HEATED AND COOLED CHAIR APPARATUS
First Claim
1. A heating and cooling system for seated room occupants, said system comprising:
- (a) a seat body with at least one plenum, said plenum having one or more plenum openings;
(b) a plurality of fans configured to create an airstream in said plenum;
(c) a moisture-permeable material covering said plenum openings;
(d) a power supply for powering said fans;
(e) a seat controller connected to the fans and power supply configured for controlling power levels to the fans;
(f) at least one building room thermostat; and
(g) a remote control with a communications link operably coupled with the seat controller and thermostat;
(h) wherein seat controller and thermostat functions are controlled by the remote control; and
(i) wherein said plenum airstream cools said moisture-permeable material of said seat body by convective and evaporative heat exchange.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Articles of furniture with a system of heating and cooling that can be integrated into a building environmental control network are provided. The heating/cooling system of the article has surfaces of a porous or non-porous, moisture-permeable material allowing convective and evaporative heat exchange from the body surface to the environment. The material covers a plenum that has reflective surfaces to reduce radiant losses and low-wattage fans to circulate air that convectively cools the occupant. Resistance heating may be incorporated at key occupant contact areas in the seat and backrest. Temperature, occupancy and other sensors can be incorporated. A control interface controls the actions of the heating/cooling system of the article and can interact with a network server to transmit measurements of environmental temperatures and occupant selection of control settings that are useful for control of the building'"'"'s indoor environment.
13 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A heating and cooling system for seated room occupants, said system comprising:
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(a) a seat body with at least one plenum, said plenum having one or more plenum openings; (b) a plurality of fans configured to create an airstream in said plenum; (c) a moisture-permeable material covering said plenum openings; (d) a power supply for powering said fans; (e) a seat controller connected to the fans and power supply configured for controlling power levels to the fans; (f) at least one building room thermostat; and (g) a remote control with a communications link operably coupled with the seat controller and thermostat; (h) wherein seat controller and thermostat functions are controlled by the remote control; and (i) wherein said plenum airstream cools said moisture-permeable material of said seat body by convective and evaporative heat exchange. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9)
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8. The apparatus as recited in claim 8, each plenum further comprising a liner of thermal insulation.
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10. A building environmental control system, said system comprising:
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(a) a network computer server with programming and a communications link; (b) a plurality of room thermostats operably connected to the server through the communications link; and (c) one or more seats, the seats comprising; (i) a seat body with at least one plenum, said plenum having one or more plenum openings; (ii) a plurality of fans configured to create an airstream in the plenum; (iii) a moisture-permeable material covering the plenum openings; (iv) at least one heating source; (v) a power supply for powering said heating source and said fans; (vi) a seat controller connected to said heating source, fans and power supply configured for controlling power levels to the heating source and fans, the seat controller operably connected to the server through the communications link; wherein server programming controls thermostat functions and seat controller functions; and wherein the plenum airstream cools said moisture-permeable material of said seat body by convective and evaporative heat exchange. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification