Remote climate control system providing an indication relating to
Contents
1. US 8 313 039 B2 Sheet 2 of 12 Nov 20 2012 U S Patent 6 98 30 0140154 5340110 NUILVd 30 SHOLLVHSIA i 93345 31 VIN MEANT E ERE 833914 0 19015 310033 02578 381903 30 3NTHRHS 340438 ONY SE INISNA 001034 NY 903 NI OL JAL MNE 40 NOTLVILOG 019004 INL NOJA LIND 180015 3100538 OL DET 0085 GONI IAL NOX 103 3190 18005 TAHVO TGA HORN 93 1915 10008 US 8 313 039 B2 e en 3 72 4 sos H 8 n MRIS 2H i 201334 ust IWE NAZ 10 OL UOTE SNOTIVISIA 30 Nd i NOTIVIGIA uol 105522014 LEVIS LORTU 5578 301900 330 5 380338 ONY SNTNNNS THRA 001029 38H RR TYNOULIGOY 05 HAY OL o IWAL 30 014074 PIE IRE NOJN LINA LEVIS 31083 105 3181035 38192 TOHARI 11108100 29945 31033 RAGH DYNI SNE SHG SHOLINAWHO VIVO U S Patent US 8 313 039 B2 Sheet 4 of 12 Nov 20 2012 U S Patent y Hi iP 0140144 5180120 30 3075930 H3445 34449 ML t MN DS2. OL 31908 BIP j 10 01404 9518 HNDCHHONVE LEVIS ORIS OL GRIS GOIH 04 P p x D seem D 40557440 TIAIA SD 2990908 abi il 10099 DOR SENDIS TORIDT US 8 313 039 B2 Sheet 9 of 12 Nov 20 2012 U S Patent 001534 NNA HO 0140144 SHOTIVIEIA LIND NOLIVESIA 6 9H 05 4 2093 440 38053 CNY TILLS SI 30993 CORN 803 01301218 BIN CODE SIL WAY 40 NOTI OL 30789 35 8 DIIS 01 OTEK 311 NAY 404 ANTING LUYIS 1055004 unis YOLOW GENS DTH uw ET DV 80553440400 V TORDIS ABO IMG 93 234 wD 81041802 31032 n i 4 i is US 8 313 039 B2 Sheet 10 of 12 Nov 20 2012 U S Patent S 24 01 9H GOTES IWIL 40 NOLIN 52001 30 YO 39 5530 2345 IYIN a 2 R
3. iP P TE ursi ib i N N 5 380238 GHY SI IRIDH GORGE RO NY 303 RAY OL OL OTI IHL ESVE CHONVH DUYIS 310898 OL UTW 1555 ms m IIRA LOI 83 41104180 13915 3100888 5 mo m mia 17 U S Patent Nov 20 2012 Sheet 5 of 12 US 8 313 039 B2 50 START START VEHICLE S ENGINE BASED UPON A REMOTE START HANDHELD UNIT AND CAUSE THE ENGINE RUN FOR A RUN TIME PERIOD SEND AN ALERT TO THE REMOTE START HANDHELD UNIT PRIOR TO EXPIRATION OF THE RUN TIME PERIOD PROVIDE TACTILE INDICATION USER TO PERMIT THE USER TO USE THE REMOTE START HANDHELD UNIT RESET THE RUN TIME PERIOD BY SENDING A RESET RUN TIME PERTOD SIGNAL M RECEIVE RESET RUN TIME NO PERIOD SIGNAL FROM REMOTE a START HANDHELD UNIT 56 CAUSE THE ENGINE TO RUN FOR AN ADDITION TIME PERIOD WHILE THE ENGINE IS STILL RU U S Patent Nov 20 2012 Sheet 6 of 12 US 8 313 039 B2 START VEHICLE S ENGINE BASED UPON A REMOTE START HANDHELD UNIT AND CAUSE THE ENGINE TO RUN FOR A RUN TIME PERIOD 53 PROVIDE AN AUDIBLE INDICATION TO A USER PRIOR TO EXPIRATION OF THE RUN TIME PERIOD TO PERMIT THE USER TO USE THE REMOTE START HANDHELD UNIT TO RESET THE RUN TIME
4. Cu 2 P c Ie HG U S Patent Nov 20 2012 Sheet 12 of 12 US 8 313 039 B2 io RECEIVE RESET RUN TIME 3 NO PERIOD SIGNAL FROM REMOTE 222 START HANDHELD UNIT YES CAUSE THE ELECTRICALLY POWERED CLIMATE CONTROL SYSTEM TO RUN FOR AN ADDITIONAL RUN TIME PERIOD WHILE ET IS STILL RUNNING US 8 313 039 B2 1 REMOTE CLIMATE CONTROL SYSTEM PROVIDING AN INDICATION RELATING TO REMOTE CLIMATE CONTROL OPERATION AND ASSOCIATED METHODS FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the field of remote vehicle control and more particularly to a remote vehicle control system such as to start an engine and related methods BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The passenger compartment of a vehicle parked outside during a cold day may become very cold with temperatures reaching that ofthe ambient air outside the vehicle Likewise the passenger compartment ofa vehicle parked outside during a hot day may become very hot very quickly with tempera tures that greatly exceed that of the ambient air outside the vehicle Some drivers start a vehicle activate the vehicle s climate control system then leavethe vehicle until the climate control system begins to heat or cool the vehicle However this requires the driver to leave the comfort of the indoors momentarily enter the vehicle start the engine and operate the climate control system and leave the vehicle unattended with the engin
5. REMOTE START CONTROLLER BUS INTERFACE STARTER PROCESSOR B E ir 4 pi TIME PERIOD FOR AN ADDITIONAL RUR TIME PERIOD MENT k AND a n D UPON REMOTE START HANDHELD 1 DISPLAY J TACTILE INDICATOR BERERATE TACTILE INDICATION PRIOR TO EXPIRATION OF RUN TIME PERIOD AUDIBLE INDICATOR E od US 8 313 039 B2 Page2 7 205 679 7 224 083 7 280 908 7 369 936 7 378 945 2006 0080007 2006 0087405 17 5 PATENT DOCUMENTS B2 B2 B2 B2 B2 1 1 4 2007 5 2007 10 2007 5 2008 5 2008 4 2006 4 2006 307 10 3 307 10 6 beasts 701 113 340 426 1 Gerard et al 2202202 701 2 Koike et al 2008 0203815 Al 8 2008 Ozawa et al 2011 0073059 1 3 2011 Flick 123 179 2 OTHER PUBLICATIONS Excalibur AL 2000 EDP Operation Manual Omega Research amp Development Inc Mar 2007 pp 1 43 cited by examiner US 8 313 039 B2 Sheet 1 of 12 Nov 20 2012 U S Patent it aonda THI 11 nume pns alana 6 ao nr ae LIE TOVI CHBONVH Divis 10038 CERORV TIS LOVA Hoan CSV 9 ROHE ONY NY OL GORGA NAE Y YO MIDE 405522044 ag fs BWS piis 3008 WBK
6. 40 comprises a cellular telephone In addition the run time period is settable for example based upon the cellular telephone 40 The run time period may also be settable based upon a switch not shown connected to the remote start controller 22 or based upon a signal received over the data communications bus 27 from another component In addition in this embodiment the remote start controller 22 is multi vehicle compatible By multi vehicle compatible it is meant that the remote start controller 22 may be able to communicate with other devices on the data bus 27 using a desired set of codes from among a plurality of different sets of codes for different vehicles or vehicle platforms In other words the same remote start controller 22 may be installed in a variety of different vehicles More details of multi vehicle compatible devices and operation may be found in the following references each of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety and assigned to the assignee of the present invention U S Pat Nos 7 378 945 7 369 936 7 224 083 7 205 679 7 091 822 7 068 153 7 046 126 7 031 826 7 010 402 6 812 829 6 756 886 6 756 885 6 529 124 6 346 876 6 011 460 and 5 719 551 In some embodiments the remote start controller 22 implements a timing function executed by a timer 31 of the processor 23 to send an alert to the remote handheld unit 22 in the form of a cellular telephone prior to expiration of t
7. PERIOD BY SENDING A RESET RUN RECEIVE RESET RUNTIME NO PERIOD SIGNAL FROM REMOTE START HANDHELD UNIT v5 CAUSE THE ENGINE TO RUN FOR AN ADDITION AL RUN TIME PERIOD WHILE THE ENGINE 15 STILL RUNNING 5 US 8 313 039 B2 Sheet 7 of 12 Nov 20 2012 U S Patent 98 nou so dO 01 90154 2088 01 NOTIPOTONI NOLBOTONI 31791419 TRV IYE TISIORV a CHHONYH VIS 310039 7i 804 19715 310 WNBDG gi gu 3S HOW 89943419401 HO INSNI TI 04 OL 3100 ORDY OTE 38 1 HOY N90 10551204 NaN ELN RINGVE HR Sn i 8210802 3055 31VWTD 310023 vtl 105570800 JV 6283404 ATROTIDTH BH WORDING POR NOLVILUNGA US 8 313 039 B2 Sheet 8 of 12 Nov 20 2012 U S Patent 8 GOA WEL NAW 10 KONAA ayn NOUVEN OLYORd SINOLIO orxon SNOLVISIA vt Pim 39vSS3W 23345 21993489 10 3250 ads LING NOLLVYQIA T INE UN ls ei MO WWD t 4 CHHONYH C258 3HID HO CNY ONIN TIES SEIMON GORGE IRIRA WROLIGOY NY 104
8. be an internal combustion engine that burns gasoline diesel etha nol or other fuels Rather than an internal combustion engine 129 the vehicle 121 may instead have an external heat engine such as a Stirling engine The vehicle 121 further comprises an electrically powered climate control system 132 selectively powered by the rechargeable battery 135 and a sensor 134 associated with the rechargeable battery By electrically powered climate control system 135 it is means that the climate control system is not driven by mechanical power from the engine 129 and instead receives electrical power from the rechargeable battery 135 or an alternator generator not shown coupled to the engine 129 Alternatively the electrically powered climate control system 135 may receive mechanical power from a motor not shown coupled to the rechargeable battery 135 or an alter nator generator not shown coupled to the engine 129 but not from the engine itself The electrically powered climate control system 132 may include an electrical ventilation blower an electrical heater and or an electrically powered AC compressor A suitable electrical ventilation blower may be a conventional blower coupled to an electric motor via a belt or may be a blower having an internal electric motor It should be understood that such an electrical ventilation blower merely blows ambient outside air into the passenger compartment ofthe vehicle 121 and does not actively cool
