CA2313779A1

CA2313779A1 - Thermally conductive pad for heating/cooling vehicle seat

Info

Publication number: CA2313779A1
Application number: CA 2313779
Authority: CA
Inventors: Alfred W. Ruefli; Lucien Dnestrianschii
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2000-07-12
Filing date: 2000-07-12
Publication date: 2002-01-12

Description

1 "THERMALLY CONDUCTIVE PAD FOR HEATINGICOOLING

2 VEHICLE SEAT"

3 FIELD OF THE INVENTION

4 The present invention relates to a flexible, thin, flat, thermally conductive pad which finds application as a cooling or heating element in a 6 car seat. The pad incorporates an internal tortuous fluid conduit winding back 7 and forth from one side of the pad to the other, through which cold or hot fluid 8 can be pumped.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
11 There is a recent trend in the automotive industry to provide heating 12 and cooling of a car seat surface.
13 . For cooling, one system currently being used involves providing a large 14 duct extending through the foam cushions of the seat and pumping refrigerated coolant through the duct.
16 There are several problems characterizing this known system. More 17 particularly:
18 ~ fabricating the cushion, so as to incorporate the duct, is expensive;
19 ~ if the cushion is to be removed to effect a repair, it is expensive and time consuming to extract the cushion from the covered seat; and 21 ~ considerable time elapses from the commencement of pumping the 22 coolant until a chilling effect is noted at the surface of the seat 23 covering.

1 It is the object of the present invention to provide a fluid transportation 2 device which is applicable for this function and which is relatively improved 3 with respect to these problems.

6 In accordance with the invention, a thin, flexible, flat, thermally 7 conductive pad is provided. The pad is fabricated so as to provide an internal, 8 sealed fluid flow passageway winding back and forth across its area between 9 an inlet and an outlet. It is intended to provide a pad structure which has adequate surface area and, though flexible in nature, has sufficient vertical 11 structural strength to be able to bear the weight of a person seated on the pad 12 without collapsing and restricting fluid flow.
13 More particularly, the pad involves:
14 ~ a laminar composite stack of layers of flexible material bonded together to provide a unitary pad;
16 ~ one or more stacks of pairs of intermediate layers positioned 17 between the bottom and top layers, each intermediate layer having 18 a regular pattern of laterally spaced apart cut-outs, such as square 19 cut-outs, so that the pattern comprises transverse and longitudinal walls;
21 ~ the bottom and top layers of the stack being solid and sealed to the 22 stacks of side edges of the intermediate layers to form a fluid-tight 23 housing, the housing having a fluid inlet and outlet;

1 ~ the pattern of one intermediate layer of each pair being opposed 2 and offset relative to the pattern of the other intermediate layer of 3 the pair, so that the walls of the upper layer cross and are 4 supported by the walls of the lower layer;
~ the patterns establishing a fluid flow track winding back and forth 6 across the stack between the inlet and outlet.
7 The pad therefore provides a sealed flexible housing and has a "track"
8 or flow channel formed by the communicating cut-outs of the flexible 9 intermediate layers. The flow channel preferably winds tortuously across the area of the pad between the inlet and outlet. The flow channel enables a 11 stream of cooling or heating quid to flow in contact with substantially all of the 12 thermally conductive top layer of the pad, to withdraw or supply heat and chill 13 or warm the seat surface to the extent appropriate. By offsetting the cut-out 14 patterns of successive intermediate layers to regularly cross the walls of one layer relative to the next, "columns" are formed at the wall intersections to 16 lend some vertical structural strength to the assembly.
17 The pad has been developed for the specific purpose of inserting it to 18 rest between the cushion and the cover of a vehicle seat, directly beneath the 19 seat user, so that refrigerated coolant liquid can be pumped through the pad to chill the seat cover for the comfort of the user. However it is contemplated 21 that the pad will have other applications, such as filtering a fluid or acting as a 22 flat thermal transfer device.

2 Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of the layers of a pad having 3 five intermediate layers;
4 Figure 2 is a perspective view of the pad of Figure 1, with the layers bonded together to form a unit;
6 Figure 3 is a plan view showing two intermediate layers with one 7 overlapping the other, with one layer shown in solid lines and the other in 8 broken lines and with small squares indicating the wall intersection points 9 which function to enable one layer to structurally support the next;
Figure 4 is a sectional side view of the pad with fluid flow indicated by 11 arrows;
12 Figure 5 is a plan view showing the pad inlet and outlet connecting with 13 fluid supply and withdrawal tubes, together with part of the track;
14 Figure 6 is a perspective exploded view of part of the assembly of Figure 5; and 16 Figure 7 is a plan view similar to Figure 5, showing the track.

19 The invention is directed to a flexible, thermally conductive, thin, flat pad 1. The pad 1 comprises solid bottom and top layers 2,3 bonded with one 21 or more sets of intermediate layers 4,5 forming pairs 6. The layers 2,3,4,5 22 form a sealed housing 7 having a fluid inlet 8; and outlet 9. The intermediate 23 layers 4,5 have patterns 10, 11, respectively, of cut-outs 12 separated by 24 transverse and longitudinal walls 13, 14. The walls 13, 14 cross at intersection points 15 to form support columns 16. The intermediate layers 1 4,5 therefore form a flow channel or track 17 traversing back and forth across 2 the pad 1 and connected at its ends to the inlet and outlet 8, 9. Fluid supply 3 and withdrawal tubes 18, 19 connect with the inlet 8 and outlet 9.
4 More particularly, the pad 1 comprises a 12" x 12" x 1116" neoprene

5 rubber bottom layer 2.

6 A first intermediate layer 4 of neoprene rubber, 1116" thick, is laid on

7 the bottom layer 2. The intermediate layer 4 has a track 17a of'/:' square cut-

8 outs 12 separated by 1132" thick walls 13, 14. The track 77 is 3 cut-outs wide.

9 A second intermediate layer 5 of neoprene rubber, 1116" thick, is laid on the first intermediate layer 4. The second intermediate layer 5 also has a 11 track 17b of'/4' square cut-outs 12 separated by 1132" thick walls 13, 14.
The 12 track 17b is 2 cut-outs wide.
13 The patterns 10, 11 of the first and second intermediate layers 4,5 are 14 arranged so that they are 50°r6 offset, enabling the walls 13, 14 of the layers to support each other and dividing the cut-outs 12 into quarters. This forms a 16 solid support column 16 at about every %:' at common overlap points, while 17 still enabling fluid to flow along the track 17.
18 A 12" x 12" x 5/1000 solid Mylar~ top layer 3 is laid on the pairs 6 of 19 intermediate layers 4,5.
The various layers 2, 4, 5, 3 are bonded together using neoprene 21 rubber patching cement.