System and method for controlling air conditioner for vehicles

Abstract

A system for controlling an air conditioner for vehicles may include a sensor configured to sense surface temperature of a passenger sitting part of a rear seat of a vehicle, a reference temperature estimation device configured to estimate surface temperature of the passenger non-sitting part of the rear seat as a reference temperature, a passenger boarding recognition device configured to compare the surface temperature of the passenger sitting part sensed by the sensor, with the reference temperature estimated by the reference temperature estimation device and to judge that a passenger is seated on the rear seat when a difference between the surface temperature of the passenger sitting part and the reference temperature exceeds a critical value, and an air conditioner operation controller configured to differently control volume and temperature of air discharged from the air conditioner according to whether or not a passenger is seated on the rear seat.

Claims

1. A system for controlling an air conditioner for vehicles comprising: a sensor configured to sense surface temperature of a passenger sitting part of a rear seat of a vehicle; a reference temperature estimation processor configured to estimate surface temperature of a passenger non-sitting part of the rear seat as a reference temperature using temperature change due to heat transfer through convection of indoor air and temperature change due to a quantity of solar radiation; a passenger boarding recognition processor configured to compare the surface temperature of the passenger sitting part sensed by the sensor, with the reference temperature estimated by the reference temperature estimation processor and to judge that a passenger is seated on the rear seat when a difference between the surface temperature of the passenger sitting part and the reference temperature exceeds a critical value; an air conditioner operation controller configured to differently control volume and temperature of air discharged from the air conditioner according to a result of judgment as to whether or not a passenger is seated on the rear seat by the passenger boarding recognition processor; and a reference temperature error removal processor configured to receive feedback of the temperature of the passenger sitting part, sensed by the sensor, and to correct an error between the reference temperature, estimated by the reference temperature estimation device, and an actual measurement temperature, wherein the reference temperature is estimated by an equation of: $T_s\left(n\right)=\left(1-\frac{{\mathrm{UA}}_{\mathrm{seat}}}{{\mathrm{MC}}_{\mathrm{seat}}}\mathrm{dt}\right)T_s\left(n-1\right)+\frac{{\mathrm{UA}}_{\mathrm{seat}}}{{\mathrm{MC}}_{\mathrm{seat}}}{\mathrm{dtT}}_r+{\stackrel{.}{q}}_s^{}{A}_{\mathrm{seat}},$ wherein T.sub.s represents an estimated reference temperature of the passenger non-sitting part, UA.sub.seat represents a heat transfer coefficient or turning coefficient of rear seat, d.sub.t represents a measurement interval, q.sub.s represents measured quantity of solar radiation, MC.sub.seat represents a heat capacity of the rear seat, T.sub.r represents a measured indoor temperature by an in-car sensor, A.sub.seat represents an area of the passenger non-sitting part, and n represents the number of operations.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the sensor configured to sense the surface temperature of the passenger sitting part comprises an IR sensor.