9. the air as would an electrically 0 5 20 30 40 45 65 8 powered unit It may be advantageous to use an electrical ventilation blower to cool the passenger compartment of the vehicle 121 as opposed to an electrical AC unit because the electrical ventilation blower may consume less electricity than an electrical AC unit A suitable electrical heater may be a resistive heater or other suitable heater as known to those of skill in the art In addition a suitable electrical heater may be a combination heater for example a heater core with electrical heater coils which employs both resistive heating and the use of waste heat from the engine 129 to heat the passenger compartment ofthe vehicle 121 A suitable electrically powered AC unit may be a conven tional AC compressor coupled to an electric motor via a belt or may be an AC compressor having an internal electric motor In some embodiments the electrical AC unit may bea thermoelectric cooler or other suitable electric AC unit as known to those of skill in the art The vehicle 121 may also include a security circuit 130 connected to the electrically powered climate control system 132 The security circuit 130 selectively disables the electri cally powered climate control system 132 Those of skill in the art will appreciate that in some applications the security circuit 130 may also be connected to the engine starter 128 to selectively disable the operati
10. tones Other components of the remote climate control system 120 are similar to those described above with reference to FIG 7 Those components therefore need no further discus sion herein In some embodiments the remote climate control system 120 FIG 9 may provide only a tactile indication through the vibration unit 145 and may not have a speaker In other embodiments the remote climate control system 120 FIG 10 many only provide an audible indication through the speaker 146 and may not have a vibration unit Other com ponents ofthe remote climate control systems 120 120 are similar to those described above with reference to FIG 2 Those components therefore need no further discussion herein With reference to the flowchart 150 of FIG 11 a method of operating a remote climate control system in a vehicle is described After the start Block 151 at Block 152 the vehicle s electrically powered climate control system is started based remote climate control handheld unit and caused to run for a run time period At Block 153 an alert is sent to the remote climate control handheld unit prior to expiration of the run time period At Block 154 a tactile indication is provided to a user to permit the user to use the remote climate control handheld unit to reset the run time period by sending a reset run time period signal Ifaresetruntime period signal is not received at Block 155 the electrically powered cli
11. 46 may provide an audible indication to the user prior to the expira tion of the rune time period This permits the user to use the remote climate control handheld unit 140 to reset the run time period while the electrically powered climate control system is still running and before shutting off the electrically pow ered climate control system for example by entering a com mand into the input device 148 display 147 of the remote climate control handheld unit 140 may cooperate with the processor 141 for providing a visual indication to the user prior to expiration of the run time period The visual indication may be a countdown until the expiration of the run time period for example The processor 141 of the remote climate control handheld unit 139 includes a timer 49 executing a timing function to operate the vibration unit 145 and the speaker 146 The pat tern of vibrations may be settable based upon input received via the input device 148 Of course the speech message or pattern of tones may also be settable based upon input receives via the input device 148 As stated above the remote climate controller 122 selec tively operates the electrically powered climate control sys tem 132 responsive to the sensor 134 and the remote climate US 8 313 039 B2 11 control handheld unit 140 For example the remote climate controller 122 may operate the electrically powered climate control system 132 for the run time period if it rece
12. FIG 3 isa schematic block diagram of yet another embodi ment ofa remote starting system for an engine of a vehicle in accordance with the present invention FIG 4 is a schematic block diagram of still another embodiment of a remote starting system for an engine of a vehicle in accordance with the present invention FIG 5 is a flowchart of a method of operating a remote starting system in accordance with the present invention FIG 6 is a flowchart of another method of operating a remote starting system in accordance with the present inven tion FIG 7 is a schematic block diagram of a remote climate control system for a vehicle in accordance with the present invention FIG 8 is a schematic block diagram of a further embodi ment of a remote climate control system for a vehicle in accordance with the present invention FIG 9 isa schematic block diagram ofyet another embodi ment of a remote climate control system for a vehicle in accordance with the present invention FIG 10 is a schematic block diagram of a further embodi ment of a remote climate control system for a vehicle in accordance with the present invention FIG 11 is a flowchart of a method of operating a remote climate control system in accordance with the present inven tion FIG 12 is a flowchart of another method of operating a remote climate control system in accordance with the present invention DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present
13. P A 65 Prior Publication Data 57 ABSTRACT US 2011 0073667 A1 Mar 31 2011 A remote climate control system for a vehicle includes a remote climate controller to be positioned at a vehicle for 51 Int CI starting an electrically powered climate control system based G05D 23 00 2006 01 upon a remote climate control handheld unit and causing the B60H 1 32 2006 01 electrically powered climate control system to run for a run B60G 17 018 2006 01 time period before shutting it off The remote climate con 52 US CL eie 236 51 62 244 701 36 troller is resettable based upon the remote climate control 58 Field of Classification Search 62 126 handheld unit to cause the electrically powered climate con 62 244 236 51 165 42 701 36 123 179 2 trol system to run for an additional run time period before 123 179 3 shutting it off The remote climate control handheld unit has See application file for complete search history an indicator for providing an indication to a user prior to expiration of the run time period to permit a user to reset the 56 References Cited run time period while the electrically powered climate control system is still running and before shutting offthe electrically U S PATENT DOCUMENTS powered climate control system 5 719 551 A 2 1998 Flick ne 340 426 6 011 460 A 1 2000 Flick e 340 426 25 Claims 12 Drawing Sheets a 7 EE S 21 DATA COMMUNICATIONS BUS
