FITNESS FACTOR FOR AUTOMATICALLY ADJUSTING A VEHICLE HVAC SYSTEM
First Claim
1. An HVAC control system for a vehicle with a seat, comprising:
- an occupant weight sensor that measures a weight of an occupant;
a seat position sensor that determines a position of the seat in which the occupant is seated; and
a controller that calculates a fitness factor based upon the sensed weight and the sensed seat position, wherein the fitness factor is a calculated value for comparing relative fitness of occupants, and wherein the controller operates an HVAC system to adjust cabin air conditions based upon the calculated fitness factor.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A vehicle climate control system with a seat position sensor and an occupant weight sensor. The seat position sensor and the occupant weight sensor communicate a seat position and a weight of a vehicle occupant to a controller. By determining the seat position, an occupant'"'"'s relative size can be estimated. Thus, when the controller receives the occupant weight data and the seat position data, a fitness factor is determined. The fitness factor is a metric that combines the occupant weight and size into a single measurement to judge the occupant'"'"'s fitness level. The fitness factor, either directly or indirectly is used to determine a temperature at outlet (TAO), which is then used to adjust an HVAC system so that comfortable cabin air conditions can be provided to occupants who have different fitness factors and thus different fitness levels without the occupants making manual changes to the HVAC system.
34 Citations
16 Claims
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1. An HVAC control system for a vehicle with a seat, comprising:
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an occupant weight sensor that measures a weight of an occupant; a seat position sensor that determines a position of the seat in which the occupant is seated; and a controller that calculates a fitness factor based upon the sensed weight and the sensed seat position, wherein the fitness factor is a calculated value for comparing relative fitness of occupants, and wherein the controller operates an HVAC system to adjust cabin air conditions based upon the calculated fitness factor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method for controlling a vehicle HVAC system to automatically adjust vehicle cabin air conditions based upon physical fitness of an occupant, comprising the steps of:
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sensing a seat position; sensing a weight of the occupant; calculating a fitness factor based upon the sensed seat position and the sensed occupant weight; determining a corrected set temperature based upon the fitness factor and a set temperature supplied by the occupant; calculating a temperature at outlet based upon the corrected set temperature; and controlling the HVAC system based upon the corrected set temperature. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method for controlling a vehicle HVAC system to automatically adjust vehicle cabin air conditions based upon physical fitness of an occupant, comprising the steps of:
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sensing a seat position; sensing a weight of an occupant; calculating a fitness factor based upon the sensed seat position and the sensed occupant weight; determining a temperature at outlet based upon the fitness factor and a set temperature supplied by the occupant; and controlling an HVAC system based upon the determined temperature at outlet. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification