Thermo-Regulating Furniture

Abstract

A device for regulating the temperature of a person while seated. The device includes a chair having a seat member and a back-panel member. The interior of the seat member is hollow. Apertures are disposed in the seat member. A fan is disposed in the chair that is configured to cool a user by pulling air through the apertures, into the hollow interior of the seat member and then out of the chair. In some embodiments, the interior of the back-panel member is also hollow and the fan is disposed in the back-panel member so that, in operation, air is pulled through the apertures, the hollow interior of both the seat and the back panel and out of the chair.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/397,382 filed on Sep. 21, 2016. The above identified patent application is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety to provide continuity of disclosure.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The present invention relates to a body temperature regulating piece of furniture. Specifically, the present invention provides a chair having a hollow interior, apertures disposed in the chair and a fan designed to cool an individual.

[0003] When sitting on a fabric or leather piece of furniture, heat generated by homeostatic regulation gets trapped between an individual's body and the furniture. This trapped heat energy often causes discomfort due to overheating and perspiration.

[0004] Without a proper cooling mechanism, the individual's perspiration can cause skin to stick to the furniture or clothing. The present invention comprises a piece of furniture with an integral ventilation system that assists in displacing heat generated by an individual on the furniture, thereby cooling the individual and increasing comfort.

[0005] Several devices have been proposed to cool a person sitting on furniture. One strategy is to configure a chair with chambers under the seat and behind the back-panel to house coolants, a fan is then placed in the chambers to cycle air through the chambers and out of apertures in the seat, towards an individual sitting or lying on the furniture. Another strategy provides integrated misting apparatuses in a chair for cooling a user. These strategies may prevent the user of the furniture from overheating, but do not utilize a configuration where body-generated heat is pulled away from the user's body, through the chair and out a side or rear of the chair.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of thermo-regulating furniture devices now present in the known art, the present invention provides a device for preventing overheating and excess perspiration of an individual relaxing on furniture. The present thermos-regulating furniture comprises a seat having a top surface member, a bottom surface member, with at least one side wall therebetween, resulting in the interior of the seat being hollow. A plurality of apertures is disposed in the top surface member of the seat, i.e. where a user would contact the furniture. A back panel also having a hollow interior volume is affixed to the seat. At least one fan is disposed in the back panel or sidewall of the seat. The fan is configured to pull air from the seat area via the plurality of apertures, through the seat interior, and out the side or back of the chair away from the user. A control circuit connects the fan to a control switch disposed on the thermo-regulating furniture within arms-reach of a user. The thermo-regulating furniture provides a convenient way to reduce body-heat and moisture build-up while sitting on furniture.

[0007] One object of the present invention is to provide a piece of furniture that enables a user to regulate body temperature, whereby a fan system provides a cooling mechanism for a user.

[0008] Another object of the present invention is to provide a piece of furniture that is comfortable yet functional as a cooling device.

[0009] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a piece of furniture that provides a body temperature regulation mechanism for the user, wherein the body temperature regulation mechanism has various degrees of intensity that can be adjusted by the user.

[0010] Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] Although the characteristic features of this invention will be particularly pointed out in the claims, the invention itself and manner in which it may be made and used may be better understood after a review of the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein like numeral annotations are provided throughout.

[0012] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the front of an embodiment of the thermo-regulating furniture.

[0013] FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view taken along line 2-2 of an embodiment of the thermo-regulating furniture.

[0014] FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of the front of an alternate embodiment of the thermo-regulating furniture with the top surface member of the seat cut-away.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] Reference is made herein to the attached drawings. Like reference numerals are used throughout the drawings to depict like or similar elements of the flora transplanting device. The figures are intended for representative purposes only and should not be considered to be limiting in any respect. Unless specifically limited to a single unit, "a" is intended to be equivalent to "one or more" throughout the present disclosure.

[0016] Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a cross-sectional view along the central vertical axis of an embodiment of the thermo-regulating furniture 11. The thermo-regulating furniture 11 comprises a seat 12 having a hollow interior volume 16. The hollow seat interior volume 16 is configured to allow air to flow therethrough. Affixed to the seat 12 is a back-panel 17, so as to form a piece of furniture capable of sitting and relaxing thereon.

[0017] A plurality of apertures 21 is disposed in the top surface 13 of the seat 12. The apertures 21 allow air to pass from the ambient environment into the hollow seat interior volume 16. Further, the apertures 21 are in a grid configuration, wherein the apertures 21 are disposed in rows and columns at intervals.

[0018] In the shown embodiment, at least one fan 22 configured to pull air through the thermo-regulated furniture 11 via the apertures 21, such that the air travels through the seat interior volume 16 and is expelled out of the thermo-regulated furniture 11, is disposed in an opening 30 of the seat 12 or back panel 17. The fan 22 may be located in any side of the seat, for example, the fan 22 may be positioned in the sidewall 15 of the seat, the back-panel sidewall 20 or back surface member 19.

[0019] The fan 22 is operably connected to a control switch 24, wherein the control switch is configured to actuate the fan 22. The control switch 24 is disposed on the thermo-regulated furniture 11 within reach of a user. The fan 22 and the control switch 24 are electrically connected to a power source, such as a battery or electrical outlet.

