JP2004106715A - Air conditioner for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To continue air condition control suitable for preference of an occupant moving from one region to another region even when setting work is not performed every movement, when the occupant moving from one region to another region, in an air conditioner for a vehicle having an independent control function and a learning control function. <P>SOLUTION: Based on temperature detection data of an infrared sensor 55, an ECU 9 determines to which seta the occupant moved. When moving is detected, an air condition control characteristic in the region after the moving is changed to an air condition control characteristic in the region before the moving. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a vehicle air conditioner having an independent control function and a learning control function.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, a so-called independent control function for automatically controlling the air-conditioning state of each region based on the air-conditioning control characteristics set for each of a plurality of regions in the vehicle interior, and the air conditioning control characteristics of each region are controlled by the occupants of each region. There is known a vehicle air conditioner having a so-called learning control function for performing correction based on an air conditioner. Thus, air conditioning control suitable for the occupant in each area is performed.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the conventional apparatus, for example, when the occupant A in the area A moves to the area B, the air conditioning control characteristics of the area B are learned from the preferences of the other occupants. I can no longer do it. In order to avoid this, it is necessary to reset who and where each time the occupant moves the seat, and the setting work is complicated.
[0004]
The present invention has been made in view of the above point, and in a vehicle air conditioner having an independent control function and a learning control function, when an occupant in a certain area moves to a seat in another area, the setting is made for each seat movement. It is an object of the present invention to continuously perform air-conditioning control according to the preference of a occupant who has moved a seat without performing work.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, an operating means (60 to 65) which is operated by an occupant and independently sets desired air-conditioning states of a plurality of areas in a vehicle cabin for each area. A vehicle air conditioner in which air conditioning control is independently performed for each region based on air conditioning control characteristics set for each region, and the air conditioning control characteristics are corrected based on the operation of operation means (60 to 65). , A movement detecting means (9, 55) for detecting the movement of the occupant, and when the movement detecting means (9, 55) detects the movement of the occupant, the air conditioning control characteristic of the area after the movement of the seat is changed. The characteristic is changed to the air conditioning control characteristic of the area before the movement of the seat.
[0006]
According to this, the air-conditioning control characteristics of the area after moving the seat are automatically changed to the air-conditioning control characteristics of the area before moving the seat, so that there is no need to perform a setting operation for setting who and where to sit for each movement of the seat. In addition, the air conditioning control suited to the preference of the occupant who has moved the seat can be continuously performed.
[0007]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an operation means (60 to 65) which is operated by the occupant and independently sets desired air-conditioning states of a plurality of areas in the vehicle cabin for each area. In the vehicle air conditioner in which the air conditioning control is independently performed for each area based on the obtained air conditioning control characteristic and the air conditioning control characteristic is corrected based on the operation of the operation means (60 to 65), the movement of the occupant is detected. Detecting the occupant's getting off by the movement detecting means (9, 55), and stopping the correction of the air conditioning control characteristic of the area where the occupant was before getting off. It is characterized by the following.
[0008]
The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that the movement detecting means includes an infrared sensor (55) having a plurality of cells for outputting an electric signal according to the amount of incident infrared light.
[0009]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the movement detecting means includes an image sensor that outputs an image signal.
[0010]
The invention according to claim 5 is characterized in that the correction of the air conditioning control characteristics is stopped for a certain period after the movement detection means (9, 55) detects the movement of the occupant's seat.
[0011]
In addition, the code | symbol in the parenthesis of each said means shows the correspondence with the concrete means described in embodiment mentioned later.
[0012]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to an embodiment shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a left-right independent temperature control type vehicle air conditioner in which air conditioning to a driver seat side and air conditioning to a passenger seat side in a vehicle compartment are independently controlled. The device 1 has a so-called learning control function of correcting the air conditioning control characteristics on the driver's seat side and the air conditioning control characteristics on the passenger's seat side based on the operation of the occupant in each area.
[0013]
The vehicle air conditioner 1 includes a blower duct 2 for sending conditioned air into the vehicle interior. A blower 3 is disposed upstream of the blower duct 2, and upstream of the blower air (inside air). An inside / outside air switching box 6 having an inside air introduction port 4 for introducing and an outside air introduction port 5 for introducing outside air (outside air) inside the vehicle compartment is connected.
[0014]
The inside / outside air switching box 6 is provided with an inside / outside air switching door 7 for selectively switching between the inside air introduction port 4 and the outside air introduction port 5, and the inside / outside air switching door 7 is provided with a servo motor or the like. The actuator 8 is driven by an actuator 8, and the energization of the actuator 8 is controlled by an air conditioner control device (hereinafter, referred to as an ECU 9) described later.
