JP2003034134A - Cooling apparatus for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To equalize the power for driving a cooling apparatus because a conventional apparatus constituted to drive the cooling apparatus with the output of a traveling prime motor has the problem that the drive of the cooling apparatus when the prime motor requires a large output has a bad influence such as increase in fuel consumption because the power of the prime motor is consumed when the cooling apparatus is required. SOLUTION: A storage medium is arranged in the evaporator blowing output position of the cooling device, and the storage medium is cooled at a timing where the prime motor has an output margin, and desirably cooled to the state where the storage medium is frozen. At the timing where the prime motor requires a large output for traveling, the drive of the compressor is controlled to a minimum, and the cooling air flow is cooled with the storage medium.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is a device developed to be installed in a large automobile having a diesel engine as a prime mover, but can be widely used as a vehicle cooling device. The present invention is a device for branching and utilizing power for driving a cooling device from a prime mover for running a vehicle,
A device for driving the cooling device at a timing when the motor for running the vehicle has a sufficient output by using the cool storage material to level the output of the motor and to make the fuel consumption of the motor for running the vehicle economical. Regarding

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a vehicle cooling device, a device configured to drive a compressor for compressing a cooling medium by using engine power for running the vehicle is widely used. In many structures, the belt is wound around a pulley connected to the crankshaft of the engine to mechanically diverge the engine output, and an electromagnetic clutch provided on the input rotary shaft of the compressor controls the drive stoppage of the compressor. It is configured to be.

The cooling medium compressed by the compressor radiates heat by the condenser and is liquefied, and heat is exchanged by the evaporator and vaporized. At this time, heat is taken from the air flow passing through the outer surface of the evaporator to cool the air flow. This airflow is discharged into the living room to cool the vehicle interior. The cooling medium discharged from the evaporator is returned to the inlet side of the compressor.

[0004] In such a cooling device, the drive of the compressor is on / off controlled according to the temperature inside the vehicle regardless of the traveling state of the vehicle, so that when the vehicle is traveling uphill, There may occur a situation where the compressor of the cooling device has to be driven at a timing when a large engine output is required, such as when the vehicle starts.

[0005]

The engine load required for this purpose is the maximum output during running plus the output for the cooling system, so that a large engine with a sufficient margin can be obtained as a whole. Will be designed and equipped. A large engine consumes a large amount of fuel and also has a large instantaneous output load, which inevitably results in poor fuel consumption efficiency of the engine.

In order to equalize the power for driving the cooling device, a cooling device utilizing a cold storage material has been proposed. For example, JP-A-9-226357 (applicant:
The device disclosed in Denso Co., Ltd. uses a regenerator material in the nap room of a truck to continue the cooling effect of the nap room even after the engine is stopped. Also, the actual development 6
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 3-150813 (Applicant: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.) stores cold air when a cooling capacity has a margin by providing a regenerator material in a flow path of a cooling medium and switching the flow of the cooling medium by valve control. Furthermore, there is disclosed a device configured to maintain the cooling effect even after the drive of the compressor is stopped.

The former (DENSO) of the above-mentioned conventional examples is a device for a limited hardware facility called a nap room, and is not applied to various cooling devices to directly make the fuel consumption of the engine economical. Absent. The latter (Nissan)
Is configured to expose the cold storage material to the flow of the cooling medium, and is indirect as a cold storage effect or a cooling effect. Moreover, when the volume of the regenerator material is increased, the capacity of the cooling medium is also increased, and the cooling device becomes large-scale, and switching of the cooling medium flow path by valve control complicates the device structure. Cooling devices that can utilize the structure are of limited use.

The present invention has been made against such a background, and an object thereof is to level the output of a prime mover which is omitted from the cooling device. The present invention provides an air conditioner that can be designed so as to have a large margin of a running prime mover even if it is equipped with a cooling device of a suitable scale, and to keep the maximum output of the running prime mover small. With the goal. INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can reduce the power supplied to the cooling device when a large output of the prime mover is required such as when the vehicle starts or climbs uphill, and also when the downhill drive or braking is performed, the prime mover output can be reduced. It is an object of the present invention to provide a device capable of supplying necessary power for a cooling device when there is a margin. The present invention aims to make the fuel consumption of a prime mover economical. An object of the present invention is to provide a cooling device capable of downsizing a driving prime mover.

