Patent Application
20200223292
The present disclosure generally relates to an air filter assembly, including air filter assemblies that may be used in connection with vehicles.
This background description is set forth below for the purpose of providing context only. Therefore, any aspect of this background description, to the extent that it does not otherwise qualify as prior art, is neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the instant disclosure.
Some air filter assemblies may be relatively complex and/or may not provide sufficient functionality. Some air filter assemblies may not be configured to automatically filter air within a vehicle.
There is a desire for solutions/options that minimize or eliminate one or more challenges or shortcomings of seat assemblies. The foregoing discussion is intended only to illustrate examples of the present field and should not be taken as a disavowal of scope.
In embodiments, an air filter assembly may include a seat assembly, an air filter unit, and/or an electronic control unit. The seat assembly may include a seat base and/or a seat back. The air filter unit may be connected to the seat assembly. The electronic control unit may be configured to automatically control the air filter unit. The air filter assembly may include a sensor assembly that may include one or more sensors, and/or the electronic control unit may be configured to automatically control the air filter unit according to information from the sensor assembly. The sensor assembly may include a biometric sensor. The biometric sensor may be configured to detect a body odor of an occupant disposed on the seat assembly. The one or more sensors may include a position sensor. The electrical control unit may be configured to automatically control the air filter unit according to information from the position sensor.
With embodiments, the electronic control unit may be configured to activate the air filter unit when the seat assembly is in a low air quality zone. The electronic control unit may be configured to connect with a position sensor of a mobile device of an occupant. The electronic control unit may be configured to connect to a remote server that may include air quality information for a plurality of locations (e.g., an air quality database); and/or the electronic control unit may be configured to selectively activate the air filter assembly according to the air quality information. The air filter assembly may be configured to connect to a HVAC system of the vehicle. The one or more sensors may include an air quality sensor that may be disposed outside the vehicle. The electrical control unit may be configured to automatically control the air filter unit according to information from the air quality sensor. The one or more sensors may include a camera. The electrical control unit may be configured to automatically control the air filter unit according to information from the camera, and/or the information from the camera may include an indication of at least one of a sneeze, a cough, and/or a burp. The air filter unit may include an air inlet and an air outlet, and/or the air outlet may be disposed substantially at a top portion of the seat back. The air filter inlet may be disposed substantially in the seat base. The air filter unit may include a fan, and/or the air filter unit may be configured for air purification.
In embodiments, the air filter assembly may include a first air filter unit, a second air filter unit, and/or an electronic control unit. The first air filter unit may be configured for connection with a first seat and/or the first air filter unit may include a first sensor assembly. The second air filter unit may be configured for connection with a second seat, and/or the second air filter unit may include a second sensor assembly. The electronic control unit may be connected to the first air filter unit and/or the second air filter unit. The electronic control unit may be configured to automatically control the first air filter unit according to information from the first sensor assembly. The electronic control unit may be configured to automatically control the second air filter unit according to information from the second sensor assembly. The electronic control unit may be configured to automatically control the first air filter unit and/or the second air filter unit independently and/or such that the first air filter unit may be in an activated state while the second air filter is in a deactivated state. The electronic control unit may be configured to determine whether to activate the first air filter unit and/or the second air filter unit according to a first air quality associated with the first seat and/or a second air quality associated with the second seat.
The foregoing and other aspects, features, details, utilities, and/or advantages of embodiments of the present disclosure will be apparent from reading the following description, and from reviewing the accompanying drawings.
Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the present disclosure, examples of which are described herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawings. While the present disclosure will be described in conjunction with embodiments and/or examples, it will be understood that they are not intended to limit the present disclosure to these embodiments and/or examples. On the contrary, the present disclosure is intended to cover alternatives, modifications, and equivalents.
In embodiments, such as generally illustrated in
With embodiments, the air filter unit 40 may be configured to filter and/or purify air (e.g., may include filters, antibacterial materials, ultraviolet (UV) light, etc.). The air filter unit 40 may include an inlet 42 and/or an outlet 44 (see, e.g.,
In embodiments, the ECU 50 may be connected to the air filter unit 40. The ECU 50 may be configured to control (e.g., automatically) the air filter unit 40. The ECU 50 may turn the air filter unit 40 on (e.g., an activated state) and/or off (e.g., a deactivated state). With embodiments, the ECU 50 may be configured to control a speed of the fan 46. The ECU 50 may be configured to operate the air filter unit 40 in a variety of modes. For example and without limitation, the modes may include a high speed mode, a medium speed mode, and/or a low speed mode (which may correspond to high, medium, and low fan speeds). The ECU 50 may determine a desired state or mode or operation for the air filter unit 40, and may then operate the air filter unit 40 in that state or mode. For example, the ECU 50 may activate the high speed mode for very low quality air, the medium speed mode for average low quality air, and/or the low speed mode for moderately low quality air. The ECU 50 may be connected (e.g., electrically, wirelessly, and/or via a wired connection) to the air filter unit 40. The ECU 50 may be disposed within the vehicle 22 and may be configured to control one or more other vehicle systems or components.