14. R P NOD JS ol Em ME ca slim e Te adl 1 10108 4 i i ples t 19025 300088 05570 101980 30 380138 GHY SHENAE THUS 91 THAM 0014 NAG 0130948 SIND 00708 10 OL OT NOEN 3578 9138080 DS 0 OL URTV CHES Lani TRIS 1 WE NP 15 403 II NIS lt a SUL ape Tel 105534403 GRAMOd PNR WD PBMOTE NOLVITINSA wep petites 219174009 TODA EO 93 DD 8211010 JVWTD 33038 46 al gy ll U S Patent Nov 20 2012 Sheet 11 of 12 US 8 313 039 B2 150 151 N START VEHICLES ELECTRICALLY POWERED CLIMATE CONTROL SYSTEM BASED UPON REMOTE START HANDHELD UNIT AND CAUSE IT TO RUN FOR A RUN TIME PERIOD 153 ia SEND AN ALERT TO THE REMOTE START HANDHELD UNIT PRIOR NNNM PERIOD css PROVIDE A TACTILE INDICATION TO A USER TO PERMIT THE USER 70 USE THE REMOTE START HANDHELD UNIT TO RESET THE RUN TIME PERIOD BY SENDING A RESET RUN TIME PERIOD SIGNAL 154 135 RECEIVE RESET RUN TIME PERIOD SIGNAL FROM REMOTE 156 CAUSE THE ELECTRICALLY POWERED CLIMATE CONTROL SYST AN ADDITIONAL RUN TIME PERIOD WHILE IT 15 STILL 2200
15. US008313039B2 az United States Patent 10 Patent No US 8 313 039 B2 Flick et al 45 Date of Patent Nov 20 2012 54 REMOTE CLIMATE CONTROL SYSTEM 6 346 876 Bl 2 2002 Flick ses 340 426 PROVIDING AN INDICATION RELATING TO 6222 n p 2245 eee M AE 756 ick Mer 5 CLIMATE CONTROL OPERATION 6 756 886 B2 6 2004 Flick 7 340 426 1 AND ASSOCIATED METHODS 6 812 829 11 2004 Flick 340 426 13 6 828 901 B2 12 2004 Birchfield et al 340 10 75 Inventors Kenneth E Flick Douglasville GA 7 010 402 B2 3 2006 Flick 701 36 US Michael Stephen Thompson 7 031 826 B2 4 2006 Flick 701 113 7 046 126 2 5 2006 Flick 340 426 36 Douglasville GA US 7 068 153 B2 6 2006 Flick 340 426 36 7 091 822 B2 8 2006 Flick et al 340 5 72 73 Assignee Omega Patents L L C Douglasville 08 Continued Notice Subject to any disclaimer the term of this OTHER PUBLICATIONS patent is extended or adjusted under 35 Excalibur 1800 ATV Gold Series Owners Manual Omega Research U S C 154 b by 641 days amp Development Inc 1998 pp 3 50 This patent is subject to a terminal dis Continued claimer 21 Appl No 12 571 050 Primary Examiner Chen Nen Jiang 74 Attorney Agent or Firm Allen Dyer Doppelt 22 Filed Sep 30 2009 Milbrath amp Gilchrist
16. argeable battery 135 being coupled to an external power source 137 The external power source 137 may be an electrical socket a recharging station orother external power source as known to those skilled in the art In some applications the vehicle 121 may have a solar panel such as on the roof thereof coupled to the rechargeable battery 135 The remote climate controller 122 may also enable the electrically powered climate control system 132 based upon the sensor 134 sensing the rechargeable battery 135 being recharged by the solar panel Those of skill in the art will appreciate that the sensor 134 may also measure the current flowing in of or out of the rechargeable battery 135 and that the remote climate control 5 20 40 45 50 55 12 ler 122 may operate the electrically powered climate control system 132 based thereupon in the same manner as described above with reference to voltages of the rechargeable battery Similarly the sensor 134 may measure the temperature ofthe rechargeable battery 135 and the remote climate controller 122 may also operate the electrically powered climate control system 132 based thereupon in the same manner as described above with reference to the voltage of the rechargeable bat tery 135 In some applications the remote climate controller 122 may operate the window motor 133 while it runs the electri cally powered climate control system 132 This may advan tageously help cool the p
17. assenger compartment ofthe vehicle 121 more quickly With reference to FIG 8 an alternative embodiment of the remote climate controller 122 is now described In this embodiment the remote climate control handheld unit 140 comprises a cellular telephone In addition the run time period is settable for example based upon the cellular tele phone 140 The run time period may also be settable based upon a switch not shown connected to the remote climate controller 122 or based upon a signal received over the data communications bus 127 from another component In addition in this embodiment the remote climate con troller 122 is multi vehicle compatible That is the same remote climate controller 122 may be installed in a variety of vehicles In addition here remote climate controller 122 imple ments a timing function executed by a timer 131 of the processor 123 to send an alert to the cellular telephone 122 prior to expiration ofthe run time period The processor 141 of the cellular telephone 122 provides the tactile or audible indication based upon the alert In this embodiment the tac tile indication is a pattern of vibrations and the audible indi cation is a speech message or pattern of tones In some embodiments the remote climate control handheld unit 140 may include a microphone not shown for recording the speech message and a plurality of songs may be stored in the memory 144 each to be used as a pattern of
18. atively the indicator may comprise an audible indicator and the indication may comprise an audible indication The indicator may also com prise a visible indicator and the indication may comprise a visible indication The processor may implement a timing function to operate the indicator Additionally or alternatively the remote climate controller may implement a timing function to send an alert to the remote climate control handheld unit prior to expiration of the run time period and the processor of the remote climate control handheld unit may provide the indication based upon the alert In addition the remote climate controller may have a settable run time period vehicle may have a data communications bus extend ing throughout the vehicle and the remote climate controller may cause a climate control start signal to be generated on the data communications bus for starting the electrically powered climate control system Additionally the remote climate con troller may cause a climate control stop signal to be generated on the data communications bus for shutting off the electri cally powered climate control system The electrically powered system may comprise at least one ofan electrically powered air conditioning AC compressor an electrical heater and an electrical ventilation blower The remote climate control handheld unit may comprise a cellular telephone The remote climate controller may be a multi vehicle compatible re
19. auses a climate control stop signal to be generated on the data communications bus for shutting off the electrically powered climate control system 10 The remote climate control system of claim 1 wherein the electrically powered system comprises at least one of an electrically powered air conditioning AC compressor an electrical heater and an electrical ventilation blower 11 The remote climate control system of claim 1 wherein the vehicle further comprises a sensor associated with the electrical power source and wherein said remote climate controller is also for starting the electrically powered climate control system based upon the sensor 12 The remote climate control system of claim 1 wherein said remote climate control handheld unit comprises a cellu lar telephone 13 The remote climate control system of claim 1 wherein said remote climate controller comprises a multi vehicle compatible remote climate controller 14 A remote climate control system for a vehicle compris ing an electrical power source an electrically powered cli mate control system selectively powered thereby and a data communications bus extending throughout the vehicle the remote climate control system comprising a remote climate control handheld unit comprising hous ing and a processor carried thereby a remote climate controller to be positioned at the vehicle for causing a climate control start signal to be generated on the data communicati
