JP2008121916A - Air conditioning system for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air conditioning system for a vehicle capable of detecting occurrence of a problem when the problem occurs in a heating/cooling function of an air conditioner, and specifying reliable factors of the problem in an early stage. <P>SOLUTION: This air conditioning system 1 for the vehicle detects failure in behavior of an air conditioner on the basis of a detection value of a sensor 120 connected with an air conditioner ECU 100 and detecting environmental conditions inside and outside of the vehicle relating to control of in-vehicle air-conditioning, and collects/records a time, sensor information, actuator information, ECU internal RAM information, navigation information and the like as control log in occurrence of failure, when the failure in behavior is detected. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle air conditioning system.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 3-28442 JP 2005-263196 A

  In a vehicle air-conditioning system, if the service life is exceeded, the effectiveness of the air-conditioner may deteriorate, or a part of the air-conditioning function may not be used. . In such a case, the dealer refers to the control log or the like and repairs it. As the repair method, there are disclosures of technologies such as Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2.

  However, there are many cases where the cause of the failure cannot be specified, for example, when a defect is not reproduced at the time of repair by the dealer. In such a case, the air conditioner ECU may be replaced as a provisional measure. As described above, the fact that the air conditioner ECU does not always have a cause of failure is not intended as a production side of the ECU, and is a situation that should be avoided as much as possible.

  In the case of the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, the internal memory of the ECU is used only when the sensor or the actuator is always in failure and the sensor or actuator is completely broken (for example, OPEN, SHORT, etc. of the sensor). Although failure detection is possible with reference to the device data, failure that occurs only under specific conditions, physical failure or breakage of the air-conditioning output portion itself, etc. could not be detected.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle air-conditioning system capable of detecting the occurrence of a failure and identifying the cause of the failure at an early stage when a failure occurs in the air conditioning function of the air conditioner.

In order to solve the above problems, a vehicle air conditioning system according to the present invention includes:
An environmental sensor for an air conditioner that is connected to an air conditioner ECU and detects an environmental state inside or outside the vehicle involved in the air conditioning control in the vehicle;
Air conditioner malfunction detection means for detecting malfunction of the air conditioner based on the detection state of the environmental sensor for the air conditioner;
Control log collecting means for collecting a control log by the air conditioner ECU or a related ECU connected to the air conditioner ECU when an operation failure is detected;
A control log recording unit that records the collected control log in a predetermined control log recording unit in association with the malfunction;
It is characterized by providing.

  According to the above configuration of the present invention, it is possible to detect an air conditioner malfunction early and reliably based on the detection result of the air conditioner environmental sensor involved in the vehicle air conditioning control. Then, control logs are collected and recorded for malfunctions detected early. For example, when the detection result of the environmental sensor for air conditioner is used as a control parameter (as a feedback value) for in-vehicle air conditioning control, the state of in-vehicle air conditioning control is determined from the detection result of these sensors, It is possible to detect malfunctions and collect control logs before a complete failure occurs. As a result, the cause of the detected malfunction can be identified early and reliably, so that the cause of the malfunction can be easily investigated and unnecessary air conditioner ECU replacement is difficult to be performed.

  The control log collecting means in the above configuration can collect the operation failure detection time as the control log. Thereby, since the malfunction time can be specified, it becomes easy to identify the cause of the malfunction of the air conditioner.

  The control log collecting means in the above configuration can collect input values from the air conditioner environment sensor as the control log. Thereby, it is possible to identify the cause of the malfunction of the air conditioner from the sensor that detected the abnormal value or the detected value among the detected values of the environmental sensors for various air conditioners.

  The control log collecting means in the above configuration can collect the control position information of the actuator incorporated in the air conditioner as the control log. In a vehicle air conditioning system, for example, air mix dampers, outlet switching dampers, inside / outside air switching dampers, and the like are driven by motors, etc., and the location of these dampers can be specified, thereby causing the cause of air conditioner malfunction. Can be identified.

  The control log collecting means in the above configuration can collect the air conditioner control command value stored in the RAM of the air conditioner ECU as the control log. Thereby, the cause of the malfunction of the air conditioner can be specified by determining whether or not the vehicle air conditioning control according to the air conditioner control command value is realized.

  In the above-described configuration, the engine ECU is included in the related ECU, and the control log collection unit can acquire, as a control log, control information of the engine system controlled object that operates in cooperation with the air conditioner from the engine ECU. . In this case, the engine system controlled object that operates in cooperation with the air conditioner can be a compressor.

  In the above configuration, at least one or more of current position information, progress information, and vehicle inclination angle information detected by the in-vehicle navigation device as the control log, including the in-vehicle navigation device ECU in the related ECU. Can be obtained from a vehicle-mounted navigation device. According to this configuration, the current position information is the latitude / longitude indicating the current position of the vehicle, the type of road being traveled, the travel direction and travel speed (vehicle speed) of the vehicle as travel information, and the vehicle tilt angle (tilt) as vehicle tilt angle information. ) And the like, and the cause of the malfunction of the air conditioner can be investigated in consideration of the current situation of the vehicle and factors outside the vehicle.

  The control log collecting means in the above configuration can repeatedly receive the same type of control log for a certain period after the defect detection. As a result, the influence of noise or the like can be eliminated, and the cause of the malfunction of the air conditioner can be investigated in consideration of the transition of the control log collected within the certain period.

  In the above-described configuration, a control log wireless output unit that wirelessly outputs the control log collected by the control log collection unit to the outside of the vehicle can be provided. As a result, the control log collected when an air conditioner malfunction is detected can be transmitted to, for example, an external dealer's server, and the cause of the early malfunction can be investigated on the dealer side.