With embodiments, the air filter unit 40 may include a sensor assembly 60 that may include one or more sensors 62. The one or more sensors 62 may be disposed inside the vehicle cabin 24 and/or outside the vehicle cabin 24. The one or more sensors 62 may include one or more of a variety of sensors. For example, the one or more sensors 62 may include an air quality sensor 64, a position sensor 66 (e.g., a global positioning system or GPS sensor), a camera 68, microphone 70, and/or a biometric sensor 72, among others.
In embodiments, such as generally illustrated in
With embodiments, if the sensed air quality is significantly below the threshold, the ECU 50 may operate/turn on the air filter unit 40 in the high speed mode. If the difference between the sensed air quality and the threshold is moderate, the ECU 50 may operate/turn on the air filter unit 40 in the medium speed mode. If the difference between the sensed air quality and the threshold is small, the ECU 50 may operate/turn on the air filter unit 40 in the low speed mode. As the air filter unit 40 is operated, the air quality sensor 64 may sense that the air quality is improving, and the ECU 50 may change the mode of the air filter unit 40 (e.g., from the high speed mode to the moderate speed mode). Additionally or alternatively, if the information from the sensor assembly 60 indicates that the air quality is at or above the threshold, the ECU 50 may turn the air filter unit 40 off, leave the air filter unit 40 off, change the mode of the air filter unit 40 (e.g., from high to medium, or from medium to low), and/or decrease a fan speed of the air filter unit 40. The ECU 50 may periodically and/or continuously receive information from the sensor assembly 60 while controlling the air filter unit 40 until a desired air quality is achieved and/or to maintain air quality at an acceptable level.
In embodiments, such as generally illustrated in
In embodiments, such as generally illustrated in
With embodiments, the camera 68 and/or microphone 70 may be configured to determine whether a pet (e.g., a dog, a cat, etc.) is in the vehicle 22. If a pet is in the vehicle 22, the ECU 50 may activate the air filter unit 40 while the pet is in the vehicle 22. The ECU 50 may keep the air filter unit 40 activated for a predetermined amount of time after the pet is no longer in the vehicle 22 (e.g., five minutes), such as to remove or filter hair, dander, pet breath, etc.
In embodiments, such as generally shown in
In embodiments, such as generally illustrated in
With embodiments, such as generally illustrated in
In embodiments, the ECU 50 may be in communication with a navigation system 106, such as of the vehicle 22 and/or a mobile device 104 of an occupant or of the vehicle 22. The ECU 50 may obtain expected route or position information from the navigation system 106. The ECU 50 may communicate with the navigation system 106 to determine if the seat assembly 30 is likely to enter a low air quality zone and may, proactively, turn the air filter unit 40 on or up before the seat assembly 30 enters the lower air quality zone. For example and without limitation, step 90 of method 80 may include determining a current position and/or expected positions (e.g., an expected route).
With embodiments, the ECU 50 may be configured to automatically activate when the vehicle/seat assembly 22, 30 leaves one or more specific locations. The specific locations may be stored in the ECU 50 (e.g., manually by an occupant) and/or in the air quality database 100. Additionally or alternatively, the ECU 50 may be configured to determine that the air quality inside and/or outside the vehicle 22 is typically low when the vehicle 22 leaves a location. The ECU 50 may automatically store that location (e.g., if the air quality is low at least two times when the vehicle 22 leaves the location). For example and without limitation, the one or more specific locations may include a gym and/or a restaurant that may be manually entered and/or that the ECU 50 may determine/learn that at least some specific locations are associated with lower air quality (e.g., bad breath, body odor, perspiration, etc.). In embodiments, step 88 of method 80 may include determining that the air filter unit 40 should be activated when the vehicle/seat assembly 22, 30 leaves a specific location.
With embodiments, such as generally illustrated in
In embodiments, the ECU 50 may be configured to control the first air filter unit 240A and/or the second air filter unit 240B at different speeds. The ECU 50 may activate the first air filter unit 240A and/or the second air filter unit 240B at different speeds when the ECU 50 determines that the air quality at or about the first seat assembly 230A is different from the air quality at or about the second seat assembly 230B. For example and without limitation, the first air filter unit 240A may be in a high speed mode (e.g., low air quality) and/or the second air filter unit 240B may be in a low speed mode (e.g., moderate air quality). The first air filter unit 240A and/or the second air filter unit 240B may be configured to operate in a plurality of different modes (e.g., low speed mode, medium speed mode, and/or high speed mode) depending on a concentration of low air quality about an interior (e.g., vehicle cabin 24) of the vehicle 22. The ECU 50 may be configured to determine an internal zone of low air quality within the vehicle 22 and/or the ECU 50 may selectively activate the air filter unit(s) 240A, 240B in a high speed mode that are closer to the internal zone of low air quality than other air filter unit(s) 240A, 240B located farther from the low air quality zone.
