JP3125631B2 - Electric vehicle air conditioner control device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a control device for an air conditioner for an electric vehicle, which controls an air conditioner operated by receiving electric power from a secondary battery mounted on the electric vehicle.
In particular, the present invention relates to an apparatus having a function of setting a flow control valve for adjusting a refrigerant flow rate of a refrigerant circuit at the time of charging a secondary battery to a reference position.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For an electronic expansion valve (flow control valve) driven by a stepping motor, when the correspondence between the valve opening and the number of accumulated pulses input so far is lost, the opening control is performed. Becomes inaccurate. In such a case, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-346279 discloses a method for adjusting the opening of the electronic expansion valve to zero to ensure the correspondence between the valve opening and the number of accumulated pulses.
There is a technique disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. H11-26095.

[0003] This is because when the correspondence between the valve opening of the electronic expansion valve and the cumulative number of pulses is lost and a large deviation occurs between the opening command and the actual opening of the electronic expansion valve, the compressor of the compressor is operated. Since the discharge temperature becomes high, an abnormality detecting means for detecting this is provided, and when the abnormality detecting means detects an abnormality, the setting operation instruction means outputs a reference position setting operation instruction to the opening degree control means. As a result, the electronic expansion valve is driven to the fully closed position, which is the reference position, so that the zero point adjustment of the accumulated pulse number is performed at this fully closed position, and thereafter, the opening control based on the fully closed position is performed. That is.

[0004]

In a refrigeration cycle used in an air conditioner, an expansion valve (flow control valve) has a function of supplying an appropriate amount of refrigerant to an evaporator according to a cooling load. As such an expansion valve, an electronic expansion valve using a stepping motor as a drive source has recently been widely used in consideration of the reliability of control. In this electronic expansion valve, since the rotation angle of the step motor has a correspondence with the number of input pulses, the valve opening is changed stepwise according to the number of input pulses.

[0005] By the way, the opening degree of the electronic expansion valve at a certain point in time should correspond to the number of accumulated pulses input up to that point. Then, the correspondence between the valve opening and the number of accumulated pulses is lost. For this reason, in the conventional air conditioner, when a certain operating time has elapsed, the electronic expansion valve is once fully closed, the valve opening is adjusted to zero, and a command is issued from the fully closed position by the opening control means. The valve is opened up to the opening.

[0006] In an air conditioner of an electric vehicle, an electronic expansion valve is used in a refrigeration cycle. In the conventional electric vehicle, each time the air conditioner is started to operate, the electronic expansion valve is temporarily closed, and the number of accumulated pulses at this time is set to zero (hereinafter, zero point adjustment) to open the valve. The correspondence between the degree and the number of input pulses is ensured. In this case, assuming that the electronic expansion valve is set to operate from the fully open position to the fully closed position in, for example, 700 pulses, the electronic expansion valve is set to 700 to reliably return to the fully closed state at the time of zero point adjustment. Input pulse. Therefore, when the zero point adjustment is performed when the valve opening is half open, the pulse input is performed even after the valve reaches the fully closed position and abuts against the stopper, and the step motor will rotate. As a result, an unusual noise “click” is generated when the valve hits the stopper.

[0007] As described above, the zero point adjustment of the electronic expansion valve is performed when the operation of the air conditioner is started, that is, when the occupant is in the passenger compartment. The above noises are very noisy. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner for an electric vehicle in which the occupant of the electric vehicle does not have to feel annoying when the flow control valve emits an abnormal noise when adjusting the zero point. An apparatus for controlling a device.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention relates to an air conditioner provided with a refrigerant circuit and a flow control valve for adjusting the flow rate of the refrigerant in the refrigerant circuit, which is mounted on an electric vehicle. In a control device of an electric vehicle air conditioner that controls an air conditioner that is operated by receiving power supply from a secondary battery, a charge detection unit that detects charging of the secondary battery, and an opening degree of the flow control valve. Opening control means for controlling, and main control means for causing the opening control means to perform a reference position setting operation for setting the flow control valve to a reference position when the charge detection means detects charging. It is provided with.