  The control log recording unit in the above configuration can be provided in the hard disk of the in-vehicle navigation device. Since the information amount of the control log information is larger in the present invention than in the conventional case, it has a larger capacity than a non-volatile memory (for example, a flash memory or an EEPROM) provided in a conventional air conditioner. It is more efficient to provide a control log recording unit on the hard disk of the navigation device.

  In the above configuration, the temperature setting means for setting the desired set temperature in the vehicle interior, the inside air sensor for detecting the vehicle interior temperature, and the vehicle interior temperature detected by the inside air sensor are the desired set temperature set by the temperature setting means. The temperature control means for executing temperature control in the passenger compartment based on the input value from the air conditioner environment sensor can be configured, and the air conditioner malfunction detection means can be an air conditioner environment sensor. Based on the input value from the vehicle, the arrival time calculation means for calculating the time required to reach the desired set temperature after the temperature control of the vehicle interior temperature is started, and the vehicle interior temperature is measured in association with the elapsed time after the temperature control is started. Vehicle interior temperature measuring means, the arrival vehicle interior temperature specifying means for specifying the vehicle interior temperature after the required travel time has elapsed based on the measurement result, and the specified vehicle interior temperature are rare. A malfunction determination unit that determines a malfunction where an off-set temperature from the target temperature range defined in the standard can be configured with a. According to this configuration, it is possible to detect a malfunction of an air conditioner by detecting a decrease in the air conditioning capability of the air conditioner that occurs in a stage before a specific system failure occurs. Thereby, the malfunction of an air-conditioner can be detected at an early stage.

  The arrival time calculation means in this configuration calculates a thermal load at the start of temperature control of the vehicle equipped with the air conditioner based on an input value from the environment sensor, and the calculated thermal load and the air conditioner The required travel time can be calculated based on a predetermined maximum cooling / heating capacity. The heat load of the vehicle changes according to the traveling state. The maximum air conditioning capacity of an air conditioner varies depending on the type of air conditioner installed in the vehicle. According to the above configuration, since the required time to reach is calculated based on the heat load of the vehicle and the maximum air conditioning capacity of the air conditioner according to the type, it is possible to detect an air conditioner malfunction with high accuracy.

  In the above configuration, the environment sensor for the air conditioner can include an inside air sensor, an outside air sensor that detects the temperature outside the vehicle, a solar radiation sensor that detects the amount of solar radiation to the vehicle, and an IR sensor that detects the vehicle interior surface temperature, The calculating means can calculate the heat load based on the input values from the air conditioner environmental sensors. According to this configuration, the heat load can be calculated using the air conditioner environment sensor that is already used for controlling the vehicle air conditioning system, so that it is not necessary to provide a new additional device for calculating the heat load.

  The thermal load calculation means in the above configuration calculates the thermal load using each detection value from a plurality of environmental sensors for air conditioners, and among the environmental sensors for air conditioners, the environmental sensors outside the vehicle for detecting environmental factors outside the vehicle. When calculating one thermal load, a plurality of detection processes are executed at different timings, and the thermal load is calculated using a representative detection value based on the detection value at each timing. The values of outside environment sensors such as an outside air sensor and a solar radiation sensor may vary greatly depending on the current situation of the vehicle (during traveling in a tunnel, etc.). Therefore, by determining a representative detection value from detection values obtained by a plurality of detection processes, it is possible to calculate an appropriate thermal load in consideration of fluctuations in the detection value.

  In this case, the representative detection value may be one that maximizes the thermal load among the plurality of detection values. As a result, erroneous detection of air conditioner malfunction can be prevented.

  When the air conditioner is used for cooling, the arrival time calculating means in the above configuration calculates the required time for arrival using the maximum cooling capacity of the air conditioner. The required travel time can be calculated using the maximum heating capacity determined separately from the maximum cooling capacity. As a result, it is possible to calculate an appropriate required arrival time in a form that distinguishes between cooling and heating, and the detection accuracy of an air conditioner malfunction increases.

  The arrival time calculation means in the above configuration includes time information acquisition means for acquiring the current date and time, and can be calculated while correcting the required arrival time based on the acquired date and time information. According to this configuration, the calculated required travel time can be corrected to an appropriate value depending on the season, time, etc., so that the accuracy of detecting an air conditioner malfunction increases.

  In the above-described configuration, the vehicle includes window opening / closing state detection means for detecting the opening / closing state of a vehicle window, and the air conditioner malfunction detection means is configured to detect the opening / closing state of the window when the window opening / closing state detection means detects the window opening / closing state. It can be configured not to detect malfunction. When the window is in the open state, the vehicle interior temperature is affected by the outside air, so that it is impossible to control the temperature only by the air conditioner control. According to the above configuration, since the detection of the malfunction of the air conditioner is performed only when the window is open, useless processing can be omitted.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the cooperation of ECUs constituting the vehicle air conditioning system of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing the outline of the vehicle air conditioning system. As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle air conditioning system 1 according to the present embodiment is communicably connected to the air conditioner ECU 100 and the in-vehicle navigation device 80 via a multiplex communication bus (for example, CAN, Flex Ray, LIN, etc.) 900. Navigation ECU 800, engine ECU 200 for controlling the engine, door ECU (window opening / closing state detecting means) 300 for performing power window opening / closing drive control, a plurality of other ECUs (for example, ECU 400), and DCM (Data Communication Module) 500) are communicably connected to each other.

