A thermally conductive trim cover is provided for use on a seat assembly. The trim cover comprises a layer of leather material having a top surface and a bottom surface and thermally conductive particles embedded in the leather material between the top and bottom surface for dispersing heat therethrough.

A vehicle seat including a seat pad including a flow channel portion, a seat cover covering the seat pad and having breathability, a functional member disposed between the seat pad and the seat cover and having breathability, and a blowing member configured to blow the gas into or out of the seat through the flow channel portion of the seat pad and the seat cover along a flow path, wherein the functional member is integrated with any one of the seat pad and the seat cover with an adhesive portion, which has poorer breathability than the seat cover and the functional member, interposed therebetween, and wherein the adhesive portion includes a passage portion through which the gas is configured to pass, and the passage portion is disposed in the flow path of the gas.

A seat air conditioning system includes: a seat pad that constitute a seat on which a user is seated and that is resiliently deformed to support the user on a surface-side of the seat pad, the seat pad including ventilation passages that open respectively on the surface-side; a surface cover that has air permeability and is disposed to cover the surface-side of the seat pad; an air outlet at which airs blown out respectively from the ventilation passages meet; and a blower that includes a suction port located on a rear surface-side of the seat pad to be connected to the air outlet and that suctions air from the surface cover-side through the ventilation passages, the air outlet, and the suction port. The air blown out from the air outlet is straightened to flow into the suction port.

A heating/cooling system for furnishing employs an electrochemical heat transfer device. An electrochemical heat transfer device may be an electrochemical hydrogen compressor that pumps hydrogen into and out of a tank having a metal hydride forming alloy therein. The absorption of hydrogen by the metal hydride forming alloy is exothermic, produces heat, and the desorption of the hydrogen from the metal hydride forming alloy is endothermic and draws heat in. An electrochemical hydrogen compressor may be configured between to tanks and pump hydrogen back and forth to form a heat transfer device. A heat exchange device may be coupled with the tank or may comprise the outer surface of the tank to transfer heat to an object or to the surroundings. A closed loop may be configured having two tanks and one or two electrochemical hydrogen compressors to pump the hydrogen in a loop around the system.

A vehicle seat assembly in which an impervious insert (41, 141) including a heating element and having a plurality of channels (42, 142) extending from an aperture (44, 144) positioned on a first side of at least one of a seat cushion (22) and a seat back (124) and in which a ventilation system (60) is coupled to a second side of the at least one of the seat cushion and the seat back for drawing air along the plurality of channels through the aperture and through a hole (30, 130) in the seat cushion or seat back for controlling the temperature of the seat assembly.

A headrest assembly is removeably supported on a vehicle seat having a seatback with a seatback frame. The headrest assembly includes a headrest bun operably coupled to a housing via a powered linkage system for driving the headrest bun between extended and retracted positions. A temperature control system is disposed in the housing and configured to provide treated air to a conditioning area disposed below the headrest bun at a vehicle occupant's neck. The temperature control system includes a blower operably coupled to duct assembly for blowing air treated by a thermoelectric module along the duct assembly. One or more vents are disposed at a downward angle on a front portion of the housing. The one or more vents are operably coupled to and in communication with the duct assembly.

A routing structure for routing an electric wire to a vehicle seat includes: a first cushion portion attached to the vehicle seat; and the electric wire fixed to the first cushion portion.

A seat includes a seat bottom portion and a seat back portion that is supported relative to the seat bottom portion. A first temperature control structure is provided in a first region of the seat bottom portion or the seat back portion and adapted to provide a first heating, cooling, and/or ventilating effect therein. A second temperature control structure provided in a second region of the seat bottom portion or the seat back portion and adapted to provide a second heating, cooling, and/or ventilating effect therein. An input device is provided that generates an input signal. A controller is configured to operate the first temperature control structure and the second temperature control structure independently of one another in response to the input signal.

A capacitive sensing device includes an antenna electrode for emitting an alternating electric field in response to an alternating voltage caused in the antenna electrode and a control and evaluation circuit that includes a transimpedance amplifier configured to maintain the alternating voltage equal to an alternating reference voltage on a reference voltage node by injecting a current into the antenna electrode and to measure the current. The control and evaluation circuit includes a microcontroller and a multiplexer configured and arranged to switch the antenna electrode alternately to a current input of the transimpedance amplifier and to the alternating reference voltage node. The microcontroller is configured to control the multiplexer. The multiplexer and the transimpedance amplifier and a low-pass filter operatively connected to the transimpedance amplifier form together a synchronous rectifier arrangement. The current input node of the transimpedance amplifier is AC-coupled to the reference voltage node by a protection capacitor.

The invention relates to a thermal management system (1) for a motor vehicle, comprising: at least one sensor (13, 113) capable of measuring at least one quantity that can be used to determine at least one thermal comfort data item (TS), a predefined number of actuators (A101, A102, A103, A104), configured, respectively, for adjusting at least one parameter of an associated piece of equipment (3, 5, 7, 9) of said vehicle, and a control device (12) for controlling the actuators (A101, A102, A103, A104) on the basis of the measurements of said at least one sensor (13, 113).
According to the invention, the control device (12) comprises at least one processing means (14) for: identifying at least a first and a second piece of equipment for acting on a first and a second part of the occupant's body, respectively, if thermal regulation of the occupant is required, and controlling at least a first and a second actuator configured, respectively, for adjusting at least one parameter of the first and second pieces of equipment identified, so as to act on said parts of the occupant's body.
The invention also relates to a thermal management method implemented by such a system (1).