is subjected to the weight of the seated person and its fluctuation, and the weight of the seat member in which the duct is incorporated inevitably increases. Therefore, recently, seat members that aim to reduce weight and cost by forming a ventilation groove that performs the so-called duct function in the seat cushion by integral foaming or by covering the air distribution groove with a separate member, rather than incorporating the duct molded as a separate body, have become widespread.

[0006] For example, Fig. 9 is a perspective view showing a seat 11 made of a foamed soft material made of polyurethane or the like, cut across from the design surface, and Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of line AA in Fig. 9. A duct groove 13 for passing temperature-controlled air is integrally formed inside the seat 11, and the back side of the duct groove 13 is covered with a backing material (lid) 15. Fig. 7 shows a seat 11 in which a large air distribution groove (duct groove) 13 is formed on the back side of the seat 11 during foaming, and an outlet hole 17 opening on the seating surface side is connected to the air distribution groove 13. In this case, too, the part of the air distribution groove 13 opening on the back side is covered with a backing material 15 such as felt. Fig. 8 shows a seat 11 in which an air distribution groove 13 is integrally formed inside the seat 11, and the air distribution groove 13 is covered on the seating surface side with a backing material 15 made of a foamed soft material or a slab. In this case, by opening an outlet hole 17 in the back surface material 15 which communicates with the air distribution groove 13, the temperature-adjusted air is blown out from the outlet hole 17 towards the seating surface side.

[0007] In order to reduce the weight and cost of seat components, attempts have been made to make the thickness of foamed soft members such as urethane foam as thin as possible while maintaining the performance required for the seat. In this case, an insert material that functions as a bulking material for the seat component is used, and the seat component is manufactured by integrally molding the insert material and the foamed soft member. As the insert material (bulking material), foamed hard members such as expanded polypropylene (EPP), expanded polystyrene (EPS), and other composite resins blended with polypropylene and polyolefin are selectively used, and the foamed soft member is foamed together with the insert material in a mold to obtain the seat component. However, if the ventilation grooves as described in Figs. 6 to 8 are foam-molded integrally with the seat cushion, the foamed soft member forming the cushion part cannot be thinned to reduce the weight of the seat cushion.

[0008] The object of the present invention is to provide a seat member (air-conditioned seat) in which, in a seat member having a seat cushion made of a foamed soft material such as urethane foam, it is not necessary to embed a separately formed duct in the cushion in response to a demand for making the seat cushion thinner to reduce weight, and further, when an air distribution groove is integrally molded into the cushion, the air distribution groove will not be crushed or deformed by the user's weight, preventing the desired amount of air passing through. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] In order to solve the above problems and achieve the intended purpose, the first invention provides: A seat member formed by integrally molding a foamed soft member provided on the seating surface side and a foamed hard member provided on the back surface of the foamed soft member, the foamed hard member has a passage for air conditioning air therein, a first through hole communicating with the passage for air conditioning air and opening on one side of the foamed hard member, and a second through hole communicating with the passage for air conditioning air and opening on the other side of the foamed hard member; The foamed soft member is in communication with the passage for the air conditioning air via the second through-hole and is provided with a third through-hole that opens on the seating surface side. According to this configuration, the seat member, which is integrally molded from a hard foamed member and a soft foamed member as insert materials, has an air distribution groove formed inside the hard foamed member, which reduces the overall weight and cost, while the air distribution groove, which functions as a duct, is not deformed or crushed by the weight of the seated occupant, and therefore temperature-controlled air can be supplied smoothly.

[0010] In the second invention, the foamed hard member comprises a first half that forms the back surface of the seat member and a second half that forms the side of the foamed soft member, the first through hole is provided in the first half and the second through hole is provided in the second half, and the passage for the air conditioning air is provided in at least either the first half or the second half. According to this configuration, the foamed hard material in which the air distribution groove is formed is divided into two halves in advance, and the air distribution groove can be easily obtained by forming a groove in one or both of these halves and then overlapping the two halves.

[0011] In the third invention, the foamed hard member is made of foamed polypropylene, foamed polystyrene, or a polystyrene-polyolefin composite foamed material, and the foamed soft member is foamed polyurethane that is integrally molded with the foamed hard member.

[0012] A fourth invention is characterized in that the seating surface side of the seat member is covered with a breathable covering material, and a third through hole provided in the foamed soft member communicates with the breathable portion of the covering material to allow air for conditioning to circulate. According to this configuration, since the third through-hole is opened on the seating surface side of the seat member, temperature-regulated air from the ventilation groove (duct) is supplied to the seating portion via the breathable covering material.

