JP2006118977A - Apparatus for blockage decision - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To decide whether a vent through which cooled air passes has been blocked or not with high precision. <P>SOLUTION: A hybrid ECU executes a program including a step (S100) for deciding whether laser light emitted from an LED has been received by a light receiving section or not and a step (S104) for deciding that the vent through which cooled air passes is blocked when the laser light is not received by the light receiving section (NO in the S100). The light receiving section is provided on an opposite side of the LED across the vent so that it directly receives the laser light emitted from the LED. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for determining blockage, and more particularly to a technique for determining whether or not a flow port through which cooling air supplied to a device flows is blocked.

  In recent years, attention has been focused on hybrid vehicles, fuel cell vehicles, electric vehicles, and the like that can be driven by driving force from motors as part of measures for environmental problems. In these vehicles, devices such as a battery (secondary battery) and a capacitor (capacitor) that store electric power supplied to the motor are mounted. Since these devices generate heat due to charging / discharging of electric power, they are cooled by cooling air taken from a distribution port provided in the passenger compartment or the like. Therefore, if cooling air is not taken in, the temperature of a battery or a capacitor will rise abnormally and there exists a possibility that deterioration may be accelerated | stimulated. Therefore, it is necessary to prevent the distribution port from being blocked.

  Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2004-1683 (Patent Document 1) discloses a cooling structure for an automobile battery in which blockage of an air supply / exhaust port (distribution port) is suppressed. The cooling structure described in Patent Document 1 includes an intake / exhaust duct and a blower member. The intake / exhaust duct is connected to an automobile battery. The intake / exhaust duct is formed with an intake / exhaust port located above the tonneau cover for covering the luggage mounted in the luggage space in the luggage space behind the seat of the automobile. The blowing member circulates cooling air for cooling the automobile battery from the inside of the intake / exhaust duct through the intake / exhaust port.

  According to the cooling structure described in this publication, when a load is loaded in the luggage space, the risk that the intake / exhaust port is blocked by the load can be reduced. That is, if the air intake / exhaust port is disposed on the floor surface of the luggage space, there is a risk that the load is mounted so as to block the air intake / exhaust port. However, since the intake / exhaust port is located above the tonneau cover (that is, the region above the luggage space), the risk of the intake / exhaust port being blocked by luggage can be reduced.

  However, the object that closes the circulation port is not limited to luggage, but various things such as clothes such as clothes and plastic bags can be considered. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the presence or absence of an obstruction that closes the distribution port. In order to determine the presence or absence of an obstruction, it is possible to use light, for example.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-119713 (Patent Document 2) discloses a vehicle interior situation detection device that discriminates an object by light. In the vehicle interior condition detection device described in Patent Document 2, nine LEDs (light emitting diodes) provided on the ceiling of the passenger seat in the vehicle interior and infrared light emitted from the LEDs are reflected by the detection target. Three PSDs (Position Sensitive Detectors) that receive the reflected light and output a signal at a level corresponding to the distance to the detection target, and the temporal change in the output value of the PSD (movement from the differential value of the detection distance) The total displacement amount and the motion frequency) are calculated from the integrated values of the speed and detection distance, the motion specific to the detection target is detected, whether the detection target is a human, an animal, or something else is detected. Including a controller for identifying the type.

According to the vehicle interior condition detection device described in this publication, the type of the object to be detected is specified from the temporal change of the output value, that is, whether it is a human or a small animal (dog, cat, etc.) or a stationary object (baggage, etc.) Can be determined.
JP 2004-1683 A JP-A-10-119713

  However, as described above, various kinds of obstructions are conceivable. That is, some obstructions cannot specify the direction in which light is reflected, and some obstructions pass through without reflecting light. Therefore, even if it tries to determine the obstruction | occlusion object using the vehicle interior condition detection apparatus of Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 10-119713, the infrared light which LED emits does not necessarily reflect toward PSD. Moreover, if the obstruction | occlusion object is transparent bodies, such as a plastic bag, there exists a possibility that light may permeate | transmit without reflecting. For this reason, there is a problem in that there is a possibility that the blockage of the circulation port cannot be accurately determined.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a blockage determination device that can accurately determine whether or not a flow port is blocked.

