Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

Automotive Components Holdings, LLC

Other

James R Hurd

Paul Bryan Hoke

Eric R Yerke

Jennifer A Herr-Rathke

Steven David Errick

William Stewart Johnston

Kalyanaraman Bharathan

Angelo Patti

Frank Fusco

Alan Douglas Wallington

John Azar

Steve Michael Kahrs

Fred Koberstein

John Kolodziej

Grant Holajter

Grant Holaiter

An HVAC unit is provided for treating air in a passenger cabin of a vehicle. An HVAC housing has a recirculation entry section, a fresh entry section, a blower section, and an output section. A blower is mounted to the blower section for driving an airflow from the HVAC housing out through the output section into the passenger cabin. A recirculation opening is provided proximate the recirculation entry section for providing at least a base recirculation flow from the passenger cabin into the HVAC housing whenever the blower drives the airflow. A climate sensor is fluidically coupled within the base recirculation flow for sensing a climate characteristic representative of the air in the passenger cabin.

Vehicular climate sensor in recirculation path

A vehicle air circulating system comprises a controller, an interior condition sensor attached to the controller, an instrument panel, and a deployable register assembly attached to the controller and pivotably attached to the instrument panel. The register assembly includes a first register and a second register and is movable between a closed position in which the first register is recessed within the instrument panel and is thus obstructed and an open position in which the first register is deployed. The second register remains unobstructed whether the register assembly is in its closed or open position. The deployable registers provide directional control for pull down conditions. Once the desired conditions are achieved, the deployable registers lower into the instrument panel and the other registers provide a larger opening to direct the air overhead at lower velocities keeping the vehicle cabin cool while not blowing in the direction of the occupants.

Vehicle instrument panel with deployable air register

An air duct assembly having a housing and a flexible vane. Sufficient airflow through the housing may actuate the flexible vane to permit airflow through an outlet.

Air duct assembly having a flexible vane

A cross-car structure integrates an HVAC duct with a structural beam. An upper steel beam has opposing ends attached to opposite body sides. A pair of center brackets extend downward from the upper steel beam. An HVAC unit secured to a center bracket has an outlet for an air flow for ventilating a floor region. A plastic cross member has a center plate secured to the center brackets, a first hollow beam extending from the center plate to one steel beam end, and a second hollow beam extending from the center plate to the other steel beam end. Each hollow beam has an in-board opening fluidically coupled to the HVAC outlet and at least one floor outlet directed toward the floor region thereby providing a respective HVAC duct between the outlet of the HVAC unit and each of the floor outlets.

Cross-car structural support with integrated HVAC floor duct

Each vehicle in a fleet comprises a climate controller having an auto mode. The auto mode controls climate actuators in response to a model relating sensed climate conditions to respective settings for the actuators. The vehicle has a buffer memory periodically storing sample vectors comprised of actuator/operation settings and sensed climate conditions. A user interface in the vehicle is responsive to a user override commands to modify respective operation settings while in auto mode. Each vehicle has a wireless communication system for sending data packages to a remote server when the user generates the override. Each data package is comprised of a plurality of stored sample vectors and an identification of the override command A central database associated with the remote server receives the data packages from the fleet vehicles in order to identify patterns within the received vectors that are associated with any given override command

Automatic temperature override pattern recognition system

A system and methods are provided for monitoring for a clogged or unclogged state of an air filter in an automotive HVAC system. The HVAC system includes a blower having a blower motor providing a driven airflow. A plurality of outlet registers is controllable to provide a plurality of circulation modes. An evaporator selectably cools the driven airflow, and the air filter passes the driven airflow. The method enters a baseline condition, wherein the baseline condition includes applying a moisture purge to the evaporator and selection of a predetermined circulation mode. The blower motor is controlled to maintain a testing speed. An energization of the blower motor is quantified while maintaining the testing speed. The energization is compared to a base value derived according to the baseline condition with the air filter in an unclogged state. A replacement action is triggered when the energization is greater than the base value.

Monitoring air filter status in automotive HVAC system

A vehicle heating, ventilation and air conditioning system includes a plurality of ducts for providing conditioned air to an interior of a vehicle. The plurality of ducts includes a window defrost duct and a floor duct. The system includes a mixing chamber upstream of the window defrost and floor duct. A damper is selectively controllable to distribute the conditioned air to one or more of the plurality of ducts. The damper is configured so that when in a floor only mode position, the damper directs conditioned air in the mixing chamber only to the floor duct. A bypass conduit is configured to direct air from the floor duct to the window defrost duct when the damper is in the floor-only mode position. The conditioned air directed through the bypass conduit attenuates noise generated in the mixing chamber from emanating to the window defrost duct.

Automotive HVAC alternative bleed path for a vehicle window defrost

A system may control demist flow by computing a fogging possibility for a zone of a vehicle using a fogging heuristic according to received inputs, the fogging possibility indicative of fogging risk for vehicle glass in the zone of the vehicle; determining, based on comparing the fogging possibility to at least one fogging risk threshold, whether a change in demist flow for the zone is warranted to at least one of reduce the fogging risk for vehicle glass in the zone of the vehicle and reduce energy usage for the production of demist flow to be provided to vehicle glass in the zone of the vehicle; and selectively providing an output to at least one of the plurality of demist doors associated with the zone of the vehicle to adjust the demist flow to the zone of the vehicle when a change in demist flow for the zone is warranted.

Multi-zone demist strategy

A plenum assembly for carrying air in a supply system includes a duct including an opening formed with an inner surface through which air can flow; a door supported for movement between multiple positions which distributes air to the desired output path; and a seal secured to the door. In a vehicles HVAC system, numerous doors are utilized to provide comfort to the passengers based upon user input. The potential exists that some positions of the doors my lead to unwanted noise. A modification to the seal of the door with variable gap widths alleviates this issue and improves satisfaction.

Variable gap between HVAC door and sealing surfaces

A device for collecting debris from a grinding, polishing, or other work removal operation and for simultaneously cooling the work. A scoop is open at one end and has side walls which taper towards a base. An outlet in the base is connected by a fluid conduit to a debris collection container. A pressurized gas nozzle is mounted to the scoop and has its outlet spaced from the open end of the scoop and directed towards the base of the scoop. During a grinding operation or the like carried out between the nozzle and the open end of the scoop, the gas flow from the nozzle directs debris from the grinding operation to the base outlet, through the conduit and into the debris collection container. A vacuum source is optionally used at the debris collection container to induct debris through the fluid conduit and to the debris collection container. The gas flow from the nozzle also cools the work so that the work can be comfortably handled.

Growing community of inventors

Canton, MI, United States of America

James R Hurd