Automatic temperature and humidity regulation – Ventilator type – Electrically actuated
Patent
1993-03-26
1994-11-08
Tanner, Harry B.
Automatic temperature and humidity regulation
Ventilator type
Electrically actuated
236 1B, 165 42, G05D 2300
Patent
active
053619846
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a device for selective climate control in vehicle cabins.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In order to offer all the occupants of a vehicle the highest possible comfort, it is desirable to be able to offer the passenger as well as the driver the possibility to set the cabin temperature. In other words it is desirable to have the possibility to maintain different temperatures in separate parts of the same cabin.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,759,269 shows a system in which the air conditioning, in this case temperature and air flow velocity, for the driver's and passenger's side respectively in a motor vehicle is regulated by means of separate control panels. The temperature in the cabin is determined by an interior temperature sensor. The disadvantage with this system is that the lack of separate and effectively placed temperature sensors seriously affects the possibility to regulate the temperature automatically; the system does not measure the temperatures where respective occupants sit and sense the cabin climate. The system according to Swedish document SE-457574 also makes use of a single temperature sensor and accordingly displays the same disadvantages.
Improved attempts to achieve separate climate control are described in the Japanese patent JP 59-59517 and in the French patent FR 2608520. These systems make use of a better placement of temperature sensors in the cabin, at head level, though the temperature at head level is an insufficient measure of the temperature around the driver or the passenger. The Japanese document JP 58188714 and the German document DE 3215293 describe systems which comprise temperature sensors placed in the air-vent and in the cabin on respective cabin sides. Despite separate temperature measuring, neither of these systems have separate regulators and can therefore not compensate for different temperature changes on the driver and passenger sides respectively in an independent manner.
The object of the present invention is accordingly to provide a device which permits automatic precise and substantially independent climate control in separate regions in a vehicle's cabin.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention provides a device for selective climate control in vehicle cabins. A first air-vent duct is positioned in a in a first zone of a vehicle cabin and a second air-vent duct is positioned in a second zone. A temperature sensor is positioned in each air-vent duct. For each duct, a separate knob or other adjustment device is provided so that the user can regulate the temperature from each duct individually. Inner and outer feedback circuits are provided for each duct to regulate the temperature in accordance with the individually adjusted temperature. The invention further includes a single air supply device for supplying air to both the first and second air-vent ducts. temperature in the different zones in the vehicle's cabin. The signals from these sensors are used as feedback signals to the feedback circuits. The feedback circuits preferably include PID-regulators.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a simplified partially sectioned perspective view of a cabin in a vehicle.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of one example of a control unit according to the invention.
FIG. 3 is a front view of the control unit in which examples of controls for controlling the temperature in various parts of the cabin are illustrated.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram of control circuits for the driver and the passenger side respectively in the vehicle cabin.
DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The invention will be described by way of example only as being suitable for achieving separate regulation of the temperature on the driver's side and the passenger side respectively of a passenger vehicle cabin. This is, however, not essential and as will become apparent below the invention is equally applicable when it is desirable to have another region or zone in the cabin, for example the front and rearseat, or where the number of temperature regions is
REFERENCES:
patent: 4473109 (1984-09-01), Kojima et al.
patent: 4649709 (1987-03-01), Kagohata et al.
patent: 4757944 (1988-07-01), Kagohata et al.
patent: 4759269 (1988-07-01), Brown et al.
patent: 4856710 (1989-08-01), Takada et al.
patent: 4899930 (1990-02-01), Kagohata et al.
Annerstedt Claes
Frid Per
Johansson Bengt
Sahlmen Thomas
AB Volvo
Tanner Harry B.
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