Vehicular air conditioning system and air conditioning method

• US 7,823,399 B2
• Filed: 07/31/2006
• Issued: 11/02/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/22/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Egawa, Yukio
• Primary Examiner(s): Norman; Marc E
• Application Number:
  US11/990,742
• Publication Number:
  US 20090133417A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,555 Days
• Field of Search: 621/78, 621/80, 621/86, 622/44, 165/202, 165/204
• US Class Current: 62/178
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00735 Control systems or circuits characterised by their input, i.e. by the detection, measurement or calculation of particular conditions, e.g. signal treatment, dynamic models
• 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 1/00778 the input being a stationary vehicle position, e.g. parking or stopping

Abstract

When there is a command for pre-air conditioning to be performed, an inlet switches to an inside air recirculating mode and a compressor and a blower fan are driven to blow air that was drawn in toward a lower portion in a vehicle cabin (130 to 136). Then when a door switch detects that an occupant may get into the vehicle (100, 102), air is blown from an outlet toward the upper portion in the vehicle cabin while the inlet remains in the inside air recirculation mode (114 to 124). That is, cooled air in the lower portion in the vehicle cabin is drawn in, cooled, and then blown toward the occupant. Also, when starting the pre-air conditioning, the battery state-of-charge is detected and pre-air conditioning is prohibited if the battery state-of-charge is less than a predetermined value (116, 126, 128).

Claims

1. An air conditioning system for a vehicle which is capable of performing pre-air conditioning in which a vehicle cabin is air conditioned before an occupant gets into the vehicle, comprising:

an inlet in which an air intake source is changeable;

an outlet in which the blowing direction of either air that has been drawn in from the inlet or air that has been drawn in from the inlet and cooled using a refrigerant cycle which a circulates refrigerant is changeable;

predicting means for predicting that an occupant will get into the vehicle; and

controlling means for blowing cooled air from the outlet toward a lower portion in the vehicle cabin during the pre-air conditioning,

wherein the controlling means draws in air from the lower portion in the vehicle cabin through the inlet and blows cooled air from the outlet toward an upper portion in the vehicle cabin when it is predicted that the occupant will get into the vehicle by the predicting means.

2. The air conditioning system for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein during the pre-air conditioning the controlling means first controls the air conditioning system to draw in outside air from the inlet and blow air from the outlet.

3. The air conditioning system according to claim 1, further comprising:

calculating means for calculating a cooling load necessary to bring the temperature in the vehicle cabin to a target temperature,

wherein during the pre-air conditioning the controlling means controls the air conditioning system to draw in outside air from the inlet and blow air from the outlet until a calculation result of the calculating means becomes equal to or less than a predetermined value.

4. The air conditioning system according to claim 1, wherein when it has been predicted by the predicting means that the occupant will get into the vehicle, the controlling means controls the air conditioning system to first draw in outside air from the inlet and blow air from the outlet toward the upper portion in the vehicle cabin for a predetermined period of time, and then draw in air from the lower portion in the vehicle cabin by the inlet and blow cooled air from the outlet to the upper portion in the vehicle cabin.

5. The air conditioning system according to claim 1, further comprising:

calculating means for calculating a cooling load necessary to bring the temperature in the vehicle cabin to a target temperature,

wherein the controlling means controls the air conditioning system to start the pre-air conditioning when a calculation result of the calculating means is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

6. The air conditioning system according to claim 1, wherein the controlling means detects an amount of electricity stored in electrical storing means for storing electric power used to drive a compressor for circulating the refrigerant of the refrigerant cycle, and prohibits the pre-air conditioning when the detected amount of electricity stored is less than a predetermined value.

7. An air conditioning method for a vehicle provided with an air conditioning system which is capable of performing pre-air conditioning in which a vehicle cabin is air conditioned before an occupant gets into the vehicle and which includes an inlet in which an air intake source is changeable, and an outlet in which the blowing direction of either air that has been drawn in from the inlet or air that has been drawn in from the inlet and cooled using a refrigerant cycle which circulates a refrigerant is changeable, comprising the steps of:

blowing cooled air from the outlet toward a lower portion in the vehicle cabin during the pre-air conditioning; and

drawing in air from the lower portion in the vehicle cabin through the inlet and blowing cooled air from the outlet toward an upper portion in the vehicle cabin when it has been predicted that the occupant will get into the vehicle.

8. The air conditioning method according to claim 7, wherein during the pre-air conditioning the air conditioning system is first controlled to draw in outside air from the inlet and blow air from the outlet.

9. The air conditioning method according to claim 7, further comprising the step of:

calculating a cooling load necessary to bring the temperature in the vehicle cabin to a target temperature,

wherein during the pre-air conditioning the controlling means controls the air conditioning system to draw in outside air from the inlet and blow air from the outlet until a calculation result of the calculating means becomes equal to or less than a predetermined value.

10. The air conditioning method according to claim 7, wherein when it is predicted that the occupant will get into the vehicle, the air conditioning system is controlled to first draw in outside air from the inlet and blow air from the outlet toward the upper portion in the vehicle cabin for a predetermined period of time, and then draw in air from the lower portion in the vehicle cabin by the inlet and blow cooled air from the outlet to the upper portion in the vehicle cabin.

11. The air conditioning method according to claim 7, further comprising the step of:

calculating a cooling load necessary to bring the temperature in the vehicle cabin to a target temperature,

wherein the air conditioning system is controlled to start the pre-air conditioning when a calculation result of the calculating means is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

12. The air conditioning method according to claim 7, wherein an amount of electricity stored in electrical storing means for storing electric power used to drive a compressor for circulating the refrigerant of the refrigerant cycle is detected, and the pre-air conditioning is prohibited when the detected amount of electricity stored is less than a predetermined value.

13. An air conditioning system for a vehicle which is capable of performing pre-air conditioning in which a vehicle cabin is air conditioned before an occupant gets into the vehicle, comprising:

an inlet in which an air intake source is changeable;

an outlet in which the blowing direction of either air that has been drawn in from the inlet or air that has been drawn in from the inlet and cooled using a refrigerant cycle which a circulates refrigerant is changeable;

a predicting device that predicts that an occupant will get into the vehicle; and

a controller that blows cooled air from the outlet toward a lower portion in the vehicle cabin during the pre-air conditioning,

wherein the controller draws in air from the lower portion in the vehicle cabin through the inlet and blows cooled air from the outlet toward an upper portion in the vehicle cabin when it is predicted that the occupant will get into the vehicle by the predicting device.