JP2002096630A - Vehicle air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicle air conditioner, in which braking energy can be accumulated and regenerated effectively, the blowout air temperature variation can be curbed, and necessary heating performance can be properly obtained. SOLUTION: The vehicle air conditioner comprises an indoor heat exchanger for heat exchange between the air blown out in the vehicle room and an operating fluid, a heater system provided with a heater, for which energy source is the vehicle driving power and of which performance is adjustable, and a chiller circulation passage through which the chiller is circulated between the heat exchanger and an intermediate heat exchanger, where heat exchange between the chiller and the heater is performed in the intermediate heat exchanger. The vehicle air conditioner further includes chiller circulation passages consisting of a circulation passage through which the chiller is circulated in the order of the intermediate heat exchanger, a heat accumulation tank, the indoor heat exchanger, the intermediate heat exchanger, and a circulation passage bypassing the heat accumulation tank, an adjusting valve capable of adjusting a flow ratio between the chiller flow in the heat accumulation tank and the chiller flow bypassing the heat accumulation tank, a means for computing a target value of indoor heat exchanger inlet chiller temperature, which is the indoor heat exchanger temperature necessary for controlling the temperature in the vehicle room so that it coincides with the target temperature, and a means for computing the adjusting volume of the flow adjusting valve.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air conditioner for a vehicle, and more particularly, to storing and regenerating braking energy of a vehicle as heat energy to achieve power saving.
Particularly, the present invention relates to a vehicle air conditioner in which a heater outside an air conditioning duct is used for air conditioning control.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Power saving of a vehicle air conditioner in a vehicle having an internal combustion engine such as an Otto engine or a diesel engine, an electric vehicle, and a hybrid vehicle thereof has begun to be studied. In other words, automobiles frequently repeat acceleration and deceleration by turning the accelerator on and off, but the braking energy does not depend on the radiation from the brake disc or drum,
It is discarded as almost 100% energy loss due to an increase in the number of revolutions (fuel consumption) due to engine braking and the like.
Although fuel efficiency of automobiles has been improved, further reduction of fuel efficiency in relation to air conditioners for vehicles, especially cooling systems for vehicles, that is, study of energy saving of cooling systems for vehicles and heating systems for vehicles Is likely to be required in the future. From such a viewpoint, the present applicant has previously proposed that the braking force be stored and regenerated as heat energy, and that the energy be effectively used as heating energy, thereby reducing the power consumption of the vehicle air conditioner. (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-115474).

[0003]

However, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-115474, a braking energy is accumulated by utilizing a refrigerant accumulated in a condenser as an indoor heat exchanger and a heat capacity of the condenser itself. However, there is a limit to the heat capacity of the refrigerant to be stored and regenerated, and there is a problem that the power saving effect is limited only by the heat capacity of the refrigerant.

Further, in order to suppress fluctuations in the outlet air temperature of the condenser due to repeated storage of braking energy and regeneration, an air mix damper provided downstream of the indoor heat exchanger is controlled. Since it is difficult to improve the detection accuracy of the outlet air temperature of the condenser, that is, it is difficult to capture the average temperature, there remains a problem that it is difficult to suppress the air temperature fluctuation after the air mixing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle air conditioner which aims to reduce the power consumed by the air conditioner by storing and regenerating the braking energy of the vehicle, and to increase the energy capacity capable of storing and regenerating the braking energy. And thereby increase the power saving effect.

Another object of the present invention is to use a heat medium used for storing and regenerating braking energy as a fluid whose calorific value can be easily controlled, and to provide a circulation circuit for storing and regenerating the circuit. The purpose of the present invention is to suppress the fluctuation of the temperature of the air blown out from the vehicle air conditioner due to the repetition of.

