JP2006130994A - Air regulating device to be mounted on vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air regulating device to be mounted on a vehicle to supply ions into the internal space of the vehicle with an efficient method in accordance with the seated condition of each seat. <P>SOLUTION: The air regulating device 1 to be mounted on the vehicle is equipped with an ion generation part 10 to be attached to the ceiling 5 of the vehicle of passenger car type, a stepping motor 44 to change over the ion emitting direction of the ion generation part 10 by adjusting the angle of an ion blowout hole 12, seating sensors 7A-7D to sense the seated condition of each seat in the vehicle, and a control part 4 to control the stepping motor 44 on the basis of the sensing result of the sensors 7A-7D so that ions are emitted in priority toward the seat(s) on which occupant is seated. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an in-vehicle air conditioner that improves air in a vehicle, and more particularly to an in-vehicle air conditioner that supplies ions for improving air into the vehicle.

  When traveling on a vehicle such as a passenger car, if the space in the vehicle is comfortable, the driver's concentration can be enhanced and the passenger can be relaxed. In recent years, most vehicles are equipped with air conditioners to make the interior comfortable, and the interior is kept at a comfortable temperature regardless of the season.

  However, even if the interior of the vehicle is kept at a suitable temperature, the comfort in the vehicle may be impaired by odors and bacteria.

Therefore, in the prior art, there is a vehicle air conditioner with an ion generator that selectively supplies negative ions for relaxing passengers and sterilization ions having a sterilization / deodorizing effect to the interior space (for example, , See Patent Document 1). In the invention according to Patent Document 1, since an ion generator that blows out ions corresponding to the number of germs in the interior space of the vehicle is employed, the interior space can be efficiently sterilized and deodorized.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-189179

  However, in the invention according to Patent Document 1, the ion generating device is disposed at the end of the vehicle, and a powerful air blowing means is required to spread the ions throughout the vehicle. Moreover, in the invention which concerns on patent document 1, the seating state of the passenger | crew in the vehicle is not considered. As a result, the operation method of the ion generator does not change even if the seating state of the seat in the vehicle changes, such as when the occupant changes from a single driver to a state where there are multiple passengers in addition to the driver. It is hard to say that the device is operating efficiently.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an in-vehicle air conditioner that adjusts air in a vehicle by an efficient method corresponding to the seating state of each seat.

(1) An in-vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention includes:
An ion emitting means that is attached to a ceiling of a vehicle having a plurality of seats, has an ion generating section that generates ions, and discharges the generated ions into the vehicle via the ion emitting section;
Switching means for switching the ion emission direction of the ion emission means;
Seating detecting means for detecting the seating state of each seat of the vehicle;
Control means for controlling the switching means so that ions are preferentially released toward the seat on which the occupant is seated based on the detection result of the seating detection means;
It is provided with.

  In the vehicle air conditioning apparatus according to the present invention, the direction in which ions are generated by the ion emission means is switched by the switching means. Examples of the mechanism of the switching means include a mechanism for adjusting the ion emission direction by rotating the entire ion emission means, and a mechanism for adjusting the ion emission direction by rotating only the portion related to the ion emission portion of the ion emission means.

  Further, the control means sets the ion emission direction according to the detection result of the seating detection means. Examples of the seating detection means include a configuration for detecting the presence / absence of a seat belt provided in each seat, and a configuration for detecting the presence / absence of seating by a pressure-sensitive sensor provided in a seating portion of each seat.

  The control means controls the switching means so that ions are preferentially released toward the seat on which the occupant is seated, so that ions are more efficiently distributed around the occupant than when ions are evenly released into the vehicle. To be supplied. In particular, by arranging it on the ceiling, it is easier to supply ions toward each seat than when the air conditioner is arranged at the end of the vehicle.

(2) The on-vehicle air conditioner according to (1),
The control means activates the ion emission means when a seating state is detected for at least one of the plurality of seats, and stops the ion emission means when no seating state is detected from any seat It is characterized by doing.

  In this configuration, when the occupant is seated in at least one seat, the control means starts the operation of the ion emission means. When no occupant is seated in any seat, the control means stops the operation of the ion emission means.

(3) The air conditioner according to (1) or (2),
The switching means includes a mechanism for rotating the ion emission part,
The control means rotates the ion emitter at predetermined intervals.

  In this configuration, the control unit alternately switches between a process of releasing ions toward the seat on which the passenger is seated and a process of releasing ions evenly throughout the vehicle. This switching is performed in order to prevent the air quality in the vehicle from being significantly different from place to place.

(4) The on-vehicle air conditioner according to any one of (1) to (3),
The seating detecting means detects seatbelt wearing states in the plurality of seats.

