JP2003080937A - Air conditioner for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air conditioner to be mounted on an idling-stop vehicle capable of restricting deterioration of cooling feeling to the utmost even when cooling ability is deteriorated at the stoppage of an engine. SOLUTION: This air conditioner for a vehicle comprises a blower 114a to blow air cooled by an evaporator 114 into a cabin, and a control device 130 to control air conditioning conditions in the vehicle in an auto mode by changing blow quantity Va of the blower 114a in accordance with target blow temperature TAO determined based on the temperature set by a passenger and environmental conditions of the vehicle. The control device 130 fixes the blow quantity Va of the blower 114a at a blow quantity Va1 just before the engine 10 is stopped when the engine 10 is stopped at the time of the auto mode, and returns the fixed blow quantity Va1 to the blow quantity Va determined the auto mode when the engine 10 is restarted.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle air conditioner for a so-called idle stop vehicle, which stops the engine when the vehicle is temporarily stopped during traveling.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, from the viewpoint of protecting the global environment, the reduction of fuel consumption of vehicles has been more strongly promoted, and an idle stop vehicle has been introduced as one of the measures. In the vehicular air conditioner mounted on this vehicle, the compressor is also stopped when the engine is stopped. Therefore, as shown in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-254955, compression is continued even when the engine is stopped. It is known to use a motor as a drive source independent of the engine to operate the machine.

[0003]

However, in order to ensure the required cooling capacity as when the engine is operating, it is generally necessary to operate the compressor by the motor alone, so that a high-output large-capacity motor is required. However, when setting the motor, various restrictions such as mountability, power consumption, and cost are practically imposed. And, the cooling capacity when the compressor is operated by the motor subjected to this restriction is lower than that when it is operated by the engine.
This causes deterioration of the cooling feeling when the engine is stopped.

Specifically, in the automatic mode setting in which the air flow rate is controlled according to the target blowout temperature, the air flow rate is usually increased with a rise in the temperature of the cooling air to give an uncomfortable feeling to the occupant. . On the other hand, if the air flow rate is reduced, the cooling capacity for the entire passenger compartment is reduced,
In particular, the passengers in the rear seats will be given a lack of cooling sensation.

In view of the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to mount a vehicle on an idle stop vehicle and to suppress deterioration of the cooling feeling as much as possible even if the cooling capacity when the engine is stopped is reduced. To provide a device.

[0006]

The present invention employs the following technical means in order to achieve the above object.

According to the first aspect of the invention, the invention is applied to a vehicle in which the engine (10) is stopped when the vehicle is temporarily stopped during traveling, and is included in the refrigeration cycle apparatus (110). Compressors (111, 122) that operate using 10) as a drive source or operate using the engine (10) and motor (121) as a drive source to compress the refrigerant.
And the compressor (11
Evaporator (114) for evaporating the refrigerant from
Then, air is blown to the evaporator (114), and the evaporator (1
The blower (11) that blows the air cooled in 14) into the passenger compartment.
4a) and the desired set temperature set by the occupant and the target blow-out temperature (TAO) determined by the environmental conditions of the vehicle, the blower amount (Va) of the blower (114a) is changed to control the vehicle in the automatic mode. Control device for controlling air conditioning state (1
And a control device (130) in the auto mode in the vehicle air conditioner having the engine (1).
0) is stopped, the air flow rate (Va) of the blower (114a) is set to the air flow rate (Va) immediately before the engine (10) is stopped.
It is characterized in that it is fixed to 1), and when the engine (10) is restarted, the fixed air flow rate (Va1) is returned to the air flow rate (Va) determined by the auto mode.

With the stop of the engine (10), the compressor (111) driven by the engine (10) is stopped,
The temperature of the air cooled in the evaporator (114) will rise. In the auto mode, in order to obtain the desired set temperature set by the occupant, the target blow-out temperature (TAO) is determined so as to decrease with the increase in the air temperature, so that the blower amount (Va) of the blower (114) is ) Is variable.
For example, when the air flow rate (Va) is controlled so as to be increased, the air temperature further rises due to the balance with the cooling capacity of the evaporator (114). On the contrary, if the air flow rate (Va) is controlled so as to be reduced, the cooling capacity for the entire vehicle interior is reduced.

