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US 11,110,833 B2Granted
Thermal-transfer component for a vehicle seat
AssigneeFaurecia Automotive Seating, LLC
InventorShaun D. Tait
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An occupant support comprises a vehicle seat including a cushion and trim positioned around at least a portion of the cushion. The occupant support includes an occupant-comfort system having a heat transfer station positioned in the seat cushion in spaced-apart relation to the trim and configured to move selectively heat to an occupant in a heating mode and away from the occupant in a cooling mode.
Claims15
An occupant support comprising
- a vehicle seat including a cushion and trim positioned around at least a portion of the cushion,
- an occupant-comfort system including a plurality of heat transfer stations positioned in the cushion in spaced-apart relation to the trim and configured to selectively move heat to an occupant in a heating mode and away from the occupant in a cooling mode, a heat conductor coupled to each heat transfer station and configured to communicate heat between each heat transfer station and the occupant and a single heat sink located in spaced-apart relation to the cushion and each heat transfer station and configured to remove heat from each heat transfer station while the occupant-comfort system is in the cooling mode, each heat transfer station including a plurality of heat movers coupled to the conductor and a plurality of heat exchangers arranged to interconnect the plurality of heat movers and the single heat sink, and
- at least one controller configured to transmit commands to each heat mover in order to control execution of the heating mode and the cooling mode,
- wherein each heat mover comprises a thermo-electric device configured to move heat toward the occupant in the heating mode and heat away from the occupant in the cooling mode, the heat exchanger is configured to remove heat from the heat transfer station, the heat exchanger comprising a working fluid preselected to operate over a range of environmental temperatures including environmental freezing temperatures, and
- wherein each heat transfer station is configured to be controlled individually.
2 more elements
An occupant support comprising
- a vehicle seat including a cushion and trim positioned around at least a portion of the cushion,
- an occupant-comfort system including a heat transfer station positioned in the cushion in spaced-apart relation to the trim and configured to selectively move heat to an occupant in a heating mode and away from the occupant in a cooling mode, a heat conductor coupled to the heat transfer station and configured to communicate heat between the heat transfer station and the occupant and a single heat sink located in spaced-apart relation to the cushion and the heat transfer station and configured to remove heat from the heat transfer station while the occupant-comfort system is in the cooling mode, the heat transfer station including a plurality of heat movers coupled to the heat conductor, a plurality of heat exchangers arranged to interconnect the plurality of heat movers and the single heat sink, each heat exchanger being configured to remove heat from each heat transfer station, each heat mover comprising a thermo-electric device configured to move heat toward the occupant in the heating mode and heat away from the occupant in the cooling mode, and
- at least one controller configured to transmit commands to each heat mover in order to control execution of the heating mode and the cooling mode.
An occupant support comprising
- a vehicle seat including a back cushion and a bottom cushion, and trim positioned around at least a portion of the back cushion and at least a portion of the bottom cushion,
- an occupant-comfort system including at least one of (i) a plurality of heat transfer stations positioned in the back cushion in spaced-apart relation to the trim and configured to selectively move heat to an occupant in a heating mode and away from the occupant in a cooling mode, a heat conductor coupled to each heat transfer station and configured to communicate heat between each heat transfer station and the occupant and a heat sink located in spaced-apart relation to the back cushion and each heat transfer station and configured to remove heat from each heat transfer station while the occupant-comfort system is in the cooling mode, and (ii) a plurality of heat transfer stations positioned in the bottom cushion in spaced-apart relation to the trim and configured to selectively move heat to an occupant in the heating mode and away from the occupant in the cooling mode, a heat conductor coupled to each heat transfer station and configured to communicate heat between each heat transfer station and the occupant and a heat sink located in spaced-apart relation to the bottom cushion and each heat transfer station and configured to remove heat from each heat transfer station while the occupant-comfort system is in the cooling mode, each heat transfer station including a heat mover coupled to the heat conductor, a first heat exchanger interconnecting the heat mover and the heat sink, and a second heat exchanger interconnecting the heat mover and the heat sink, each heat mover comprising a thermo-electric device configured to move heat toward the occupant in the heating mode and heat away from the occupant in the cooling mode, and
- at least one controller configured to transmit commands to each heat mover in order to control execution of the heating mode and the cooling mode,
- wherein the first heat exchanger has a first working fluid operable at a first working temperature range, the second heat exchanger has a second working fluid operable at a second working temperature range, the second working temperature range is higher than the first working temperature range.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.