Patent Application
20140338882
The present invention relates to a system for controlling a heating ventilation and air conditioning (“HVAC”) system in vehicles with start/stop engines.
To increase fuel economy vehicle engines may be equipped with an engine start/stop system. The engine start/stop system shuts off the engine when the vehicle is idle. Currently, only front seat occupants are able to override the engine start/stop system based on desired climate settings. However, an occupant in the rear passenger area of a chauffeured vehicle may be the owner of the vehicle and the person whose comfort is of paramount importance. The vehicle owner is not able to control the climate settings of the chauffeured vehicle when the engine stops because of the normal front seat control bias.
One way of improving occupant comfort in a vehicle is to use a climate control system that has a control unit for adjusting the direction of airflow. An air control vent may be adjusted to redirect the direction of the airflow. These systems do not control the start/stop system of the vehicle HVAC system of the vehicle that limits the operation of the vehicle HVAC system and can fail to keep a chauffeured person in the rear seat comfortable when the engine is stopped to save fuel.
Another system for increasing occupant comfort in a vehicle is to determine the blowout condition of the conditioned air. This is done by using an electronic control unit on both the front and rear air conditioning units. Such systems do not allow independent control of the front air conditioning unit and the rear air conditioning unit. The control unit does not allow the occupant in the rear of a vehicle to control an engine start/stop system based upon the comfort level of the rear seat occupants.
Another way of controlling temperature in an automotive vehicle is to have an interface that allows a user to select a driver side temperature setting and a passenger side temperature setting. A seat occupancy sensor may detect whether the passenger seat is occupied and send a signal to a vehicle climate control system controller. When the passenger side area is unoccupied, the climate control system distributes conditioned air according to the driver side temperature setting to both the driver side and the passenger side areas. This type of system only controls the distribution of conditioned air to the front of the vehicle. Such systems do not include an auxiliary HVAC control for rear seat occupants and do not control the engine start/stop system.
This disclosure is directed to the above problems and other problems as summarized below.
According to one aspect of this disclosure, a vehicle HVAC system is described that comprises a front control interface, a rear control interface, and a climate controller. The front control interface may be manipulated by the driver in the front seat. Manipulating the front control interface controls the climate setting for both the front and rear areas of the vehicle. The rear control interface, located in the rear area of the vehicle, is accessible to be manipulated by a passenger seated in the rear area. The controller may be commanded to disable the front control interface and enable the rear control interface to control the climate setting for the rear area.
The controller may be actuated by the rear control interface when the vehicle is determined to be a chauffeured vehicle. A selector switch, located in the front area of the vehicle, may be manually actuated to transfer control to the rear area. Alternatively, the controller may be actuated upon detection of a passenger seated in the rear area of the vehicle. A seat occupancy sensor, located in the rear area of the vehicle, may be provided to detect that a rear seat is occupied. There are several ways of detecting that a rear is occupied including a sensor located in the seat, a sensor in the seat belt receiver, a motion detector, a passenger detecting camera, or the like.
The vehicle HVAC system may be for a vehicle that is equipped with an engine capable of being enabled and disabled to reduce fuel consumption. When the engine is disabled, the controller may need to restart the engine to control the climate within the vehicle. The controller may restart the engine when selected climate settings in either the front or the rear areas of the vehicle differ from the current climate in the selected area.
According to another aspect of this disclosure, a HVAC system for a vehicle is described that comprises a front climate interface, a rear climate interface, an occupant sensor, a selector switch, and a controller. The controller may allow the rear climate interface to control the climate settings of a front area and a rear area. When the occupant sensor determines the presence of a rear passenger and the selector switch is actuated, the controller may be programmed to allow the rear control interface to have sole control over climate determinations in the vehicle. The controller prevents a vehicle engine from shutting off when a selected climate setting is outside a climate setting range determined from either the front climate interface or the rear climate interface.
The controller may be actuated by a selector switch located in a front area that may be actuated by a driver in the front area, or by monitoring a sensor or other input indicating that the vehicle is chauffeured. For example, when the vehicle is being chauffeured, the position of the front passenger seat may be shifted forward to provide additional space for the chauffeured person and a seat position sensor may indicate the vehicle is being chauffeured. When a passenger in the rear area is detected, the controller is to be controlled by the rear control interface.
