ECONOMICAL DEFOGING IN A VEHICLE
Patent Information
- Application Number
- FR2021013748
- Authority / Receiving Office
- FR · FR
- Patent Type
- Patents
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2021-12-17
- Publication Date
- 2025-11-07
- Estimated Expiration
- 2041-12-17
AI Technical Summary
Existing vehicles consume significant electrical energy and reduce mileage range due to inefficient defogging of windshields and side windows, with complex architectures and reflections, and implementing integrated heating devices is difficult due to window mobility.
A defogging process utilizing an integrated heating device in the windshield and adjustable side diffusers, controlled by a processor, distributes hot air efficiently to both windshield and side windows, reducing energy consumption and architectural complexity.
The process achieves rapid and efficient defogging with reduced energy use, increasing vehicle mileage range and simplifying dashboard design by eliminating the need for additional nozzles and minimizing reflections.
Smart Images
Figure 00000013_0000 
Figure 00000013_0001
Abstract
Description
Description Title of the invention: ECONOMICAL DEFOGING IN A VEHICLE Technical field of the invention
[0001] = The invention relates to vehicles which include a passenger compartment delimited by- essentially through a windshield and front side windows, and more specifically the control front demisting in such passenger compartments. State of the art
[0002] Some vehicles, possibly of the motor vehicle type, include a passenger compartment partially delimited by a windshield and front side windows and an installation heating and / or air conditioning system responsible for supplying treated air to this passenger compartment. For these vehicles, combating fogging is a particularly important function. load-bearing capacity which is generally ensured by the installation (heating and / or air conditioning) tization).
[0003] — More specifically, in the aforementioned vehicles, the installation includes conduits power supply which, when a defrosting of the windshield and front side windows has summer required, supplying hot air for demisting to diffusers (or ventilators) front side panels, right and left, installed in the passenger compartment near respectively front side windows, right and left, and at least one demisting nozzle / defrosting system installed near a lower edge of the windshield.
[0004] It should be noted that in a motor vehicle the front side diffusers are generally ralement installed in the right and left end sections of the dashboard. They can be dedicated solely to demisting the front side windows, or used to control the aerothermal temperature in the upper half of the front section of the passenger compartment and for demisting the front side windows when they are manually adjusted towards these latter by the front passengers.
[0005] — The demisting of the windshield and front side windows must be carried out as soon as possible as quickly as possible, it requires operating at high power (or even maximum) the elements of the installation that are responsible for producing hot air, this which consumes a significant amount of electrical energy and therefore proves to be inefficient economical and / or likely to reduce the vehicle's driving range.
[0006] Furthermore, windshield demisting has priority over side window demisting. Previously, a large portion of the hot demisting air produced by the system supplies the demisting / defrosting nozzle(s). Therefore, only a small Part of this warm demisting air feeds each front side diffuser concerned, which limits the effectiveness of its demisting and therefore forces you to maintain activates the defogging function for longer, which further increases the amount of electrical energy consumed and further reduces the vehicle's mileage range. Furthermore, the use of demisting / defrosting nozzle(s) increases the complexity of the dashboard architecture and causes reflections on the windshield which detract from the perceived quality and style of the vehicle. To improve the effectiveness of the front side window demisters, they could be equipped with integrated heating devices. However, this solution is very difficult to implement because the front side windows are movable, and their repeated movement would relatively quickly cause their electrical wiring or solder joints to break. The invention is therefore intended, in particular, to improve the situation. Presentation of the invention In particular, it proposes for this purpose a demisting process intended to be implemented in a vehicle comprising, on the one hand, a passenger compartment delimited by a windscreen equipped with an integrated heating device and front, right and left side windows, and, on the other hand, a heating and / or air conditioning system comprising supply ducts providing air to front, right and left side diffusers, installed in the passenger compartment near the front, right and left side windows respectively. This demisting process is characterized by the fact that it includes a step in which, when demisting of the windshield and front side windows is required, the integrated heating device is operated, and hot demisting air is supplied to the front side vents so that they diffuse this hot demisting air towards the front side windows. Thanks to the invention, front demisting is much more efficient than before, and therefore the elements of the installation (responsible for