However, according to the first aspect of the present invention, even when the engine (10) is stopped, the air flow rate (Va) of the blower (114a) is set to the engine (1) even when the engine (10) is stopped.
0) Since the amount of air blown immediately before the stop (Va1) is fixed, it is possible to suppress the temperature rise of the air or the cooling capacity decrease for the entire passenger compartment as much as possible, and to suppress the deterioration of the cooling feeling as much as possible. You can When the engine (10) restarts, the compressor (111) operates to restore the cooling capacity, and the air flow rate (Va) based on the normal auto mode is restored, so that the original cooling feeling can be obtained. You can

According to the second aspect of the invention, the control device (1
30) is characterized by providing a gradual change section when returning from the fixed air flow rate (Va1) to the air flow rate (Va) determined by the auto mode.

As a result, the fixed air flow rate (Va1)
Therefore, it is possible to prevent the air flow rate (Va) that is determined by the auto mode from being suddenly changed, and thus it is possible to suppress deterioration of the cooling feeling.

Specifically, if the gradual change section is determined as a predetermined time (t) as in the third aspect of the invention, the amount of air blown in the auto mode as quickly as possible and without discomfort ( Va).

Further, as in the invention described in claim 4, a predetermined air flow rate of change (dVa / dt) in which the gradual change section is predetermined.
If it is decided by, it is possible to easily cope with it without requiring a complicated control calculation.

According to the fifth aspect of the invention, the compressor (11
1, 122) are the engine (10) and the motor (12).
The controller (130) is characterized by operating the compressor (122) with the motor (121) as a drive source when the engine (10) is stopped. .

Thus, the compressor (122) is operated by the motor (121) when the engine (10) is stopped, and the cooling capacity when operated by the motor (121) is when the engine (10) is operating. Even when the cooling capacity is lower than the cooling capacity, the deterioration of the cooling feeling when the engine (10) is stopped can be suppressed as much as possible.

According to the invention described in claim 5, claim 6 is provided.
The compressor (111) includes a first compressor (111) and a second compressor (122).
The compressor (111) operates with the engine (10) as a drive source, and the second compressor (122) operates with a motor (121) as a drive source, and the first compressor (111) and the second compressor (111) are used.
The compressor (121) is preferably used by being connected in parallel within the refrigeration cycle apparatus (110).

Further, according to the invention described in claim 7, the compressor (111) includes an engine (10) and a motor (1).
21) may be a hybrid compressor (111a) that selectively operates as a drive source.

The reference numerals in parentheses of the above-mentioned means indicate the correspondence with the concrete means described in the embodiments described later.

[0019]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION (First Embodiment) A first embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, and first, a specific structure will be described with reference to FIGS.

The vehicle air conditioner 100 is applied to a so-called idle stop vehicle in which the engine 10 is stopped when the vehicle is temporarily stopped while waiting for a signal or the like, and includes a refrigeration cycle device 110 and a control device 130.

The refrigeration cycle apparatus 110 forms a well-known refrigeration cycle, and here, two compressors 1 are used.
11, 122 are provided. First, a first compressor (hereinafter, compressor) 111 that compresses the refrigerant in the refrigeration cycle to high temperature and high pressure, a condenser 112 that condenses and liquefies the compressed refrigerant, and an expansion valve 1 that adiabatically expands the liquefied refrigerant.
13. An evaporator 114 that evaporates the expanded refrigerant and cools the air blown to itself by the latent heat of evaporation is sequentially connected by a refrigerant pipe 115. The compressor 111
Uses a vehicle running engine 10 as a drive source and operates via a pulley and a pulley belt.

The evaporator 114 is disposed in the air conditioning case 150, and the operation of the evaporator 114 is controlled by a controller 130 described later, and the inside air or the outside air is selected and sucked, and the evaporator 114 is selected. Blower 11 that blows air to 114 and blows the air cooled by the evaporator 114 into the passenger compartment
4a is provided. An evaporator temperature sensor 114b that detects the temperature of the cooled air (evaporator temperature) is provided on the downstream side of the evaporator 114 in the air flow.

On the downstream side of the air flow of the air conditioning case 150,
A defroster duct 151, a face duct 152, and a foot duct 153 are provided, and are connected to a defroster outlet, a face outlet, and a foot outlet, which are not shown in the figure, respectively, and are opened by a blower 114a. It is blown out from the outlet.