When the selector switch, the seat position switch, or the seat occupancy sensor is actuated, the controller may be programmed to determine that the vehicle is being chauffeured. Once the controller determines that the vehicle is being chauffeured, the controller biases the climate control to the rear climate interface in the rear area of the vehicle. Biasing the climate control to the rear climate interface causes the climate control system to seek to achieve a selected climate of the rear area. Climate sensors monitoring blower voltage, duct temperature, coolant temperature, and relative cabin humidity may be used to determine the climate settings to control the climate of the rear area.
According a further aspect of this disclosure a control system is described that comprises a control circuit, a HVAC system, an input, and a climate sensor. The control circuit is configured to enable and disable an engine to reduce fuel consumption. When the engine is disabled, the HVAC system may be disabled. Likewise, when the engine is enabled, the HVAC system is selectively enabled. An input indicative of a rear seat being occupied is communicated to the control circuit to indicate the presence of a chauffeured passenger. When the control circuit receives the input, the rear area climate sensor controls the HVAC system.
The input may be provided in a variety of ways. For example, the input may be a sensor operatively connected to the rear seat. The sensor may be a seat belt sensor in the rear seat, a seat pressure sensor in the rear seat, or a motion detecting sensor activated upon movement in the rear seat. Further, the sensor may be a seat position sensor that provides the input. The seat position sensor may be actuated when a front seat is shifted into a position providing added leg room for the rear seat. The engine may be a combustion engine that provides all traction power for the vehicle. Alternatively, the engine may be an internal combustion engine of a hybrid vehicle that includes an electric traction motor and a battery.
The above aspects of the disclosure and other aspects will be better understood in view of the attached drawings and the following detailed description of the illustrated embodiments.
The illustrated embodiments are disclosed with reference to the drawings. It should be understood that the disclosed embodiments are intended to be merely examples that may be embodied in various and alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale and some features may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particular components. The specific structural and functional details disclosed are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art how to practice the disclosed concepts.
Referring to
A selector switch 22 may be actuated to indicate to the controller 20 that the vehicle 10 is being driven by a chauffeur. The selector switch 22 may be located in the front area 14 and may be actuated manually by the driver in the front area 14. A change in the position of the front passenger seat may also be used to indicate to the controller that the driver is a chauffeur. When the front passenger seat is pushed fully forward, the controller 20 may be switched to allow the rear climate interface 16 to determine the climate settings for the front area 14 and the rear area 18.
The controller 20 may also transfer control to the rear climate interface 16 upon sensing the presence of a passenger (not shown) in the rear area 18. A seat occupancy sensor 24 in the rear area 18 may be actuated by the presence of a rear area 18 passenger. The climate settings for the front area 14 and the rear area 18 may be set by the rear climate interface 16 when the controller 20 determines the presence of a chauffeured passenger.
The vehicle 10 also comprises an engine 26 that selectively generates engine power. The controller 20 controls the climate settings in the front 14 and rear 18 areas. The controller 20 may command restarting the engine 26 when the engine 26 is turned off and the climate settings of the selected front area 14 or rear area 18 require engine operation to provide heat or air conditioning. The rear climate interface 16 may be used to control the climate in the rear area 18 if the controller 20 determines the presence of a chauffeured passenger.
The controller 20 may be actuated by a selector switch 22 that causes the rear climate interface 16 to govern the climate settings in the rear area 18. When disengaged, the selector switch 22 does not actuate the controller 20 and the front climate interface 12 controls the climate setting for the front 14 and rear 18 areas. The controller 20 may also be actuated by a seat occupancy sensor 24. The seat occupancy sensor 24 detects the presence of a rear passenger (not shown) and when engaged in combination with the selector switch 22 actuates the controller 20. Once the controller 20 is actuated, the rear climate interface 16 controls the climate settings of the rear area 18.
The climate control system 30 may also cooperate with an engine 26. The engine 26 is capable of being enabled and disabled to reduce fuel consumption. When the engine 26 is disabled, the climate control system 30 may also be disabled. When the selected climate is different from the climate setting in the selected front area 14 or rear area 18 and the engine 26 is disabled, the controller 20 may be operative to restart the engine 26. Restarting the engine 26 allows the climate control system 30 to account for the change in climate in the front 14 and rear 18 areas based on the selected climate of the front 12 or rear 16 climate interfaces.
While exemplary embodiments are described above, it is not intended that these embodiments describe all possible forms of the invention. Rather, the words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation, and it is understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Additionally, the features of various implementing embodiments may be combined to form further embodiments of the invention.