  In this configuration, the seating detection means detects whether or not a seat belt is attached to each seat. By setting the seat belt to the seated state, even if a person other than a person is placed on the seat, it is not erroneously detected as the seated state.

(1) According to the first aspect of the present invention, ions can be supplied into the vehicle by an efficient method corresponding to the seating state of each seat.

(2) According to the invention of claim 2, on / off control of the ion emission means can be executed efficiently in accordance with the passenger getting on and off.

(3) According to the invention of claim 3, the air quality is not extremely biased in the vehicle.

(4) According to the invention of claim 4, the detection of the seating state is more reliably performed.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of an in-vehicle air conditioner of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a configuration of an in-vehicle air conditioner 1 according to the present invention. The on-vehicle air conditioner 1 includes four seating sensors 7A to 7D and a base member 3 connected to the seating sensors 7A to 7D. The seating sensors 7A to 7D detect the presence / absence of seat belts in the driver's seat, passenger seat, right rear seat, and left rear seat of the passenger car, and detect seating states of the assigned seats. The base member 3 is mounted on a mounting portion formed in advance on the ceiling 5 of the passenger car. The base member 3 includes a battery 6, an ion generation unit 10, and a control unit 4. The battery 6 supplies power to each part of the in-vehicle air conditioner 1. In this embodiment, the in-vehicle air conditioner 1 is driven by the internal battery 6, but may be supplied with electric power from a passenger car.

FIG. 2 shows the appearance of the base member 3. The base member 3 is disposed on the ceiling 5 of the passenger car at a substantially equidistant position from the driver seat, the passenger seat, the right rear seat, and the left rear seat. In the present embodiment, the base member 3 constitutes a mounting portion for the interior lighting 2 at the same time. The ion generator 10 has a columnar shape and is rotatably supported by the base member 3. An ion outlet 12 is formed on the peripheral surface of the ion generator 10. A louver for adjusting the wind direction in the height direction is disposed at the ion outlet 12.

  FIG. 3 shows an outline of the internal configuration of the ion generator 10. The ion generator 10 includes a fan 11 and an ion generator 100 inside. The fan 11, the ion generator 100, and the ion blower outlet 12 are arrange | positioned substantially linearly. The fan 11 sucks air from an air passage (not shown) and blows it against the ion generator 100. The ion generator 100 is a device that generates positive ions and negative ions by corona discharge, and the configuration thereof will be described later. In addition, the mounting state of the ion generation part 10 in a passenger car is shown in FIG.

  FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing a schematic configuration of the ion generator 100. The ion generator 100 includes a drive circuit board 103, an ion generation element 105, a board housing case 102, and a lid body 104.

  The drive circuit board 103 includes a power connector 132, a boost coil 133, and circuit components such as a capacitor and a semiconductor. The power connector 132 is connected to the battery 6 via a connector cable and a DC-AC conversion circuit.

  The booster coil 133 boosts the voltage supplied from the DC-AC conversion circuit and drives the ion generator 100. Since the booster coil 133 generates radiation noise that can cause malfunction of the electric device, a copper tape is wound around the booster coil 133. A shield case 131 made of a tin steel plate is disposed around the booster coil 133, and the booster coil 133 is covered with the shield case 131. An opening hole 134 penetrating in the thickness direction is formed near the shield case 131.

  The ion generating element 105 includes electrode contacts 156 and 157, and the electrode contacts 156 and 157 are connected to the drive circuit board 103 via the lead wires 106. The ion generating element 105 is fixed to the substrate housing case 102 with a quick-drying adhesive with the electrode contacts 156 and 157 facing the inside of the substrate housing case 102.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the configuration of the ion generating element 105. 6A is a plan view of the ion generating element 105, FIG. 6B is an XX sectional view of the ion generating element 105, and FIG. 6C is a YY section of the ion generating element 105. FIG.

  The ion generating element 105 includes a dielectric substrate 150, a discharge electrode 153, a dielectric electrode 154, and electrode contacts 156 and 157. The dielectric substrate 150 is configured by integrating a lower plate 151 and an upper plate 152 that are stacked in the thickness direction. In the discharge electrode 153, four grids are continuously arranged in the longitudinal direction on the surface of the dielectric substrate 150, and each grid has a plurality of sharpened portions protruding toward the inside. The dielectric electrode 154 is formed in a U shape in a planar shape, and each sharpened portion of the discharge electrode 153 is formed such that the tip portion thereof overlaps with the dielectric electrode 154. As a result, the electric field is easily concentrated between the sharpened portion of the discharge electrode 153 and the dielectric electrode 154, and discharge can be easily generated at both electrodes even at a low voltage. A dielectric protective layer 155 is formed so as to cover the surface of the discharge electrode 153. The dielectric electrode 154 is disposed at a position between the lower plate 151 and the upper plate 152 so as to face the discharge electrode 153. The dielectric electrode 154 is a belt-like electrode that is formed with its center aligned with the discharge electrode 153 and has a smaller length and width than the discharge electrode 153.

