CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims priority to United States Provisional Patent Application No. 63/351,854 filed on June 14, 2022.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] This disclosure relates to vehicle occupant thermal conditioning system that uses a vibrator in coordination with a thermal effector such as a heater.

BACKGROUND

[0003] Heating, ventilation and cooling (HVAC) systems are widely used in the automobile industry to control the temperature within the vehicle to increase occupant comfort. Increasingly, vehicles have incorporated additional, auxiliary thermal conditioning devices or thermal effectors, such as heated and cooled seats and heated steering wheels. These thermal effectors are intended to further personalize and enhance occupant comfort and may transfer heat by radiation, conduction or convection, or a combination of these methods.

[0004] A vehicle seat may have convective and/or conductive heat transfer microclimate devices, or thermal effectors. Other vehicle components, such as the steering wheel and/or floor mat, can also be used to provide thermal comfort to the specific zones of the body, e.g., the hands and feet. It is desirable to control these devices so as to efficiently and effectively provide personalized thermal comfort to the occupant.

SUMMARY

[0005] In one exemplary embodiment, an occupant thermal conditioning system includes multiple zones, each of the multiple zones correspond to different body segments of an occupant, a microclimate environment that has a component in one of the zones, the component includes a vibrator and a thermal effector that are configured to thermally condition the occupant, an input that is configured to provide a signal that is indicative of occupant thermal discomfort in one of the zones that correspond to one of the body segments, and a controller that is configured to regulate the multiple zones using multiple thermal effectors. The multiple thermal effectors includes the thermal effector, the controller that is in communication with the input, the vibrator and the thermal effector. The controller is configured to regulate the vibrator and the thermal effector in response to the signal to vasodilate the one of the body segments and increase its thermal receptivity to achieve a desired thermal comfort for the one of the body segments.

[0006] In a further embodiment of any of the above, the multiple zones include a hand/arm zone, a foot/leg zone, a cushion zone, a back zone, and a head/neck zone.

[0007] In a further embodiment of any of the above, the thermal effector is a heater.

[0008] In a further embodiment of any of the above, the one of the zones is the foot/leg zone, and the component is a floor mat, the floor mat including the vibrator.

[0009] In a further embodiment of any of the above, the one of the zones is the foot/leg zone, and the component is a HVAC footwell vent.

[0010] In a further embodiment of any of the above, the one of the zones is the hand/arm zone, and the component is a steering wheel, the steering wheel including the vibrator.

[0011] In a further embodiment of any of the above, the one of the zones is the hand/arm zone, and the component is an arm rest, the arm rest including the vibrator.

[0012] In a further embodiment of any of the above, the controller is configured to regulate the vibrator within a range of 20Hz to 60Hz.

[0013] In a further embodiment of any of the above, the controller is configured to actuate the vibrator at 50Hz +/- 10%.

[0014] In a further embodiment of any of the above, the controller is configured to actuate the vibrator sinusoidally within the range.

[0015] In a further embodiment of any of the above, the controller is configured to activate the thermal effector subsequent to the vibrator.

[0016] In a further embodiment of any of the above, the controller is configured to regulate the vibration and the thermal effector different levels include at least first and second levels. The first level includes activating the vibrator, and the second level includes activating the thermal effector in addition to the vibrator. [0017] In a further embodiment of any of the above, the input is commanded by the occupant.

[0018] In a further embodiment of any of the above, the input is provided based upon a heat balance on the occupant in the microclimate environment based upon a thermal model of the heat transfer effects on the occupant.

[0019] In a further embodiment of any of the above, the heat balance is a sum of convection, conduction and radiation on the occupant corresponds an occupant heat loss.

[0020] In a further embodiment of any of the above, the heat balance is calculated based upon vehicle ambient temperature, cabin temperature and occupant information.

[0021] In a further embodiment of any of the above, the occupant information includes at least three of occupant weight, occupant height, occupant gender and occupant clothing.

[0022] In a further embodiment of any of the above, the heat balance includes thermal input from the at least one thermal effector in the at least one zone. The thermal input is provided as a transfer function of the at least one thermal effector.

[0023] In a further embodiment of any of the above, the heat balance on the occupant is determined using an equivalent homogeneous temperature.

[0024] In a further embodiment of any of the above, the controller is configured to estimate an overall thermal sensation of the occupant based upon the heat balance, reference a target overall thermal sensation of the occupant, calculate an error between the estimated overall thermal sensation and the target overall thermal sensation, and control the thermal effector in the zone to reduce the error in overall thermal sensation while maintaining other thermal effectors within the microclimate environment within limits of temperature and flow rate that ensure occupant comfort.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] The disclosure can be further understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

[0026] Figure 1 is a schematic view of a vehicle having a microclimate system. [0027] Figure 2 schematically illustrates a thermal conditioning system that includes an HVAC system and a microclimate thermal conditioning system for providing thermal conditioning to various occupant microclimate zones.