Further, the object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle air conditioner using a heater which is sufficiently operated even when the operation of the heater is restricted or stopped and it becomes difficult to obtain a necessary heating capacity. It is an object of the present invention to secure a large storage and regenerative energy amount so that appropriately stored energy can be released, thereby ensuring a necessary air conditioning capacity.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention is provided in an air conditioning duct and exchanges heat between air discharged into a vehicle compartment and a working fluid. An indoor heat exchanger, a heater system provided outside the air-conditioning duct and capable of adjusting the capacity using the vehicle driving force as an energy source, and a heater system including a capacity adjusting unit of the heater; and the heater system and the indoor heat exchanger. Provided between
A vehicle having a chiller circuit that circulates a chiller between the indoor heat exchanger and the intermediate heat exchanger, and performs heat exchange between the chiller circulated in the intermediate heat exchanger and the heater. In the air conditioner, the chiller circuit includes a circuit in which the chiller circulates in the order of the intermediate heat exchanger, the heat storage tank, the indoor heat exchanger, and the intermediate heat exchanger, and a circuit that bypasses the heat storage tank. And a flow control valve capable of adjusting a flow ratio of a chiller that bypasses the heat storage tank,
And a means for calculating an indoor heat exchanger inlet chiller temperature target value as an indoor heat exchanger temperature necessary for controlling the vehicle interior to a target temperature, and a means for calculating an adjustment amount of the flow control valve. It is characterized by having control means. That is, by controlling the flow control valve through the chiller circuit having the heat storage tank, the storage of the heater energy as braking energy to the heat storage tank and the regeneration of the stored energy from the heat storage tank are controlled, and a power saving effect is obtained. To be able to Since the heat storage tank is used, the energy capacity that can be stored and regenerated can be increased, and a large power saving effect can be obtained.

In this vehicle air conditioner, while efficiently storing and regenerating heat energy, the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger inlet chiller is accurately controlled to a target value in a state where fluctuations are suppressed through a chiller circuit. Accordingly, it is preferable to perform the following control in order to accurately maintain the temperature of the air blown out of the air conditioner, that is, the interior of the vehicle at the target temperature.

That is, the control means reduces the capacity of the heater and adjusts the flow control valve so that the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger inlet chiller becomes the target value when the accelerator of the vehicle is turned on. When the accelerator is off, the intermediate heat exchanger outlet chiller temperature T1 is controlled to a set value Tmax higher than the indoor heat exchanger inlet chiller temperature target value Tt by adjusting the capacity of the heater. Is preferred.

In this control, when the accelerator operation is ON, if the indoor heat exchanger inlet chiller temperature target value Tt is equal to or higher than the heat storage tank outlet chiller temperature T2, by adjusting the capacity of the heater, The intermediate heat exchanger outlet chiller temperature T1 is equal to the indoor heat exchanger inlet chiller temperature target value Tt.
It is preferable to control so that In addition, when the accelerator is off, if the set value Tmax of the intermediate heat exchanger outlet chiller temperature is equal to or higher than the heat storage tank outlet chiller temperature T2, the intermediate heat exchanger outlet chiller is adjusted by adjusting the capacity of the heater. It is preferable to control the chiller temperature T1 to be equal to the indoor heat exchanger inlet chiller temperature target value Tt.

In the vehicle air conditioner having such a configuration, when the heater is stopped or the capacity is reduced separately from the air conditioning request, the temperature of the inlet chiller of the indoor heat exchanger is adjusted by adjusting the flow control valve. It is preferable to control so as to reach the target value.

When the chiller flows into or out of the heat storage tank by adjusting the flow control valve, the circulation chiller passes through the indoor heat exchanger or the intermediate heat exchanger as compared with the case where the chiller does not flow in or out. Preferably, the flow rate is reduced.

As the heater, an electric heater can be used. In addition to the electric heater, a friction heater can be used.

The chiller circuit can be connected to a cooling circuit of a vehicle drive device, for example, a cooling water circuit of an engine.

