Patent ID: 8256236

Claim:
A climate controlled seating assembly comprising: a thermal module comprising: a housing defining an interior space of the thermal module; at least one inlet channel; at least one outlet channel; a thermoelectric device positioned upstream of the at least one outlet channel, said thermoelectric device being configured to selectively heat or cool a fluid passing through an interior of the thermal module; and a fluid transfer device configured to transfer a fluid from the at least one inlet channel to the at least one outlet channel of the thermal module, past the thermoelectric device; and a sensor positioned within the interior space of the thermal module, said sensor configured to detect the presence of a liquid on or near said sensor; wherein the sensor is configured to detect the presence of a liquid within the interior space of the thermal module by measuring an electrical resistance or capacitance across a portion of the sensor; and a controller operatively connected to the thermoelectric device, the fluid transfer device and the sensor; wherein the controller is configured to at least partially reduce a voltage supplied to the thermoelectric device once the sensor detects a threshold level of condensate, while a speed of the fluid transfer device remains unchanged; and wherein a voltage supplied to the thermoelectric device is configured to remain at a lower level until a level of condensate detected by the sensor drops below the threshold level.