Vehicle Seat Insert With Airflow and Thermal Comfort Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Automotive vehicle seats lack effective solutions for providing comprehensive comfort through heating, cooling, and ventilation, with existing designs often inefficient in distributing air and maintaining comfort across the seating surface.
Innovation Solution
An insert for automotive vehicle seats is designed with a spacer material creating an open space, sealed edges, and air movers in fluid communication, which includes heating elements and thermoelectric devices for temperature control, and strategically placed perforations for directed airflow, ensuring even distribution of air and comfort across the seating surface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If traditional seat designs are used, then manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but comfort functions (heating, cooling, ventilation) are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The seat is divided into modular components: a base seat structure and a separate insert assembly. The insert can be independently configured with different spacer materials, barrier materials, and air mover arrangements, allowing customization of comfort functions without redesigning the entire seat. This segmentation enables versatile comfort features while keeping the base seat simple for manufacturing.
Solution Approach 2:
The insert assembly serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides ventilation through air movers and perforations, heating through integrated heating elements, and cooling through the open space configuration. This multi-functional design delivers comprehensive comfort features through a single integrated component rather than multiple separate systems.
2Productivity
If air movers are added for ventilation, then cooling effectiveness is improved, but noise and vibration increase
Solution Approach 1:
Noise abatement materials are introduced as intermediary elements between the air movers and the occupant environment. These materials absorb and dampen noise and vibration generated by the air movers, reducing harmful factors while preserving the ventilation and cooling effectiveness provided by the air movement.
Solution Approach 2:
The insert incorporates porous spacer materials and perforated barrier materials that facilitate smooth airflow. These porous structures reduce turbulence and associated noise while maintaining effective air circulation for cooling. The perforations in the barrier material allow controlled air distribution without creating harsh airflow patterns.
3Reliability
If spacer material is used to create open space, then air circulation is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The insert utilizes flexible spacer materials and thin barrier material layers that can be easily formed and assembled. These flexible components conform to the seat contours and can be manufactured using standard forming processes, maintaining ease of manufacture while creating the necessary open space configuration for effective air circulation.
4Ease of operation
If perforations are added for directed airflow, then ventilation distribution is improved, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The barrier material features strategically placed perforations at specific locations where airflow is most needed, such as areas corresponding to occupant contact zones. This localized perforation strategy provides effective targeted ventilation distribution without requiring uniform precision across the entire component, reducing overall manufacturing precision requirements.
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
The solution effectively provides heating, cooling, and ventilation to automotive vehicle seats by ensuring even airflow and temperature distribution, enhancing occupant comfort and reducing noise and vibration from air movers through noise abatement materials and modular design.
Implementation Method 1
An air mover is also typically in fluid communication with the open space within the insert
Implementation Method 2
which includes heating elements and thermoelectric devices for temperature control
Implementation Method 3
which includes heating elements and thermoelectric devices for temperature control
Implementation Method 4
reducing noise and vibration from air movers through noise abatement materials
Data Source
AI summary
An insert comprising: (i) a forward layer for facing a passenger; (ii) a rearward layer opposite the forward layer; and (iii) a spacer material located between the forward layer and the rearward layer creating an open space within the insert; (iv) an edge sealed substantially around a periphery of the insert; (v) a heater comprising; (a) polymer film having one or more openings for allowing air flow therethrough, (b) a resistive layer, (c) two or more buss bars that are spaced apart and electrically in communication with each other through the resistive layer; and (d) a protective layer; (vi) one or more air movers in fluid communication with the open space within the insert; (vii) a housing having a flange that attaches the one or more air movers to the insert, by the flange being fitted between the spacer material and the rearward layer; wherein the heater layer is attached to one or a combination of the forward layer, the rearward layer, or the spacer material; wherein the forward layer, the rearward layer, or both include one or more openings in fluid communication with the open space within the insert.