When charging the secondary battery, the charger operates,
The operation sound is generated. In addition, charging is usually performed in a state where the occupant is not in the vehicle. In the present invention having the above configuration, the zero point adjustment of the flow control valve is performed at the time of charging such a secondary battery.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, a schematic configuration of the entire air conditioner 1 will be described with reference to FIG. On the upstream side of the blowing case 2,
An outside air inlet 3 for sucking air (outside air) outside the vehicle compartment and an inside air inlet 4 for sucking air (inside air) inside the vehicle compartment are provided. At an intermediate portion between the outside air inlet 3 and the inside air inlet 4,
An inside / outside air damper 5 is provided, and the opening degree of the inside / outside air damper 5 is adjusted by a servo motor (not shown), so that the mixing ratio of the air taken in from the outside air intake port 3 and the inside air intake port 4 is varied to reduce the intake air temperature. Adjustments are made. Downstream of the outside air suction port 3 and the inside air suction port 4, a blower 6 serving as a blower is provided.
Is attached to the rotating shaft of the blower motor 7.

On the other hand, an evaporator 8 is disposed downstream of the blower 6, and a condenser 9 serving as an indoor heat exchanger is disposed downstream of the evaporator 8. An air mix damper 10 is disposed in a passage on both sides of the condenser 9. The air mix damper 10 is driven by a servo motor (not shown) to
The ratio between the amount of air passing through and the amount of air bypassing the condenser 9 can be adjusted. And
The wind that has passed through the condenser 9 and the wind that has bypassed the condenser 9 are mixed downstream of the condenser 9 to become conditioned air having a desired temperature, and are blown out of the outlet 11 into the vehicle interior.

On the other hand, the above-mentioned evaporator 8 and condenser 9 are constituent elements of a refrigeration cycle as a refrigerant circuit, in this embodiment, a refrigeration cycle 12 configured as a heat pump. The refrigeration cycle 12 includes a compressor 13, an electromagnetic four-way switching valve 14, check valves 15, 16, an outdoor heat exchanger 17, an electromagnetic valve 18 as an on-off valve, an electronic expansion valve 19 for cooling as a flow control valve, A heating electronic expansion valve 20 as a control valve, an accumulator 21, the evaporator 8, and a condenser 9 are connected by piping.

The two expansion valves 19, 20 are driven by a stepping motor, and the degree of valve opening can be adjusted by controlling the number of pulses input to the stepping motor. I have. And the electromagnetic four-way switching valve 1
4. The open / close state of the solenoid valve 18, the cooling electronic expansion valve 19, and the heating electronic expansion valve 20 is switched as shown in Table 1 below according to the operation mode of the refrigeration cycle 12.

[0014]

[Table 1]

As is apparent from Table 1, in the cooling mode, the electromagnetic four-way switching valve 14 is switched to the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 15 → outdoor heat exchanger 17 → electronic expansion valve 19 for cooling → evaporator 8 → accumulator 2
1 → circulates through the path of the suction port 13b of the compressor 13. Thereby, the high-temperature gas refrigerant discharged from the discharge port 13a of the compressor 13 radiates and liquefies in the outdoor heat exchanger 17, and the liquid refrigerant evaporates in the evaporator 8, thereby cooling the wind passing through the evaporator 31. You. At this time, the cooling electronic expansion valve 19 is adjusted to an opening corresponding to the thermal load of the evaporator 8 and supplies an appropriate amount of refrigerant to the evaporator 8.

On the other hand, in the heating mode, the electromagnetic four-way switching valve 1
4 is switched to the position shown by the broken line in FIG. 2, and the refrigerant discharged from the discharge port 13a of the compressor 13 is discharged from the condenser 9 → the electronic expansion valve 20 for heating → the check valve 16 → the outdoor heat exchanger 17 → the solenoid valve. Circulates in the route of 18 → accumulator 21 → suction port 13b of compressor 13. As a result, the high-temperature gas refrigerant discharged from the discharge port 13a of the compressor 13 dissipates heat in the condenser 9 and liquefies, so that the heat passing through the condenser 9 is warmed. At this time, the opening degree of the heating electronic expansion valve 20 is adjusted according to the thermal load of the condenser 9 so that an appropriate amount of refrigerant is supplied to the condenser 9.

In the defrosting mode, the refrigerant circulates in the same route as in the cooling mode described above, and the high-temperature gas refrigerant discharged from the discharge port 13a of the compressor 13 radiates heat in the outdoor heat exchanger 17 so that the outdoor The frost adhering to the surface of the heat exchanger 17 is removed.

Further, in the dehumidification mode, the electromagnetic four-way switching valve 1
When the electromagnetic valve 18 is closed and the cooling electronic expansion valve 19 and the heating electronic expansion valve 20 are opened, the refrigerant discharged from the discharge port 13a of the compressor 13 Condenser 9 → heating electronic expansion valve 20
→ check valve 16 → outdoor heat exchanger 17 → electronic expansion valve 1 for cooling
9 → evaporator 8 → accumulator 21 → circulates in the path of suction port 13 b of compressor 13. This allows
Cooling and dehumidification is performed when the wind passing through the blower case 2 passes through the evaporator 8. The air that has been cooled and dehumidified is reheated by the condenser 9 to be conditioned air of a desired temperature and blown out from the outlet 11.

