Patent Publication Number: US-2019184788-A1

Title: Method and system of controlling climate controlled zones in a vehicle based on occupant presence

Description:
FIELD 
     The invention relates generally to a system and method of controlling climate in a vehicle, more particularly to a system and method of controlling climate within a climate controlled zone. 
     BACKGROUND 
     The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may or may not constitute prior art. 
     Vehicle climate control systems such as air conditioning systems provides the vehicle occupants with a comfortable environment during hot or cold ambient driving conditions. A typical air conditioning system includes an evaporator, a heater core, and a blower assembly. The blower assembly induces a flow of air over the evaporator and/or heater core to provide conditioned air to a passenger cabin of the vehicle. In cooling mode, ambient and/or recycled cabin air is passed over the evaporator to remove heat energy and moisture from the air, thereby providing cooled and dehumidified conditioned air to the passenger cabin. In heating mode, ambient, recycled cabin air, and/or a portion of the conditioned air from the evaporator is passed over the heater core to add heat energy, thereby providing warmed conditioned air to the passenger cabin. 
     A compressor is used to circulate a refrigerant through the evaporator and a coolant pump is used to circulate a hot coolant through the heater core. The compressor and coolant pump are typically driven by a power takeoff from the engine of the vehicle; thereby increasing demand on the engine resulting in increased energy usage. In smaller vehicles such as a subcompact or compact car, the energy difference utilized to provide conditioned air to the occupied areas of the vehicle as compared to providing conditioned air to the entire passenger cabin, including non-occupied areas, may be negligible. However, for larger vehicles such as a three row sport utility vehicle or mini-van, the energy difference may be substantial greater. For even larger vehicles such as buses, subway trains, and passenger planes, the energy difference required to provide conditioned air to the entire passenger cabin as opposed only to occupied areas of the passenger cabin is even substantially greater. 
     For vehicles having multiple climate controlled zones, environmental parameters such as temperature, air flowrate, and even direction of air deliver may be adjusted by an occupant for the climate controlled zone in which the occupant occupies. Once the occupant leaves the climate controlled zone, the environmental parameters are typically retained at their previous setting, thereby wasting energy. When a new occupant occupies the climate controlled zone, the new occupant would need to re-adjust the environmental parameters to the new occupant&#39;s preferences, thereby causing a minor inconvenience for the new occupant. 
     Thus, while current climate control systems achieve their intended purpose, there is a need for a new and improved method and system for controlling environmental parameters in a climate controlled zone based on the occupant presence to reduce energy usage while anticipating the preferred settings of the environmental parameters of the occupant. 
     SUMMARY 
     According to several aspects, a method for controlling environmental parameters in a vehicle having multiple climate controlled zones is provided in the disclosure. Environmental parameters include a conditioned air temperature, a conditioned air flow rate, a conditioned air flow direction, and/or a seating temperature. The method includes the steps of determining, by a controller, whether a climate controlled zone is occupied by a user. If the climate controlled zone is not occupied by a user, then the controller assigns a status of “non-occupied” to the climate controlled zone. If the climate controlled zone is occupied by a user, then the controller assigns a status of “occupied” to the climate controlled zone, identifies the user, and retrieves from a database a user profile linked to the identified user. The user profile includes predetermined environmental parameter settings. The controller can adjust at least one environmental parameter for the climate controlled zone to match the predetermined environmental parameter settings. 
     In an additional aspect of the present disclosure, the method further includes the step of activating, by the controller, a human machine interface (HMI) configured for the user to manually adjust the environmental parameter. 
     According to several aspects, the method further includes the steps of inventorying, by the controller, the status of an adjoining climate controlled zone immediately adjacent the climate controlled zone occupied by the user, and syncing the adjustment of the environmental parameters of the adjoining climate controlled zone to the HMI, if the status of the adjoining climate controlled zones is non-occupied. 
     According to several aspects, the HMI is a portable electronic communication device and the user profile is uploaded to the database from the portable electronic communications device. 
     According to several aspects, the step of determining whether the climate controlled zone is occupied by the user includes the step of using the portable electronic and/or electronic communication device to communicate with the controller using near field communications (NFC) through a NFC receiver or similar technology such as pairing an electronic device through bluetooth located within the climate controlled zone. 