[0028] Figure 3 illustrates a thermophysiology based software architecture for the disclosed thermal conditioning system.

[0029] Figure 4 depicts various energy balance inputs for conductive, convective and radiative load models for the architecture illustrated in Figure 3.

[0030] Figures 5A-5C are portions of a combined diagram illustrating an example arrangement for determining the OTS of a vehicle occupant.

[0031] Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating an example arrangement for determining a corrected temperature setpoint.

[0032] Figure 7 depicts an occupant thermal conditioning system having microclimate zones with a vibrator and thermal effector.

[0033] Figure 8 is a schematic view of a blood circulatory system at an extremity of the occupant’s body that is responsive to the vibrator.

[0034] Figure 9 is a flowchart depicting operation of the occupant thermal conditioning system.

[0035] Figure 10 is a graph illustrating operation of the vibrator and a thermal effector for a vehicle component in one of the microclimate zones.

[0036] The embodiments, examples and alternatives of the preceding paragraphs, the claims, or the following description and drawings, including any of their various aspects or respective individual features, may be taken independently or in any combination. Features described in connection with one embodiment are applicable to all embodiments, unless such features are incompatible. Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicate like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] A vehicle 10, such as an automobile, is schematically shown in Figure 1. The vehicle 10 includes a cabin or an interior space 12 for one or more occupants 16 that provides a vehicle interior environment in which the occupant experiences personalized thermal comfort. The vehicle 10 is arranged in a vehicle exterior environment 14, which also can affect the thermal comfort of the interior space 12.

[0038] The disclosed system provides a zonal approach to providing desired occupant thermal comfort. The effectiveness of a component’s thermal effector in a given zone is enhanced by using a vibrator to stimulate the occupant’s body segment in contact with that component. The vibrator vasodilates the blood vessels in that body segment, making the body segment more responsive to the heating/cooling provided by the thermal effector.

[0039] Each occupant typically has a unique occupant personal comfort. That is, a particular occupant detects a level of thermal energy differently than another occupant. As a result, the exact same thermal environment within a vehicle may be perceived as comfortable by one occupant, but as uncomfortable by another occupant. To this end, this disclosure relates to regulating thermal effectors, such as climate-controlled seats (e.g., U.S. Patent Nos. 5,524,439 and 6,857,697), head rest/neck conditioner (e.g., U.S. Provisional App. No. 62/039,125), climate-controlled headliner (e.g., U.S. Provisional App. No. 61/900334), steering wheel (e.g., U.S. Patent No. 6,727,467 and U.S. Pub. No. 2014/0090513), heated gear shifter (e.g., U.S. Pub. No. 2013/0061603, etc.) to achieve a personalized microclimate system. The referenced patents, publications and applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Portions of the vehicle’ s HVAC system may also be used to regulate the comfort (i.e., decrease or increase comfort) of a particular occupant.

[0040] In one example, the vehicle 10 includes a HVAC thermal conditioning system 18 and a microclimate thermal conditioning system (MTCS) (with microclimate devices, i.e., thermal effectors), which are in communication with a controller 22. Various inputs 24 may communicate with the controller 22 to affect and control and operation of the HVAC thermal conditioning system 18 and/or the MTCS 20. It should be understood that the vehicle may include more or fewer components than described below.

[0041] Vehicle manufacturers wish to provide thermal comfort to vehicle occupants automatically and without the need for the occupant to adjust temperature settings or otherwise manually control devices and/or combinations of devices to achieve occupant thermal comfort. One example system for controlling an occupant microclimate environment takes into consideration seat and occupant locations within the vehicle by using the position of the occupant within the vehicle (i.e., front or rear row, left or right) as one key factor used to determine thermal comfort for each occupant. If desired to simplify the control scheme, the driver seat can be used as the “master” location for which the system determines occupant thermal comfort, and the other seating locations within the vehicle are dependent on the driver seating location.

[0042] Figure 2 schematically illustrates a thermal conditioning system 10 that includes an HVAC system 18 and the MTCS 20. The HVAC system 18 includes a motor 116 that drives a fan 118 which passes air through a heat exchanger 120 to provide thermally conditioned air 122 within vehicle cabin 12. A cabin temperature sensor 126 provides temperature information to a HVAC controller 128 that is operable to adjust operation of the motor 16 based on temperature readings from the cabin temperature sensor 126. The HVAC controller 128 may also receive information from an outside air temperature sensor 130 and one or more additional sensors 132, for example.

