Detection of Shading of an Object in an Enclosure and its Application

A human thermal comfort, which has been a subject of extensive research, is a principal objective of the climate control systems. Applying the results of research studies to practical problems requires quantitative information of the thermal environment parameters, such as the solar radiation. A photovoltaic-cell based sensor is commonly used in the automotive climate control systems for the measurement of solar radiation information. The erroneous information from the sensors can cause thermal discomfort. The erroneous measurement from sensors can be due to physical or environmental parameters. Shading of a solar sensor due to opaque vehicle body elements is one such environmental parameter that is known to give incorrect measurement. Analytical method that uses fundamental geometric principles is proposed to determine whether sensor is shaded, for a known location of the sun and for a given geometry of the vehicle passenger compartment. A corrective action to measured data when sensor is shaded that ensures thermal comfort is also presented.