     According to several aspects, the steps of determining whether the climate controlled zone is occupied by a user and identifying the user includes capturing an image, by an imaging sensor, of the climate controlled zone; analyzing the image to detect the user and a biometric feature of the user; comparing and matching the biometric feature of the user with biometric features stored in the database; and identify the user based on a matching biometric feature. 
     According to several aspects, the steps of determining whether the climate controlled zone is occupied by a user and identifying the user includes entering a passcode into a keypad. 
     According to several aspects, the method further includes the step of defaulting to preset environmental parameters if the climate controlled zone has the status of non-occupied. 
     According to several aspects, a method of controlling a heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system for a vehicle having a plurality of climate controlled zones is provided in the disclosure. The method includes the steps of defining a plurality of climate controlled zones within the vehicle, wherein at least one zone of the climate controlled zones is configured such that an environmental parameter is adjustable; detecting an object within the at least one zone; determining whether the object is an animate or inanimate object if an object is detected; and assigning a status of “non-occupied” to the climate controlled zone if no object is detected or if the object is inanimate. 
     In an additional aspect of the present disclosure, the step of determining whether the object is an animate or inanimate object includes the steps of capturing an image of the object and processing the image to detect movement of the object and assigning a status of “animate” if movement is detected. 
     In another aspect of the present disclosure, the method further includes the steps of processing the image to determine whether the animate object is a person and assigning a status of “occupied” and activating a human machine interface (HMI) within the at least one zone for adjusting predetermined environmental parameter setting if the animate object is determined to be a person. 
     In another aspect of the present disclosure, the method further includes the steps of determining the status of adjoining climate controlled zones and syncing control of an environmental parameter of the adjoining climate controlled zone to the HMI if the status of the adjoining climate controlled zone is non-occupied. The HMI may be that of a portable computing device 
     In another aspect of the present disclosure, the method further includes the steps of capturing, by an image capturing device, an image of the person; analyzing, by a controller, the image to identify the person; retrieving, from a database, a user profile linked to the identified person, wherein the user profile includes a predetermined environmental parameter setting, and adjusting the environmental parameter to match the predetermined environmental parameter setting to the at least one zone. The user profile may be uploaded to the database from the portable computing device. 
     In another aspect of the present disclosure, the method further includes the steps of registering the portable computing device and user profile with the controller by using near field communications (NFC) through a NFC receiver Bluetooth or similar technology linked to the at least one zone. 
     According to several aspects, a system for adjusting environmental parameters for at least one of a plurality of climate controlled zones within a vehicle is provided in the disclosure. The system includes a HVAC module having a heater core configured to provide heated air and an evaporator configured to provide cooled air; a layout of air ducts in fluid connection with the HVAC module for directing the heated air and the cooled air to the plurality of climate controlled zones. The air ducts include a plurality of actuated blend doors configured to blend the heated air and cooled air; an image capturing device configured to capture an image from one of the climate controlled zone; and an controller in communication with the actuated blend doors and image capturing device. The controller is configured to analyze the image to detect and identify a user occupying the at least one climate controlled zone, retrieve a user profile linked to the identified user, and deliver conditioned air to the at least one climate controlled zone occupied by the user based on the user profile. The controller may also be configured to adjust the temperature setting on a temperature controlled seat located within the at least one climate controlled zone. 
     In an additional aspect of the present disclosure, the system further includes a human machine interface (HMI) accessible by the user within the at least one climate controlled zone for adjusting the environmental parameter. The controller is in communication with the HMI. 
     In another aspect of the present disclosure, the controller is further configured to determine whether the status of an immediate adjoining climate controlled zone is occupied or non-occupied, and sync the HMI to adjust the environmental parameters of the adjoining climate controlled zone if the status is non-occupied. 
     In another aspect of the present disclosure, the system further includes a data base containing the user profile accessible by the controller. The user may upload the user profile through the HMI to the data base. 
