Method for Controlling an Air-Conditioning System of a Vehicle Whose Top is Opened

Abstract

In a method for regulating an air-conditioning system of a vehicle whose top is open, air whose temperature and mass flow rate are regulated as a function of at least the control variables of the setpoint temperature of the passenger compartment and the actual temperature of the passenger compartment being fed to a passenger compartment of the vehicle via a plurality of vent openings. The speed of the vehicle is measured and, when it increases, the air-mass flow rate, which is fed to the passenger compartment through vent openings at lower positions, is reduced and the air-mass flow rate, which is fed to the passenger compartment through vent openings at higher positions, is increased.

1 . Method for regulating an air-conditioning system of a vehicle whose top can be opened, the method comprising the steps of:
 regulating air temperature and mass flow rate as a function of at least the control variables of a setpoint temperature of a passenger compartment and an actual temperature of the passenger compartment being fed to a passenger compartment of the vehicle via a plurality of vent openings wherein the regulating parameters used for regulating the air-conditioning system when the top is open are different from those used when the top is closed,   using intermediate values of the regulating parameters during the opening and closing of the top, wherein the intermediate values approximate to the regulating parameters for an open top faster during the opening of the top than the rate at which the intermediate values approximate to the regulating parameters for a closed top during the closing of the top.   
   
   
       2 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the speed of the vehicle is determined and, as the speed of the vehicle increases, the air-mass flow rate, which is fed to the passenger compartment through vent openings at lower positions, is reduced or the air-mass flow rate, which is fed to the passenger compartment through vent openings at higher positions is increased, or as the speed of the vehicle increases, the air-mass flow rate is increasingly shifted from the vent openings for the foot-well of the passenger compartment at lease to vent openings selected from the group consisting of vent openings for the torso, the hands and the forearms of the passengers. 
   
   
       3 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the temperature of the air fed to the passenger compartment is higher than the actual temperature of the passenger compartment. 
   
   
       4 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the air-mass flow rate is conveyed via a blower, whose power is regulated by means of a basic blower voltage characteristic, and the basic blower voltage characteristic is lowered compared to the basic blower voltage characteristic when regulating the air-conditioning system with the top closed. 
   
   
       5 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the air-mass flow rate is conveyed via a blower and the blower power is limited as a function of the vehicle speed and the limit value depends on the sound volume of the blower. 
   
   
       6 . The method according to  claim 5 , wherein, the limit value is selected in such a way that the blower noise does not exceed the airflow noise. 
   
   
       7 . The method according to  claim 5 , wherein the airflow noise is measured. 
   
   
       8 . The method according to  claim 5 , wherein the airflow noise is determined in advance and the limit value for the blower power is selected by means of a characteristic, which contains the blower noise as a function of the blower power as well as the airflow noise as a function of the traveling speed. 
   
   
       9 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the solar radiation hitting the passenger compartment is measured and the measured values of the solar radiation constitute another control variable for regulating the temperature or the mass flow rate of the air fed to the passenger compartment, the influence of the measured values of the solar radiation when the top is open being stronger than the influence of the measured values of the solar radiation when regulating the air-conditioning system with the top closed. 
   
   
       10 . The method according to  claim 9 , wherein the solar radiation is measured in at least two positions and differences in the measured values in different positions are not considered when regulating the temperature or the mass flow rate of the air fed to the passenger compartment. 
   
   
       11 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the value for the actual temperature of the passenger compartment, which value is used when regulating the air-conditioning system, is calculated from the measured value of a temperature sensor of the passenger compartment and the measured value of an outside temperature sensor. 
   
   
       12 . The method according to  claim 2 , wherein the air-mass flow rate changes over a plurality of steps or continuously as the speed of the vehicle increases. 
   
   
       13 . The method according to  claim 12 , wherein air-mass flow rate changes inversely when the vehicle speed returns to a lower level. 
   
   
       14 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the speed of the vehicle is determined and, as the speed of the vehicle increases, the air-mass flow rate, which is fed to the passenger compartment through vent openings at lower positions, is reduced and the air-mass flow rate, which is fed to the passenger compartment through vent openings at higher positions is increased, or as the speed of the vehicle increases, the air-mass flow rate is increasingly shifted from the vent openings for the foot-well of the passenger compartment at least to vent openings selected from the group consisting of vent openings for the torso, the hands and the forearms of the passengers. 
   
   
       15 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the solar radiation hitting the passenger compartment is measured and the measured values of the solar radiation constitute another control variable for regulating the temperature and the mass flow rate of the air fed to the passenger compartment, the influence of the measured values of the solar radiation when the top is open being stronger than the influence of the measured values of the solar radiation when regulating the air-conditioning system with the top closed. 
   
   
       16 . The method according to  claim 15 , wherein the solar radiation is measured in at least two positions and differences in the measured values in different positions are not considered when regulating the temperature and/or the mass flow rate of the air fed to the passenger compartment. 
   
   
       17 . The method according to  claim 2 , wherein the temperature of the air fed to the passenger compartment is higher than the actual temperature of the passenger compartment and the air-mass flow rate changes over a plurality of steps or continuously as the speed of the vehicle increases. 
   
   
       18 . The method according to  claim 17 , wherein the air-mass flow rate changes inversely when the vehicle speed returns to a lower level. 
   
   
       19 . The method according to  claim 14 , wherein the temperature of the air fed to the passenger compartment is higher than the actual temperature of the passenger compartment and the air-mass flow rate changes over a plurality of steps or continuously as the speed of the vehicle increases. 
   
   
       20 . The method according to  claim 19 , wherein the air-mass flow rate changes inversely when the vehicle speed returns to a lower level.