  In this embodiment, alumina is used as the lower plate 151, the upper plate 152, and the protective layer 155. However, the material of these members is not limited to alumina, and other ceramic materials such as crystallized glass, forsterite, and steatite, or resin materials such as polyimide and epoxy may be used. In the present embodiment, tungsten is used as the discharge electrode 153 and the dielectric electrode 154. Other examples used for the discharge electrode 153 and the dielectric electrode 154 include high melting point metal materials such as molybdenum.

  When producing the ion generating element 105, first, the dielectric electrode 154 is formed on the surface of the lower plate 151 made of an alumina sheet by pattern printing of a tungsten material. Subsequently, an upper plate 152 made of an alumina sheet is placed so as to cover the dielectric electrode 154 and is pressure-bonded. Subsequently, a discharge electrode 153 is formed on the surface of the upper plate 152 by pattern printing of a tungsten material. Subsequently, a protective layer 155 made of alumina is formed by coating so as to cover the entire discharge electrode 153. These members are fired at a temperature of 1400 to 1600 degrees Celsius in a non-oxidizing atmosphere.

  As shown in FIG. 6C, the discharge electrode 153 is connected to an electrode contact 156 that penetrates the lower plate 151 and the upper plate 152, and the dielectric electrode 154 is connected to an electrode contact 157 that penetrates the lower plate 151. . In this embodiment, the electrode contacts 156 and 157 are formed by filling an electrode material into a snow hole formed at a corresponding position when the electrodes 153 and 154 are formed. A high-voltage AC drive voltage is applied to the discharge electrode 153 and the dielectric electrode 154 from the drive circuit board 103 through the lead wire 106 and the electrode contacts 156 and 157.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the substrate housing case 102 has a box shape having an open bottom and a rectangular bottom surface 128. An opening 121 is formed in the bottom surface 128. A recess for positioning the ion generating element 105 is formed around the opening 121. The opening 121 is closed by fixing the ion generating element 105 to the substrate housing case 102.

  Four substrate support portions 124 that support the drive circuit substrate 103 at predetermined positions are formed inside the substrate housing case 102. Furthermore, lead wire fixed wiring portions 126 and 127 that hold the intermediate portion of the lead wire 106 are formed inside both side walls in the short direction of the substrate housing case 102.

  In the substrate housing case 102, the drive circuit substrate 103 is supported by the substrate support portion 124 from below. For this reason, a space is formed between the drive circuit board 103 and the ion generating element 105 inside the board housing case 102. This space is filled with a filler for an insulating mold. As the filler for the insulating mold, in the present embodiment, a resin excellent in fluidity such as urethane resin is used.

  Then, the assembly method of the ion generator 100 is demonstrated. As shown in FIG. 5, connection solder pads are formed around the electrode contacts 156 and 157 on the back surface of the ion generating element 105. These solder pads are connected to lead wires 106 drawn from the high voltage portion of the drive circuit board 103. After connecting the high voltage portion of the drive circuit board 103 and the electrode contacts 156, 157 via the lead wire 106, a part of the lead wire 106 is hung on the lead wire fixing wiring portions 126, 127, and the lead wire fixing wiring is provided. Held by the parts 126 and 127.

  Subsequently, the drive circuit board 103 is mounted in the board housing case 102. After the drive circuit board 103 is mounted on the board support portion 124, the filler is injected into the board housing case 102 through the board opening 134 of the drive circuit board 103. The filling material is injected until the insulating component is molded so that the lead legs of the mounting components on the substrate component surface and between the ion generating element 105 and the drive circuit substrate 103 are hidden. Since the size of the space sandwiched between the drive circuit substrate 103 and the ion generating element 105 differs depending on the height of the substrate support portion 124, the amount of filler injected into this space varies depending on the height of the substrate support portion 124. . If the substrate support portion 124 is lowered so that the drive circuit substrate 103 is supported at a position closer to the bottom surface, the amount of filler used is reduced.

  Subsequently, the engagement hole 141 formed in the lid 104 and the engagement protrusion 125 formed on the outside of the substrate housing case 102 are engaged, and the open surface side of the substrate housing case 102 is covered by the lid 104. cover.

  FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the ion generator 100 as seen from the bottom 128 side. As shown in the figure, when the lid 104 is locked to the substrate housing case 102, the drive circuit board 103, the ion generating element 105, the substrate housing case 102, and the lid 104 are integrated to form a unitized ion generator. 100 is configured. Since the connection part 123 which has a screw hole for fixation is arrange | positioned at the both ends of the longitudinal direction of the ion generator 100, the ion generator 100 can be connected to the ion generation part 10 via the connection part 123. . By disposing the ion generator 100, water vapor blown from the air outlet 12 is ionized by corona discharge, and approximately the same amount of positive ions and negative ions are generated.

In the present embodiment, the positive ions are represented as H ⁺ (H ₂ O) _m (m is a natural number) with a plurality of water molecules attached around the hydrogen ions (H ⁺ ). On the other hand, the negative ion is accompanied by a plurality of water molecules around the oxygen ion (O ₂ ⁻ ), and is expressed as O ₂ ⁻ (H ₂ O) _n (n is a natural number). When these positive ions and negative ions attach to the surface of bacteria floating in the living space, they chemically react to generate hydrogen peroxide H ₂ O ₂ or hydroxyl radicals / OH which are active species. Since these hydrogen peroxide H ₂ O ₂ or hydroxyl radical / OH exhibits extremely strong activity, it can sterilize airborne bacteria in the air.

  Here, returning to FIG. 1 again, the controller 4 in the air conditioner will be described. The control unit 4 includes a ROM that stores a program necessary for the operation of the air conditioner 1 and a CPU that operates based on the program stored in the ROM. In this embodiment, the control part 4 comprises the control means of this invention. The control unit 4 switches the ion emission direction of the ion generation unit 10 based on the seating state in each seat. Specifically, the control unit 4 controls the operation of the ion emission direction switching mechanism described below according to the detection results of the seating sensors 7A to 7D.

  FIG. 8 shows an example of the configuration of the ion emission direction switching mechanism. As shown in the figure, the ion generator 10 has a columnar protrusion 41 protruding upward from the center of the upper surface. The protruding portion 41 is inserted into a circular through hole formed on the bottom surface of the base member 3, and a bevel gear 42 </ b> B is attached to a tip portion passing through the through hole. On the other hand, a stepping motor 44 is disposed inside the base member 3, and a bevel gear 42 </ b> A meshed with the bevel gear 42 </ b> B is attached to the tip of the shaft 43 of the stepping motor 44. The stepping motor 44 is driven by electric power supplied from the battery 6 via the DC-AC conversion circuit, and is controlled by pulses supplied from the control unit 4. For this reason, the control part 4 controls the pulse supplied to the stepping motor 44, whereby the ion outlet 12 is rotated to a desired position, and the ion emission direction is switched.

  An example of switching the ion emission direction will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9A shows a state in which the seating sensor 7A detects that an occupant is seated in the driver's seat and wears a seat belt, and the control unit 4 points the ion outlet 12 toward the driver's seat. FIG. 9B shows that the seating sensors 7A and 7B detect that the occupant is seated in the driver's seat and the passenger's seat and wear the seat belt, and the control unit 4 alternately turns the ion outlet 12 into the driver's seat and the passenger's seat. Indicates the state of directing. FIG. 9C shows that the seating sensors 7A and 7C detect that an occupant is seated in the driver's seat and the right rear seat and that the seat belt is attached, and the control unit 4 connects the ion outlet 12 to the driver's seat and the right rear seat. It shows the state of turning alternately. FIG. 9D shows that the seating sensors 7A and 7D detect that the occupant is seated in the driver's seat and the left rear seat and that the seat belt is attached, and the control unit 4 connects the ion outlet 12 to the driver's seat and the left rear seat. It shows the state of turning alternately. 9A to 9D are examples, and in other cases, the control unit 4 controls the stepping motor 44 so that the ion outlets 12 are alternately directed to the seats where the passengers are sitting. . In addition, as an example which is not illustrated in FIG. 9, there are a case where an occupant is sitting in the driver's seat and the rear seats on both sides, and a case where the occupant is sitting in all seats other than the driver's seat when the vehicle is stopped.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of the control unit 4 when starting the on-vehicle air conditioner 1. Before the in-vehicle air conditioner 1 operates, the control unit 4 waits until any of the seating sensors 7A to 7D detects the seat belt of the occupant (S1). Subsequently, when a signal indicating that the occupant is wearing the seat belt is received from any of the seating sensors 7A to 7D, the control unit 4 starts the ion generation operation of the ion generation unit 10 (S2).