     The method and system provides the benefit of saving energy and fuel for the vehicle by providing climate control to climate control zones that are occupied by a human user. The method and system also provides the advantages of setting environmental parameters in accordance with the user&#39;s uploaded preferences. Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. It should be understood that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way. 
         FIG. 1  is an illustration of a top view of a passenger compartment of a vehicle having multiple climate controlled zones, according to an exemplary embodiment; 
         FIG. 2  is schematic illustration of a climate control system for the vehicle of  FIG. 1 , according to an exemplary embodiment; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic illustration of a controller for the climate control system shown in  FIG. 2  and 
         FIG. 4  is a block diagram for a method of controlling the multiple climate controlled zones, according to an exemplary embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses. 
       FIG. 1  shows a top view of an exemplary vehicle  100  showing a cutaway view of a passenger cabin  102 . Adjacent a forward instrument panel  101  of the passenger cabin  102  is a driver seating area  104  and a passenger seating area  106 . A second row seating  108  is located immediately behind the driver seating area  104  and the passenger seating area  106 . A third row seating  110  is located immediately behind the second row seating area  108 . The second row seating  108  include three seating areas  108   a ,  108   b ,  108   c  for passengers. Similarly, the third row seating  110  includes three seating areas  110   a ,  110   b ,  110   c.    
     The passenger cabin  102  includes a plurality of climate controlled zones, in which a climate controlled zone is defined about a respective seating area. A climate controlled zone includes the volume of space about the seating area that a passenger occupies while seated in the seating area. The climate controlled zone also includes the volume of space in which the occupant would have a reasonable freedom of movement while occupying the seating area. The boundaries of the climate controlled zones are shown in dashed lines within the passenger cabin  102 . 
     A first climate control zone  112  and a second climate control zone  114  are defined about the driver seating area  104  and passenger seating area  106 , respectively. A third climate controlled zone  116 , a fourth climate controlled zone  118 , and a fifth climate controlled zone  120  are defined in the second row seat  108  about the three seating areas  108   a ,  108   b ,  108   c , respectively. A sixth climate controlled zone  122 , a seventh climate controlled zone  124 , and an eighth climate controlled zone  126  are defined in the third row seat  110  about the three seating areas  110   a ,  110   b ,  110   c  respectively. Immediately adjacent climate controlled zones may slightly overlap each other. However, the effect of an environment parameter setting in one climate zone should have a minimal to negligible effect on the environment parameter setting in the adjacent climate controlled zone as noticeable by a passenger in each of the respective zones. Examples of environmental parameters include air temperature, airflow rate, airflow direction, and seating temperature. 
     Access to a human machine interface (HMI) is provided in each climate controlled zone. The HMI enables the passenger in each climate controlled zone to manually adjust settings for the environmental parameters for passenger comfort. A center primary HMI  128  is shown in the forward instrument panel  101  of the vehicle  100 . The center primary HMI  128  is configured to enable the driver and front passenger to adjust the environmental parameters for all eight climate control zones  112  through  126  as a single zone. The center primary HMI  128  may also be configured to enable the driver and front passenger to adjust the environmental parameters for each of the eight climate control zones  112  through  126  individually, in which each climate control zone may have the same or different environmental parameter settings. For the second row seating  108 , a center secondary HMI  130  may be provided for access by occupants in the third, fourth, and fifth climate controlled zones  116 ,  118 ,  120 . Separate individual HMIs  132  may be provided for the sixth, seventh, and eight climate controlled zones  122 ,  124 ,  16 . The HMIs may include a keypad configured for a user to enter a predetermined passcode associated with a user&#39;s profile. Alternatively, a portable electronic device  134  such as a smart phone, tablet, computer, and the likes may be used as a portable HMI  134  to control the environmental parameters in a climate controlled zone where the portable electronic device  134  is located within. 