  The blockage determination apparatus according to the first invention determines whether or not the flow port through which the cooling air supplied to the device flows is blocked. The blockage determination device is provided on the opposite side of the light emitting unit with respect to the flow port so as to receive the light emitted from the light emitting unit and the light emitting unit that emits light toward the flow port, and is emitted from the light emitting unit. A light receiving unit for detecting information related to the light and a determination output unit for determining whether or not blocking of the circulation port is determined based on the information.

  According to 1st invention, the light-receiving part is provided in the other side of the light emission part with respect to the circulation port. Thereby, the light receiving part can directly receive the light emitted from the light emitting part. For example, when the flow port is blocked by an obstruction and the light emitted from the light emitting unit is not received by the light receiving unit, the determination unit determines that the flow port is blocked. In addition, when the circulation port is blocked by a transparent body such as a plastic bag and the light received by the light receiving unit is out of focus, the determination unit determines that the circulation port is blocked. Therefore, it can be determined whether or not the circulation port is closed regardless of whether or not the light is reflected in the direction of the light receiving unit. As a result, it is possible to provide a blockage determination device that can accurately determine whether or not the flow port is blocked.

  In the blockage determination device according to the second invention, in addition to the configuration of the first invention, the information is information indicating whether or not the light emitted from the light emitting unit is received by the light receiving unit. The determination unit includes a unit for determining that the circulation port is closed when the light emitted from the light emitting unit is not received by the light receiving unit.

  According to the second invention, it is possible to determine whether or not the circulation port is closed based on whether or not the light emitted from the light emitting unit is received by the light receiving unit.

  In the blockage determination device according to the third invention, in addition to the configuration of the first invention, the light receiving unit includes a first light receiving region, a second light receiving region, a third light receiving region, and a second light receiving region arranged in a clockwise direction. 4 light receiving areas are included. The information is the intensity of light received in each light receiving area. The determination means determines the intensity of the light received in the second light receiving area and the fourth light receiving from the sum of the intensity of the light received in the first light receiving area and the intensity of the light received in the third light receiving area. Means for determining whether or not the circulation port is closed based on the intensity obtained by subtracting the sum of the intensity of light received in the region is included.

  According to the third invention, from the sum of the intensity of the light received in the first light receiving area and the intensity of the light received in the third light receiving area, the intensity of the light received in the second light receiving area and the first Based on the intensity obtained by subtracting the sum of the intensities of the light received by the four light receiving regions, that is, based on the astigmatism method, it can be determined whether or not the light is out of focus. Accordingly, it is possible to determine whether the circulation port is blocked based on whether the circulation port is blocked by a transparent body such as a plastic bag and the light received by the light receiving unit is out of focus. .

  In the blockage determination device according to the fourth invention, in addition to the configuration of any one of the first to third inventions, the light emitting unit is a light emitting diode.

  According to the fourth invention, generally, light emitted from the light emitting diode has high directivity. Thereby, light can be emitted accurately toward the distribution port.

  In the blockage determination device according to the fifth invention, in addition to the configuration of any one of the first to third inventions, the device is a battery.

  According to the fifth invention, it is possible to accurately determine whether or not the flow port through which the cooling air supplied to the battery flows is closed.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals. Their names and functions are also the same. Therefore, detailed description thereof will not be repeated.

<First Embodiment>
Referring to FIG. 1, a hybrid vehicle equipped with a blockage determination device according to the present embodiment includes an engine 100, an MG (Motor Generator) (1) 200, a power control unit 300, a battery 400, and a cooling fan. 404, battery ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 406, MG (2) 500, and hybrid ECU 600 are included.

  The power generated by the engine 100 is divided into two paths by the power split mechanism 700. One is a path for driving the wheel 900 via the speed reducer 800. The other is a path for driving MG (1) 200 to generate power. Engine 100 also drives a starter generator (not shown) to generate electric power. Electric power generated by a starter generator (not shown) is charged to an auxiliary battery (not shown).

  The MG (1) 200 generates power using the power of the engine 100 divided by the power split mechanism 700. The electric power generated by the MG (1) 200 depends on the running state of the vehicle and the SOC (State Of Charge) of the battery 400. ) Depending on the state of). For example, during normal traveling or sudden acceleration, the electric power generated by MG (1) 200 becomes electric power for driving MG (2) 500 as it is. On the other hand, when the SOC of battery 400 is lower than a predetermined value, the power generated by MG (1) 200 is converted from AC to DC by inverter 302 of power control unit 300, and the voltage is adjusted by converter 304. Is stored in the battery 400.

