DEVICE FOR OPERATING A MOTOR VEHICLE AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM AND INTERIOR TEMPERATURE SENSOR UNIT FOR SUCH AN AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for operating an air conditioning system (12) of a vehicle. The air conditioning system has a fan, a plurality of actuating motors for controlling flaps on and/or in air-conducting channels, a heating and/or a cooling unit, and a plurality of sensors (28, 30) for sensing measurement variables required for the operation of the heating, ventilation and/or air conditioning system. The sensors (28, 30) include an interior temperature sensor (26). The device has an operating and control unit (32) for inputting a desired temperature and for outputting air conditioning control signals for the control of components of the air conditioning system. The device also has a processing unit (40), which is arranged outside of and/or separate from the operating and control unit (32) and to which measurement signals from the interior temperature sensor (26) and from at least some of the other sensors (28, 30) of the air conditioning system can be supplied and which processes said measurement signals further to form air conditioning control signals.

Claims

1-6. (canceled)

7. A device for controlling and operating a vehicle heating, ventilation and/or air conditioning system and further vehicle components, the heating, ventilation and/or air conditioning system being provided inter alia with a blower, a plurality of actuating motors for controlling flaps at and/or in channels directing air into the vehicle, a heating and/or cooling aggregate, a plurality of first sensors for sensing measuring variables necessary for the operation of the heating, ventilation and/or air conditioning system and at least one second sensor as an interior temperature sensor for sensing an actual value representing the interior room temperature of the vehicle, wherein the device is provided with an operating and control unit for the input of inter alia a set temperature for the interior of the vehicle, the input of parameters and operating commands for the operation of the heating, ventilation and/or air conditioning system and the further vehicle components, the output of air condition control signals for controlling the blower, the actuating motors and the heating and/or the cooling aggregate of the heating, ventilation and/or air conditioning system, and the determination and the output of component control signals for the control of the further vehicle components, a processing unit arranged outside of and/or separate from the operating and control unit and connected with the operating and control unit, to which processing unit measuring signals can be supplied from the at least one interior temperature sensor, as well as from at least some of the first sensors of the heating, ventilation and/or air conditioning system, the processing unit further processing these measuring signals into air conditioning control signals which can be supplied to the operating and control unit for controlling the blower, the actuating motors and/or the heating and/or the cooling aggregate or for further processing for controlling the blower, the actuating motors and/or the heating and/or the cooling aggregate of the heating, ventilation and/or air conditioning system.

8. The device of claim 7, wherein the first sensors are connected to the operating and control unit and supply their measuring signals to the same, the operating and control unit supplying data representing these measuring signals to the processing unit.

9. The device of claim 7, wherein the at least one interior temperature sensor is vented or that the at least one interior temperature sensor is not vented and comprises two temperature-sensitive measuring elements, as well as a radiation-sensitive element sensing solar irradiation.

10. The device of claim 7, wherein the first sensors comprise at least one sensor for sensing the temperature of the air flowing from at least one of the channels and/or at least one sun sensor for sensing the solar irradiation the vehicle interior is exposed to and/or at least one humidity sensor for sensing the relative air humidity of the air reaching in particular a window, in particular the windshield of the vehicle, and/or at least one outside temperature for sensing the temperature of a heating aggregate of the air conditioning system and/or a sensor for sensing the temperature of a cooling aggregate of the air conditioning system.

11. An interior temperature sensor unit for a vehicle heating, ventilation and/or air conditioning system comprising an actuator system, comprising at least one and preferably a plurality of interior temperature sensors for determining a variable representing the interior temperature of the vehicle and a processing unit to which measuring signals can be supplied from the interior temperature sensor or sensors, as well as data representing measuring signals from other sensors of the heating, ventilation and/or air conditioning system, and which processing unit provides signals for the actuator system of the heating, ventilation and/or air conditioning system for transmission to an external control unit for controlling this actuator system of the heating, ventilation and/or air conditioning system.

12. The interior temperature sensor unit of claim 11, wherein the at least one interior temperature sensor is vented or wherein the at least one interior temperature sensor is not vented and comprises two temperature-sensitive measuring elements, as well as a radiation-sensitive element sensing solar irradiation.

Description

[0030] The invention will be explained hereunder in more detail with reference to an embodiment and with reference to the drawings. In the Figures:

[0031] FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a part of a vehicle with some components of an air conditioning system, and

[0032] FIG. 2 schematically shows the splitting of the air conditioning functions between a central operating and control unit and a decentral processing unit.

[0033] FIG. 1 is a side view and schematic illustration of the front part of a vehicle 10 comprising an air conditioning system 12. The air conditioning system 12 comprises, inter alia, a blower 14, a heating aggregate 16, a cooling aggregate 18, a plurality of air supply channels 20 with actuating motors 26 for flaps 24, and a sensor system comprising e.g. an interior temperature sensor 26, a sun sensor 28 and an outside temperature sensor 30. The interior temperature sensor 26 may comprise one or a plurality of temperature sensors which in their entirety serve to determine an actual variable representing the temperature in the interior.

[0034] A central operating and control unit 32 is installed in the dashboard or in the centre console of the vehicle 10, the unit comprising e.g. a touchscreen 34. The operating and control unit 32 serves to control the actuator system of the air conditioning system 12 and e.g. a navigation system 36, and further serves to adjust and/or temperature-control (heat or vent) the seats (see 38 in FIG. 2). Further components such as e.g. an infotainment system or a sunroof device or an automatic roof opening and closing system (in case of a convertible) may also be controlled via the central operating and control unit 32.

[0035] According to the invention a part of the air condition control functions has been transferred from the operating and control unit 32 to external means. In the present exemplary case a decentral processing unit 40, which is integrated with e.g. the interior temperature sensor 26, is located in a separate structural unit 42 which communicates with the central operating and control unit 32 via a bus communication 44. Here, the measuring data of other air condition sensors, such as e.g. the sun sensor 28 or the outside temperature sensor 30 or the motor water temperature sensor, the air ejection sensor, the humidity sensor, the heating aggregate sensor, i.e. the heat exchanger temperature sensor, the cooling aggregate sensor, i.e. the evaporator temperature sensor (not illustrated in detail, but indicated by the dots between 28 and 30 in FIG. 2), can be supplied to the processing unit 40 preferably also via bus communication. The above sensors and possibly other sensors (except for the interior temperature sensor 20) supply their measuring signals or measuring data to the central operating and control unit 32 in which these signals are converted for transmission to the processing unit 40 via the bus communication line 44. Together with the measuring signal of the interior temperature sensor 26, the processing unit 40 then calculates the actuation variables for the individual components of the air conditioning system 12, such as e.g. the blower 14, the heating aggregate 15, the cooling aggregate 18 and the various air distribution flaps 24 and also a central mixing flap. These actuation variables are transmitted back to the central operating and control unit 32 via the bus communication line 44, from where they are transmitted to the corresponding components of the air conditioning system 12.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0036] 10 vehicle [0037] 12 air conditioning system [0038] 14 blower [0039] 16 heating aggregate [0040] 18 cooling aggregate [0041] 20 air supply channels [0042] 22 actuating motors [0043] 24 flaps [0044] 26 interior temperature sensor [0045] 28 sun sensor [0046] 30 outside temperature sensor [0047] 32 control unit [0048] 34 screen [0049] 36 navigation system [0050] 40 processing unit [0051] 42 structural unit [0052] 44 bus communication