U.S. patent application number 10/865341 was filed with the patent office on 2005-12-15 for seating with vertically-lapped padding.
Invention is credited to Priebe, Joseph A..
Application Number | 20050275253 10/865341 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 35459785 |
Filed Date | 2005-12-15 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050275253 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Priebe, Joseph A. |
December 15, 2005 |
Seating with vertically-lapped padding
Abstract
A seating component includes a seating component frame having an
air inlet, an air-permeable upholstery covering, and, an improved
air-permeable fibrous cushion disposed between the seating
component and the upholstery covering. The improved air-permeable
fibrous cushion exhibits excellent air permeability, compression
recovery, contour conformability, and thermoformability. The
fibrous pad has fibers that are predominantly orientated with a
length direction of the fibers aligned with a thickness of the
cushion.
Inventors: |
Priebe, Joseph A.; (Zeeland,
MI) |
Correspondence
Address: |
PRICE HENEVELD COOPER DEWITT & LITTON, LLP
695 KENMOOR, S.E.
P O BOX 2567
GRAND RAPIDS
MI
49501
US
|
Family ID: |
35459785 |
Appl. No.: |
10/865341 |
Filed: |
June 10, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
297/180.14 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47C 7/74 20130101; A47C
31/00 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
297/180.14 |
International
Class: |
A47C 007/72; A47C
031/00 |
Claims
The invention claimed is:
1. A seating component comprising: a seating component frame having
an air inlet; an air-permeable upholstery covering; and an
air-permeable fibrous cushion disposed between the seating
component frame and the air-permeable upholstery covering, wherein
the fibrous cushion has fibers that are predominantly oriented with
a length direction of the fibers aligned with a thickness direction
of the fibrous cushion.
2. The seating component of claim 1, wherein the air inlet includes
or is in fluid communication with a fan or blower that blows or
draws air into the seating component through the air inlet, through
the cushion, and out of the seating component through the
air-permeable upholstery covering.
3. The seating component of claim 1, wherein the frame defines air
channels that extend laterally from the air inlet to distribute
airflow more uniformly through the cushion than would occur without
the laterally extending air channels.
4. The seating component of claim 1, wherein the fiber of the
air-permeable fibrous cushion is vertically-lapped.
5. The seating component of claim 1, wherein the fibers of the
air-permeable fibrous cushion is comprised of polyethylene
terephthalate.
6. The seating component of claim 1, wherein the cushion has an
airflow resistance less than 2,500 Rayls.
7. The seating component of claim 2, wherein the air inlet includes
a heater or is in fluid communication with a heater that heats air
being blown through or drawn into the air inlet.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This invention pertains to seating and particularly to
air-permeable ventilated seating.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The convective HVAC (heating, ventilation and
air-conditioning) systems used for conditioning the air temperature
in motor vehicle cabins tends to warm vehicle occupants relatively
slowly on very cold days, and tends to cool vehicle occupants
relatively slowly on very hot days. A period of several minutes
(often 5 to 10 minutes) may be required to achieve a comfortable
cabin temperature (e.g., 65-75.degree. F.). Moreover, many interior
surfaces, including seating surfaces, may remain uncomfortably hot
or cold for an even longer period of time because they are not
directly impinged by the conditioned air from the HVAC system.
[0003] Various ventilated seating arrangements have been disclosed.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,524,439 discloses a vehicle seat
having means for distributing temperature conditioned air through
the seat to increase the seat occupant's thermal comfort. The seat
includes air channels positioned within seat cushions and extending
from an air-permeable padding layer between the seat upholstery and
the cushions, and through the seat cushions to a seat bottom air
inlet. It is disclosed that the upholstery or surface covering may
be made from a suitable material that allows flow of air such as
perforated vinyl, cloth, leather or the like, that the padding
layer may be made from reticulated foam, and that the cushions may
be made from foam and like.
[0004] Various other patent documents disclose similar arrangements
in which an underlying foam pad or cushion is provided with air
passages or channels that extend through the foam pad or cushion
from a bottom air inlet port to a relatively thin air-permeable pad
disposed between the underlying foam pad or cushion and an
air-permeable upholstery material. These arrangements typically
include a fan or blower disposed in the air passages, at the air
inlet port, or remotely located with a conduit connecting the fan
or blower to the air inlet port. A problem with these known
arrangements is that the air channels or passageways defined
through the underlying pad or cushion compromise the structural
integrity and properties of the cushion. Specifically, compression
recovery and contour conformability (i.e., the ability to achieve
comfortable, even distribution of an occupant's weight) are
compromised. Further, formation of the air passageways or channels
in the underlying cushion or pad requires additional molding and/or
shaping operations that add significantly to the cost of the
seating.
