JP2006256583A - Air-conditioner control device for automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air-conditioner control device for an automobile capable of increasing the discharge of a refrigerant even when the capacity of a compressor of the air-conditioner for the automobile is small. <P>SOLUTION: The air-conditioner control device has an indoor temperature sensor 21 to measure the indoor temperature, an outdoor temperature sensor 22 to measure the outdoor temperature, and an up-shift limit instruction unit 25 to instruct the up-shift of a transmission 40 so as to be limited in a predetermined range with respect to a transmission control unit 41 based on each measurement value of the indoor temperature sensor 21 and the outdoor temperature sensor 22 in an automobile having the transmission 40 to perform the automatic speed change according to the running state of the automobile, a transmission control unit 41 to control the transmission 40, and an air-conditioner 10 in which a compressor 11 is driven by an engine 30. By limiting the up-shift of the transmission 40 by the up-shift limit instruction unit 25, and increasing the engine speed thereby, the capacity of the compressor 11 is increased, and the cooling performance of the air-conditioner 10 is enhanced. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a control device for an air conditioner of an automobile that can improve the cooling performance of the air conditioner even if the capacity of a compressor used in the air conditioner of the automobile is small.

  Currently, compressors used in air conditioners such as so-called car air conditioners are designed on the basis of when the cooling performance of the air conditioners is maximum. This is because the cooling performance can be improved by circulating a large amount of refrigerant.

As a control device for efficiently controlling an air conditioner, there is a control device for an automotive air conditioner that can provide a sufficient air conditioning effect when the air conditioning load is large, and is low in fuel consumption and low noise when the air conditioning load is small. (Patent Documents 1 and 2).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 58-220942 Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 61-46020

However, since the air conditioner performs rapid cooling operation by increasing the flow rate of the refrigerant, the rotation speed of the compressor is regulated by the engine rotation speed during normal cooling operation. Therefore, at the low speed and low speed, the maximum capacity of the compressor is not used.
In order to increase the discharge amount of the compressor, it is also advantageous to increase the rotational speed of the compressor by reducing the diameter of the pulley of the electromagnetic clutch for transmitting the engine power to the compressor using a belt. However, since the electromagnetic clutch is used, there is a limit to the reduction in the diameter of the pulley because of the necessity of ensuring the effective diameter of the clutch plate and the possibility of twisting and vibration of the belt.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an automotive air conditioner control device that can increase the refrigerant discharge amount even when the compressor of the air conditioner has a small capacity.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a compressor is driven by an engine that automatically shifts according to the running state of the automobile, a transmission control unit that controls the transmission so as to hold the transmission at a predetermined gear position, and an engine. In an air conditioner control device that is installed in an automobile equipped with an air conditioner and controls the air conditioner, an indoor temperature sensor that measures an indoor temperature, an outdoor temperature sensor that measures an outdoor temperature, an indoor temperature sensor, and An upshift limit instruction unit for instructing the transmission control unit to limit the upshift of the transmission based on each measured value of the outside air temperature sensor, and the upshift limit instruction unit transmits the transmission control unit to the transmission control unit. When an instruction is given to limit the upshift, the transmission control unit controls the transmission so that the transmission is held at a predetermined speed, thereby increasing the engine speed and causing the compressor to rotate. Tsu capacity of the support is characterized in that it increase.
Preferably, the upshift restriction instructing unit is based on a first determination unit that determines whether or not a condition for enhancing the cooling performance of the air conditioner is met based on a measurement value of the indoor temperature sensor, and on a measurement value of the outside air temperature sensor. And a second determination unit that determines whether or not the condition for improving the cooling performance of the air conditioner is met, and when the first determination unit and the second determination unit determine that each condition is satisfied, an upshift restriction instruction The unit instructs the transmission control unit to limit the upshift of the transmission.
Preferably, any one of the first determination unit and the second determination unit is initialized so as not to meet a condition for improving the cooling performance of the air conditioner.

  With this configuration, if the air conditioner control device determines that the cooling performance needs to be improved from the measured values of the indoor temperature sensor and the outside air temperature sensor, it increases even if the vehicle speed increases with respect to the transmission control unit. Prohibit shift. That is, when the transmission control unit controls the transmission, the transmission line is switched, the engine speed is increased, the operating force of the compressor is increased, and the cooling performance of the air conditioner is improved. Therefore, even if the compressor which can maintain the air_conditioning | cooling performance in the steady state of an air conditioner is used, an air conditioner can perform rapid air_conditionaing | cooling operation.