The second compressor 122 is arranged in parallel with the compressor 111 in the refrigeration cycle apparatus 110, specifically, on the inflow side of the condenser 112 and the outflow side of the evaporator 114. It is arranged between the refrigerant pipes 1
It is connected by 23. This second compressor 122
Is a motor 12 that is operated by using a battery 140 as a power source.
1 is used as a drive source, and an electric compressor 120 is configured with this motor 121. The second compressor 122 is driven when the engine 10 is stopped and the compressor 111 is stopped. The motor 121 needs to be set as a high-output large-capacity motor that operates the second compressor 122. However, in view of mountability in a vehicle, power consumption during operation, cost, etc. The cooling capacity is lower than the cooling capacity obtained by the compressor 111 during 10 operations and the motor capacity is set to operate.

Next, the control device 130 which is the main part of the present invention.
The configuration of will be described.

The controller 130 controls the selective operation of the compressor 111 and the electric compressor 120, and the operation of the blower 114a. The evaporator temperature signal from the evaporator temperature sensor 114b is input to the control device 130, and signals from various sensors (not shown), that is,
Various detection information such as vehicle speed, engine speed, idle stop determination, desired set temperature set by passengers, inside temperature (cabin temperature), outside temperature, solar radiation, A / C request, auto mode signal, etc. I have to. Then, from these signals, the engine 1
When it is determined to be 0 stop, the motor 121 is driven and the second compressor 122 is operated.

The control device 130 is, of course, for the normal operation of the refrigeration cycle device 110, the compressor 111 is turned on and off based on the above signals.
Control, ON-OFF of blower 114a, and blown air amount Va
The variable control of is performed.

The variable control of the blown air amount Va to the blower 114a is performed when the occupant selects the auto mode (when the auto mode signal is input). As shown in FIG.
In order to obtain a desired set temperature set by the occupant, a control characteristic associated with the blown air amount Va corresponding to the target outlet temperature TAO (hereinafter referred to as TAO) is previously provided in 0.
The air flow rate Va corresponding to O is determined.
Here, TAO is a calculated value determined from the desired set temperature set by the occupant and the inside air temperature, the outside air temperature, and the amount of solar radiation as the environmental conditions of the vehicle, and is determined by the following formula 1.

(Formula 1) TAO = KSET × TSET-
KR x TR-KAM x TAM-KS x TS + C However, K
SET, KR, KAM, KS are coefficients, C is a constant,
TSET is the set temperature, TR is the inside temperature, TAM is the outside temperature, and TS is the amount of solar radiation.

The control characteristics are such that the corresponding air flow rate Va increases as TAO decreases. Incidentally, the control characteristic for operating the heating device (not shown) is set in the high TAO region, and the blown air amount Va is increased as the TAO is increased as shown by the broken line.

Further, when the auto mode is selected, the engine 10
When the second compressor 122 is actuated by the motor 121, the air flow rate Va of the air blower 114a is fixed to the air flow rate Va1 set immediately before the engine 10 is stopped. Specifically, if TAO immediately before the engine 10 is stopped is TAO1, then T0 while the engine 10 is stopped
The air flow rate is fixed at Va1 regardless of the presence or absence of fluctuations in AO. It should be noted that while the engine 10 is stopped, the calculation of the blown air amount Va with respect to TAO, which fluctuates every moment, is continuously performed.

Further, when the engine 10 is restarted, it returns to the original auto mode and returns to the TAO when the engine 10 is started, specifically, to the air flow rate Va corresponding to the TAO obtained immediately before the start of the engine 10. I have to. At this time, the amount of air blown is gradually changed from Va1 to Va (ΔVa which is the difference between the two) during a predetermined time t which is a gradual change section.

The operation of this embodiment based on the above configuration will be described.

When the vehicle is running, that is, when the engine 10 is operating, the refrigeration cycle device 110 is normally operated. That is, the compressor 111 operates by receiving the driving force of the engine 10 to compress the refrigerant, and the compressed refrigerant is sequentially condensed and liquefied, adiabatically expanded, and evaporated by the condenser 112, the expansion valve 113, and the evaporator 114. The air blown to the evaporator 114 is cooled. Then, the air cooled by the blower 114a is blown into the vehicle interior.