[0016]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a circuit configuration of a vehicle air conditioner according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows a control block diagram thereof.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes an entire air conditioner for a vehicle, and an indoor heat exchanger 4 using engine cooling water 3 is provided in an air conditioning duct 2. Outside air inlet 5
The ratio of the intake air to the inside air inlet 6 is controlled by the switching damper 7, and the air is sucked and pressure-fed by the blower 9 rotated and driven by the blower motor 8. The indoor heat exchanger 4 functions as a radiator for heating.

Immediately downstream of the indoor heat exchanger 4, an indoor heat exchanger outlet air temperature sensor 10 is provided. Immediately downstream of the indoor heat exchanger 4, there is provided an air mix damper 11 for controlling a mixing ratio of air passing through the indoor heat exchanger 4 and bypass air. Damper controller 12
Is controlled by the opening.

On the downstream side of the air-conditioning duct 2, there are opened air outlets 13, 14, 15 which can communicate with the interior of the vehicle, and the air outlets 13, 14, 15 are opened by dampers 16, 17, 18 respectively. The degree is adjusted.

The indoor heat exchanger 4 includes an electric heater 2 provided in a heater system 19 provided outside the air conditioning duct 2.
A chiller circuit 22 having a heat storage tank 21 for storing thermal energy from zero is connected. The chiller forms a heat energy transfer medium, and the chiller circuit 22 forms a heat energy transfer medium circulation circuit between the heater 20 and the indoor heat exchanger 4. In this embodiment, as the chiller, the same type of hot water as that used for the indoor heat exchanger 4 is used.

The chiller circuit 22 includes a chiller that is circulated,
Heat is exchanged with the heater 20 of the heater system 19 via the intermediate heat exchanger 23, and the chiller subjected to the heat exchange is circulated to the indoor heat exchanger 4 by the fluid pump 24. A temperature sensor 25 for detecting the chiller inlet temperature T ₃ is provided on the inlet side of the indoor heat exchanger 4 of the chiller circuit 22, and an outlet chiller temperature T ₁ is detected on the outlet side of the intermediate heat exchanger 23. A temperature sensor 26 is provided. Chiller circuit 22
Is branched between the outlet side of the intermediate heat exchanger 23 and the inlet side of the indoor heat exchanger 4 via the flow control valves SV1 and SV2, and a heat storage tank 21 having a sufficient capacity is provided at the branch portion. Have been. To the outlet side of the heat storage tank 21, a temperature sensor 27 for detecting the outlet chiller temperature T ₂ it is provided.

The heater system 19 is provided with a heater 20 provided in the intermediate heat exchanger 23 and an electric heater controller 28 for controlling the heater 20. The heater 29 is controlled by the electric heater controller 28 by a battery 29 of the vehicle. Then, the heater 20 is heated.

A voltage control signal BLV is sent from the main controller 30 for controlling the air conditioner 1 to the blower motor 8 via a blower voltage controller (blower controller) 31, and the air mix damper controller 12 is sent to the air mix damper controller 12. 11 opening control signal AMD
However, the fluid pump drive control signal POV is sent to the fluid pump controller 32 for the fluid pump 24 by the flow control valve SV1,
The flow control valve controller 33 for SV2 has the valve SV1,
The opening control signal SV0 of SV2 and the heater capacity control signal Ch are sent to the electric heater controller 28, respectively.

The main controller 30 includes an indoor heat exchanger outlet air temperature signal Te, an intermediate heat exchanger outlet chiller temperature signal T ₁ , a heat storage tank outlet chiller temperature signal T ₂ , an indoor heat exchanger inlet chiller temperature signal T ₃ , The target indoor temperature Tset set by the indoor temperature setter 34 and the accelerator opening signal AC
C, the indoor temperature signal Tr, the outside air temperature signal Tam, and the solar radiation signal Rsun are respectively input.