  The battery 400 is an assembled battery configured by connecting a plurality of battery modules in which a plurality of battery cells are integrated in series. The battery 400 is cooled by cooling air introduced by the cooling fan 404. The battery 400 and the cooling fan 404 are connected to the battery ECU 406. Cooling fan 404 is controlled by battery ECU 406. Battery ECU 406 detects the temperature and SOC of battery 400, transmits information related to the detection result to hybrid ECU 600, and determines the temperature of battery 400 from a predetermined temperature based on a program and a map stored in memory 408. If the temperature becomes higher, the cooling fan 404 is controlled to operate. The battery ECU 406 is electrically connected to the auxiliary battery. Thereby, the power for operating battery ECU 406 is supplied to the auxiliary battery.

  MG (2) 500 is driven by at least one of the electric power stored in battery 400 and the electric power generated by MG (1) 200. The driving force of MG (2) 500 is transmitted to wheel 900 via reduction gear 800. Thereby, MG (2) 500 assists engine 100 or causes the vehicle to travel by the driving force from MG (2) 500.

  On the other hand, when the hybrid vehicle is regeneratively braked, MG (2) 500 is driven by wheels 900 via reduction gear 800, and MG (2) 500 is operated as a generator. Thereby, MG (2) 500 acts as a regenerative brake that converts braking energy into electric power. The electric power generated by MG (2) 500 is stored in battery 400 via inverter 302.

Hybrid ECU 600 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 602 and a memory 604. The CPU 602 performs arithmetic processing based on the traveling state of the vehicle, the accelerator opening, the amount of depression of the brake pedal, the shift position, the SOC of the battery 400, the map and program stored in the memory 604, and the like. Thereby, the devices mounted on the vehicle are controlled so that the vehicle is in a desired running state.

  In the present embodiment, hybrid ECU 600 determines whether or not the flow port through which the cooling air flows is closed. The distribution port and the determination method of the distribution port will be described in detail later. When the hybrid ECU 600 determines that the circulation port is closed, the hybrid ECU 600 turns on an indicator lamp 606 provided in a combination meter (not shown) of the instrument panel (not shown). As a result, the passenger is notified of the blockage of the distribution port. The passenger may be notified of the blockage at the distribution port by sound, or may be displayed on a display for notification. Further, the battery ECU 406 may determine whether or not the flow port through which the cooling air flows is closed.

  In this embodiment, battery 400, cooling fan 404, and battery ECU 406 are mounted on a hybrid vehicle including engine 100 and MG (2) 500. However, the present invention is not limited to the hybrid vehicle, The present invention can be applied to a fuel cell vehicle, an electric vehicle, and the like, and can also be applied to a case where the cooling fan 404 is controlled by the hybrid ECU 600.

  With reference to FIG. 2, the cooling structure of battery 400 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, a circulation port 420 through which cooling air supplied to the battery 400 circulates is provided in the package tray behind the rear seat 910 provided in the vehicle interior. Cooling air is taken in from the circulation port 420 and supplied to the battery 400 through the ducts 422 and 424. The distribution port 420 may be provided in a place other than the package tray.

  An LED 1000 is provided on the ceiling of the vehicle interior. The LED emits laser light 1002. Laser light 1002 emitted from the LED 1000 is irradiated toward the circulation port 420. The irradiated laser beam 1002 is received by the light receiving unit 1100. The light receiving unit 1100 is provided in the duct 422 so as to be located on the opposite side of the LED 1000 with respect to the circulation port 420. The light receiving unit 1100 directly receives the laser light 1002 emitted from the LED 1000. The light receiving unit 1100 detects the intensity of the received laser beam 1002, and transmits a signal representing the detection result to the hybrid ECU 600.

  With reference to FIG. 3, a control structure of a program executed by hybrid ECU 600 of the blockage determination device according to the present embodiment will be described.

  In step (hereinafter, step is abbreviated as S) 100, hybrid ECU 600 determines whether or not laser light 1002 emitted from LED 1000 is received by light receiving unit 1100 based on a signal transmitted from the light receiving unit. . Hybrid ECU 600 determines that laser light 1002 has been received by light receiving unit 1100 when the intensity of laser light 1002 is greater than a predetermined intensity. If laser beam 1002 is received by light receiving unit 1100 (YES in S100), the process proceeds to S102. If not (NO in S100), the process proceeds to S104.

  In S102, hybrid ECU 600 determines that distribution port 420 is normal. That is, the hybrid ECU 600 determines that the circulation port 420 is not closed. Thereafter, this process ends.

