US 11,673,535 B2 · Method and system for a vehicle sanitizing mode

Method and system for a vehicle sanitizing mode

AssigneeFord Global Technologies, LLC

InventorsAlan Gutowski, Curtis Jones, Manfred Koberstein, Stephen White, Peter Mitchell Lyon, John Rollinger, Scott Thompson, M. Scott Christensen, David Hancock, Adam Richards, Steve Skikun, Frank Fusco, Venkatesh Krishnan

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Abstract

Methods and systems are provided for heat sanitizing a vehicle. In one example, a method may include, responsive to receiving a request for sanitization of a vehicle interior, operating a heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system to heat the vehicle interior above an upper threshold temperature for a threshold duration. In this way, the HVAC system may be advantageously used to expose the vehicle interior to temperatures that kill or inactive microbes.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A method, comprising:

responsive to receiving a request for cleaning an interior of a vehicle, operating a powertrain to increase an amount of heat generated and transferred to air provided to the interior via a heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system relative to a nominal climate control mode, and operating the HVAC system to heat the interior above an upper threshold temperature for a first threshold duration;
and
operating the powertrain and the HVAC system to provide air within a temperature range lower than the maximum threshold temperature.

A vehicle system, comprising:

a powertrain;
a heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system;
a cabin;
a control system, including a plurality of control modules communicatively coupled over a controller area network;
and
computer-readable instructions stored in non-transitory memory of one or more of the plurality of control modules that, when executed, cause the control system to:
increase an amount of heat generated by the powertrain and transferred to air provided to the cabin via the HVAC system while operating in a vehicle cleaning mode relative to a nominal climate control mode.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application

16/864,751Filed 1 May 2020

Published

US 2021/0339712 A14 Nov 2021

Granted

13 Jun 2023

Term ends

Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification15 codes

B60H 3/0085
Other air-treating devices: smell or pollution preventing arrangements
B60S 1/64
Other vehicle fittings for cleaning: for cleaning vehicle interiors, e.g. built-in vacuum cleaners
A61L 2/04
Using physical processes: heat
A61L 9/16
Disinfection, sterilisation or deodorisation of air: using physical phenomena