3. A method for controlling an air conditioner for vehicles, comprising: sensing, by a sensor, surface temperature of a passenger sitting part of a rear seat of a vehicle; estimating, by a reference temperature estimation processor, surface temperature of a passenger non-sitting part of the rear seat as a reference temperature using temperature change due to heat transfer through convection of indoor air and temperature change due to a quantity of solar radiation; comparing, by a passenger boarding recognition processor, the surface temperature of the passenger sitting part with the estimated reference temperature and judging that a passenger is seated on the rear seat when a difference between the surface temperature of the passenger sitting part and the reference temperature exceeds a critical value; and differently controlling volume and temperature of air discharged from the air conditioner, by an air conditioner operation controller, according to a result of judgment as to whether or not a passenger is seated on the rear seat; and receiving feedback of the sensed surface temperature of the passenger sitting part and correcting an error, by a reference temperature error removal processor, between the estimated reference temperature and an actual measurement temperature, wherein the reference temperature is estimated by a first equation of: $T_s\left(n\right)=\left(1-\frac{{\mathrm{UA}}_{\mathrm{seat}}}{{\mathrm{MC}}_{\mathrm{seat}}}\mathrm{dt}\right)T_s\left(n-1\right)+\frac{{\mathrm{UA}}_{\mathrm{seat}}}{{\mathrm{MC}}_{\mathrm{seat}}}{\mathrm{dtT}}_r+{\stackrel{.}{q}}_s^{}{A}_{\mathrm{seat}},$ wherein T.sub.s represents an estimated reference temperature of the passenger non-sitting part, UA.sub.seat represents a heat transfer coefficient or turning coefficient of rear seat, d.sub.t represents a measurement interval, q.sub.s represents measured quantity of solar radiation, MC.sub.seat represents a heat capacity of the rear seat, T.sub.r represents a measured indoor temperature by an in-car sensor, A.sub.seat represents an area of the passenger non-sitting part, and n represents the number of operations.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein, in the correction of the error, the reference temperature is determined by a second equation of: $T_s\left(n\right)=\left(1-\frac{{\mathrm{UA}}_{\mathrm{seat}}}{{\mathrm{MC}}_{\mathrm{seat}}}\mathrm{dt}\right)T_s\left(n-1\right)+\frac{{\mathrm{UA}}_{\mathrm{seat}}}{{\mathrm{MC}}_{\mathrm{seat}}}{\mathrm{dtT}}_r+{\stackrel{.}{q}}_s^{}{A}_{\mathrm{seat}}\begin{array}{c}+\frac{H}{{\mathrm{MC}}_{\mathrm{seat}}}\mathrm{dt}\left(T_{\mathrm{ir}}\left(n-1\right)-T_s\left(n-1\right)\right)\end{array},$ wherein the $+\frac{H}{{\mathrm{MC}}_{\mathrm{seat}}}dt\left(T_{\mathrm{ir}}\left(n-1\right)-T_s\left(n-1\right)\right),$ in the second equation represents a feedback part to remove the error of the reference temperature of the passenger non-sitting part, T.sub.s represents an estimated reference temperature of the passenger non-sitting part, UA.sub.seat represents a heat transfer coefficient or tuning coefficient of the seat, d.sub.t represents a measurement interval, q.sub.s represents a measured quantity of solar radiation, MC.sub.seat represents a heat capacity of the seat, T.sub.r represents an indoor temperature measured by an in-car sensors, A.sub.seat represents an area of the passenger non-sitting part, n represents the number of operations, and T.sub.ir represents a temperature of the passenger sitting part sensed by an IR sensor wherein H is a gain.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein, in the differently controlling of the volume and temperature of air discharged from the air conditioner, the volume of air discharged from the air conditioner is reduced when no passenger is seated on the rear seat, as compared to a case where a passenger is seated on the rear seat.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein, in the differently controlling of the volume and temperature of air discharged from the air conditioner by the air conditioner operation controller, the temperature of air discharged from the air conditioner according to change of the volume of air discharged from the air conditioner is determined by a third equation of: $T_{\mathrm{do}}=\frac{{\stackrel{.}{Q}}_{A/C}}{\stackrel{.}{m}{C}_p}+T_{\mathrm{intake}}$ wherein T.sub.do represents a temperature of the discharged air, Q.sub.A/C represents an air conditioning load, m represents a flow rate, C.sub.p represents specific heat of air, and T.sub.intake represents a temperature of intake air.

7. The method of claim 3, wherein, in the comparison and judgment, when it is judged that a passenger is seated on the rear seat, when a velocity of the vehicle is stopped, it is judged that a passenger enters the vehicle from the outside of the vehicle.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating configuration of an exemplary system for controlling an air conditioner for vehicles in accordance with the present invention.

(2) FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method for controlling an air conditioner for vehicles in accordance with the present invention.

(3) FIG. 3 is a schematic view illustrating positions for sensing the temperature of a passenger sitting part and estimating the temperature of a passenger non-sitting part in the exemplary method for controlling the air conditioner for vehicles in accordance with the present invention.

(4) FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating recognizing whether or not a passenger boards a rear seat in the exemplary method for controlling the air conditioner for vehicles in accordance with the present invention.

(5) FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating controlling operation of the air conditioner in the exemplary method for controlling the air conditioner for vehicles in accordance with the present invention.

(6) FIG. 6 is a schematic view illustrating an air conditioner to describe an example of control of operation of the air conditioner, in the exemplary method for controlling the air conditioner for vehicles in accordance with the present invention.

(7) FIG. 7 is a graph illustrating improvement of fuel efficiency by controlling the air conditioner for vehicles in accordance with the present invention.