The outdoor heat exchanger 17 is provided with an outdoor fan 22 for forced cooling. The fan motor 22a of the outdoor fan 22 operates at high speed in accordance with the operation mode of the refrigeration cycle 12 and output data of various sensors described later. Rotation “H”
i, low-speed rotation “Lo”, and stop “OFF.” For example, in the cooling mode, the outside air temperature Tam becomes “Hi” when the temperature is 25 ° C. or more, and becomes “Lo” when the temperature is 22 ° C. or less. On the other hand, in the heating mode, the outside air temperature Tam
Becomes “Hi” below 13 ° C. and “Lo” above 16 ° C.
Becomes In the dehumidification H mode, the air temperature Te immediately after passing through the evaporator 8 is “OFF” when the temperature is 4 ° C. or more, becomes “Hi” when the temperature is 2 ° C. or less, and becomes “L” in the range of 3 ° C. → 4 ° C. and 3 ° C. → 2 ° C.
o ". In the dehumidifying C mode, the compressor 1
The priority is determined by Hi>Lo> OFF based on the refrigerant discharge pressure Pd of No. 3 and the refrigerant discharge temperature Td of the compressor 13. For example, the refrigerant discharge pressure Pd is 19 kgf / cm2
If it is greater than G, it will always be "Hi" regardless of the value of Td.

On the other hand, the compressor 1 of the refrigeration cycle 12
3 is driven by an inverter 24. The inverter 24 is, for example, 200 to 300 supplied from a secondary battery 25 which is a power supply for driving the vehicle.
V DC power is converted to AC power, and the rotation frequency of the compressor motor 23 is controlled by the AC frequency. The inverter 24, the servo motor of the inside / outside air damper 5, the blower motor 7, the air mix damper 10
, The electromagnetic four-way switching valve 14, the electromagnetic valve 18, the cooling electronic expansion valve 19, the heating electronic expansion valve 20, and the fan motor 22a of the outdoor fan 22 are an air conditioning electronic control unit (hereinafter referred to as "air conditioning control means"). Air-conditioning ECU ”)
26.

Although not shown, a control panel of the air conditioner 1 is provided on the dashboard of the electric vehicle, and a mode setting device for setting the operation mode of the refrigeration cycle 12 and the air conditioning temperature on the control panel. And a temperature setting device. The contents set by the mode setting device and the temperature setting device are input from the mode setting device and the temperature setting device to the air conditioning ECU 26 as a mode signal and a temperature signal.

The electric vehicle is equipped with an auxiliary secondary battery 27 in addition to the vehicle driving secondary battery (hereinafter referred to as "main secondary battery") 25, and the air conditioning ECU 26 uses the auxiliary secondary battery 27 as a power source. Operate. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the main secondary battery 25 is charged by an external power supply 29 through a charging circuit 28 as charging means. In addition, the auxiliary secondary battery 27 is a DC output of the charging circuit 28 or the main secondary battery 25.
1 by the DC / DC converter 30 by the DC output of
It is stepped down to 2V and charged.

The above-mentioned charging circuit 28 is controlled by a charging control circuit 31 which is charging control means. During charging, the charging current flowing into the main secondary battery 25 is detected by the current sensor 32, and the detection signal is input to the charging control circuit 31. The charging control circuit 31 The charging current and the charging voltage are controlled to appropriate values based on. When the charging of the main secondary battery 25 has progressed to some extent, the charging control circuit 31
It is configured to give an air conditioning operation permission signal to U26.

As shown in FIG. 4, the air-conditioning ECU 26 is mainly composed of a microcomputer unit (hereinafter referred to as "MCU") 33.
It includes a RAM for temporarily storing various data, a ROM for storing a control program and the like, and peripheral modules such as an A / D converter for converting input data into digital values. Input interface 3
4 and an output interface 35. And, as a whole, the air-conditioning ECU 26 includes the MCU 3
3, in addition to the input interface 34 and the output interface 35, a power supply circuit 36, a reset signal generation circuit 3
7 and a start-up circuit 38 as start-up means.

