JP2014108719A - Vehicular air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicular air conditioner capable of suppressing occurence of fogging of windows even when a proper drive control command cannot be acquired.SOLUTION: Included are an acquisition unit that acquires a drive control command for an air-conditioning unit which air-conditions a vehicle compartment by feeding air-conditioning air, a control unit that drives and controls the air-conditioning unit in response to the drive control command, and a decision unit that decides whether the drive control command is normally acquired. If the decision unit decides that the drive control command is not normally acquired, the air-conditioning unit is driven and controlled so that the driven state of the air-conditioning unit becomes a predefined antifogging operation mode.

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle air conditioner.

  The vehicle air conditioner not only improves the comfortability by cooling or heating the passenger compartment, but also helps to improve the driving environment (to ensure visibility) by fogging the windows. For example, a vehicle air conditioner has been devised that is capable of exhibiting sufficient heating capacity while achieving anti-fogging of a vehicle window (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2008-030706 A

  The vehicle air conditioner is generally an air conditioner unit that is a well-known HVAC (Heating Ventilating and Air-Conditioning) unit, and a well-known refrigeration cycle (for example, single-stage vapor compression refrigeration for cooling output of the air conditioner unit). Cycle).

  Depending on the vehicle air conditioner, an ECU (electronic control unit) that performs operation control includes a group of sensors such as an internal air temperature sensor that detects an operation input (temperature setting, etc.) to the operation input unit by the user and an air temperature in the vehicle interior. Based on the detected state of the air conditioner, the selection of the outlet (including designation of the opening) and the air volume are determined, and the air conditioner ECU that outputs this as a drive control command, acquires the drive control command, and drives the air conditioner unit Some are divided into HVAC ECUs that perform control.

  With the above-described configuration, when the HVAC ECU cannot acquire a drive control command from the air conditioner ECU, the air conditioner control according to the setting contents of the user cannot be performed. For example, when the outside of the vehicle is at a low temperature and the air conditioning is set to the inside-air circulation mode, if the interior of the vehicle becomes high humidity, condensation occurs in the windshield and fogging of the window occurs, but the air conditioner ECU cannot output a drive control command Then, it becomes impossible to prevent and remove the fogging of the window.

  Against the background of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle air conditioner that can suppress the occurrence of window fogging even when an appropriate drive control command cannot be acquired.

Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention

  An air conditioner for a vehicle for solving the above-mentioned problems controls an air conditioner unit based on the acquisition unit for acquiring a drive control command for an air conditioner unit that sends air-conditioned air to air-condition the vehicle interior. A control unit and a determination unit that determines whether or not the drive control command is normally acquired, and when the determination unit determines that the drive control command is not normally acquired, the driving state of the air conditioner unit is The air conditioner unit is driven and controlled to be in a predetermined anti-fogging operation mode.

  With the above configuration, even when a drive control command is acquired from an output source of an external drive control command (for example, an air conditioner ECU) and drive control of the air conditioner unit is performed, even when a drive control command cannot be acquired due to a failure of an external device or the like , Can suppress the fogging of the window.

The figure which shows the structural example of the vehicle air conditioner of this invention. The figure which shows the detail of a structure of HVAC ECU and air-conditioner ECU. The flowchart explaining the fail safe process by this invention. The flowchart explaining the state at the time of communication interruption by a prior art.

  The vehicle air conditioner of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, the whole structure of the vehicle air conditioner 100 is shown. The vehicle air conditioner 100 is a so-called auto air conditioner system in which the HVAC ECU 10 controls the air conditioner 1 in each air conditioner (actuator) in the air conditioner unit 1 that air-conditions the vehicle interior based on a drive control command from the air conditioner ECU 50. It is.

  The air conditioning unit 1 adjusts the temperature between the air conditioning space on the driver's seat side (including the rear seat behind the driver's seat) and the air conditioning space on the passenger's seat side (including the rear seat behind the passenger seat), and changes the blowing mode. Etc. can be performed independently of each other.

  The air conditioning unit 1 includes a duct 2 disposed in front of the vehicle interior of the vehicle. An inside / outside air switching damper 3 and a blower 4 are provided on the upstream side of the duct 2. The inside / outside air switching damper 3 is driven by an actuator such as a servo motor 5 to change the opening between the inside air suction port 6 and the outside air suction port 7.

