Conditioned-Air Vehicle Seat Routing Across Adjustment Positions
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing motor vehicle seats face challenges in maintaining a consistent connection between the air guiding system and the vehicle's air conditioning system across various seat adjustment positions, leading to inefficient heating or cooling of occupants.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a foamed plastic padding body with a lowered surface portion and a 3D mesh fabric layer impervious to air, which creates a cavity for conditioned air from the vehicle's air conditioning system, allowing for heat exchange through conduction rather than convection, ensuring effective cooling or heating regardless of seat adjustments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If air jets are supplied outwardly from the seat through the seat cover using convection, then heating or cooling of the occupant is achieved, but the connection between the air guiding system and air conditioning system becomes unreliable across various seat adjustment positions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical convection-based air jet system with a thermal conduction system. Instead of pushing air through channels to the occupant, the invention uses a cooling element that conducts heat directly through the seat structure to the occupant's body, eliminating the need for complex air guiding mechanisms that must maintain connection across seat adjustments.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a flexible cooling element with thermal conductivity that can adapt to different seat positions. This thin, flexible component maintains thermal contact with the seat structure regardless of seat adjustment, ensuring reliable heat transfer without requiring rigid mechanical connections or complex air guiding pathways.
2Ease of manufacture
If air channels are formed in the padding body for air flow, then conditioned air can be supplied to the occupant, but the structure becomes more complex and expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent eliminates the need for complex air channels and routing systems by replacing the convection-based air delivery mechanism with a thermal conduction system. The cooling element directly transfers heat through the seat padding and cover to the occupant, simplifying manufacturing while ensuring reliable conditioned air effect delivery.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a composite structure combining a cooling element with specific thermal conductivity properties integrated into the seat padding. This composite material approach allows heat transfer functionality to be built into the seat structure itself, eliminating separate air channel systems and reducing manufacturing complexity.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the seat is provided with adjustment systems for longitudinal position and height, then versatility is improved, but maintaining connection between air guiding system and air conditioning system becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a flexible cooling element that can adapt to different seat positions and adjustments. This flexible component maintains thermal contact with the seat structure regardless of longitudinal or height adjustments, ensuring reliable heat transfer while preserving full seat adjustability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a dynamic thermal conduction system where the cooling element can adapt its position and contact pressure based on seat adjustments. This dynamic system maintains effective thermal connection across various seat configurations without requiring rigid mechanical linkages or complex air guiding pathways.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution ensures a consistent supply of conditioned air to the seat in any position, providing effective heating or cooling through thermal conduction, while minimizing air jets directed at the occupant, thus enhancing comfort and efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
allowing for heat exchange through conduction rather than convection
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
In a motor-vehicle seat the padding body (1, 1') of the cushion and/or the backrest has a passage for the air coming from the air conditioning system (7) of the motor-vehicle. This passage comprises a closed cavity defined between a lowered surface formed in the outer surface of the padding body and the seat cover (3). The cavity (106) of the padding body (1, 1') is connected to the air conditioning system (7) of the motor-vehicle by means of an air supply line (9) which extends up to an outlet mouth (10) located above the motor-vehicle floor panel and arranged under the motor-vehicle seat. The outlet mouth (10) communicates with an air guiding line (4) carried by the seat, which extends from an inlet mouth (57) located under the seat to said cavity formed in the padding body. The outlet mouth (10) and the inlet mouth (57) are not mechanically connected with each other but are in fluid communication by means of an auxiliary connecting system (40, 41; 50) which maintains the communication in different adjustment positions of the seat relative to the floor panel, both along the longitudinal and the vertical directions. The auxiliary connecting system comprises a suction hood device (40) associated to the inlet mouth (57).