Granted Patent B2

US 12,552,223 · App. 18/547,047 · Granted Feb 17, 2026

Inventors: Alan Chewter (Ypsilanti, MI); Satya Mandali (West Bloomfield, MI); Mobashar Ahmad (Troy, MI); Ankit Tiwari (Farmington Hills, MI); Tyler Myers (Plymouth, MI); Chad Westerman (Milford, MI)

Assignee: Gentherm Incorporated

B60H1/00285B60H1/22B60N2/5621B60N2/5685F24H3/0405F24H2250/06

Abstract

Claims (34)

1 . A control method for a thermal conditioning system including a thermoelectric device (TED), comprising:

providing power to the TED;

providing an airflow across a main side of the TED with a blower at a first blower speed;

calculating an operational parameter based at least on the power provided to the TED, wherein the operational parameter is based on a heat transfer coefficient for a heat exchanger on the main side of the TED and a specific heat of the airflow; and

adjusting the airflow across the main side of the TED based on the operational parameter.

2 . The control method of claim 1 , wherein the operational parameter is proportional to a cross-sectional area of a main side flow path of the TED.

3 . The control method of claim 2 , wherein the operational parameter is a mass flow rate of the airflow across the main side of the TED.

4 . The control method of claim 3 , wherein the mass flow rate is based on a heat transfer coefficient between the TED and the airflow.

5 . The control method of claim 3 , wherein the mass flow rate is based on optimizing a heat transfer rate between the TED and the airflow.

6 . The control method of claim 5 , wherein the heat transfer rate between the TED and the airflow is calculated based on, at least, an intake temperature of the airflow and a heat transfer coefficient of the TED.

7 . The control method of claim 5 , wherein the heat transfer rate between the TED and the airflow is calculated based on, at least, the power provided to the TED.

8 . The control method of claim 1 , wherein adjusting the airflow based on the operational parameter includes adjusting a position of a flow control valve based on the operational parameter, the flow control valve configured to divide the airflow between the main side and a waste side of the TED.

9 . The control method of claim 1 , wherein adjusting the airflow based on the operational parameter includes adjusting the first blower speed to a second blower speed.

10 . The control method of claim 1 , further comprising: adjusting the power provided to the TED based on the operational parameter.

11 . The control method of claim 10 , wherein the power provided to the TED is adjusted such that a temperature of the TED matches a temperature of the airflow at an outlet of the thermal conditioning system.

12 . The control method of claim 1 , further comprising:

comparing the power provided to the TED with an available power to the TED;

increasing the power provided the TED to use the available power; and

increasing the first blower speed to a second blower speed to increase a thermal effect of the airflow.

13 . The control method of claim 1 , further comprising:

adjusting at least one of: the airflow, a position of a flow control valve, or the power provided to the TED to avoid temperatures above a damaging threshold.

14 . The control method of claim 1 , further comprising:

estimating a temperature loss in the airflow between the main side of the TED and an end effector; and

adjusting at least one of: the airflow, a position of a flow control valve, or the power provided to the TED to avoid delivering overheated or undercooled air to the end effector.

15 . The control method of claim 14 , wherein the end effector is a surface of a vehicle seat, an occupant's skin, a device outlet, a footwell, or seatback.

16 . The control method of claim 14 , wherein the blower is not activated until the TED is capable of heating the airflow on the main side to above an acceptable temperature.

17 . The control method of claim 1 , further comprising:

measuring a humidity of the airflow;

calculating a dew point of the airflow based on the measured humidity; and

adjusting at least one of: the airflow, a flow control valve position, or the power provided to the TED to avoid cooling the airflow below the dew point to avoid condensation within the thermal conditioning system.

18 . The control method of claim 17 , wherein the TED is in a heating mode and the airflow on a waste side is cooled.

19 . The control method of claim 17 , wherein the TED is in a cooling mode and the airflow on the main side is cooled.

20 . The control method of claim 1 , wherein the thermal conditioning system is disposed within a vehicle seat.

21 . The control method of claim 1 , further comprising adjusting the airflow across a waste side of the TED to control a delta temperature of the TED.

Assignments (2)

Continuity (2)

References Cited (400)