(8) It should be understood that the appended drawings are not necessarily to scale, presenting a somewhat simplified representation of various features illustrative of the basic principles of the invention. The specific design features of the present invention as disclosed herein, including, for example, specific dimensions, orientations, locations, and shapes will be determined in part by the particular intended application and use environment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(9) Reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments of the present invention(s), examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described below. While the invention(s) will be described in conjunction with exemplary embodiments, it will be understood that the present description is not intended to limit the invention(s) to those exemplary embodiments. On the contrary, the invention(s) is/are intended to cover not only the exemplary embodiments, but also various alternatives, modifications, equivalents and other embodiments, which may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

(10) With reference to FIG. 3, in order to judge whether or not a passenger is seated on a rear seat, such as a second row seat or a third row seat, of a vehicle, the temperatures of a passenger sitting part (one of both sitting parts of the rear seat: a part indicated by A of FIG. 3) and a passenger non-sitting part (a part between both sitting parts of the rear seat: a part indicated by B of FIG. 3) need to be detected.

(11) For this purpose, in the present invention, the surface temperature of the passenger sitting part of the rear seat is sensed by an infrared (IR) sensor, and the surface temperature of the passenger non-sitting part (a reference temperature) is estimated using temperature change due to heat transfer through convection of indoor air and temperature change due to a quantity of solar radiation without a separate hardware element, such as an IR sensor or a temperature sensing device.

(12) FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating configuration of a system for controlling an air conditioner for vehicles in accordance with the present invention and FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling an air conditioner for vehicles in accordance with the present invention.

(13) First, a passenger sitting part temperature measurement device 10 senses the surface temperature of the passenger sitting part of the rear seat. Here, an IR sensor is used as the passenger sitting part temperature measurement device 10.

(14) Simultaneously, a reference temperature estimation device 12 estimates the surface temperature of the passenger non-sitting part of the rear seat as a reference temperature. Here, the surface temperature of the passenger non-sitting part is estimated using temperature change due to heat transfer through convection of indoor air and temperature change due to a quantity of solar radiation.

(15) In order to estimate the surface temperature of the passenger non-sitting part, i.e., the reference temperature, a state equation, such as Equation 1 below, may be expressed using a heat transfer coefficient UA of a region including the passenger non-sitting part and an area A of the passenger non-sitting part, and Equation 2 below may be acquired by applying a reference temperature Ts to the state equation.

(16) $\begin{array}{cc}{\mathrm{MC}}_{\mathrm{seat}}\frac{d{T}_{\mathrm{IR}}}{dt}={\stackrel{.}{q}}_s^{}{A}_{\mathrm{seat}}+U_{\mathrm{seat}}{A}_{\mathrm{seat}}\left(T_r-T_{\mathrm{IR}}\right)& \left[\mathrm{Equation}1\right]\\ T_s\left(n\right)=\left(1-\frac{{\mathrm{UA}}_{\mathrm{seat}}}{{\mathrm{MC}}_{\mathrm{seat}}}\mathrm{dt}\right)T_s\left(n-1\right)+\frac{{\mathrm{UA}}_{\mathrm{seat}}}{{\mathrm{MC}}_{\mathrm{seat}}}{\mathrm{dtT}}_r+{\stackrel{.}{q}}_s^{}{A}_{\mathrm{seat}}& \left[\mathrm{Equation}2\right]\end{array}$

(17) In Equations 1 and 2, Ts represents an estimated reference temperature of the passenger non-sitting part, UAseat represents a heat transfer coefficient (tuning coefficient) of the seat, dt represents a measurement interval, qs represents a measured quantity of solar radiation, MCseat represents a heat capacity of the seat, Tr represents a measured indoor temperature (by an in-car sensor), Aseat represents an area of the passenger non-sitting part, and n represents the number of operations.

(18) Here, the heat transfer coefficient UAseat of the seat is a coefficient acquired in consideration of temperature change due to heat transfer through convection of indoor air, and the measured quantity of solar radiation qs is a value acquired in consideration of temperature change due to a quantity of solar radiation.

(19) Therefore, the reference temperature estimation device 12 calculates the temperature of the passenger non-sitting part of the rear seat, i.e., the reference temperature, from Equation 2.

(20) The reference temperature of the passenger non-sitting part calculated from Equation 2 may differ from an actual temperature (an actual measurement value).

(21) Therefore, the system for controlling the air conditioner in accordance with the present invention may further include a reference temperature error removal device 14 which receives feedback of the temperature of the passenger sitting part, sensed by the passenger sitting part temperature sensing device 10, i.e., the IR sensor, in real time from the reference temperature estimation device 12 and corrects an error between the reference temperature estimated by the reference temperature estimation device 12 and the actual measurement temperature (the temperature of the passenger sitting part sensed by the IR sensor).

(22) Therefore, the reference temperature error removal device 14 calculates a reference temperature in which the error is corrected using Equations 3 and 4 below by a logic including a feedback loop in addition to Equations 1 and 2.

