Chairs and seats – With heat exchanger or means to provide fluid or vapor... – Power source propels air for heat exchange
Patent
1998-03-11
2000-04-11
Barfield, Anthony D.
Chairs and seats
With heat exchanger or means to provide fluid or vapor...
Power source propels air for heat exchange
29745242, 454120, A47C 772
Patent
active
060480246
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fan device contained in a ventilated vehicle chair arranged to ventilate away air that is drawn inwards through the portions of the covering and shaping filling of the vehicle chair intended to carry a vehicle driver or other person sitting in the vehicle chair, for the purpose of preventing that person from becoming too hot and sweating, the fan device comprising a fan arranged at the bottom of the chair, and having an electric motor.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent times a number of proposals for ventilating vehicle chairs have been presented. Such a proposal, which has been published in the European patent application EP 0 462 517 A1 and which here will represent the state of the art, relates to a fan device of the kind stated above. In FIG. 1 of the application, a seat cushion 7 of porous material is shown, which is combined with a duct system having a plurality of channels 5 leading air downwards to a spacious chamber 6 which extends under the whole seat of the chair. For the ventilation, there is a suction device 8 in the form of a propeller mounted in a recess of the chamber. Under the propeller, there is a large free space at the floor.
Such a device should not be capable of performing any effective ventilation. As said figure shows, the portion of the cushion 7 located under the part of the body which is the most important to remove heat from is compressed, which causes that the corresponding part of the channel system of the cushion is obstructed. Air will therefore be drawn mainly from other portions of the covering where there is not the same need. Besides, with a knowledge of the relatively low negative pressure that characterizes propeller fans, it is strongly doubted if the propeller 8 is capable of providing such a strong suction effect in the chamber 6 that the resistance in the covering fabric and the cushion 7 is overcome and air in sufficient-amount is ventilated away. Furthermore EP 0 462 517 A1 does not reveal a fan installation which is technically feasible in modern vehicle chairs, but on the contrary, the publication shows that the inventor was unfamiliar with the problems that exist nowadays with regard to space and installation. As far as known, neither this proposal nor any other of the proposals brought forward has come to any practical use.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is generally to provide a fan or blower device that can provide an effective ventilation of a vehicle chair, in which the least possible power consumption is sought. While these demands on performance are met it is also required that the fan device according to the present inventive concept has as compact a construction as possible.
In order that the demand for an effective ventilation shall be met, it is required, more precisely, that at least within the portions of the covering and cushion that carry and support the body of the person sitting in the vehicle chair, the fan device establish a considerable negative pressure at so strong a flow of air that those parts of the body--thighs, seat and back--which are in touch with the covering and where sweating otherwise mainly occurs, are kept in thermal balance by the air flowing past these parts of the body, and therefore do not get an increased temperature. This cooling effect shall be sufficient also when travelling in warm countries or when those who travel are exposed to an intense heat radiation in the passenger space of the vehicle.
Such a ventilation of the vehicle chair should be working continuously the whole time when the vehicle is running and it is therefore an important requirement that the fan device works with high efficiency and does not load the electric system of the vehicle with an unnecessarily high power consumption.
Modern vehicle chairs, particularly chairs in luxuriously equipped cars, have at the bottom systems allowing the driver or passenger to adjust the seat part and backrest of the chair
REFERENCES:
patent: 2238585 (1941-04-01), Findley
patent: 2687684 (1954-08-01), Hunt
patent: 2782834 (1957-02-01), Vigo
patent: 3782851 (1974-01-01), Kackbarth et al.
patent: 4141585 (1979-02-01), Blackman
patent: 5110266 (1992-05-01), Toyoshima et al.
patent: 5577888 (1996-11-01), Capdevilla et al.
Barfield Anthony D.
Walinov AB
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