阅读说明：本技术 响应于二氧化碳估算控制车辆通风的方法和装置 (Method and apparatus for controlling vehicle ventilation in response to carbon dioxide estimation ) 是由 D·焦尔达诺 T·M·图马斯 于 2019-05-09 设计创作，主要内容包括：本申请总体上涉及响应于估算的二氧化碳水平控制车厢空气的再循环。特别地,本文所提出的方法和装置使用现有的车辆传感器来估算车厢内的二氧化碳水平,以最大限度地实现车厢内部空气再循环,从而使进入的外部有害气体最少并降低加热和空调系统的负荷。(the present application relates generally to controlling recirculation of cabin air in response to an estimated carbon dioxide level. In particular, the methods and apparatus presented herein use existing vehicle sensors to estimate carbon dioxide levels within the cabin to maximize cabin interior air recirculation, thereby minimizing the ingress of external harmful gases and reducing the load on the heating and air conditioning system.)

1. An apparatus for controlling the level of carbon dioxide in a vehicle cabin, comprising:

A recirculation module for introducing outside air into the vehicle compartment having a recirculation state and an open state;

A first sensor for determining occupancy of the car;

a memory for storing car volume data; and

a controller for estimating a carbon dioxide level in response to the duration of the recirculation state, the cabin occupancy, and the cabin volume data, the controller generating a control signal to switch the recirculation module to the open state in response to the estimation of the carbon dioxide level exceeding an upper limit value.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a fan speed sensor, wherein the carbon dioxide level is estimated in response to data from the fan speed sensor.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is further operable to generate a control signal to switch the recirculation module to the recirculation state in response to the estimate of the carbon dioxide level being deemed below a lower limit.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a location sensor, wherein the carbon dioxide level is estimated in response to data generated by responding to the location sensor.

5. the apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a vehicle speed sensor, wherein the carbon dioxide level is estimated in response to data generated in response to the vehicle speed sensor.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a window status sensor, wherein the carbon dioxide level is estimated in response to data generated in response to the window status sensor.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the memory is operative to store a carbon dioxide look-up table, the controller being further responsive to the look-up table to estimate the carbon dioxide level.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is further operative to estimate a cabin leak, and to estimate the level of carbon dioxide responsive to the cabin leak.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a location sensor for generating location data, wherein the memory is further operative to store air quality location data and estimate the carbon dioxide level responsive to the location data and the air quality location data.

10. A method of controlling a level of carbon dioxide in a vehicle cabin, comprising;

determining the occupancy condition of a carriage;

Determining a duration of a recirculation mode of a recirculation module;

Retrieving car volume data from memory;

Estimating a cabin carbon dioxide level in response to the cabin occupancy, the recirculation mode duration, and the cabin volume data to generate an estimated cabin carbon dioxide level; and

A recirculation module control signal is generated in response to the comparison of the estimated cabin carbon dioxide level.

Technical Field

The present application relates generally to controlling recirculation of vehicle cabin air in response to an estimated carbon dioxide level. In particular, the present application relates to estimating the carbon dioxide level of a vehicle cabin in response to stored data and conventional vehicle sensors to control cabin ventilation time.

background

Cabin comfort is a major driver for automotive manufacturers to achieve customer satisfaction. Heating, cooling, humidity control and air freshness are all factors that contribute to passenger comfort. However, maintaining all of these factors simultaneously requires a compromise between performance and comfort. For example, it is counterproductive to cool the cabin with an air conditioner and introduce outside hot air to keep the air fresh.

Another compromise in cabin comfort is that the ventilation of fresh air can reduce the build-up of carbon dioxide from passenger breathing, but can introduce external noxious gases, such as carbon monoxide in the vehicle exhaust, as the air outside the vehicle is circulated into the cabin. Accordingly, there is a need for a method and apparatus for venting fresh air into a vehicle cabin that addresses one or more of the shortcomings of the prior art discussed above.

Disclosure of Invention

According to one aspect of the invention, an apparatus for controlling a level of carbon dioxide in a vehicle cabin comprises: a recirculation module for introducing outside air into a vehicle cabin having a recirculation state and an open state; a first sensor for determining a car occupancy; a memory for storing car volume data; and a controller for estimating the carbon dioxide level in response to the recirculation state duration, the cabin occupancy and the cabin volume data, the controller being operable to generate a control signal to switch the recirculation module to the open state in response to the estimation of the carbon dioxide level exceeding an upper limit value.

