GB2593120A

GB2593120A - A method of operating HVAC system for a vehicle and a HVAC system for a vehicle

Info

Publication number: GB2593120A
Application number: GB1906887.3A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Kian Lim Poh; Heng Chia Kah; Keong Ong Chye
Original assignee: Continental Automotive GmbH
Current assignee: Continental Automotive GmbH
Priority date: 2019-05-16
Filing date: 2019-05-16
Publication date: 2021-09-22
Anticipated expiration: 2039-05-16
Also published as: GB2593120B; GB201906887D0

Abstract

A vehicle HVAC system 114 which receives a signal of planned departure time and collects data of ambient temperature and weight deposited on the outer surface of the windscreen and calculates conditions for a de-icing operation which is then implemented. A method of operating the system is also claimed. The calculated conditions may use the planned departure time and temperature and weight data, which may be acquired from a user device, temperature 102 and pressure sensors 112 respectively, and the weight may be caused by frost. The system may monitor this data to adjust conditions and defrosting strength during operation. Data collection may be initiated by certain conditions predicted by a weather forecast and after the operation is complete a notification may be sent wirelessly to the user.

Description

A Method of Operating HVAC System for a Vehicle and A HVAC System for a Vehicle

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates to heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems for a vehicle and methods of operating 10 a HVAC system, in particular, methods of operating a HVAC system for a vehicle.

BACKGROUND

It is rather common for drivers to remove layers of frost or snow accumulated on windows and windshields of motor vehicles before using vehicles, during the cooler seasons, such as winter.

Conventionally, a driver may manually remove the frost or snow by scraping away the frost or snow, or hosing down with water, as an attempt to melt away the frost or snow. Such methods are cumbersome and when the climate temperature is cold, the pro-cess may be very slow. A driver may need to bear with driving with a partially frosted windshield, or bear with departure time being delayed.

SUMMARY

A purpose of the present disclosure is to solve the problem of user being delayed from a departure location due to waiting time required to defrost windshield during cooler seasons. Further purpose of the present disclosure is to provide a smart HVAC system which prepares a vehicle ready for use in accordance with a vehicle usage schedule.

A first aspect of this disclosure provides a method of operating a HVAC system for a vehicle. The method includes receiving a signal carrying a vehicle usage information including the vehicle's planned departure time, at the HVAC system; collecting data for an ambient 7emperature outside the vehicle and a weight of an object deposited on an outer surface of a windshield of the vehicle; calculating conditions for a defrosting operation based upon the vehicle's planned departure time, the data for an ambient temperature and the weight of the object deposited on the outer surface of a windshield of the vehicle; and implementing the defrosting operation in accordance with the calculated conditions.

The vehicle usage information may be transmitted from a user's device to the HVAC system. This embodiment of the present disclosure allows the user to transmit information via her/his device, hence providing convenient and efficient process to the user to transmit the relevant vehicle usage information, such as the vehicle's planned departure time, to a vehicle.

The data for ambient temperature may be collected by a temperature sensor within the vehicle.

The method may further comprise collecting a temperature data from a weather forecast. In the present disclosure, the collecting data for ambient temperature and the weight of the object deposited on the outer surface of the windshield may be activated only when the temperature data from the weather forecast exceeds a predetermined temperature value. This em-bodiment of the present disclosure may provide a benefit of activating the process of collecting relevant data only when there is a higher likelihood of presence of frost and snow on windshield, hence in the event that the temperature is lower than 0°C, the HVAC system may activate the collecting of data.

The weight of the object deposited on the outer surface of the windshield may be collected by using a pressure sensor mounted on the windshield. The weight of the object deposited on the outer surface of the windshield may be caused by frost and/or snow, deposited on the outer surface of the windshield over time, for example when the vehicle is not in use.

The defrosting operation may include using an air blowing technique and/or an electrical heating technique, for defrost-20 ing or melting the frost and/or snow deposited on.The outer surface of the windshield.

The calculated conditions for the defrosting operation may include a time to initiate the defrosting operation, a duration 25 of the defrosting operation and/or a strength of the defrosting operation.

