Automatic climate control system for vehicle

• US 7,513,439 B2
• Filed: 09/15/2005
• Issued: 04/07/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/15/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Nissan Technical Center North America Incorporated (Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Eisenhour, Ronald S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Jiang; Chen-Wen
• Application Number:
  US11/226,252
• Publication Number:
  US 20070056301A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,300 Days
• Field of Search: 622/39, 622/41, 622/42, 622/44, 165/41, 165/42, 165/43, 165/44, 236/91.C, 236/91.F
• US Class Current: 236/49.3
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/0075 the input being solar radiation
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00821 the components being ventilating, air admitting or air distributing devices

Abstract

An automatic climate control system for a vehicle determines actual sun load and a virtual sun load based on prescribed virtual heat load data and the external air temperature. A controller is configured to compare the actual sun load to the virtual sun load to obtain an optimized sun load value, and to control the system based on this optimized sun load value. A method for automatically controlling the climate includes determining measured sun load, determining external air temperature, comparing the measured sun load to the virtual sun load based on prescribed virtual heat load data and the external air temperature to obtain an optimized sun load value, and controlling the system based on the optimized sun load value. The virtual sun load and/or the measured sun load are used to determine the optimized sun load value depending on lighting conditions.

Claims

1. An automatic climate control system for a vehicle comprising:

a cabin air regulating structure configured to regulate airflow into a passenger compartment of the vehicle;

a sun load sensor component configured to measure actual sun load;

an external temperature sensor component configured to determine external air temperature; and

a controller configured to control the cabin air regulating component based on an optimized sun load value to maintain a desired cabin temperature,

the controller being configured to compare the actual sun load to a virtual sun load that is a variable calculated based on prescribed heat load data and the external air temperature, and to determine the optimized sun load value based on the comparison of the actual sun load to the virtual sun load.

2. The automatic climate control system according to claim 1, wherein

the controller is further configured to calculate the optimized sun load value using the virtual sun load when the sun load sensor component receives daylight and when the virtual sun load is larger than the actual sun load.

3. The automatic climate control system according to claim 2, wherein

the controller is further configured to set the optimized sun load value to the actual sun load when the sun load sensor component receives daylight and when the actual sun load is larger than the virtual sun load.

4. The automatic climate control system according to claim 3, wherein

the controller is further configured to set the optimized sun load value to the actual sun load when the sun load sensor component does not receive daylight.

5. The automatic climate control system according to claim 3, wherein

the controller is further configured to determine the virtual sun load by subtracting the external air temperature from a virtual heat load value determined using the prescribed virtual heat load data.

6. The automatic climate control system according to claim 5, wherein

the virtual heat load value is determined using internal air temperature data and mass airflow data in the passenger compartment.

7. The automatic climate control system according to claim 2, wherein

the controller is further configured to use a weighted value of the virtual sun load to obtain the optimized sun load value when the sun load sensor component receives daylight and when the virtual sun load is larger than the actual sun load.

8. The automatic climate control system according to claim 7, wherein

the controller is further configured to use the weighted value of the virtual sun load and a weighted value of the actual sun load to obtain the optimized sun load value when the sun load sensor component receives daylight and when the virtual sun load is larger than the actual sun load.

9. The automatic climate control system according to claim 1, wherein

the controller is further configured to set the optimized sun load value to the actual sun load when the sun load sensor component receives daylight and when the actual sun load is larger than the virtual sun load.

10. The automatic climate control system according to claim 1, wherein

the controller is further configured to set the optimized sun load value to the actual sun load when the sun load sensor component does not receive daylight.

11. The automatic climate control system according to claim 1, wherein

the sun load sensor component includes at least two sun load sensor elements to determine at least two separate actual sun load factors;

the cabin air regulating structure includes at least two blower elements to blow air into at least two zones of the passenger compartment of the vehicle corresponding to areas adjacent to the at least two sun load sensor elements, respectively; and

the controller is further configured to compare each of the actual sun load factors to the virtual sun load to control the cabin air regulating structure to maintain a desired temperature for each of the zones of the passenger compartment.

12. The automatic climate control system according to claim 1, wherein

the cabin air regulating structure includes a blower component, and the controller is further configured to determine an optimal blower speed for the blower component to maintain the desired cabin temperature.

13. The automatic climate control system according to claim 12, wherein

the cabin air regulating structure includes a compressor component, and the controller is further configured to determine an optimal cycling for the compressor component to maintain the desired cabin temperature.

14. The automatic climate control system according to claim 1, wherein

the cabin air regulating structure includes an air blending component, and the controller is further configured to determine an optimal air blending amount for the air blending component to maintain the desired cabin temperature.

15. The automatic climate control system according to claim 1, wherein

the controller is further configured to calculate the optimized sun load value using the virtual sun load and the actual sun load in the calculation when the sun load sensor component receives daylight and when the virtual sun load is larger than the actual sun load.

16. A automatic climate control system comprising:

a cabin air regulating structure configured to regulate airflow into a passenger compartment of the vehicle;

a sun load sensor component configured to measure actual sun load;

an external temperature sensor component configured to determine external air temperature; and

a controller configured to compare the actual sun load to a virtual sun load based on prescribed virtual heat load data and the external air temperature to obtain an optimized sun load value, and to control the cabin air regulating component based on the optimized sun load value to maintain a desired cabin temperature,

the controller being further configured to determine the virtual sun load by subtracting the external air temperature from a virtual heat load value determined using the prescribed virtual heat load data.