[0009]

The present invention is characterized in that a regenerator material is arranged in a passage of a cooling airflow which is cooled by passing through an evaporator and is supplied into a living room. As a control mode, in addition to a normal mode for controlling the temperature of the cooling airflow to a temperature suitable for cooling the interior of the living room, a cool storage mode for cooling the cold storage material to desirably freeze it is provided. The greatest feature is computer control of the mode. The cold storage mode is controlled so as to be performed at a timing when the output of the prime mover for running the vehicle is small, or at a timing when the output of the prime mover for running the vehicle is not required.

That is, the present invention relates to a compressor (1) for compressing a medium flowing in from an inlet side pipe, a condenser (2) for radiating heat from the medium sent from the compressor (1), and a condenser (2) for liquefying the medium. An evaporator (4) that circulates the vaporized medium to the compressor (1) while the medium flowing from the condenser (2) removes heat from the air flow blown by the fan (3) to vaporize the medium, and the compressor ( In a vehicle air conditioner provided with a clutch means (6) for connecting the driving force of 1) to a prime mover (5) for running the vehicle, a cool storage material (7) is provided in a passage of an air flow passing through the evaporator (4). A cold storage motor that is arranged to cool the cold storage material (7) by controlling the clutch means (6) when the motor for driving the vehicle (5) has an output margin. Control circuit for setting the (8)
It is characterized by having.

The numbers in the above parentheses are the reference numbers of the embodiment drawings described later. This is added to facilitate understanding of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention to the examples. The same applies to the following description.

The control circuit (8) is provided with a temperature sensor (9), which directly or indirectly detects the temperature of the air flow and whose detection output is connected to the control information input of the control circuit (8).
In the cold storage mode, it is preferable to include means for controlling the temperature of the evaporator (4) to be kept lower than in the normal mode in which normal cooling is performed.

With this configuration, when the output of the prime mover has a margin, or when the vehicle is in a braking state, particularly when the engine is braking, the cool storage mode is set to enhance the cooling effect to cool the cool storage material, When the prime mover is generating a large output for running, it is possible to control the regenerator material by passing a cooling air flow to cool the regenerator material. Therefore, the maximum output rating of the installed prime mover can be set small, and the fuel consumed by the prime mover can be reduced.

It is preferable that the cold storage material (7) includes a material that freezes at the temperature of the evaporator in the cold storage mode. This is one of the features of the present invention,
If, for example, water is used as the cold storage material, the heat of melting of ice can be used to enhance the cold storage effect. As a result, the cold storage effect per volume of the cold storage material is remarkably increased. Pure water can be used as the regenerator material, but the freezing temperature can be adjusted by mixing a slight amount of an inorganic salt or an organic solvent with the water, so that the size and form of the cooling device can be adjusted. Accordingly, a cold storage material having appropriate physical properties can be used.

In the structure of the present invention, the regenerator material is arranged in the passage of the cooling airflow blown into the living room. Therefore, as in the case of the conventionally equipped cooling device, the temperature of the living room can be adjusted regardless of the temperature of the regenerator material by adjusting the amount of the air flow. As a result, as described in the above-mentioned related art, unlike the case where the living room (nap room) is cooled by the cool storage material, or the medium circulating in the cooling device is cooled by the cool storage material, the cool storage material cools effectively. It can be effective.

When there is an output margin in the motor for running the vehicle, particularly in the case of a truck whose engine is an internal combustion engine, 1) when the exhaust brake is operating, 2) the fuel supply amount is small and the rotation speed is low. Is large, 3) the accelerator opening is small and the rotation speed is large, and 4) the retarder is operating, it can be configured to include any one of the following. In all of the above, not only the prime mover does not need output for running the vehicle, but also the prime mover is controlled in a direction to brake the vehicle, and the cooling device is driven by the energy generated for braking. become.

[0017]

1 is a block diagram of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. This cooling device is a device for cooling the cab of a large truck, and a pipe line is connected from the outlet side of the compressor 1 to the condenser 2, the evaporator 4, and the inlet side of the compressor 1 to cool the inside of this pipe line. The medium is configured to circulate.
The cooling medium is compressed by the compressor 1 and radiated by the condenser 2, so that the medium is liquefied. The evaporator 4 is configured so that the medium branches and flows into a large number of metal capillaries, and the surface of the metal capillaries is blown with fresh air, which is recirculated from inside the cab or outside air, by the fan 3. The medium in the metal thin tube takes heat from the blown air flow through the metal thin tube and vaporizes. The air flow is cooled by being deprived of heat and becomes a cooling air flow that is blown into the cab. The vaporized medium returns to the inlet side of the compressor 1.

