Claims:
1. A system (100) for automatically dissipating contaminated gases present within the vehicle, the system (100) comprising:
an Air Conditioning system comprising an evaporator side (104) and a condenser side (106), wherein the evaporator side (104) facilitates blowing air within a cabin of a vehicle through blower(s) (110) of air conditioning system, and wherein the condenser side (106) facilitates suction of ambient air, by one or more condenser fan(s) (116), through one or more air suction cut outs (114), and wherein the evaporator side (104) and the condenser side (106) are separated by a movable/adjustable partition flap (108);
a sensor configured to generate a signal indicating detection of contaminated gases;
an Electronic Control Unit (ECU) configured to,
switch off the AC compressor and the blower(s) upon receipt of the signal from the sensor, and
open the partition movable/adjustable flap (108) between the evaporator side (104) and the condenser side (106) so as to create a path for the contaminated gases to exhaust.

2. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said Electronic Control Unit (ECU) is further configured to close the one or more air suction cut outs (114) to restrict suction of the ambient air by the one or more condenser fan(s) (116) and enable suction of the contaminated gases from the cabin by the one or more condenser fan(s) (116) thereby automatically dissipating the contaminated gases present within the vehicle.

3. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the air conditioning system includes at least one of Air Conditioner (AC), a Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system.

4. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the signal further indicates the driver of the vehicle to put the vehicle in a limp mode.

5. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ECU is further configured to open roof hatch(s).

6. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ECU is further configured to operate the one or more condenser fan(s) (116) at distinct rotational speeds based on a set of parameters, wherein the set of parameters comprises compressor speed, discharge pressure, and return air sensor temperature.

7. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the system further provides a provision for back-up electrical supply to the AC and/or HVAC unit and the sensor and or the roof hatches in engine off condition as well.

8. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said contaminated gases includes air suspended contaminant within the cabin.

9. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1 further comprising an alarming unit communicably coupled to said Electronic Control Unit (ECU) for providing alarm when contaminated gases are detected inside the vehicle.

10. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1 further comprises movable/adjustable flap(s) to close outlets of the blower(s) (110) upon generation of the signal indicating detection of the contaminated gases.
, Description:FORM 2

THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
THE PATENT RULES, 2003

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(See Section 10 and Rule 13)

Title of invention:
A SYSTEM FOR AUTOMATICALLY DISSIPATING CONTAMINATED GASES PRESENT WITHIN A CABIN OF THE VEHICLE

Applicant:
Tata Motors Limited
A company Incorporated in India under the Companies Act, 1956
Having address:
Bombay House, 24 Homi Mody Street,
Hutatma Chowk, Mumbai 400001,
Maharashtra, India