  According to the present invention, at the time of cool-down when the cooling performance is maximum, the shift-up of the transmission can be prohibited within a certain range, and the rotation speed of the compressor can be increased. Therefore, a compressor having a smaller capacity can be used. Therefore, the weight of the compressor can be reduced, the cost of the compressor can be reduced, and the fuel efficiency can be improved as the weight is reduced.

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram including an automobile air conditioner 10 and an automobile air conditioner control device 20 for controlling the air conditioner 10. As shown in FIG. 1, an automobile is equipped with an engine 30, a transmission 40 that automatically shifts according to the running state of the automobile, and an air conditioner 10 that air-conditions a room.

  The air conditioner 10 performs air cooling by absorbing air with the latent heat of vaporization of the refrigerant, and is configured as shown in FIG. 1, for example. The refrigerant is compressed by the compressor 11, becomes a high temperature and a high pressure, is sent to the condenser 12, and is cooled and liquefied by the condenser 12. Then, the condensed refrigerant flows into the evaporator 14 through the expansion valve 13. The evaporator 14 is disposed in the air conditioning case 15, and the low-pressure refrigerant flowing into the evaporator 14 absorbs heat from the air in the air conditioning case 15 and evaporates. Thereafter, the refrigerant is returned to the compressor 11 and circulated again. The compressor 11 that sucks and compresses the refrigerant in this way is driven by the power of the engine 30 with the pulley 16a and the belt 17 of the electromagnetic clutch 16 interposed therebetween.

  In addition, the air conditioning case 15 is configured to form an air ventilation path, and a blower 18 is provided on the upstream side of the evaporator 14. The air is blown into the air conditioning case 15. On the other hand, an air outlet (not shown) is formed on the downstream side of the air conditioning case 15 so that cold air is blown out to the feet and upper body of the passenger.

The rotation of the engine 30 is changed by the transmission 40 and finally transmitted to drive wheels (not shown). Such a transmission 40 includes, for example, a torque converter, gears, and a hydraulic control unit that controls them. The transmission 40 is controlled by a transmission control unit 41 configured by a computer. That is, various conditions can be determined by the transmission control unit 41, and gear shifting and lock-up operations can be performed finely by hydraulic control. Here, the transmission control unit 41 has a function of holding the transmission 40 at a predetermined shift stage, that is, a function capable of limiting the upshift of the transmission, and the driving state of the automobile, that is, the throttle opening of the engine and the vehicle speed The transmission 40 can be controlled so that the gear position does not increase by one step even in a situation where the gear position is changed by, for example.
The engine 30 is provided with an engine control unit 31 for controlling the engine 30 by receiving signals from various sensors that detect the rotational speed of the engine 30 and the like.

In the present invention, in order to control the air conditioner 10, an indoor temperature sensor 21 for measuring the indoor temperature and an outside air temperature sensor 22 for measuring the outside air temperature are provided. For example, the room temperature sensor 21 is attached to an instrument panel to which instruments are attached. The outside air temperature sensor 22 is installed at an opening of a bumper or the like. An air conditioner control device 20 that receives the measured values from the indoor temperature sensor 21 and the outside air temperature sensor 22 and controls the air conditioner 10 is provided.
As shown in FIG. 1, the air conditioner control device 20 includes a first determination unit 23 that determines whether the indoor temperature measured by the indoor temperature sensor 21 meets a preset condition, and an outside air temperature sensor 22. And a second determination unit 24 that determines whether or not the outside air temperature measured in (1) meets a preset condition.

