Vehicle seat with thermal comfort module
AssigneeFaurecia Automotive Seating, LLC
InventorShaun Dorian Tait
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A vehicle seat includes a thermal comfort module installed in a recess of a foam cushion beneath a trim cover. The thermal comfort module includes an air duct, a thermoelectric device, a heat sink extending inside the air duct from the thermoelectric device, and an air mover that causes air to flow from the passenger cabin, through the seating surface, along the air duct and heat sink, and back out of the seat. In a seat cooling mode, the air flowing along air duct absorbs heat from one side of the thermoelectric device via the heat sink while the opposite side of the thermoelectric device absorbs heat from the trim cover via thermal conduction. The thickness of a foam cushion can be made greatest where most needed, such as at the rear portion of the seat bottom.
Claims15
A vehicle seat comprising a seat bottom and a seat back, at least one of the seat bottom or the seat back comprising:
- an air permeable trim cover including a seating surface;
- an air duct underlying the trim cover and defining an air flow channel in the seat;
- a thermoelectric device underlying the trim cover and having opposite first and second sides;
- a heat sink attached to the first side of the thermoelectric device and extending into the air flow channel;
- and
- an air mover operable to cause air to flow into the seat through the trim cover, along the air flow channel and heat sink, and out of the seat at a location away from the seating surface,
- wherein the second side of the thermoelectric device is outside the air flow channel and arranged to modulate the temperature of the trim cover by thermal conduction.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.