VEHICLE AIR CONDITIONING REMOTE CONTROL SYSTEM, SERVER, AND PORTABLE TERMINAL

• US 20140081481A1
• Filed: 05/18/2011
• Published: 03/20/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/18/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Nishida, Junichi
• Granted Patent: US 9,283,827 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/2
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00771 the input being a vehicle position or surrounding, e.g. GPS-based position or tunnel
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 1/003 to auxiliary motors, e.g. for pumps, compressors
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/34 Cabin temperature
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/622 by satellite navigation
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/70 Interactions with external data bases, e.g. traffic centres
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/52 characterised by DC-motors
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/14 Conductive energy transfer
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/305 Communication interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/68 Off-site monitoring or control, e.g. remote control
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/30 including control of auxiliary equipment, e.g. air-conditioning compressors or oil pumps
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/7072 Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/72 Electric energy management in electromobility
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/12 Electric charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 Plug-in electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/16 Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles

Abstract

A portable terminal transmits to a server a request to start pre-air conditioning when the operations to begin pre-air conditioning are performed on the screen of the portable terminal. The server predicts whether an air conditioning device will begin cooling or heating on the basis of a set of vehicle location information stored in a vehicle information storage unit and a set of temperature information acquired from a temperature information center, and transmits the prediction results to the portable terminal. As a consequence, it is possible to notify the cooling and heating state to a vehicle user in a timely manner.

Claims

1. A vehicle air conditioning remote control system for performing pre-air conditioning in the compartment by starting an air conditioning device of the vehicle before a ride by transmitting a remote control order from a portable terminal of a vehicle user to an in-vehicle communications unit of the vehicle identified by the portable terminal through a server provided to an information center processing the vehicle information, wherein the pre-air conditioning is performed after being confirmed that a start permission condition related to a predetermined vehicle state has been satisfied, comprising:

a cooling and heating prediction means provided outside the vehicle for performing a cooling and heating prediction whether the air conditioning device will begin cooling or heating on the basis of the remote control order without obtaining a confirmation result of the satisfaction of the start permission condition,

an indication control means for making the screen of the portable terminal display cooling and heating prediction results.

2. A vehicle air conditioning remote control system according to claim 1,

wherein the cooling and heating prediction means performs the cooling and heating prediction on the basis of the location information of the vehicle and the temperature information in a vehicle location identified by the location information.

3. A vehicle air conditioning remote control system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a cooling and heating prediction update means for updating cooling and heating prediction results by the cooling and heating prediction means in cooling and heating prediction results on the basis of the outlet information of the air conditioning device by acquiring the outlet information after the start of the air conditioning device and by performing the cooling and heating prediction on the basis of the outlet information.

4. A vehicle air conditioning remote control system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a location information transmitting means provided to the in-vehicle communications unit for transmitting the location information of the vehicle to the server whenever a predetermined timing comes,

a location information storage means provided to the server for storing the location information of the vehicle transmitted by the location information transmitting means,

wherein the cooling and heating prediction means performs the cooling and heating prediction by acquiring the temperature information in the vehicle location identified by the latest vehicle location information stored by the location information storage means and by comparing the temperature identified by the temperature information with the threshold for judgments.

5. A vehicle air conditioning remote control system according to claim 1,

wherein the cooling and heating prediction means is provided to the server and transmits cooling and heating prediction results to the portable terminal.

6. A server used for a vehicle air conditioning remote control system according to claim 1,

wherein the server comprises the cooling and heating prediction means and transmits cooling and heating prediction results to the portable terminal.

7. A portable terminal for receiving cooling and heating prediction results transmitted from a server as claimed in claim 6,

wherein the portable terminal comprises the indication control means and displays cooling and heating prediction results transmitted from the server.

8. A server used for a vehicle air conditioning remote control system according to claim 1,

wherein the server transmits information necessary to perform the cooling and heating prediction to the portable terminal.

9. A portable terminal for receiving information necessary to perform the cooling and heating prediction transmitted from the server as claimed in claim 8,

wherein the portable terminal comprises the cooling and heating prediction means and the indication control means, and performs a cooling and heating prediction on the basis of information transmitted from the server and displays cooling and heating prediction results to the screen thereof.

12. A vehicle air conditioning remote control system according to claim 1,

wherein the cooling and heating prediction means is provided to the server and performs the cooling and heating prediction when the server received the remote control order transmitted from the portable terminal.

13. A vehicle air conditioning remote control system according to claim 1,

wherein the cooling and heating prediction means is provided to the portable terminal and, when the portable terminal received information necessary to perform the cooling and heating prediction transmitted from the server based on the remote control order transmitted from the portable terminal to the server, performs the cooling and heating prediction based on the received information.

10. A server provided to an information center processing the vehicle information for transmitting an order of pre-air conditioning in the compartment by receiving a remote control order from a portable terminal of a vehicle user and by starting an air conditioning device of a vehicle identified by the portable terminal before a ride, wherein the pre-air conditioning is performed after being confirmed that a start permission condition related to a predetermined vehicle state has been satisfied, comprising:

a cooling and heating prediction means for performing a cooling and heating prediction whether the air conditioning device will begin cooling or heating on the basis of the remote control order without obtaining a confirmation result of the satisfaction of the start permission condition,

an indication control means for transmitting information to make the screen of the portable terminal display cooling and heating prediction results to the portable terminal.

14. A server according to claim 10,

wherein the cooling and heating prediction means performs the cooling and heating prediction when the remote control order transmitted from the portable terminal was received.

11. A portable terminal for performing pre-air conditioning in the compartment by transmitting a remote control order of pre-air conditioning to an in-vehicle communications unit of the particular vehicle through a server provided to an information center processing the vehicle information and by starting an air conditioning device of the vehicle before a ride, wherein the pre-air conditioning is performed after being confirmed that a start permission condition related to a predetermined vehicle state has been satisfied, comprising:

a cooling and heating prediction means for performing a cooling and heating prediction whether the air conditioning device will begin cooling or heating on the basis of the remote control order without obtaining a confirmation result of the satisfaction of the start permission condition,

an indication control means for displaying cooling and heating prediction results to the screen thereof.