Heat exchange – With timer – programmer – time delay – or condition responsive... – Having heating and cooling capability
Patent
1995-08-10
1998-09-22
Ford, John K.
Heat exchange
With timer, programmer, time delay, or condition responsive...
Having heating and cooling capability
165205, 165295, 165 42, 165 43, 236 91C, 236 91F, 62229, F25B 2900, B60H 100, G05D 2319
Patent
active
058100784
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to an apparatus and method for the environmental control of the interior space of a motor vehicle and in particular to the maintenance of air temperatures at predetermined temperature levels.
Most vehicles are now equipped with air conditioning and heating systems for maintaining the air within the vehicle passenger compartment at a set desired temperature value.
In order to maintain the temperature at the desired value it is typically necessary to detect the ambient (external) air temperature, the internal air temperature, mixed air temperature (that is the temperature of air immediately prior to discharge into the vehicle interior) and to control the air flow and distribution within the compartment based on the detected parameters. More advanced systems also use a sun sensor to detect the thermal load of the compartment.
The interior space temperature at various locations depends on the thermal load of the interior space. It is therefore difficult to obtain a representative value of the temperature within a passenger compartment. The thermal load of the interior space depends on the heat quantity introduced thereinto or discharged therefrom due to differences in temperature between outside air temperature and inside air temperature, the heat quantity absorbed thereinto as solar heat, the heat radiated from the passengers bodies, the heat quantity absorbed thereinto from the engine and electrical equipment and the heat quantity introduced or discharged therefrom due to the air-conditioning and heating system. Furthermore, depending on the different temperatures, air-flow speed and the direction of the airflow introduced into the interior space, to maintain the appropriate preset value it is necessary to determine the actual interior space temperature.
In order to ideally monitor the heat distribution within the passenger compartment it is necessary to use more than one temperature sensor for control of the heating system in order to maintain the appropriate preset temperature. Such a temperature sensor is often connected to an air-pump, in order to obtain a sufficient circulation of air around the sensor. Even though an air-pump is used for circulating the air around the temperature sensor, unreliable readings may be obtained due to local heat sources e.t.c around the temperature sensor. The control of the temperature in the passenger compartment could therefore be severly affected, especially if the control strategy basically is dependent on the readings from the interior temperature sensor. Temperature sensors are also relatively expensive and produce noise inside the vehicle. All of these things must be taken into consideration when designing a climate control system, therefore it is desirable to eliminate the interior space temperature sensor.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides an environmental control system for the interior of a motor vehicle in which the above problems have been eliminated since the control system does not use any temperature sensor within the vehicle interior.
The system includes a control unit which is operative to calculate a theoretical interior temperature T.sub.I based only upon information from sensors sensing the external heat load on the compartment and the temperature of the air and volume of air supplied to the compartment, and compares this theoretical interior temperature T.sub.I with the preset temperature T.sub.ISet, calculates the difference .DELTA.T.sub.I, and then controls air flow and mixed temperature T.sub.M to readjust or maintain the interior temperature within the compartment at the preset temperature T.sub.ISet.
The inventive concept enables usage of temperature values only from temperature sensors so arranged that they are naturally exposed by the conditioning and heating system to a sufficient air-flow, thus enabling an accurate temperature reading, and solar radiation sensor for the external heat load sensed.
Accordingly there is provided an apparatus for environmental control of
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patent: 4757944 (1988-07-01), Kagohata et al.
patent: 5209398 (1993-05-01), Drees
patent: 5337802 (1994-08-01), Kajino et al.
patent: 5436852 (1995-07-01), Kan
Kirchner Wolfgang
Knutsson Anders M.
Ford John K.
Saab Automobile AB
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