producing the hot demisting air) need a smaller amount of electrical energy for a shorter time to ensure this production, which proves to be economical and / or likely to increase the vehicle's mileage range. The demisting process according to the invention may include other features which may be taken separately or in combination, and in particular: - in its stage, the front side diffusers can be automatically oriented towards the corresponding front side windows; - in its stage, in the absence of a demisting / defrosting nozzle near a lower edge of the windshield, the hot demisting air can be distributed between the front side diffusers; - in the presence of the last option, in its stage the hot demisting air can be distributed equally between the front side diffusers; - in its stage, in the presence of a heating and / or air conditioning installation including a clean air inlet flap, depending on its position, to supply it with outside air and / or recirculated air from the passenger compartment, the installation can be supplied with a percentage of outside air which is between 50% and 80%; - in the presence of the last option, in its step the installation can be supplied with a percentage of outside air which is equal to 65%. The invention also proposes a computer program product comprising a set of instructions which, when executed by processing means, is suitable for implementing a demisting process of the type presented above for demisting a windshield with an integrated heating device and the front, right and left side windows, delimiting a passenger compartment of a vehicle comprising a heating and / or air conditioning installation including supply ducts supplying air to front, right and left side diffusers, installed in the passenger compartment in close proximity respectively to the front, right and left side windows. The invention also proposes a control device intended to equip a vehicle comprising, on the one hand, a passenger compartment delimited by a windscreen equipped with an integrated heating device and front, right and left side windows, and ii) a heating and / or air conditioning installation comprising supply ducts supplying air to front, right and left side diffusers, installed in the passenger compartment near respectively the front, right and left side windows. This control device is characterized by the fact that it includes at least one processor and at least one memory arranged to perform the operations consisting, when defogging of the windshield and front side windows is required, of triggering an operation of the integrated heating device and a supply of hot defogging air to the front side vents so that they diffuse this hot defogging air towards the front side windows. The invention also proposes a vehicle, possibly of the automobile type, comprising, firstly, a passenger compartment delimited by a windscreen equipped with an integrated heating device and front, right and left side windows, secondly, a heating and / or air conditioning system comprising supply ducts supplying air to front, right and left side diffusers, installed in the passenger compartment near the front, right and left side windows respectively, and, thirdly, a control device of the type presented above. Brief description of the figures Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon examination of the detailed description below, and the accompanying drawings, in which: [Fig.1] schematically and functionally illustrates, in a cross-sectional view in a longitudinal and vertical plane, an example of an embodiment of a vehicle according to the invention, [Fig.2] schematically and functionally illustrates an example of an embodiment of a computer comprising a control device according to the invention and intended to be part of a heating and / or air conditioning system of a vehicle according to the invention, and [Fig.3] schematically illustrates an example of an algorithm implementing a demisting process according to the invention. Detailed description of the invention The invention aims in particular to provide a demisting process, and an associated control device, intended to allow economical and efficient demisting of a windscreen PB and front side windows VLV, right and left, partially delimiting a passenger compartment H of a vehicle V. In what follows, vehicle V is considered, for illustrative purposes, to be an automobile. For example, it could be a car, as illustrated in [Fig. 1]. However, the invention is not limited to this type of vehicle. It relates to any vehicle (land, sea (or river), or air) comprising an enclosed passenger compartment partially delimited by a windshield and front side windows. Figure 1 schematically illustrates part of an example vehicle V comprising a closed passenger compartment H and a heating and / or air conditioning system IC intended to supply treated air for this passenger compartment H. The passenger compartment H is partially delimited by a windshield PB and front side windows VLV, right and left. Note that in the example illustrated (non-exhaustively) in [Fig. 1], the front side windows VLV are part of the front side doors (or doors). The PB windshield includes an integrated DCI heating system designed to reheat it when needed, particularly during demisting. For example, this DCI heating system may take the form of a micro-filament heating circuit. The IC (heating and / or air conditioning) installation includes in particular CA ducts which are connected to front