Method for conditioning one or more aspects of a vehicle
AssigneeGM Global Technology Operations LLC
InventorsReena L. Datta, Kevin S. Kidston, Michael R. Colville
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method for conditioning one or more aspects of a vehicle, where a user may customize their vehicle by providing desired departure times and conditioning preferences so that the vehicle automatically wakes up, performs the requested conditioning, and is ready for operation by the requested departure time. Some examples of potential conditioning events include activating: a heated or cooled seat, a heated steering wheel, a heated engine block, a heated mirror, a cabin heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system, a heating or cooling element for a battery pack, a heating or cooling element for a battery charger, and a heating or cooling element for a fuel cell, to name a few.
Claims21
A method for conditioning one or more aspects of a vehicle, comprising the steps of:
- (a) receiving a departure time;
- (b) sensing a vehicle condition at a first time;
- (c) using a control module to execute a conditioning algorithm, wherein the conditioning algorithm uses the departure time and the vehicle condition sensed at the first time to determine a conditioning start time;
- (d) waking up the vehicle and sensing the same vehicle condition at a second time that is after the sensing at the first time but before the conditioning start time, if the same vehicle condition sensed at the first and second times differs by a certain degree then executing the conditioning algorithm again to determine a new conditioning start time, and if the same vehicle condition sensed at the first and second times does not differ by a certain degree then keeping the initial conditioning start time;
- and
- (e) conditioning one or more aspects of the vehicle at the conditioning start time.
A method for conditioning one or more aspects of a vehicle, comprising the steps of:
- (a) receiving a departure time and a plurality of conditioning preferences;
- (b) sensing a first vehicle condition;
- (c) using a control module to execute a conditioning algorithm, wherein the conditioning algorithm uses the first vehicle condition to determine at least some of a plurality of conditioning durations for the plurality of conditioning preferences, and uses the plurality of conditioning durations and the departure time to determine a plurality of staggered conditioning start times;
- (d) waking up the vehicle and sensing a second vehicle condition at a time that is before the plurality of staggered conditioning start times, if the first and second vehicle conditions differ by a certain degree then executing the conditioning algorithm again to determine one or more new staggered conditioning start times, and if the first and second vehicle conditions do not differ by a certain degree then keeping the initial plurality of staggered conditioning start times;
- and
- (e) conditioning the one or more aspects of the vehicle at the plurality of staggered conditioning start times.
A method for conditioning one or more aspects of a vehicle, comprising the steps of:
- (a) receiving a departure time;
- (b) receiving a plurality of conditioning preferences relating to a plurality of aspects of the vehicle;
- (c) using a control module to execute a conditioning algorithm, wherein the conditioning algorithm uses the departure time and the plurality of conditioning preferences to determine one or more conditioning start times;
- and
- (d) conditioning the plurality of aspects of the vehicle by activating a plurality of vehicle components, each having a controllable thermal output, in accordance with the one or more conditioning start times, wherein at least one of the activated vehicle components is a heating or cooling element that conditions a battery pack at a conditioning start time, a heating or cooling element that conditions a battery charger at a conditioning start time, or a heating or cooling element that conditions a fuel cell at a conditioning start time.
A method for conditioning one or more aspects of a vehicle, comprising the steps of:
- (a) receiving a departure time;
- (b) receiving a conditioning preference;
- (c) sensing a vehicle condition at a first time;
- (d) using a control module to execute a conditioning algorithm, wherein the conditioning algorithm uses the conditioning preference and the vehicle condition to determine a conditioning duration, and the conditioning algorithm uses the departure time and the conditioning duration to determine a conditioning start time;
- (e) waking up the vehicle and sensing the same vehicle condition at a second time after the sensing at the first time but before the condition start time, if the vehicle condition sensed at the first and second times differs by a certain degree then executing the conditioning algorithm again to determine a new conditioning start time, and if the vehicle condition sensed at the first and second times does not differ by a certain degree then keeping the initial conditioning start time;
- and
- (f) conditioning one or more aspects of the vehicle at the conditioning start time.
A method for conditioning a plurality of aspects of a vehicle, comprising the steps of:
- (a) receiving a departure time;
- (b) receiving a plurality of conditioning preferences relating to the plurality of aspects of the vehicle;
- (c) using a control module to execute a conditioning algorithm, wherein the conditioning algorithm determines a plurality of conditioning durations for the plurality of conditioning preferences, and uses the plurality of conditioning durations to determine a plurality of staggered conditioning start times;
- and
- (d) conditioning the plurality of aspects of the vehicle by activating a plurality of vehicle components, each having a controllable thermal output, in accordance with the plurality of staggered conditioning start times.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.