The following specification describes the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed.
PRIORITY INFORMATION
[001] The present application does not claim priority from any application.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[002] The present disclosure described herein, in general, relates to a system for automatically dissipating contaminated gases present within a cabin of the vehicle.
BACKGROUND
[003] There have been a lot of cases reported where many different levels of accidents related to a vehicle have occurred. In most of such accidents, the fire may break in the vehicle due to sudden collision with another vehicle or burning of fuel or malfunctioning of any electro-mechanical component. As per the reports in 2018, 50% to 80% of the casualties in such accidents have been direct consequence of smoke inhalation. It may be noted that the smoke comprises many hazardous gases including Carbon Monoxide, Aldehydes, Cyanides, NOx, Sox, Soot, VOCs and other particulate matters.
[004] In many prior accidents, the fire is extinguished, yet many people are injured or dead due to direct inhalation of the smoke or from fear and panic. In panic, passengers travelling, in the vehicle for example a bus, may hyper-ventilate during the fire. As a result, people inhale smoke faster and depending on the density and heat of the smoke, it may take 2 to 10 minutes to pass out or die.
SUMMARY
[005] Before the present methods, are described, it is to be understood that this application is not limited to the particular methods, and methodologies described, as there can be multiple possible embodiments which are not expressly illustrated in the present disclosures. It is also to be understood that the terminology used in the description is for the purpose of describing the particular versions or embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present application. This summary is provided to introduce concepts related to a system for automatically dissipating contaminated gases present within a cabin of the vehicle and the concepts are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify essential features of the disclosure nor is it intended for use in determining or limiting the scope of the disclosure.
[006] According to various aspects of present disclosure, a system for automatically dissipating contaminated gases present within the vehicle is disclosed. The system comprises an Air Conditioner (AC) unit, a smoke sensor, and an Electronic Control Unit (ECU). In one example, the sensor may be a smoke sensor capable of detecting smoke in a cabin of the vehicle. In another example, the sensor may be any gaseous or air-suspended contaminant sensor configured to sense gases or air-suspended contaminant particles in general within the cabin of the vehicle. In one aspect, the air conditioning system comprises at least one of an Air Conditioner (AC) system and a Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system. It may be noted that the air conditioning system may also be interchangeably referred to as AC system and/or HVAC system. The AC and/or HVAC unit comprises an evaporator side and a condenser side. The evaporator side may or may not house heater coil as well (either coolant based heater or positive temperature coefficient based or of any other type). The evaporator side may facilitate blowing air within a cabin of a vehicle through an AC and/or HVAC blower/ventilator. The condenser side may facilitate suction of ambient air, by one or more condenser fan(s), through one or more air suction cut outs. It may be noted that the evaporator side and the condenser side are adjacent to each other and separated by a partition. This partition is provided with a movable/adjustable partition flap (108). This movable/adjustable flap is communicatively coupled with AC and/or HVAC system controls. This partition may or may not be in directions including but not limited to the horizontal direction (i.e. evaporator side and condenser side one beside the other) or in the vertical direction (i.e. evaporator side and condenser side placed above or below one another). The smoke/contaminant (and or any other gaseous or air-suspended contaminant in general) sensor may be configured to generate a signal indicating detection of contaminated gases (and or any other gaseous or air-suspended contaminant in general) within the cabin.
[007] In one aspect, the system further comprises an alarming unit communicably coupled to the ECU for providing alarm when contaminated gases are detected inside the vehicle. The ECU may be configured to switch off the AC and/or HVAC compressor and blowers/ventilators upon receipt of the signal from the smoke (and or any other gaseous or air-suspended contaminant in general) sensor. The ECU may further be configured to open the movable/adjustable partition flap between the evaporator side and the condenser side so as to create a path to exhaust the contaminated gases (and or any other gaseous or air-suspended contaminant in general). The ECU may further be configured to close the one or more condenser side regular air suction cut outs to restrict suction of the ambient air by the one or more condenser fan(s) and enable suction of the contaminated gases from the cabin by one or more condenser fan(s) thereby automatically facilitating faster dissipation of the contaminated gases present within the vehicle.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[008] The foregoing detailed description of embodiments is better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawing. For the purpose of illustrating the disclosure, there is shown in the present document example constructions of the disclosure; however, the disclosure is not limited to the specific methods disclosed in the document and the drawings.
