Abstract: A seat air conditioner for a vehicle has a seat having a pad and a blower unit for forcibly blowing conditioned air toward the seat. The pad has an introduction passage for introducing blown air toward a surface of the pad, plural distribution passages communicating with and radially extending from the introduction passage and plural communication passages causing communication among the distribution passages. Each of the distribution passages and the communication passages is formed as a groove in the surface of the pad. Therefore, even when a passenger is seated on the seat, air does not stagnate but flows into the distribution passages extending outside a portion of the seat which contacts with the passenger through the communication passages. As a result, air is smoothly blown out from the seat, and the passenger immediately feels sufficiently warm and comfortable.

Abstract: An air conditioning apparatus for a vehicle seat includes a seat blower unit disposed in a lower side of the seat, and a seat duct for leading air from an air conditioning unit to the seat through the seat blower unit. In the air conditioning apparatus, it can be determined that heat load of a passenger compartment is decreased to a predetermined value based on an operation state of a unit blower of the air conditioning unit, and the seat blower is stopped when the heat load is decreased to the predetermined value. Further, the seat blower is turned on or off according to the heat load of the passenger compartment, so that temperature of the seat can be controlled within a predetermined range.

Abstract: An air-conditioning case (2d) of a front air-conditioning unit (2) includes therein a branching duct (2c) for dividing the flow of the air-conditioned air to the seat (3) of occupants, and a cool/warm air switch (10) for switching the cool air (7) and the warm air (8) of the air-conditioned air and sending the resultant air to air supply ports (19). The air supply ports (19) are connected to the seat (3) by a single air duct (4). Therefore, the duct configuration is very simple. Also, the air duct (4) can be an existing one connected to the rear foot vent (30).

Abstract: An air conditioning apparatus for a seat of a vehicle includes a seat air-blowing unit disposed in a lower portion of the seat, and a seat duct for blowing air from an air conditioning unit to the seat air-blowing unit. The air conditioning unit includes a case for forming therein a cool air passage and a warm air passage, and a switching door for opening and closing the cool air passage and the warm air passage. When a stationary state is set from a cool-down state during cooling mode, the switching door closes the cool air passage to fully open the warm air passage. Thus, inside air is introduced into the warm air passage from a foot air outlet of the air conditioning unit, is supplied to the seat air-blowing unit through the seat duct, and is blown from a seat surface of the seat toward a passenger seated on the seat. As a result, in the air conditioning apparatus, cool air and inside air can be readily switched with a simple structure.

Abstract: A deodorizing filter for adsorbing malodorous particles in air is disposed at a downstream air side of a circumferential wall of an inside/outside air switching rotary door which opens and closes inside and outside air intake ports. A gap having a predetermined distance is provided between the deodorizing filter and the circumferential wall of the rotary door. The deodorizing filter is rotated integrally with the rotary door. When the rotary door is rotated to open both the outside and inside air intake ports at their intermediately opened positions, the inside air flowing from the inside air intake port directly flows into an outlet side of an inside/outside air switching box, and the outside air introduced from the outside air intake port passes through the gap and the deodorizing filter and flows into the outlet side of the inside/outside air switching box.

Abstract: An arousal level judging apparatus has a skin potential level (SPL) detection device, a potential change detection device for detecting occurrance and convergence of a pulse of the signal from the SPL detection device, the pulse being caused by skin potential response (SPR), a storing device for storing the SPL value as a reference value, and a comparator for comparing SPL with the reference value to detect a SPL decrease to detect an arousal level decrease of a driver, etc. The reference value is renewed at every occurrance of SPR. When the SPL value indicates that the arousal level of the driver has been decreased, an alarm is caused to wake the driver up.