Here, conditions preset in the first determination unit 23 and the second determination unit 24 will be described.
FIG. 2 is a graph showing conditions set in advance in the first determination unit 23 and the second determination unit 24. (A) is a condition set in the first determination unit 23, and (B) is The conditions set in the second determination unit 24 are shown.
In the 1st determination part 23, the determination value F1 is calculated | required according to the indoor temperature Tr measured with the indoor temperature sensor 21. FIG. That is, as shown in FIG. 2A, when the determination value is 0 and the room temperature Tr is less than T2, the determination value F1 is 0. When the room temperature Tr becomes T2 in this state, the determination value F1 is set to 1. When the room temperature Tr decreases due to air cooling and the room temperature Tr reaches T1, the determination value F1 is returned to 0 again.
Similarly, the second determination unit 24 obtains a determination value F2 according to the outside air temperature TAM measured by the outside air temperature sensor 22. That is, as shown in FIG. 2B, when the outside air temperature TAM becomes T3 with the judgment value F2 being 1, the judgment value F2 is set to 0, and when the outside air temperature rises to T4, the judgment value F2 is set to 1 again. To do.
T1 to T4 shown in FIG. 2 are set based on the mounting positions of the indoor temperature sensor 21 and the outside air temperature sensor 22, and for example, T1 = 36 ° C., T2 = 40 ° C., T3 = 40 ° C., T4 = 45 ° C. Is done.

  The first determination unit 23 and the second determination unit 24 receive a start signal from the engine control unit 31 or the compressor 11 when the air conditioner 10 is operated or the engine 30 is ignited. Determination values F1 and F2 are initialized, respectively. This initialization state is indicated by a circle in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the determination value F1 of the first determination unit 23 is initialized to be 0, and the determination value F2 of the second determination unit 23 is initialized to 1.

  The determination values F1 and F2 by the first determination unit 23 and the second determination unit 24 indicate whether or not the conditions satisfy the conditions for improving the cooling performance of the air conditioner 10, and the first determination unit 23 and the second determination unit 23 When the determination values F1 and F2 of the determination unit 24 are both 1, the outside air temperature and the room temperature are both high, so the air conditioner control device 20 improves the cooling performance of the air conditioner 10. To control.

Therefore, the air conditioner control device 20 includes an upshift restriction instruction unit 25 that instructs the transmission control unit 41 to restrict the upshift. When the determination values F1 and F2 by the first determination unit 23 and the second determination unit 24 are both 1, the upshift restriction instructing unit 25 changes the speed of the transmission control unit 41 that controls the transmission 40 with a computer. Upon receiving an instruction to limit the upshift by the machine 40, the transmission control unit 41 switches the shift line, and in the vehicle speed range that becomes the Nth speed before the limit, N-1) The transmission 40 is controlled so as to have a speed. Here, N is a natural number of 3-6.
The air conditioner control device 20 includes an operation box 26 that includes switches for starting the indoor temperature setting by an occupant and starting or stopping the operation of the air conditioner 10, and an operation signal from the operation box 26. And the air conditioner 10 are controlled in response to signals indicating the operating status of the blower 18 and the compressor 11. That is, when the compressor 11 and the blower 18 are not in operation, the cooling performance of the air conditioner 10 does not function. Therefore, the upshift limit instruction unit 25 also controls the transmission. This is set as a condition for issuing an instruction to the unit 41.

Next, control of the air conditioner 10 by the system comprised in this way is demonstrated.
For example, when the air conditioner control device 20 receives an instruction to start the operation of the air conditioner 10 from the occupant through the operation box 26, the blower 18 is operated or the power of the engine 30 is transmitted to the compressor 11 by the electromagnetic clutch 16. In addition, the determination values of the first determination unit 23 and the second determination unit 24 are initialized.
In this state, the first determination unit 23 and the second determination unit 24 receive the temperatures measured by the indoor temperature sensor 21 and the outside air temperature sensor 22 in real time, respectively, and determine whether or not the condition is satisfied.

