Method for controlling at least one air flap arrangement of a vehicle, and vehicle assembly

Abstract

A method is provided for controlling at least one fan and at least one air flap arrangement, both of which are arranged in the interior of a front region of a vehicle, for heating at least one component arranged in the front region, wherein in a first step a need for defrosting and / or dehumidification of at least one component arranged in the front region is detected. Once a need has been determined, in a second step the at least one fan is controlled such that it moves heated air from the interior of the front region in such a way that an air flow from the interior is created in the direction of the air flap arrangement(s), and at least one air flap arrangement is controlled such that its air flaps are brought into a position in which the air flow is directed in the direction of the component.The at least one component is one or more headlights and / or sensors arranged in a housing, wherein a part of the housing is arranged inside the front area and the heated air is guided towards the housing in the second step.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a method for heating components arranged in a front area of ​​a vehicle by means of air flap control.

[0002] Vehicles have sensors arranged at the front, such as radar and / or lidar sensors and / or cameras. These can ice up. US 2019 / 0 351 879 A1 and US 9 707 896 B2 disclose cleaning elements for cleaning these sensors, which can also be used for de-icing.

[0003] Furthermore, headlights are known to be installed at the front of a vehicle. These can also ice up under certain weather conditions. DE 10 2019 126 122 A1 discloses using waste heat from the light source to defrost the lighting device.

[0004] Furthermore, a heating unit is known, for example from DE 10 2019 123 404 B4, for defrosting / dehumidifying a sensor unit and / or a headlight.

[0005] DE 10 2017 115 190 A1 discloses the occasional defrosting of a heat exchanger. For this purpose, air circulation is generated by closing the inlet and outlet flaps of an air duct housing located inside the front of a heat exchanger. A fan is located inside the air duct housing, which provides air circulation when the inlet and outlet flaps are closed. Heat exchangers are located entirely inside the front and have their own air circulation.

[0006] Since there is still room for improvement in the defrosting and / or dehumidification of components located in the front area of ​​a vehicle, it is an object of this invention to provide improved defrosting and / or dehumidification of these components. This object is achieved according to the invention by the features of the independent patent claims. Advantageous embodiments are the subject of the dependent claims.

[0007] A method is provided for controlling at least one fan and at least one air flap arrangement, both of which are arranged in the interior of a front region of a vehicle, for heating at least one component arranged in the front region, wherein in a first step a need for defrosting and / or dehumidification of at least one component arranged in the front region is detected. Once a need has been determined, in a second step the at least one fan is controlled such that it moves heated air from the interior of the front region in such a way that an air flow from the interior is created in the direction of the air flap arrangement(s), and at least one air flap arrangement is controlled such that its air flaps are brought into a position in which the air flow is directed in the direction of the component.The at least one component is one or more headlights and / or sensors arranged in a housing, wherein a part of the housing is arranged inside the front area and the heated air is guided towards the housing in the second step.

[0008] Furthermore, it is intended that, based on a recording of current operating conditions of the vehicle, a conclusion is drawn about potential condensation and / or icing of one or more components and which component(s) and thus about a need for defrosting and / or dehumidification.

[0009] Furthermore, it is provided that the process is terminated after a specified period of time or upon receipt of a cooling request from a thermal management system.

[0010] Furthermore, it is provided that the second step is only carried out in a predetermined driving state of the vehicle, comprising a standstill and driving up to a predetermined speed.

[0011] A computer program is also provided for carrying out the method steps of the method according to one of the preceding claims when the computer program is executed on a control unit.

[0012] Also provided is a vehicle assembly which is arranged in an interior of a front region of a vehicle, the vehicle assembly comprising: at least one air flap arrangement with air flaps which are movable and controllable in such a way that they can be moved into a predetermined position, at least one heat source, at least one fan which is formed and controllable in such a way that it can generate an air flow in a predetermined direction, at least one control unit which is configured to control the air flap arrangement and the fan according to the described method.

[0013] Furthermore, it is provided that at least one air guide element is provided in the interior of the front area and is arranged in such a way that, in the event that the fan guides an air flow from the interior in the direction of the air flap arrangement, it additionally guides the heated air flow directed to the at least one component in the direction of the component.

[0014] Furthermore, it is provided that the air guiding element is arranged in such a way that a heat cushion is created between the air guiding element and the component.

[0015] A vehicle is also provided, comprising the vehicle assembly.

[0016] Further features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments of the invention, with reference to the figures of the drawing, which illustrate details of the invention, and from the claims. The individual features can be implemented individually or in combination in a variant of the invention.

