Cooling system for an instrument panel of a vehicle

Abstract

The subject invention provides a heat transfer device (24) for controlling the temperature of an instrument panel (18) extending from and under a windshield (16) of a vehicle (10). Sunlight (22) passes through the windshield (16), thereby heating the surface of the instrument panel (18). The instrument panel (18) then transfers the heat to an interior compartment (14) of the vehicle (10) affecting the thermal comfort of a passenger. The heat transfer device (24) directly removes the heat stored in the instrument panel (18) to limit the transfer of heat from the instrument panel (18) to the interior compartment (14). Preferably, the heat transfer device (24) circulates a flow of cooling air (40) over the surface of the instrument panel (18) to remove the heat stored therein. As such, the heat transfer device (24) limits the heat transfer into and thereby cools the interior compartment (14) of the vehicle (10) to meet the desired thermal comfort level of the passenger in less time and with less energy.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.