[0015]
The blower 3 is housed in a fan case 10 provided on the upstream side of the blow duct 2, and includes a fan 11 and a fan motor 12. The energization of the fan motor 12 is controlled via a motor drive circuit 13, and the fan 11 rotates according to the voltage applied to the fan motor 12.
[0016]
A cooling heat exchanger 14 (for example, an evaporator of a refrigeration cycle) for cooling the air sent from the blower 3 is provided in the air duct 2, and a blower is provided downstream of the cooling heat exchanger 14. A heating heat exchanger 15 (for example, a hot-water type heater core) for heating air is provided.
[0017]
Further, the ventilation duct 2 has a first air passage 17 for sending conditioned air to the driver's seat side and a second air passage for sending conditioned air to the passenger seat side by the partition plate 16 on the downstream side from the cooling heat exchanger 14. It is divided into an air passage 18. The cooling heat exchanger 14 is arranged over the entire cross section of the air duct 2, and the heating heat exchanger 15 penetrates through the partition plate 16, inside the first air passage 17 and inside the second air passage 18. It is arranged over and.
[0018]
The first air passage 17 is provided with a first bypass passage 19 bypassing the heating heat exchanger 15 and a first air mix door 20 for adjusting the amount of air flowing through the first air passage 17. . The first air mix door 20 adjusts the ratio of the amount of air passing through the first bypass passage 19 and the amount of air passing through the heating heat exchanger 15 arranged in the first air passage 17. . Then, the first air mix door 20 is driven by an actuator 21 such as a servomotor controlled to be energized by the ECU 9. The second air passage 18 is also provided with a second bypass passage 22 similar to the first air passage 17 and a second air mix door 23 driven by an actuator 24.
[0019]
The driver's seat side face duct 25 is a passage for blowing out conditioned air toward the upper body of the driver, and is branched into two from the middle. One is connected to a driver side center face outlet 31 that opens at a substantially central portion of a dashboard located in the front of the vehicle interior, and the other is a driver side side face that opens at a driver side end of the dashboard. It is connected to the outlet 32.
[0020]
The driver's seat side foot duct 27 is a passage for blowing out conditioned air toward the driver's feet, and is connected to the driver's seat side foot outlet 34 that is open near the driver's feet.
[0021]
The driver side face duct 25 is provided with a mode switching door 35 which can selectively open and close the driver side center face outlet 31 and the driver side side face outlet 32. The defroster duct 26 and the driver side foot are provided. At the upstream opening of the duct 27, mode switching doors 36 and 37 for opening and closing the respective openings are provided. The mode switching doors 35 to 37 are driven by actuators 38 and 39 such as servo motors, and the actuators 38 and 39 are controlled to be energized by the ECU 9.
[0022]
On the other hand, the passenger seat side face duct 28 is provided with a mode switching door 43 for selectively opening and closing the passenger seat side center face outlet 40 and the passenger seat side side face outlet 41, and the passenger seat side foot duct A mode switching door 44 that opens and closes the opening is provided in the opening on the upstream side of 29. These mode switching doors 43 and 44 are driven by an actuator 45 in the same manner as the mode switching doors 35 to 37 described above.
[0023]
Depending on the open / close state of the mode switching doors 35 to 37, 43, and 44, well-known outlet modes such as a foot mode, a B / L mode, and a face mode are set for each of the first and second air passages 17 and 18. It can be set independently. The mode switching doors 35 and 43 provided on the driver side face duct 25 and the passenger side face duct 28 respectively open the center face outlets 31 and 40 when the foot mode or the foot / diff mode is selected. It operates to close and open the side face outlets 32, 41 side.
[0024]
Next, a control system for controlling the above-described vehicle air conditioner 1 will be described. The ECU 9 has a built-in microcomputer storing a control program and various arithmetic expressions relating to air conditioning control, a personal identification signal from the NAVI device 70 as personal identification input means, and an air conditioner operation panel (FIG. (Not shown), operation signals transmitted based on various operations, and sensor signals from various sensors 50 to 55 relating to air conditioning control are input. The ECU 9 performs an arithmetic process on these input signals in accordance with a control program, and controls the energization of the various actuators 8, 21, 24, 38, 39, and 45 and the motor drive circuit 13 based on the arithmetic results.
[0025]
Next, the various sensors 50 to 55 will be described. The inside air sensor 50 detects the temperature Tr inside the vehicle compartment, the outside air temperature sensor 51 detects the temperature Tam outside the vehicle compartment, and the solar radiation sensor 52 detects the solar radiation entering the vehicle interior. Is detected. The post-evaporation temperature sensor 53 detects the temperature Te of the air passing through the evaporator 14, and the water temperature sensor 54 detects the temperature Tw of the cooling water supplied to the heater core 15.