The process of implementing the defrosting operation may further comprise monitoring the ambient temperature and/or the weight of the object deposited on the outer surface of the windshield to update value of the ambient temperature and/or the weight, and adjusting one or more of the calculated conditions of the defrosting operation according to the updated value.

The completion of the defrosting operation may be measured by the updated value for the weight of the object deposited on the outer surface of windshield falling within the range of 0 to 0.1 grams.

Upon completion of the defrosting operation, a notification may be wirelessly transmitted to the user to inform the user of the same.

A second aspect of this disclosure provides a HVAC system for a vehicle. The HVAC system may include a temperature sensor configured to collect an ambient temperature outside the vehicle, a pressure sensor configured to measure a weight of an object deposited on an outer surface of a windshield of the vehicle, and one or more processors in the HVAC system. The one or more processors may be configured to receive a signal carrying a vehicle usage information including the vehicle's planned departure time, calculate conditions for a defrosting operation, and implement the defrosting operation in accord-ance with the calculated conditions.

The conditions for defrosting operation may be calculated based upon the vehicle's planned departure time, the ambient temperature and the weight of the object deposited on the outer 25 surface of a windshield of the vehicle.

The one or more processors of the HVAC system may be configured to adjust a strength of the defrosting operation. Adjusting a strength of an air blower shall denote increasing or lowering an amount of air flow flowing from the air blower and/or increasing or lowing the temperature of air flow from the air blower.

The HVAC system may be configured to receive the signal carrying a vehicle usage information from a vehicle electronic component or a user's device.

Advantageously, this disclosure solves the problem of user having to manually defrost frost or snow accumulated on the windshield before departure time, by replacing manual defrosting process with an automated operation of a HVAC system based upon a vehicle's planned departure time.

Another advantage of the present disclosure is to make a vehicle ready for departure in accordance to a user's departure schedule, thus achieving the purpose of allowing the users to depart from location just in time, without delay due to manual defrosting of windshield.

Further, the present disclosure may provide an optimized power-consumption method for defrosting operation for vehicle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Other objects and aspects will become apparent from the following description of embodiments with reference to the accompany drawings in which: Fig. 1 illustrates a block diagram for a HVAC system 114 in accordance to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 shows a flowchart 200 illustrating a method for operating a HVAC system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, an explanation of a heating, ventilation and air 5 conditioning (HVAC) system for a vehicle and method of operating the same based upon a vehicle usage information will be discussed in details.

As used in this document herein, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" are intended to include the plural referents unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. For example, reference to "a data" includes references to one or more types of data or information.

The expression "configured to" used in various examples of this disclosure may be interchangeably used with "suitable for", "having the capacity to", "designed to", "adapted to", "made to", or "capable of" according to a situation, for example. The term "configured to" may not necessarily mean "spe-cifically designed to" in terms of hardware. Instead, the expression "a device configured to" in some situations may mean that the device and another device or part are "capable of" carrying out a function. For example, "a processor configured to perform A, B, and C" in a phrase may mean a dedicated processor (e.g., an embedded processor) for performing a corresponding operation or a generic-purpose processor (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU) or application processor (AP)) for performing corresponding operations by executing at least one software program stored in a memory device.

The term "defrost" and its grammatical variation thereof shall denote the process of substances changing from solid or semisolid state to liquid state. The term "defrosting operation" and its grammatical variation thereof shall denote a process functioning the same effect.

The term "deposit" and its grammatical variants thereof used 5 herein shall denote a natural process of layering or accumulating sediment matter. An example of a sediment matter is frost or snow accumulated on a surface during winter season. It may be understood frost or snow deposited may be referred to as a layer of frost, a layer of snow, specks of frost or 10 specks of snow that forms on the surface a natural process.

The term "signal" and its grammatical variants thereof used herein shall denote an electromagnetic wave, such as a radio or microwave, that has the function of transmitting data pack-ets carrying information between different points or nodes of a system or network.