The compressor 1 is rotationally driven by the crankshaft of the prime mover 5 via the clutch means 6. That is, the belt is hung between the pulley provided on the crankshaft of the prime mover 5 and the pulley provided on the drive side of the clutch means 6, and the rotational force of the prime mover 5 is applied to the input side of the clutch means 6. It is connected. In this example, the prime mover 5 is an internal combustion engine for running the vehicle.

Here, the feature of the present invention resides in that the regenerator material 7 is arranged on the downstream side of the air flow of the evaporator 4. Regenerator material 7 used in this embodiment device
Is a plastic water bag (water bag). The water bag is formed so as to have a large surface area and is provided in contact with the metal thin tube of the evaporator 4. In this example, the water bag is filled with water. The air flow that has passed through the evaporator 4 passes along the surface of the water bag and is introduced into the cab through a duct.

A temperature sensor 9 is arranged in the metal thin tube of the evaporator 4, and the temperature of the metal thin tube is detected and supplied as an electric signal to the control circuit 8 via an input / output circuit (I / O) as input information. It The control output of the control circuit 8 is
The clutch means 6 is controlled to open / close via an input / output circuit (I / O), and the rotation of the fan 3 is stopped and its rotation speed is controlled.

The control circuit 8 is connected to the engine control circuit 10 by a communication line. The engine control circuit 10 is
Vehicle speed (v), engine speed (ω), accelerator opening (A), exhaust brake state (Ex), retarder operating state (Rt) and other driving operation information and state information are input to stop rotation of the prime mover 5. And the rotation speed is controlled by controlling the fuel supply amount. The control circuit 8 of the cooling device of the present invention can take in the state information of the prime mover 5 and the control information of the engine control circuit 10 via a communication line.

In the control circuit 8, a temperature sensor 11 for detecting the room temperature of the cab to be cooled is input / output circuit (I / I).
Input via O). Further, the operation output of the operating end 12 of the cooling device provided in the driver's seat is input to the control circuit 8 via the input / output circuit (I / O).

With such a configuration, the control circuit 8 of the present invention is configured to operate in two operation modes, a "normal mode" and a "cold storage mode". The normal mode is a mode for performing the same cooling as the conventional device. The airflow driven by the fan 3 is cooled by the evaporator 4 and sent to the cab. At this time, the rotation speeds of the compressor 1 and the fan 3 are controlled so that the air temperature detected by the temperature sensor 11 of the cab reaches the temperature set in advance at the operation end 12.

In the cold storage mode, the compressor 1 is controlled so that the cold storage material 7 is strongly cooled. At this time, it is desirable that the cooling airflow that has passed through the regenerator material 7 be partly diverted by a shunt path provided outside the drawing and controlled so as to return to the back of the fan 3. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a temperature condition for controlling on / off of the compressor 1, in which the abscissa represents the temperature measured by the temperature sensor 9 arranged in the tube of the evaporator, and the ordinate represents the operating state of the compressor. indicate. As an example of the set temperature, in the cold storage mode, the temperature T _ON at which the compressor 1 is started is −3 ° C.
The temperature T _{OFF at which the} is stopped is -5 ° C. By the way, in the normal mode, as described above, the temperature of the temperature sensor 9 at which the cabin temperature is an appropriate temperature is 4 ° C. for the temperature T _{ON at} which the compressor 1 starts and 3 ° C. for the temperature T _{OFF at} which the compressor 1 stops. It becomes C.

In the control of the present invention, the cold storage mode is set to the prime mover 5.
Set when there is output margin. An example of the condition when shifting to the cold storage mode is when the exhaust brake or the retarder is in an operating state. In this state, the prime mover 5 has no output load, but rather the prime mover 5 is in a braking state. In such a state, the energy for driving the compressor 1 of the cooling device is supplied from the kinetic energy during traveling of the vehicle by braking the vehicle. As another example of the condition for shifting to the cold storage mode, when the fuel supply amount is small and the rotation speed of the prime mover 5 is high, or the accelerator opening is small, the prime mover 5 is small.
When the rotation speed of is high. Even in this state, the prime mover 5
Fuel consumption is low or very low. Therefore, fuel consumption for driving the compressor 1 of the cooling device is extremely small.

