Acoustic HVAC control system

In a vehicle having an automatic climate control system including a controller, an acoustic heating, ventilation and air conditioning control system capable of determining a localized air temperature within the vehicle comprising:

• an acoustic transmitter adapted to be mounted within the vehicle for transmitting an ultrasonic pulse along a pre-selected path within the vehicle;
• an interface circuit connected to said acoustic transmitter for exciting said acoustic transmitter electrically;
• an acoustic receiver adapted to be mounted within the vehicle for receiving said ultrasonic pulse;
• and
• a counter-timer and a signal processing circuit connected to both of said acoustic transmitter and said acoustic receiver for measuring a time interval between transmitting and receiving said pulse along said pre-selected path to determine the local air temperature within a portion of the vehicle and processing additional inputs selected from the group consisting of solar heat load, outside air temperature, interior vehicle air flows, one or more setpoint temperatures which were pre-selected by each vehicle occupant or by default values, presence of vehicle occupants, air vent discharge temperature, thermal history, average air velocity within the vehicle, thermistors, and combinations thereof, wherein said counter-timer and signal processing circuit outputs a signal to said controller of said automatic climate control system such that said controller controls one or more of air blower speeds, discharge temperatures and air delivery modes to optimize a thermal comfort within the vehicle.

A method of acoustically controlling an automatic climate control system within an interior of a vehicle using at least one ultrasonic transducer having an interface circuit with a counter-timer, signal processing circuit and a controller comprising the steps of:

• determining a localized air temperature adjacent to the breath-level of a vehicle occupant by transmitting and receiving an ultrasonic pulse along a pre-selected path adjacent the vehicle occupant using the ultrasonic transducer and the interface circuit,
• measuring a time interval between the transmission and receipt of said ultrasonic pulse using the counter-timer,
• calculating the air temperature based upon the time interval using the signal processing circuit;
• sending a signal from the signal processing circuit to the controller of said automatic climate control system;
• evaluating the air temperature against a pre-selected setpoint temperature to determine whether to activate a blower fan, air conditioner or heater for a sufficient period to adjust the air temperature in the vehicle.