CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2019-0084025, filed Jul. 11, 2019, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to an air-conditioning control system and control method for a vehicle, and more particularly, to a technique for sensing an occupant in a vehicle and automatically controlling air conditioning in a parked vehicle.

BACKGROUND

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.

A rear occupant alert (ROA) function, which is one of the safety options for a vehicle, is a technique for sensing whether an occupant is neglected in a rear seat by sensing a movement in the rear seat using an ultrasonic sensor when the vehicle is parked.

In particular, the technique is for preventing a safety accident by generating a rear seat check message in a cluster when the vehicle is parked, and generating a warning sound or sending a notification message to a driver by sensing whether or not there is an occupant on the rear seat when the driver exits from the vehicle.

In spite of such a safety device, when the driver does not recognize an occupant who is neglected in a rear seat or when no help can be provided to an occupant who is neglected in a rear seat by a person around the vehicle, there is a possibility that the occupant who is neglected on the rear seat may have a safety accident.

The contents described as the related art have been provided only to assist in understanding the background of the present disclosure and should not be considered as corresponding to the related art known to those having ordinary skill in the art.

SUMMARY

An object of the present disclosure is to provide a technique for automatically controlling air conditioning in a parked vehicle, when no response is made by a driver in spite of a rear occupant alert.

In one form of the present disclosure, an air-conditioning control system for a vehicle includes: an occupant sensing unit configured to determine whether or not there is an occupant inside the vehicle when a driver exits from the vehicle; a ventilation control unit configured to perform control to allow external air to be introduced into the vehicle, upon sensing that there is an occupant in the vehicle; and a temperature control unit configured to sense at least one of an interior temperature of the vehicle or an external temperature at the time of controlling ventilation, and to control heating or cooling based on the sensed indoor temperature or external temperature.

In some implementations, the air-conditioning control system for a vehicle may further include an ultrasonic sensor configured to sense a movement inside the vehicle, and the occupant sensing unit may determine that there is an occupant if the movement is sensed by the ultrasonic sensor.

In some implementations, the ultrasonic sensor may be provided at least as many times as a number of rear seats in the vehicle to sense a movement in each of the seats, and the occupant sensing unit may sense a location of an occupant or the number of occupants.

In some implementations, at least one of the ventilation control unit or the temperature control unit may control an airflow direction or an airflow volume of the external air to be introduced, or may control a heating level or a cooling level, based on the sensed location of the occupant or the sensed number of occupants.

In some implementations, the ventilation control unit may use a blower to allow the external air to be introduced in the interior, and control an opening degree of a duct door that is located in a rear duct connected from the blower to the rear seats based on the number of occupants on the rear seats.

The temperature control unit may sense an indoor temperature, control cooling if the sensed indoor temperature is higher than a preset safety temperature range, and control heating if the sensed indoor temperature is lower than the preset safety temperature range.

The air-conditioning control system for a vehicle may further include an alarm providing unit providing a danger signal to the driver or a person around the vehicle if it is sensed by the occupant sensing unit that there is an occupant, and the ventilation control unit or the temperature control unit may allow the external air to be introduced or control heating or cooling, when a preset danger time has elapsed after the danger signal is provided by the alarm providing unit.

In another form of the present disclosure, an air-conditioning control method for a vehicle includes: determining whether or not there is an occupant inside the vehicle when a driver exits from the vehicle; performing control to allow external air to be introduced into the vehicle, if it is sensed that there is an occupant; and sensing an interior temperature of the vehicle or an external temperature, and controlling heating or cooling based on the sensed interior temperature or external temperature.

The air-conditioning control method for a vehicle may further include determining whether or not the vehicle is parked, before the determining of whether or not there is an occupant. In the determining of whether or not there is an occupant, it may be determined whether or not there is an occupant when a preset sensing time has elapsed in the state in which it is determined that the vehicle is parked.

In the determining of whether or not there is an occupant, when an ultrasonic sensor senses a movement inside the vehicle, it may be determined that there is an occupant.

In the determining of whether or not there is an occupant, the ultrasonic sensor provided at least as many as the number of rear seats in the vehicle may sense a movement in each of the seats, thereby sensing a location of an occupant or the number of occupants. In the performing of the control to allow introduction of the external air, a blower may be used to control an airflow direction or an airflow volume of the external air to be introduced based on the sensed location of the occupant or the sensed number of occupants.

In the performing of the control to allow introduction of the external air, an opening degree of a duct door that is located in a rear duct connected from the blower to the rear seats may be controlled based on the number of occupants on the rear seats.

In the controlling of the heating or cooling, an indoor temperature may be sensed, cooling may be controlled if the sensed indoor temperature is higher than a preset safety temperature range, and heating may be controlled if the sensed indoor temperature is lower than the preset safety temperature range.

In the determining of whether or not there is an occupant, the ultrasonic sensor provided at least as many as the number of rear seats in the vehicle may sense a movement in each of the seats, thereby sensing the number of occupants. In the performing of the control to allow introduction of the external air, a cooling level or a heating level may be controlled based on the sensed number of occupants.

The air-conditioning control method for a vehicle may further include providing a danger signal to the driver or a person around the vehicle if it is sensed that there is an occupant, after the determining of whether or not there is an occupant. When a preset danger time has elapsed after the danger signal is provided, the external air is introduced, or the heating or cooling may be controlled.

Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. It should be understood that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

