Patent ID: 6291803
Filing Date: 2001-09-18
Classification: B60N

Abstract:
A heat-regulating method for a vehicle seat, which has at least one supporting face designed to provide support for an occupant, this supporting face being made from a material susceptible to phase changes and exhibiting a range of phase transition temperatures having lower and upper limits comprised between 15 and 37.degree. C.,this method comprising steps which consist in:measuring at least one reference temperature related to the temperature of the supporting face,monitoring the occurrence of at least one certain situation, which will be a situation requiring forced regulation, in which the seat is normally unoccupied,determining whether the reference temperature is within a certain predetermined temperature range, which will be the range at which forced regulation will be triggered,if the reference temperature falls within the range triggering forced regulation and if the situation of forced regulation is detected, activating a heat-regulating device set up to exchange thermal energy with the supporting face in an forced regulation mode configured so as to bring the temperature of the supporting face to the range of phase transition temperatures of the phase-change material,and if at least one predetermined event occurs, terminating the forced regulation mode.