[0020] Further, in the illustrated embodiment, the thermo-regulating furniture 11 also comprises at least one arm rest 28. In certain embodiments, the thermo-regulating furniture comprises two arm rests 28 disposed on opposite sides of the seat 12. The arm rest 28 can be affixed to the sidewall 15 of the seat, back-panel sidewall 20 or both. The control switch 24 is disposed on the arm rest 28 to be within reach of a user in the shown embodiment.

[0021] Referring now to FIG. 2, there shown a cross-sectional view taken along line 2-2 of an embodiment of the thermo-regulating furniture. In the illustrated embodiment, the hollow interior volume 16 extends up into the back-panel and the plurality of apertures 21 is additionally disposed in the front surface member 18 of the back-panel 17 as well as the top surface 13 of the seat 12. In this embodiment, the fan 22 is disposed in the back surface 19. In addition to this fan, another fan may be disposed in a sidewall 15 of the seat, ensuring that air is drawn through apertures in both the top surface 13 of the seat 12 and front surface 18 of the back panel 17.

[0022] In the shown embodiment, the back-panel 17 is pivotally affixed to the seat 12. In this embodiment, the thermo-regulating furniture 11 functions similar to a recliner chair, maximizing the comfort level of the user. In other embodiments, the thermo-regulating furniture 11 is a couch, futon, desk chair or other piece of furniture with sedentary functionality.

[0023] Referring now to FIG. 3, there is shown a perspective view of the front of an alternate embodiment of the thermo-regulating furniture 11 with the top surface member 13 of the seat 12 cut-away. In the illustrated embodiment, the thermo-regulating furniture 11 further comprises cooling coils 29 disposed within the seat interior volume 16. The cooling coils 29 are configured to lower the temperature of the top surface member 13 of the seat and the surrounding air. Compressed air or liquid may be run through the cooling coils 29 to achieve the heat transfer from the seat 12 to the cooling coils 29.

[0024] In alternate embodiments, the cooling coils 29 are disposed within the back-panel interior volume 26 or both the back-panel interior volume 26 and the seat interior volume 16. The cooling coils 29 are operably connected to the control switch 24 and may be actuated by the same. The cooling coils 29 are electrically connected to a power source.

[0025] The thermo-regulating furniture 11 can be composed of any suitable material, such as a soft, flexible fabric, leather or plastic. In one embodiment, the thermo-regulating furniture 11 has a framework composed of metal, plastic or wood that is surrounded by foam, or similar cushioning material, and fabric. In embodiments that possess the cooling coils, the cooling coils contain a gaseous or liquid refrigerant that cycles through the coils upon activation. Exact measurement, construction and size of the thermo-regulating furniture may vary upon manufacturing and model type.

[0026] In operation, a user can turn the fan 22 on by actuating the control switch 24 into the "on" position. When activated, the fan 22 pulls warm air, which would normally be trapped between the user's body and the top surface member 13 of the seat, through the apertures 21, through the seat interior volume 16 and disperses the air out of the back or side of the thermo-regulating furniture 11. Once activated, a user can adjust the speed of the fan 22 by pressing increase speed or decrease speed indicators on the control switch 24. Alternatively, if the control switch 24 is a dial, the user can rotate the dial to adjust to a corresponding speed. A user can then turn the fan 22 off by pressing, rotating or flipping the control switch 24 into the "off" position. In embodiments that possess cooling coils 29, a user can turn the cooling coils 29 on by pressing, rotating or flipping the control switch 24 into the "on" position and can turn the cooling coils off by pressing, rotating or flipping the control switch 24 into the "off" position.

[0027] It is therefore submitted that the instant invention has been shown and described in various embodiments. It is recognized, however, that departures may be made within the scope of the invention and that obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art. With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention.

[0028] Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.

Claims

1) A thermo-regulating furniture, comprising: a seat having a hollow interior volume affixed to a back-panel; a plurality of apertures disposed in a top surface of the seat, wherein the plurality of apertures is in fluid communication with the hollow interior volume; a fan configured to draw air through the plurality of apertures and to expel the air through an outlet disposed in the seat; a control circuit comprising a control switch, the control switch being operably connected to the fan and configured to control actuation thereof.

2) The thermo-regulating furniture of claim 1, wherein the hollow interior volume extends from the seat up through the back-panel.

3) The thermo-regulating furniture of claim 2, wherein the fan is disposed in a back surface of the back-panel.

4) The thermo-regulating furniture of claim 1, wherein the top surface of the seat and a front surface of the back-panel are a fabric.

5) The thermo-regulating furniture of claim 1, wherein the back-panel is pivotally affixed to the seat.

6) The thermo-regulating furniture of claim 1, wherein the seat further comprises an arm rest, wherein the arm rest is affixed to a sidewall of the seat.

7) The thermo-regulating furniture of claim 6, wherein the control switch is disposed on the arm rest.

8) The thermo-regulating furniture of claim 1, wherein the plurality of apertures is further disposed in a front surface of the back-panel.

9) The thermo-regulating furniture of claim 1, further comprises a heat sink disposed within the hollow interior volume, wherein the heat sink is operably connected to the control switch through the control circuit.

10) The thermo-regulating furniture of claim 9, wherein the heat sink is a cooling coil.

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