U.S. patent application number 10/588269 was filed with the patent office on 2009-03-12 for vehicle seat.
This patent application is currently assigned to DAIMLERCHRYSLER AG. Invention is credited to Karl-Heinz Minuth, Karl Pfahler, Lothar Renner.
Application Number | 20090066122 10/588269 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34813126 |
Filed Date | 2009-03-12 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090066122 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Minuth; Karl-Heinz ; et
al. |
March 12, 2009 |
Vehicle seat
Abstract
A vehicle seat, in particular a rear seat, has a backrest with a
backrest cushion having a ventilation layer through which air can
flood, and with at least one ventilator for ventilating the
cushion. The ventilator sucks up air from the rear space of the
backrest cushion and blows it into the ventilation layer. The
ventilation layer is divided into a lower and upper section by an
air barrier running in the transverse direction of the seat. At
least one ventilator is assigned to the lower section of the
ventilation layer and at least one further ventilator with an
air-conveying direction the other way around with respect to the
air-conveying direction of the first ventilator is assigned to the
upper section of the ventilation layer.
Inventors: |
Minuth; Karl-Heinz;
(Grafenau, DE) ; Pfahler; Karl; (Stuttgart,
DE) ; Renner; Lothar; (Nufringen, DE) |
Correspondence
Address: |
CROWELL & MORING LLP;INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY GROUP
P.O. BOX 14300
WASHINGTON
DC
20044-4300
US
|
Assignee: |
DAIMLERCHRYSLER AG
Stuttgart
DE
|
Family ID: |
34813126 |
Appl. No.: |
10/588269 |
Filed: |
January 20, 2005 |
PCT Filed: |
January 20, 2005 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/EP2005/000518 |
371 Date: |
April 16, 2008 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
297/180.14 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B60N 2/5635 20130101;
B60N 2/565 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
297/180.14 |
International
Class: |
A47C 7/72 20060101
A47C007/72 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Feb 5, 2004 |
DE |
10 2004 005 573.4 |
Claims
1-9. (canceled)
9. A vehicle seat, comprising a backrest having a backrest cushion
with a ventilation layer through which air can flood, and at least
one first ventilator for ventilating the cushion by sucking up air
from the rear side of the backrest cushion and blowing it into the
ventilation layer, wherein the ventilation layer is divided into a
lower section and an upper section by an air barrier running in a
transverse direction of the seat, the at least one first ventilator
being assigned to the lower section and at least one second
ventilator is assigned to the upper section and operating in an
air-conveying direction opposite to an air-conveying direction of
the at least one first ventilator.
10. The vehicle seat as claimed in claim 9, wherein backrest
cushion has a cushion pad in which at least one upper air duct is
provided in the region of the upper section and at least one lower
air duct is provided in the region of the lower section of the
ventilation layer, air ducts being configured to completely
penetrate the cushion pad from a rear side of the backrest cushion
as far as the ventilation layer, and the at least one first and
second ventilators being respectively assigned to the air
ducts.
11. The vehicle seat as claimed in claim 10, wherein the at least
one first and second ventilators are operatively arranged in the
air ducts.
12. The vehicle seat as claimed in claim 10, wherein the cushion
pad is operatively fixed on a cushion support.
13. The vehicle seat as claimed in claim 12, wherein the at least
one first and second ventilators are operatively arranged in the
air ducts.
14. The vehicle seat as claimed in 10, wherein the cushion pad is
composed of a rubberized hair layer and an air-blocking layer.
15. The vehicle seat as claimed in claim 14, wherein the at least
one first and second ventilators are operatively arranged in the
air ducts
16. The vehicle seat as claimed in claim 15, wherein the cushion
pad is operatively fixed on a cushion support
17. The vehicle seat as claimed in one of claims 9, wherein the
backrest cushion includes a pressure-distributing layer covering
the ventilation layer and an air-permeable cushion cover spanning
the pressure-distributing layer.
18. The vehicle seat as claimed in claim 17, wherein the at least
one first and second ventilators are operatively arranged in the
air ducts.
19. The vehicle seat as claimed in claim 18, wherein the cushion
pad is operatively fixed on a cushion support.
20. The vehicle seat as claimed in 19, wherein the cushion pad is
composed of a rubberized hair layer and an air-blocking layer.
21. The vehicle seat as claimed in claim 17, wherein the
pressure-distributing layer is a perforated foam material.
22. The vehicle seat as claimed in claim 9, wherein the ventilation
layer is a pressure-resistant knitted spacer fabric.
23. The vehicle seat as claimed in claim 22, wherein the at least
one first and second ventilators are operatively arranged in the
air ducts.
24. The vehicle seat as claimed in claim 23, wherein the cushion
pad is operatively fixed on a cushion support.
25. The vehicle seat as claimed in 24, wherein the cushion pad is
composed of a rubberized hair layer and an air-blocking layer.
26. The vehicle seat as claimed in one of claims 25 wherein the
backrest cushion includes a pressure-distributing layer covering
the ventilation layer and an air-permeable cushion cover spanning
the pressure-distributing layer.
