Remotely operable air conditioning system for vehicle

• US 20040194479A1
• Filed: 02/03/2004
• Published: 10/07/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 02/03/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Yanagimachi, Yoshinori, Umebayashi, Makoto, Inada, Tomohiro
• Granted Patent: US 7,055,340 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 62/126
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00642 Control systems or circuits; Control members or indication devices for heating, cooling or ventilating devices B60H1/3201 - B60H1/3208, B60H1/3225 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00771 the input being a vehicle position or surrounding, e.g. GPS-based position or tunnel
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00778 the input being a stationary vehicle position, e.g. parking or stopping
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/00 Arrangements for transmitting signals characterised by the use of a wireless electrical link

Abstract

A control device is provided in a vehicle to control an air conditioning apparatus and thereby to control ventilation and air conditioning of a passenger room of the vehicle. A mobile device communicates with the control device in a parked state of the vehicle to selectively control a first device, which performs ventilation of the passenger room, and a second device, which performs air conditioning of the passenger room, of the air conditioning apparatus in such a manner that at least one of the first device and the second device is selectively operated upon reception of a corresponding operational instruction from the operating device.

Claims

1. An air conditioning system for a vehicle, the air conditioning system comprising:

an operating device that is provided separately from the vehicle and is operable at a location remote from the vehicle;

an air conditioning apparatus that is provided in the vehicle and includes;

a first device that performs ventilation of a passenger room of the vehicle; and

a second device that includes a refrigeration cycle and performs air conditioning of the passenger room;

at least one drive source that is provided in the vehicle and supplies power to the air conditioning apparatus; and

a control device that is provided in the vehicle to control the air conditioning apparatus and thereby to control the ventilation and the air conditioning of the passenger room, wherein the operating device communicates with the control device in a parked state of the vehicle to selectively control the first device and the second device in such a manner that at least one of the first device and the second device is selectively operated upon reception of a corresponding operational instruction from the operating device.

2. The air conditioning system according to claim 1, further comprising a room temperature sensor that measures a room temperature of the passenger compartment of the vehicle, wherein the control device determines a thermal load based on temperature information, which includes the room temperature of the passenger compartment measured through the room temperature sensor.

3. The air conditioning system according to claim 2, wherein the first device is given a higher priority over the second device and is thus operated first by the control device to ventilate the passenger room upon reception of a corresponding operational instruction from the operating device when the room temperature of the passenger compartment is equal to or higher than a first temperature.

4. The air conditioning system according to claim 2, wherein:

the operating device includes an operational command input arrangement for inputting;

an operational instruction for operating the air conditioning apparatus; and

estimated boarding time, which indicates estimated time of boarding of a user into the vehicle;

the control device receives the operational instruction for operating the air conditioning apparatus and the estimated boarding time from the operating device and determines an estimated necessary time period, which is required to change the room temperature to a target temperature by operation of the air conditioning apparatus; and

when the estimated necessary time period is less than a remaining time period left before the estimated boarding time, the first device is given a higher priority over the second device and is thus operated first by the control device to ventilate the passenger room.

5. The air conditioning system according to claim 4, wherein:

the control device obtains weather information around the vehicle; and

when the control device determines that weather is not rain or is not likely rain around the vehicle based on the weather information, the control device opens a window panel of the vehicle, which is communicated with the passenger room, to ventilate the passenger room and operates the first device.

6. The air conditioning system according to claim 4, wherein when the estimated necessary time period, which is received from the operating device, is longer than the remaining time period left before the estimated boarding time, the second device is given a higher priority over the first device and is thus operated first by the control device to perform the air conditioning of the passenger room.

7. The air conditioning system according to claim 6, wherein the control device operates the first device for a predetermined time period prior to operation of the second device.

8. The air conditioning system according to claim 1, wherein:

the at least one drive source includes an electric power source;

the air conditioning apparatus is operated by electric power supplied from the electric power source when the vehicle is in the parked state; and

the control device enables operation of the first device and operation of the second device when a capacitance of the electric power source is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

9. The air conditioning system according to claim 1, further comprising a communicating means for communicating with the operating device, wherein:

the communicating means is provided in the vehicle and is communicated with the control device;

when the communicating means receives operational instruction information of the air conditioning apparatus from the operating device, the communicating means transmits the operational instruction information to the control device; and

when the communicating means receives a corresponding transmission instruction from the control device, the communicating means transmits operational state information of the air conditioning apparatus to the operating device to display the operational state information on the operating device.

10. The air conditioning system according to claim 1, wherein:

the operating device includes an operational command input arrangement, through which an instruction for selecting and operating at least one of the first device and the second device is inputted by a user; and

the control device selectively operates at least one of the first device and the second device based on the instruction inputted through the operational command input arrangement.

11. The air conditioning system according to claim 10, wherein:

the operational command input arrangement enables the user to selectively specify and input operation time of the first device and operation time of second device; and

the control device operates the first device and the second device based on the operation time of the first device and the operation time of the second device, respectively, which are specified and are inputted through the operational command input arrangement.

12. The air conditioning system according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the operating device is a mobile device, which is operable at the location remote from the vehicle and communicates with the control device through radio communication.