[0043] The HVAC controller 128 regulates operation of the HVAC system 18 to a temperature set point that is typically manually adjusted by the vehicle occupant. The central HVAC system 18 is insufficient to achieve thermal comfort for each specific occupant and location in many scenarios, so the MTCS 20 is provided to create a unique microclimate for each occupant in the vehicle cabin 12, thereby providing improved overall occupant thermal comfort.

[0044] The MTCS 20 may have many discrete occupant microclimate zones, or Occupant Personalization Zones (OPZs). According to ISO 145045-2:2006 (E), a human body can be divided into different body segments, such as hand, head or chest, and each segment may have a different thermal comfort temperature range. The five example zones in Figure 2 are head, back, cushion (thigh and buttocks), foot/leg, and arm/hand. Fewer, more and/or different zones may be used if desired.

[0045] Referring still to Figure 2, the MTCS 20 includes a plurality of discrete microclimate thermal effectors 140A-E (generally, thermal effectors 140) which are each disposed in a respective OPZ 142A-E (generally, OPZs 142). In the example of Figure 2, the OPZs 142 includes a head zone 142A, a back zone 142B, a hand/arm zone 142C, a cushion zone 142D, and a foot/leg zone 142E. A variety of the OPZs 142A-E and could be used in different vehicles. In one example, at least two of the head zone 142A, back zone 142B, hand/arm zone 142C, seat cushion zone 142D, and foot/leg zone 142E are provided. [0046] Each OPZ 142 provides a microclimate for a specific zone in contact with a particular vehicle occupant. An example vehicle occupant 16 shown in Figure 2 is a driver that has access to a steering wheel. Other vehicle occupants would likely not have a steering wheel, but could still have other devices that effect the climate in that zone, for example heated and cooled surfaces, radiant heating panels, HVAC vents, sun loads etc. For each of the OPZs shown 142A-E the software is configured to account thermodynamically for all of the methods of heat transfer that effect that zone, both controlled effectors including HVAC and uncontrolled loads such as radiation from the sun. The climate in that zone is then controlled according to the actual state of the climate in that zone compared with the desired state of the climate in that zone. Although only a single microclimate thermal effector 140 is shown in each OPZ 142, it is understood that multiple thermal effectors 140 could be included in a particular OPZ 142.

[0047] A variety of thermal effectors 140 could be used in each OPZ, such as resistive electrical heaters, thermoelectric devices which use Peltier effect to provide for heating or cooling, convective thermal conditioning devices which provide for air flow (e.g., air flow from within the vehicle seat to the OPZ 142), etc. Some example thermal effectors that could be used in the system 10 include, but are not limited to, for example, climate controlled seats (see, e.g., U.S. Patent Nos. 5,524,439 and 6,857,697), a neck conditioner mounted in a head rest or upper seat back (see, e.g., U.S. Provisional App. No. 62/039,125), a climate controlled headliner (see, e.g., U.S. Provisional App. No. 61/900334), a climate controlled (e.g., heated) door panel and/or instrument panel, a heated controlled steering wheel (see, e.g., U.S. Patent No. 6,727,467 and U.S. Pub. No. 2014/0090513), a heated gear shifter (see, e.g., U.S. Pub. No. 2013/0061603, etc.), an intelligent microthermal module or “iMTM” (see, e.g., International Application No. W0202011290), heater mats (which may be installed in seat and other surfaces surrounding or in contact with the vehicle occupant 16), a mini-compressor system configured to deliver a thermal effect to the vehicle occupant 16 by convective heat transfer from cooled and conditioned air (see, e.g., International Application No. WO2018049159A1 ), and/or a convective thermal effector capable of heating or cooling located in the seat back or cushion to achieve a personalized microclimate.

[0048] With continuing reference to Figure 2, the HVAC system 18 is used to condition the air and control the bulk temperature of the air within the vehicle cabin (Fig. 3, Tcabin). A typical HVAC system has ducting that supplies conditioned air to the cabin using a blower moving air over a heat exchanger. A sensor monitors the temperature of the conditioned cabin air, and a controller regulates operation of the HVAC 18 system to a velocity (Fig. 3, Vset) and a temperature set point (Fig. 3, Tset) that is typically manually adjusted by the occupant. The central HVAC system 18 is insufficient or unable to achieve optimal thermal comfort for each specific occupant and location in many scenarios, so microclimate devices or thermal effectors are used to create a unique microclimate for each occupant in the cabin, thereby providing improved overall occupant thermal comfort. As a further challenge to providing an effective climate control system, each occupant typically has unique personal comfort preferences. That is, a particular occupant detects a level of thermal energy differently than another occupant. As a result, the exact same thermal environment within a vehicle may be perceived as comfortable by one occupant, but as uncomfortable by another occupant. To this end, this disclosure provides each occupant some ability to make manual adjustments to climate control system (Fig. 3 ; dVsetzone, dVsetZone) by coordinated control of both a central HVAC system 18 or any other thermal control system in the vehicle as well as various microclimate thermal effectors.