(23) $\begin{array}{cc}{\mathrm{MC}}_{\mathrm{seat}}\frac{d{\hat{T}}_{\mathrm{IR}}}{dt}={\stackrel{.}{q}}_s^{}{A}_{\mathrm{seat}}+U_{\mathrm{seat}}{A}_{\mathrm{seat}}\left(T_r-{\hat{T}}_{\mathrm{IR}}\right)\begin{array}{c}+H\left(T_{\mathrm{IR}}-{\hat{T}}_{\mathrm{IR}}\right)\end{array}& \left[\mathrm{Equation}3\right]\\ T_s\left(n\right)=\left(1-\frac{{\mathrm{UA}}_{\mathrm{seat}}}{{\mathrm{MC}}_{\mathrm{seat}}}\mathrm{dt}\right)T_s\left(n-1\right)+\frac{{\mathrm{UA}}_{\mathrm{seat}}}{{\mathrm{MC}}_{\mathrm{seat}}}{\mathrm{dtT}}_r+{\stackrel{.}{q}}_s^{}{A}_{\mathrm{seat}}\begin{array}{c}+\frac{H}{{\mathrm{MC}}_{\mathrm{seat}}}\mathrm{dt}\left(T_{\mathrm{ir}}\left(n-1\right)-T_s\left(n-1\right)\right)\end{array}& \left[\mathrm{Equation}4\right]\end{array}$

(24) In Equations 3 and 4, parts emphasized by dotted lines represent feedback parts to remove the error of the reference temperature of the passenger non-sitting part, Ts represents an estimated reference temperature of the passenger non-sitting part, UAseat represents a heat transfer coefficient (tuning coefficient) of the seat, dt represents a measurement interval, qs represents a measured quantity of solar radiation, MC represents a heat capacity of the seat, Tr represents a measured indoor temperature (by the in-car sensor), Aseat represents an area of the passenger non-sitting part, n represents the number of operations, and Tir represents the temperature of the passenger sitting part sensed by the IR sensor.

(25) For example, since the temperature of the passenger sitting part sensed by the IR sensor under the condition that no passenger is seated on the passenger sitting part becomes an actual measurement temperature of the surface temperature of the seat, such an actual measurement temperature may be compared with the estimated reference temperature Ts of the passenger non-sitting part and the reference temperature of the passenger non-sitting part may be corrected to the actual measurement temperature.

(26) Further, since the temperature of the passenger sitting part sensed by the IR sensor under the condition that a passenger is seated on the passenger sitting part is the sensed temperature of the passenger and may thus differ from the actual measurement temperature (the surface temperature of the seat) under the condition that no passenger is seated on the passenger sitting part, the reference temperature of the passenger non-sitting part may be corrected to the earlier actual measurement temperature (the surface temperature of the seat).

(27) Therefore, the reference temperature error removal device 14 finally calculates the temperature of the passenger non-sitting part of the rear seat, i.e., the reference temperature, using Equation 4.

(28) Thereafter, a passenger boarding recognition device 16 compares the surface temperature Tir(n) of the passenger sitting part sensed by the IR sensor with the reference temperature Ts(n) estimated by the reference temperature estimation device 12 (for example, the reference temperature calculated by the reference temperature error removal device) using Equation 5 below, thus calculating a difference therebetween.
E(n)=Tir(n)Ts(n)[Equation 5]

(29) In Equation 5 above, E(n) represents a difference between the surface temperature of the passenger sitting part and the reference temperature, Tir(n) represents the surface temperature of the passenger sitting part, and Ts(n) represents the reference temperature of the passenger non-sitting part.

(30) The passenger boarding recognition device 16 judges that a passenger is seated on the passenger sitting part of the rear seat if the difference E(n) between the surface temperature Tir(n) of the passenger sitting part and the reference temperature Ts(n) exceeds a critical value Tlimit.

(31) Here, as exemplarily shown in FIG. 4, when the passenger boarding recognition device 16 judges whether or not a passenger is seated on the passenger sitting part of the rear seat, the passenger boarding recognition device 16 may check a velocity of the vehicle together with excess of the difference E(n) between the surface temperature Tir(n) of the passenger sitting part and the reference temperature Ts(n) over the critical value Tlimit, and recognize that a passenger boards the vehicle just now with opening a door, if the velocity of the vehicle is 0 km, thus more correctly judging that the passenger is seated on the passenger sitting part of the rear seat.

(32) On the other hand, if the difference E(n) between the surface temperature Tir(n) of the passenger sitting part and the reference temperature Ts(n) does not exceed the critical value Tlimit, the passenger boarding recognition device 16 judges that no passenger is seated on the passenger sitting part of the rear seat.