Description
BACK AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle seat, and more
particularly to a vehicle seat, and more particularly to a vehicle
rear seat, with a backrest which has a backrest cushion with a
ventilation layer through which air can flow, and with at least one
ventilator for ventilating the cushion, the ventilator sucking up
air from the rear side of the backrest cushion and blowing it into
the ventilation layer.
[0002] In order to obtain considerable temperature-conditioned
comfort, vehicle seats of this type are provided with an "active
seat ventilation", in which air is sucked up from the passenger
compartment and is blown through the cushions of seat cushion and
backrest in order then partially to emerge via the air-permeable
cushion cover toward the front side of the seat. This air, firstly,
removes moisture and heat from the cushion and, secondly, cools the
heated surfaces of the cushion.
[0003] In a known vehicle seat with active seat ventilation shown
in DE 198 04 284 C2, the backrest has a backrest cushion and a
backrest covering which covers the rear side of the backrest, with
a cavity remaining between backrest cushion and backrest covering.
The backrest cushion is composed of a pressure-distributing layer
which is fixed on a cushion support and has an inflow opening,
arranged at the lower end, for ventilation air, and of an
air-permeable ventilation layer of rubberized hair which rests on
top and is covered by an air-permeable cushion cover. A ventilator
which sucks up air from the cavity and blows it into the
ventilation layer is arranged at the inflow opening. The
ventilation air flows through the ventilation layer and emerges
again via an air outflow opening arranged at the upper end. Some of
the ventilation air also flows out of the pores of the cushion
cover, in particular if the vehicle seat is unoccupied. The
effectiveness of an active seat ventilation of this type in respect
of increased temperature-conditioned comfort of the seat
presupposes that the cavity of the backrest contains a sufficient
amount of fresh air which flows into the cavity from the passenger
compartment, in particular from the floor.
[0004] In rear seats, the backrest is arranged directly on the
passenger compartment rear wall which separates the passenger
compartment from the trunk. In some motor vehicles, there are
installed in the trunk, in the region of the rear wall or
separating wall, a multiplicity of units and electric control units
which give off a relatively large amount of heat and therefore heat
up the intermediate space which is still present between the
backrest and the rear wall of the passenger compartment. For the
active seat ventilation which sucks up air from the intermediate
space and blows it into the ventilation layer of the backrest
cushion, only relatively warm suction air is still available, and
so sufficient cooling of the seat cannot be achieved. The seat user
lacks, when sitting on the rear seat, the sensation of freshness
which provides the temperature-conditioned comfort of the seat.
[0005] An object of the present invention is based on the concept
of changing the active seat ventilation in such a manner that, even
when the vehicle seat is used as a rear seat and is installed on
the rear wall of the passenger compartment, a sufficient amount of
fresh air flows through the ventilation layer of the backrest
cushion and thus, even in the case of a rear seat in front of a
warm passenger compartment rear wall, the desired
temperature-conditioned comfort of the seat is achieved.
[0006] This object has been achieved according to the present
invention by providing that the ventilation layer is divided into a
lower section and an upper section by means of an air barrier
running in the transverse direction of the seat, and at least one
first ventilator is assigned to the lower section and at least one
second ventilator is assigned to the upper section, with the second
ventilator operating in an air-conveying direction opposite to the
air-conveying direction of the first ventilator.
[0007] The vehicle seat according to the invention has, among other
things, the advantage that the at least one second ventilator,
which is assigned to the upper ventilation layer section,
transports, owing to its air-conveying direction which is the other
way around in relation to the at least one first ventilator, fresh
air through the cushion cover and the air-guiding layer or
ventilation layer into the heated rear space of the backrest.
Thereby, the at least one first ventilator, which is assigned to
the lower ventilation layer section, is capable, for its part, of
blowing significantly cooler air into the ventilation layer. As a
result, the backrest cushion is overall ventilated better and with
substantially cooler air, which leads to an improvement in the
comfort of the seat.
[0008] The gain in comfort of the seat is obtained by only small
additional costs caused by the additional second ventilator and
does not require any structural reconfiguration of the vehicle
seat, so the seat concept for the front seats can also be retained
unchanged for the rear seats. Since the backrest frequently already
contains a plurality of seat-ventilation ventilators which are
distributed uniformly over the backrest cushion, even these small
additional costs are omitted, since the conveying direction of the
ventilators assigned to the upper ventilation layer section merely
has to be turned around, i.e. these ventilators simply have to be
installed turned through 180.degree..
[0009] Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present
invention will become apparent from the following detailed
description of the invention when considered in conjunction with
the accompanying drawing.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0010] An embodiment of the present invention is described in
greater detail on the basis of the sole drawing figure which shows,
in a schematic illustration, part of a side view of a vehicle seat
installed as the rear seat in a passenger compartment of a vehicle,
with a backrest illustrated in longitudinal section.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
[0011] The vehicle seat, the relevant part of which is
schematically illustrated in side view in FIG. 1, and partially cut
away, is a rear seat with a seat cushion 11 and backrest 12
arranged in the rear section of a passenger compartment 13 of the
vehicle. The passenger compartment 13 is separated from a trunk 15
by a rear wall 14 which merges at the upper edge of the backrest 12
into the rear parcel shelf or trunk cover 16. At the bottom, the
rear wall 14 ends at a seat base 17 which is formed integrally with
the floor trough of the vehicle and serves to receive the rear
seat.