20. cations bus The communications from the remote climate control handheld unit 140 to the transceiver 126 at the vehicle 121 are typically a direct radio frequency link In other words there are no intervening communications links However in other embodiments the remote climate control handheld unit 140 may indirectly communicate with the transceiver 126 via other communications infrastructure such a satellite the public switched telephone network PSTN and or over the World Wide Web or Internet as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art The remote climate control handheld unit 140 may also include one or more central station transmitters such as may be provided by a satellite transmitter for example Such a central station transmitter may also be connected to other communications infrastructures The remote climate control handheld unit 140 may be a common remote transmitter By common remote transmitter it is meant that the remote cli mate control handheld unit 140 may operate a plurality of vehicles 121 Such a feature may be desirable to a driver who owns multiple vehicles 121 or to a rental car company for example The remote climate controller 122 may be a multi vehicle compatible remote climate controller that cooperates with the transceiver 126 Those of skill in the art will understand that the transceiver 126 and the remote climate controller 122 may be associated together in a same housing In fact the trans ceiv
21. claim 14 wherein the indicator comprises a visible indicator and the indication comprises a visible indication 18 Theremote climate control system of claim 14 wherein said processor implements a timing function to operate said indicator 19 Theremote climate control system of claim 14 wherein said remote climate controller implements a timing function to send an alert to said remote climate control handheld unit prior to expiration of the run time period and wherein said processor of said remote climate control handheld unit pro vides the indication based upon the alert 5 20 30 16 20 method of using a remote climate control system for a vehicle comprising an electrical power source and an elec trically powered climate control system selectively powered thereby the method comprising starting the electrically powered climate control system with a remote climate controller positioned at the vehicle based upon a remote climate control handheld unit and the electrically powered climate control system and causing the electrically powered climate control systemto run fora runtime period before shutting offthe electrically powered climate control system and generating an indication using an indicator to a user prior to expiration ofthe run time period to permit a userto use the remote climate control handheld unit to reset the run time period to cause the electrically powered climate control system to run for an additi
22. d embodiments the engine may also be shut down The vibration unit 45 of the remote start handheld unit 40 cooperates with the processor 41 for providing a tactile indi cation to a user prior to expiration of the run time period Additionally or alternatively the speaker 46 may provide an audible indication to the user prior to the expiration ofthe run time period This permits the user to use the remote start handheld unit 40 to reset the run time period while the engine is still running and before shutting offthe engine for example by entering a command into the input device 48 The display 47 of the remote start handheld unit 40 may cooperate with the processor 41 for providing a visual indi cation to the user prior to expiration of the run time period The visual indication may be a countdown until the expiration of the rune time period for example The processor 41 of the remote start handheld unit 39 includes a timer 49 executing a timing function to operate the vibration unit 45 and or the speaker 46 The pattern of vibra 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 6 tions may be settable based upon input received via the input device 48 Of course the speech message or pattern of tones may also be settable based upon input receives via the input device 48 With reference to FIG 2 an alternative embodiment ofthe remote start controller 22 is now described In this embodi ment the remote start handheld unit
23. e running To avoid this remote starting systems have been developed which allow a driver to start a vehicle s engine without enter ing the vehicle Typical remote starting systems such as that disclosed in U S Pat No 6 828 901 to Birchfield et al include a remote start controller positioned at a vehicle that causes an engine starter to start an engine based upon a remote start handheld unit such as a key fob More advanced remote starting systems such as the Excalibur AL 2000 EDP produced and sold by Omega Research amp Development Douglasville Ga have been developed The user s manual to this system explains that its remote start controller after having remotely started a vehi cle s engine shuts the engine off after a run time period By limiting the duration the engine may run when remotely started the drawbacks of less advanced remote starting sys tems are alleviated Systems such as the Excalibur AL 2000 EDP provide the user with a visualindication ofthe remaining run time period and that the run time period has expired and that the engine is shut off thereby allowing the user to once again remotely start the engine for another run time period if desired SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the foregoing background it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a remote climate control system for a vehicle with greater convenience This and other objects features and advantages in accor dance wi
24. electrically powered climate control system is still running and before shutting off the electrically powered climate control system This remote starting system provides additional conve nience and addresses various drawbacks ofthe prior art Hav ing to restart the engine when the user desires the engine to run for another run time period as per the prior art may not be desirable for a variety of reasons significant percentage of engine wear occurs at startup and this remote starting system helps reduce engine wear due to unnecessary starting and restarting Moreover the remote starting system may help to reduce the amount of pollutants produced by the engine since it will not be started stopped then restarted unnecessarily During this starting stopping and restarting of the engine as per the prior art a vehicle s climate control system may immediately cease to function when the engine is shut off thereby allowing the passenger compartment ofthe vehicle to heat up or cool down contrary to the user s desire The remote starting system of the present invention addresses this draw back as well The vehicle may further comprise a sensor associated with the electrical power source and the remote climate controller may also be for starting the electrically powered climate control system based upon the sensor The indicator may also comprise a tactile indicator and the indication may comprise a tactile indication Additionally or altern
25. er 26 and the remote climate controller 122 may each be embodied on a same printed circuit board or even in a same integrated circuit The remote climate controller 122 bypasses the security circuit 30 to enable operation of the electrically powered climate control system 132 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 10 remote climate controller 122 is coupled to the data communications bus 127 extending within the vehicle 121 via the bus interface 115 for communication thereover with the security circuit 130 and optional engine starter 128 The bus interface 115 includes circuitry for interfacing to the proper signal levels and formats on the data communications bus 127 as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art without further discussion herein Those skilled in the art will appreciate that there may be intervening components between the bus interface 125 and the data communications bus 127 such as a body control module engine control module or powertrain control mod ule Of course in some embodiments the remote climate controller 122 may communicate with the security circuit 130 and or optional engine starter 128 via a hardwired connection at the hardwire interface 124 In fact in some embodiments the vehicle 121 may not have a data bus 127 The run time period is resettable based upon the remote climate control handheld unit 140 to cause the electrically powered climate control system 132 to run fo
