Method for managing multizone air-conditioning of a motor vehicle

Abstract

A method for managing multizone air-conditioning of a motor vehicle comprises the steps of: - detecting (21) the absence of a seat or a folded-down seat; - determining (25) the air-conditioning zone in which said seat is located; if the seats of the air-conditioning zone are all absent or in a folded-down state, deactivating (27) said air-conditioning zone. A system for managing multizone air-conditioning of a motor vehicle and a motor vehicle comprising the system are also described.

Description

Description Title of the invention: Method for managing multi-zone air conditioning in a motor vehicle Technical field [1]The present invention claims priority from French application 2308863 filed on 08 / 23 / 2023, the content of which (text, drawings and claims) is incorporated herein by reference. The present invention relates to a method for managing multi-zone air conditioning of a motor vehicle, a computer program product, a system for managing multi-zone air conditioning of a motor vehicle and a motor vehicle comprising such a system. State of the art [2]Motor vehicles are often equipped with cabin air conditioning for the comfort of the driver and passengers. [3]To enable temperature customization according to the preferences of the vehicle occupants, the air conditioning airflows are directed to different areas of the passenger compartment such as the driver's seat, the front passenger seat, the rear seats, etc. [4]A human-machine interface then makes it possible to adjust the air flow for each zone according to two parameters: the air temperature and the flow rate sent to the zone. Depending on the vehicle, this interface is either centralized, generally on the central screen of the dashboard, or distributed across each zone, which allows the occupants to define the air conditioning parameters for the zone they occupy themselves. [5]In the interest of energy saving, it is desirable that the air conditioning zone associated with an unoccupied zone be inactive. For example, document DE102014219751 proposes to detect whether a seat is occupied by a passenger in order to deactivate the air conditioning in the unoccupied zone and thus save energy. [6]This has the particular disadvantage of organizing the air conditioning zones in such a way that each seat corresponds to a zone. Furthermore, detecting a passenger can sometimes be complex when the passenger is a baby or a child. [7]There is therefore a real need for a method and a system for managing multi-zone air conditioning in a motor vehicle which resolves all or part of the aforementioned drawbacks. Description of the invention [8]To resolve one or more of the drawbacks cited above, according to a first embodiment, a method for managing multi-zone air conditioning of a motor vehicle comprises the steps of: • detection of the absence of a seat or a folded seat; • determination of the air conditioning zone in which the said seat is located; • if the seats in the air conditioning zone are all absent or folded down, deactivation of the said air conditioning zone. [9]Thus, an area that cannot accommodate passengers has its air conditioning deactivated.

[0010] Particular features or embodiments, usable alone or in combination, are: • an element of a human-machine interface associated with said deactivated air conditioning zone is deactivated; • the element being a physical button, a backlight of the physical button is turned off or takes on a predetermined color; • the element being an area of ​​a touch screen, the element takes on a predetermined appearance; • seat absence or folded seat detection includes image recognition by a vehicle interior camera or manual adjustment by a user; and / or • manual adjustment involves manipulating a physical button or using a touch screen.

[0011] In a second embodiment, a computer program product downloadable from a communications network and / or recorded on a computer-readable and / or processor-executable medium comprises program code instructions for implementing the above method.

[0012] In a third embodiment, a system for managing multi-zone air conditioning of a motor vehicle comprises: • a seat absence or folded seat sensor; connected to • a controller suitable for: o determining the air conditioning zone in which said seat is located; o if the seats in the air conditioning zone are all absent or in a folded state, deactivating said air conditioning zone.

[0013] In a fourth embodiment, a motor vehicle comprises a system according to the third embodiment. Brief description of the figures

[0014] The invention will be better understood by reading the following description, given solely by way of example, and with reference to the appended figures in which: • [Fig 1] represents a top view of a vehicle comprising a multi-zone air conditioning management system according to one embodiment; and • [Fig 2] represents a flowchart of a method for managing multi-zone air conditioning according to one embodiment. Methods of implementation

[0015] The embodiments presented below refer to a motor vehicle, a car. However, those skilled in the art understand that these are also usable with other types of vehicle such as vans, vans, etc.

[0016] The terms "front", "rear", "top", "bottom", "transverse" are understood in relation to the vehicle.

[0017] With reference to Fig. 1, a motor vehicle 1 comprises a system 3 for managing multi-zone air conditioning of a motor vehicle.

[0018] Multi-zone air conditioning therefore means cabin air conditioning with several air flows. Each air flow can be controlled at least in temperature and flow rate and is arranged to air condition an area of ​​the vehicle interior 1.

[0019] Vehicle 1 is, for example, a family vehicle with three rows of seats 5. The first row includes the driver's seat and the front passenger seat. Each seat has its own air conditioning zone 7, 9. The second and third rows each include 3 seats and each row corresponds to an air conditioning zone 11, 13. Thus the air conditioning is organized to manage 4 zones.

[0020] The system 3 includes a sensor 15 to detect whether a seat has been removed or is folded down. Indeed, in many vehicles, to allow the loading of numerous pieces of luggage or bulky luggage, it is possible to fold down the backrest, or even the entire seat to increase the volume of the trunk. It is also possible in certain vehicles to temporarily remove a seat to increase the volume dedicated to luggage. For example, the third row of seats of the vehicle 1 can be folded down or removed, in whole or in part, to increase the volume of the trunk.

