Abstract:
A portable air cooled seat cushion is provided in which a fan produces an air stream which is directed to the interior of a portable cushion. The cushion is to be placed on a preformed seat, such as a vehicle seat. The cushion has an air permeable outer covering on a front face thereof which permits air to flow out of the cushion against the legs and back of an occupant of the cushion. The fan is connected to the cushion by a flexible hose, permitting the fan to be located by the occupant in a desirable selected location. Controls are provided for the occupant to adjust the speed of the fan and to be visually apprised of the power level being supplied to the fan.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a portable air cooled seat cushion for use with a preformed seat, such as the seat of a vehicle. 
     Air cooled seats for vehicles have been provided in which a porous seat cushion is supplied with air under pressure to cause the air to flow out through the porous material in the seat cushion to heat or cool a person sitting on the cushion. However, in many instances these seat cushions are quite complicated (for example, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,912,832; 5,002,336; 4,923,248), are built into the seat themselves (for example see U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,475,912; 1,568,471; 1,903,037; 2,022,959; 2,826,135; 2,978,972; 4,259,896; 5,385,382; 3,550,523; 5,382,075), require retaining straps to hold the cushions on the vehicle seat, (for example, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,413,857; 4,997,230; 2,758,532; 3,030,145; 5,370,439; 5,613,729; 5,692,952), require connection to the vehicle ventilation system (for example, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,137,523; 4,997,230; 5,385,382; 5,370,439), have a direct connection to the air moving device permitting transmission of vibration to the seat cushion (for example, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,413,857; 2,992,604; 5,692,952), require complicated air flow passages within the seat cushions (for example, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,475,912; 2,022,959; 2,826,135; 3,550,523; 4,002,108; 3,550,523; 4,853,992; 5,016,302; 5,372,402; 5,613,729), require the air moving device to be located in a specific area which may cause difficulty to the driver or occupant (for example, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,791,956; 2,992,604; 3,030,145; 5,382,075), or have other drawbacks (for example see U.S. Pat. No. 2,931,286) which have prevented such seat cushions from gaining wide commercial acceptance. 
     Therefore, it would be an advance in the art if there were provided a cushion which overcame these drawbacks. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides for a portable air cooled seat cushion which has a seat portion and a back portion. Both portions have a generally rectangular perimeter, the seat portion having a front, two lateral sides and a rear, while the back portion has a top, two lateral sides and a bottom. The seat and back portions are joined together at least along a portion of the rear perimeter of the seat portion and the bottom perimeter of the back portion. The connection between the seat portion and the back portion is a flexible connection which permits the seat and back to hinge relative to one another so that the back can hinge down onto the seat or can be moved upright to 90° relative to the seat. 
     The seat and back portions each have an air permeable covering on a front side, an air impermeable covering on a back side, and a relatively open, porous filler so as to form air passages within the seat portion and the back portion. A standard, readily available seat cushion can be utilized which has a series of coiled wires inside of a woven vinyl covering. Thus, the wire coils hold the front and back faces of the seat and back portions apart from one another to allow for air to flow through the interior, and the woven vinyl covering is porous to permit air to flow therethrough at the front face. 
     The present air cooled seat cushion may have at least part of the joined portion of the perimeter being open between the back portion and the seat portion in order to permit a flow of air between the seat portion and the back portion. Alternatively, there may be no opening or communication between the back portion and the seat portion. 
     A flow of air is directed into the seat portion through the use of an electric motor powered air fan which can be powered from the vehicle 12 volt system through a power cord. The fan draws in ambient air from the passenger compartment of the vehicle since air conditioned air directly from the vehicle air conditioning system would be too cold for long term comfort for the occupant of the seat cushion. An adapter member is secured to an open side seam of the seat portion to allow a flexible hose to be connected between the air fan and the adapter, such that air flow from the fan will be directed into the interior of the seat portion to flow out of the air permeable covering thereof, and optionally through the interior up into the back portion to flow out of the air permeable cover thereof as well. 