[0026]
The infrared sensor 55 includes a plurality of cells that output an electric signal according to the amount of incident infrared light. The cells are arranged in a matrix of 4 rows and 8 columns, and independently control the surface temperature of each of the 32 visual fields. To be detected.
[0027]
As shown in FIG. 2, the field of view (temperature detection range) of the infrared sensor 55 is divided into a driver seat area A, a passenger seat area B, a rear driver seat area C, and a rear passenger seat area D. ing. In FIG. 2, A1 and A2 are the face positions of the driver's seat occupant, B1 and B2 are the face positions of the passenger seat occupant, C1 and C2 are the face positions of the rear driver's seat occupant, and D1 and D2 are the rear passenger seats. This is the face position of the side occupant. Note that the infrared sensor 55 and the ECU 9 constitute a movement detecting means.
[0028]
As various switches incorporated in the air-conditioner operation panel, a driver seat temperature setting switch 60 for setting a desired temperature in the driver's seat side space, a passenger seat temperature setting switch 61 for setting a desired temperature in the passenger seat side space, a driver's seat A driver seat air volume switch 62 for setting a desired air volume of the conditioned air to be blown toward the side space, a passenger seat air volume switch 63 for setting a desired air conditioned air volume to be blown toward the passenger seat side space, a driver seat side space The driver's seat outlet mode switch 64 for setting the desired outlet of the conditioned air toward the passenger seat and the passenger seat outlet mode switch 65 for setting the desired outlet of the conditioned air toward the passenger seat side space are provided. is there. Note that these switches 60 to 65 correspond to operating means.
[0029]
Next, the contents of the air conditioning control by the ECU 9 will be described.
[0030]
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a control program of the ECU 9. First, when a main switch (not shown) is operated to activate the air conditioner, the ECU 9 starts executing the control program, and the occupant sitting in the driver's seat and The occupant information on the occupants sitting in the passenger seat is input (steps S10 and S11). The occupant information is input by selecting a personal name displayed on the screen of the NAVI device 70.
[0031]
The ECU 9 stores air-conditioning control characteristics (hereinafter, referred to as learning data) for each individual. The learning data indicates the set temperature, the air volume, and the outlet mode according to the operation of the switches 60 to 65. Has been corrected (learned) to fit.
[0032]
Then, based on the occupant information input in step S10, learning data to be used for air conditioning control on the driver's seat side is selected (step S12), and based on the occupant information input in step S11, the passenger seat side learning data is selected. The learning data used for the air conditioning control is selected (step S13).
[0033]
Next, the temperatures of the driver's seat occupants 'faces A1 and A2 are detected and stored as driver's seat reference temperatures TA1OLD and TA2OLD (step S14), and the temperatures of the passenger's occupants' faces B1 and B2 are further reduced. The temperature is detected and stored as a passenger seat reference temperature TB1OLD, TB2OLD (step S15).
[0034]
Next, the driver side air conditioning and the passenger side air conditioning are independently controlled based on the learning data selected in steps S12 and S13, and when the switches 60 to 65 are operated, the learning data is corrected (step S12). S16). The details of the correction of the learning data will be described later.
[0035]
Next, the driver's seat reference temperatures TA1OLD and TA2OLD and the passenger seat reference temperatures TB1OLD and TB2OLD are updated to the latest data (steps S17 and S18).
When the main switch is operated to stop the air conditioner (YES in step S19), the air conditioning control ends.
[0036]
Next, the correction of the learning data in step S16 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a part related to correction of learning data in the control program in step S16.
[0037]
First, the current temperature of the driver's seat occupant's face A1, A2 is detected, and the detected temperature is stored as the driver's seat current temperature TA1NEW, TA2NEW (step S101). Is detected and stored as the passenger seat current temperatures TB1NEW and TB2NEW (step S102).
[0038]
Next, in step S103, the driver's seat current temperatures TA1NEW and TA2NEW are compared with the judgment upper limit value Ts1 and the judgment lower limit value Ts0 to determine whether or not an occupant is seated in the driver's seat. Here, in this example, Ts1 = 40 ° C. and Ts0 = 30 ° C.
[0039]
If the driver's seat current temperatures TA1NEW and TA2NEW are both within the range of the determination upper limit Ts1 and the determination lower limit Ts0, in other words, within the skin temperature range (30 ° C. to 40 ° C.) (YES in step S103), the driver's seat is displayed. It is estimated that the occupant is seated, and the process proceeds to step S104.
[0040]
In step S104, learning of the driver's seat is continued. That is, when the driver's seat temperature setting switch 60, the driver's seat air volume switch 62, and the driver's seat air outlet mode switch 64 are operated, the driver's seat side learning data selected in step S12 of FIG. 3 is corrected.