[0017] Preferred embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Fig. 1 shows a schematic side view of a front area of ​​a vehicle and important components for defrosting / dehumidifying components arranged therein according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 shows a schematic plan view of a front area of ​​a vehicle and important components for defrosting / dehumidifying components arranged therein according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 3 shows a schematic flow of the method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0018] In the following descriptions of the figures, the same elements or functions are provided with the same reference symbols.

[0019] The basic concept of the invention is to provide defrosting and / or dehumidification of components 6 arranged in a front area of ​​a vehicle 1 using one or more air flap arrangements 2, as shown by way of example in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2. Such components 6 are, for example, sensors, e.g., radar, lidar, camera (optical sensor), as well as lighting devices (headlights). These components 6 are arranged in a housing, wherein a part of the respective component 6 is arranged visibly outside 10 of the front area of ​​the vehicle 1 in order to monitor or illuminate the surroundings. However, a large part of the housing is arranged invisibly in a rear area of ​​the front area (hereinafter also referred to as the interior 11 of the front area), as in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 indicated.

[0020] In addition, one or more air flap arrangements 2, each having a plurality of air flaps, are provided in the interior 11 of the front area of ​​the vehicle 1 and serve to admit air from outside 10 of the vehicle 1 towards the interior 11 of the front area, as shown in Fig. 2 indicated by the arrows, or to block this air flow. For this purpose, the air flaps of each air flap arrangement 2 are designed to be movable (in particular, provided with corresponding actuators) and electrically controllable (via a suitable control unit). In the interior 11 of the front area of ​​the vehicle 1, one or more heat sources are present, such as an engine (combustion engine and / or electric motor) arranged in an aggregate compartment 5 or a cooling medium heat exchanger 4 (with appropriate piping for the cooling medium to the vehicle components to be cooled). In addition, a fan 3 with an associated fan drive and fan control is provided in the interior 11 of the front area.During normal operation, the fan 3 serves to move (pull) an air flow from outside the vehicle 1 via at least one air flap arrangement 2 (with corresponding position of the air flaps) towards the interior 11 of the front area and towards the cooling medium heat exchanger 4 and / or the aggregate compartment 5.

[0021] It may happen that components 6 such as sensors or headlights develop condensation on the inside and / or ice over on the outside under certain operating conditions such as weather conditions, e.g. during snowfall. As mentioned in the introduction, there is still room for improvement in the solution to prevent this or to provide defrosting and / or dehumidification. The aim is to provide a simple and cost-effective option for defrosting and / or dehumidification, which can advantageously also be used as a retrofit solution. According to the invention, a method for controlling the fan 3 and at least one air flap arrangement 2 is provided, by means of which defrosting and / or dehumidification can be implemented using a large number of components already present in the vehicle 1.

[0022] As in Fig. As shown schematically in Figure 1, components 6, such as sensors or headlights, are arranged in a front area, some of which are visible from the outside 10 thereof. Parts of the housing of the components 6 are arranged inside 11 of the front area, i.e., not visible from the outside. Furthermore, at least one air flap arrangement 2 with several movable (via actuators) and electrically (via a control unit) controllable air flaps is provided inside 11 of the front area. The air flaps of an air flap arrangement 2 can generally only be controlled jointly.Furthermore, a cooling medium heat exchanger 4 (which represents a heat source) and a fan 3 with associated fan drive and fan control are provided and arranged such that the fan 3, during normal operation, can move outside air (air from outside the vehicle 1) via at least one of the air flap assemblies 2 toward the cooling medium heat exchanger 4 and / or the engine compartment 5 (i.e., the engine heat source) when the air flaps are in a position in which the air flow is not blocked. However, the outside air is only admitted into the interior 11 of the front area when there is a need for cooling and when the outside air is cooler than the coolant in the cooling medium heat exchanger 4 and / or cooler than the air in the engine compartment 5, i.e., when cooling is feasible. A suitable control system is provided for this purpose, as known from the prior art.

[0023] In order to enable improved defrosting and / or dehumidification of a component 6 arranged in the front area, it is provided that the fan 3, which during normal operation draws air from outside 10 of the front area of ​​the vehicle towards the interior 11 of the front area, is controlled in such a way that it rotates opposite to its originally designed direction of rotation and thus reverses the flow direction of the air flow, i.e. air flows from the interior 11 of the front area, more precisely from the aggregate compartment 5, towards the outside 10 of the front area and thus to the air flap arrangement(s) 2. This air flow is heated air because, due to its flow direction, it draws in air from the aggregate compartment 5. In addition, the already heated air can be heated due to passing through the cooling medium heat exchanger 4 (with the warm coolant located there).In addition, the air flaps of one or more air flap assemblies 2 are controlled depending on the operating conditions described below such that they assume a position in which they direct the (heated) air flow flowing from the unit chamber 5 toward the housing of one or more components 6. The flow direction from the unit chamber 5 toward component 6 is shown in . Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 indicated by the dashed arrows.