       FIG. 2  shows a climate control system  200  for the passenger cabin  102  of the vehicle  100  shown in  FIG. 1 . The climate control system  200  includes a HVAC module  202  located near or within the dashboard  101  of the vehicle  100 . The HVAC module  202  houses an evaporator  206  and a heater core  208 , and may be integral with a blower assembly  210 . The blower assembly  210  includes a blower fan (not shown) configured to induce an airflow passing over the evaporator  206  and heater core  208  to provide conditioned air to the passenger cabin  102 . While only one HVAC module  202  is shown, it should be appreciated that more than one HVAC module  202  may be utilized. For example, a primary HVAC module may be dedicated to the front seating areas  104 ,  106  and second seating row  108 , while a secondary or tertiary HVAC module may be located adjacent the rear of the vehicle  100  to provide conditioned air to the third row seating area  110 . 
     As exterior ambient and/or recycle airflow from the passenger cabin  102  is passed over the evaporator  206 , thereby cooling and dehumidifying the airflow. A variable mix valve  212  is provided downstream of the evaporator  206  and upstream of the heater core  208  for selecting portions of the cooled and humidified airflow for bypassing to the heater core  208 . A selected portion of airflow from the evaporator  206  may be passed over the heater core  208 , thereby warming the selected portion of airflow. Extending from the discharge of the HVAC module  202  is a myriad network of air ducts  214 . The network of air conduits  214  is laid out to convey conditioned airflow exiting the HVAC module  202  to each of the eight climate controlled zones  112  through  126 . 
     The air ducts  214  may be partitioned into two or more separate flow paths (not shown) where one of the flow paths may conduct a flow of cooled air directly from the evaporator  206  and another of the flow paths may conduct a flow of warmed air from the heater core  208 . An electrically operated blend valve  216  is provided in each outlet end  218  of the air duct  214  that is dedicated to a particular climate control zone. The electrically operated blend valve  216  blends the warmed and cold air to provide a temperature of conditioned air that is desired for that particular climate controlled zone. While an exemplary network of air ducts  214  are described herein, it should be appreciated that alternate layouts of networks of air ducts  214  may be utilized without departing from the scope of the invention. 
     An electrically actuated restriction valve (not shown) may be provided at the each outlet end  218  for each climate controlled zone for the control of airflow rate to each climate controlled zone. The outlet end  218  of the air ducts  214  may include louvered vents or adjustable nozzles (not shown), in which the louver vents or nozzle are adjustable by electric actuators to direct the airflow to a particular area of the climate controlled zone. To further extend the temperature range of the air discharge beyond what is capable from the warm air flow alone, cooled air flow alone, or a combination of warmed and cooled air flow, a thermoelectric device (not shown) may be provided adjacent the outlet end  218  of each of the air ducts  214 . To further enhance the comfort of the passenger in a climate controlled zone  218 , the climate control system may also include a temperature controlled seat  218  in which the temperature setting of the seat  218  may be adjusted. 
       FIG. 3  shows a climate control system  300  for the controlling of environmental parameters for each of the climate controlled zones. The climate control system  300  includes a human machine interface (HMI)  302 , similar to the HMIs described above, for controlling the environmental parameters, an occupant detection sensor  304  configured to detecting whether a climate controlled zone is occupied; electronic actuators  306  for controlling the airflow, temperature of airflow, and flow rate of airflow to each zone; environmental sensors  308 ; and a controller  310 . The controller  310  is in communications with the HMI  302 , occupant detection sensor  304 , electronic actuators  306 , and environmental sensors  308 . 
     The occupant detection sensors  304  utilized for occupant detection may include infrared sensors, motion sensors, range sensors, pressure sensors, or image sensors. It is preferable that image sensors are utilized, since software routines may be provided to analyze the image to recognize the type and particulars of the image. For example, the image may be analyzed to determine if there is movement, whether the object is a person or animal, and/or to further characterize the object or person. The identity of the person may be determined by analyzing biometric features that may be uploaded into a database. Environmental sensors  308  may include air-mass flowrate sensors, humidity sensors, thermocouples, and the likes. 
     The controller  310  includes a processor  312  and a memory device  314  having a database  316  and stored routines  318  accessible by the processor. The processor  312  may be any conventional processor, such as commercially available CPUs, dedicated application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or other hardware-based processor. The memory device  314  may be any computing device readable medium such as hard-drives, solid state memory, ROM, RAM, DVD or any other medium that is capable of storing information that is accessible by the processor  312 . The controller  310  may also be that of a micro-controller having a micro-processor, memory device, and other peripherals embedded on a single integrated circuit. 