As shown in FIG. 4, the air conditioning ECU 26 is configured to receive the voltage from the auxiliary secondary battery 27 through three paths, and the configuration will be described below. That is, the air-conditioning ECU 26 has a voltage input terminal via charge switch (CH • B) 26a, a voltage input terminal via ignition (IG • B) 26b, a battery voltage input terminal (+ B) 26c, and a ground terminal 26d. The charge switch via voltage input terminal 26a is connected to the 12V power supply terminal of the auxiliary secondary battery 27 via the charge switch 39 which is turned on by the charge control circuit 31 during the charge control of the charge control circuit 31, and the ignition voltage input The terminal 26b is connected to a 12V power supply terminal of the auxiliary secondary battery 27 via an ignition switch 40, and the battery voltage input terminal 26c is connected to the auxiliary secondary battery 27.
, And the ground terminal is connected to the 0 V power terminal of the auxiliary secondary battery 27.

On the other hand, the power supply circuit 36 is connected to the battery voltage input terminal 26c via the diode 41 having the polarity shown in the figure, and converts a 12V voltage from the auxiliary secondary battery 27 to a 5V voltage to generate a reset signal generation circuit 37. , The input interface 34, the output interface 35, the starting circuit 38, and the Vcc terminal of the MCU 33.

The reset signal generation circuit 37 includes the power supply circuit 3
A low-level reset signal is output to the reset terminal of the MCU 33 in the unstable state of the 5V voltage supplied from 6, and the reset signal is released in the stable state of the 5V voltage. This reset signal generation circuit 37
Has a watchdog function, and outputs a reset signal when the pulse signal is not output from the output port P1 of the MCU 33 within a predetermined time to forcibly reset the MCU 33.

An input interface 34, an output interface 35, a reset signal generating circuit 37, and a starting circuit 38 are connected to the voltage input terminal 26a via the charge switch and the voltage input terminal 26b via the ignition switch via diodes 42 and 43 of the illustrated polarity. It is connected.

The input interface 34 includes an inside air temperature sensor for detecting the temperature in the vehicle interior, an outside air temperature sensor for detecting the temperature outside the vehicle, an evaporator outlet temperature sensor for detecting the wind temperature after passing through the evaporator 8, and a refrigerant discharge of the compressor 13. A pressure sensor for detecting pressure, a temperature setting device for an occupant to set the air conditioning temperature, an outdoor heat exchanger temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the outdoor heat exchanger 17 (none of them is shown),
Various signals from the mode setter and the temperature setter of the control panel are output to the MCU 33 with their signal levels and communication timings matched, and the output interface 35 converts the data input from the MCU 33 to the signal levels and the communication timings. The servo motor or fan motor 22a of each of the dampers 5 and 10
The signals are output to an inverter 24, an electronic four-way switching valve 14, an electromagnetic valve 18, an electronic expansion valve 19 for cooling, an electronic expansion valve 20 for heating, and the like. The input interface 34 and the output interface 35 operate in the high level state of the select terminal S, and enter the high impedance low power consumption state when the selector terminal is in the low level state.

The starting circuit 38 is configured by combining first to third transistors 44 to 46. That is, in the first transistor 44, the base is connected to the output side of the diodes 42 and 43 via the resistor 47, and the emitter is connected to the ground terminal 26d. In the second transistor 45, the base is connected to the MCU 3 via the resistor 48.
3 is connected to the output port P2, and the emitter is connected to the ground terminal 26d. In the third transistor 46, the emitter is connected to the output terminal of the power supply circuit 36, the base is commonly connected to the collectors of the first and second transistors 44 and 45 via the resistor 49, and the collector is connected to the standby terminal of the MCU 33. It is connected.

Here, the MCU 33 resets the pulse signal from the output port P1 within a predetermined time when a voltage of 12 V is input from the voltage input terminal 26a via the charge switch or the voltage input terminal 26b via the ignition switch. The signal is output to the signal generating circuit 37 and a high level signal is output from the output port P2 to the base of the second transistor 45.

The starter circuit 38 having the above-described configuration operates when the first or second transistor 44 or 45 is turned on.
Transistor 46 is turned on, and outputs a 5V voltage (hereinafter, referred to as an S5V signal) in the on state. Also, the first
In addition, the third transistor 46 is turned off when the second transistors 44 and 45 are off, and the output is in a high impedance state when the third transistor 46 is off.

In this case, since the reset terminal and the standby terminal of the MCU 33 are pulled down to the ground, when the outputs of the reset signal generation circuit 37 and the activation circuit 38 are in the high impedance state, these terminals are maintained at the low level. You. Also, input interface 3
The high-level S5V signal output from the third transistor 46 of the start-up circuit 38 is input to the select terminal S and the select interface S, and the output interface 35 is started in the input state. .