With embodiments, such as generally illustrated in
In embodiments, an ECU 50 may include an electronic controller and/or include an electronic processor, such as a programmable microprocessor and/or microcontroller. In embodiments, an ECU 50 may include, for example, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). An ECU 50 may include a central processing unit (CPU), a memory (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium), and/or an input/output (I/O) interface (e.g., UX 54). An ECU 50 may be configured to perform various functions, including those described in greater detail herein, with appropriate programming instructions and/or code embodied in software, hardware, and/or other medium. In embodiments, an ECU 50 may include a plurality of controllers. In embodiments, the ECU 50 may be connected to a display, such as a touchscreen display (e.g., of the UX 54).
Various embodiments are described herein for various apparatuses, systems, and/or methods. Numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the overall structure, function, manufacture, and use of the embodiments as described in the specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It will be understood by those skilled in the art, however, that the embodiments may be practiced without such specific details. In other instances, well-known operations, components, and elements have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the embodiments described in the specification. Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the embodiments described and illustrated herein are non-limiting examples, and thus it can be appreciated that the specific structural and functional details disclosed herein may be representative and do not necessarily limit the scope of the embodiments.
Reference throughout the specification to “various embodiments,” “with embodiments,” “in embodiments,” or “an embodiment,” or the like, means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in various embodiments,” “with embodiments,” “in embodiments,” or “an embodiment,” or the like, in places throughout the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. Thus, the particular features, structures, or characteristics illustrated or described in connection with one embodiment/example may be combined, in whole or in part, with the features, structures, functions, and/or characteristics of one or more other embodiments/examples without limitation given that such combination is not illogical or non-functional. Moreover, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the present disclosure without departing from the scope thereof.
It should be understood that references to a single element are not necessarily so limited and may include one or more of such element. Any directional references (e.g., plus, minus, upper, lower, upward, downward, left, right, leftward, rightward, top, bottom, above, below, vertical, horizontal, clockwise, and counterclockwise) are only used for identification purposes to aid the reader's understanding of the present disclosure, and do not create limitations, particularly as to the position, orientation, or use of embodiments.
Joinder references (e.g., attached, coupled, connected, and the like) are to be construed broadly and may include intermediate members between a connection of elements and relative movement between elements. As such, joinder references do not necessarily imply that two elements are directly connected/coupled and in fixed relation to each other. The use of “e.g.” in the specification is to be construed broadly and is used to provide non-limiting examples of embodiments of the disclosure, and the disclosure is not limited to such examples. Uses of “and” and “or” are to be construed broadly (e.g., to be treated as “and/or”). For example and without limitation, uses of “and” do not necessarily require all elements or features listed, and uses of “or” are intended to be inclusive unless such a construction would be illogical.
While processes, systems, and methods may be described herein in connection with one or more steps in a particular sequence, it should be understood that such methods may be practiced with the steps in a different order, with certain steps performed simultaneously, with additional steps, and/or with certain described steps omitted.
It is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not limiting. Changes in detail or structure may be made without departing from the present disclosure.
It should be understood that an electronic control unit (ECU) 50, a system, and/or a processor as described herein may include a conventional processing apparatus known in the art, which may be capable of executing preprogrammed instructions stored in an associated memory, all performing in accordance with the functionality described herein. To the extent that the methods described herein are embodied in software, the resulting software can be stored in an associated memory and can also constitute means for performing such methods. Such a system or processor may further be of the type having both ROM, RAM, a combination of non-volatile and volatile memory so that any software may be stored and yet allow storage and processing of dynamically produced data and/or signals.
It should be further understood that an article of manufacture in accordance with this disclosure may include a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having a computer program encoded thereon for implementing logic and other functionality described herein. The computer program may include code to perform one or more of the methods disclosed herein. Such embodiments may be configured to execute one or more processors, multiple processors that are integrated into a single system or are distributed over and connected together through a communications network, and/or where the network may be wired or wireless. Code for implementing one or more of the features described in connection with one or more embodiments may, when executed by a processor, cause a plurality of transistors to change from a first state to a second state. A specific pattern of change (e.g., which transistors change state and which transistors do not), may be dictated, at least partially, by the logic and/or code.
