Patents by Inventor Alex K. Clarke

Alex K. Clarke has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Vehicle seat including a heating mat having overheating prevention and protection
    Patent number: 11526184
    Abstract: A vehicle seat includes a seat portion having a heating element, such as an electrically conductive wire. A sensing structure having a characteristic that is responsive to a temperature of the heating element is provided adjacent to the heating element, such as by being helically wrapped thereabout or extending parallel thereto. For example, the sensing structure may include an optical fiber, and the characteristic of the sensing structure may be an amount of light transmitted through the optical fiber. A controller is responsive to the characteristic of the sensing structure for determining when the temperature of the heating element exceeds a predetermined value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2022
    Assignee: Lear Corporation
    Inventor: Alex K. Clarke
  • VEHICLE SEAT INCLUDING A HEATING MAT HAVING OVERHEATING PREVENTION AND PROTECTION
    Publication number: 20190310668
    Abstract: A vehicle seat includes a seat portion having a heating element, such as an electrically conductive wire. A sensing structure having a characteristic that is responsive to a temperature of the heating element is provided adjacent to the heating element, such as by being helically wrapped thereabout or extending parallel thereto. For example, the sensing structure may include an optical fiber, and the characteristic of the sensing structure may be an amount of light transmitted through the optical fiber. A controller is responsive to the characteristic of the sensing structure for determining when the temperature of the heating element exceeds a predetermined value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 10, 2019
    Publication date: October 10, 2019
    Applicant: Lear Corporation
    Inventor: Alex K. Clarke