However, since the applicable vehicle is an idle stop vehicle, when the vehicle is temporarily stopped, the engine 10
Is stopped and the compressor 111 using the engine 10 as a drive source does not operate. Therefore, basically, at this time, the electric compressor 120, that is, the motor 121 is operated to continue the operation of the refrigeration cycle apparatus 110. And the motor 121
In order to suppress the deterioration of the air conditioning feeling due to the reduction of the cooling capacity due to the above, the blower air amount is fixed and the blower 114a is controlled to be restored.

Below, the blower 114 by the controller 130
Details of the control a will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 3 and the time charts shown in FIGS. 4 (d) to (f), the case (a) shows the case of the present invention. As a comparison, in case (a) of the auto mode,
The figure shows a case in which the air flow amount Va of C is reduced.

First, in step S10, the blower 11
The auto mode is selected and operated for the air flow amount Va of 4a, and it is determined in step S20 whether the vehicle is in the idle stop state or not based on the vehicle speed and the engine speed signal. If the determination is negative, step S10 is continued, If it is determined that the blower 1 is in the idle stop state, the blower 1 is operated in step S30.
The air flow rate Va of 14a is fixed. For example above (Figure 2)
As described above, the air flow rate Va1 corresponding to TAO1 immediately before the engine 10 is stopped is fixed. At this time, step S40
Thus, the calculation of the blown air amount Va (target air amount) corresponding to the TAO that fluctuates every moment is continued.

Then, in step S50, it is determined whether or not the idle stop state is completed based on the vehicle speed and the engine speed signal in the same manner as in step S20. If NO is determined, step S40 is repeated to set the idle stop state. When it is determined that the process is completed, the gradual change section is calculated in step S60. Here, a predetermined time t that is set in advance is used (FIG. 4 (e)). At this time, the difference ΔVa between the blown air amount Va with respect to TAO immediately before the engine 10 is started and the fixed blown air amount Va1 is divided by a predetermined time t to calculate the change rate (ΔVa / t) of the blown air amount.

Then, the process proceeds to step S70, and the air flow rate Va1 fixed in step S30 is changed to step S70.
Ventilation amount Va in the original auto mode calculated in 40
(The amount of blown air Va immediately before the engine 10 is started) is gradually changed back. The gradual change at this time is due to the change rate of air flow (ΔVa /
It changes linearly based on t) (FIG.4 (e)).

The operation and effect of the present embodiment will be described based on the above-mentioned configuration and operation description.

When the engine 10 is stopped, the compressor 111
Is stopped and the second compressor 122 is operated by the motor 121 that allows the cooling capacity to decrease (see FIG.
(C)) The temperature of the air cooled by the evaporator 114 (which is the evaporator temperature and correlates with the inside air temperature) rises (a in FIG. 4D). In the auto mode, TAO is determined to decrease with the increase in air temperature in order to obtain the desired set temperature set by the occupant.
The blown air amount Va of the blower 114 is controlled to increase (a in FIG. 4 (e)). As the blown air amount Va increases, the air temperature further rises due to the balance with the cooling capacity of the evaporator 114 (a in FIG. 4D).

However, according to the present invention, even when the engine 10 is stopped, the blow rate Va of the blower 114a is fixed to the blow rate Va1 immediately before the engine 10 is stopped even in the automatic mode (FIG. 4 (e)). B) The temperature rise of the air can be suppressed as much as possible (a in FIG. 4 (d)). As a result, the air whose temperature has risen and whose air volume has increased does not blow out into the vehicle interior, so that it is possible to suppress deterioration of the cooling feeling as much as possible. When the engine 10 is restarted, the normal auto mode is restored, so that the original cooling feeling can be obtained.

By the way, in the auto mode, the air flow amount Va
In the case where the occupant decreases the air flow amount Va by a manual operation because the air temperature is increased (c in FIG. 4 (e)), the air temperature rise is suppressed (c in FIG. 4 (d)). As a result, the cooling capacity of the entire vehicle compartment is greatly reduced (Fig. 4 (c) c), and the cooling capacity of the present invention (Fig. 4 (f) b) becomes better. In this case, the control characteristic corresponds to the one in which the blown air amount Va decreases as TAO decreases.

Further, when returning from the fixed air flow amount Va1 to the air flow amount Va determined by the automatic mode, since the gradual change section is provided, the air flow amount Va1 is rapidly changed to the air flow amount Va. Can be prevented, and deterioration of the cooling feeling can be suppressed. At this time, the gradual change section is set to the predetermined time t here, and it is possible to return to the air flow amount Va in the auto mode as quickly as possible and without discomfort.

