Driver personalized climate conditioning

• US 10,052,936 B2
• Filed: 03/29/2017
• Issued: 08/21/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: Prakah-Asante, Kwaku O., Le, Jialiang, Rao, Manoharprasad K., Strumolo, Gary S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Landrum, Ned
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cox, Alexis
• Application Number:
  US15/472,710
• Publication Number:
  US 20170197489A1
• Time in Patent Office: 510 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00742 by detection of the vehicle occupants' presence; by detection of conditions relating to the body of occupants, e.g. using radiant heat detectors
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/0075 the input being solar radiation
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00807 the input being a specific way of measuring or calculating an air or coolant temperature

Abstract

An HVAC system for a vehicle includes infrared skin temperature sensors for measuring actual skin temperatures of the driver and a cabin temperature sensor for measuring an actual cabin temperature of ambient air within the passenger cabin. A controller module stores a target cabin temperature. The controller module controls the HVAC system according to a first error between the target cabin temperature and the actual cabin temperature. A personalization module stores a target skin temperature, and the personalization module determines an offset to be applied to the target cabin temperature according to a second error between the target skin temperature and the actual skin temperature. Infrared temperature measurements are collected for the left and right sides of a person'"'"'s face, and the actual skin temperature is selected as the one that deviates most from the actual cabin temperature.

Claims

1. A method of providing personalized climate control for a person in a seated position within a transportation vehicle, comprising the steps of:

collecting a first temperature measurement from a first infrared sensor directed toward a first region of the seated position corresponding to the left side of the face of the person;

collecting a second temperature measurement from a second infrared sensor directed toward a second region of the seated position corresponding to the right side of the face of the person;

measuring an actual cabin temperature of ambient air within the passenger cabin;

comparing each of the first and second temperature measurements with the actual cabin temperature;

selecting the one of the first or second temperature that deviates the most from the actual cabin temperature as an actual skin temperature; and

controlling ventilation applied to the person based on the actual skin temperature;

wherein the step of controlling ventilation is comprised of;

storing a target cabin temperature;

averaging the actual cabin temperature using a first averaging filter with a first time constant;

controlling a heat source and a cool source of an HVAC system in the vehicle to reduce a first error between the target cabin temperature and the averaged actual cabin temperature;

storing a target skin temperature;

averaging the actual skin temperature using a second averaging filter with a second time constant longer than the first time constant; and

determining an offset for updating the target cabin temperature according to a second error between the target skin temperature and the averaged actual skin temperature.