side diffusers (or ventilators) DLV, right and left, which are installed in the passenger compartment H near respectively the front side windows VLV, right and left. For example, these DLV front side diffusers can be installed in the right and left end sections of the dashboard that are located near the side doors including front VLV side windows. Furthermore, these front side diffusers (DLV) can be at least partially adjustable and are preferably used to control the airflow in the upper half of the front section of the passenger compartment (H) and to demist the front side windows (VLV). This arrangement is particularly advantageous because it avoids the need to include additional front side diffusers in the vehicle's dashboard (V) dedicated solely to demisting the front side windows (VLV), in addition to the front right and left side diffusers dedicated solely to controlling the airflow in the upper half of the front section of the passenger compartment (H). This effectively reduces the complexity of the dashboard architecture and the complexity of the (heating and / or air conditioning) system (IC). However, in an alternative embodiment, the front side diffusers (DLV) could be dedicated solely to demisting the front side windows (VLV). For example, each AC duct can be connected to a single front side diffuser. But the same AC duct could be connected to both front side diffusers. It should be noted, as illustrated non-limitingly on [Fig.1], that the (heating and / or air conditioning) installation IC may also include a VEA air inlet flap which, depending on its position, supplies it with outside air and / or recirculated air from the passenger compartment H. Outside air is supplied by a first supply duct C1 communicating with the outside of the vehicle V (arrow F1), and recirculated air is supplied by a second supply duct C2 communicating with the passenger compartment H (arrow F2). As mentioned above, the invention notably proposes a demisting process intended to allow demisting of the windscreen PB and the front side windows VLV. This demisting process can be controlled by the DCT control device (illustrated in Figures 1 and 2), which includes at least one PRI processor, for example, a digital signal processor (DSP), and at least one MD memory. This DCT control device can therefore be implemented as a combination of electrical or electronic circuits or components (or "hardware") and software modules. For example, it could be a microcontroller. The MD memory is random access memory (RAM) to store instructions for the PRI processor to implement at least part of the defogging process. The PRI processor can include integrated circuits (or printed circuit boards), or several integrated circuits (or printed circuit boards) connected by wired or wireless connections. An integrated circuit (or printed circuit board) is defined as any type of device capable of performing at least one electrical or electronic operation. In the example illustrated (though not exhaustively) in Figures 1 and 2, the DCT control unit is part of an IC control unit that monitors the operation of the IC system. However, this is not mandatory. The DCT control unit could include its own dedicated control unit (for demisting), which is then coupled to the IC system's IC control unit. As illustrated non-limitingly in [Fig.3], the (defogging) method according to the invention includes a step 10 which is implemented in the vehicle V whenever defogging of the windscreen PB and the front side windows VLV is required (by a passenger or an on-board computer). In this step 10, the integrated DCI heating system is activated, and hot demisting air is supplied to the front DLV side diffusers so that they can diffuse this hot demisting air towards the front VLV side windows. It will be understood that the demisting of the PB windshield is now entirely handled by the integrated DCI heating system, which is much more efficient and faster than when it is achieved by hot demisting air delivered by at least one demisting / defrosting nozzle. This is due to the integration of the DCI heating system and its distribution within the PB windshield. Similarly, the demisting of the front side vents (DLV) is entirely handled by the front side vents themselves. This proves to be much more efficient and faster than before, as each now benefits from a greater flow of hot demisting air to perform its function, since they receive all the hot demisting air produced by the IC system and dedicated to the front of the passenger compartment (H). Since the front demisting is much more efficient than before, the IC system components, which are responsible for producing the hot demisting air, require less electrical energy for a shorter period to ensure this production, which proves to be economical and / or likely to increase the vehicle's mileage range. It will also be understood that it is the DCT control device which triggers, by means of the operations carried out by at least its PRI processor and its MD memory, the operation of the integrated DCI heating device, and the supply of hot air for demisting the front side diffusers DLV. When the front side diffusers (DLV) are electrically adjustable, in step 10 the front side diffusers (DLV) can be automatically oriented towards the corresponding front side windows (VLV). This is particularly advantageous as it avoids the need for intervention from a passenger in vehicle V. But in a first variant of the embodiment, when the front side