26. for a vehicle compris ing an electrical power source and an electrically powered climate control system selectively powered thereby the remote climate control system comprising aremote climate control handheld unit comprising a hous ing and a processor carried thereby and a remote climate controller to be positioned at the vehicle for starting the electrically powered climate control sys tem based uponthe remote climate control handheld unit and causing the electrically powered climate control system to run for arun time period before shutting offthe electrically powered climate control system said remote climate controller also being resettable based upon the remote climate control handheld unit to cause the electrically powered climate control system to run 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 14 for an additional run time period while the electrically powered climate control system is still running and before shutting offthe electrically powered climate con trol system said remote climate control handheld unit further compris ing an indicator cooperating with said processor for providing an indication to a user prior to expiration of the run time period to permit a user to use said remote climate control handheld unit to reset the run time period while the electrically powered climate control system is still running and before shutting offthe electrically pow ered climate control system 2 The remo
27. he run time period The processor 41 of the cellular telephone provides the tactile or audible indication based upon the alert In this embodiment the tactile indication is a pattern of vibra tions and the audible indication is a speech message or pat tern of tones In some embodiments the remote start hand held unit 40 may include a microphone not shown for recording the speech message and a plurality of songs and or speech messages may be stored in the memory 44 each to be used as a pattern of tones Other components of the remote starting system 20 are similar to those described above with reference to FIG 1 Those components therefore need no further discussion herein In some embodiments the remote starting system 20 FIG 3 may provide only a tactile indication through the vibration unit 45 and may not have a speaker In other embodiments the remote starting system 20 FIG 4 many only provide an audible indication through the speaker 46 and may not have a vibration unit Other components of the remote starting systems 20 20 are similar to those described above with reference to FIG 2 Those components therefore need no further discussion herein With reference to the flowchart 50 of FIG 5 a method of operating a remote starting system in a vehicle is described After the start Block 51 at Block 52 the vehicle s engine is started based upon a remote start handheld unit and caused to run for a run time per
28. her details of the functions of these components will be given below The remote starting system 20 also includes a transceiver 26 to be positioned at the vehicle 21 In addition the remote starting system 20 includes a remote start controller 22 to be positioned at the vehicle 21 for starting the engine 29 based upon the remote start handheld unit 40 thereby causing the engine to run for a run time period before shutting off the engine 29 To start the engine 29 the remote start controller 40 causes an engine start signal to be generated on the data communications bus 27 for operating the engine starter 28 which then starts the engine It should be understood that the remote start controller 22 itself may not generate the engine start signal on the data communications bus 27 but instead may cause an intervening component to generate the engine start signal on the data communications bus Of course in some applications the remote start controller 22 may instead be coupled to the engine starter 28 via the hardwire interface 24 and may operate the engine starter to start the engine 29 via the hardwire interface instead of via the data bus The communications from the remote start handheld unit 40 to the transceiver 26 at the vehicle 21 is typically a direct radio frequency link In other words there are no intervening communications links However in other embodiments the remote start handheld unit 40 may indirectly communicate with the tra
29. invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings in which preferred embodiments of the invention are shown This invention may however be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodi ments set forth herein Rather these embodiments are pro vided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art Like numbers referto like elements through 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 4 out and prime and multiple prime notation are used to indi cate similar elements in alternative embodiments Referring initially to FIG 1 aremote starting system 20 for engine 29 of a vehicle 21 is now described The engine 29 may be an internal combustion engine that burns gasoline diesel ethanol or other fuels for example The vehicle 21 also includes an engine starter 28 for starting the engine 29 In addition the vehicle 21 includes a security circuit 30 con nected to the engine starter 28 to selectively disable the opera tion thereof and therefore the operation of the engine 29 Indeed in some applications the security circuit 30 may selectively disable operation of a plurality of or all of the devices and functions of the vehicle 21 The vehicle 21 has a data communications bus 27 extend ing throughout The data communications bus 27 may extend thr
30. iod At Block 53 an alert is sent to the remote start handheld unit prior to expiration of the run time period At Block 54 a tactile indication is provided to a user to permit the user to use the remote start handheld unit to reset the run time period by sending a reset run time period signal Ifareset run time period signal is not received at Block 55 the engine is shut off at Block 57 If a reset run time period signalisreceived from the remote start handheld unit at Block US 8 313 039 B2 7 55 the engine is caused to run for an additional run time period at Block 56 At this point an alert is again sent to the remote start handheld unit prior to expiration of the run time period at Block 53 again The steps repeat until a reset run time period signal is not received from the remote start hand held unit at Block 55 At this point the engine is shut off at Block 57 Block 58 indicates the end of the method With reference to the flowchart 60 of FIG 6 another method of operating a remote starting system is now described After the start Block 61 at Block 62 the vehi cle s engine is started based upon a remote start handheld unit and caused to run for a run time period At Block 63 an audible indication is provided to a user prior to expiration of the rune time period to permit the user to use the remote start handheld unit to reset the run time period by sending a reset run time period signal Ifareset run time period sig
