Method and device for regulating a stationary climate control for a vehicle

• US 9,327,581 B2
• Filed: 08/06/2014
• Issued: 05/03/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Volkswagen AG
• Original Assignee: Volkswagen AG
• Inventors: Waeller, Christoph, Enke, Lukas, Naresh, Sathyamoorthy, Bader, Viktor
• Primary Examiner(s): Huynh, Luke
• Application Number:
  US14/453,331
• Publication Number:
  US 20150041113A1
• Time in Patent Office: 636 Days
• Field of Search: 701/36, 165/202
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00392 for electric vehicles having only electric drive means
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00421 Driving arrangements for parts of a vehicle air-conditioning B60H1/3222 takes precedence; auxiliary drives per se for vehicles B60K25/00
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00428 electric
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00878 the components being temperature regulating devices
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/88 Optimized components or subsystems, e.g. lighting, actively controlled glasses

Abstract

A method and device for regulating a stationary climate control system for a vehicle that includes at least one first energy source is provided. A first actual value of a climate parameter is determined from the interior of the parked vehicle, and a difference value is generated from the actual value and a reference value. In addition, a projected usage time is determined for the vehicle, wherein a time interval is determined from the current time and the determined projected usage time. A quantity of energy that is required to set to a desired value for the climate parameter is determined here based on the length of the time interval and the difference value, and the actual value for the climate parameter within the time interval is set to the desired value based on the required quantity of energy and the quantity of energy available from the first energy source.

Claims

1. A method for regulating a stationary climate control system for a vehicle that includes at least one first energy source, the method comprising:

determining an actual value of a climate parameter from an interior of the vehicle;

generating a difference value from the actual value and a reference value;

determining a projected usage time for the vehicle;

determining a time interval from a current time and the determined projected usage time;

determining a quantity of energy required to set the climate parameter to a desired value based on a length of the time interval and the difference value; and

setting the actual value for the climate parameter within the time interval to the desired value based on the required quantity of energy and the quantity of energy available from the first energy source.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein a portion of the required quantity of energy is supplied from a second energy source when the required quantity of energy is greater than the quantity of energy available from the first energy source.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein a determination is made based on the required quantity of energy, whether the required quantity of energy may be drawn from a second energy source at the cost of a range parameter that is determined from the quantity of energy available from the second energy source, and a portion of the required quantity of energy is then supplied from a third energy source based on the determination.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the first energy source is a photovoltaic system, the second energy source is a traction battery, and/or the third energy source is an electrical-system battery.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein setting the climate parameter to the desired value is effected in two phases:

in a first phase, a climate control is regulated so that the actual value of the climate parameter remains constant, wherein the duration of the first phase is dependent on the length of the time interval; and

in a second phase, the actual value of the climate parameter is set to the desired value, wherein the start of the second phase is dependent on a difference between the actual value and the desired value of the climate parameter.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle interior is divided up into climate zones, wherein a separate actual value for the climate parameter is determined for each climate zone and a separate difference value is generated based on the separate actual value and the reference value, wherein the actual value for each climate zone is set separately within the time interval to a separate desired value, wherein a quantity of energy required to set to the desired value is determined for each climate zone separately depending on the length of the time interval and the separate difference value.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the stationary climate control system is connected to an external server through which the vehicle sends data to services, and through which the vehicle receives data based on the sent data, and wherein regulation setting to the desired value is additionally dependent on the received data.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the sent data include the location of the vehicle, the available quantity of energy from the energy sources, and/or the driving behavior of the user, wherein the received data include a weather report, traffic information, data from an appointment calendar of the user, location of the user, and/or information sent by the user to the vehicle.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the climate parameter is the temperature in the vehicle interior, wherein the reference value is the outside temperature found around the vehicle, and wherein the desired value is specified by the user or is determined automatically based on experiential values from the past.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle is a parked vehicle.

11. A device for regulating a stationary climate control system for a vehicle, the device comprising:

at least one climate control unit;

a first energy source;

a sensing unit via which an actual value of a climate parameter is measured in an interior of the vehicle;

an arithmetic unit that generates a difference value from the actual value and a reference value for the climate parameter;

a query unit that determines a projected usage time for vehicle, determines a time interval from a current time and a determined projected usage time, and determines a quantity of energy required to set the climate parameter to a desired value; and

a control unit that sets the actual value for the climate parameter within the time interval by activation of the climate control unit to the desired value based on the required quantity of energy and the quantity of energy available from the first energy source.