[0049] There are numerous sources of heating and cooling within a vehicle that impact the occupant’s thermal comfort. In one example, the cumulative effect of various heating and cooling sources can be represented by an equivalent homogeneous temperature (EHT) within the cabin. EHT represents the total thermal effects of the surrounding environment on an occupant as a measure of the occupant’s dry heat loss, which produces a whole body thermal sensation. EHT takes into account the convective and radiative heat transfer effects on the occupant and combines these effects into a single value, which is especially useful for modelling non-uniform thermal environments. One example calculation of EHT can be found in Han, Taeyoung and Huang, Linjie, “A Model for Relating a Thermal Comfort Scale to EHT Comfort Index,” SAE Technical Paper 2004-01-0919, 2004. As explained in this SAE paper, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety, the modeled thermal environment is affected by “breath level” air temperature, mean radiant temperature (MRT), air velocity within the cabin, solar load and relative humidity. However, in this paper EHT calculation does not consider conductive heat transfer. In the current thermophysiological algorithm, the EHT calculation scheme has been modified to account for the conductive heat transfer from the seat and other contact surfaces.

[0050] The HVAC system of a vehicle conditions the bulk air within the cabin to achieve an overall cabin temperature (Fig. 3, Tcabin). Other environmental influences on the microclimate environment include vehicle ambient temperature (Fig. 3, Tambient) and solar load (Fig. 4, solar loads) on the vehicle. These influences are accounted for in the disclosed system 10 (see, Fig. 5 A, 214). One example of using EHT to achieve occupant thermal comfort is described in International Application Number PCT/US2020/063580, entitled “AUTOMATIC SEAT THERMAL COMFORT CONTROL SYSTEM AND METHOD”, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.

[0051] As shown in Figure 3, the input parameters from the vehicle as well as the “Climatesense” system data from the thermal effectors is translated using transfer functions 199 to determine each thermal effector’s input and the HVAC input into the physical models 201 for the heat transfer balance equation. For each transfer function, the power consumption 199a, power delivery 199b and mass flow rate 199c is accounted for, as applicable.

[0052] Input parameters communicated over the vehicle’s communications bus include, for example, Vehicle Configuration (adjustments for geometry and location of various components), Vehicle States (solar load variables (see, e.g., Radiative Load Model in Fig. 4); cabin temperature, T _C abi _n ; exterior vehicle temperature, User Profiles (occupant height, weight, gender), User Preferences (user change in temperature set point for a zone, dT _set zone; user change in blower set point for a zone, dT _se tzone), and current HVAC Operating Modes (temperature set point for a zone, T _se t; blower set point for a zone, Vset). Microclimate parameters include seat parameters (temperature of seat back surface, T _sea t; temperature of seat cushion surface, T _C ushio _n ; seat back blower speed, seat cushion blower speed, neck warmer parameters (temperature of neck warmer air, T _ne ck; velocity of neck warmer air, and the hand warmer parameters (e.g., steering wheel; surface temperature, transfer function, F _n ). These and other parameters are provided to the transfer function that feed into the heat transfer models 201a, 201b, 201c.

[0053] With reference to Figure 3, physical models 201 capture interaction between the environment, the thermal effectors and the occupant in order to capture the overall energy balance at the human level. The physical model 201 is the summation of the conductive model 201a, the convective model 201b, and the radiative model 201c. Example inputs to these physical models, some of which may be outputs of the transfer functions, are shown in Figure 4. For example, the exit air temperature 203a (T _eX it, air, NTC Temp, Neck Warmer) and heat transfer 203b (IINW, Convective HTC, Neck Warmer) are outputs of the neck warmer transfer function 199’ and inputs to the convective model 201b. The radiative load model 201c is largely dependent upon the solar load on the vehicle through the vehicle’s glass and the resultant thermal radiation generated by large components, such as the instrument panel (IP).