[0013] A fifth invention is summarized as follows: the first through-hole of the foamed hard member is connected to an external air-conditioning air intake / exhaust source. Effect of the Invention

[0014] According to the present invention, a seat member can be obtained which does not require the use of a separate duct, and in which the ventilation grooves formed therein are not easily deformed or crushed by the weight of a seated person, and which also achieves weight reduction and reduction in manufacturing costs. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of a seat member according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 2 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the seat member shown in FIG. 1 in a separated state for each member. [Diagram 3] 6(a) to 6(g) are partial cross-sectional views showing modified examples of the foamed hard member in the seat member according to the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a mold used to manufacture a seating member according to the present invention, with the upper mold part shown in an open position; [Diagram 5] 5 is a cross-sectional view of the mold shown in FIG. 4, showing a state in which the upper mold is closed against the lower mold. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 9, showing a cushion sheet according to the prior art in which air distribution grooves are integrally formed by foam molding. [Figure 7] 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a conventional cushion sheet having air distribution grooves integrally formed on the back side and the air distribution grooves covered with a cover material from the back side. [Figure 8] 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a conventional cushion sheet having air distribution grooves integrally formed on the front side and the air distribution grooves covered with a covering material from the front side. FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a cross-section of a design surface of a seat member according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] Next, a preferred embodiment of the seat member according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The seat member of the embodiment is obtained by forming passages as air distribution grooves in the foamed hard member as the insert material described above to ensure rigidity, and by foaming the insert material with a foamed soft member that will become a seat cushion.

[0017] For example, as shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, a passage 18 is formed as an air distribution groove in a foamed hard member 14 as an insert material in a seat member 10, and the weight of a user applied to the seat member 10 is mainly received by the foamed hard member 14. The foamed hard member 14 is integrally foamed with a foamed soft member 12 such as urethane foam so as to be wrapped from above, thereby forming the seat member 10. A first through hole 20 formed in the foamed hard member 14 is connected to an air outlet of an air conditioner that sends out the above-mentioned air-conditioning air, and the air is supplied to the passage 18 through the first through hole 20. An appropriate number of second through holes 22 are opened on the side of the foamed hard member 14 that faces the seating surface, and an appropriate number of third through holes 24 that are simultaneously formed in the foamed soft member 12 when the foamed soft member 12 is foamed are correspondingly connected to the second through holes 22. Therefore, the temperature-controlled air sent out from the air conditioner flows into the passage 18 defined in the foamed hard member 14 through the first through-hole 20, and is sent out to the seating surface of the seat member 10 through the second through-hole 22 and the third through-hole 24. As shown in FIG. 1, the seating surface of the seat member 10 is covered with a breathable covering material 23, so that the temperature-controlled air blown out from the third through-hole 24 of the foamed soft member 12 comes into contact with the seated person through the air holes of the covering material 23. As the covering material 23, for example, a breathable woven fabric, a three-dimensional woven fabric, a three-dimensional knitted fabric, or a nonwoven fabric is used. A breathable pad is laminated on the back surface of the covering material 23 as a backing material to form a trim cover that covers the seat cushion.

[0018] Here, the foamed hard member 14 is a bead foam molding. Specifically, the material may be expanded polypropylene (EPP), expanded polystyrene (EPS), or a composite resin blended with polystyrene and polyolefin. An example of the expanded polypropylene (EPP) is available from Kaneka Corporation under the trade name Eperan-PP. An example of the expanded polystyrene (EPS) is available from Kaneka Corporation under the trade name Kanepearl, and an example of the expanded polyethylene is available from Kaneka Corporation under the trade name Eperan. An example of the composite resin is an expanded polyethylene copolymer polystyrene resin (available from Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd. under the trade name Piocelan). It is also recommended that the foamed soft member 12 be made of foamed polyurethane which is foamed and molded integrally with the foamed hard member 14 .

[0019] The seat member 10 shown in FIG. 1 is shown in an exploded state in FIG. 2. The foamed hard member 14 is composed of a first half 26 and a second half 28, which are divided into upper and lower parts. That is, the first half 26, which constitutes the lower part of the foamed hard member 14, has the first through hole 20 formed at an appropriate position, and this first through hole 20 is connected to the temperature-adjusted air outlet (not shown) of the air conditioner. The second half 28, which constitutes the upper part of the foamed hard member 14, has the passage 18 as the above-mentioned air distribution groove formed therein with a required length, and the passage 18 is closed by combining with the first half 26. The first through hole 20 formed in the first half 26 is previously positioned so as to communicate with the passage 18 when the first half 26 is placed on the second half 28 to close the open part of the passage 18.