  In the vehicle air conditioning system 1, since the air conditioner ECU 100 is connected to the DCM (control log wireless output means) 500 via the multiplex communication bus 900, information to the outside of the vehicle C based on an output command from the air conditioner ECU 100. Output is possible. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, when information is output from the DCM 500, it is transmitted to the dealer's PC server D via the relay base station B. This information is stored in the PC server D on the dealer side. Conversely, information can also be output from the PC server D on the dealer side and transmitted to the vehicle C via the relay base station B. In this case, DCM 500 receives the information.

  Next, the air conditioner ECU 100 will be described. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an air conditioner ECU constituting the vehicle air conditioning system. As shown in FIG. 3, the air conditioner ECU is a control device that controls the air conditioner in the passenger compartment, and includes a CPU 101, a RAM 102 having a work memory and a storage area for air conditioner control command values, a ROM 103 for storing various programs, and a bus line. 104, input / output unit (shown as “I / O” in the figure) 105, external memory 106 (eg, composed of a flash memory, EPROM, etc.) that is a nonvolatile memory, serial communication connected to other ECUs, etc. It is configured as a microprocessor provided with a communication interface 107 (shown as “I / F” in the drawing) 107 connected to the bus 900. The input / output unit 105 includes various operation units 110 (111 to 119), various sensors 120 (121 to 126), various drive units 130 (131 to 133), and a display unit that displays the setting state of the air conditioner (this embodiment). In FIG. 2, a liquid crystal display unit) is connected.

  Engine ECU 200, door ECU 300, and navigation ECU 800 are configured as well-known microprocessors that include a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM, as with air conditioner ECU 100. The engine ECU 200 is connected to a start operation unit (IG switch in the figure) 210 and a compressor driving unit 230 for turning on / off the IG and accessories of the vehicle C, and the door ECU 300 is driven to drive a power window. Part (window drive part in the figure) 330 is connected.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing an overall configuration of an air conditioner unit U controlled by the air conditioner ECU 100. The air conditioner unit U is a so-called HVAC (Heating, Ventilating and Air-Conditioning) unit, and is configured to be able to independently adjust the air-conditioning state of the passenger compartment between the driver's seat side and the passenger seat side.

  The duct 28 of the air conditioner unit U is formed with an inside air inlet 42 for circulating the air inside the vehicle and an outside air inlet 41 for taking in air outside the vehicle, and is switched to either by the inside / outside air switching damper 24. used. The air from the inside air inlet 42 or the outside air inlet 41 is sucked into the duct 28 by the blower 21.

  In the duct 28, an evaporator 22 is provided for cooling the sucked air to generate cool air. Further, the downstream side (air outlet side) of the evaporator 22 is branched into a route leading to the driver seat side air outlets 43 to 45 and a route reaching the passenger seat side air outlets 46 and 47.

  Downstream of the evaporator 22 is provided a heater core 23 (which generates heat by waste heat of engine cooling water) that heats the cool air from the evaporator 22 to generate warm air. The air mix damper 25 , 26 are mixed at a ratio corresponding to the angular position and blown out from the blowout ports 43 to 47.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the defroster air outlet 43 for preventing windshield fogging is located at the upper rear of the instrument panel corresponding to the lower inner edge of the windshield, and the driver side face air outlet 45 is located at the front center right side and right corner of the instrument panel. The passenger-side face outlet 46 is located at the left center and the left corner of the front of the instrument panel, the driver-side foot outlet 44 is located at the driver-side foot on the lower right side of the instrument panel, and the passenger-side foot outlet 47 is located on the lower left side of the instrument panel. Each is opened at the foot of the seat side, and the open / close state is switched by the blower outlet switching dampers 32 to 36 as shown in FIG.

  Here, the inside / outside air switching damper 24 is driven by a servo motor 74, and the air mix dampers 25 and 26 are driven by servo motors 71a and 71b, respectively. Further, the blower outlet switching dampers 32 to 36 are driven by a servo motor 73 via a damper driving gear mechanism 31 that switches between the open and closed states.

  The servo motors (actuators) 71 to 74 are controlled in rotation by the air conditioner ECU 100 and detect information such as the rotation position and rotation speed of the rotor and feed back to the air conditioner ECU 100. Specifically, the drive units 131 to 134 receive the drive command signal from the air conditioner ECU 100 and drive the corresponding servo motors 71 to 74. Note that a DC servo motor can be used for the servo motors 71 to 74. In addition to this, other types of motors such as a stepping motor may be used.

  In addition, the air conditioner ECU 100 is connected to various sensors 120 used for in-vehicle air conditioning control. The various sensors 120 include an indoor air sensor (vehicle interior temperature measuring means) 121 that detects the temperature inside the vehicle, an outside air sensor 122 that detects the outside air temperature, a solar sensor 123 that detects the amount of solar radiation, and a water temperature that detects the water temperature of the engine cooling water. The sensor 124, the post-evaporator sensor 125 for detecting the air temperature after passing through the evaporator, and the like are included as the environmental sensor for an air conditioner of the present invention.

  Further, the air conditioner ECU 100 is connected to an IR sensor 126 that detects a vehicle interior surface temperature. As the IR sensor 126, a monocular IR sensor may be used, or a matrix IR sensor in which a plurality of infrared detection elements are arranged in a matrix may be used. Thereby, the vehicle interior is divided into predetermined regions, and the infrared radiation detection element is made to correspond to each of the divided regions, so that the heat radiation of each region can be specifically specified. When the IR sensor 126 is also involved in the vehicle air conditioning control, it can also be included in the air conditioner environmental sensor of the present invention.