  In S104, hybrid ECU 600 determines that circulation port 420 is closed. In S106, hybrid ECU 600 turns on indicator lamp 606 to notify the occupant that circulation port 420 is closed. Thereafter, this process ends.

  An operation of hybrid ECU 600 according to the present embodiment based on the above-described structure and flowchart will be described.

  When the laser beam 1002 is received from the LED 1000 toward the circulation port 420 and the laser beam 1002 is received by the light receiving unit 1100 (YES in S100), there is no obstruction that blocks the circulation port 420. It can be said. In this case, it is determined that the distribution port 420 is normal (S102).

  On the other hand, when laser beam 1002 is not received by the light receiving unit (NO in S100), it can be said that flow port 420 is in a state of being blocked by an obstruction. In this case, it is determined that the circulation port 420 is closed (S104), and the indicator lamp 606 is turned on. As a result, the passenger is notified that the circulation port 420 is closed (S106). Therefore, the occupant can remove the obstruction from the circulation port 420.

  As described above, the hybrid ECU of the blockage determination device according to the present embodiment determines that the circulation port is blocked when the light receiving unit does not receive the laser light emitted from the LED. The light receiving unit is provided on the opposite side of the LED with respect to the circulation port so as to directly receive the laser beam emitted from the LED. Thereby, if the circulation port is blocked by the obstruction and the laser beam is not received, it can be determined that the circulation port is blocked regardless of the reflection direction of the laser beam. Therefore, it is possible to accurately determine that the circulation port is closed.

<Second Embodiment>
A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the first embodiment described above, it is determined whether or not the circulation port is closed depending on whether or not the light receiving unit has received laser light. In the present embodiment, the astigmatism method is used to determine whether or not the distribution port is closed. The structure other than the light receiving unit is the same as that in the first embodiment described above. The function about them is the same. Therefore, detailed description thereof will not be repeated here.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the light receiving unit 1100 includes four light receiving regions, a light receiving region (A) 1102, a light receiving region (B) 1104, a light receiving region (C) 1106, and a light receiving region (D) 1108, in a clockwise direction. It is arranged.

  The light receiving unit 1100 detects the intensity of the laser light 1002 received in each light receiving region. The adder 1200 adds the intensity A of the laser beam 1002 received by the light receiving region (A) 1102 and the intensity D of the laser beam 1002 received by the light receiving region (D) 1104. The adder 1202 adds the intensity B of the laser beam 1002 received by the light receiving region (B) 1104 and the intensity C of the laser beam 1002 received by the light receiving region (C) 1106.

  The subtractor 1204 calculates the laser light received in the light receiving area (B) 1104 and the light receiving area (C) 1106 from the sum of the intensities of the laser light 1002 received in the light receiving area (A) 1102 and the light receiving area (D) 1104. Subtract the sum of 1002 intensities. A signal representing the result of subtraction by subtractor 1204 is transmitted to hybrid ECU 600.

  The LED 1000 and the light receiving unit 1100 are positioned so that the laser beam 1002 is focused at a position where the result of subtraction by the subtractor 1204 becomes 0 in a state where the flow port 420 is not obstructed by the obstruction.

  The hybrid ECU 600 determines whether or not the result of subtraction by the subtractor 1204 is 0, that is, whether or not the focus of the laser light 1002 is deviated based on the astigmatism method, and whether or not the flow port 420 is blocked. Is determined.

  With reference to FIG. 5, a control structure of a program executed by hybrid ECU 600 of the blockage determination device according to the present embodiment will be described. In addition, the same step number is attached | subjected about the process same as the program of the above-mentioned 1st Embodiment. Therefore, detailed description thereof will not be repeated here.

  In S200, based on the signal transmitted from subtractor 1204, hybrid ECU 600 determines light receiving area (B) from the sum of the intensities of laser light 1002 received in light receiving area (A) 1102 and light receiving area (D) 1104. It is determined whether or not the result obtained by subtracting the sum of the intensities of the laser beams 1002 received in 1104 and the light receiving region (C) 1106 is zero.

  From the sum of the intensities of the laser beams 1002 received by the light receiving regions (A) 1102 and (D) 1104, the sum of the intensities of the laser beams 1002 received by the light receiving regions (B) 1104 and (C) 1106 If the result of subtracting 0 is 0 (YES in S200), the process proceeds to S102. If not (NO in S200), the process proceeds to S106.