According to another aspect of the invention, a method of controlling carbon dioxide levels in a vehicle cabin includes determining a vehicle cabin occupancy in response to the vehicle cabin occupancy, a duration of a recirculation mode, and vehicle cabin volume data, determining a duration of a recirculation mode in a recirculation module, retrieving the vehicle cabin volume data in memory and estimating a vehicle cabin carbon dioxide level to generate an estimated vehicle cabin carbon dioxide level, and generating a recirculation module control signal in response to the estimated vehicle cabin carbon dioxide level comparison.

Additional features of the invention will be apparent from the following description and appended claims, and from the accompanying drawings.

Drawings

The above-mentioned and other features and advantages of this invention, and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparent and the invention will be better understood by reference to the description of an embodiment of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary environment 100 for a car 105 for implementing the systems and methods of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram depicting an exemplary system for controlling ventilation of a vehicle in response to a carbon dioxide estimate.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary flow chart depicting an exemplary method for controlling vehicle ventilation in response to a carbon dioxide estimate.

The exemplifications set out herein illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention, and such embodiments are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention in any manner.

Detailed Description

The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the disclosure or the application and uses thereof. Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any theory presented in the preceding background or the following detailed description. For example, controlling vehicle ventilation in response to carbon dioxide estimation in the present disclosure has particular application for vehicles. However, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the methods and apparatus of the present disclosure may have other applications in systems external to a vehicle.

Referring now to fig. 1, a diagram of an exemplary environment 100 for a car 105 implementing the systems and methods of the present disclosure is shown. The exemplary cabin 105 is equipped with passenger seats 130, a heating and air conditioning system (HVAC)110, and a recirculation module 115. In an exemplary application, the cabin 105 inputs light energy 130 from the sun 125 into the cabin 105, thereby causing an increase in thermal energy and temperature within the cabin 105. To counteract this heat energy, the HVAC system 110 cools the cabin air, recirculating the cabin air 120. Passengers in the vehicle may exhaust carbon dioxide CO2 when breathing and therefore, the cabin air must be periodically replaced by introducing outside air through the recirculation module 115, which is then typically introduced into the cabin 105 through the HVAC system 110. However, when outside air is introduced into the cabin 105, the air must be heated or cooled to a desired interior temperature, thus placing an additional burden on the HVAC system 110. In addition, harmful gases from outside the vehicle are also introduced into the vehicle, such as carbon monoxide, pollen and other allergens from the vehicle exhaust.

To minimize the introduction of outside air while reducing the burden on the HVAC system 110 and reducing the build-up of CO2 in the vehicle, the system and corresponding method may estimate the level of CO2 in the vehicle cabin based on detectable internal cabin factors, such as cabin occupancy, cabin size, vehicle location, etc. The system proposed by the present disclosure is advantageous in that it does not require an expensive CO2 sensor, and can accurately estimate the CO2 concentration due to passenger breathing without using a CO2 sensor. For most applications, existing sensors in the vehicle HVAC system 110 and non-HVAC systems are used as inputs to the CO2 model.

Turning now to FIG. 2, a block diagram of an example system for controlling vehicle ventilation in response to a carbon dioxide estimate 200 is shown. The system includes an HVAC controller 210, a recirculation module 250, and a plurality of sensors. The sensor may include one or more of the following: occupancy detection sensor 215, HVAC fan speed detector 220, window and door status sensor 225, vehicle speed sensor 230, HVAC temperature door position sensor 235, and vehicle position sensor 240. Further, the system may store data in memory 245, such as cabin volumes, regional and local CO2 estimates, fan speed data, and the like. These stored data are input into the CO2 model along with the data provided by the sensors.

in one exemplary embodiment, the change in CO2 concentration over time is determined by the sum of the expired CO2 per minute for each passenger plus the externally introduced CO2 volume (including exchange through the recirculation module and air leakage from the cabin), plus the previous CO2 volume remaining after being replaced by the incoming outside air. This sum is divided by the total breathable volume inside the cabin to determine the CO2 concentration. It should be noted that all inputs need not use the model. If no input is present, then the average or worst case value of the CO2 accumulation is not used. Once the estimated CO2 concentration exceeds the threshold, the HVAC controller 210 controls the recirculation module 250 to introduce outside air with a lower CO2 concentration to reduce the internal CO2 concentration.