[0020] An appropriate number of the second through holes 22 are formed in the upper surface of the second half 28 (the surface not blocked by the first half 26), and each of the second through holes 22 communicates with the passage 18. Therefore, the foamed hard member 14 after the first half 26 and the second half 28 are joined has the passage 18 defined therein, the first through holes 20 opening in the lower surface of the foamed hard member 14, and the second through holes 22 opening in the upper surface. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the foamed soft member 12 integrally foamed with the foamed hard member 14 has third through holes 24 formed therein that correspond to and communicate with the second through holes 22 formed in the foamed hard member 14. Therefore, a large number of the third through holes 24 are present in the seating surface of the seat member 10 manufactured by integrally foaming the foamed hard member 14 and the foamed soft member 12. Since the seat member 10 is covered with the breathable covering material 23, temperature-controlled air from the air conditioner is supplied to the seated person.

[0021] The foamed hard member 14 in which the first half 26 and the second half 28 are joined as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 is an example in which the passage 18 is formed on the bottom surface of the second half 28. However, the passage 18 may also be formed in the first half 26. For example, as shown in FIG. 3(a) to (g), half portions of the passage 18 may be formed in the first half 26 and the second half 28, respectively, and the completed passage 18 may finally be formed by overlapping the two halves 26, 28. In addition, the overlapping surfaces of the first half 26 and the second half 28 do not necessarily need to be flat, and as shown in FIG. 3(c), the dividing surface may be a step portion rather than a flat portion as long as the halves are closely overlapped. In FIG. 3(a) to (g), the first through-hole 20 is omitted.

[0022] In Fig. 1, the foamed soft member 12 is foamed and molded in a mold together with the foamed hard member 14 already formed in a predetermined shape, and the third through hole 24 is molded at the same time when the foaming is performed in the mold. The process of molding the third through hole 24 will be described with reference to Figs. 4 and 5. A mold 35 shown in Figs. 4 and 5 comprises a lower mold 34 and an upper mold 30 supported by a hinge portion 29 so as to be freely opened and closed relative to the lower mold 34. The foamed hard member 14 is set in a cavity 32 provided inside the upper mold 30, and the second through hole 22 is directed obliquely downward toward the lower mold 34. The cavity 36 of the lower mold 34 is formed in a shape following the shape of the foamed soft member 12 in the seat member 10 shown in Fig. 1. A blocking member 38 having an outer dimension substantially equal to the inner dimension of the second through hole 22 is provided protruding from the cavity 36 of the lower mold 34 at a position corresponding to the second through hole 22 of the foamed hard member 14. The raw material U of the foamed soft member 12 may be injected with the upper and lower molds 30, 34 open, or may be injected through an injection hole (not shown) separately provided in the upper mold 30 with the upper and lower molds 30, 34 closed.

[0023] 4, when the upper die 30 is closed against the lower die 34, the blocking members 38 are inserted into the corresponding second through holes 22 in the foamed hard member 14. When the raw material U of the foamed soft member 12 is foamed in this state, the foamed soft member 12 is integrally molded with the foamed hard member 14 inside the mold 35. At this time, since the blocking members 38 are inserted into the second through holes 22 of the foamed hard member 14, when the cavity 32 is opened and the molded seat member 10 is taken out, the foamed soft member 12 of the seat member 10 has the third through holes 24 formed therein as holes left by the blocking members 38. [Explanation of symbols]

[0024] 10 seat member, 12 foam soft member, 14 foam hard member, 18 aisle, 20 first through hole, 22 second through hole, 23 skin material, 24 third through hole, 26 first half, 28 Second half

Claims

1. A seat member formed by integrally molding a foamed soft member provided on the seating surface side and a foamed hard member provided on the back surface of the foamed soft member, The foamed hard member has a first half and a second half that are overlapped vertically to form a passage for air conditioning air that is closed at the top and bottom, and the foamed hard member has a first through hole formed in the first half to communicate with the passage for air conditioning air and opening at one side of the foamed hard member, and a second through hole formed in the second half to communicate with the passage for air conditioning air and opening at the other side of the foamed hard member, The foamed soft member is in communication with the passage for air conditioning air via the second through hole and is provided with a third through hole that opens to the seating surface side. A seat member characterized by:

2. 2. The seat member according to claim 1, wherein said foamed hard member is made of foamed polypropylene, foamed polystyrene or a composite foamed polystyrene-polyolefin material, and said foamed soft member is foamed polyurethane which is molded integrally with said foamed hard member.

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