SYSTEM FOR MIXING CABIN AIR AND OUTSIDE AIR OF AIR-CONDITIONER FOR VEHICLE AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING THE SAME

• US 20150017899A1
• Filed: 05/22/2014
• Published: 01/15/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/11/2013
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Halla Visteon Climate Control Corp (Hahn & Co. Auto Holdings Co. Ltd.), Kia Motors Corporation (Kia Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Halla Visteon Climate Control Corp (Hahn & Co. Auto Holdings Co. Ltd.), Kia Motors Corporation (Kia Corp.)
• Inventors: KIM, Yong Chul, PARK, Sung Hae, JANG, Byeong Moo, LEE, Jung Jae, KIM, Tae Eun
• Application Number:
  US14/285,249
• Publication Number:
  US 20150017899A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 454/75
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00785 by the detection of humidity or frost
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/008 the input being air quality
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00849 for selectively commanding the induction of outside or inside air B60H1/00842 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00857 characterised by the means connecting the initiating means, e.g. control lever, to the damper door
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/24 Devices purely for ventilating or where the heating or cooling is irrelevant nozzles, air-diffusers B60H1/34

Abstract

A system and a method for mixing cabin and outside air of a vehicle air-conditioner may include a housing having cabin and outside air inlets for ventilating the cabin and outside air, a first door part to selectively cover at least a portion of the cabin air inlet and/or a portion of the outside air inlet to adjust an open value of each of the inlets, a second door part to selectively cover the remaining portion of the outside air inlet to adjust the open value of the outside air inlet, a cam part rotatable in the housing and formed with first and second slots to which the first and second door parts are slidably coupled such that rotation angle of the first or the second door part is varied according to rotation of the cam part, and a controlling unit controlling the rotation of the cam part.

Claims

1. A system for mixing cabin air and outside air of an air-conditioner for a vehicle, the system comprising:

a housing of the air-conditioner having a cabin air inlet for ventilating the cabin air and an outside air inlet for ventilating the outside air;

a first door part provided to selectively cover at least a portion of the cabin air inlet and/or a portion of the outside air inlet to thereby adjust an open value of each of the inlets;

a second door part provided to selectively cover the remaining portion of the outside air inlet to thereby adjust the open value of the outside air inlet;

a cam part rotatably installed in the housing and formed with first and second slots, wherein the first door part is slidably coupled to the first slot and the second door part is slidably coupled to the second slot such that a rotation angle of the first door part or the second door part is varied according to a rotation of the cam part; and

a controlling unit controlling the rotation of the cam part.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the first door part is formed in a substantially dome form having a fan shape, and the second door part is formed in a substantially flat form having a plate shape.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the first slot of the cam part is formed to be linearly extended and have both ends which are bent toward a center of the cam part, and the second slot of the cam part is formed to be bent at a predetermined curvature.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the first slot and the second slot of the cam part are formed to be substantially perpendicular to each other.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the cam part is rotated by a driving motor provided therein, and the controlling unit adjusts the rotation of the driving motor by transmitting a control signal to the driving motor.

6. The system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a CO₂ sensing unit detecting an amount of carbon dioxide in a vehicle interior; and

a humidity sensing unit detecting humidity in the vehicle interior;

wherein the controlling unit adjusts an introduction amount of the outside air by adjusting the cam part when the amount of the carbon dioxide in the interior transmitted by the CO₂ sensing unit is equal to or greater than a reference value and/or the humidity in the interior transmitted by the humidity sensing unit is equal to or greater than a reference value.

7. The system according to claim 1, wherein the controlling unit has a database in which a generation amount of carbon dioxide in a vehicle interior over time in a cabin air mode state is pre-checked, and adjusts the second door part when arriving at a predetermined time based on the database.

8. A method of controlling the system for mixing cabin air and outside air of the air-conditioner for a vehicle according to claim 1, the method comprising:

a mode determination operation of determining a cabin air circulation state or an outside air introduction state;

a first determination operation of checking an amount of carbon dioxide in an interior and determining an introduction amount of the outside air based on the amount of the carbon dioxide in a case of the cabin air circulation state;

a second determination operation of checking whether or not humidity in the interior is equal to or greater than a reference value and determining an introduction amount of the outside air based on the humidity when the humidity is equal to or greater than the reference value; and

an outside air introduction operation of adjusting the open value of the outside air inlet so that the outside air is introduced based on the introduction amounts of the outside air derived from the first determination operation and/or the second determination operation.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein in the case of the cabin circulation state, in the outside air introduction operation, the first door part closes a portion of the outside air inlet and only a second door part is operated, thereby adjusting the introduction amount of the outside air.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein in the first determination operation, in a case in which a CO₂ sensing unit is provided in the vehicle, it is checked whether or not the amount of the carbon dioxide in the interior measured by the CO₂ sensing unit is equal to or greater than the reference value, and in the case in which the amount of carbon dioxide is equal to or greater than the reference value, the second door part is adjusted to thereby adjust the introduction amount of the outside air.

11. The method according to claim 8, wherein in the first determination operation, the second door part is adjusted when arriving at a predetermined time based on a database in which a generation amount of the carbon dioxide in the interior over time is pre-checked, such that the introduction amount of outside air is adjusted.

12. The method according to claim 8, wherein in the outside air introduction operation, between the introduction amounts of outside air derived by the first determination operation and the second determination operation, the introduction amount of the outside air according to the humidity in the second determination operation is firstly controlled.

13. The method according to claim 8, wherein in the outside air introduction operation, the open value of the outside air inlet is adjusted based on the introduction amount of the outside air derived by the first determination operation or the introduction amount of the outside air derived by the second determination operation, whichever is larger.

14. The method according to claim 8, wherein the mode determination operation further includes an additional determination operation of checking a driving speed of the vehicle in a case of the outside air introduction state and determining the introduction amount of the outside air for the driving speed when the driving speed of the vehicle is equal to or greater than a reference speed.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein in the outside air introduction operation, the open value of the outside air inlet is adjusted so that the outside air is introduced based on the introduction amounts of the outside air derived by the additional determination operation, the first determination operation, and/or the second determination operation, the introduction amount of the outside air calculated by the second determination operation being firstly controlled.

16. The method according to claim 14, wherein in the additional determination operation, as the driving speed of the vehicle is high, a shift level of a blower is increased.