[0021] The sensor 15 is, for example, a camera fixed inside the passenger compartment to view it. This camera then has image processing enabling it to determine the status of each seat: present (i.e. configured to be able to receive a passenger), folded down or absent. Alternatively, the sensor 15 may be an option of a human-machine interface allowing the driver, for example, to enter the status of each seat. The “present” status is then defined by default. The sensor 15 may also be a series of switches arranged in each seat to send the status of the seat.

[0022] System 3 includes a controller 17 connected to sensor 15.

[0023] The controller 17 may, for example, be integrated into the vehicle control system 1, such as an advanced driver assistance system, commonly referred to as ADAS (for “Advanced driver-assistance systems” in English terminology) which makes all driving decisions based on the environment and the programmed destination. The motor vehicle is then referred to as an autonomous motor vehicle. But it may also be a centralized system vehicle management including, or not, driving aids or being specific to comfort functions and in particular air conditioning.

[0024] Data transfer between the different elements is preferably carried out by a CAN (for “Controller Area Network”) or LIN (for “Local Interconnect Network”) type data bus.

[0025] The controller 17 is connected to a human-machine interface 19, typically the central screen of the dashboard of the motor vehicle 1, which groups together the multimedia and comfort functions. Preferably, the screen 19 is a touch screen allowing the driver to interact with the information presented. He can also do so using controls available on the dashboard, for example buttons arranged on each side of the screen. In the case where the sensor 15 is an option of the human-machine interface, it can correspond to a particular display on the screen 19.

[0026] The operation of system 3 is as follows, Fig. 2.

[0027] Sensor 15 detects, step 21, the status of each seat in the passenger compartment.

[0028] If one of the seats is absent or folded down, step 23, the controller determines, step 25, via the seat statuses provided by the sensor 15, whether for the air conditioning zone in which the seat is absent or folded down, all the other seats in this zone are also in “absent” or “folded down” status.

[0029] If this is the case, the controller 17 deactivates, step 27, the corresponding air conditioning zone and deactivates, step 29, the element of the person-machine interface 19 corresponding to this zone to inform the occupants of the vehicle.

[0030] When the element is a physical button, a physical button's backlight is turned off or takes on a predetermined color. When the element is an area of ​​a touchscreen, the element takes on a predetermined appearance, for example, the area becomes grayed out or takes on a particular color.

[0031] Fig. 1 illustrates a system according to certain embodiments. The breakdown presented is for educational purposes to highlight the different functions. However, it is understood that each block can be implemented using different means or their combinations, such as hardware components, software, one or more computers and / or electronic circuits. Each of the components can include at least one computer or a control-command unit. At least one memory can be included in each component. The memory can include computer program instructions or software code.

[0032] The computers can be implemented by any type of data processing device, such as a central computing unit, a signal processing processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a programmable gate array, etc. The computers can be implemented as a single controller, or a plurality of controllers or computers.

[0033] The various modules are connected to each other by data links adapted to the environment. These can be wired or wireless.

[0034] For software, the implementation may include modules or units distributed in the form of procedures, functions, etc. Memories can be any type of storage circuit. They can be part of the processor circuit, or separate from it and connected via electrical data links. These can be non-volatile memories, hard disks, random access memories, flash memories, etc.

[0035] Moreover, the program instructions stored in memory and processed by computers can be any type of program code, for example, a compiled or interpreted program written in a suitable programming language.

[0036] The computer program instructions stored in the memory are such that, when executed by the computer, the latter carries out one or more of the steps of the methods described above.

[0037] The invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and the foregoing description. The foregoing description should be considered illustrative and give by way of example and not as limiting the invention to this description alone. Many variant embodiments are possible.

[0038] Thus, in a variant, when the sensor 15 is adapted to perform automatic detection, it maps all the absent or folded seats. The controller 17 then compares this mapping with the air conditioning zones to determine the zones that cannot be occupied by passengers, because all the seats in these zones are absent or folded.

[0039] In another variant, the method can, for example, be implemented when starting the vehicle 1.

Claims

Claims 1. Method for managing multi-zone air conditioning of a motor vehicle comprising the steps of: • detection (21) of the absence of a seat or a folded seat; • determination (25) of the air conditioning zone in which said seat is located; • if the seats in the air conditioning zone are all absent or in a folded state, deactivation (27) of said air conditioning zone, the method being implemented by a controller (17).

2. Method according to claim 1, in which an element of a human-machine interface associated with said deactivated air conditioning zone is deactivated.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the element being a physical button, a backlight of the physical button is turned off or takes on a predetermined color.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the element being an area of a touch screen, the element takes on a predetermined appearance.

5. Method according to claim 1, 2, 3 or 4, in which the detection of absence of the seat or folded seat comprises image recognition by a camera of the passenger compartment of the vehicle or manual adjustment by a user.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the manual adjustment comprises manipulating a physical button or using a touch screen.

7. System (3) for managing multi-zone air conditioning in a motor vehicle comprising: • a sensor (15) for the absence of a seat (5) or a folded seat; connected to • a controller (17) adapted to carry out the steps of the method according to claim 1.

8. Computer program product executable by the system according to claim 7, characterized in that it comprises program code instructions for implementing the method according to at least one of claims 1 to 6.

9. Motor vehicle comprising a system according to claim 7.

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