diffusers DLV are manually adjustable, it is a passenger of vehicle V who must orient them towards the corresponding front side windows VLV. In a second embodiment, each front side diffuser DLV may include a first fixed sub-part, permanently oriented towards the associated front side window VLV and dedicated solely to demisting the latter (VLV), and a second movable sub-part, motorized or not, allowing control of the aerothermal flow in the upper half of the front part of the passenger compartment H. In this case, no passenger of the vehicle V needs to intervene, but it is preferable to install in each front side diffuser DLV a motorized flap controlling access to its first and second sub-parts, in order to control the distribution of the hot demisting air between the first and second sub-parts (for example of the 100% / 0% type during front demisting). Note that in step 10, in the absence of a demister / defrost nozzle near the lower edge of the windshield (PB), all the warm air intended for front demisting is distributed between the front side diffusers (DLV). The absence of a demister / defrost nozzle advantageously reduces the complexity and cost of the dashboard design, while also preventing reflections on the windshield (PB). It should also be noted that in step 10, the warm demisting air (dedicated to front demisting) can be distributed equally between the two front side vents (DLV) (the DCT control device can trigger this distribution). However, this is not mandatory. A different distribution than 50% / 50% (for example, 70% / 30% or 60% / 40%) could be considered to accelerate the demisting of the front side window (VLV) located next to the driver of vehicle V. It should also be noted that in step 10, when the IC system includes the VEA air intake flap, the IC system can be supplied (the DCT control device can trigger the supply) with a percentage of outside air ranging from 50% to 80%. It is understood that when it is cold outside the vehicle V, the higher the percentage of recirculated air, the easier it is to quickly reheat the air in the IC system, and therefore the less electrical energy is required by the IC system components to produce the warm demisting air. Consequently, the lower the percentage of outside air, the more economical the demisting will be and / or the more likely it is to increase the vehicle V's driving range. However, it must be taken into account that a higher percentage of recirculated air also increases the potential for higher humidity levels in the passenger compartment H, which promotes fogging.. For example, in step 10, one can power (the DCT control device can triggering the power supply to the IC installation with an outside air percentage that can be equal to 65%. In fact, the invention makes it possible to reduce the percentage of outside air used by approximately 10% compared to that usually used in the prior art. It should also be noted, as illustrated (though not exhaustively) in [Fig. 1], that the vehicle V may also include a fog sensor CB (for example, in its passenger compartment H) designed to provide information indicative of a risk of fogging on the windshield PB and / or the front side windows VLV. In this case, the DCT control unit can automatically activate the front defogging based at least on the fogging risk level deduced from the information provided by the fog sensor CB. This activation can also be based on other information, such as the outside air percentage, the temperature outside the passenger compartment H, and the temperature inside the passenger compartment H. This option allows for more sophisticated and potentially less energy-intensive defogging control, as it is proactive. It should also be noted that the defrosting of the PB windscreen is ensured by the integrated DCI heating system. It should also be noted, as illustrated non-exhaustively in [Fig.2], that the computer CI (or the dedicated computer of the DCT control device) may also include, in addition to the RAM MD and processor PRI, a mass memory MM, in particular for storing the current position of the air inlet flap VEA, the possible level of risk of fogging, the possible outside temperature, the possible inside temperature, and intermediate data involved in all its calculations and processing.Furthermore, the CI computer (or the dedicated computer of the DCT control device) may also include an IE input interface for receiving at least the current position of the VEA air inlet flap, the potential level of risk of fogging, the possible outside temperature, and the possible inside temperature, for use in calculations or processing, possibly after shaping and / or demodulating and / or amplifying them, in a manner known per se, by means of a PR2 digital signal processor. In addition, the CI computer (or the dedicated computer of the DCT control device) may also include an IS output interface, in particular for delivering messages or operating commands to the DCI integrated heating device and the IC system components responsible for producing the hot demisting air. It should also be noted that the invention also proposes a computer program product (or computer program) comprising a set of instructions which, when executed by processing means such as electronic circuits (or hardware), such as the PR 1 processor, is designed to implement the defogging process described above to defog the windscreen PB and the front side windows VLV delimiting the passenger compartment H of the vehicle V.