  The blower 4 is a centrifugal blower that is rotationally driven by a blower motor 9 controlled by a blower drive circuit 8 and generates an air flow toward the vehicle interior in the duct 2. The blower 4 changes the amount of conditioned air that is blown out from the air outlets on the driver seat side and the passenger seat side, which will be described later, toward the driver seat side and passenger seat side air conditioning spaces in the passenger compartment.

  An evaporator 41 that cools the air passing through the duct 2 is provided at the center of the duct 2. A heater core 42 is provided on the downstream side of the evaporator 41 to heat the air passing through the first and second air passages 11 and 12 by exchanging heat with engine cooling water (hot water).

  The first and second air passages 11 and 12 are partitioned by a partition plate 14. For example, in a vehicle air conditioner used in a vehicle that travels using electric power, the evaporator or the heater core may be changed to a Peltier element. On the upstream side of the heater core 42, the driver's seat side and passenger's seat side air mix dampers 15, 16 (main) are provided for adjusting the temperature of the driver seat side air conditioned space and the passenger seat side air conditioned space in the passenger compartment independently of each other. Inventive air mix damper) is provided.

  The driver side and passenger side air mix dampers 15 and 16 are driven by actuators such as servo motors 17 and 18, and the first and second cold air passages 11a and 12a of the first and second air passages 11 and 12 (main). The air cooled by the evaporator 41 passing through the cold air passage of the invention and the air heated by the heater core 42 passing through the first and second hot air passages 11b and 12b (the hot air passage of the invention) at a predetermined rate. Mix. As a result, the blowout temperature of the conditioned air that is blown out from each of the outlets on the driver's seat side and the passenger's seat side, which will be described later, is changed toward the driver's seat side and passenger's seat side air conditioning space in the vehicle interior.

  Here, the evaporator 41 is a component of the refrigeration cycle. Although a refrigeration cycle is not shown, a compressor 54 (see FIG. 2) that compresses and discharges refrigerant using a vehicle engine or motor as a drive source, a condenser that condenses and liquefies the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 54, and a capacitor From the receiver that separates the liquid refrigerant that has flowed into the gas and the liquid, the expansion valve that adiabatically expands the liquid refrigerant that has flowed from the receiver, and the evaporator 41 that evaporates and vaporizes the gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant that has flowed from the expansion valve It is configured.

  On the downstream side of the first air passage 11, a driver's seat side defroster outlet 20 (defroster outlet of the present invention), a driver's seat center face outlet 21, a driver's seat side face outlet 22, and a driver's seat foot The blower outlet 23 is connected via each blower duct. Further, on the downstream side of the second air passage 12, a passenger seat side defroster outlet 30 (defroster outlet of the present invention), a passenger seat side center face outlet 31, a passenger seat side face outlet 32, and a passenger seat The side foot outlet 33 communicates with each other through each outlet duct.

  The driver's seat side and passenger's seat side defroster outlets 20 and 30 blow conditioned air toward the inside of a window glass such as a windshield. The driver's seat side and passenger's seat side face outlets 21, 22, 31, 32 blow out air-conditioned air to the head and chest of the driver and passenger seat passengers. The driver's seat side and passenger's seat side foot outlets 23 and 33 blow air-conditioned air to the feet of the driver and passenger seat passengers.

  In the first and second air passages 11 and 12, the driver-side and passenger-side defroster dampers for setting the blowing mode on the driver's seat side and the passenger's seat side in the passenger compartment independently of each other are provided. 24, 34, driver side and passenger side face dampers 25, 35, driver side and passenger side foot dampers 26, 36 are provided. The driver seat side and passenger seat side outlet switching dampers 24 to 26 and 34 to 36 are driven by actuators such as servo motors 28, 29, 38, and 39.

  The HVAC ECU 10 is configured to start a calculation process and a control process when power is supplied from a battery (not shown) mounted on the vehicle. Then, as described above, the actuators are driven and controlled based on the drive control command from the air conditioner ECU 50.

  The air conditioner ECU 50 is configured such that each switch signal is input from various operation switches included in an operation input unit 53 that is integrally installed on the instrument panel, for example. The operation input unit 53 includes, for example, an inside / outside air changeover switch, a front defroster switch, a rear defroster (defogger) switch, a blowing mode changeover switch, a blower air volume changeover switch, an air conditioner switch, an auto switch, and an off switch.

