An Integrated thermal management valve (ITM) control apparatus of a vehicle includes a driving information generator that generates driving information of the vehicle, a refrigerant pressure measuring device that measures a refrigerant pressure of a vehicle air conditioner of the vehicle, and an ITM controller that is configured to control the ITM of the vehicle, according to the generated driving information and the measured refrigerant pressure.

When a temperature of a coolant is a first predetermined temperature or higher, an air conditioner ECU executes a first control that sets a target evaporation temperature higher by a predetermined temperature and the air conditioner ECU executes a second control that changes the target evaporation temperature in accordance with a cooling load inside the vehicle cabin. When the second control is executed after the first control is executed, the air conditioner ECU sets a first target evaporation temperature set by the first control as the target evaporation temperature, and calculates a second target evaporation temperature that is changed by the second control based on the target evaporation temperature immediately before the first control is executed. When the second target evaporation temperature becomes larger than the first target evaporation temperature, the air conditioner ECU sets the second target evaporation temperature as the target evaporation temperature.

An air-conditioning control system includes: a weather acquisition unit configured to obtain weather information including a weather forecast; a prediction unit configured to predict, based on the weather information, an amount of change in a quantity of water droplets adhering to an evaporator of an air conditioner installed in a vehicle; and a switching control unit configured to control switching of an inside/outside air switching mechanism of the air conditioner based on the amount of change, the inside/outside air switching mechanism switching air delivered to an interior of the vehicle to one of inside air and outside air, the inside air being air in the interior of the vehicle, the outside air being air outside the vehicle.

A method for preparing a vehicle prior to an occupant entering the vehicle includes acquiring information indicative of an upcoming time of entry of the occupant into a compartment of the vehicle, and commencing air replacement of at least part of the air in the compartment of the vehicle prior to the upcoming time of entry of the occupant. In some embodiments, the method also includes detecting whether the compartment of the vehicle has occupants, and commencing the air replacement responsive to detecting that the compartment of the vehicle has no occupants. In some embodiments, the method further includes determining a latest possible time for commencing the air replacement provided that the air replacement is to be completed at the upcoming time of entry of the occupant, and commencing the air replacement based on the determined latest possible time.

A microclimate system for a vehicle occupant includes multiple microclimate thermal effectors. Each of the microclimate thermal effectors at least partially controls a climate in at least one of multiple occupant zones. Each of the microclimate thermal effectors includes a sensor configured to determine microclimate temperature data corresponding to the zone. A controller includes an input configured to receive vehicle temperature data including cabin temperature and outside air temperature from a vehicle data bus. The controller fuses the microclimate temperature data with the vehicle temperature data and determines an estimated local equivalent temperature for each of the microclimate thermal effectors. The controller further provides a temperature command to each of the microclimate thermal effectors based upon the estimated local equivalent temperature corresponding to the microclimate thermal effector.

A method of controlling a microclimate system includes identifying a set of multiple microclimate thermal effectors configured to provide multiple occupant zones and determining a differential temperature between a local temperature at one of the microclimate thermal effectors and a preset temperature for the microclimate thermal effectors. The differential temperature is determined for each of the microclimate thermal effectors. A fuzzy set is generated for each of the microclimate thermal effectors based upon the respective differential temperature. A respective temperature set point for each of the microclimate thermal effectors is defined based upon the fuzzy set for the corresponding microclimate thermal effectors. Each microclimate thermal effector is commanded to the corresponding respective temperature set point.

A method for controlling a temperature of a refrigerator provided in a vehicle is provided. A method for controlling a temperature of a refrigerator provided in a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure detects a foodstuff requiring a low temperature storage included in image information of an article using an artificial neutral network model, and when the foodstuff requiring the low temperature storage is detected, can prevent deterioration of the foodstuff while the article is transported through the vehicle by controlling a temperature of the refrigerator based on storage temperature information of the foodstuff requiring the low temperature storage. A temperature control device of a refrigerator installed in a vehicle of the present disclosure is associated with an artificial intelligence module, an unmmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) robot, an augmented reality (AR) device, a virtual reality (VR) device, and a device related to a 5G service.

Disclosed is a vehicle air conditioning control method which operates a vehicle air conditioning control apparatus by executing an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm and/or a machine learning algorithm in a 5G environment connected for Internet of Things. The vehicle air conditioning control method includes acquiring a thermal image in a vehicle using an image sensor, acquiring thermal comfort information of each passenger in the vehicle using the thermal image, and controlling air conditioning of the vehicle based on the thermal comfort information of each passenger.

This invention relates to a heater. A combustion air blower feeds combustion air to a burner device. The burner device burns a gas-air mixture from the combustion air and a fuel and serves for heating air. A circulating air blower discharges heated air from the heater. A control device acts on at least one component of the heater, wherein a night mode parameter set associated with an operation of the heater in a night mode and a default parameter set are stored in a data storage device. After an activation of the night mode, the control device accesses the night mode parameter set and uses the same for acting on the component. The night mode parameter set effects a reduction of background noise generated by the heater.

A vehicle air-conditioning apparatus is provided which is capable of expanding an effective range of a dehumidifying and heating mode to achieve comfortable vehicle interior air conditioning. A control device (controller) executes a dehumidifying and heating mode to let a refrigerant discharged from a compressor 2 radiate heat in a radiator 4, let a part of the refrigerant flow from a bypass circuit (refrigerant pipe 13F) to an indoor expansion valve 8, and let the residual refrigerant flow through an outdoor expansion valve 6. In the dehumidifying and heating mode, the control device has a state of controlling the operation of the compressor 2, based on a heat absorber temperature Te and executes a radiator temperature priority mode which enlarges a capability of the compressor when heat radiation in the radiator is insufficient.