Patent ID: 7389812

Claim:
An air conditioning system for a vehicle that includes a first seat and a second seat, the air conditioning system comprising: a first discharge opening for discharging conditioning air around the first seat; a second discharge opening for discharging conditioning air around the second seat; a first non-contacting temperature sensor for measuring a surface temperature of an occupant seated in the first seat without contacting the occupant in the first seat; a second non-contacting temperature sensor for measuring a surface temperature of an occupant seated in the second seat without contacting the occupant in the second seat; occupant detecting means for detecting presence of the occupant in one of the first and second seats; air conditioning control means for independently controlling air conditioning around the first seat and air conditioning around the second seat according to a first target discharge air temperature determined for the conditioning air to be discharged from the first discharge opening and a second target discharge air temperature determined for the conditioning air to be discharged from the second discharge opening; and an outside air temperature sensor for measuring a temperature of air outside a passenger compartment of the vehicle, wherein: the air conditioning control means determines the first target discharge air temperature based on a temperature measurement of the first non-contacting temperature sensor and a desired preset temperature of air around the first seat and also determines the second target discharge air temperature based on a temperature measurement of the second non-contacting temperature sensor and a desired preset temperature of air around the second seat; when the occupant detecting means indicates absence of the occupant in one of the first and second seats, the air conditioning control means controls the air conditioning state around the one of the first and second seats in such a manner that the temperature measurement associated with the one of the first and second seats substantially coincides with a predetermined desired preset temperature value; and the air conditioning control means determines the predetermined desired preset temperature value based on the outside air temperature measured with the outside air temperature sensor.