     Although only one controller  310  is shown, it is understood that the vehicle may contain multiple controllers  310 . Each of the controllers  310  may include more than one processor and memory, and the plurality of processors and memories do not necessary have to be housed within the respective controllers. Accordingly, references to a controller, processor, and memory devices include references to a collection of such controllers, processors, and memory devices that may or may not operate in parallel 
     The routines  318  may include algorithms to determine whether a climate controlled zone is occupied, and if occupied then determine whether there is movement within the climate controlled zone and type of object occupying the climate controlled zone. The routines also include algorithms to adjust the environmental parameters for each of the climate controlled zone based on uploaded passenger preferences stored in the database. 
       FIG. 4  is a block flow diagram of a method of controlling a climate control system for a vehicle having a plurality of climate controlled zones. The method includes controlling environmental parameters in the climate controlled zones. 
     The method starts in block  402 . In block  404 , a plurality of climate controlled zones are defined within the vehicle. At least one zone of the climate controlled zones is configured such that an environmental parameter is adjustable. 
     In block  406 , the occupant detection sensors detects whether there is an object within the at least one zone. If an object is not detected, then in block  408 , a status of “non-occupied” is assigned and a default setting of environmental parameters are provided for the at least one zone. 
     If an object is detected, then in block  410  a determination is made as to whether the object is animate or inanimate. An image of the object is captured by an imaging sensor, such as an electronic camera. The image is processed by the controller or an ASIC to detect movement of the object. A status of “animate” is assigned if movement is detected and “inanimate” if no movement is detected. If the object is determined to be inanimate, then in block  408 , a status of “non-occupied” is assigned and a default setting of environmental parameters are provided for the at least one zone. 
     If the object is determined to be animate, then in block  412 , the image is further processed to determine whether the animate object is a human user. If the object is determined not to be a human user, then in block  408 , a status of “non-occupied” is assigned and a default setting of environmental parameters are provided for the at least one zone. 
     If the animate object is determined to be a human user, then in block  414 , a status of “occupied” is assigned to the climate controlled zone. In block  416 , the image is further process and compared with biometric data stored in the database to identify the human user and the preferred environmental parameter settings for the human user. A user profile, including the identity of the human user and the preferences of the human user, is stored in a database located onboard of the vehicle or on an off vehicle database, such as a web server. If a user profile match is found, the user profiled is accessed by the controller and the environmental parameters are set in accordance with the preferred settings in the user profile. 
     In block  418 , a human machine interface (HMI) is activated to enable the human user to manually adjust the environmental parameter. The HMI may be an instrument panel or graphical user interface accessible by the human user in the at least one climate controlled zone. Alternatively, the HMI may be a portable computing device, such as a smart phone, bought on board the vehicle by the human user. The user profile may be registered with the controller by using near field communications (NFC) through a NFC receiver, Bluetooth, or similar technology linked to the at least one zone. The user profile may be stored on a NFC enabled card carried by the human user and uploaded to the controller by swiping or tapping the card on the NFC receiver. 
     In block  420 , the status of adjoining climate controlled zones is determined and inventoried. If the status of the adjoining climate controlled is occupied, then the method ends in block  422 . 
     In block  424 , if the status of the adjoining climate controlled zone is non-occupied, then the HMI is synced to enable control of the environmental parameter of the adjoining climate controlled zone. The method ends in block  422 . 
     The method and system for climate control for a vehicle having a plurality of climate controlled zone of the present disclosure offers several advantages. These advantages include the benefit of saving energy and fuel for the vehicle by providing climate control to climate control zones that are occupied by a human user. The method and system also provides the advantages of setting environmental parameters in accordance with the user&#39;s uploaded preferences. The method and system disclosed herein may be scaled up for operations in buses, trains, and/or airplanes. 
     The disclosure has described certain preferred embodiments and modifications thereto. Further modifications and alterations may occur to others upon reading and understanding the specification. Therefore, it is intended that the disclosure not be limited to the particular embodiment(s) disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this disclosure, but that the disclosure will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.