  The blowing mode changeover switch is for setting the blowing mode to any one of the face mode, the bi-level (B / L) mode, the foot mode, the defroster mode, and the like according to the operation of the occupant. The air conditioner switch is for instructing to drive or stop the compressor 54 of the refrigeration cycle. The auto switch automatically sets the blowing mode to any one of the above-described modes based on the set temperature input by the user and the state of various sensors.

  The air conditioner ECU 50 is connected to a sensor group 52 necessary for generating a drive control command. The sensor group 52 includes, for example, an inside air temperature sensor that detects the interior temperature of the vehicle, an outside air temperature sensor that detects the outside temperature of the vehicle interior, a solar radiation sensor that detects the amount of solar radiation, and an evaporator that detects the air temperature immediately after passing through the evaporator 41. A rear temperature sensor 74, a cooling water temperature sensor that detects the engine cooling water temperature of the vehicle, a humidity sensor that detects the relative humidity in the passenger compartment, and the like are included.

  The air conditioner ECU 50 generates a drive control command (for example, the opening degree of each outlet, the air volume of the blower, etc.) based on the detection state of each sensor included in the sensor group 52 and the setting state of the operation input unit 53. , Output to the HVAC ECU 10.

  Details of the configuration of the HVAC ECU 10 and the air conditioner ECU 50 will be described with reference to FIG. The HVAC ECU 10 transmits data to and from the air conditioner ECU 50 via, for example, a LIN (Local Interconnect Network) via a control unit 10a (control unit and determination unit of the present invention) configured by a known microcomputer and the communication network 60. A communication driver 10b (acquisition unit of the present invention) that is an interface circuit for performing using such a communication protocol, a power supply unit 10c that is connected to a power source (+ B) such as a battery and supplies power to each unit of the HVAC ECU 10. In order to instruct the drive / stop of the blower motor 9 to the driver circuit 10d for driving the actuator (motor 5 etc.), the memory 10e using a nonvolatile storage medium such as a flash memory, and the blower drive circuit 8. Switching element Tr2.

  The memory 10e stores an HVAC control program 10f, and the controller 10a executes the program to control various operations of the air conditioning unit 1 such as communication control and motor drive commands.

  The air conditioner ECU 50 performs the same operation as the control unit 50a (including a memory and peripheral circuits) configured by a known microcomputer, the communication driver 50b having the same configuration as the communication driver 10b, and the switching element Tr2. A switching element Tr1 is included. It is good also as a structure which does not contain switching element Tr1. The air conditioner ECU 50 also controls the operation / stop of the compressor 54 included in the above-described refrigeration cycle. This configuration corresponds to the control unit not performing drive control of the compressor included in the refrigeration cycle. Thereby, the processing load of the control part 10a of HVAC ECU10 can be reduced.

  The control unit 50a stores an air conditioner control program, and the control unit 50a executes the program to generate a drive control command.

  A fail-safe process executed when the control unit 10a of the HVAC ECU 10 of the vehicle air conditioner 100 of the present invention can no longer receive a drive control command from the air conditioner ECU 50 (that is, when communication is interrupted) will be described. First, for comparison, the state at the time of communication interruption by the configuration of the prior art will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, when the ignition switch (IG in FIG. 2) of the vehicle is turned on or the driving motor is drivable (S31), the vehicle starts traveling and the state of the operation input unit 53 (or the previous time) The air conditioner ECU 50 sends a drive control command to the HVAC ECU 10 based on the setting state during travel, and the HVAC ECU 10 performs drive control of the air conditioning unit 1 based on the drive control command (S32).

  Here, when the air conditioner ECU 50 stops operating normally or when the communication network 60 is disconnected (S33), communication from the air conditioner ECU 50 is interrupted and the HVAC ECU 10 cannot receive the drive control command. Further, the air conditioner ECU 50 cannot acquire the detection information of the sensor group 52 and cannot generate a normal drive control command. Furthermore, depending on the state of the air conditioner ECU 50, the compressor 54 also stops (S34).

  For this reason, the HVAC ECU 10 is forced to perform drive control of the air conditioning unit 1 based on the last received drive control command. At this time, when the current operation state of the air conditioning unit 1 is the outside air introduction mode in which the inside / outside air switching door 3 is in a state where the outside air suction port 7 and the duct 2 are communicated (S35: Yes), during traveling, Since the outside air flows into the vehicle interior according to the traveling state, the temperature difference between the vehicle interior and the outside of the vehicle is relatively small (S38), and the possibility that the window is fogged is low (S39).