The air conditioner 1 for a vehicle configured as described above.
Is controlled as shown in the block diagram of FIG. In the main controller 30, the calculation of the target outlet temperature is performed based on the following equation. Toc = k (Tr−Tset) + f (Tam, Rsu
n, Tset)

The blower voltage output calculation is performed at BLV = f (Toc), and the air mix damper opening calculation is performed at AMD = f (Toc, Te, TW). TW is a fixed value of the temperature of the engine cooling water at the inlet of the indoor heat exchanger.

Further, the target value of the intermediate heat exchanger inlet chiller temperature Tt is calculated by Tt = f (Toc, POV, BLV).

The heater capacity control signal Ch, the flow rate control valve opening signal SV0, and the fluid pump input voltage POV are respectively set according to the normal, braking energy regeneration, heat storage, and electric heater off regeneration. It is calculated and controlled as shown in FIG.

That is, Table 1 shows a summary of the control modes depending on whether the accelerator is on or off and the electric heater is off.

[0030]

[Table 1]

That is, a. When drive power is required, that is, when the accelerator is on: <Regeneration> Instead of taking out the heat energy stored in the heat storage tank as heating capacity, the electric heater capacity is forcibly minimized to save power. At this time, by controlling the flow control valve, control is performed such that the indoor heat exchanger inlet chiller temperature becomes the target temperature Tt. Further, in order to exchange the heat energy of the heat storage tank to the maximum in the indoor heat exchanger, the input flow voltage of the fluid pump is set to Lo and the circulation flow rate of the chiller is reduced.

<Normal> When the temperature of the heat storage tank becomes lower than the chiller target temperature, the flow control valve is fully opened on the SV1 side, and the chiller target temperature Tt is controlled by electric heater capacity control.
To achieve. Note that the chiller target temperature is a chiller temperature for achieving an indoor temperature desired by the occupant, and the target indoor temperature,
The target blow-off temperature, which is obtained from the amount of solar radiation, the outside air temperature, and the temperature inside the vehicle, and the pump voltage and the blower voltage are obtained as reference.

B. When no driving force is required, that is, when the accelerator is off: <Heat storage> Thermal energy is stored in the heat storage tank using the braking force (= inertial energy of the vehicle). At this time, the electric heater
The temperature of the chiller at the outlet of the intermediate heat exchanger is controlled by adjusting the capacity so as to reach the upper limit value Tmax, and the chiller having the highest temperature (thermal energy potential) is supplied to the heat storage tank. Further, the flow rate control valve controls the temperature of the chiller at the inlet of the indoor heat exchanger so as to reach the target temperature. In order to extract the maximum heat energy of the electric heater by the indoor heat exchanger, the circulating flow rate of the chiller is reduced by setting the input voltage of the fluid pump to a low set value = Lo.

<Normal> When the temperature of the heat storage tank becomes higher than the upper limit value Tmax, it is determined that the heat storage is completed, the flow control valve is fully opened on the SV1 side, and the chiller target temperature is achieved by electric heater capacity control.

C. When the electric heater is stopped or the electric heater is stopped or restricted by a request from the vehicle drive side: <Heater regeneration> Since the heating capability of the heater cannot be expected,
Regenerates the heat energy stored in the heat storage tank. At this time, by controlling the flow rate control valve, the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger inlet chiller is controlled to be the target temperature.

[0036]