[0024] In Fig. 1, for example, indicates the case where there are two separate (and thus separately controllable) air flap arrangements 2, one being arranged in a lower area and the other in an upper area in the interior 11 of the front area of ​​the vehicle 1. Components 6 configured as headlights, for example, are located in the upper area, while one or more components 6 configured as sensors are located in the lower area.

[0025] As already mentioned, it is possible that under certain operating conditions of the vehicle 1, these may condense on the inside of the housing and / or ice up on the area facing outwards, so that clouding / wetting of surfaces occurs, which may impair the lighting (in the case of headlights) or the detection of the surroundings (in the case of sensors).

[0026] During normal driving operation, the air flaps of the air flap assemblies 2 are preferably in a closed position, in which the penetration of an air flow into the interior 11 of the front area is blocked. As soon as a request for cooling is received, e.g., by a thermal management system of an engine or another component to be cooled by outside air, e.g., the engine, one or more air flap assemblies 2 are controlled, depending on the cooling requirement, to move to a predetermined position (i.e., to be moved to this position by the corresponding actuators) and thus admit outside air into the interior 11 of the front area and thus also to the component to be cooled.According to the invention, the control of the air flap arrangements 2 and the fan 3 is extended such that at least one air flap arrangement 2 can also be used to guide heated air present in an interior 11 of the front area, which is guided by the fan 3 in the direction of the air flap arrangement 2, to the housing areas of the components 6 located in the interior 11 of the front area, which can potentially ice over / condense (fog up).

[0027] In order to detect potential icing / condensation, a procedure as in Fig. 3. In a first step S1, a need for defrosting and / or dehumidification of at least one component 6 is detected by detecting current operating conditions of the vehicle 1. Based on this, a conclusion is drawn about potential condensation and / or icing of one or more components 6 and, in one embodiment, also about which component(s) 6. Alternatively or additionally, a sensor can also be provided which measures, for example, humidity, wherein defrosting / dehumidification is started when a predetermined value is exceeded.To record current operating conditions, environmental detection can be carried out using suitable sensors 8 (preferably arranged at least partially outside the front area), in which both the current driving situation, including the current speed and thus both an estimated speed of the air flow hitting the front area, and the current weather, e.g. temperature, wind conditions, humidity (rain / snow...), as well as a current position of the vehicle, a vehicle status such as a current coolant temperature and / or current traffic conditions can be recorded, e.g. calculated by means of a control unit 9. Additionally or alternatively, the current environment, e.g. traffic jam, traffic lights, etc.and / or a route currently being traveled (via navigation data) and the resulting potential phases of slow driving (up to a predetermined speed) or fast driving (from a predetermined speed) or standstill, e.g. due to traffic lights, are recorded, from which potential condensation and / or icing can also be determined (e.g. by the control unit 9).

[0028] In a second step S2, if potential condensation and / or icing has been determined, the fan 3 and the air flaps of one or more air flap assemblies 2 are controlled in such a way that an air flow is generated that draws (sucks in) air heated by the engine, for example, from the interior 11 of the front area. This air flow impinges on the air flaps, which have been moved into a position in which they direct the air flow toward the component(s) 6, more precisely the housing inside 11 of the front area, thereby heating it. Thus, defrosting / dehumidification can be achieved using simple, existing components.

[0029] In one embodiment, the described de-icing / de-humidification only occurs in certain driving situations (vehicle driving state). The decision as to the driving situations in which de-icing / de-humidification should occur can be made dependent on whether the expected airflow hitting the front area (e.g., due to driving speed or weather) would severely impair the airflow directed toward component 6, e.g., would be too strong and / or too cold. Driving situations (vehicle driving state) in which the process can always be carried out can be stationary or slow driving (up to a predetermined speed, which, for example, depends on weather / wind, as described above).

[0030] In one embodiment, the system (the vehicle assembly) for cooling components 6 arranged in a front area of ​​a vehicle 1 comprises, in addition to one or more of the components 6, associated air guide elements 7, e.g., in the form of suitably shaped metal sheets. These air guide elements 7 are mounted in the interior 11 of the front area, e.g., on the housing of the component 6 or a region of the body of the vehicle 1, such that they do not impair the air flow during normal operation of the fan 3, as shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, but in the case of operation for heating the component(s) 6, the air flow directed to the component(s) 6 can be directed additionally (and thus even better) in the direction of component 6. In addition, the air guiding element 7 can be arranged such that a heat cushion is created between the air guiding element 7 and the component 6 by capturing the warm air (and possibly swirling it in the resulting space), as in Fig. 1 by the dashed, curved arrows and in Fig. 2 indicated by the dashed, straight arrows.