17. The automatic climate control system according to claim 16, further comprising

a mass airflow determination component configured to determine mass airflow expelled into the passenger compartment by the cabin air regulating structure;

and

a cabin temperature sensor component configured to determine ambient internal cabin temperature, with the virtual heat load value being determined using the prescribed heat load data, the internal air temperature determined by the cabin temperature sensor component and the mass airflow determined by the mass airflow determination component.

18. The automatic climate control system according to claim 16, wherein

the controller is further configured to use the virtual sun load to obtain the optimized sun load value when the sun load sensor component receives daylight and when the virtual sun load is larger than the actual sun load.

19. The automatic climate control system according to claim 18, wherein

the controller is further configured the optimized sun load value when the sun load sensor component receives daylight and when the actual sun load is larger than the virtual sun load.

20. The automatic climate control system according to claim 19, wherein

the virtual heat load value is determined using internal air temperature data and mass airflow data in the passenger compartment.

21. The automatic climate control system according to claim 16, wherein

the virtual heat load value is determined using internal air temperature data and mass airflow data in the passenger compartment.

22. A method for automatically controlling the climate in a passenger compartment of a vehicle comprising:

measuring actual sun load;

determining external air temperature;

calculating a virtual sun load based on prescribed virtual heat load data and the external air temperature;

comparing the actual sun load to the virtual sun load;

determining an optimized sun load value based on the comparison of the actual sun load to the virtual sun load; and

controlling a cabin air regulating structure based on the optimized sun load value.

23. The method according to claim 22, wherein

the optimized sun load value is determined by a calculation using the virtual sun load when in a daylight condition and when the virtual sun load is larger than the actual sun load.

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein

the optimized sun load value is determined to be the actual sun load in a daylight condition when the actual sun load is larger than the virtual sun load.

25. The method according to claim 24, wherein

the optimized sun load value is determined to be the actual sun load in a non-daylight condition.

26. The method according to claim 23, wherein

a weighted value of the virtual sun load is used to determine the optimized sun load value when in a daylight condition and when the virtual sun load is larger than the actual sun load.

27. The method according to claim 26, wherein

the weighted value of the virtual sun load and a weighted value of the actual sun load are used to determine the optimized sun load value when in a daylight condition and when the virtual sun load is larger than the actual sun load.

28. The method according to claim 22, wherein

the optimized sun load value is determined to be the actual sun load in a daylight condition when the actual sun load is larger than the virtual sun load.

29. The method according to claim 22, wherein

the optimized sun load value is determined to be the actual sun load in a non-daylight condition.

30. The method according to claim 22, wherein

the measuring of the actual sun load includes determining at least two separate actual sun load factors;

the comparing the actual sun load to the virtual sun load includes comparing each of the actual sun load factors to the virtual sun load to obtain at least two optimized sun load values for at least two zones of the passenger compartment; and

the controlling of the cabin air regulating structure includes controlling at least two blower elements of the cabin air regulating structure based on the at least two optimized sun load values.

31. The method according to claim 22, wherein

the controlling of the cabin air regulating structure includes controlling a blower component of the cabin air regulating structure based on the optimized sun load value.

32. The method according to claim 22, wherein

the controlling of the cabin air regulating structure includes controlling a compressor component of the cabin air regulating structure based on the optimized sun load value.

33. The method according to claim 22, wherein

the controlling of the cabin air regulating structure includes controlling an air blending component of the cabin air regulating structure based on the optimized sun load value.

34. A method for automatically controlling the climate in a passenger compartment of a vehicle comprising:

measuring actual sun load;

determining external air temperature;

comparing the actual sun load to a virtual sun load based on prescribed virtual heat load data and the external air temperature to obtain an optimized sun load value; and

controlling a cabin air regulating structure based on the optimized sun load value,

the virtual sun load being determined by subtracting the external air temperature from a virtual heat load value determined using the prescribed virtual heat load data.

35. The method according to claim 34, further comprising

determining mass airflow expelled into the passenger compartment by the cabin air regulating structure;

and

determining ambient internal cabin temperature, with the virtual heat load value being determined using the prescribed heat load data, the internal air temperature and the mass airflow.

36. An automatic climate control system for a vehicle comprising:

a cabin air regulating structure configured to regulate airflow into a passenger compartment of the vehicle;

a sun load sensor component configured to measure actual sun load;

an external temperature sensor component configured to determine external air temperature; and

a controller configured to control the cabin air regulating component based on an optimized sun load value to maintain a desired cabin temperature,

the controller being configured to set the optimized sun load value to the actual sun load when the actual sun load is less than a predetermined threshold value, and to set the optimized sun load value based on a comparison of the actual sun load to a virtual sun load when the actual sun load is at least as large as the predetermined threshold value.

37. The automatic climate control system according to claim 36, wherein

the controller is further configured to set the optimized sun load value to the actual sun load when the actual sun load is determined to be at least as large as the virtual sun load in the comparison;

and

the controller is further configured to calculate the optimized sun load value using the virtual sun load and the actual sun load when the actual sun load is smaller than the virtual sun load in the comparison.

38. A method for automatically controlling the climate in a passenger compartment of a vehicle comprising:

measuring actual sun load;

determining external air temperature;

determining a virtual sun load;

setting an optimized sun load value to the actual sun load when the actual sun load is less than a predetermined threshold value, and setting the optimized sun load value based on a comparison of the actual sun load to the virtual sun load when the actual sun load is at least as large as the predetermined threshold value; and

controlling a cabin air regulating structure based on the set optimized sun load value.

39. The method according to claim 38, wherein

the optimized sun load value is set to the actual sun load when the actual sun load is determined to be at least as large as the virtual sun load in the comparison;

and

the optimized sun load is set using a calculation that uses the virtual sun load and the actual sun load when the actual sun load is smaller than the virtual sun load in the comparison.