A two-dimensional image of a vehicle occupant in a vehicle is collected. The collected two-dimensional image is input to a machine learning program trained to output one or more reference points of the vehicle occupant, each reference point being a landmark of the vehicle occupant. One or more reference points of the vehicle occupant in the two-dimensional image is output from the machine learning program. A location of the vehicle occupant in an interior of the vehicle is determined based on the one or more reference points. A vehicle component is actuated based on the determined location. For each of the one or more reference points, a similarity measure is determined between the reference point and a three-dimensional reference point, the similarity measure based on a distance between the reference point and the three-dimensional reference point.

Heating and/or cooling a vehicle interior, and in particular a steering wheel, may include receiving a heating/cooling request, automatically directing heated/cooled air from an HVAC duct through louvers adjacent to a steering wheel into a passenger compartment, and automatically rotating the steering wheel back-and-forth to change the location where the heated/cooled air is blown onto the steering wheel. This may include automatically telescoping and automatically tilting the steering wheel as well. Moreover, an infrared camera may be employed to determine where best to rotate the steering wheel for heating/cooling.

Disclosed is an air vent comprising a housing configured to guide an air flow from an air inlet to an air outlet, an air guide arranged at least partly within the housing such that the air guide and the housing define a first air channel and a second air channel, a regulating flap arranged between the air inlet and the air guide, configured to regulate a ratio between a first partial air flow through the first air channel and a second partial air flow through the second air channel, a first and second shutoff element arranged at least partly within the housing. The first shutoff element is configured to shut off the first partial air flow without shutting off the second partial air flow and the second shutoff element is configured to shut off the second partial air flow without shutting off the first partial airflow.

An air outlet device for an air conditioner includes a housing that also serves as an air outlet, swingable fins supported by the housing, a pinion gear portion that can swing with the fins, a rack gear portion that meshes with the pinion gear portion, and an operation portion that can linearly move with the rack gear portion. When the fins are swinging to a maximum swingable angle, a rack tooth portion of the rack gear portion, which meshes with the pinion gear portion, is a rack large tooth portion that is formed larger than the adjacent rack tooth portions.

Disclosed herein is a system for controlling direct and indirect multifunctional air vents, which includes an air vent mounted inside a dashboard in an interior of a vehicle, and configured to guide air flowing from a vehicle air conditioner to the interior of the vehicle while switching to a direct wind mode or an indirect wind mode, a mode input module provided outside the vehicle such that a user selects one of the direct wind mode and the indirect wind mode, and a controller configured to control the air vent to switch the mode of the air vent in response to the mode selected by the user through the mode input module.

An air flow control system includes a plenum having an air inlet, a first air outlet, a second air outlet and a third air outlet, a vent door, an air guide, carried on the vent door, and an actuator. The actuator displaces the vent door between a first position closing the first air outlet and a second position opening the first air outlet. A climate control method for an autonomous vehicle is also provided.

The vehicle includes an air conditioner, a temperature sensor configured to measure an indoor temperature of the vehicle, a camera configured to obtain an image data of a passenger, and a bio-signal sensor configured to measure a bio-signal of the passenger. A controller is configured to control, when a predetermined condition is satisfied, the air conditioner to change a type of wind blowing at predetermined time intervals, to obtain emotion information corresponding to the changed type of wind based on at least one of the image data or the bio-signal, and to blow a type of wind for which a degree of positiveness of emotion information is equal to or greater than a threshold level.

Provided is a vehicular air conditioner including: an air-conditioning case that has an upper passage and a lower passage which are partitioned by an upper and lower partition plate therebetween; a heating unit that is disposed over the upper passage and the lower passage; an upper passage partition plate that is disposed downstream of the heating unit of the upper passage and forms a guide passage that guides a portion of air, which has passed the heating unit, toward an upper and lower connection opening that connects the upper passage and the lower passage; and a guide passage opening/closing unit that closes the guide passage in a state where the upper and lower connection opening is closed.

An air vent control system comprises a directional air flow component mounted on a first axis within a first housing, and a second housing defining an inner space in which the first housing is mounted. A first motor moves the directional air flow component to an angular position within the first housing, and a second motor pivots the first housing contained within the second housing. A front and rear opening allows air flow in a direction from the rear opening to the front opening. A controller sets the angular position of the directional air flow component on the first axis, and the angular position of the first housing on the second axis. The respective positions of the directional air flow component relative to the first housing and the first housing relative to the second housing selectively regulate the direction of airflow discharged.

A system and method for cooling an open air vehicle is provided. The system comprises a housing mounted on the vehicle configured to hold a water tank and a water filter. The system further comprises a water pump and one or more air blowers coupled to the water pump. The system further comprises a battery configured to supply power to the water pump and the one or more air blowers. The method comprises storing water in a water tank the water tank positioned within a housing on the vehicle. The method further comprises powering a water pump, via a battery, and pumping water from the water pump out of one or misting tips. The method further comprises providing one or more air blowers that distributes cold air and water coming out the misting tips.