[0031] Only a single air flap arrangement 2 can be provided in the interior 11 of the front area of ​​the vehicle 1. However, several air flap arrangements 2 can also be provided, which are provided in different areas in the interior 11 of the front area. The air flaps of an air flap arrangement 2 can advantageously only be controlled together, although individual control is also possible if required. Furthermore, each air flap arrangement 2 can be controlled individually, or several air flap arrangements 2 can be controlled simultaneously so that their air flaps can be brought into the same position. The number and type of control of the air flap arrangements 2 depends on the vehicle 1 and the required heat dissipation and is specified by a specialist.

[0032] As already mentioned, the components to be defrosted / dehumidified are those assemblies whose functionality can be impaired by icing / condensation. Typically, such components are lighting devices such as headlights, since these now generate little or no heat due to the technology used, or sensors, which generally generate no (or very little) heat anyway.

[0033] In the description of the embodiments, fan 3 is always used, which, during normal operation, draws in outside air and draws it into the interior 11 of the front area. This fan 3 can be used to carry out the method, but a separate fan 3 with an associated fan drive and fan control can also be provided, which implements the second operating state, i.e., directs air from the interior 11, in particular the unit compartment 5, toward the air flap arrangement 2.

[0034] The proposed control method allows for easy-to-implement defrosting and / or dehumidification of components 6 arranged in a front area. Furthermore, the defrosting and / or dehumidification can be further improved (intensified) by providing air guide elements 7. List of reference symbols 1 vehicle 10 Front area outside 11 Front area inside 2 air flap arrangement 3 fans 4 cooling media heat exchangers 5 Engine room with engine 6 Component (Headlight / Sensor) 7 Air guide element 8 Sensors for environmental detection 9 Control unit

Claims

[1] Method for controlling at least one fan (3) and at least one air flap arrangement (2), both of which are arranged in an interior (11) of a front area of ​​a vehicle (1), for heating at least one component (6) arranged in the front area, wherein - in a first step (S1), a need for defrosting and / or dehumidification of at least one component (6) arranged in the front area is detected, and if a need has been determined, - in a second step (S2), the at least one fan (3) is controlled in such a way that it moves heated air from the interior (11) of the front area in such a way that an air flow from the interior (11) is created in the direction of the air flap arrangement(s) (2), and at least one air flap arrangement (2) is controlled in such a way that its air flaps are brought into a position in which the air flow is guided in the direction of the component (6), characterized bythat the at least one component (6) is one or more headlights and / or sensors arranged in a housing, wherein a part of the housing is arranged in the interior (11) of the front area and the heated air is guided in the direction of the housing in the second step (S2). [2] Method according to claim 1, wherein, based on a detection of current operating conditions of the vehicle (1), a conclusion is drawn as to a potential condensation and / or icing of one or more components (6) and which component(s) (6) and thus as to a need for de-icing and / or dehumidification. [3] Method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the method is terminated after a predetermined period of time or upon receipt of a cooling request from a thermal management system. [4] Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the second step (S2) is carried out only in a predetermined driving state of the vehicle (1), comprising a standstill and driving up to a predetermined speed. [5] Computer program for carrying out the method steps of the method according to one of the preceding claims, when the computer program is executed on a control unit (9). [6] Vehicle assembly arranged in an interior (11) of a front area of ​​a vehicle (1), the vehicle assembly comprising: - at least one air flap arrangement (2) with air flaps which are movable and controllable in such a way that they can be moved into a predetermined position, - at least one heat source, - at least one fan (3) which is designed and controllable in such a way that it can generate an air flow in a predetermined direction, - at least one control unit (9) which is designed to control the air flap arrangement (2) and the fan (3) according to the method according to one of claims 1 to 4. [7] Vehicle assembly according to claim 6, wherein further at least one air guide element (7) is provided in the interior (11) of the front region and is arranged such that, in the event that the fan (3) guides an air flow from the interior (11) in the direction of the air flap arrangement (2), it additionally guides the heated air flow directed to the at least one component (6) in the direction of the component (6). [8] Vehicle assembly according to claim 7, wherein the air guiding element (7) is arranged such that a heat cushion is created between the air guiding element (7) and the component (6). [9] Vehicle comprising a vehicle assembly according to one of claims 6 to 8.

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