The term "vehicle usage information" and its grammatical variants thereof shall denote any information related to the use of vehicle, in particular information with respect to time and schedule of vehicle use. Particular example of the vehicle usage information includes time schedule for vehicle use, including past and future ones, such as vehicle use record for the past week, vehicle use schedule for a week or month, and a next departure time, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

Turning now to the drawings, Fig. 1 shows a system block diagram 100 of an exemplary embodiment, whereby a HVAC system 114 is electrically connected to pressure sensor 112, 112' mounted onto a vehicle in an exemplary embodiment. In an exemplary embodiment, the HVAC system 114 includes a sensing device, for example a temperature sensor 102 for collecting an ambient temperature outside a vehicle. In another embodiment, the temperature sensor 102 is not part of the HVAC system 114, but may be embedded within the vehicle, with the same function of collecting the ambient temperature outside the vehicle. The HVAC system 114 may include an air blower 104, for generating an air flow, and/or an electrical heating element 106, for generating heat. In certain embodiment, the air blower 104 and electrical heating element 106 may be integrated into a single component.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure a wireless interface 108 may optionally be included in HVAC system 114. The wireless interface 108 enables receiving and transmitting wireless signals at the HVAC system. A wireless signal may be classified as long-range or short-range. Examples of short-range wireless communication signals includes radio frequency (RE) signals, ultra-wide band (UWE) signals, infrared signals or typically signals that conforms with the standards of near field communication (NEC) protocol, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)protocol, vehicle to everything (V2X) protocol, dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) protocol, direct-sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) protocol, wireless fidelity (WiFi) protocol or wireless local area network (WLAN) protocol. Types of long-range wireless communication signals include Bluetooth protocol, ultra-wide band (UWE), general packet radio service (CPAS), universal mobile telephone system (UMTS), 3G, 4G, 5G or any other types of suitable long-range wireless connectivity or connections, which may be applicable to long range wireless communications. The wireless signal received at the HVAC system 114 maybe routed to a wired communication network, for example a vehicle network such as Controller Area Network or CAN bus commonly used in vehicle networks. It shall be understood other forms of vehicle networks such as Local Interconnect Network (LIN) or Flexray may also be suitable as a wired communication network. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a wireless interface 108 may be equipped with an antenna within the HVAC system, the antenna to receive wireless signals from and to transmit wireless signals to an external device, for example the user's device, directly at the HVAC system.

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the wireless interface 108 may be outside of the HVAC system 114. For instance, the wireless interface 108 may be part of a vehicle electronic component such as a telematics control unit which may be equipped on-board the vehicle body.. In yet another embodiment, the signal carrying vehicle usage information from the user's device is wirelessly communicated to at least one control unit of the vehicle, and a signal carrying the same vehicle usage information is routed to the HVAC system 114 via a wired communication protocol, such as a vehicle network. The HVAC system 114 may include at least one microprocessor 110. In the present disclosure, the microprocessor 110 may be configured to enable one or more methods, processes and/or oper-ations of the HMG system 114 or any system comprising the same. Examples of such methods, processes and operations include operable to process data, calculate, automate reasoning and execute algorithmic functions, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto., As shown in Fig. 1 here, HVAC system 114 is electrically connected to at least one pressure sensor 112, 112', mounted onto a vehicle. The pressure sensors 112, 112' may be mounted on a front and/or rear windshield of the vehicle. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the measurement of pressure by pressure sensors 112, 112' which may be in the unit of Pascal, may be converted to weight value based on a correlation between the area used, i.e. an area of the windshield, for the measurement of pressure., i.e. an amount of pressure against the windshield, caused by frost or snow.