In the MCU 33, when the Vcc terminal is supplied with power, the reset terminal is at a high level (the reset signal generation circuit 3).
7 when the reset signal is not output) and when the standby terminal is at a high level (output state of the S5V signal from the start-up circuit 38). When it is at the low level, it is in the hardware standby mode (low power consumption state) in which the functions of the built-in peripheral modules are stopped.

In this case, the built-in peripheral module of the MCU 33 is reset, but as long as 5 V is supplied to the Vcc terminal of the MCU 33, the data of the RAM is retained and the input / output ports of the MCU 33 are in the high impedance state. Become. Also, S5V from the starting circuit 38
When the signal is cut off, the input interface 34 and the output interface 35 are also stopped to enter a low power consumption state, so that the power consumption of the entire air conditioning ECU 26 is significantly reduced.

When the auxiliary secondary battery 27 is mounted on the electric vehicle, the power is supplied from the auxiliary secondary battery 27 to the power supply circuit 36 via the battery voltage input terminal 26a. Is powered.
In a normal state, that is, when the charge switch 39 and the ignition switch 40 are both turned off and the voltage of the auxiliary secondary battery 27 is received only from the battery voltage input terminal 26a, the third transistor 46 of the starting circuit 38 Is off. As a result, the S5V signal from the starting circuit 38 is in a non-output state,
The signal level of the standby terminal of the MCU 33 becomes low level, and accordingly, the MCU 33 is in the hardware standby mode and the input interface 34.
The output interface 35 is also in the low power consumption state. Therefore, the entire air conditioning ECU 26 is in a low power consumption state.

Although the air-conditioning ECU 26 is normally in a low power consumption state, it is activated when the following operations or predetermined conditions are satisfied, and the air-conditioning ECU 26 is activated.
6 is performed. [1] When the user turns on the ignition switch 40 in order to drive the electric vehicle ... The auxiliary secondary battery 27 through the ignition switch 40
Is applied to the input interface 34 and the output interface 35, and a high-level signal is output from the output port P2.
Become high level, and they operate out of the low power consumption state. Further, since the 12V voltage from the auxiliary secondary battery 27 is applied to the base of the first transistor 44 of the starting circuit 38, the first transistor 44 of the starting circuit 38
Is turned on, the third transistor 46 is turned on in response to the on, and the S5V signal is output from the start-up circuit 38.

As a result, the standby terminal of the MCU 33 becomes high level, and the hardware standby mode of the MCU 33 is released. Thereby, the air conditioning ECU 26
The whole is released from the low power consumption state. At this time, since the reset signal generation circuit 37 stops outputting the reset signal in response to the 12V power supply, the MCU 33 is activated, and the air conditioning ECU 26 starts its original operation.

[2] When the user charges the electric vehicle ... During charging, the charge control circuit 31 detects the charge and turns on the charge switch 39. Therefore, the air-conditioning ECU 26 through the charge switch via voltage input terminal 26b. Is supplied with a 12V voltage. Thereby, the MC of the air conditioning ECU 26
U33 is activated by releasing the hardware standby mode state by the activation circuit 38 in the same manner as when the above-mentioned ignition switch 40 is turned on.

When charging is completed, the charge control circuit 31 confirms that the charge switch 39 is off, and then outputs a low-level signal from the output port P2. As a result, the second transistor 46 and thus the third transistor 47 of the activation circuit 38 are turned off, so that the standby terminal of the MCU 33 becomes low level,
The MCU 33 shifts to the hardware standby mode state, and the input interface 34 and the output interface 35 enter the high impedance state. Therefore,
The entire air conditioning ECU 26 enters the low power consumption state.

When charging is completed, the charge control circuit 31 turns off the charge switch 39, and the air conditioning ECU
26 shifts to the hardware standby mode state, whereby the air conditioning ECU 26 enters the low power consumption state.

When the ignition switch 40 is turned on or the charge switch 39 is turned on by charging as described above, the reset signal is released and the MCU 33 is started. Then, the MCU 33
The control program shown in FIG. 1 is executed.

That is, when the reset signal is released,
First, after the battery voltage input terminal (+ B) 26c is turned on in step S1 of FIG. 1, the MCU 33 firstly inputs the voltage input terminal via the charge switch (CH • B) 26a or the voltage input terminal via the ignition switch (IG •).
B) It is determined whether or not 26a is turned on (the charge switch 39 or the ignition switch 40 is turned on). The ON state of the battery voltage input terminal 26c means that the auxiliary secondary battery 27 is mounted on a new vehicle for the first time, or the old auxiliary secondary battery 27 is replaced with a new one, and the 12V terminal and the 0V
Terminal and the battery voltage input terminal 26c and the ground terminal 2
6d.

