US 6,857,697 · Granted 2005-02-22
The Seat That Heats, Cools, and Breathes With You
Imagine a car seat that can warm you up on a freezing morning, cool you down in summer heat, or just let air flow through to keep you comfortable. This patent describes a system hidden inside the seat cushion—tubes, a blower, and heating elements—that lets drivers control their own temperature while driving.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers a seating comfort system built into an automotive seat that uses tubes and a blower to push air through a porous insert, allowing heating, cooling, or ventilation independently or in combination. What's protected here is the specific architecture: an insert that can contain a heater or heater layer, connected via tubing to a separate blower unit that provides active temperature and airflow control to the seated occupant.
Why it matters
Premium comfort features like heated and cooled seats have become competitive selling points in higher-end vehicles. This patent, granted to W.E.T. Automotive Systems—a company specializing in thermal and moisture management in seats—protects a core engineering design that allows manufacturers to offer personalized climate control without bulky aftermarket add-ons. The bundling of heating, cooling, and ventilation in one integrated system simplifies manufacturing and improves user experience, making it valuable intellectual property in the luxury automotive market.
Real-world use
Next time you slide into a luxury car with a heated or cooled seat on a hot or cold day, you're experiencing this patent in action—the warmth or cool breeze comes from tubes and heaters built right into the cushion.
Original USPTO abstract
There is disclosed an automotive vehicle seating comfort system for providing heating, cooling, ventilation or a combination thereof to an individual in an automotive car seat. The system typically includes an insert, a blower and a tubular structure for providing fluid communication between the insert and blower for providing ventilation and/or cooling for the individual. Preferably, the insert includes a heater or heater layer for providing heat for the individual.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 6,857,697
- Filing date
- 2003-06-17
- Grant date
- 2005-02-22
- Assignee
- W.E.T. Automotive Systems Ag
- Inventor(s)
- BRENNAN LINDY, BAJIC GORAN, FERNANDEZ LUCAS, DROBNAJAKOVIC VALERIJA
- CPC class
- B60N2/5635
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