Cooling and heating apparatus for vehicle seats and method of controlling the same

Abstract

A cooling and heating apparatus for vehicle seats and a method of controlling the same, which can control the cooling or heating temperature by sensing the temperature of air before the air is introduced into a cooling and heating module. The apparatus includes: a blower fan installed in a housing so as to forcibly blow cool or hot air to an air supply channel of a vehicle seat; a temperature sensor mounted in the housing at a location at which the temperature sensor comes into contact with sucked air and senses a temperature of the sucked air; and a control unit receiving a temperature signal from the temperature sensor and controlling a cooling or heating temperature according to a characteristic value that corresponds to a state of the sucked air and is selected from characteristic values stored therein.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A cooling and heating apparatus for vehicle seats, comprising:
 a blower fan installed in a housing so as to forcibly blow cool or hot air to an air supply channel that is provided in a vehicle seat;   a temperature sensor that is mounted in the housing at a location at which the temperature sensor comes into contact with air sucked by the blower fan and that senses a temperature of the sucked air; and   a control unit receiving a temperature signal indicative of the temperature of the sucked air sensed by the temperature sensor and controlling a cooling or heating temperature according to a characteristic value that corresponds to a state of the sucked air and is selected from characteristic values stored therein.   
     
     
         2 . The cooling and heating apparatus for vehicle seats as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein the housing is provided with a cooling and heating module for performing a heat exchanging operation with the air blown by the blower fan. 
     
     
         3 . The cooling and heating apparatus for vehicle seats as set forth in  claim 2 , wherein the temperature sensor is placed between the blower fan and the cooling and heating module. 
     
     
         4 . The cooling and heating apparatus for vehicle seats as set forth in  claim 2 , wherein, when the cooling and heating apparatus is installed in each of a back part and a seat part of vehicle seat, the control unit independently controls the respective cooling and heating apparatuses. 
     
     
         5 . The cooling and heating apparatus for vehicle seats as set forth in  claim 2 , wherein the cooling and heating module is formed using a peltier element. 
     
     
         6 . The cooling and heating apparatus for vehicle seats as set forth in  claim 5 , wherein the temperature sensor is mounted to a through hole that is formed in a predetermined portion of the housing. 
     
     
         7 . The cooling and heating apparatus for vehicle seats as set forth in  claim 5 , wherein the temperature sensor is mounted to a mounting plate, the mounting plate being mounted to an inner surface of the housing a bonding material. 
     
     
         8 . The cooling and heating apparatus for vehicle seats as set forth in  claim 7 , wherein the mounting plate is made of a transparent material. 
     
     
         9 . The cooling and heating apparatus for vehicle seats as set forth in  claim 5 , wherein the temperature sensor is mounted to a mounting plate, the mounting plate being provided with a fixing hole so as to be engaged with a fixing protrusion that is formed on an inner surface of the housing. 
     
     
         10 . The cooling and heating apparatus for vehicle seats as set forth in  claim 5 , wherein a heat insulating hole is formed through the housing on a surface on which the cooling and heating module comes into contact with the housing. 
     
     
         11 . The cooling and heating apparatus for vehicle seats as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein the temperature sensor is mounted to a through hole that is formed in a predetermined portion of the housing. 
     
     
         12 . The cooling and heating apparatus for vehicle seats as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein the temperature sensor is mounted to a mounting plate, the mounting plate being mounted to an inner surface of the housing a bonding material. 
     
     
         13 . The cooling and heating apparatus for vehicle seats as set forth in  claim 12 , wherein the mounting plate is made of a transparent material. 
     
     
         14 . The cooling and heating apparatus for vehicle seats as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein the temperature sensor is mounted to a mounting plate, the mounting plate being provided with a fixing hole so as to be engaged with a fixing protrusion that is formed on an inner surface of the housing. 
     
     
         15 . The cooling and heating apparatus for vehicle seats as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein a heat insulating hole is formed through the housing on a surface on which the cooling and heating module comes into contact with the housing. 
     
     
         16 . A method of controlling a cooling and heating apparatus for vehicle seats as set forth in  claim 1 , the method comprising:
 a sensing step of sensing a temperature of air that has been sucked by a blower fan but is not yet cooled or heated by a cooling and heating module;   a determining step of determining whether the temperature of air sensed in the sensing step is included within a preset temperature range; and   a controlling step of controlling an operation of the cooling and heating module so as to increase or reduce a cooling or heating capacity of the cooling and heating module according to a characteristic value corresponding to a state of the sucked air when the determining step determines that there is a temperature difference between the sensed temperature of air and the preset temperature range.   
     
     
         17 . The method of controlling the cooling and heating apparatus for vehicle seats as set forth in  claim 16 , wherein the controlling step is performed by controlling a voltage of a peltier element that forms the cooling and heating module or by controlling a rotating speed of the blower fan.