31. ives via the transceiver 126 a signal from the remote climate control handheld unit 140 instructing it to do so If during operation of the electrically powered climate control system 132 the sensor 134 senses that the voltage of the rechargeable battery 135 has fallen below a threshold voltage the remote climate controller 122 may disable the electrically powered climate control system to conserve the voltage of the rechargeable battery Similarly if the remote climate controller 122 receives an instruction to activate the electrically powered climate control system 132 but the sen sor 134 senses that the voltage ofthe rechargeable battery 135 is below a threshold voltage the remote climate controller 122 may not activate the electrically powered climate control system This feature helps to prevent excessive discharging of the rechargeable battery 135 due to operation of the electri cally powered climate control system 132 that might leave a driver stranded and the vehicle 121 inoperable If during operation of the electrically powered climate control system 132 the sensor 134 senses that the voltage of the rechargeable battery 135 has fallen below a threshold voltage the remote climate controller 122 may start the engine 129 if there is one This may be done to charge the rechargeable battery 135 and to help prevent excessive dis charging thereof Ifthe remote climate controller 122 receives an instruction to activate the elec
32. m 132 the sensor 134 the security circuit 130 and the engine starter 128 may commu nicate unidirectionally via the data communications bus 127 or may communicate bidirectionally via the data bus In addi tion each of the electrically powered climate control system 132 the sensor 134 the security circuit 130 and the engine starter 128 need not communicate in the same manner via the data communications bus 127 For example the electrically powered climate control system 132 may communicate bidi rectionally while the sensor 134 communicates unidirection ally It should be understood that there may be intervening cir cuitry such as a body control module engine control module or powertrain control module between the electrically pow ered climate control system 132 the sensor 134 the security circuit 130 and or the engine starter 128 US 8 313 039 B2 9 The remote climate control system 120 includes a remote start handheld unit 140 comprising a housing 129 The hous ing carries a processor 141 coupled to a transceiver 143 a memory 144 a vibration unit 145 a speaker 146 a display 147 and an input device 148 Further details ofthe functions of these components will be given below The remote climate control system 120 includes a trans ceiver 126 to be positioned at the vehicle 121 In addition the remote climate control system 120 includes a remote climate controller 122 to be positioned at the vehicle 121 for starting
33. mate control system is shut off at US 8 313 039 B2 13 Block 15 Ifareset run time period signal is received from the remote climate control handheld unit at Block 155 the elec trically powered climate control system is caused to run for an additional run time period at Block 156 At this point an alert is again sent to the remote climate control handheld unit prior to expiration of the run time period at Block 153 again The steps repeat until a reset run time period signal is not received from the remote climate control handheld unit at Block 155 At this point the electrically powered climate control system is shut off at Block 157 Block 158 indicates the end of the method With reference to the flowchart 160 of FIG 6 another method of operating a remote climate control system is now described After the start Block 161 at Block 162 the vehicle s electrically powered climate control system is started based upon a remote climate control handheld unit and caused to run for a run time period At Block 163 an audible indication is provided to a user prior to expiration of the rune time period to permit the user to usethe remote climate control handheld unit to reset the run time period by sending a reset run time period signal Ifa reset run time period signal is not received at Block 164 the electrically powered climate control system is shut off at Block 166 If a reset run time period signal is received from the remote clima
34. mote climate controller method aspect is directed to a method of using a remote climate control system for a vehicle comprising an electrical power source and an electrically powered climate control US 8 313 039 B2 3 system selectively powered thereby The method may include starting the electrically powered climate control system with a remote climate controller positioned at the vehicle based upon a remote climate control handheld unit and the electri cally powered climate control system and causing the elec trically powered climate control system to run for a run time period before shutting off the electrically powered climate control system The method may further include generating an indication using an indicator to a user prior to expiration of the run time period to permit a user to use the remote climate control handheld unit to reset the run time period to cause the electrically powered climate control system to run for an additional run time period while the electrically pow ered climate control system is still running and before shut ting off the electrically powered climate control system BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG 1 is a schematic block diagram of a remote starting system for an engine of a vehicle in accordance with the present invention FIG 2 is a schematic block diagram of a further embodi ment ofa remote starting system for an engine of a vehicle in accordance with the present invention
35. nal is not received at Block 64 the engine is shut off at Block 66 If a reset run time period signalis received from the remote start handheld unit at Block 64 the engine is caused to run for an additional run time period at Block 65 At this point an audible indication is again provided to the user at Block 63 The steps repeat until a reset run time period signal is not received from the remote start handheld unit at Block 64 At this point the engine is shut off at Block 66 Block 67 indicates the end of the method Referring now to FIG 7 another embodiment of a remote climate control system 120 for a vehicle 121 is now described The vehicle 121 has a rechargeable battery 135 although those of skill in the art will appreciate that the vehicle may have another rechargeable electrical power source The vehicle 121 has an electric motor 136 electrically powered by the rechargeable battery 135 Skilled artisans will appreciate that there may be more than one electric motor 136 and more than one rechargeable battery 135 In some embodiments the vehicle 121 is a hybrid vehicle and has an engine 129 that operates a generator or alternator not shown to recharge the rechargeable battery 135 and or powerthe electric motor 136 An optional separate engine starter 128 starts the engine 129 Those of skill in the art will understand that the engine 129 may instead be started by the electric motor 136 It should be understood that the engine 129 may
36. nsceiver 26 via other communications infrastruc ture such a satellite the public switched telephone network US 8 313 039 B2 5 PSTN and or over the World Wide Web or Internet as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art The remote start handheld unit 40 may be a common remote transmitter By common remote transmitter it is meant that the remote start handheld unit 40 may operate a plurality of vehicles 21 Such a feature may be desirable to a driver who owns multiple vehicles 21 or to a rental car com pany for example The remote start controller 22 may be a multi vehicle com patible remote start controller that cooperates with the trans ceiver 26 Those of skill in the art will understand that the transceiver 26 and the remote start controller 22 may be associated together in a same housing In fact the transceiver 26 and the remote start controller 22 may each be embodied on a same printed circuit board or even in a same integrated circuit The remote start controller 22 illustratively bypasses the security circuit 30 to enable operation ofthe engine starter 28 to thereby start the engine 29 The remote start controller 22 is coupled to the data com munications bus 27 extending within the vehicle 21 via the bus interface 25 for communication thereover with the secu rity circuit 30 and engine starter 28 Those skilled in the art will appreciate that there may be intervening components between the bus interface 25 and