  An operation panel P is connected to the air conditioner ECU 100. As shown in FIG. 5, the operation panel P is disposed below the face outlets 45 and 46 in the center of the instrument panel, and is provided with various operation units 130 and a display unit 141. Specifically, the operation panel P includes an AUTO switch 111, an OFF switch 112, an air outlet changeover switch (MODE switch) 113, an inside / outside air changeover switch 114, an air volume changeover switch 115, a temperature setting switch (temperature setting means) 116, 116, a defroster switch 117, an A / C switch 118, and an independent / collective control changeover switch (DUAL switch) 119 are provided, and air conditioning conditions are set by these.

  The AUTO switch 111 performs automatic control so that the in-vehicle temperature becomes a desired temperature set by the temperature setting operation unit 116 or 116. The OFF switch turns off the air conditioner.

  The air outlet changeover switch 113 switches the open / close state (control position) of the air outlet changeover dampers 32 to 36 via the damper drive gear mechanism 31. According to the operation state, only the defroster outlet 119 is opened, only the face outlet 118 is opened, only the foot outlet 117 is opened, and the face outlet 118 and the defroster outlet 119 are opened. The foot air outlet 117 and the defroster air outlet 119 are opened, and the foot air outlet 117, the face air outlet 118, and the defroster air outlet 119 are opened.

  The inside / outside air switching switch 114 switches the open / closed state (control position) of the inside / outside air switching damper 24, and can switch between the inside air intake and the outside air intake according to the operation state.

  The air volume changeover switch 115 adjusts the air volume blown from each outlet, and the rotational speed of a fan (not shown) provided in each outlet is changed according to the operation state.

  The temperature setting switches 116 and 116 include a driver side temperature setting switch for setting the temperature of the conditioned air on the driver side and a passenger side temperature setting switch for setting the temperature of the conditioned air on the passenger side. Thus, the temperature of the conditioned air and thus the air conditioning state of the passenger compartment can be adjusted independently on the driver's seat side and the passenger seat side.

  The defroster switch 117 is a switch for switching the opening / closing state of the defroster outlet. The A / C switch is a switch for executing ON / OFF of the air conditioner function.

  The independent / collective control changeover switch (DUAL switch) 119 performs “independent control” in which air conditioning control is independently performed on the driver seat side and the passenger seat side, and air conditioning control is performed on the driver seat side and the passenger seat side collectively. It is a switch that can be switched between “collective control”.

  When the air conditioner unit U has such a configuration, the air conditioner ECU 100 performs known air conditioner control based on the air condition set by the various operation units 110 of the operation panel P when the air conditioner control program 103a is started by the CPU 101. Execute. That is, the temperature control means of the present invention functions by executing the air conditioner control program 103a.

  Then, the structure of the vehicle-mounted navigation apparatus 80 is demonstrated. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an in-vehicle navigation device (hereinafter abbreviated as navigation device) 80. The navigation device 80 includes a position detector 801, a map data input device 806, an operation switch group 807, a remote control (hereinafter referred to as remote control) sensor 811, a voice synthesizing circuit 824 for performing voice guidance, a speaker 815, a memory 809, and a display. 810, a transceiver 813, a hard disk device (HDD) 821, a communication I / F (interface) 826, a control circuit 808 connected thereto, a remote control terminal 812, and the like.

  The position detector 1 is a known geomagnetic sensor 802, a gyroscope 803 that detects the rotational angular velocity of the vehicle, a distance sensor 804 that detects the travel distance of the vehicle, and a GPS receiver that detects the position of the vehicle based on radio waves from a satellite. It has a well-known configuration having a machine 805.

  As the operation switch group 7, for example, a known touch panel 822 integrated with the display 810 or a mechanical switch is used. In addition, various instructions can be input using the microphone 831 and the voice recognition unit 830.

  The transmitter / receiver 813 is connected to a road traffic from a VICS (Vehicle Information and Communication System) center 814 by an optical beacon or a radio beacon output from a transmitter (not shown) provided along the road, for example. It is a device for receiving information or receiving FM multiplex broadcasting. Further, a configuration may be adopted in which a transceiver 813 can be used to connect to an external network such as the Internet.

  The control circuit 808 is configured as a normal computer, and is connected to a well-known CPU 881, ROM 882, RAM 883, I / O 884, A / D conversion unit 886, drawing unit 887, clock IC 888, and these components as input / output circuits. A bus line 85 is provided. The CPU 881 controls the navigation program 821p and data stored in the HDD 821. The CPU 881 controls the reading and writing of data to and from the HDD 821. In addition, a program for performing the minimum necessary operation as the navigation device 80 may be stored in the ROM 882 when the CPU 881 cannot control the reading and writing of data from and to the HDD 821.

  The A / D conversion unit 886 includes a well-known A / D (analog / digital) conversion circuit, and converts analog data input from the position detector 801 or the like to the control circuit 808 into digital data that can be calculated by the CPU 881, for example. It is.

  The drawing unit 887 generates display screen data to be displayed on the display unit 810 from map data 821m (described later) stored in the HDD 821 and the like, display data, and display color data.

  The clock IC 888 is also called a real-time clock IC, and sends or sets clock / calendar data in response to a request from the CPU 881. The CPU 881 acquires date / time information from the clock IC 888. Further, date information included in a GPS signal received by the GPS receiver 805 may be used. The date information may be generated based on a real-time counter included in the CPU 881.

  In addition to the navigation program 821p, the HDD 821 stores so-called map matching data for improving the accuracy of position detection, and map data 821m, which is a map database including road data representing road connections. The map data 821m stores predetermined map image information for display and road network information including link information and node information. The link information is predetermined section information constituting each road, and includes position coordinates, distance, required time, width, number of lanes, speed limit, road type, and the like in the link attributes. The node information is information that defines an intersection (branch road) or the like, and includes position coordinates, the number of right / left turn lanes, a connecting road link, a distance cost, and the like. In addition, data indicating whether or not traffic is possible is set in the inter-link connection information. The map data 821m corresponds to the road map data storage means of the present invention.

