GM has filed a patent application for a heated sunroof roller shade system designed for enhanced in-cabin comfort and greater vehicle efficiency. The system may be particularly beneficial for EVs.
The GM patent filing has been assigned application number US 11,639,089 B2 with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and was published on May 2nd, 2023. The patent was originally filed on January 23rd, 2020, and lists several Michigan-based engineers as the inventors, including Taeyoung Han, Kuo-huey Chen, Bahram Khalighi, and Paul E. Krajewski.
The new GM patent filing describes a multi-level sunroof roller shade system that can both heat the cabin and keep it cool. The system incorporates both a radiant heating system and a blocking shade system, both of which are mounted parallel to one another underneath the vehicle roof. The two shades have both a deployed position and a retracted position.
As the patent points out, modern vehicles are often equipped with a sunroof that allows natural light and fresh air into the cabin. However, this opening can often lead to significant heat loss when the vehicle is operated in cold ambient temperatures. In addition, the extra ambient light can heat up the cabin when the vehicle is operated in warmer temperatures.
To address these issues, the patent proposes a system that either warms the cabin through a deployable radiant heat layer, or keeps the cabin cool with a deployable reflective layer. The system described also includes sensors that can detect both ambient temperatures and solar loads, thus configuring the radiant heat and reflective sunroof layers as needed to keep passengers comfortable.
A system like this may prove to be particularly beneficial for electric vehicles. EV range can be dramatically affected by HVAC system loads that drain the onboard battery, and as such, preventing temperature fluctuations via the sunroof is certainly a desirable feature.
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Comments
Seems like a simple idea to help with heating and cooling an EV better.
Seems unnecessary, my Nox sunroof has a retractable interior shade that serves the same purpose, just doesn’t have the heating elements. Why would you need additional heating in the sunroof when you already have a cabin heater?
ICE vehicles naturally produce heat in the form of wasted efficiency. EVs on the other hand produce very little heat. That’s why EVs lose so much capacity in the winter because they have to make heat. Given most EVs have glass roofs doing this is a no-brainer to increasing the efficiency with very little cost.
I get the greenhouse effect of letting in the winter sun to help warm the interior but that doesn’t explain the heating elements which would be an additional direct battery draw parallel with the cabin heater.
Did you read the article? Vehicles that have head radiating from one spot (front vents) makes it harder to heat the entire vehicle. So adding more heat sources that are low draw means more efficient vehicle heating. They have talked about adding heat to arm rests and seat belts, which that also in turn would mean someone might turn down the heat as they are more comfortable having the heat directly on them.
Like wise this article mentioned it would block the point where a ton of heat is lost and in turn it would become a source of heat. It is much different than your shade…
Right, my ICE Equinox has front and rear cabin heat as well as all heated seats and heated steering wheel. So not really a new concept, except maybe for putting heating elements in the sunroof which some may argue is inefficient since heat naturally rises and glass is a very poor heat transfer insulator.
I’d be much happier if they fix the whole system to be less prone to leaks….in fact, I’d be really happy if they made it a less available option. It’s just another source of rust and god only knows that GM cars have enough of that.
Which GM cars are prone to rust? My 2009 Pontiac G-6 has one spot the size of a half dollar coin and my 2012 Silverado has zero rust and I live in the Midwest rust belt.
My 2011 Cruze is like new and I live in a rust belt. It has original paint and 0 rust.
I also have a 2016 Colorado a , 2020 Nox and no rusting issues.
Most vehicles rusting prematurely is due to lack of care/ undercoating etc.
Keeping your vehicle clean with some wax and proper undercoating will do wonders to keep rust away.
Or here’s a novel idea. Just stop forcing sunroofs on everyone. I’ve never liked them and never wanted them. In some of my cars over the years, I was forced to take one if I wanted certain other features. Most recent example? 2020 Cadillac CT4 where I wanted the Bose. Only way to get it was (in base model) to also take the sunroof or go up thousands of dollars and then they would allow you to order just the Bose/Nav without the sunroof. It’s all a money grab. Sunroof’s are a joke and should be 100% a stand alone options for those who want it. Let them pay for it. Not me.
This is a fix to a problem they created. Just more junk to go wrong along with the problematic sunroofs themselves. No thanks.
Sounds great! Hopefully this new patent also addresses roller shades that come off their tracks and don’t roll straight and even, resulting in a crumpled crinkled mess. A known problem on the 3rd gen Cadillac CTS’s. Of course, no recall or recourse with GM to fix that problem…..but as long as Mary makes her $29 million a year…………
TriSt8Z: You should see the issues our Volvo techs deal with daily on the sunroofs in these things. Just yesterday I walked back and a tech was wasting gallons of water while running a hose over the top of an XC90 with a sunroof leak. Years ago when I was at a Buick store and the 2008 Enclave just came out, it had one of the first over-sized panoramic versions. We had TONS of issues with those. One was so bad that the customer couldn’t leave their brand new Enclave outside if it was raining because the cars floor would fill with rain water. Buick ended up replacing the entire system and head liner. Problem still existed. My co-worker had a 2021 BMW 3 series. He’s has the car back 3 times for sunroof issues. My nephew back in the mid-west was an Audi tech for about 15 years. To this day he refuses to buy a car with a sunroof unless he has no choice.
I am in the “camp” of above respondents that view a sun/moon roof as a costly disadvantage not a benefit. I’ve have/had them. Fortunately I never had a leaker. My vehicles are garaged however. But…sunroofs are noisy when open while driving and create a unique experience when a seagull flys overhead and decides to dump a load. Yes, this actually happened.
Here’s a “novel” idea for a patent to address the issue: eliminate the sunroof and provide a roof that is solid sheet metal and has an insulated head liner! Hey, roof metal could actually be painted white to reflect the sun’s heating rays. Remember when air conditioning was an option but it couldn’t be had without white paint?