[0054] The differential temperature between the EHT and a temperature set point relates to the heat flux between the occupant and their surroundings. The heat flux on the occupant can be inferred from this differential temperature. The heat flux can be translated into the occupant’s thermal comfort, for example, an overall thermal sensation. Overall thermal sensation is a measure of the thermal sensation experienced by a particular occupant based upon the heat transfer rates to their body. An occupant’ s thermal condition can be expressed using the PMV (Predicted Mean Vote) scale as described in, for example, P.O. Fanger “Thermal comfort: analysis and applications in environmental engineering”, McGraw Hill 1970, 225-240, ISBN: 0070199159. The PMV scale numerically represents thermal sensation as: -3 cold, -2 cool, -1 slightly cool, 0 neutral, 1 slightly warm, 2 warm, 3 hot. Another example is the Berkeley Sensation and Comfort Scale (“Berkeley scale”), described in, for example, Arens E. A., Zhang H. & Huizenga C. (2006) Partial- and whole-body thermal sensation and comfort, Part I: Uniform environmental conditions. Journal of Thermal Biology, 31, 53-59. The Berkley scale numerically represents thermal sensation as: -4 very cold, -3 cold, -2 cool, - 1 slightly cool, 0 neutral, 1 slightly warm, 2 warm, 3 hot, 4 very hot. It should be understood that other approaches can be used to quantify an occupant’s thermal condition. Overall thermal sensation (OTS) is a measure of the thermal sensation experienced by a particular occupant based upon the total heat transfer rates from the environment to their body.

[0055] An example microclimate system may have many discrete occupant microclimate zones in order to properly assess individual occupant comfort. According to ISO 145045-2:2006 (E), a human body can be divided into more than 17 different body segments, such as hand, head or chest, and each segment has a different thermal comfort temperature range. However a human being wishing to personalize their micro-climate may prefer to indicate their temperature or heat preferences using a smaller number of zones. Therefore, it is necessary to translate the complex human zonal thermodynamic model necessary for the determination of occupant comfort, to a lower order which can accept and adapt the entire coordinated comfort control system to those specific user preferences. The five example zones in Figure 2 are: head (Fig. 5A, 202), back (Fig. 5A, 204), cushion (thigh and buttocks) (Fig. 5A, 208), foot/leg (Fig. 5A, 210), and arm/hand (Fig. 5A, 206). Fewer, more and/or different zones may be used if desired.

[0056] A few exemplary microclimate thermal effectors are schematically illustrated in Figure 2. Other thermal effectors include, but are not limited to, for example, climate controlled seats (e.g., U.S. Patent Nos. 5,524,439 and 6,857,697), a head rest/neck conditioner (e.g., U.S. Provisional App. No. 62/039,125), a climate controlled headliner (e.g., U.S. Provisional App. No. 61/900,334), a climate controlled door panel and/or instrument panel, a steering wheel (e.g., U.S. Patent No. 6,727,467 and U.S. Pub. No. 2014/0090513), a heated gear shifter (e.g., U.S. Pub. No. 2013/0061603, etc.), heater mats, and/or a minicompressor system to achieve a personalized microclimate. The microclimate system provides desired occupant personal comfort in an automated manner with little or no input from the occupant. All or some of these devices can be arranged to optimally control the thermal environment around an individual occupant of a seat located uniquely and anywhere inside a passenger vehicle. In addition, these components can be used to regulate thermal comfort separately for individual segments of the occupant’s body according to user preference or effectiveness of devices or based on the duration of control.

[0057] The system 10 illustrated in Figure 2 is schematically depicted in Figures 3 and 5, which demonstrates the overall heat (e.g. energy) balance or transfer between the environment and the occupant. Figure 3 conceptually illustrates the system, while Figure 5 depicts the control system. Example inputs from the thermal effectors in at least one zone may include microclimate local set points (Tseat surface, Tcushion surface; Vseat surface, V seat cushion, air impinging occupant’s neck, Vneck; see Fig. 3) and macroclimate set points. A respective estimator 60A-E for each OPZ 142 calculates a total heat transfer rate (Q) for its respective OPZ 142. For each zone, software is configured to account for the specific effectors and their heat transfer mechanisms. Further inputs for the heat balance may include occupant information (height, weight, gender, clothing) and ambient and cabin conditions (geometry, solar load, location, etc). The heat balance is preferably a sum of convection, conduction and radiation sources on the occupant corresponding to an occupant heat loss (or gain), which may be calculated by summing the heat transfer rate for each zone. In one example, there may be a positive heat transfer in one zone, and negative in another zone. The heat balance may include models for each of the convection, conduction and radiation sources that utilize one or more of the inputs. Such a system is described in more detail in PCT/US2021/16723 filed February 5, 2021, entitled “THERMOPHYSIO LOGICALLY-BASED MICROCLIMATE CONTROL SYSTEM”, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0058] Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating an example arrangement for determining a corrected temperature setpoint based on the OTS error 172 shown in Figure 5C. The OTS error 172 is provided to a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller 174 which is configured to analyze the OTS error 172, and provide an OTS error output 176 that is based on a proportional term, integral term, and derivative term, using known PID control techniques. Each of these terms is unique to each effector, in one example. The integral term (not shown, and which is characterized by an accumulation of the OTS error 172), and the derivative term (not shown, and which is characterized by a rate of change of OTS error 172 over time). The example discussed below assumes that the integral and derivative terms are 0, but it is understood that non-zero values could be used for those terms using known PID control techniques.

