Aircraft heated seat
AssigneeTextron Innovations Inc.
InventorsDavid Wayne Davis, Joshua Lawrence Bell
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A heated seat for an aircraft includes a heating element disposed on a cushioning material and overlayed by an upholstery. The heating element includes a flexible base and a plurality of thin and flexible heating coils that conform to the seat shape such that no cushioning material is applied between the heating element and the upholstery. By providing direct contact between the heating element and the upholstery, smaller heating elements requiring less electrical power may be used to sufficiently heat the seat compared with traditional heating elements.
Claims17
A heated seat for an aircraft, the heated seat comprising:
- a cushioning material having a curved shape;
- a heating element disposed directly on the cushioning material, wherein the heating element comprises a plurality of flexible heating coils configured to bend to match the curved shape of the cushioning material;
- an upholstery disposed directly on the heating element,
- wherein the heated seat lacks the cushioning material between the heating element and the upholstery.
A method of heating a seat, the method comprising:
- providing a cushioning material;
- disposing a heating element directly on the cushioning material;
- shaping the heating element to match a shape of the cushioning material, wherein the heating element comprises a plurality of flexible heating coils;
- and
- disposing an upholstery directly on the heating element such that no cushioning material is disposed between the heating element and the upholstery.
A heated seat for an aircraft, comprising:
- a bottom portion configured for a user to sit upon and a back portion configured to support the user's back;
- an outer layer disposed on the bottom portion and the back portion, wherein the outer layer is configured to be exposed for touching the user when seated;
- an inner layer disposed inside the bottom portion and the back portion;
- and
- a middle layer sandwiched between the outer layer and the inner layer,
- wherein the outer layer comprises an upholstery, the middle layer comprises a flexible heating element, and the inner layer comprises a cushioning material, wherein the flexible heating element includes a plurality of heating coils each having a “S” shaped curvature.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.