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation procedure of the control unit 4 when the ion emission direction is switched. When the ion generator 10 starts operating, the controller 4 continuously drives the stepping motor 44 to rotate the ion outlet 12 (S11). The controller 4 continuously rotates the ion outlet 12 for a preset period T1 (S12). When the period T1 elapses, the control unit 4 confirms the seat belt wearing state in each seat (S13). Then, the control part 4 performs the discharge | emission direction fixing step which fixes the direction of the ion blower outlet 12 sequentially toward the seat where the passenger | crew is seating (S14). The control unit 4 executes the discharge direction fixing step for a preset period T2, and when the period T2 elapses, the control unit 4 proceeds to the outlet rotation step of S11.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of the control unit 4 in the discharge direction fixing step of S14. The controller 4 determines the stop position of the stepping motor 44 based on the confirmation step of the seat belt wearing state in S13 (S21). Subsequently, the control unit 4 determines the stop time of the stepping motor 44 at each stop position (S22). In this embodiment, the stop time when there is one occupant is 120 seconds, the stop time when there are two occupants is 60 seconds each, the stop time when there are three occupants is 40 seconds each, and there are four occupants In this case, the stop time is set to 30 seconds. Note that this stop time setting method is an example, and for example, the stop time may be different after each seat. When the position and stop time at which the ion outlet 12 is to be stopped are set, the control unit 4 controls the stepping motor 44 according to the set procedure, and switches the ion outlet 12 toward the seat where the occupant is seated (S23). ).

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an operation procedure of the control unit 4 when the ion generation unit 10 is stopped. Based on the detection signals from the seating sensors 7A to 7D, the control unit 4 determines whether or not the seat belt is removed from the seats (S31). The control unit 4 stops the operation of the ion generation unit 10 when the seat belt is removed from all seats (S32).

  As described above, in the present embodiment, since the ion generator 10 is disposed at the substantially central portion of the ceiling 5 of the passenger car, ions can be easily distributed throughout the vehicle. In addition, since ions are preferentially supplied around the seat on which the occupant is seated, more comfortable air can be provided to the occupant.

In the above-described embodiment, when the ion emission direction is switched, the entire ion generation unit 10 is rotated with respect to the base member 3, but the configuration is not limited thereto. For example, you may make it rotate only the outer peripheral part in which the ion blower outlet 12 was formed, without rotating the fan 11 and the ion generator 100 in the ion generator 10. FIG. In addition, the seating state can be detected by a method other than the detection of seat belt wearing. For example, the seating state may be detected by a pressure-sensitive sensor provided in a seating portion of each seat, or an infrared sensor or a temperature sensor provided in the vicinity of each seat.

  Finally, the description of the above-described embodiment is to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is shown not by the above-described embodiments but by the claims. Furthermore, the scope of the present invention is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the scope of the claims.

It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the vehicle air conditioner of this invention. It is a figure which shows the external appearance of a base member. It is a figure which shows the internal structure of an ion generation part. It is a figure which shows the use condition of a vehicle air conditioner. It is a disassembled perspective view of an ion generator. It is a figure which shows the structure of an ion generating element. It is an external view from the bottom face side of the assembled air conditioner. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of an ion discharge | emission direction switching mechanism. It is a figure which shows the example of a switching of an ion discharge | release direction. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement procedure of the control part at the time of starting of a vehicle air conditioner. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement procedure of the control part at the time of ion emission direction switching. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement procedure of the control part in a discharge direction fixed step. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement procedure of the control part at the time of the stop of an ion generation part.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1-Vehicle-mounted air conditioner 3-Base member 7 (7A-7D)-Seating sensor 100-Ion generator 102-Substrate accommodation case 103-Drive circuit board 104-Lid 105-Ion generator 106-Lead

Claims (4)

An ion emitting means that is attached to a ceiling of a vehicle having a plurality of seats, has an ion generating section that generates ions, and discharges the generated ions into the vehicle via the ion emitting section;
Switching means for switching the ion emission direction of the ion emission means;
Seating detecting means for detecting the seating state of each seat of the vehicle;
Control means for controlling the switching means so that ions are preferentially released toward the seat on which the occupant is seated based on the detection result of the seating detection means;
An in-vehicle air conditioner comprising:   The control means activates the ion emission means when a seating state is detected for at least one of the plurality of seats, and stops the ion emission means when no seating state is detected from any seat The on-vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1. The switching means includes a mechanism for rotating the ion emission part,
The in-vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the control unit rotates the ion emission unit at predetermined intervals.   The in-vehicle air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the seating detection means detects a seat belt wearing state in the plurality of seats.

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