[0005] Accordingly, it is desirable, and an objective with respect
to certain aspects of the invention, to provide a ventilated
seating component exhibiting excellent compression recovery and
contour conformability. It is also desirable, and an object in
accordance with another aspect of the invention, to provide a
ventilated seating component that utilizes thermoformable,
air-permeable cushion materials that do not require air channels or
passageways, and which do not require costly molding or shaping
operations.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] In accordance with an aspect of the invention, there is
provided a seating component including a fibrous cushion underlying
an air-permeable upholstery fabric, wherein the fibrous pad has
fibers that are predominantly orientated with a length direction of
the fibers aligned with a thickness direction of the cushion. The
fibrous cushion has the advantages of exhibiting excellent air
permeability for heating, ventilation and air-conditioning without
requiring additional steps for forming air passageways or channels
through the cushion material. The fibrous cushion used in the
seating components of this invention also has the advantage of
achieving excellent compression recovery and contour
conformability. Other advantages include lightweight,
thermoformability, self-extinguishing fire retardancy, mold and/or
mildew resistance, and low odor.
[0007] These and other features, advantages and objects of the
present invention will be further understood and appreciated by
those skilled in the art by reference to the following
specification, claims and appended drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a vehicle seat
according to the invention.
[0009] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a thermoformable sheet
material suitable for preparing the air-permeable fibrous cushion
used in a vehicle seat according to the invention.
[0010] FIG. 3 is a top plan view of a seating component frame
having air channels that extend laterally from an air inlet to
distribute airflow more uniformly through an air-permeable fibrous
cushion in accordance with the invention.
[0011] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a seating component in
accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0012] A vehicle seating component 10 (FIG. 1) in accordance with
an aspect of this invention includes a vehicle seating component
frame 12, an air-permeable upholstery covering 14, and an
air-permeable fibrous cushion 16 that is disposed between the
vehicle seating component frame and the air-permeable upholstery
covering. Additional layers of material may be provided between the
cushion 16 and upholstery covering material 14, such as a
relatively thin air-permeable foam layer 22. Similarly, additional
layers of material or elements may be incorporated between cushion
16 and frame 12.
[0013] An additional layer between 16 and 12 could be a layer of
foam (open or closed cell), such that the top layer of the cushion
is fiber and the bottom layer is foam.
[0014] The term "vehicle seating component" as used herein refers
primarily to the seat part and back rest of a vehicle seat, but may
include other components such as headrests/restraints, armrests,
etc. This seat structure for the cushion can also be applied to
other seating applications such as office, home, auditorium/stadium
seating where a ventilated seating surface can provide more
comfort.
[0015] The vehicle seating component frame may include at least one
air inlet 18. A fan 20 or blower may be located at the air inlet,
or at a remote location that is in fluid communication with the air
inlet, whereby the blower or fan blows or draws air into the
vehicle seating component through the air inlet, through the
cushion, and out of the vehicle seating component through the
air-permeable upholstery covering. A heater 22 may also be located
at the air inlet or remote from the air inlet but in fluid
communication with the air inlet, to provide auxiliary heating to
accelerate heating of seating surfaces. However, the invention is
not limited to forced air convection systems, but instead may be
advantageously employed to achieve greater seating comfort due to
natural convection. The invention may be employed in a system where
airflow occurs through the seat cushion by natural convection,
and/or wicking away of heat/cold/moist air to make the seating
experience more comfortable.
[0016] The air-permeable upholstery covering may be generally any
woven, knitted or other air-permeable fabrics, or perforated
upholstery materials, such as vinyl or leather.
[0017] The air-permeable fibrous cushion 16 is comprised of fibers
that are predominately orientated with a length direction of the
fibers aligned with a thickness direction of the fibrous cushion.
It has been discovered that this arrangement, in which the fibers
are preferentially oriented along the thickness direction of
cushion 16 provides a highly air-permeable cushion material that is
capable of achieving excellent compression recovery (i.e., quickly
returns to its original shape after the weight of an occupant is
removed), and excellent contour conformability (i.e., the ability
to evenly distribution an occupant's weight to achieve optimum
comfort). Because the cushion material achieves excellent
air-permeability while meeting requirements for compression
recovery and contour conformability, it is not necessary to provide
air channels through cushion 16. As a result, fabrication of
cushion 16 is considerably simpler than fabrication of foam
cushions for conventional ventilated vehicle seating. Another
important advantage afforded by the invention is that cushion 16
can be prepared without expensive molding operations. By selecting
suitable fibers, it is possible to provide a thermoformable
material that can be easily shaped into a desired cushion
configuration.
