Method and system of regulating heat in a vehicle seat
AssigneeBertrand Faure Equipments SA
InventorFrançois Fourrey
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
In order to ensure that a vehicle seat, having a supporting face and incorporating microcapsules of phase-change material having a phase transition temperature between 15 and 37° C., is comfortable to use in terms of temperature, the support face is heated or cooled before the seat is used so that the phase-change material is at its transition temperature when a user subsequently sits on the seat.
Claims15
A heat-regulating method for a vehicle seat, which has at least one supporting face designed to provide support for an occupant, this supporting face being made from a material susceptible to phase changes and exhibiting a range of phase transition temperatures having lower and upper limits comprised between 15 and 37° C.,
- this method comprising steps which consist in:
- measuring at least one reference temperature related to the temperature of the supporting face,
- monitoring the occurrence of at least one certain situation, which will be a situation requiring forced regulation, in which the seat is normally unoccupied,
- determining whether the reference temperature is within a certain predetermined temperature range, which will be the range at which forced regulation will be triggered,
- if the reference temperature falls within the range triggering forced regulation and if the situation of forced regulation is detected, activating a heat-regulating device set up to exchange thermal energy with the supporting face in an forced regulation mode configured so as to bring the temperature of the supporting face to the range of phase transition temperatures of the phase-change material,
- and if at least one predetermined event occurs, terminating the forced regulation mode.
A heat-regulating system for a vehicle seat, which has at least one supporting face designed to provide support for an occupant, this heat-regulating device comprising:
- a phase-change material exhibiting a range of phase transition temperatures varying between lower and upper limits of 15 and 37° C., this phase-change material being distributed across the supporting face of the seat,
- a heat-regulating device designed to exchange thermal energy with said supporting face,
- an electronic central unit programmed to control the heat-regulating device,
- at least one temperature sensor set up to measure a reference temperature linked to the temperature of the supporting face of the seat, this temperature sensor being connected to the electronic central unit,
- at least one status detector set up so as to detect at least one certain situation, which is a situation of forced regulation, in which the seat is normally unoccupied,
- the electronic central unit being programmed:
- to determine whether the reference temperature is located within a certain predetermined temperature range, which is the range at which forced regulation is triggered,
- if the reference temperature falls within the range at which forced regulation is triggered and if the status detector detects said forced regulation situation, to activate the heat-regulating device in accordance with an forced regulation mode programmed to bring the temperature of the supporting face to the range of phase transition temperatures of the phase-change material,
- and if at least one predetermined event occurs, terminate the forced regulation mode.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.