Driver personalized climate conditioning

• US 9,643,471 B2
• Filed: 03/27/2012
• Issued: 05/09/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: Prakah-Asante, Kwaku O., Le, Jialiang, Rao, Manoharprasad K., Strumolo, Gary S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Len
• Assistant Examiner(s): COX, ALEXIS K
• Application Number:
  US13/430,776
• Publication Number:
  US 20130255930A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,869 Days
• 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 1/0075 the input being solar radiation
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00807 the input being a specific way of measuring or calculating an air or coolant temperature

Abstract

An HVAC system for a vehicle includes a skin temperature sensor for measuring an actual skin temperature of the driver and a cabin temperature sensor for measuring an actual cabin temperature of ambient air within the passenger cabin. A controller module stores a target cabin temperature. The controller module controls the HVAC system according to a first error between the target cabin temperature and the actual cabin temperature. The actual cabin temperature is filtered according to a first time constant. A personalization module stores a target skin temperature, and the personalization module determines an offset to be applied to the target cabin temperature according to a second error between the target skin temperature and the actual skin temperature. The actual skin temperature is filtered according to a second time constant longer than the first time constant.

Claims

1. Apparatus in a transportation vehicle occupied by a person within a passenger cabin, comprising:

a skin temperature sensor for measuring an actual skin temperature of the person;

a cabin temperature sensor for measuring an actual cabin temperature of ambient air within the passenger cabin;

an HVAC system with a heat source and a cool source for providing heated and cooled air flow into the passenger cabin;

a controller module storing a target cabin temperature, wherein the controller module is configured to control the heat source and cool source to reduce a first error between the target cabin temperature and an averaged actual cabin temperature, wherein the controller module is configured to average the actual cabin temperature using a first averaging filter with a first time constant; and

a personalization module storing a target skin temperature, wherein the personalization module is configured to apply an offset to the target cabin temperature used to determine the first error according to a second error between the target skin temperature and an averaged actual skin temperature, wherein the personalization module is configured to average the actual skin temperature using a second averaging filter with a second time constant longer than the first time constant.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the offset is zero when a difference between the target cabin temperature and the averaged actual cabin temperature is greater than a first threshold.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the offset is comprised of the second error multiplied by a gain factor.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the gain factor is a function of corresponding magnitudes of the first error and the second error.

5. The apparatus of claim 3 further comprising a map for correlating corresponding magnitudes of the first error and the second error with a value for the gain factor.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the averaged actual cabin temperature is determined in accordance with a formula

CT_k=α

_CTCT_k-1+(1−

α

_CT)CT_k

where CT is actual cabin temperature, α

_CT is the filter gain between 0 and 1 which defines the first time constant, and k is an index.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the averaged actual skin temperature is determined in accordance with a formula

BT_k=α

_BTBT_k-1+(1−

α

_BT)BT_k

where BT is actual skin temperature, α

_BT is the filter gain between 0 and 1 which defines the second time constant, and k is an index.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the averaged actual cabin temperature is determined in accordance with a formula

CT_k=α

_CTCT_k-1+(1−

α

_CT)CT_k

where CT is actual cabin temperature, α

_CT is the first time constant, and k is an index;

wherein the averaged actual skin temperature is determined in accordance with a formula

BT_k=α

_BTBT_k-1+(1−

α

_BT)BT_k

where BT is actual skin temperature and α

_BT is the second time constant;

wherein the first error is determined in accordance with a formula

CT_err(k)=CT_tar(k)−

CT_k

where CT_err is the first error and CT_tar is the target cabin temperature;

wherein the second error is determined in accordance with a formula

BT_err(k)=BT_tar(k)−

BT_k

where BT_err is the second error and BT_tar is the target skin temperature; and

wherein an updated target cabin temperature is determined in accordance with a formula

CT_tar(k)=CT_tar(k−

1)+K₁BT_err(k)

where K₁ is the gain factor.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the skin temperature sensor is comprised of an infrared sensor mounted in a steering wheel of the vehicle and directed toward a face of the person.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the skin temperature sensor is comprised of first and second infrared sensors mounted in a steering wheel of the vehicle and directed toward a left-side and a right-side of a face of the person, respectively, and wherein the personalization module compares temperature measurements from the infrared sensors with the measured actual cabin temperature to determine the actual skin temperature.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a user interface, wherein the target cabin temperature is determined using a manual user setting selected via the user interface.

12. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a user interface, wherein the target skin temperature is determined using a manual user setting selected via the user interface.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the personalization module calculates a recommended skin temperature and displays the recommended skin temperature via the user interface.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 further comprising a wireless communication device for obtaining a preview external air temperature, wherein the recommended skin temperature is calculated in response to the preview external air temperature.

15. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the controller module and the personalization module are integrated in a programmable microcontroller.

16. A method of controlling heated and cooled air flow from an HVAC system into a passenger cabin of a transportation vehicle occupied by a person, comprising the steps of:

measuring an actual skin temperature of the person;

measuring an actual cabin temperature of ambient air within the passenger cabin;

storing a target cabin temperature;

averaging the actual cabin temperature according to a first time constant;

controlling a heat source and a cool source of the HVAC system to reduce a first error between the target cabin temperature and the averaged actual cabin temperature;

storing a target skin temperature;

averaging the actual skin temperature according to a second time constant longer than the first time constant; and

determining an offset for updating the target cabin temperature according to a second error between the target skin temperature and the averaged actual skin temperature.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the offset is zero when the first error between the target cabin temperature and the averaged actual cabin temperature is greater than a first threshold.

18. The method of claim 16 wherein the offset is determined in response to the second error multiplied by a gain factor.

19. The method of claim 18 further comprising the step of determining the gain factor as a function of corresponding magnitudes of the first error and the second error.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein a map correlates corresponding magnitudes of the first error and the second error with a value for the gain factor.

21. The method of claim 16 further comprising the steps of:

determining an external air temperature outside the passenger cabin;

calculating a recommended skin temperature in response to the external air temperature and the actual cabin temperature; and

displaying the recommended skin temperature to the person via a user interface.

22. The method of claim 16 further comprising the steps of:

receiving a preview external air temperature via a wireless communication system;

calculating a recommended skin temperature in response to the preview external air temperature and the actual cabin temperature; and

displaying the recommended skin temperature to the person via a user interface.