(33) Thereafter, an air conditioner operation controller 18 controls the volume and temperature of air discharged from the air conditioner according to a result of judgment as to whether or not a passenger is seated on the passenger sitting part by the passenger boarding recognition device 16.

(34) FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating controlling operation of the air conditioner in the method for controlling the air conditioner for vehicles in accordance with the present invention and FIG. 6 is a schematic view illustrating an air conditioner to describe an example of control of operation of the air conditioner.

(35) With reference to FIG. 5, if the passenger boarding recognition device 16 judges that no passenger is seated on the passenger sitting part, the air conditioner enters a discharged air volume optimization logic of the air conditioner and the air conditioner operation controller 18 reduces the volume of air discharged from the air conditioner using an air volume map in which an air volume is reduced by reducing the operation voltage of a blower motor instead of a convectional air volume control map, if no passenger is seated on the passenger sitting part, as compared to a case where a passenger is seated on the passenger sitting part.

(36) For example, as exemplarily shown in FIG. 6, a part of air having passed through an evaporator passes through a heater core by a temp door and is thus re-heated. In this case, the temperature and volume of discharged air are re-adjusted based on an energy equation.

(37) That is, when the air conditioner is automatically turned on (AC ON), if the temp door is located at a middle point, not a maximum cooling point, and thus, a part of air having passed through the evaporator passes through the heater core via the temp door and is thus re-heated, the volume of air discharged from the air conditioner is reduced, if no passenger is seated on the passenger sitting part, as compared to a case where a passenger is seated on the passenger sitting part, using the air volume map (with reference to FIG. 7) in which an air volume is reduced by reducing the operation voltage of the blower motor instead of the convectional air volume control map.

(38) Here, in order to prevent change (for example, increase) of indoor temperature and change of comfort due to reduction of the volume of the discharged air, the temperature of discharged air is controlled using Equation 6 below.

(39) $\begin{array}{cc}{T}_{\mathrm{do}}=\frac{{\stackrel{.}{Q}}_{A/C}}{\stackrel{.}{m}{C}_p}+T_{\mathrm{intake}}& \left[\mathrm{Equation}6\right]\end{array}$

(40) In Equation 6 above, Tdo represents a temperature of discharged air, QA/C represents an air conditioning load, m represents a flow rate, Cp represents specific heat of air, and Tintake represents a temperature of intake air.

(41) Therefore, by reducing the flow rate of air to reduce the volume of discharged air, among factors of Equation 6 above, the temperature of the discharged air may be lowered under the condition that air conditioning load (a negative value) and intake air are maintained and, thereby, increase of indoor temperature and change of comfort may be prevented.

(42) As described above, whether or not a passenger is seated on the passenger sitting part of the rear seat may be precisely judged by sensing the temperature of the passenger sitting part of the rear seat using an IR sensor and precisely estimating the reference temperature of the passenger non-sitting part of the rear seat using temperature change due to heat transfer through convection of indoor air and temperature change due to a quantity of solar radiation, and, if no passenger is seated on the passenger sitting part of the rear seat, the volume of air discharged from the air conditioner may be reduced to improve fuel efficiency.

(43) As is apparent from the above description, the present invention provides the following effects.

(44) First, the temperature of a passenger sitting part of a rear seat of a vehicle may be sensed using an IR sensor and, simultaneously, the reference temperature of a passenger non-sitting part of the rear seat may be precisely estimated using temperature change due to heat transfer through convection of indoor air and temperature change due to a quantity of solar radiation, and whether or not a passenger is seated on the passenger sitting part of the rear seat may be precisely judged by comparing the sensed temperature of the passenger sitting part and the estimated reference temperature of the passenger non-sitting part.

(45) Second, differently from a convectional IR sensor to sense the reference temperature of a passenger non-sitting part, the reference temperature of the passenger non-sitting part of the rear seat may be estimated through an algorithm using temperature change due to heat transfer through convection of indoor air and temperature change due to a quantity of solar radiation and, thus, reduction of the number of parts of the vehicles and cost saving may be achieved due to reduction of the number of used IR sensors.

(46) Third, if no passenger is seated on the passenger sitting part of the rear seat, the volume of air discharged from the air conditioner may be reduced and, thus, fuel efficiency may be improved.

(47) The foregoing descriptions of specific exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The exemplary embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain certain principles of the invention and their practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to make and utilize various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, as well as various alternatives and modifications thereof. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the Claims appended hereto and their equivalents.