37. on thereof and therefore the operation ofthe engine 129 Indeed in some applications the security circuit 130 may selectively disable operation of a plurality of or all of the devices and functions of the hybrid vehicle 121 The vehicle 121 has a data communications bus 127 extending throughout The data communications bus 127 may extend through the engine compartment the passenger compartment and or the trunk of the vehicle 121 The sensor 134 is coupled to the rechargeable battery 135 and reads the voltage thereof The sensor 134 may addition ally or alternatively be able to detect whether the recharge able battery is connected to an external power source 137 The external power source 137 may be an electrical socket or recharging station for example The electrically powered climate control system 132 the sensor 134 the security circuit 130 and the engine starter 128 are each coupled to the data communications bus 127 for communication thereover Those of skill in the art will under stand that each of the electrically powered climate control system 132 the sensor 134 the security circuit 130 and the engine starter 128 need not be on the data communications bus 127 Indeed one of or a plurality of electrically powered climate control system 132 the sensor 134 the security cir cuit 130 and the engine starter 128 may be on the data communications bus 127 Furthermore each of the electri cally powered climate control syste
38. onal run time period while the electrically powered climate control system is still running and before shutting offthe electrically pow ered climate control system 21 The method of claim 20 wherein the indicator com prises a tactile indicator and the indication comprises a tactile indication 22 The method of claim 20 wherein the indicator com prises an audible indicator and the indication comprises an audible indication 23 The method of claim 20 wherein the indicator com prises a visible indicator and the indication comprises a vis ible indication 24 The method of claim 20 wherein the vehicle further comprises a data communications bus extending throughout the vehicle and wherein the electrically powered climate control system is started by causing a climate control start signal to be generated on the data communications bus with the remote climate controller 25 The method of claim 24 wherein the electrically pow ered climate control system is shut off by causing a climate control stop signal to be generated on the data communica tions bus with the remote climate controller
39. ons bus for starting the electri US 8 313 039 B2 15 cally powered climate control system based upon the remote climate control handheld unit and causing the electrically powered climate control system to run for a settable run time period before shutting off the electri cally powered climate control system said remote climate controller also being resettable based upon the remote climate control handheld unit to cause the electrically powered climate control system to run for an additional settable run time period while the elec trically powered climate control system is still running and before shutting off the electrically powered climate control system said remote climate control handheld unit further compris ing an indicator cooperating with said processor for providing an indication to a user prior to expiration of the settable run time period to permit a user to use said remote climate control handheld unit to reset the run time period while the electrically powered climate con trol system is still running and before shutting off the electrically powered climate control system 15 Theremote climate control system of claim 14 wherein the indicator comprises a tactile indicator and the indication comprises a tactile indication 16 Theremote climate control system of claim 14 wherein the indicator comprises an audible indicator and the indica tion comprises an audible indication 17 Theremote climate control system of
40. ough the engine compartment the passenger compart ment and or the trunk of the vehicle 27 The security circuit 30 and the engine starter 28 are each coupled to the data communications bus 27 for communication thereover Those of skill in the art will understand that the security circuit 30 and or the engine starter 28 need not be on the data commu nications bus 27 Indeed one of or both ofthe security circuit 30 and the engine starter 29 may be on the data communica tions bus 27 Furthermore each of the security circuit 30 and the engine starter 29 may communicate unidirectionally via the data communications bus 27 or may communicate bidi rectionally via the data bus Each ofthe security circuit 30 and the engine starter 29 need not communicate in the same manner via the data communications bus 27 For example the security circuit 30 may communicate bidirectionally while the engine starter 28 communicates unidirectionally It should be understood that there may be intervening cir cuitry such as a body control module engine control module or powertrain control module for example between the data communications bus 27 the security circuit 30 and or the engine starter 29 The remote starting system 20 illustratively includes a remote start handheld unit 40 comprising a housing 29 The housing carries a processor 41 coupled to a transceiver 43 a memory 44 a vibration unit 45 a speaker 46 a display 47 and an input device 48 Furt
41. r an additional run time period or other time period while the electrically powered climate control system is still running and before shutting off the electrically powered climate control system 132 That is the transceiver 143 of the remote climate control handheld unit 140 may transmit a signal to the remote climate controller 122 instructing it to reset or extend the run time period This advantageously allows a user to keep the electri cally powered climate control system 132 running for a greater period of time than the run time period without the electrically powered climate control system being stopped Ifthe run time period expires before being reset the remote climate controller 122 stops the electrically powered climate control system 132 To stop the electrically powered climate control system 132 the remote climate controller 122 may cause a climate control stop signal to be generated on the data communications bus 127 It should be understood that the remote climate controller 122 itself may not generate the climate control stop signal on the data communications bus 127 but instead may cause an intervening component to generate the climate control stop signal on the data commu nications bus The vibration unit 145 of the remote climate control hand held unit 140 cooperates with the processor 141 for providing a tactile indication to a user prior to expiration of the run time period Additionally or alternatively the speaker 1
42. te climate control system of claim 1 wherein the indicator comprises a tactile indicator and the indication comprises a tactile indication 3 The remote climate control system of claim 1 wherein the indicator comprises an audible indicator and the indica tion comprises an audible indication 4 The remote climate control system of claim 1 wherein the indicator comprises a visible indicator and the indication comprises a visible indication 5 The remote climate control system of claim 1 wherein said processor implements a timing function to operate said indicator 6 The remote climate control system of claim 1 wherein said remote climate controller implements a timing function to send an alert to said remote climate control handheld unit prior to expiration of the run time period and wherein said processor of said remote climate control handheld unit pro vides the indication based upon the alert 7 The remote climate control system of claim 1 wherein said remote climate controller has a settable run time period 8 The remote climate control system of claim 1 wherein the vehicle further comprises a data communications bus extending throughout the vehicle and wherein said remote climate controller causes a climate control start signal to be generated on the data communications bus for starting the electrically powered climate control system 9 The remote climate control system of claim 8 wherein said remote climate controller c