Claims
Demands
1. A demisting method for a vehicle (V) comprising i) a passenger compartment (H) delimited by a windshield (PB) equipped with an integrated heating device (ICD) and front side windows (VLV), right and left, and ii) a heating and / or air conditioning (IC) system comprising supply ducts (CA) supplying air to front side diffusers (DLV), right and left, installed in said passenger compartment (H) in close proximity to said front side windows (VLV), right and left respectively, characterized in that it comprises a step (10) in which, when demisting of said windshield (PB) and said front side windows (VLV) is required, said integrated heating device (ICD) is operated, and hot demisting air is supplied to said front side diffusers (DLV) so that they diffuse this hot demisting air towards said front side windows (VLV), characterized in that that in said step (10),In the presence of a heating and / or air conditioning (IC) system including a clean air inlet flap (VEA) which, depending on its position, supplies it with outside air and / or recirculated air from said passenger compartment (H), said system (IC) is supplied with a percentage of outside air between 50% and 80%.
2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that in said step (10) said front side diffusers (DLV) are automatically oriented towards said corresponding front side windows (VLV).
3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that in said step (10), in the absence of a demisting / defrosting nozzle near a lower edge of said windscreen (PB), said hot demisting air is distributed between said front side diffusers (DLV).
4. Method according to claim 3, characterized in that in said step (10) said hot demisting air is distributed equally between said front lateral diffusers (DLV).
5. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that in said step (10) said installation (IC) is supplied with a percentage of outside air equal to 65%.
6. Product computer program comprising a set of instructions which, when executed by processing means, is own to implement the demisting process according to any one of claims 1 to 5 for demisting a windscreen (PB) with integrated heating device (DCI) and front side windows (VLV), right and left, delimiting a passenger compartment (H) of a vehicle (V) comprising a heating and / or air conditioning installation (IC) comprising supply ducts (CA) supplying air to front side diffusers (DLV), right and left, installed in said passenger compartment (H) in the vicinity respectively of said front side windows (VLV), right and left.
7. Control device (CD) for a vehicle (V) comprising i) a passenger compartment (H) delimited by a windscreen (PB) equipped with an integrated heating device (IHD) and front side windows (VLV), right and left, and ii) a heating and / or air conditioning (IC) system comprising supply ducts (CA) supplying air to front side diffusers (DLV), right and left, installed in said passenger compartment (H) in the vicinity of said front side windows (VLV), right and left respectively, comprising at least one processor (PR1) and at least one memory (MD) arranged to perform the operations of initiating operation of said integrated heating device (IHD) when defogging of said windscreen (PB) and said front side windows (VLV) is required,and a hot air supply for demisting said front side diffusers (DLV) so that they diffuse this hot demisting air towards said front side windows (VLV), characterized in that, in the presence of a heating and / or air conditioning (IC) system comprising an air inlet flap (VEA) capable, depending on its position, of supplying it with outside air and / or recirculated air from said passenger compartment (H), said system (IC) is supplied with a percentage of outside air between 50% and 80%.
8. Vehicle (V) comprising i) a passenger compartment (H) delimited by a windscreen (PB) equipped with an integrated heating device (DCI) and front side windows (VLV), right and left, and ii) a heating and / or air conditioning (IC) system comprising supply ducts (CA) supplying air to front side diffusers (DLV), right and left, installed in said passenger compartment (H) in proximity respectively to said front side windows (VLV), right and left, characterized in that it further comprises a control device (DCT) according to claim 7.
9. Vehicle according to claim 8, characterized in that it is of the automobile type.