[0059] As described above, the vehicle microclimate system includes at least one microclimate device configured to be arranged within the interior space of the vehicle in close proximity to occupant zones such as a hand/arm zone 142C, a foot/leg zone 142E, an upper leg/buttocks zone 142D, a back zone 142B, and a head/neck zone 142A. Referring to Figure 7, the seat may serve as one of the primary thermal effectors used to provide occupant thermal comfort. A floor mat 132 as well as the steering wheel 130 may also be used to influence occupant thermal comfort. The steering wheel 130 includes a thermal effector 140C, such as a heater, and a vibrator 148C. The floor mat 132 includes a thermal effector 140E, such as a heater, and a vibrator 148E. The vibrators 148C, 148E may be used in conjunction with the thermal effectors 140C, I 40E, particularly in cold conditions, to provide improved occupant thermal comfort. The vibrator(s) and thermal effector(s) in a given zone may be discrete from one another or integrated. Using a vibrator in the zones having the hands and feet can be particular effective in addressing thermal comfort due to cold conditions as these areas contain glabrous skin, which provides enhanced thermal receptivity.

[0060] These specialized circulatory networks 306 of glabrous skin are shown schematically in Figure 8. Blood circulates out from the heart through arteries 310 to arterioles 312. Papillary capillaries 314 within the glabrous regions are located above the AV As 304, which interconnect the artery 310 to the vein 318. The capillaries 314 enable heat exchange due to their low mass and high surface area. The AV As 304 are gated by smooth muscle 308. When the AVAs are closed, capillaries limit blood flow as they connect the arterioles 312 and venules 316, the small dimension vessels in the microcirculatory system which act as the connectors between arteries 310 and veins 318 respectively to capillaries 314, for carrying nutrients to and removing waste from the surrounding tissues. However, when the AVAs are open, a lower path of resistance is created directly between the arteries and veins allowing a significantly higher blood flow rate within this region, enabling increased blood flow 324 in the extremities 322 of the occupant 320.

[0061] When the pathway is opened, the AVAs enable a significant increase in blood flow beneath the skin in glabrous regions. Dilation and contraction of the AVAs are controlled by the body’s thermoregulatory system. When the body perceives conditions which would cause its temperature to rise above normal, the AVAs dilate to increase blood flow near the skin surface, thereby increasing heat loss to the environment. When the body perceives conditions leading to a decrease in core temperature, the AVAs constrict, decreasing blood flow, allowing the body to conserve more of its metabolic heat. A vasoconstricted individual has cooler palms than a vasodilated individual, but other areas of their bodies have similar temperatures. Additional access points for glabrous thermal transfer can be seen on the face of a vasoconstricted individual where the temperature of the nose is measuring a cooler temperature than surrounding areas, yet a comparable temperature to this individual’s hand.

[0062] The AVAs are direct shunts between arteries and veins that bypass capillaries, and provide a low-resistance pathway for the movement of blood through the glabrous skin regions. The receiving venous structures (retia venosa) are arranged in a plexus or large network of vessels that has a large surface-to-volume ratio and can contain a large volume of blood. Thus, the venous plexus acts as a radiator. Vasodilation defines the condition in which the AVAs are open and blood is flowing freely through the venous plexuses; vasoconstriction defines the condition in which the AVAs are closed and blood is not flowing through the venous plexuses.

[0063] The human body employs a thermal management system in which AVAs are constricted to maintain the body’s heat within its core. When a warm stimulus is applied to the back of the neck (or specifically the cervical spine), the body’s core thermal management system interprets this thermal input as the body having excessive heat that it needs to dissipate via its natural heat exchangers — the hands, feet, and parts of the face — and will switch out of heat conservation mode thereby opening the AVAs. When the AVAs are open, there is a very high blood flow, and therefore heat transport, into the low resistance venous radiators; when the AVAs are closed, a greatly reduced blood flow goes through the high-resistance capillaries of the skin. In the normothermic individual, a person whose thermoregulation is within the normal range, proportional control of the AVAs balances internal heat production and heat loss.