Assuming that the ignition switch 40 is turned on for the first time after the battery voltage input terminal 26c is turned on, the MCU 33 returns "YES" in step S1.
Then, the process proceeds to step S2, where the electronic expansion valve for cooling 19 and the electronic expansion valve for heating 20 operate the reference position setting signal. This reference position setting operation is performed by the MCU 33 serving as the opening control means giving a reference position setting command signal to the output interface 35.

Then, the output interface 35 supplies the step motor drive circuits of the cooling electronic expansion valve 19 and the heating electronic expansion valve 20 with the necessary number of pulses (for example, 700) for operating the valve from the fully open position to the fully closed position. Pulse). Thereby, the electronic expansion valve for cooling 1
9. The heating electronic expansion valve 20 is completely closed regardless of whether it is in a half-open state or a fully-open position (t0 in FIG. 5).
-T1). Then, the MCU 33 sets the total number of pulses to the cooling electronic expansion valve 19 and the heating electronic expansion valve 20 to zero. Thereby, the correspondence between the valve opening degrees of the two electronic expansion valves 19 and 20 and the number of accumulated pulses is secured.

At this time, if the reference position setting operation is performed with the cooling electronic expansion valve 19 and the heating electronic expansion valve 20 in the half-open state, the electronic expansion valves 19 and 20 are fully closed during the pulse input. Then, since the step motor tries to rotate while the valve is in contact with the stopper at the fully closed position, a "click" sound is generated when the valve hits the stopper. However, since the auxiliary secondary battery 27 is mounted on the new vehicle or the auxiliary secondary battery 27 is replaced at the factory, and the turning on of the ignition switch 40 is mostly for the test run by the operator, There is no problem even if a "click" sound is generated during the reference position setting operation. During the reference position setting operation, the cooling electronic expansion valve 19 and the heating electronic expansion valve 20 are used.
May be applied to ensure that the valve is closed even if the valve is caught during operation.

If it is not the first time that the ignition switch 40 has been turned on after the battery voltage input terminal 26c has been turned on, the MCU 33 returns "NO" in step S1 and proceeds to step S3. In step S3, the MCU 33 determines whether or not the voltage input terminal 26a via the charge switch has changed from off to on. Here, since the charge switch 39 is in the off state,
The determination is "NO", and the process proceeds to the next step S4 to determine whether or not the voltage input terminal 26a via the charge switch is in the ON state. The MCU 33 similarly determines “NO” in step S4, and shifts to step S5 to determine whether the voltage input terminal 26b via the ignition switch is in the ON state.

Here, since the MCU 33 has been started by turning on the ignition switch 40, the voltage input terminal 26a via the charge switch is in the ON state. Therefore, the MCU 33 determines "YES" in the above step S5, and In step S6, if the operation mode of the refrigeration cycle 12 is set to any mode by the mode setting device, normal air conditioning control for operating the air conditioner 1 is started in that mode, and thereafter, step S3 is performed. ~ 6
Is repeatedly executed.

In the normal air-conditioning control, as shown in FIG. 5, in the heating operation mode, the cooling electronic expansion valve 19 is fully closed, and the heating electronic expansion valve 20 is set to the MC mode.
The opening is controlled to an opening corresponding to the thermal load of the capacitor 9 by the opening control function of U33. In the dehumidification mode, the electronic expansion valve for cooling 19 and the electronic expansion valve for heating 20 are connected to the evaporator 8,
The opening is controlled according to the thermal load of the condenser 9, and in the cooling mode, the heating electronic expansion valve 20 is fully closed,
The electronic expansion valve for cooling 19 is controlled to an opening corresponding to the thermal load of the evaporator 8. Although not shown in FIG. 5, in the defrosting mode, similarly to the cooling mode, the heating electronic expansion valve 20 is fully closed, and the opening of the cooling electronic expansion valve 19 is controlled. At this time, the opening degree of the cooling electronic expansion valve 19 and the heating electronic expansion valve 20 is controlled by the number of accumulated pulses from the zero point set by the reference position setting operation. Can be.