  In the HDD 821, auxiliary information for route guidance, entertainment information, and other data can be written independently by the user and stored as user data 821u. Data and various information necessary for the operation of the navigation device 80 are also stored as the database 821d. The database 821d corresponds to the ETC discount information storage means of the present invention.

  The navigation program 821p, map data 821m, user data 821u, and database 821d can be added / updated from the storage medium 820 via the map data input device 806. The storage medium 20 is generally a CD-ROM or DVD based on the amount of data, but may be another medium such as a memory card.

  The memory 9 is constituted by a rewritable device such as an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable & Programmable Read Only Memory) or a flash memory, and stores information and data necessary for the operation of the navigation device 80. Has been. The memory 809 is configured to retain the stored contents even when the navigation device 80 is turned off. Further, instead of the memory 809, information and data necessary for the operation of the navigation device 80 may be stored in the HDD 821. Further, information and data necessary for the operation of the navigation device 80 may be stored separately in the memory 809 and the HDD 821.

  The display 810 includes a known color liquid crystal display, and includes a dot matrix LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and a driver circuit (not shown) for performing LCD display control. The driver circuit uses, for example, an active matrix driving method in which a transistor is attached to each pixel so that the target pixel can be reliably turned on and off, and a display command sent from the control circuit 808 (drawing unit 887) and Display is performed based on the display screen data. Further, an organic EL (ElectroLuminescence) display or a plasma display may be used as the display 810.

  The speaker 815 is connected to a known voice synthesis circuit 824, and the digital voice data stored in the memory 809 or the HDD 821 in accordance with a command from the navigation program 821p is converted into analog voice by the voice synthesis circuit 824 and sent out. Note that speech synthesis methods include a recording / editing method in which speech waveforms are stored as they are or after being encoded and connected as necessary, and a text synthesis method in which corresponding speech is synthesized from character input information.

  The vehicle speed sensor 823 includes a rotation detection unit such as a known rotary encoder, and is installed near the wheel mounting unit, for example, to detect the rotation of the wheel and send it to the control circuit 808 as a pulse signal. The control circuit 808 converts the number of rotations of the wheels into the speed of the vehicle, calculates the expected arrival time from the current position of the vehicle to a predetermined location, and calculates the average vehicle speed for each travel section of the vehicle.

  The I / F 826 is an interface circuit for exchanging data with other ECUs, in-vehicle devices, and sensors via the navigation ECU 800.

  With such a configuration, the navigation device 80 allows the user to operate the operation switch group 807, the touch panel 822, the remote control terminal 812, or the voice from the microphone 831 when the navigation program 821p is activated by the CPU 881 of the control circuit 808. When the route guidance process for displaying the destination route on the display unit 810 is selected from a menu (not shown) displayed on the display unit 810 by the input, the following process is performed.

  That is, first, the user searches for a destination. The destination search method is, for example, a method of specifying an arbitrary point on the map, a method of searching from the area where the destination is located, a method of searching from the telephone number of the destination, or a name of the destination from the Japanese syllabary table There are a method of searching by inputting the key, or a method of searching from one stored in the memory 809 as a facility frequently used by the user. When the destination is set, the current position of the vehicle is obtained by the position detector 801, and a process for obtaining an optimum guide route to the destination using the current position as a departure point is performed. Then, the guidance route is displayed on the road map on the display 810 so as to guide an appropriate route to the user. As a method for automatically setting an optimum guide route, a method such as the Dijkstra method is known. Further, at least one of the display device 810 and the speaker 815 outputs a message according to the guidance during operation and the operation state.

  By the way, in the vehicle air conditioner system 1 of the present embodiment having the above-described configuration, when the air conditioner ECU 100 receives a signal to turn on the IG (engine start) from the engine ECU 200, the CPU 101 causes the cooling and heating failure stored in the ROM 103 to be performed. The detection program 103b is executed. In the present embodiment, by executing the air conditioning failure detection program 103b, the air conditioner operation failure detection means, the control log collection means, the control log recording means, the arrival time calculation means, the vehicle interior temperature measurement means of the present invention, The arrival vehicle interior temperature specifying means, operation failure determination means, thermal load calculation means, time information acquisition means, and window open / close state detection means function. Hereinafter, the flow of the cooling / heating failure detection program 103b will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  First, in S1, a signal for turning on the IG is received from the engine ECU 200. After reception, in S2, the open / close state of the vehicle window is checked. Specifically, the air conditioner ECU 100 requests the door ECU to transmit a signal reflecting the open / closed state of the window, and then the air conditioner ECU 100 determines the open / closed state of all the windows of the vehicle based on the signal returned from the door ECU. If it is confirmed that the valve is fully closed, the process proceeds to S3. If there is even one open window, the process proceeds to S18, and normal air conditioner control is executed by the air conditioner control program 103a stored in the ROM 103. In the following, if even one window open state is detected during execution of the cooling / heating failure detection program 103b, the processing of this program is immediately interrupted and the process proceeds to S18. In addition, after confirming full closure, you may comprise so that a process may be performed again from S3.

  In S3, failure determination of various sensors 120 (121 to 126) connected to the air conditioner ECU 100 is performed. Here, a well-known sensor check installed in the air conditioner is executed to determine whether the sensor input state is normal or faulty, and in the case of a faulty state, whether the fault is still continuing or occurred in the past It is distinguished whether it is what was done. If the current state is a failure state, the process proceeds to S18, and normal air conditioner control is executed by the air conditioner control program 103a stored in the ROM 103. If the current state is not a failure state, the process proceeds to S4.