[0018] A technique for preparing a thermoformable sheet material
suitable for preparing the air-permeable fibrous cushion 16
involves vertically lapping the fibers. Vertically-lapped materials
may be produced by utilizing standard textile fiber blending
equipment and standard textile carding equipment to form a
non-woven web. The carded non-woven web can be fed into a vertical
lap machine which folds the web back onto and forth onto itself to
form a vertically-lapped or pleated structure. The vertical laps
are preferably thermally bonded together, such as by using a flat
bed conveyer convection oven. A vertically-lapped non-woven fibrous
mat that may be employed in the thermoformable sheet materials
useful for preparing the cushion 16 is shown in FIG. 2. The
illustrated vertically-lapped non-woven fibrous mat comprises a
carded fiber web that is repeatedly folded upon itself to form a
multiplicity of adjacent vertical laps or pleats. Vertically-lapped
materials as described herein are substantially different from
fibrous mats comprised of randomly orientated fibers, and are also
substantially different from randomly orientated fibrous mats that
are subsequently pleated. Such materials do not have fibers that
are preferentially oriented in any particular direction.
[0019] The fiber sheet material may be further processed, i.e.,
needle-punched, thermobonded, hydroentangled, chemically bonded,
etc.
[0020] In order to achieve thermoformability, the fibers used in
the sheet material for preparing cushion 16 include at least some
synthetic fibers that can be thermally fused together during a
thermoforming operation. Suitable synthetic fibers for imparting
thermoformability include various thermoplastic fibers that can be
softened and/or partially melted upon application of heat during a
thermoforming process to form a multiplicity of bonds at
fiber-fiber intersections to impart flexibility and resilient shape
retention properties. Examples of suitable thermoplastic fibers
include fibers comprised of homopolymers and copolymers of
polyester, nylon, polyethylene, polypropylene and blends of fibers
from these polymers and copolymers. Particularly suitable are
composite or bi-component fibers having a relatively low melting
binder component and a higher melting strength component.
Bi-component fibers of this type are advantageous since the
strength component imparts and maintains adequate strength to the
fiber while the bonding characteristics are imparted by the lower
melting temperature component. A variety of bi-component fibers of
this type are commercially available from various sources. One
suitable fiber for the preparation of suitable thermoformable sheet
material for use in preparing cushion 16 is a sheath-core
bi-component construction wherein the core is formed of a
relatively high melting polyethylene terephthalate (PET) polymer
and the sheath comprises a PET copolymer having a lower melting
temperature which exhibits thermoplastic adhesive and
thermoformability properties when heated to a temperature of about
110.degree. C. to 200.degree. C.
[0021] In addition to, or in place of, the synthetic fibers, the
thermoformable acoustic sheet material may comprise various natural
fibers of plant or animal origin, and/or mineral fibers.
[0022] Examples of natural fibers include kenaf, grasses, rice
hulls, bagasse, cotton, jute, hemp, flax, bamboo, sisal, abaca and
wool fibers. Examples of mineral fibers include glass, ceramic and
metal fibers.
[0023] Although the thermoformable sheet material used for
preparing cushion 16 may include sufficient melt-fusible or
adhesive synthetic fibers to impart suitable thermoformability and
shape retention properties, it is possible to achieve satisfactory
thermoformability and shape retention properties by incorporating
only a very small percentage of synthetic fibers, or none at all,
by partially impregnating or coating the fibers with either a
heat-fusible thermoplastic resin or a thermosettable resin (such as
a thermosettable resin in which curing is initiated by application
of heat).
[0024] After the thermoforming operation, the resulting cushion 16
preferably has an airflow resistance less than 2,500 Rayls.
[0025] In order to promote more uniform distribution of conditioned
air through cushion 16, frame 12 may be provided with a plurality
of channels 30 (FIG. 3) that extend laterally from air inlet 18 to
distribute the air more uniformly along the area at the bottom of
cushion 16.
[0026] Alternatively, a seating component 10 (FIG. 4) may have a
frame 12 with a top panel 32 that defines a plenum 34. Top panel 32
has a plurality of apertures (openings) 36 that allow air to flow
upwardly from plenum 34 and through cushion 16. A blower 20 may be
located in the plenum or adjacent the plenum to provide a positive
air pressure that causes air to flow through cushion 16.
[0027] The above description is considered that of the preferred
embodiments only. Modifications of the invention will occur to
those skilled in the art and to those who make or use the
invention. Therefore, it is understood that the embodiments shown
in the drawings and described above are merely for illustrative
purposes and not intended to limit the scope of the invention,
which is defined by the following claims as interpreted according
to the principles of patent law, including the doctrine of
equivalents.
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