[009] The detailed description is described with reference to the accompanying figure. In the figure, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The same numbers are used throughout the drawings to refer like features and components.
[0010] Figures 1 and 2 illustrate an Air Conditioning (AC) system (or a Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system) in cooling mode (i.e. when it is cooling the air that is being supplied to cabin), mounted on a roof of a vehicle, working in a regular operation, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0011] Figures 3 and 4 illustrate a propose Air Conditioning (AC) system and/or HVAC system in cooling mode), mounted on a roof of a vehicle, for automatically dissipate contaminated gases (gaseous or any air-suspended contaminant) from the cabin, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0012] Figures 5 illustrates a flowchart of sequential activities being performed by the proposed Air Conditioning (AC) system and/or HVAC system, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0013] The figure depicts an embodiment of the present disclosure for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following discussion that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the disclosure described herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0014] Some embodiments of this disclosure, illustrating all its features, will now be discussed in detail. The words "comprising," "having," "containing," and "including," and other forms thereof, are intended to be equivalent in meaning and be open ended in that an item or items following any one of these words is not meant to be an exhaustive listing of such item or items, or meant to be limited to only the listed item or items. It must also be noted that, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Although any methods similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of embodiments of the present disclosure, the exemplary, methods are now described. The disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the disclosure, which may be embodied in various forms.
[0015] Various modifications to the embodiment will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art and the generic principles herein may be applied to other embodiments. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments illustrated, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features described herein.
[0016] Referring to figures 1 and 2 illustrate an Air Conditioning (AC) system mounted on a roof a vehicle 100, working in a regular operation is shown. It may be noted that vehicle is illustrated as a passenger vehicle. However, the system may also be implemented in any other category of vehicle. In one aspect, the air conditioning system comprises at least one of an Air Conditioner (AC) system and a Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system. It may be noted that the air conditioning system may also be interchangeably referred to as AC system and/or HVAC system 102. More specifically, Figures 1 and 2 indicates that the vehicle 100 comprises the AC system and/or HVAC system 102. The AC system and/or HVAC system 102 further includes an evaporator side 104 and a condenser side 106. Here the term ’evaporator side’ is used to refer the side of an AC and/or HVAC unit that contains components required supply cool air to the vehicle cabin which may or may not include an evaporator/chiller/heat exchanger, blowers/ventilator and expansion valves. The term ‘condenser side’ is used to refer the side of an AC and/or HVAC unit that contains components required to facilitate heat rejection of the refrigerant in the refrigerant circuit to the ambient (or any such heat transfer medium) which may or may not include condenser/heat exchanger, condenser fans and air cut-outs. In case of a HVAC system the evaporator side may also contain a heater core but for the sake of representation same is not shown in the picture as its placement adjacent to evaporator is obvious for any person skilled in the art. It may be noted, from the figure 2, that the evaporator side 104 and the condenser side 106 are separated by a (movable/adjustable) partition flap 108. This movable/ adjustable partition flap may or may not be in directions including but not limited to the horizontal direction (i.e. evaporator side and condenser side one beside the other) or in the vertical direction (i.e. evaporator side and condenser side placed above or below one another). This figure shows the arrangement where the partition is in horizontal direction. Same principal can also be extended when the partition is in vertical direction. It may be understood that the evaporator side 104 comprises a set of blowers/ventilators 110-1, 110-2, 110-3, 110-4, 110-5, and 110-5, hereinafter referred to as a ventilator(s) 110. The evaporator side 104 further comprises a return air grill 112.
[0017] The condenser side 106, on the other hand, comprises one or more air suction cut outs 114 and one or more condenser fan(s) 116. It may be noted that the one or more air suction cut outs 114 may be positioned at distinct sides of the roof, as shown in the figure 1. In one aspect, the vehicle 100 may further comprise a roof hatch 118.