  Now, it is assumed that both the first determination unit 23 and the second determination unit 24 determine that the condition is satisfied, and both the determination values F1 and F2 are 1. Then, the upshift restriction instruction unit 25 determines that the determination values F1 and F2 are both 1, and instructs the transmission control unit 41 to limit the upshift of the transmission 40. Then, even if the vehicle speed increases, the transmission control unit 41 does not upshift within a certain range and increases the engine speed. That is, even if the vehicle speed increases, the engine speed 40 is increased while maintaining the same speed ratio without changing the speed ratio between the input speed and the output speed of the transmission 40 within a predetermined range. Can do. That is, the transmission control unit 41 switches a shift line that is set in advance according to the configuration of the transmission 40 to another shift line, and increases the engine speed so as to correspond to the switched shift line. Thereby, when the cooling performance of the air conditioner 10 is improved and the room temperature is lowered, the measured value of the indoor temperature sensor 21 is decreased, and the first determination unit 23 returns the determination value F1 to 0, the upshift restriction instruction unit 25. Detects that the determination value of the first determination unit 23 has changed, and instructs the transmission control unit 41 to release the restriction on the upshift.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the relationship between the vehicle speed and the engine speed when the upshift of the transmission 40 is restricted by the upshift restriction instruction unit 25 and when it is not restricted. is there. The horizontal axis is the vehicle speed (km / hour), and the vertical axis is the engine speed (rotations / minute). The solid line shows the relationship between the vehicle speed and the engine speed when the upshift of the transmission 40 is not restricted, and the dotted line shows the vehicle speed and the engine speed when the upshift of the transmission 40 is restricted. Show the relationship.
When the upshift of the transmission 40 is not restricted, that is, in a normal state, the speed is switched to the second speed at 15 km / h, the third speed at 24 km / h, and the fourth speed at 34 km / h. When the upshift is limited, the speed is switched to the fifth speed at 34 km / hour and the third speed is 34 km / hour. The speed is switched to the fourth speed at a speed of 50 km / hour and the fifth speed at a speed of 70 km / hour.

As described above, the automatic change of the gear ratio is limited to be variable only in a certain range, that is, in a state where the engine speed is increased than usual, and the engine speed is increased. Since the engine speed increases and the power of the engine 30 is transmitted to the compressor 11 through the belt 17 and the pulley 16a, the amount of refrigerant circulated by the compressor 11 also increases. Therefore, the cooling performance by the air conditioner 10 is improved.
Accordingly, the compressor 11 having a smaller capacity can be used, so that the compressor 11 can be reduced in weight, the cost of the compressor 11 can be reduced, and the fuel consumption can be improved as the compressor 11 is reduced in weight.

1 is a system configuration diagram including an automobile air conditioner and an automobile air conditioner control device for controlling the air conditioner. FIG. It is the figure which showed the conditions preset by the 1st determination part and the 2nd determination part as a graph, (A) is the condition set to a 1st determination part, (B) is set to a 2nd determination part. This shows the conditions. It is the figure which showed the example about the relationship between each vehicle speed and the engine speed in the case where the upshift of a transmission is restrict | limited by the upshift control instruction | indication part, and the case where it is not restrict | limited.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Air conditioner 11 Compressor 12 Condenser 13 Expansion valve 14 Evaporator 15 Air conditioning case 16 Electromagnetic clutch 16a Pulley 17 Belt 18 Blower 20 Air conditioner controller 21 Indoor temperature sensor 22 Outside temperature sensor 23 First judgment part 24 Second judgment part 25 Upshift limit instruction unit 26 Operation box 30 Engine 31 Engine control unit 40 Transmission 41 Transmission control unit

Claims (3)

A transmission that automatically shifts according to the running state of the automobile, a transmission control unit that controls the transmission so as to hold the transmission at a predetermined gear stage, an air conditioner in which a compressor is driven by an engine, In an air conditioner control device for controlling an air conditioner that is equipped in an automobile equipped with
An indoor temperature sensor that measures the indoor temperature, an outdoor air temperature sensor that measures the outdoor temperature, and the transmission controller that is up to the transmission controller based on the measured values of the indoor temperature sensor and the outdoor air temperature sensor. An upshift limit instruction unit for instructing to limit the shift, and
When the upshift limit instruction unit instructs the transmission control unit to limit the upshift of the transmission, the transmission control unit holds the transmission at a predetermined gear stage. A control device for an air conditioner of an automobile, wherein the engine speed increases and the capacity of the compressor increases. The upshift restriction instructing unit includes a first determination unit that determines whether or not a condition for increasing the cooling performance of the air conditioner is met based on a measurement value of the indoor temperature sensor, and a measurement value of the outside air temperature sensor. A second determination unit that determines whether or not the condition for enhancing the cooling performance of the air conditioner is satisfied,
When the first determination unit and the second determination unit determine that each condition is satisfied, the upshift limitation instruction unit instructs the transmission control unit to limit the upshift of the transmission. The control device for an automotive air conditioner according to claim 1.   The air conditioner for an automobile according to claim 2, wherein one of the first determination unit and the second determination unit is initialized so as not to meet a condition for increasing the cooling performance of the air conditioner. Control device.

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