[0041]
On the other hand, if step S103 is NO, it is presumed that the driver's seat occupant has moved to or got off another seat, and the process proceeds to step S111. Then, in step S111, the air conditioning control on the driver's seat side is continued while the set temperature, the air volume, and the outlet mode are fixed.
[0042]
Next, the process proceeds from step S111 to step S112, in which it is determined whether or not an object having a temperature substantially equal to the driver's seat reference temperature TA1OLD, TA2OLD has entered the passenger seat area B.
[0043]
If YES in step S112, it is estimated that the driver's seat occupant has moved to the passenger seat, and the flow advances to step S113 to replace the driver's seat learning data with the passenger seat learning data. Continue learning. That is, when the passenger seat temperature setting switch 61, the passenger seat air volume switch 63, and the passenger seat air outlet mode switch 65 are operated, the passenger seat learning data after the replacement is corrected.
[0044]
If NO in step S112, it is estimated that the driver's seat occupant has moved or got off the rear seat, and the process proceeds to step S115 to stop learning the driver's seat. That is, the correction of the driver's seat side learning data is prohibited.
[0045]
In the present embodiment, since the learning data of the area after the movement of the seat is automatically changed to the learning data of the area before the movement of the seat, even if the setting work of setting who and where is set for each movement of the seat is not performed, It is possible to perform learning and air conditioning control corresponding to the occupant arrangement after moving the seat.
[0046]
(Other embodiments)
In the above-described embodiment, the present invention is applied to the vehicle air conditioner of the left and right independent temperature control method. However, the vehicle compartment is divided into four regions of front and rear and left and right, and the air conditioning control is performed independently for each of the four regions. The present invention can be applied to an air conditioner. In this case, when there is a movement of the seat between the rear seat occupants or a movement of the seat between the front seat and the rear seat, the learning data may be replaced in accordance with the movement of the seat.
[0047]
Further, in the above embodiment, the occupant's movement or getting off was determined based on the temperature detection data of the infrared sensor 55. However, the occupant's movement or getting off is determined by pattern matching with the image database using the occupant image data by the image sensor. May be determined.
[0048]
Further, the learning data is not corrected for a certain period after the occupant moves the seat even if the switches 60 to 65 are operated, and the learning data is corrected based on the operation of the switches 60 to 65 after the lapse of the certain period after moving the seat. May be started.
[0049]
Further, when the occupant of a certain seat gets off, correction of the learning data of the seat may be prohibited. Here, for example, when the passenger in the passenger seat gets off, the temperature of the parts B1 and B2 in the passenger seat area B approaches the seat temperature, in other words, the temperature substantially coincides with the temperature of other parts in the passenger seat area B. Thus, it is possible to judge the getting off.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an embodiment of an air conditioner of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a view showing a visual field range of an infrared sensor 55 of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a control program of an ECU 9 of FIG.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing details of step S16 in FIG. 3;
[Explanation of symbols]
9: ECU constituting movement detection means;
55 ... infrared sensor constituting movement detection means;
60 to 65: Switches corresponding to operation means.

Claims (5)

Operating means (60 to 65) operated by the occupant to independently set desired air-conditioning states of a plurality of areas in the vehicle interior for each area;
A vehicle air conditioner in which air conditioning control is performed independently for each area based on air conditioning control characteristics set for each area, and the air conditioning control properties are corrected based on the operation of the operation means (60 to 65). At
Movement detection means (9, 55) for detecting movement of the occupant;
When the movement detecting means (9, 55) detects the movement of the occupant's seat, the air conditioning control characteristic of the area after the movement of the seat is changed to the air conditioning control characteristic of the area before the movement of the seat. Vehicle air conditioner. Operating means (60 to 65) operated by the occupant to independently set desired air-conditioning states of a plurality of areas in the vehicle interior for each area;
A vehicle air conditioner in which air conditioning control is performed independently for each area based on air conditioning control characteristics set for each area, and the air conditioning control properties are corrected based on the operation of the operation means (60 to 65). At
Movement detection means (9, 55) for detecting movement of the occupant;
An air conditioner for a vehicle, wherein when the movement detecting means (9, 55) detects that the occupant gets off, the correction of the air conditioning control characteristics in the area where the occupant was before getting off is stopped. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the movement detection unit includes an infrared sensor having a plurality of cells that output an electric signal according to an amount of incident infrared light. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the movement detection unit includes an image sensor that outputs an image signal. 5. The air conditioning control characteristic according to claim 1, wherein the correction of the air conditioning control characteristics is stopped for a certain period after the movement detecting means detects the movement of the occupant's seat. Vehicle air conditioner.

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