Fig. 2 shows a flowchart 200 illustrating the process of op-crating a HVAC system 114 in accordance to an exemplary embodiment. In the step 202, a signal carrying a vehicle usage information including the vehicle's planned departure time is received at the HVAC system 114. The vehicle usage information is wirelessly transmitted from a user's device, and received at the HVAC system 114, through the wireless interface 108. In the present disclosure, a term "user's device" is understood to denote any computing device, in particular any handheld or portable computing device, used by the user, which can connect internet and/or interconnect with other devices via one or more communication protocols, including, but not limited to, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, near-field communication (NEC), and ultra-wide band (UWB). Particular examples of the user's device include mobile communication devices, such as smartphones, tablets, personal digital assistant and wearable devices, such as smartwatches, smart accessories which may or may not be paired to one or more mobile communication devices of the user, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a wireless signal is, in particular, a long-range radio wave transmission carrying data packets containing the vehicle usage information, including the vehicle's planned departure time.

The process step 202 initiates a collection of data for an ambient temperature outside the vehicle, and a weight of an object deposited on an outer surface of a windshield of the vehicle in the next process step 204. In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the step 202 and the step 204 are performed independent to each other. As explained above, collection of data in relation to ambient temperature outside the vehicle is measured by a temperature sensor 102 and the collection of a pressure against the outer surface of vehicle's windshield is measured by a pressure sensor 112, 112' (Fig. 1 referred).

In the step 206, calculating conditions for a defrosting operation is carried out. The calculation of conditions is at least based upon three factors, namely (1) the vehicle's planned departure time, (2) the data for an ambient temperature outside the vehicle, and (3) the weight of the object deposited on the outer surface of the windshield. The present disclosure does not limit to include additional factor which is to be considered for said calculation of conditions for a defrosting operation where necessary.

The data in relation to ambient temperature and amount of pressure against the outer surface of windshield is received by one or more microprocessor 110 of the HVAC system 114, which processes and calculates the conditions for the defrosting process based upon the aforesaid factors. In the present dis- closure, the calculated conditions for the defrosting operation may contain at least one of (1) a time to initiate the defrosting operation, (2) a duration of the defrosting operation, necessary for the defrosting operation to complete just-in-time of the vehicle's planned departure time and (3) a strength of the defrosting operation, preferably all of the (1) to (3).

In response to the calculation of conditions at step 206, the HVAC system 114 implement the defrosting operation in the next step 208. Although it is not indicated in the Figure 2, a further step such as sendinc a notification to the user's device, informing the defrosting operation is complete and the vehicle is ready for usage may follow the step 208.

In another embodiment, an additional step to collect a temperature data from a weather forecast is implemented, before step 204, to predict the ambient temperature. The step 204 may be carried out only when a certain condition is met, such as when the temperature data from weather forecast indicates the ambient temperature goes beyond a predetermined temperature range, for example, to below zero degrees Celsius.

In yet another embodiment, during implementing the defrosting operation in accordance to the calculated conditions at step 208, the HVAC system 114 periodically checks for any changes on the ambient temperature outside the vehicle and the amount of the pressure against outer surface of the windshield, to verify whether the calculated conditions are well optimized for meet the vehicle's planned departure time. It shall be understood by a skilled practitioner the time interval for the system to conduct periodical checks may vary and appropriately selected based upon a design specification.

By way of an example, when the HVAC system 114 receives an updated value of the ambient temperature and the weight of the object deposited on the outer surface of the windshield, the one or more microprocessor 110 receives the updated value and verifies if the updated value indicates that a longer duration is required to complete the entire defrosting process as compared to the calculated conditions. In the event that the updated value collected by the temperature sensor 102 and the pressure sensor 112, 112' indicates that a longer duration may be required, the one or more microprocessor 110 may adjust a strength of the air blower 104 and/or the electrical heating element 106, thus ensuring the entire defrosting operation will complete in advance of 7he vehicle's planned departure time.

Subsequently, the pressure sensor 112, 112' collects the weight of the object deposited on the outer surface of the windshield, to verify whether the weight of the object deposited on the windshield has reduced to a predetermined amount or value, for example, less than 1 Pascal or 0 Pascal.

In the event that the weight of the object deposited on the windshield has been reduced to the predetermined amount, the HVAC system 114 sends a notification to the user's device, confirming the defrosting operation is complete and the vehicle is ready for usage.

