Heater control logic in tow mode
AssigneeToyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.
InventorsAbhishek Srivastava, David W. Cosgrove, Hidekazu Hirabayashi, Akiyoshi B. Maeda
Life of this patent
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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.
Claims17
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.
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.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.