Ventilation control systems and methods for a vehicle are presented. The system includes a touch screen that is configures to display an object and receive a selection of a part of the object. The system also includes an air vent that comprises at least one controllable fin and a motor that can control the configuration of that fin. A control circuitry of the system configures the fin, using the at least one motor, to direct air from the air vent to a location that corresponds to the selected part of the object.

An ice chest air conditioner for cooling a pet in a stationary motor vehicle is provided. The air conditioner has an insulated ice chest reservoir. The reservoir contains a volume of ice. An insulated lid is a hollow double walled construction defining an interior cooling plenum and a separate exhaust duct. The cooling plenum has an air intake vent, and a cooled air exhaust vent, and a heat exchanger and fan assembly. A fan is operable to drawn in through the air intake vent, past the heat exchanger, and outwardly into an interior of the reservoir through the cooled air exhaust vent. Conditioned air from the reservoir is delivered into an interior of the motor vehicle through the air exhaust duct A fluid pump recirculates a volume of melting ice water through the heat exchanger. A snorkel is connected to the air exhaust duct for directing the conditioned air into an interior portion of the motor vehicle. A monitor and control is in operable power and control communication with the pump and fan assembly. A telemetry system includes a remotely controllable device with an application for control and display of system parameters.

An HVAC system includes an HVAC unit having a cooling mode and a heating mode for conditioning the air in an inside space, and a programmable thermostat located remotely from the HVAC unit. The HVAC unit may have an onboard controller configured to control when the HVAC unit is in the cooling mode or heating mode, and whether the HVAC unit is activated or not. In some cases, the onboard controller of the HVAC unit may use a common temperature setpoint when controlling in the cooling mode and the heating mode. The programmable thermostat may have a programmable schedule with a plurality of time periods, where each time period has a heating setpoint and a cooling setpoint separated by a dead band. The onboard controller of the HVAC unit may be configured to accept input signals from the remotely located thermostat. The remotely located thermostat may send one or more input signals to the onboard controller of the HVAC unit in accordance with the programmable schedule, where the one or more input signals cause the onboard controller of the HVAC unit to set the HVAC unit to a particular one of the cooling mode and the heating mode, and to activate the HVAC unit so as to condition the air in the inside space in the particular one of the cooling mode and the heating mode.

A vehicle passenger reminder system for notifying a user that a passenger has been left unattended in a vehicle. The vehicle passenger reminder system includes a driver weight sensor to be positioned on the driver's seat to determine if the driver is seated in the vehicle. The system further includes a child weight sensor for a child seat to determine if a child is seated in a vehicle. When the driver exits the vehicle, a control unit of the present invention determines if the child is still seated in the vehicle, and an alarm system is activated to notify the user. Further, a cooling mechanism is provided that includes a fan for cooling the child if a temperature sensor detects that the temperature within the vehicle has risen to a predetermined temperature.

A vehicle temperature regulation apparatus includes a temperature regulator configured to regulate a temperature of a circuit board mounted in a vehicle, a controller configured to control the temperature regulator, and a storage unit configured to store a vehicle startup scheduled time. When the temperature of the circuit board at a check time before the vehicle startup scheduled time is outside of a predetermined normal temperature range, the controller executes circuit board pre-temperature-regulation control to operate the temperature regulator to regulate the temperature of the circuit board before the vehicle startup scheduled time.

A system for providing efficient climate control in a vehicle. The system has an HVAC system configured to receive a user-defined temperature. The HVAC system has a cabin temperature sensor. The system has a controller coupled to the HVAC system and coupleable to a mobile device. The controller is programmed to (i) receive an estimated travel time of the vehicle from the mobile device and (ii) modify output of the HVAC system based on the travel time being below a time threshold.

A method for operating a vehicle includes receiving, at a wearable article, a first input from a user indicating a vehicle function to be performed on a vehicle, receiving a second input indicating a gesture by the user for authentication, and generating, at the wearable article, a control signal for performing the vehicle function on the vehicle based on a successful authentication of the user.

The disclosure generally pertains to systems and methods for using vehicles to detect and remediate air pollution. In an example implementation, a server computer transmits a directive to a vehicle controller of a vehicle, to measure an air pollution level around the vehicle at a first location. The vehicle controller executes an air pollution measurement and transmits measurement data to the server computer. The server computer evaluates the measurement data and directs the vehicle controller to perform a remedial action for reducing the air pollution level at the first location. The remedial action can involve, for example, the vehicle controller moving the vehicle from the first location to a second location. The server computer may also determine whether the first location is a transient pollution location or a persistent pollution by directing the vehicle controller to carry out measurements at two different times and/or by employing two different sampling rates.

An information processing method executed by a vehicle system that controls an air conditioner of a vehicle via a communication line includes: an output step of outputting a user interface corresponding to a type of the air conditioner provided in a target vehicle; an acquisition step of acquiring a parameter related to air conditioning, the parameter being set via the user interface; and control step of issuing a control command for controlling the air conditioner of the target vehicle based on the acquired parameter.

A wireless mobile device is used to control an HVAC temperature setpoint in a police vehicle containing a police dog. A wireless signal specifying a commanded temperature setting is checked to prevent malicious adjustments by a hacker. The commanded temperature setting is rejected when it is outside a predetermined range between an absolute minimum and an absolute maximum. When an outside ambient temperature is below a cold-day threshold, then the commanded temperature setting is rejected when it requests a temperature decrease. When the outside ambient temperature is above a hot-day threshold, then the commanded temperature setting is rejected when it requests a temperature increase. Otherwise, when the commanded temperature setting is not rejected as being outside the predetermined range, as being a decrease when below the cold-day threshold, or as being an increase when above the hot-day threshold, then the temperature setpoint is set to match the commanded setting.