The detailed description above serves the purpose of explain-ing the principles of the present disclosure and its practical application, thereby enabling others skilled in the art to understand the disclosure for various exemplary embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. The detailed description is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present disclosure to the precise embodiments herein. Modifications and equivalents will be apparent to practitioners skilled in this art and are encompassed within the scope and spirit of the appended claims.

List of Reference Signs - System block diagram 102 - temperature sensors 104 - air blower 106 - electrical heating element 108 - wireless interface - one or more microprocessor 112, 112' -pressure sensor mounted on windshield 114 - HVAC system -flowchart for operating HVAC system 114 202 -step of receiving signal from user's device 204 -step of collecting temperature and weight data 206 -step of calculating conditions for a defrosting operation 208 -step of implementing the defrosting operation based upon the conditions as calculated in the step 206

Claims

Patent claims 1. A method (200) of operating a HVAC system (114) for a vehicle, comprising: receiving (202) a signal carrying a vehicle usage information including the vehicle's planned departure time, at the HVAC system; collecting (204) data for an ambient temperature outside the vehicle and a weight of an object deposited on an outer surface of a windshield of the vehicle; calculating (206) conditions for a defrosting oper-ation based upon the vehicle's planned departure time, the data for an ambient temperature and the weight of the object deposited on the outer surface of a windshield of the vehicle; and implementing (208) the defrosting operation in ac-cordance with the calculated conditions.
2. The method (200) according to Claim 1, wherein the vehicle usage information is transmitted from a user's device to the HVAC system (114).
3. The method (200) according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein the data for ambient temperature is collected by a temperature sensor within the vehicle.
4. The method (200) according to any one of Claims 1 to 3, further comprising collecting a temperature data from a weather forecast, and the collecting the data for ambient temperature and the weight of the object deposited on the outer surface of the windshield is activated only when the temperature data from the weather forecast exceeds a predetermined temperature value.
3. The method (200) according to any one of Claims 1 to 4, wherein the weight of the object deposited on outer surface of the windshield is collected by using a pressure sensor mounted on the windshield.
6. The method according to any one of Claims 1 to 5, wherein the pressure against the outer surface of the windshield is caused by frost and/or snow.
7. The method according to any one of Claims 1 to 6, wherein the defrosting operation includes using an air blowing technique and/or an electrical heating technique.
8. The method according to any one of Claims 1 to 7, wherein the calculated conditions for the defrosting operation include a time to initiate the defrosting operation, a duration of the defrosting operation and/or a strength of the defrosting operation.
9. The method according to any one of Claims 1 to 8, wherein the implementing the defrosting operation further comprises monitoring the ambient temperature and/or the weight of the object deposited on the outer surface of the windshield to update value of the ambient temperature and/or the amount, and adjusting one or more of the calculated conditions of the defrosting operation according to the updated value.
10.The method according to Claim 9, further comprising com-pleting the defrosting operation when the updated value for the weight of the object deposited on the outer surface of windshield is 0 gram to 0.1 gram.
11.The method according to any one of Claims 1 to 10, further comprising wirelessly transmitting a notification to user when the defrosting operation is finished.
12.R HVAC system (114) for a vehicle, comprising: a temperature sensor (102) configured to collect an ambient temperature outside the vehicle; a pressure sensor (112, 112') configured to measure a weight of an object deposited against on an outer sur- face of a windshield of the vehicle; and one or more processors (110) in the HVAC system (114), configured to receive a signal carrying a vehicle usage information including the vehicle's planned depar-ture time; calculate conditions for a defrosting operation; and implement the defrosting operation in accordance with the calculated conditions.
13. The HVAC system (114) according to Claim 12, wherein the conditions for defrosting operation is calculated based upon the vehicle's planned departure time, the ambient temperature and the weight of the outer surface of a windshield of the vehicle.
14. The HVAC system (114) according to Claims 12 or 13, wherein the one or more processors of the HVAC system (114) is configured to adjust a strength of the defrosting operation.
15.The HVAC system (114) according to Claims 12 to 14, wherein the HVAC system (114) is configured to receive the signal carrying a vehicle usage information from a vehicle electronic component or a user's device.