  In S4, measurement of the elapsed time t (sec) after IG-ON is started. Subsequently, in S5, sensor information necessary for calculating the vehicle thermal load is acquired. Specifically, the detected values of the inside air sensor 121, the outside air sensor 122, the solar radiation sensor 123, the water temperature sensor 124, the post-evaporator sensor 125, and the IR sensor 126 are acquired. For external environmental sensors that detect external air temperature and solar radiation, which are external environmental factors, perform detection processing multiple times at different timings, and use sensor detection values as representative detection values based on detection values at each timing. Determine as The vehicle exterior environment sensors in this embodiment are an outside air sensor 122 and a solar radiation sensor 123.

Then, it progresses to S6. In S6, the thermal load L of the vehicle is calculated. Hereinafter, an embodiment of the calculation method will be described. The vehicle heat load L (J) can be calculated as follows.
L (J) = A (J) + B (W) × t (sec) (Formula 1)
Here, A (J) is the amount of heat required to reach the set temperature when it is assumed that the amount of heat entering from the outside is zero, and B (W) is the set temperature after reaching the desired set temperature. The load (heat amount) necessary to maintain the vehicle interior temperature detected by the internal air sensor 121 is Tr (° C.), the outdoor air temperature detected by the external air sensor 122 is Tam (° C.), and the temperature set by the temperature setting operation unit 116 (Desired set temperature) is Tset (° C.), the solar radiation amount of the solar sensor 123 is Ts (kW / m ² ), the IR sensor detected temperature detected by the IR sensor 126 is Tir (° C.), and the vehicle interior specified for each vehicle When the space volume is S (m ³ ), each is represented by the following formula.
A (J) = S × {K1 · (Tr−Tset) + K2 · Tam + K3 · Ts
+ K4 · Tir + C1} + C2 (Formula 2)
B (W) = S × (K5 · Tset + K6 · Tam + K7 · Ts + C3)
+ C4 (Formula 3)
K1 to K4 and C1 to C4 are constants.

After the vehicle thermal load L (J) is calculated, next, in S7, the time required to reach the desired set temperature t1 after starting the temperature control of the vehicle interior temperature is calculated based on the input values from the various sensors 120. calculate. Hereinafter, an embodiment of the calculation method will be described. Assuming that the maximum air conditioning capacity is K (W), the elapsed time t (sec) after the start of air-conditioner control is
t = L / K (Formula 4)
From (Expression 1) to (Expression 3), the elapsed time t (sec) is
t = {A / (KB−t)} / K (Formula 5)
It can be expressed. And from (Formula 5),
t = A / (KB) (Expression 6)
It becomes. Here, if t = t1, the required travel time t1 (sec) can be easily calculated from the following equation.
t1 = f (tr, tam, ts, ir, tset) (Expression 7)
However, the maximum cooling / heating capacity K (W) is the maximum cooling capacity K1 of the air conditioner when the air conditioner is used for cooling, and the maximum air conditioning capacity of the air conditioner when the air conditioner is also used for heating. A maximum heating capacity K2 determined separately from the cooling capacity K1 is used.

  Next, in S8, it is determined whether or not the elapsed time t is equal to or longer than the required arrival time t1. If the required arrival time t1 has not elapsed, S9 to S11 are executed, the detection value of the sensor is updated, the vehicle thermal load L (J) is recalculated, and the required arrival time t1 is calculated again. These processes are the same as S5 to S7, and are repeatedly executed periodically (for example, at a cycle of 200 msec) until the elapsed time t becomes equal to or longer than the required arrival time t1. And in S8, the longest time is repeatedly selected from the required arrival times t1 repeatedly calculated and compared with the elapsed time t.

In S8, when the elapsed time t becomes equal to or longer than the required arrival time t1, the process proceeds to S12. In S12, a determination threshold value Tt corresponding to the sensor condition used for the thermal load calculation is read from a table stored in the ROM 103 in advance. In S13, the difference between the desired set temperature Tset (° C.) and the vehicle interior temperature Tr (° C.). Is compared with a predetermined error range setting value Tt to determine whether or not the following equation is satisfied.
| Tset−Tr | ≦ Tt (Expression 8)

  If (Expression 8) is satisfied, it is determined that the air conditioner is operating normally, and the process proceeds to S18 to start execution of the above-described normal control. If (Equation 8) is not satisfied, it is determined that a malfunction of the air conditioner has been detected, and the process proceeds to S14 to S16 to collect and record the control log.

  As control logs to be collected, (a) operation failure detection time information, (b) sensor input values (desired set temperature, inside air temperature (vehicle interior temperature), outside air temperature (vehicle compartment outside temperature), solar radiation amount, temperature after evaporator Etc.), (c) Actuator information (actuator control position information, for example, various damper opening degrees, etc.), (d) ECU internal RAM information (air conditioner control command values, eg target blowout temperature, air flow instruction value, etc.), (e) Navigation information (latitude, longitude, traveling direction, vehicle inclination, vehicle speed, traveling road type, etc.), (f) multiplex communication data (cooperation operation condition information with engine ECU 200, for example, cooperation operation condition information with compressor), etc. It is done.

  As described above, the control log to be collected includes what is acquired from within the air conditioner ECU 100, but also includes what is acquired through communication from an ECU other than the air conditioner ECU 100. A control log acquisition request signal is transmitted so as to transmit predetermined control log information. The ECU that has received the acquisition request signal acquires a predetermined control log and transmits it to the air conditioner ECU 100. In S15, these control logs are collected. Note that control logs are collected over a predetermined time (for example, 10 minutes). In S16, the collected control log data is transferred to the navigation device 80 via the multiplex communication bus 900, and stored in the control log recording area 821l of the HDD 821 of the navigation device 80.