[0012] The seat cushion 11 is fastened on the seat base 17 such
that the backrest 12 bears with its upper end, which is shaped
somewhat to the rear, against the rear wall 14 and an intermediate
space, called rear space 18 of the backrest below, remains between
the rear wall 14 and the backrest 12. Of a head restraint assigned
to the rear seat, the head cushion 19 which is positioned above the
trunk cover 16 is indicated.
[0013] The backrest 12, which is illustrated in longitudinal
section, has a backrest cushion 20 on which backrest cheeks 21 for
supporting the body of the seated person are integrally formed
laterally. The backrest cushion 20 is composed of a cushion pad 22
which is fixed to a cushion support 23, an air-guiding or
ventilation layer 24 covering the cushion pad 22, a
pressure-distributing layer 25 covering the ventilation layer 24,
and an air-permeable cushion cover 26 which spans the
pressure-distributing layer 25 and terminates the front side of the
backrest cushion 20, which side faces a seat user.
[0014] In the illustrated embodiment, the cushion pad 22 is
composed of a layer of rubberized hair with an integrated
air-blocking layer, the ventilation layer 24 is a
pressure-resistant knitted spacer fabric, the pressure-distributing
layer 25 is a perforated foam material and the cushion cover 26 is
fabric or leather. An air duct 27 is formed in the lower region of
the pressure-distributing layer 25 and, at a distance therefrom, an
air duct 28 is formed in the upper region thereof. Each air duct
27, 28 completely penetrates the cushion pad 22 as far as the
ventilation layer 24 and opens into the rear space 18 of the
backrest. At least one first ventilator 29 is arranged in the lower
air duct 27 and at least one second ventilator 30 is arranged in
the upper air duct 28. However, the ventilators 29, 30 may also be
fastened in a larger configuration on the rear side of the backrest
cushion 20.
[0015] The ventilators 29, 30 are inserted into the air ducts 27,
28 so that their air-conveying directions are directed oppositely
to each other, with the result that the lower first ventilator 29
sucks up air from the rear space 18 of the backrest and the upper
second ventilator 30 blows air into the rear space 18 of the
backrest. An air barrier 31, which runs horizontally in the
transverse direction of the seat, is arranged in the ventilation
layer 24 and extends over the entire width of the backrest cushion
20 and separates the ventilation layer 24 into a lower section 241
and an upper section 242 such so that no air exchange is possible
between these two sections 241, 242. The lower air duct 27
therefore opens onto the lower section 241 of the ventilation layer
24, and the upper air duct 28 onto the upper section 242 of the
ventilation layer 24.
[0016] If the seat ventilation is activated, i.e. the ventilators
29, 30 are switched on, then the upper second ventilator 30 sucks
up air from the upper region of the front side of the backrest
cushion 20 via the air-permeable cushion cover 26, the perforated
pressure-distributing layer 25 and the upper section 242 of the
ventilation layer 24 and blows it out into the rear space 18 of the
backrest. The conveyance of air by the upper second ventilator 30
is indicated in the drawing by corresponding air flow arrows. The
fresh air flowing in the upper section 242 of the ventilation layer
24 absorbs moisture and heat in the upper region of the backrest
cushion 20 and removes them. This air displaces the significantly
warmer air in the heated rear space 18 of the backrest.
[0017] The lower first ventilator 29 sucks up the air which has
been blown out by the upper second ventilator 30 and is
significantly cooler than the air previously present in the heated
rear space 18 of the backrest, and blows it into the lower section
241 of the ventilation layer 24. The air flows in the same manner
through the lower section 241 of the ventilation layer 24 and
emerges at the lower end of the ventilation layer 24, with the
ventilation air in turn removing moisture and heat from the lower
region of the backrest cushion 20. If the rear seat is unoccupied,
some of the air flow also emerges via the lower region of the
perforated pressure-distributing layer 25 and the air-permeable
cushion cover 26 spanning this region, with the result that the
surface of the backrest cushion 20 is cooled.
[0018] In the embodiment shown and described, only two air ducts
27, 28 fitted with ventilators 29, 30 are illustrated in the
cushion pad 22, with the lower air duct 27 opening onto the lower
section 241 of the ventilation layer 24 and the upper air duct 28
opening onto the upper section 242 of the ventilation layer 24. A
plurality of air ducts assigned in each case to the lower section
241 and the upper section 242 of the ventilation layer 24 and
having integrated ventilators are advantageously provided. The air
ducts preferably are formed in the cushion pad 22 so as to be
distributed uniformly over the lower and upper sections 241, 242 of
the ventilation layer 24. All of the ventilators assigned to the
lower section 241 have the same air-conveying direction and blow
ventilation air from the rear space 18 of the backrest into the
lower section 241 of the ventilation layer 24.
[0019] All of the ventilators facing the upper section 242 likewise
have the same air-conveying direction, but suck ventilation air
from the front side of the backrest cushion 20 through the upper
section 242 of the ventilation layer 24.
* * * * *