By the way, when the electromagnetic four-way switching valve 14 performs the switching operation, that is, when switching between the heating mode and the dehumidifying mode, the cooling mode and the defrosting mode,
The MCU 33 temporarily opens the electronic expansion valve for cooling 19 and the electronic expansion valve 20 for heating (t4 to t5, t6 to t6 in FIG. 5).
t7) Then, the open / close state is set according to each mode. In this case, the MCU 33 extends the input interval of the pulse signal to both the electronic expansion valves 19 and 20 so that the full opening operation is performed slowly. The reason why the electronic expansion valves 19 and 20 are fully opened when the electromagnetic four-way switching valve 14 is switched as described above is that when the electromagnetic four-way switching valve 14 is switched, the connection between the inlet side pipe and the outlet side pipe of the electronic expansion valves 19 and 20 is performed. Since the pressure difference is large, the pressure difference is eliminated quickly to balance the pressure. At this time, the reason why the electronic expansion valves 19 and 20 are fully opened is that the electronic expansion valves 19 and 2 are slow.
If 0 is suddenly or instantaneously fully opened, the pressure of the pipeline is reduced from high pressure to low pressure at once, and a loud noise is generated. This is to prevent this.

By setting the electronic expansion valves 19 and 20 to the fully open state, if the valve opening is deviated from the normal position in the opening direction, this can be resolved, and the reference position in the fully open state can be resolved. Settings can be made.

When the ignition switch 40 is turned off, the MCU 33 determines "NO" in step S5, stops the operation of the air conditioner 1, and proceeds to step S7. Then, in step S7, the MCU 33 opens the cooling electronic expansion valve 19 and the heating electronic expansion valve 20 fully (t8 to t9 in FIG. 5), and then enters the low power consumption state. This is because the output of the high-level signal from the output terminal P2 is stopped, and the S5V signal is cut off by turning off the start circuit 38, and the MCU 33 enters the hardware standby state.

When the ignition switch 40 is turned off, the cooling electronic expansion valve 19 and the heating electronic expansion valve 20 are fully opened as described above, so that the pressure in the refrigeration cycle 12 is quickly balanced. Therefore, even if the air conditioner 1 is operated by turning on the ignition switch 40 again immediately after the ignition switch 40 is turned off, the compressor 13 is properly restarted without being overloaded.

On the other hand, when the amount of power stored in the main secondary battery 25 decreases due to the running of the electric vehicle and the operation of the air conditioner 1, the charging circuit 28 is operated to perform charging. During this charge, the charge control circuit 31 detects the charge and turns on the charge switch 39. Then, the MCU 33 is released from the reset state and activated in the same manner as described above, and executes the control program of FIG.

That is, the MCU 33 first executes step S
1 is determined as “NO”, and the process proceeds to step S3 to determine whether or not the voltage input terminal 26a via the charge switch has been turned on from off. Here, “YES” is determined and the reference position setting operation in step S2 is performed. I do. As a result, the two electronic expansion valves 19 and 20 are fully closed (t10 to t1 in FIG. 5).
1), the MCU 33 sets the number of accumulated pulses to zero.
As described above, the MCU 33 functions as the opening control means, and also operates when the charge switch 39 is turned on.
Detects that charging has started, and functions as a main control means for performing a reference position setting operation for its own opening control function.

When the reference position setting operation is completed,
While charging, the voltage input terminal 26a via the charge switch is in the ON state, but is not switched from OFF to ON. Therefore, the MCU 33 returns “NO” in step S3,
In the next step S4, "YES" is determined and step S8 is performed.
Move to

In step S8, if pre-air conditioning is performed based on signals from various sensors, that is, the condition for performing preliminary air conditioning in the cabin of the electric vehicle is established, the air conditioner 1 is operated to perform pre-air conditioning. Then, in the next step S9, when it is detected by the outdoor heat exchanger temperature sensor that frost is formed on the outdoor heat exchanger 17, the air conditioner 1 is operated in the defrosting mode and the outdoor heat exchanger is operated. Remove 17 frost. In addition,
When the operation in the pre-air-conditioning and defrosting modes is performed in steps S8 and S9, it is assumed that an air-conditioning operation permission signal has been input from the charging control circuit 31 to the MCU 33.

As described above, during charging, a reference position setting operation is performed at the start of charging, and thereafter, steps S3, S4, and S4 are performed.
Repeat steps 8 and 9 to perform pre-air conditioning and defrosting as necessary. Since charging is normally performed in a state where no occupant is present in the passenger compartment of the electric vehicle, the cooling electronic expansion valve 34,
There is no problem even if an abnormal sound "click" is generated during the reference position setting operation of the heating electronic expansion valve 35. Even if charging is performed in a state where an occupant is in the vehicle cabin, the charging circuit 2
8 is in operation, and in some cases, the air conditioner 1 also operates, so that the cooling electronic expansion valve 34 and the heating electronic expansion valve 35 are operated.
When the abnormal sound "click" is generated during the reference position setting operation, the abnormal sound is canceled by the operation sounds of the charging circuit 28 and the air conditioner 1, so that the user does not feel any particular discomfort.