  Subsequently, in S17, the occurrence of an air conditioner malfunction is notified to the dealer. Specifically, the collected control logs are transferred and stored in the HDD 821 of the navigation device 80, and at the same time, the occurrence of an air conditioner malfunction is wirelessly output to the dealer's PC server D via the relay base station B. Information transmission to the dealer is transmitted from the DCM 500. After the transmission, the process proceeds to S18, where the normal control of the air conditioner is executed, and this program ends.

  At a later date, the dealer downloads necessary control log data from the user's navigation device 80 and analyzes the information. And if a malfunction location can be specified, it will contact a user. Specifically, it may be wirelessly transmitted from the dealer's PC server D to the vehicle C via the relay base station B and notified to the user from the notification means provided in the vehicle. As a notification method, for example, a method of displaying on a display unit (for example, the display unit 810 of the navigation device 80 or the liquid crystal display unit 141 provided on the air conditioner panel P), or an audio output unit (for example, the speaker 815 of the navigation device 80). Etc.) and a method of notifying the user's mobile phone.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the cooling / heating function failure detection program 103b is executed after the IG is turned on to detect an operation failure of the air conditioner, and control logs are collected at that time. Since the detection of the air conditioner malfunction is detected by a decrease in the air conditioner capability, it is possible to detect the malfunction that cannot be detected on the ECU side, such as failure or breakage of the HVAC itself, and is collected at that time. The control log includes, as described above, (a) operation failure detection time, (b) sensor input value, (c) actuator information, (d) ECU internal RAM information, (e) navigation information, (f) multiplex communication data, As shown, information related to information other than information that can be acquired by the air conditioner ECU alone (for example, current position information and travel information of the vehicle when an air conditioner malfunction occurs from the navigation device 80, or when an air conditioner malfunction occurs from the engine ECU) Can be obtained even if it is a malfunction that occurs only under specific conditions.

  Specifically, from the collected control logs, if it is possible to specify that the air conditioner function uses cooling as the air conditioner function and the vehicle is traveling on a highway, the cause of communication data abnormality from the engine ECU 200, etc. Can be estimated. In addition, from the collected control logs, when air conditioner operation is defective, heating is used as an air conditioner function, and it is possible to identify the low outside air temperature state from the input value of the acquired outside air sensor. If there is no problem in the command value and it can be determined that there is no problem in the control position information of the actuator, the cause of the HVAC failure or the like can be estimated.

  As mentioned above, although the Example of this invention was described, these are only illustrations, this invention is not limited to these, A various change is possible unless it deviates from the meaning of a claim. .

  For example, when a notification operation unit 141 (notification button in FIG. 4) for notifying occurrence of an air conditioner malfunction to the dealer's server D is provided and the user recognizes an air conditioner malfunction, for example, the effect of air conditioning When the user recognizes the inconvenience, the notification operation unit 141 can be operated. The notification operation unit 141 can be easily operated by being installed on the air conditioner panel P.

  In addition, the determination threshold value Tt after the arrival required time t1 has elapsed can be configured to be changeable. Specifically, the set value may be changed according to conditions such as cooling and heating, or season, time, and weather. Season information, time information, and weather information can be acquired from the navigation device 80 via the multiplex communication bus 900. Thereby, the detection accuracy of the air conditioner operation failure can be increased.

  In calculating the required arrival time t1, it is also possible to acquire the current date and time and calculate the required arrival time t1 while correcting the required arrival time t1 based on the acquired date and time information. Also in this case, the accuracy of detecting an air conditioner malfunction can be increased.

  The calculation of the heat load of the vehicle may be performed after obtaining the vehicle inclination and the traveling direction from the navigation device 80 and correcting the detection value of the solar radiation sensor 123 by them. Specifically, the navigation device 80 is provided with a function as an inclination angle acquisition means for acquiring the inclination angle of the vehicle body, and the vehicle inclination angle and the traveling direction of the vehicle are acquired from the navigation device 80. The solar radiation direction can be calculated from the acquired value, and the detection value (solar radiation amount) Ts of the solar radiation sensor 123 used for calculating the vehicle thermal load L can be corrected. The traveling direction can be acquired from the position detector 801. In addition, the vehicle inclination (vehicle inclination angle information) is obtained by specifying the current position and traveling direction of the vehicle by the position detector 1 and acquiring the gradient information of the road section at the specified position from the map data 21m. It is done. In this case, it is necessary to previously store gradient information of each road as the map data 21m. It is also possible to connect an inclinometer to the navigation device 80 and obtain the vehicle inclination from the detection result.

  Further, the acquisition of the control log can be performed by repeatedly receiving the same type of control log for a certain period after detecting the malfunction of the air conditioner for acquiring the control log. Specifically, in S15 of FIG. 7, the control logs may be configured to be repeatedly acquired within a predetermined time.

The figure which shows cooperation of ECU which the air-conditioning system for vehicles of this invention comprises. The figure which shows simply the outline | summary of the vehicle air conditioning system. The block diagram of air-conditioner ECU. The figure which shows schematically the whole structure of an air-conditioner unit. The figure which shows the positional relationship of the blower outlet distribute | arranged to the vehicle interior. The flowchart which shows the flow of the agency transmission process of presence recognition information. The flowchart which shows the flow of the air-conditioning failure detection process.