When the cold storage mode continues for a certain period of time, the cold storage material 7 freezes. When the cold storage material 7 freezes, the heat of fusion is used for cold storage, and the cold storage effect per volume of the cold storage material becomes extremely large.

When the regenerator material 7 is cooled, the air flow is cooled by the regenerator material 7 even if the cooling effect of the evaporator 4 is controlled to be small in the normal mode, that is, the driving time of the compressor 1 is shortened. Sent to the cab as a cooling air flow. At this time, the rotational force of the fan 3 is appropriately adjusted depending on the room temperature of the cab to be cooled and the adjusting operation. When the prime mover 5 requires a large output to drive the vehicle, such as when the vehicle is traveling uphill or when the vehicle starts, the control circuit 8 normally operates according to the information from the engine control circuit 10. It is possible to select a mode and reduce the output omitted for the air conditioner. By such control, the fuel consumption of the prime mover 5 can be reduced.

FIG. 3 is a control flowchart of the main part of the control circuit 8 of the apparatus according to the present invention. This control flowchart can be understood in correspondence with the above description of the operation.

In the above embodiment, the cold storage material 7 is described as a water bag (water bag), but it can be implemented in various forms other than the water bag. For example, the structure of a metal radiator can be used, or the structure of a long and slender metal double conduit is configured so that the cooling airflow passes through the inner conduit and the cool storage material is retained in the outer conduit. You can also

Although the temperature of the cooling air flow is detected by the temperature sensor provided in the evaporator in the above embodiment, it is not always necessary to provide the temperature sensor in the evaporator, and the temperature of the air flow in the vicinity of the regenerator material can be known appropriately. It can be placed in any position.

[0031]

According to the present invention, the output of the prime mover required to drive the cooling system is leveled, and even if the cooling system of a correspondingly large scale is installed, the margin of the driving prime mover can be increased. You can In the present invention, the power supplied from the prime mover for the cooling device as a whole can be reduced. According to the present invention, the fuel consumption of the prime mover can be made economical.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a main part of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating temperature conditions for turning on / off a compressor of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a control flowchart of a main part of the apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 compressor 2 capacitors 3 fans 4 evaporator 5 prime mover 6 Clutch means 7 Cold storage material 8 control circuit 9 Temperature sensor 10 Engine control circuit 11 Cabin temperature sensor 12 Operating end of air conditioner

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A compressor (1) for compressing a medium flowing from an inlet side pipe, a condenser (2) for radiating heat from a medium sent from the compressor (1), and a condenser (2). An evaporator (4) for taking heat from the air flow blown by the fan (3) to vaporize the medium and to circulate the vaporized medium to the compressor (1);
A vehicle cooling apparatus comprising: a clutch means (6) for connecting a driving force of the compressor (1) to a vehicle running prime mover (5), wherein a cool storage material is provided in a passage of a cooling airflow passing through the evaporator (4). (7) is arranged, and a control circuit (8) for setting a cold storage mode for cooling the cold storage material (7) by controlling the clutch means (6) when the motor for driving the vehicle (5) has an output margin. ) Is provided. 2. A temperature sensor, which directly or indirectly detects the temperature of the air flow and whose detection output is connected to a control information input of the control circuit, wherein the control circuit detects the temperature of the evaporator in the cold storage mode. 2. The vehicle cooling device according to claim 1, further comprising means for controlling the air conditioner so that the air conditioner is maintained at a temperature lower than a normal mode in which normal air cooling is performed. 3. The vehicle cooling device according to claim 2, wherein the regenerator material includes a material that freezes at a temperature of an evaporator in the regenerator mode. 4. When the prime mover for running the vehicle has an output margin, when the prime mover is an internal combustion engine, 1) when the exhaust brake is operating, 2) the fuel supply amount is small and the rotation speed is low. Is large, 3) When the accelerator opening is small and the rotation speed is large, 4) When the retarder is in operation, the vehicle cooling device according to claim 1.