  On the other hand, when the inside / outside air switching door 3 is in the inside air introduction mode in which the inside air intake port 6 and the duct 2 are in communication (S35: No), the air in the passenger compartment does not flow, and is affected by solar radiation or the occupant's body temperature. Since the temperature in the passenger compartment increases, the temperature difference between the passenger compartment and the outside of the passenger compartment increases (S36), and the possibility that the window will become cloudy increases (S37).

  In addition, when the air in the vehicle interior where the temperature has increased is in contact with the window glass that is cooler than that, the temperature of the air decreases and the amount of saturated water vapor decreases. Thereby, the water vapor in excess of the saturated water vapor amount becomes water and adheres to the window glass to cause fogging.

  A flow of fail-safe processing executed by the HVAC ECU 10 will be described with reference to FIG. Note that the processing contents of steps S11 to S14 in FIG. 3 are the same as those in steps S31 to S34 in FIG. 4, respectively, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted. Further, steps S15 to S19 and S22 to S24 in FIG. 3 correspond to fail-safe processing.

First, it is determined whether communication with the air conditioner ECU 50 is abnormal using at least one of the following.
A communication abnormality is determined when a drive control command cannot be received from the air conditioner ECU 50 within a predetermined time or at a predetermined time interval, or when a state in which the drive control command cannot be received continues for a predetermined time.
A communication abnormality is determined when at least one of the parameters of the drive control command received from the air conditioner ECU 50 exceeds a predetermined normal value range.

  The above-described configuration corresponds to the determination unit determining that the drive control command is not normally acquired when the acquisition unit cannot acquire the drive control command beyond a predetermined time. With this configuration, it is possible to accurately detect an abnormality in the output source of the external drive control command (for example, the air conditioner ECU 50).

  When it is determined that there is no communication abnormality (S15: No), the fail-safe process is not performed, and this process is terminated (S24).

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the communication is abnormal (S15: Yes), it is determined whether or not the current operation state of the air conditioning unit 1 is the outside air introduction mode. When in the outside air introduction mode (S16: Yes), the process proceeds to the next step. On the other hand, when it is not in the outside air introduction mode (S16: No), the servo motor 5 is driven to switch the air mix damper 3 to the outside air side that allows the outside air suction port 7 and the duct 2 to communicate with each other to enter the outside air introduction mode (S22). . The operation state of the air conditioning unit 1 is stored in the memory 10e.

  The configuration described above corresponds to the control unit switching the air conditioner unit to an outside air introduction mode for introducing air outside the vehicle in the anti-fogging operation mode. By this structure, it can suppress that the air in a vehicle interior accumulates and the temperature difference with external air becomes large, and can suppress fogging of a window.

  Next, the servo motors 28 and 38 are driven to open the driver-seat-side and front-passenger-side defroster dampers 24, 34, and the conditioned air is blown out from the driver-side and front-passenger-side defroster outlets 20, 30 ( S17). The other outlets (face outlet and foot outlet) are preferably closed.

  The configuration described above corresponds to the air conditioner unit including a defroster outlet that blows conditioned air toward the inner surface of the window glass of the vehicle, and the control unit corresponds to a unit that blows conditioned air from the defroster outlet in the anti-fogging operation mode. . With this configuration, fogging of the window glass of the vehicle (particularly the windshield) can be suppressed. In addition, since the conditioned air from the defroster outlet is directed to the front seat occupant, it is not in the defroster operation mode. It can be noticed that it has occurred (the operation mode is different from the setting).

  Next, whether or not the driver side and passenger side air mix dampers 15 and 16 are at a predetermined opening (for example, fully open, 50% when fully open, fully closed, etc.) stored in the memory 10e in advance. Determine. By heating the introduced outside air with the heater core 42, the humidity can be lowered. Moreover, it is possible to make an occupant aware of an abnormality in the vehicle air conditioner 100 by blowing out the conditioned air at a temperature higher than the outside air.

  When the air mix damper (15, 16) has a predetermined opening (S18: Yes), the process proceeds to the next step. On the other hand, when it is not the predetermined opening (S18: No), the motors 17 and 18 are driven to change the air mix damper to the predetermined opening (S23). The predetermined opening degree of the air mix damper may be a value different between the driver seat and the passenger seat.