Explanation of symbols

1 Vehicle air conditioning system 100 Air conditioner ECU
U air conditioner unit 110 operation unit 116 temperature setting switch 101 CPU
102 RAM
103 ROM
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 120 Sensor 121 Inside air sensor 122 Outside air sensor 123 Solar radiation sensor 124 Water temperature sensor 125 Evaporator post sensor 126 IR sensor 130 Drive part 200 Engine ECU
210 Start operation unit 230 Compressor drive unit 300 Door ECU
330 Window driver 500 DCM
800 Navigation ECU
80 Car navigation system 821 HDD
900 Multiple communication bus B Relay base station C Vehicle D Dealer's PC server

Claims (19)

An environmental sensor for an air conditioner that is connected to an air conditioner ECU and detects an environmental state inside or outside the vehicle involved in the air conditioning control in the vehicle;
Air conditioner malfunction detection means for detecting malfunction of the air conditioner based on the detection state of the environmental sensor for the air conditioner;
Control log collecting means for collecting a control log by the air conditioner ECU or a related ECU connected to the air conditioner ECU when the malfunction is detected;
A control log recording unit that records the collected control log in a predetermined control log recording unit in association with the malfunction;
A vehicle air conditioning system comprising:   The vehicle air conditioning system according to claim 1, wherein the control log collection unit collects the detection time of the malfunction as the control log.   The vehicle air conditioning system according to claim 1, wherein the control log collection unit collects input values from the air conditioner environment sensor as the control log.   The vehicle air conditioning system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the control log collecting unit collects control position information of an actuator incorporated in the air conditioner as the control log.   The vehicle air conditioning system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the control log collecting unit collects an air conditioner control command value stored in a RAM of the air conditioner ECU as the control log. The related ECU includes an engine ECU,
6. The control log collecting unit according to claim 1, wherein the control log collecting unit acquires, as the control log, control information of an engine system controlled object that operates in cooperation with the air conditioner from the engine ECU. The vehicle air-conditioning system according to Item.   The vehicle air conditioning system according to claim 6, wherein the engine system controlled object that operates in cooperation with the air conditioner is a compressor. The related ECU includes an in-vehicle navigation device ECU,
The control log collecting means obtains at least one or more of current position information, traveling direction information, and vehicle tilt angle information detected by the in-vehicle navigation device as the control log from the in-vehicle navigation device. The vehicle air conditioning system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the vehicle air conditioning system is one.   The vehicular air conditioning system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the control log collection unit repeatedly receives the same type of control log for a certain period after the defect detection.   10. The vehicle air conditioning system according to claim 1, further comprising a control log wireless output unit that wirelessly outputs the control log collected by the control log collection unit to the outside of the vehicle.   11. The vehicle air conditioning system according to claim 1, wherein the control log recording unit is provided in a hard disk of an in-vehicle navigation device. 11. Temperature setting means for setting a desired set temperature in the passenger compartment;
An inside air sensor for detecting the temperature inside the vehicle;
Car interior temperature control is executed based on an input value from the air conditioner environmental sensor so that the vehicle interior temperature detected by the interior air sensor becomes the desired set temperature set by the temperature setting means. Temperature control means,
The air conditioner malfunction detection means, based on an input value from the air conditioner environmental sensor, an arrival time calculation means for calculating a time required for the vehicle interior temperature to reach the desired set temperature after the start of the temperature control, Vehicle interior temperature measuring means for measuring the vehicle interior temperature in association with the elapsed time after the start of the temperature control, and the vehicle interior temperature for specifying the vehicle interior temperature after the required arrival time based on the measurement result 2. An operation failure determination unit for determining, as the operation failure, when the specified vehicle interior temperature is out of a target temperature range determined based on the desired set temperature. The vehicle air conditioning system according to claim 11.   The arrival time calculating means calculates a thermal load at the start of the temperature control of a vehicle equipped with the air conditioner based on an input value from the environmental sensor, and the calculated thermal load and the air conditioner The vehicle air conditioning system according to claim 12, wherein the required travel time is calculated based on a predetermined maximum cooling / heating capacity. The environmental sensor for the air conditioner includes the inside air sensor, an outside air sensor for detecting an outside temperature of the vehicle, a solar radiation sensor for detecting the amount of solar radiation to the vehicle, and an IR sensor for detecting a vehicle interior surface temperature.
14. The vehicle air conditioning system according to claim 13, wherein the thermal load calculating means calculates the thermal load based on input values from the environmental sensors for the air conditioner.   The thermal load calculation means calculates the thermal load using each detection value from the plurality of environmental sensors for air conditioners, and the environmental sensor outside the vehicle for detecting an environmental factor outside the vehicle among the environmental sensors for the air conditioner. The vehicle according to claim 14, wherein when calculating one thermal load, a plurality of detection processes are executed at different timings, and the thermal load is calculated using a representative detection value based on a detection value at each timing. Air conditioning system.   The vehicle air conditioning system according to claim 15, wherein the representative detection value is a value that maximizes the thermal load among the plurality of detection values.   The arrival time calculating means calculates the required arrival time using the maximum cooling capacity of the air conditioner when the air conditioner is used for cooling, and when the air conditioner is also used for heating, The vehicle air conditioning system according to any one of claims 13 to 16, wherein the required time for arrival is calculated using a maximum heating capacity determined separately from the maximum cooling capacity.   The arrival time calculation means includes time information acquisition means for acquiring a current date and time, and calculates the required arrival time based on the acquired date and time information. The vehicle air conditioning system according to any one of claims 12 to 17. A window opening / closing state detecting means for detecting an opening / closing state of a vehicle window;
19. The air conditioner malfunction detection unit does not detect the malfunction when the window open / closed state detection unit detects an open state of the window. 19. Vehicle air conditioning system.

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