[0064] In the example shown, the seat includes a seat cushion 136, seat back 137 and headrest 1 8 can also be used to improve occupant thermal comfort. These components may also include a vibrator 148A, 148B, 148D in addition to their respective thermal effector 140A, 140B, 140D to enhance their effect on occupant thermal comfort, but generally to less effect than glabrous skin area, for the purpose of mitigating the effects of cold. The vibrator may be provided by one or more vibration patches having one or more electric motors. These electric motors drive a shaft along which eccentric masses are attached that produce the desired vibration profiles. Other possible mechanisms for producing vibrations include rapidly inflating/deflating air pockets, worm-sprocket driven rollers, etc. It should be understood that all of the components shown in Figure 7 need not include the illustrated thermal effector and/or vibrator.

[0065] To increase thermal receptivity and enhance occupant thermal comfort (in particular, protection against over-cooling), the disclosed system can provide direct cooling to specific body parts that are thermally sensitive and are linked to sleep onset. Different thermal effectors 140A-140E and/or vibrators 148A-148E (e.g., Figure 7) may be regulated in response to a request by the occupant, or initiated automatically in response to detecting occupant thermal discomfort. The system can progressively change the heat transfer at different body segments based upon, for example, the relative amount of thermal discomfort. [0066] An example schematic overview of such a process is shown below in Table 1 , below.

TABLE 1

[0067] As can be appreciated from the Table above, the example different thermal comfort levels generally correspond to different zones of the occupant. A person’s extremities are typically most impacted by cold, so vibration and heating would generally occur at the hands and feet first even in only mild thermal discomfort. When conditions are very cold, then more thermal effectors would be employed.

[0068] An example method 400 of controlling an occupant thermal conditioning system is illustrated in Figure 9. In operation, the system 20 detects thermal discomfort in one of the zones 142A-142E (block 402). This detection may occur in response to a manual input 404, such as a switch, dial or touchscreen manipulated by the occupant, or by an automatic detection algorithm 406 described in connection with the thermophysiology based software architecture illustrated in Figures 3-6.

[0069] If occupant thermal discomfort in a particular zone is detected, then the vibrator of that zone is activated (block 408). Clinical studies have shown that intermittent local vibrations (-3O-5O Hz) can increase blood flow beneath the plantar skin (skin that forms the outer layer of palms and feet) due to an effect similar to vasomotion (shivering) (Ren et al. 2019; Lohman et al. 2007). An increase in cutaneous skin blood flow can increase skin temperature (Lohman et al 2011), which can in turn increase warm perceptual sensations. This is advantageous in cold weather scenarios as localized vibration can help bring people to comfort more quickly than just with heat alone.

[0070] Operation of a zonal vibrator 502 and thermal effector 504 may be coordinated as shown at 500 in Figure 10, for example. If further thermal condition is desired in the zone beyond what the vibrator provides, the thermal effector in at least that zone may also be activated (block 410). The vibration patches can vibrate intermittently in a sinusoidal profile 502 (see, Fig. 10), or regulated between ON/OFF at a particular frequency. Vibrations in a range of 20-50Hz have been shown to be beneficial for improving blood microcirculation, with 50Hz being particularly effective (Ren et al. 2019; Nakagami et al. 2007). In one example, the vibrator is actuated at 50Hz +/- 10%. The motors beneath the vibration patch can be operated at 30 Hz, 35 Hz, 40 Hz and 50Hz to achieve varying levels of vibration at 30, 45 and 60 second periods to alleviate vasoconstriction by vasomotion. Thus, vibration can be used to reduce the initial thermal discomfort particularly in cold weather.

[0071] For example, in the hand/arm zone 142C, the steering wheel heater 130 will deliver heating to the hands via the via the thermal effector 140C. In one example, the temperature can be pinned and controlled just below the bum threshold to minimize exposure time to the hands. The vibration may be provided by three or four vibrator patches mounted diagonally on the steering wheel 130, for example. Additionally, this same vibrator can be used to alert the driver if the vehicle’s driver monitoring system (DMS), if so equipped, detects the occupant is drowsy. For vehicles not equipped with a heated steering wheel but equipped with a lane departure system, the vibration patches may be used to increase occupant thermal comfort, just without the additional thermal effector in that zone. The intelligent software can differentiate the specific vibration profile (e.g. by vibration amplitude, vibration frequency, duration/frequency) to provide the vasodilation/occupant thermal comfort benefit while distinguishing it from the lane departure warning vibration profile.

[0072] Also in the hand/arm zone 142C are the door armrest and console panel. While this would not have the plantar skin stimulation benefits of alleviating vasoconstriction by vibration, like the steering wheel 130 (Fig. 7), patches installed on the door arm rest can be used to alert the driver if the DMS detects the occupant is drowsy.