  The above-described configuration is such that the air conditioner unit includes a duct for introducing air into the vehicle interior, a hot air passage provided in the duct, in which a heating unit for heating the introduced air and supplying hot air is disposed, A cool air passage that circulates the heated air bypassing the heating unit, and an air mix damper that adjusts the air blowing rate from the cold air passage and the hot air passage, and the control unit has an anti-fogging operation mode. Then, the opening degree of the air mix damper corresponds to a predetermined opening degree. With this configuration, by increasing the humidity by heating the introduced air and reducing the humidity, it is possible to suppress an increase in the humidity in the passenger compartment that causes cloudiness.

  Next, the blower motor 9 is driven at a predetermined rotational speed (for example, the maximum rotational speed) stored in advance in the memory 10e (S19). Thereby, the drive state of the air-conditioning unit 1 shifts to the anti-fogging operation mode, and the defrost operation by introducing the outside air is performed.

  The above-described configuration corresponds to the control unit setting the conditioned air to a predetermined air volume in the anti-fogging operation mode. With this configuration, fogging of the window can be suppressed. Further, for example, if the airflow of the conditioned air is maximized, the passenger can be made aware that an abnormality has occurred in the vehicle air conditioner (the operation mode is different from the setting).

  By performing the processing as described above, the temperature difference between the vehicle interior and the outside of the vehicle maintains the current state or decreases (S20), so that fogging of the window can be suppressed (S21).

  The opening degree of the air mix damper (15, 16) and the rotation speed of the blower motor 9 in the above-described anti-fogging operation mode can be set for each vehicle type or destination. Moreover, it is good also as changeable by the operation input of a user or a maintenance worker. In this case, the operation input unit 53 may be used, the HVAC ECU 10 may be provided with an operation input unit, or a so-called diagnostic tool may be connected to the HVAC ECU 10 and input from the diagnostic tool. This configuration corresponds to a configuration including an operation input unit for setting the opening degree of the air mix damper and the air volume of the conditioned air in the anti-fogging operation mode. Thereby, optimal anti-fogging operation | movement can be performed for every vehicle model or destination.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, these are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and the knowledge of those skilled in the art can be used without departing from the spirit of the claims. Various modifications based on this are possible.

1 Air conditioning unit 2 Duct 10 HVAC ECU
10a Control unit (control unit, determination unit)
10b Communication driver (acquisition part)
11a First cold air passage (cold air passage)
11b First hot air passage (hot air passage)
12a Second cold air passage (cold air passage)
11b Second hot air passage (hot air passage)
15 Driver side air mix damper (air mix damper)
16 Passenger side air mix damper (air mix damper)
20 Driver's side defroster outlet (defroster outlet)
30 Passenger side defroster outlet (defroster outlet)
42 Heater core (heating unit)
100 Air conditioner for vehicles

Claims (6)

An acquisition unit that acquires a drive control command for an air conditioner unit that sends air-conditioned air to air-condition the vehicle interior;
A control unit that drives and controls the air conditioner unit based on the drive control command;
A determination unit for determining whether or not the drive control command is normally acquired;
With
When the determination unit determines that the drive control command has not been acquired normally, the air conditioner unit is driven and controlled so that the drive state of the air conditioner unit is in a predetermined anti-fogging operation mode. A vehicle air conditioner.   2. The vehicle air conditioning according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines that the drive control command is not normally acquired when the acquisition unit cannot acquire the drive control command beyond a predetermined time. apparatus.   The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control unit switches the air conditioner unit to an outside air introduction mode for introducing air outside the vehicle in the anti-fogging operation mode. The air conditioner unit is
A duct for introducing air into the vehicle interior;
Provided inside the duct,
A hot air passage in which a heating unit for heating the introduced air and supplying hot air is disposed;
A cold air passage for circulating the introduced air, bypassing the heating unit;
An air mix damper that adjusts the air blowing rate from the cold air passage and the hot air passage to make the conditioned air; and
Including
The said control part is a vehicle air conditioner of any one of Claim 1 thru | or 3 which makes the said air mix damper the predetermined opening degree in the said anti-fog operation mode. The air conditioner unit includes a defroster outlet that blows the conditioned air toward the inner surface of a window glass of a vehicle,
The said control part is a vehicle air conditioner of any one of Claim 1 thru | or 4 which blows off the said conditioned air from the said defroster blower outlet in the said anti-fog operation mode.   The said control part is a vehicle air conditioner of any one of Claim 1 thru | or 5 which makes the said air conditioned wind the predetermined air volume in the said anti-fogging operation mode.

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