Heater control logic in tow mode

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10882379-B2
Application number	US-201916248630-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 15, 2019
Priority date	Jan 15, 2019
Publication date	Jan 5, 2021
Grant date	Jan 5, 2021

Abstract

System and methods are provided for improving fuel economy, and providing optimized operating conditions associated with a vehicle's air-conditioning system when the vehicle is carrying a load, e.g., towing a trailer. Operating conditions including, for example, air-mix setting, coolant temperature, ambient temperature, vehicle speed, and whether or not the vehicle is carrying the aforementioned load, may be considered when determining whether or not to activate or deactivate a vehicle heating element, such as a positive temperature coefficient (PTC) heater, steering wheel heater, etc.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of controlling operation of a vehicle heater, comprising:
determining whether a vehicle's air-conditioning system is on;
if the vehicle's air-conditioning system is on, determining whether an air-mix setting of the vehicle's air-conditioning system indicates a desire for maximum heat to be passed to the vehicle's cabin;
if the air-mix setting indicates the desire for maximum heat to be passed to the vehicle's cabin, determining whether the vehicle's coolant temperature is below a coolant temperature threshold;
if the vehicle's coolant temperature is below the coolant temperature threshold, determining whether an ambient temperature about the vehicle is below an ambient temperature threshold;
if the ambient temperature is below the ambient temperature threshold, determining whether the vehicle is moving;
if the vehicle is moving; determining whether the vehicle is carrying a load; and
if the vehicle is carrying the load, activating the vehicle heater, wherein the load comprises towed load.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining whether the vehicle is carrying the load comprises at least one of sensing the presence of the towed load and determining that the vehicle is set to operate in a tow mode.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising deactivating the vehicle heater if the vehicle's air-conditioning system is off.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising deactivating the vehicle heater if the air-mix setting of the vehicles air-conditioning system does not indicate the desire for maximum heat to be passed to the vehicle's cabin.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising deactivating the vehicle heater if the vehicle's coolant temperature is higher than the coolant temperature threshold.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising deactivating the vehicle heater if the ambient temperature is higher than the ambient temperature threshold.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising deactivating the vehicle heater if the vehicle is not moving.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising deactivating the vehicle heater if the vehicle is not carrying the load.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the deactivation of the vehicle heater comprises overriding a default mode of operation of the vehicle heater.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the vehicle heater comprises at least one of a positive temperature coefficient (PTC) heater, a vehicle seat heater, a steering wheel heater, a defroster, and a secondary heating element.

11. An air-conditioning control device controlling an air-conditioning system of a vehicle, comprising:
at least one processor;
at least one memory operatively connected to the at least one processor, the at least one memory including computer code configured to cause the at least one processor to:
receive from a plurality of vehicle sensors operatively connected to the air-conditioning control device and vehicle components, sensor data indicating operating conditions of the vehicle;
activate a heating element of the vehicle based on the sensor data, wherein the sensor data indicates that the air-conditioning system is on, a passenger of the vehicle is requesting maximum heat to be delivered to a cabin of the vehicle, coolant temperature does not exceed a coolant temperature threshold, ambient temperature does not exceed an ambient temperature threshold, the vehicle is moving, and the vehicle is towing a load.

12. The air-conditioning control device of claim 11 , wherein the computer code further causes the at least one processor to deactivate the heating element if the vehicle is operating in accordance with one or more of the following operating conditions:
the air-conditioning system is off;
the passenger of the vehicle is not requesting maximum heat to be delivered to the cabin of the vehicle;
the coolant temperature exceeds the coolant temperature threshold;
the ambient temperature exceeds the ambient temperature threshold;
the vehicle is stationary; and
the vehicle is not towing the load.

13. The air-conditioning control device of claim 12 , wherein the computer code causing the at least one processor to deactivate the heating element comprises computer code configured to cause the least one processor to override default operation of the heating element.

14. The air-conditioning control device of claim 11 , wherein the computer code causing the at least one processor to activate the heating element comprises computer code configured to cause the least one processor to override default operation of the heating element.

15. The air-conditioning control device of claim 11 , wherein the heating element comprises at least one of a positive temperature coefficient (PTC) heater, a vehicle seat heater, a steering wheel heater, a defroster, and a secondary heating element.

16. The air-conditioning control device of claim 11 , wherein the coolant temperature threshold comprises a temperature of 45 degrees Celsius.

17. The air-conditioning control device of claim 11 , wherein the ambient temperature threshold comprises a temperature of 5 degrees Celsius.

Assignees

• Toyota Eng & Mfg North America

Inventors

• Srivastava Abhishek
• Cosgrove David W
• Hirabayashi Hidekazu
• Maeda Akiyoshi B

Classifications

• B60H2001/00949

  comprising additional heating/cooling sources, e.g. second evaporator · CPC title

• B60H1/00764

  the input being a vehicle driving condition, e.g. speed (B60H1/00828, B60H1/00864 take precedence) · CPC title

• B60H1/00878 Primary

  the components being temperature regulating devices · CPC title

• B60H2001/2253

  related to an operational state of the vehicle or a vehicle component · CPC title

• B60H2001/2237

  supplementary heating, e.g. during stop and go of a vehicle · CPC title