[0073] Similarly, in the foot/leg zone 142E, the floor heater from the HVAC system 18 can be used or a mat heater 132 (Fig. 7) can be activated. It may be very difficult to condition the feet in cold weather compared to the hands because of the high thermal resistance of the occupant’s sole/shoe. To this end, a floor mat with vibration patches that can stimulate blood flow in the plantar skin beneath the feet and promote plantar skin blood flow.

[0074] In this manner, one or more vibrators are coordinated to target dilation of the AVAs at the occupant’s extremities, in particular, and heat (or cool) the extremities to provide improved overall thermal comfort. This zonal approach to thermal management allows comfort optimization by targeting the occupant rather than the cabin and static heat sinks. Power (for internal combustion engines) and/or range extension (for electric vehicles) is realized as an alternative to onboard large-scale PTC heating systems. This approach better enables occupant comfort within a vehicle application. Once desired thermal comfort in the zone is achieved, the vibrator and/or thermal effector can be deactivated (block 412).

[0075] From a wellness perspective, increasing skin blood flow in the distal parts of the body can help reduce incidences of pressure ulcers and deep vein thrombosis, which could be useful in some automotive applications, such as long-haul trucking where drivers suffer from deep vein thrombosis (DVT) due to prolonged driving and need assistance to stimulate local blood flow to prevent blood pooling. Thus, the vibrators in the floor mat 132 can be actuated by the operator for this purpose. The user can access the automotive touchscreen display/push buttons to select different vibration modes (thermal therapy, muscle toning, cramp treatment etc.) and duration. Subsequently, the control software would activate the vibrator, for example.

[0076] The seat cushion 136, seat back 137 and/or headrest 138 may also incorporate a vibrator for simulating the occupant in the corresponding zone. However, vibration in these zones generally do not have the same effect as on the hands and feet described above.

[0077] It should be noted that the described controller 22 can be used to implement the various functionality disclosed in this application. The controller 22 may include one or more discrete units. Moreover, a portion of the controller 22 may be provided in the vehicle 10, while another portion of the controller 22 may be located elsewhere. In terms of hardware architecture, such a computing device can include a processor, memory, and one or more input and/or output (I/O) device interface(s) that are communicatively coupled via a local interface. The local interface can include, for example but not limited to, one or more buses and/or other wired or wireless connections. The local interface may have additional elements, which are omitted for simplicity, such as controllers, buffers (caches), drivers, repeaters, and receivers to enable communications. Further, the local interface may include address, control, and/or data connections to enable appropriate communications among the aforementioned components.

[0078] The controller 22 may be a hardware device for executing software, particularly software stored in memory. The controller 22 can be a custom made or commercially available processor, a central processing unit (CPU), an auxiliary processor among several processors associated with the controller, a semiconductor-based microprocessor (in the form of a microchip or chip set) or generally any device for executing software instructions.

[0079] The memory can include any one or combination of volatile memory elements (e.g., random access memory (RAM, such as DRAM, SRAM, SDRAM, VRAM, etc.)) and/or nonvolatile memory elements (e.g., ROM, hard drive, tape, CD-ROM, etc.). Moreover, the memory may incorporate electronic, magnetic, optical, and/or other types of storage media. The memory can also have a distributed architecture, where various components are situated remotely from one another, but can be accessed by the processor.

[0080] The software in the memory may include one or more separate programs, each of which includes an ordered listing of executable instructions for implementing logical functions. A system component embodied as software may also be construed as a source program, executable program (object code), script, or any other entity comprising a set of instructions to be performed. When constructed as a source program, the program is translated via a compiler, assembler, interpreter, or the like, which may or may not be included within the memory.

[0081] The disclosed input and output devices that may be coupled to system I/O interface(s) may include input devices, for example but not limited to, a keyboard, mouse, scanner, microphone, camera, mobile device, proximity device, etc. Further, the output devices, for example but not limited to, a printer, display, macroclimate device, microclimate device, etc. Finally, the input and output devices may further include devices that communicate both as inputs and outputs, for instance but not limited to, a modulator/demodulator (modem; for accessing another device, system, or network), a radio frequency (RF) or other transceiver, a telephonic interface, a bridge, a router, etc.

[0082] When the controller 22 is in operation, the processor can be configured to execute software stored within the memory, to communicate data to and from the memory, and to generally control operations of the computing device pursuant to the software. Software in memory, in whole or in part, is read by the processor, perhaps buffered within the processor, and then executed.

[0083] Although the different examples have specific components shown in the illustrations, embodiments of this invention are not limited to those particular combinations. It is possible to use some of the components or features from one of the examples in combination with features or components from another one of the examples.

[0084] Although an example embodiment has been disclosed, a worker of ordinary skill in this art would recognize that certain modifications would come within the scope of the claims. For that reason, the following claims should be studied to determine their true scope and content.