When determining the gradual change section, a predetermined air flow rate of change dVa / dt may be set in advance and the air flow rate may be returned based on this. At this time, as shown in FIG.
It may be changed linearly as in (e) or may be changed stepwise as shown in FIG. 5 (b). With this, it is possible to easily cope with the operation without requiring a complicated control operation.

(Second Embodiment) In the first embodiment,
The compressor is configured to include the first compressor 111 and the second compressor 122, and each of them is described as being driven by the engine 10 and the motor 121. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and as shown in FIG. , The compressor 111 is the motor 1
21 is integrally formed with the engine 10 and the motor 12
A so-called hybrid compressor 111a that selectively operates 1 as a drive source may be used.

Further, in contrast to the first embodiment, the present invention is applied to what constitutes a normal refrigeration cycle apparatus without the motor 121 (that is, without the second compressor 122). Well, by controlling the air flow rate Va, it is possible to suppress deterioration of the air conditioning feeling while the engine 10 is stopped as much as possible.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an overall configuration in a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a control characteristic diagram showing the amount of air blown with respect to a target outlet temperature TAO.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing operation control of the blower in FIG.

4A is a vehicle speed during control in FIG. 1, FIG. 4B is an ON-OFF state of an engine-driven compressor, FIG. 4C is an ON-OFF state of a motor-driven compressor, and FIG. The temperature, (e) is the amount of air blown by the blower, and (f) is a time chart showing the cooling capacity.

5A and 5B are time charts showing the vehicle speed and the air flow rate of the blower in another control pattern for returning the air flow rate.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing an overall configuration in a second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 engine 100 Vehicle air conditioner 110 Refrigeration cycle device 111 compressor (first compressor) 111a hybrid compressor 114 evaporator 114a blower 121 motor 122 Compressor (second compressor) 130 control device 150 air conditioning case

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. The present invention is applied to a vehicle in which an engine (10) is stopped when a vehicle is temporarily stopped during traveling, and is included in a refrigeration cycle device (110), and uses the engine (10) as a drive source. A compressor (111, 122) that operates or operates by using the engine (10) and the motor (121) as a drive source to compress the refrigerant, and is provided in the air conditioning case (150), and the compressor (11
Evaporator (114) for evaporating the refrigerant from
And blowing air to the evaporator (114),
The blower (11) that blows the air cooled in 14) into the passenger compartment.
4a), the desired blown temperature (TAO) determined by the desired set temperature set by the occupant and the environmental conditions of the vehicle, and the air flow rate (Va) of the blower (114a) is changed to control the vehicle in the automatic mode. Control device (130) for controlling the air conditioning state of the vehicle
In the vehicle air conditioner having :, the control device (130) sets the blown air amount (Va) of the blower (114a) to the engine (1) when the engine (10) is stopped in the auto mode.
0) The air flow rate (Va1) immediately before stopping is fixed, and when the engine (10) is restarted, the fixed air flow rate (Va1) is determined by the auto mode (Va1). The air conditioner for vehicles characterized by having returned to (). 2. The control device (130) is provided with a gradual change section when returning from the fixed air flow rate (Va1) to the air flow rate (Va) determined by the auto mode. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 2, wherein the gradually changing section is determined as a predetermined time (t) set in advance. 4. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 2, wherein the gradual change section is determined by a predetermined air flow rate of change (dVa / dt). 5. The compressor (111, 122) operates using the engine (10) and the motor (121) as drive sources, and the control device (130) includes the engine (10). The vehicle air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the compressor (122) is operated by using the motor (121) as a drive source when is stopped. 6. The compressor (111, 122) comprises a first
It comprises a compressor (111) and a second compressor (122), the first compressor (111) operates using the engine (10) as a drive source, and the second compressor (122) is the A motor (121) is operated as a drive source, and the first compressor (111) and the second compressor (12)
The air conditioner for a vehicle according to claim 5, wherein 1) is connected in parallel in the refrigeration cycle apparatus (110). 7. The compressor (111) is formed integrally with the motor (121), and the engine (10).
The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 5, wherein the hybrid compressor (111a) is configured to selectively operate the motor (121) as a drive source.