43. te control handheld unit at Block 164 the electrically powered climate control system is caused to run for an additional run time period at Block 165 At this point an audible indication is again provided to the user at Block 163 The steps repeat until a reset run time period signal is not received from the remote climate control handheld unit at Block 164 At this point the electrically powered climate control system is shut off at Block 166 Block 167 indicates the end of the method Other details of such remote starting systems 20 may be found in co pending applications REMOTE VEHICLE STARTING SYSTEM PROVIDING A TACTILE INDICA TION RELATING TO REMOTE STARTING AND ASSO CIATED METHODS Ser No 12 571 089 filed Sep 30 2009 and REMOTE VEHICLE STARTING SYSTEM PRO VIDING AN AUDIBLE INDICATION RELATING TO REMOTE STARTING AND ASSOCIATED METHODS Ser No 12 570 994 filed Sep 30 2009 the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference Many modifications and other embodiments of the inven tion will come to the mind of one skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descrip tions and the associated drawings Therefore it is understood that the invention is not to be limited to the specific embodi ments disclosed and that modifications and embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims That which is claimed is 1 A remote climate control system
44. th the present invention are provided by a remote climate control system for a vehicle comprising an electrical power source and an electrically powered climate control system selectively powered thereby that provides an indica tion for a user before the engine has been shut off The remote climate control system may comprise a remote climate con trol handheld unit comprising a housing and a processor carried thereby remote climate controller may be posi tioned at the vehicle for starting the electrically powered climate control system based upon the remote climate control handheld unit to cause causing the electrically powered cli 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 2 mate control system to run for a run time period before shut ting off the electrically powered climate control system remote climate controller may also be resettable based upon the remote climate control handheld unit to cause the electrically powered climate control system to run for an additional run time period while the electrically powered climate control system is still running and before shutting off the electrically powered climate control system The remote climate control handheld unit may also include an indicator cooperating with the processor for providing an indication to a user prior to expiration of the run time period This permits a user to use the remote climate control handheld unit to reset the run time period while the
45. the data communications bus 27 such as a body control module engine control mod ule or powertrain control module Of course in some embodiments the remote start controller 22 may communi cate with the security circuit 30 and or engine starter 28 via a hardwired connection at the hardwire interface 24 In some embodiments the vehicle 21 may not have a data bus 27 The run time period is resettable based upon the remote start handheld unit 40 to cause the engine 29 to run for an additional run time period or other time period while the engine is still running and before shutting offthe engine That is the transceiver 43 of the remote start handheld unit 40 may be operated by a user to transmit a signal to the remote start controller 22 instructing it to reset or extend the run time period This advantageously allows a user to keep the engine 29 running for a greater period of time than the run time period without the engine being stopped Ifthe run time period expires before being reset the remote start controller 22 stops the engine To stop the engine the remote start controller 22 may cause an engine stop signal to be generated on the data communications bus 27 It should be understood that the remote start controller 22 itself may not generate the engine stop signal on the data communications bus 27 but instead may cause an intervening component to generate the engine stop signal on the data communications bus Of course in hardwire
46. the electrically powered climate control system 132 based upon the remote climate control handheld unit 140 thereby causing the electrically powered climate control system 132 to run for a run time period before shutting offthe electrically powered climate control system 132 The remote climate control handheld unit 140 may cause the remote climate controller 122 to heat the passenger com partment of the vehicle 121 to a pre set temperature Alterna tively the remote climate control handheld unit 140 may have buttons that enable a user to set the temperature to which the remote climate controller 122 is to heat the passenger com partment of the vehicle 121 Additionally or alternatively the remote climate control handheld unit 140 may have buttons input device 148 that enable a user to select to which of a plurality of pre set temperatures the remote climate controller 122 is to heat the passenger compartment of the vehicle 121 To start the electrically powered climate control system 132 the remote climate controller 140 causes a climate con trol start signal to be generated on the data communications bus 127 for operating the electrically powered climate control system 132 It should be understood that the remote climate controller 122 itself may not generate the climate control start signal on the data communications bus 127 but instead may cause an intervening component to generate the climate con trol start signal on the data communi
47. trically powered climate control system 132 but the sensor 134 senses that the voltage ofthe recharge able battery 135 is below a threshold voltage the remote climate controller 122 may start the engine 129 if there is one prior to operating the electrically powered climate con trol system 132 In some applications the remote climate controller 122 may sense if the shift selector of the vehicle 121 is in a position other than park and if so the remote climate con troller may not start the engine 129 Similarly the remote climate controller 122 may sense whether the hood of the vehicle 121 is open and may not start the engine 129 based thereupon In addition the remote climate controller 122 may shut down the engine 129 if the engine RPM exceeds a pre determined value Many other vehicle conditions such as the fuel level of the vehicle 121 either fossil fuel or a substance consumed by the rechargeable battery if it is a fuel cell may be taken into account by the remote climate controller 122 before or during operation ofthe engine 129 as will be appre ciated by those skilled in the art If the remote climate con troller 122 elects to not start or elects to shut down the engine 129 due to such a vehicle condition it may instead deactivate the electrically powered climate control system 132 The remote climate controller 122 may enable the electri cally powered climate control system 132 based upon the sensor 134 sensing the rech
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