[0018] In the regular operation of the AC and/or HVAC system 102, the movable/adjustable partition flap 108 separating the evaporator side 104 and the condenser side 106 is closed and the one or more air suction cut outs 114 are opened. Due to opening of the one or more air suction cut outs 114, the one or more air suction cut outs 114 allows the ambient air to come inside the condenser 106 from the one or more air suction cut outs 114. The condenser 106 condenses the refrigerant inside the AC and/or HVAC system 102 circuit by transferring its heat to the air passing (or other such heat transfer medium) over condenser sucked in with the help of condenser fan 116 from one or more suction air cut outs 114 thus in the process cooling the refrigerant and facilitating phase change and condensation of refrigerant. It may be noted that the condenser 106 is required to cool the refrigerant by transferring the heat of the refrigerant to the ambient air being sucked in with the help of condenser fan 116 from one or more air suction cut-outs 114 when the compressor is ON. On the evaporator side, the air sucked in from the vehicle cabin (100) with the help of blower (s) / ventilator (s) (110) through the return air grill (112) pushed over the evaporator. After passing over the evaporator the air is cooled (depending on the type of AC and/or HVAC system and either all of this air is sucked in from inside the vehicle cabin in recirculation mode or some amount of fresh air from outside is also added in fresh air mode to replenish oxygen levels). The blower(s)/ventilator(s) 110 may then direct the cooled air within the cabin of the vehicle 100. Simultaneously, the hot air present within the cabin is sucked in through the return air grill 112. Thus, in this manner, the AC and/or HVAC system 102 works to cool the cabin of the vehicle 100 in the regular operation mode.
[0019] Now referring to figures 3 and 4, the AC and/or HVAC system 102 for automatically dissipating contaminated gases (and or any other gaseous or air-suspended contaminant in general), present within the vehicle, due to fire (or any other gaseous or air-suspended contaminant in general) is disclosed. It may be noted that the AC and/or HVAC system 102 is communicatively coupled with a sensor. In one example, the sensor may be a smoke sensor capable of detecting smoke in a cabin of the vehicle. In another example, the sensor may be any gaseous or air-suspended contaminant sensor configured to sense gases or air-suspended contaminant particles in general (not shown in the figure) within the cabin of the vehicle 100. In one aspect, the system further comprises an alarming unit communicably coupled to an Electronic Control Unit (ECU) for providing alarm when contaminated gases are detected inside the vehicle. This smoke senor sensor (and or any other gaseous or air-suspended contaminant in general) may or may not be placed in the vicinity of return air grill 112. When the smoke sensor (or any other gaseous or air-suspended contaminant sensor in general) senses a level of the smoke (or any other concerned gaseous or air suspended contaminant) above a predefined threshold value, the smoke sensor (or any other gaseous or air-suspended contaminant sensor in general) generates a signal indicating detection of contaminated gases within the cabin. Though, in this scenario, the AC and/or HVAC system 102 is communicatively coupled with the smoke sensor (or any other gaseous or air-suspended contaminant sensor in general) to sense the smoke (or any other gaseous or air-suspended contaminant in general), it may be noted that the AC and/or HVAC system 102 may also be communicatively coupled with other sensor(s) configured to presence of contaminated gases in the cabin due to leakage of contaminated gases. It may further be noted that such other sensor(s) may also be configured to generate the signal indicating detection of the contaminated gases within the cabin.
[0020] In one embodiment, the smoke (and or any other gaseous or air-suspended contaminant in general) sensor may also send the signal to a driver of the vehicle 100 to put the vehicle in a limp mode (here, the term ‘limp mode’ refers to the condition which occurs when the vehicle is running/moving and where performance of the vehicle is forcibly limited by the vehicle ECU which may or may not include but not be limited to limiting the engine RPM to a lower value or the engine power to a lower value so that the driver of the vehicle is then in a way forced to take action on the problem causing the ‘limp mode’ to come into effect and get it sorted). Upon receipt of the signal from the smoke sensor (and or any other gaseous or air-suspended contaminant sensor in general), an Electronic Control Unit (ECU), initially, switches off the AC and/or HVAC system 102 and opens the roof hatch 118, if any. The ECU may then, on receipt of the signal, open the movable/adjustable partition flap 108 between the evaporator side and the condenser side so as to create a path for the contaminated gases to exhaust. Simultaneously, the ECU closes the one or more air suction cut outs 114 to restrict suction of the ambient air by the one or more condenser fan(s) 116. In other words, the ECU automatically closes the one or more air suction cut outs 114 from where the condenser side 106 usually sucks the ambient air with the help of condenser fan(s) 116.
[0021] Further the ECU enables the one or more condenser fan(s) 116 to suck out the smoke (or any other gaseous or air-suspended contaminant in general) present within the cabin through the return air grill 112. The smoke (or any other gaseous or air-suspended contaminant in general) may then pass through the movable/adjustable partition flap 108, opened by the ECU, and thrown away upwards to the ambient by the one or more condenser fan(s) 116. It may be understood that the one or more condenser fan(s) 116 may be operable at distinct rotational speeds to quickly suck and throw away smoke (and or any other gaseous or air-suspended contaminant in general) by one or more condenser fan(s) 116. In one aspect, the one or more condenser fan(s) 116 may be operable based on a set of parameters. In one aspect, the set of parameters may include, but not limited to, compressor speed, discharge pressure, and return air sensor temperature. Thus, in this manner, the AC and/or HVAC system 102 automatically dissipates the contaminated gases (and or any other gaseous or air-suspended contaminant in general) present within the vehicle 100.