The breathable air volume is the volume of air within the vehicle cabin that results in a reduction in the per-passenger personal breathing air volume due to the body volume of each passenger. The external CO2 concentration may be determined by comparing a look-up table stored in memory 245 with a location (e.g., global positioning system GPS signal) determined by vehicle location sensor 240, or determined from a regional or global average CO2 concentration. This location data or global average CO2 concentration may also be used as the starting cabin CO2 concentration, depending on the vehicle time-out and last CO2 estimate. Uncontrolled leakage may be determined based on vehicle speed, blower speed, and temperature settings. The HVAC fan speed may be requested as part of the selected thermal model or as part of the occupant. The CO2 emission rate is a standard value for each passenger at rest. The weight of the passenger determined by the weight sensor may also be used to fine tune the CO2 emission rate. Any open door or window leak rate is determined in response to the window and door window condition sensor 225. Furthermore, the air exchange rate when the door or window is opened may also take into account the outside concentration according to each opened instance.

The system and method may be used to control a recirculation door within the recirculation module 250 to introduce outside air in response to the CO2 concentration. When the CO2 concentration reaches an upper limit, the recirculation door is opened and outside air is introduced. When the CO2 concentration reaches a lower threshold, the doors are closed and the HVAC system is again operational and operative to recirculate air within the vehicle cabin.

Turning now to FIG. 3, an exemplary flow chart depicting an exemplary method for controlling vehicle ventilation in response to a carbon dioxide estimate 300 is shown. The method is first used to determine the occupancy of the car 310. This can be determined by sensors used in vehicle seats, safety belts, etc. The weight of the passengers may also be determined by using in-seat sensors to more accurately estimate the CO2 generated by each passenger and the volume of cabin space occupied by each passenger, and subtracting the estimated volume of each passenger from the cabin volume to determine the cabin volume available for air circulation.

The method may then be used to determine the recirculation mode duration of the recirculation module 320. This duration helps estimate the accumulated CO2 in the cabin over time. Theoretically, the longer the ventilation system is in the recirculation mode, the greater the concentration of CO2 in the cabin. In one exemplary embodiment, the duration may be determined based on a timer set during vehicle launch based on when the doors are closed and the current time or a duration between the previous open state of the recirculation module and the current time.

The method may then be used to retrieve car volume data from memory 330. The memory may store a cabin volume or the like for access by the HVAC controller. Further, the HVAC controller may estimate the cabin volume available for cabin air circulation by subtracting the estimated passenger volume from the total cabin volume.

The method is then operable to estimate the cabin carbon dioxide level 340. The cabin carbon dioxide level may be determined in response to the occupancy of the cabin 340, the recirculation mode duration, and the cabin volume data to generate an estimated cabin carbon dioxide level.

The method may then be used to generate a recirculation module control signal in response to the comparison of the estimated cabin carbon dioxide level 350. The method is further operable to generate a control recirculation module control signal such that the recirculation module is in the recirculation mode when the estimated cabin carbon dioxide level is below a first level and the recirculation module is in the open mode when the estimated cabin carbon dioxide level is above a second level.

The method of claim 11, wherein the control signal is operable to control the recirculation module such that the recirculation module is in the recirculation mode when the estimated cabin carbon dioxide level is below a first level and the recirculation module is in the open mode when the estimated cabin carbon dioxide level is above a second level. The open mode introduces outside air into the vehicle compartment.

optionally, the method may determine a fan speed of the recirculation module, and wherein the cabin carbon dioxide level is estimated in response to the fan speed. Further, the vehicle position may be used to estimate the external CO2 level, where the cabin carbon dioxide level is estimated by an estimation of the external CO2 level and in response to the vehicle position. Also, the method may determine a vehicle speed, and wherein the cabin carbon dioxide level is estimated in response to the vehicle speed. For example, if the vehicle is traveling at a high speed, less time may be required for cabin air to recirculate than if the vehicle is stationary. Vehicle speed may be used in conjunction with a window status sensor to determine that a window is open and that cabin air has been updated through the open window. Thus, the method may determine a window state and estimate a cabin carbon dioxide level based on the window state.

The method may also be used to store a carbon dioxide look-up table, further estimating the level of carbon dioxide in response to the look-up table. The method may estimate a cabin leak, wherein a cabin carbon dioxide level is estimated in response to the cabin leak and a vehicle location is determined, and wherein the memory is further operative to store air mass location data, which may be used to estimate a cabin CO2 level, and to make the estimation of the cabin carbon dioxide level in response to the vehicle location.

The examples set forth herein illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention in any way.