     An electrical control component may be connected in the power cord to permit a user to control a selected flow of electrical current to the air fan in a range from 0 to a pre-determined maximum current. Also, an indicator light may be connected in series with the electrical control component to provide a visual indication to a user of the level of electrical current being supplied to the air fan. Further, a fuse may be provided to protect the air fan against a current spike. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a schematic side elevational view, with the interior exposed, of a portable air cooled seat embodying the principles of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the seat of FIG. 1 and a schematic illustration of the electrical controls and air flow system. 
     FIG. 3 is a top elevational view of the seat of FIG.  1 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     FIGS. 1-3 illustrate a portable air cooled seat cushion generally at  10  which includes a seat portion  12  having a generally rectangular perimeter including a front  14 , two lateral sides  16 ,  18  and a rear  20 . The seat cushion  10  also includes a back portion  22  which also has a generally rectangular perimeter including a top  24 , two lateral sides  26 ,  28  and a bottom  30 . The seat  12  and back  22  portions each have a covering  32 ,  34  respectively. The covering  32  of the seat portion  12  has a front or top face  36  which is air permeable and a rear or bottom face  38  which is air impermeable. The covering  34  of the back portion  22  has a front  40  face which is air permeable and a rear  42  face which is air impermeable. An interior  44  of the seat portion  12  and back portion  22  has a relatively open, porous filler  46  so as to form open air passages  48  within the seat portion  12  and the back portion  22 . A typical seat cushion, which is readily available and can be adapted for use with the present invention utilizes a series of wire coils as the relatively open, porous filler  46  which allows for virtually unrestricted air flow through the interior of the seat portion  12  and back portion  22 . The seat portion  12  and the back portion  22  are joined at  49  along at least a portion of the rear perimeter  20  of the seat portion and the bottom perimeter  30  of the back portion in a flexible and hingeable manner. Optionally, a portion of the joined portion  49  of the perimeters may be open to the interior, as at  50 , to permit a flow of air between the interior of the seat portion  12  and the interior of the back portion  22 . 
     A typical, portable and readily available seat cushion which can be utilized with the present invention has the front face  36 ,  40  of the covering  32 ,  34  made of a woven vinyl fabric in which the interstices between the individual vinyl strips are open so as to permit a flow of air therethrough. The rear faces  38 ,  42  are made of, or covered by, a solid, air impermeable covering. The interstices in the front faces are sufficiently small so as to not let all of the air flow out of the interior immediately, but rather cause the air to be distributed throughout the interior of the seat  12  and back portions  22  to flow out around the upper legs and back of the seat cushion occupant. A seam  52  generally extends around the non-joined perimeter of the seat portion  12  and a seam  54  extends generally around the non-joined perimeter of the back portion  22 . If desired, an air impermeable material, such as an adhesive backed tape  56 , may be applied around the non-joined perimeter to prevent air from escaping through the horizontal sides  16 ,  18  and front  14  of the seat portion  12  and to cause more of the air to flow up through the exposed front face  36  where user will be seated. Similarly, the same air impermeable material  58  may be applied to the non-joined perimeter of the back portion  22  to prevent an air flow through the sides  26 ,  28  and top  24  of the back portion  22 , to cause the air to flow out through the exposed front face  40  of the covering  34 . 
     An air impermeable patch  60  may be selectively secured to the exposed face  36  of the seat covering  32 , typically in an area near the joinder of the seat portion  12  with the back portion  22  to prevent discomfort to a user of the seat cushion, if necessary, particularly for those users who suffer from hemorrhoids. The patch  60  could be an adhesive backed sheet of air impermeable material which could be selectively placed, and relatively permanently secured to the seat portion  12  by a user. Alternatively, the patch  60  could be permanently applied while the seat portion  12  is being constructed. A further option would be to have the patch readily removable, such as by attachment by hook and loop fasteners, such as sold under the brand name Velcro®. 