When the charging is completed, the charge switch 39
Is turned off. Therefore, the MCU 33 determines in step S4
Is determined as "NO", and the routine goes to step S5. In this case, since the ignition switch 40 is off, the MCU 33 determines “NO” in step S5,
In step S7, the electronic expansion valve 19 for cooling and the electronic expansion valve 20 for heating are fully opened (T in FIG. 5) as described above.
After setting to 11 to T12), the state is reset.

As described above, each time the main secondary battery 25 is charged, the zero point adjustment is performed, and the correspondence between the opening degrees of the electronic expansion valves 19 and 20 and the number of accumulated pulses is ensured. The opening control of the valves 19 and 20 can always be performed with high accuracy.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above and shown in the drawings, but can be extended or modified as follows. The refrigeration cycle 12 does not necessarily need to be configured as a heat pipe, and may be configured for cooling only or heating only by omitting the condenser 9 or the evaporator 8.

The refrigerant circuit is not limited to a refrigeration cycle configured to compress a refrigerant by a compressor, but may be configured by an adsorption refrigeration system configured to adsorb and desorb a refrigerant to an adsorbent. The charge switch 39 functions as a charge notification unit that notifies the MCU 33 of the start of charging. Alternatively, a charge start signal may be input from the charge control circuit 31 to the MCU 33 via the input interface 34. The flow control valve is not limited to the expansion valve, but may be any valve provided in the refrigerant circuit for controlling the flow rate of the refrigerant.

[0063]

According to the first aspect of the invention, the zero point adjustment performed by operating the flow control valve to the reference position is performed at the time of charging the secondary battery operated by the charging device. Even if abnormal noise occurs at the time of setting, the abnormal noise of the flow control valve is not felt annoying.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the valve of the flow control valve is changed from the time when the air conditioner is first operated after purchasing a new car or the time when the air conditioner is first operated after replacing the secondary battery. The opening can be controlled accurately.

According to the third and fourth aspects of the present invention,
When the compressor of the refrigerating cycle is stopped and when the refrigerant flow path of the heat pump is switched, the position of the flow control valve can be corrected at the fully open position.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of the entire air conditioner.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the overall electrical configuration.

FIG. 4 is a schematic circuit configuration diagram of an air conditioning ECU.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an operation mode of an air conditioner and an opening / closing relationship of an electronic expansion valve.

[Explanation of symbols]

In the figure, 1 is an air conditioner, 6 is a blower, 8 is an evaporator,
9 is a condenser, 12 is a refrigeration cycle (refrigerant circuit, heat pump), 13 is a compressor, 14 is an electromagnetic four-way switching valve, 17 is an outdoor heat exchanger, 19 is an electronic expansion valve for cooling (flow control valve), and 20 is heating. Electronic expansion valve (flow control valve),
21 is an accumulator, 23 is a compressor motor, 2
4 is an inverter, 25 is a secondary battery, 26 is an air conditioning EC
U and 27 are auxiliary secondary batteries, 33 is an MCU (opening control means, main control means), 39 is a charge switch, and 40 is an ignition switch.

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. An air conditioner comprising a refrigerant circuit and a flow control valve for adjusting a flow rate of the refrigerant in the refrigerant circuit, wherein the air conditioner is operated by being supplied with electric power from a secondary battery mounted on an electric vehicle. A charge detecting means for detecting charging of the secondary battery; an opening control means for controlling an opening of the flow control valve; and an opening when the charging detecting means detects charging. A control device for an air conditioner for an electric vehicle, comprising: main control means for causing a control means to perform a reference position setting operation for setting the flow control valve to a reference position. 2. An auxiliary secondary battery is provided as a power supply for the main control means, and the main control means is connected to the auxiliary secondary battery, and the opening degree is not changed until the air conditioner is operated for the first time. The control device for an air conditioner for an electric vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the control unit causes the control unit to perform the reference position setting operation. 3. The refrigerant circuit comprises a refrigeration cycle,
3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the main control means causes the opening control means to perform an operation of gradually increasing the opening of the flow control valve to a fully open position when the compressor of the refrigeration cycle is stopped. A control device for an air conditioner for an electric vehicle according to the above. 4. The refrigerant circuit comprises a heat pump,
4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the main control means causes the opening control means to perform an operation of gradually increasing the opening of the flow control valve to a fully open position when the refrigerant flow path of the heat pump is switched. The control device for an air conditioner for an electric vehicle according to any one of the above.