  An operation of hybrid ECU 600 according to the present embodiment based on the above-described structure and flowchart will be described.

  When the laser beam 1002 is irradiated from the LED 1000 toward the flow port 420, the focus of the laser beam 1002 is set as shown in FIG. 6 if the flow port 420 is not blocked by an obstruction. become.

  In this case, the laser light 1002 received by the light receiving region (B) 1104 and the light receiving region (C) 1106 is calculated from the sum of the intensities of the laser light 1002 received by the light receiving region (A) 1102 and the light receiving region (D) 1104. The result of subtracting the sum of intensities is 0 (YES in S200). Therefore, it is determined that the distribution port 420 is normal (S102).

  On the other hand, when the circulation port 420 is blocked by an object that transmits light, such as a plastic bag, the laser light 1002 diffuses or is refracted as shown in FIG. Defocus from the set position.

  In this case, the laser light 1002 received by the light receiving region (B) 1104 and the light receiving region (C) 1106 is calculated from the sum of the intensities of the laser light 1002 received by the light receiving region (A) 1102 and the light receiving region (D) 1104. The result of subtracting the sum of intensities is not 0 (NO in S200). Therefore, it is determined that the circulation port 420 is closed (S104), and the indicator lamp 606 is turned on. As a result, the passenger is notified that the circulation port 420 is closed (S106). Therefore, the occupant can remove the obstruction from the circulation port 420.

  As described above, the hybrid ECU of the blockage determination device according to the present embodiment determines that the circulation port is blocked when the focus of the laser beam is deviated from the set position. Thereby, even if it is a case where a distribution port is obstruct | occluded by the object which permeate | transmits light, such as a plastic bag, it can determine with high precision that the distribution port was obstruct | occluded.

  The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

It is a figure showing the outline of the hybrid car carrying the blockade judging device concerning a 1st embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the vehicle rear part in which a distribution port is provided. It is a figure which shows the control structure of the program which hybrid ECU of the obstruction | occlusion determination apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention performs. It is a figure which shows the light-receiving part of the obstruction | occlusion determination apparatus which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the control structure of the program which hybrid ECU of the obstruction | occlusion determination apparatus which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention performs. FIG. 6 is a diagram (No. 1) illustrating a focal point of laser light incident on a light receiving unit. FIG. 6 is a diagram (No. 2) illustrating a focal point of laser light incident on a light receiving unit. FIG. 6 is a diagram (No. 3) illustrating a focal point of laser light incident on a light receiving unit.

Explanation of symbols

  100 Engine, 200 MG (1), 300 Power control unit, 302 Inverter, 304 Converter, 400 Battery, 404 Cooling fan, 406 Battery ECU, 408 Memory, 420 Distribution port, 422,424 Duct, 500 MG (2), 600 Hybrid ECU, 602 CPU, 604 memory, 606 indicator lamp, 700 power split mechanism, 800 speed reducer, 900 wheel, 910 rear seat, 1000 LED, 1002 laser beam, 1100 light receiving unit, 1200, 1202 adder, 1204 subtractor.

Claims (5)

A blockage determination device that determines whether or not a flow port through which cooling air supplied to the device flows is blocked,
A light emitting unit that emits light toward the distribution port;
A light receiving unit provided on the opposite side of the light emitting unit with respect to the circulation port so as to receive the light emitted from the light emitting unit, and for detecting information relating to the light emitted from the light emitting unit;
A blockage determination device including determination output means for determining whether or not blockage of the circulation port is determined based on the information. The information is information on whether or not the light emitted from the light emitting unit is received by the light receiving unit,
The blockage determination device according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit includes a unit for determining that the circulation port is blocked when light emitted from the light emitting unit is not received by the light receiving unit. The light receiving unit includes a first light receiving region, a second light receiving region, a third light receiving region, and a fourth light receiving region arranged in a clockwise direction,
The information is the intensity of light received in each light receiving region,
The determination means calculates the intensity of light received in the second light receiving area from the sum of the intensity of light received in the first light receiving area and the intensity of light received in the third light receiving area. The blockage determination according to claim 1, further comprising means for determining whether or not the flow port is blocked based on an intensity obtained by subtracting a sum of the intensity of light received in the fourth light receiving region. apparatus.   The blockage determination device according to claim 1, wherein the light emitting unit is a light emitting diode.   The blockage determination device according to claim 1, wherein the device is a battery.

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