Granted Patent B2

US 7,424,344 · App. 11/304,274 · Granted Sep 9, 2008

Abstract

Claims (34)

1. A vehicle climate control method comprising:

determining a desired temperature;

determining a target temperature for air output from an evaporator that is indicative of the desired temperature;

calculating a temperature offset according to the desired temperature and the target temperature; and

cooling the air according to a minimum temperature adjusted upward by the temperature offset.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of determining the target temperature includes determining the target temperature according to a position of a potentiometer.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of calculating includes referencing a table of predetermined values for the temperature offset.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of calculating includes calculating the temperature offset according to at least one of ambient temperature, precipitation, and humidity.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein said minimum temperature is substantially close to freezing.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein substantially close to freezing includes temperatures within 6 degrees Fahrenheit of freezing.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining a position of a potentiometer that is indicative of the desired temperature.

8. A vehicle climate control method comprising:

determining a desired temperature;

determining a target temperature for air output from an evaporator that is indicative of the desired temperature;

calculating a temperature offset according to the desired temperature and the target temperature; and

cooling the air according to a minimum temperature adjusted by the temperature offset; and

calculating a position of a blend door according to the desired temperature, the target temperature, and a temperature of air output from a heater core.

9. A vehicle climate control method comprising:

selecting a desired temperature;

determining a blend potentiometer position that is indicative of the desired temperature;

determining an evaporator temperature that is indicative of the desired temperature and the blend potentiometer position;

calculating a temperature offset according to the desired temperature, the blend potentiometer position, and the evaporator temperature;

controlling the vehicle climate based on a result of the calculating a temperature offset step

determining a heater core air temperature; and

calculating a blend door position according to the blend potentiometer position, the evaporator temperature, the temperature offset, and the heater core air temperature.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the step of calculating the temperature offset includes referencing a table of predetermined values for the temperature offset.

11. A vehicle climate control system comprising:

a temperature module that determines a desired temperature;

an evaporator that cools air to a target temperature that is indicative of the desired temperature;

a temperature offset module that calculates a temperature offset according to the desired temperature and the target temperature;

a controller that operates the evaporator according to the desired temperature, the target temperature, and the temperature offset;

a blend potentiometer that generates a blend potentiometer position signal indicative of the desired temperature; and

a blend door positioned according to the blend potentiometer position signal, the target temperature, and the offset.

12. The vehicle climate control system of claim 11 wherein the temperature offset module references a table of predetermined values for the temperature offset.

Assignments (23)