As described above, according to the vehicle air conditioner of the present invention, (1) the braking force can be stored, the energy capacity that can be regenerated is increased, and the power saving effect can be enhanced. (2) The heat medium for storing the braking force is a fluid whose flow rate can be easily controlled, and the fluctuation of the temperature of the air blown from the air conditioner into the vehicle compartment due to the repetition of the storage and the regeneration can be reduced. (3) When the operation of the heater is stopped or limited, and there is a possibility that the required heating capacity cannot be obtained, the stored energy can be released to secure the necessary air conditioning capacity.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a vehicle air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a control block diagram of the vehicle air conditioner of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 air conditioner for vehicle 2 air conditioning duct 3 engine cooling water 4 indoor heat exchanger 5 outside air inlet 6 inside air inlet 7 switching damper 8 motor for blower 9 blower 10 indoor heat exchanger outlet air temperature sensor 11 air mix damper 12 air mix Damper controller 13, 14, 15 Blow-out port 16, 17, 18 Damper 19 Heater system 20 Electric heater 21 Heat storage tank 22 Chiller circuit 23 Intermediate heat exchanger 24 Fluid pump 25 Indoor heat exchanger inlet chiller temperature sensor 26 Intermediate heat exchanger outlet Chiller temperature sensor 27 Heat storage tank outlet chiller temperature sensor 28 Electric heater controller 29 Battery 30 Main controller 31 Blower voltage controller 32 Fluid pump controller 33 Flow control valve controller 34 Indoor temperature setting device SV1, SV2 Flow control valve

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. An indoor heat exchanger provided in an air conditioning duct for exchanging heat between air and working fluid discharged into a vehicle compartment, and an ability provided outside the air conditioning duct to use vehicle driving force as an energy source A heater system comprising an adjustable heater and a means for adjusting the capacity of the heater; and a chiller provided between the heater system and the indoor heat exchanger, between the indoor heat exchanger and the intermediate heat exchanger. In a vehicle air conditioner having a chiller circuit configured to circulate and exchange heat between a chiller circulated in an intermediate heat exchanger and the heater, the chiller circuit includes an intermediate heat exchanger and a heat storage tank. , A circuit in which a chiller circulates in the order of an indoor heat exchanger and an intermediate heat exchanger, and a circuit that bypasses a heat storage tank, and a flow controller that can adjust a flow rate ratio of a chiller flowing through the heat storage tank and a chiller bypassing the heat storage tank. Means for calculating an indoor heat exchanger inlet chiller temperature target value as an indoor heat exchanger temperature necessary for controlling the interior of the vehicle to a target temperature, and an adjustment amount of the flow control valve; An air conditioner for a vehicle, comprising: control means provided with means for calculating. 2. The control means reduces the capacity of the heater and adjusts the flow control valve so that the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger inlet chiller becomes the target value when the accelerator of the vehicle is turned on. When the accelerator is turned off, the intermediate heat exchanger outlet chiller temperature T1 is adjusted to the indoor heat exchanger inlet chiller temperature target value T by adjusting the capacity of the heater.
The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein control is performed such that the set value Tmax is higher than t. 3. When the accelerator is on, the indoor heat exchanger inlet chiller temperature target value Tt is equal to the heat storage tank outlet chiller temperature T.
3. The vehicle according to claim 2, wherein when the temperature is equal to or higher than 2, the capacity of the heater is controlled so that the intermediate heat exchanger outlet chiller temperature T1 becomes equal to the indoor heat exchanger inlet chiller temperature target value Tt. Air conditioner. 4. When the accelerator is turned off and the set value Tmax of the intermediate heat exchanger outlet chiller temperature is equal to or higher than the heat storage tank outlet chiller temperature T2, the intermediate heat is adjusted by adjusting the capacity of the heater. The air conditioner for a vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the temperature of the chiller outlet outlet chiller T1 is controlled to be equal to the indoor heat exchanger inlet chiller temperature target value Tt. 5. When the heater is stopped or reduced in capacity separately from the air conditioning request, the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger inlet chiller is controlled to reach its target value by adjusting the flow control valve. Item 5. The vehicle air conditioner according to any one of Items 1 to 4. 6. A circulation chiller that passes through an indoor heat exchanger or an intermediate heat exchanger when the chiller flows into or out of the heat storage tank by adjusting the flow control valve, as compared with the case where the chiller does not flow in or out. The vehicle air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 5, which reduces a flow rate. 7. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein said heater comprises an electric heater or a friction heater. 8. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the chiller circuit is connected to a cooling circuit of a vehicle drive device.