     As illustrated in FIG. 2, in order to provide a flow of air to the interior of the seat  10  a fan  70  is provided which is driven by an electric motor  72 . The electric motor is supplied with current through a two wire cable  74  which terminates in a plug  76  of the type which may be received in a 12 volt vehicle outlet such as a cigarette lighter. The power cord  74  has a positive wire  78  and a negative wire  80 . Located in the positive wire  78  is an electrical control component  82  which, in a preferred embodiment, includes a switch  84  and a rheostat or potenidometer  86  through which the user may control a selected flow of electrical current to the air fan  70  in a range from 0 to a predetermined maximum current for full speed operation of the air fan. Although the electrical control component  82  may include only an off/on switch  84 , it is preferred that a rheostat  86  also be provided, or a multi-position switch, such that the user can select a plurality of current levels to be supplied to the air fan in addition to no current at all. The rheostat  86  could comprise a step switch having a series of detents or it could be a continuously adjustable rotary rheostat or poteniometer. Those skilled in the art will recognize that there are a variety of electrical control components which could provide this function. 
     The positive wire  78  also includes an indicator light  88  therein, such as an incandescent bulb or an LED, which will give a visual indication to the user of the level of electrical current being supplied to the air fan  70 . Further, the positive wire  78  preferably includes a fuse  90  to provide protection to the air fan against a current spike. All of the electrical components can be incorporated into a control box  92  mounted to a housing of the air fan or motor. 
     Alternatively, the control box  92  may be secured to the adapter  98  or the second end  97  of the hose  96  so that it will always be closely available to the occupant of the seat cushion  10 . 
     The air fan  70  has an air inlet  93  which preferably has a screened or otherwise protected opening to prevent a user&#39;s fingers from entering the rotating blade area of the fan. The air fan  70  also has an air outlet  94 , to which is connected a first end  95  of a flexible hose  96 . Typically the hose would have a diameter of about 1½ inches but could be somewhat larger or smaller than that. A second end  97  of the hose  96  is removably received in an adapter member  98  which is secured to the seat portion  12 . Preferably the seam  52  along the side  16  is opened and the adapter member  98  is sealed to the side in an air impermeable manner, such as by an air impermeable adhesive backed tape, to provide a connection point for the hose  96  to deliver pressurized air to the interior of the seat portion  12 . 
     The hose  96  has a length of about 1 to 3 feet and preferably is flexible to prevent the transmission of vibration from the air fan to the seat cushion. For example, a flexible and corrugated plastic hose could be used. The length of the hose between the seat portion and the air fan  70  permits the air fan to be placed within the passenger compartment of a vehicle in a convenient location and to avoid interference with the driver&#39;s or occupant&#39;s feet or other obstacles within the compartment. The second end  97  of the hose  96  can be removably secured to the adapter  98  such that the user could selectively detach the hose  96  from the adapter  98 , such as for storage of the seat  10 . Also, the connection between the hose  96  and the adapter  98  preferably is a swivel connection in order to accommodate movement of the hose and placement of the air fan  70  at a desired selected location in the passenger compartment of the vehicle, as best suits the user of the seat cushion  10 . The swivel connection will help avoid the formation of kinks in the hose  96  as it is moved around. 
     Since the air cooled seat cushion  10  does not require the use of straps or other attaching devices to hold the air cooled seat cushion  10  on a vehicle or other preformed seat, the air cooled seat cushion can easily be put into place, or removed for storage or transfer to another vehicle or preformed seat, without extra time and effort necessary for assembly or disassembly purposes. 
     As is apparent from the foregoing specification, the invention is susceptible of being embodied with various alterations and modifications which may differ particularly from those that have been described in the preceding specification and description. For example, although the invention has been generally described as being useful in connection with the preformed seats of a vehicle, the portable air cooled seat cushion embodying the invention could be used in conjunction with other types of preformed seats, including couches and chairs. The power supply for the air flow, therefore, may differ from the vehicle plug 12 volt system, and may include 120 volt AC domestic power supply. Other variations to the specific embodiment disclosed herein will be apparent to a person skilled in the art. It should be understood that I wish to embody within the scope of the patent warranted hereon all such modifications as reasonably and properly come within the scope of my contribution to the art.