Patent ID: 11932080
Assignee: DENSO INTERNATIONAL AMERICA, INC.
Field: Chemical engineering (Chemistry)
Classification: CPC B | IPC B

Claim 0:
1. A vehicle system, comprising
a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system including:
a passenger cabin air filter;
a blower; and
a recirculation door configured to:
when in a first position, allow the blower to draw air from outside of a passenger cabin through the passenger cabin air filter; and
when in a second position:
block airflow through the passenger cabin air filter to the blower; and
allow the blower to draw air from within the passenger cabin to the blower;

a first olfaction sensor disposed directly upstream of the passenger cabin air filter and configured to measure a first amount of a chemical in air upstream of the passenger cabin air filter,
wherein the chemical is one of VOCs and carbon monoxide, and
wherein the passenger cabin air filter is configured to filter from air the same chemical as measured by the first olfaction sensor;
a recirculation module configured to actuate the recirculation door to the second position in response to a determination that (a) the first amount of the chemical in the air upstream of the passenger cabin air filter is greater than a predetermined amount and (b) the HVAC system is operating in one of a heating mode and a cooling mode; and
a second olfaction sensor disposed directly downstream of the passenger cabin air filter and configured to measure a second amount of the chemical in air downstream of the passenger cabin air filter,
wherein the recirculation door is disposed between the blower and the second olfaction sensor.