Autonomous Vehicle Vent Control via Geolocation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Vehicles often encounter unpleasant fumes while traveling through certain areas, and occupants may forget to close or reopen HVAC vents manually, leading to unwanted odor entry or inefficient ventilation.
Innovation Solution
A vent control system that uses processors and memory to autonomously control vehicle HVAC vents based on user-defined conditions, including geographical locations and headings, to open or close vents according to pre-set criteria, allowing for manual updates and default settings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual vent control is used, then occupants can close vents before reaching odorous areas, but occupants may forget to close or reopen vents at the correct times
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by autonomously closing vents before the vehicle reaches odorous areas based on pre-stored geographical location data. The control module automatically executes vent closure at predetermined locations, eliminating the need for occupants to remember and manually close vents at the correct times.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements self-service by enabling the vent control system to autonomously monitor vehicle location, compare it with stored odorous area data, and automatically adjust vent positions without requiring continuous manual intervention from occupants. The system serves itself by managing the entire vent control process based on geographical location tracking.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If vents are closed to prevent odor entry, then passenger comfort is improved, but ventilation efficiency is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies dynamics by dynamically adjusting vent positions based on the vehicle's real-time location relative to odorous areas. Vents are closed only when the vehicle is approaching or within odorous areas (identified by geographical coordinates), and opened at other times to maintain optimal ventilation efficiency. This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction between odor prevention and ventilation performance.
3Reliability
If autonomous vent control is implemented, then forgetfulness is eliminated, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system achieves universality by integrating multiple functions into a single control module: geographical location tracking, data storage, automatic comparison, and vent actuation control. The control module serves multiple purposes - it stores odorous area locations, monitors current vehicle position, and automatically controls vent positions based on this integrated information, reducing overall system complexity despite the autonomous functionality.
Data Source
AI summary
A vent control system for a vehicle includes one or more processors and a memory communicably coupled to the one or more processors. The memory may store a vent control module including instructions that when executed by the one or more processors cause the one or more processors to autonomously control operation of a vehicle to open at least one vehicle vent when the vehicle is in a regular vent opening condition. Responsive to manual closure of the at least one vehicle vent within a predetermined time period after the at least one vehicle vent was autonomously opened, the regular opening condition may be updated to an updated regular opening condition. After updating the regular opening condition, operation of the vehicle may be autonomously controlled to open the at least one vehicle vent when the vehicle is subsequently in the updated regular opening condition.