[0022] There may or may not be additional movable/adjustable flap(s) (not shown in figure) to close the blower/ventilator outlets (from where the blower(s)/ventilator(s) deliver the air to the cabin) in case of smoke/fire (and or any other gaseous or air-suspended contaminant in general) to prevent smoke (and or any other gaseous or air-suspended contaminant in general) suction through blower outlet cut-out and thus protect the same. There may or may not be additional/movable flap(s) between the return air grill and the evaporator (not shown in figure) in order to isolate and protect evaporator from any smoke (and or any other gaseous or air-suspended contaminant in general).
[0023] Referring now to figure 5, a methodology followed by the AC and/or HVAC system 102 for automatically dissipating contaminated gases present within the vehicle. At block 502, a smoke sensor (and or any other gaseous or air-suspended contaminant sensor in general) senses presence of smoke (and or any other gaseous or air-suspended contaminant in general) in a cabin of a vehicle 100.
[0024] At block 504, an ECU sends a signal to the driver, switches off AC (and or HVAC) blower and AC compressor, and open a roof hatch of the vehicle, when the smoke sensor (and or any other gaseous or air-suspended contaminant sensor in general) senses the presence of smoke (and or any other gaseous or air-suspended contaminant) above than a predefined threshold level. In one aspect, signal is sent to the driver to put the vehicle 100 in a limp mode (here, the term ‘limp mode’ refers to the condition which occurs when the vehicle is running/moving and where performance of the vehicle is forcibly limited by the vehicle ECU which may or may not include but not be limited to limiting the engine RPM to a lower value or the engine power to a lower value so that the driver of the vehicle is then in a way forced to take action on the problem causing the ‘limp mode’ to come into effect and get it sorted). At block 506, a movable/adjustable partition flap 108, separating an evaporator side and a condenser side of the AC and/or HVAC system 102, is opened by the ECU upon receipt of the signal from the smoke sensor (and or any other gaseous or air-suspended contaminant sensor in general). In one aspect, the partition is opened to create a path for the smoke (and or any other gaseous or air-suspended contaminant in general) to exhaust.
[0025] At block 508, one or more air suction cut outs 114 present on the condenser side 106 are closed by the ECU upon receipt of the signal from the smoke sensor (and or any other gaseous or air-suspended contaminant sensor in general). In one aspect, the one or more air suction cut outs 114 are closed to suck smoke (and or any other gaseous or air-suspended contaminant in general) from the cabin instead of the ambient air which is usually sucked in the condenser side 106 with the help of condenser fan(s) 116.
[0026] At block 510, one or more condenser fan(s) 116 sucks the smoke (and or any other gaseous or air-suspended contaminant in general) present within the cabin through a return air grill 112 and the path created due to opening of the movable/adjustable partition flap 108 and exhaust the smoke (and or any other gaseous or air-suspended contaminant in general) out to the ambient from the condenser side 106 with the help of condenser fan(s) 116.
[0027] In the mentioned block diagram mentioned in figure 5 the location of the smoke sensor (and or any other gaseous or air-suspended contaminant in general) is mentioned as in the path of return air grill. However, the location is not limited to this alone. The sensor can be placed at any strategic location in the passenger compartment and can be communicatively connected with the roof AC and/or HVAC unit. The block diagram has been mentioned for AC unit but the same can be extended to HVAC unit (Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning).
[0028] In one embodiment, there may also be a provision to have a siren/loud-speaker communicatively connected with the ECU and or the AC/HVAC system. The siren/loud-speaker may then be used to produce an alarm in case of receipt of signal from the smoke and or any other gaseous or air-suspended contaminant in general.
[0029] Not mentioned in figure but in case there is a provision for back-up electrical supply to the AC and/or HVAC system and the smoke sensor (and or any other gaseous or air-suspended contaminant sensor in general) the operations mentioned in the figure 3, 4 and 5 can be performed in engine off condition as well.
[0030] Exemplary embodiments discussed above may provide certain advantages. Though not required to practice aspects of the disclosure, these advantages may include those provided by the following features.
[0031] Some embodiments enable a system to automatically switching off AC (or HVAC) blower(s) or ventilator(s) and AC compressor.
[0032] Some embodiments enable a system to open the partition separating the evaporator side and the condenser side to create a path for the smoke (and or any other gaseous or air-suspended contaminant in general) to exhaust.
[0033] Some embodiments enable a system to quickly evaporate the smoke (and or any other gaseous or air-suspended contaminant in general) by increasing the rotational speed of the condenser fan(s) 116.
[0034] Although implementations for a system for automatically dissipating contaminated gases present within the vehicle have been described in language specific to structural features and/or methods, it is to be understood that the implementations and/or embodiments are not necessarily limited to the specific features or methods described.