JP4063068B2 - Air conditioner for vehicles - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an opening / closing mechanism for a blown air outlet of a vehicle air conditioner.
[0002]
[Prior art]
There is known a vehicle air conditioner in which a vent port for blowing air to a front seat occupant is provided on an instrument panel (see Patent Document 1).
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-94925
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the vent mode in which cool air is blown from the vent port, when the passenger compartment temperature is stabilized and the amount of blown air is reduced, the blown air velocity from the vent port is also reduced. Since the temperature of the cold air blown from the vent opening is lower than the air temperature in the passenger compartment, the air density is high and the specific gravity is large. For this reason, when the blowout wind speed decreases, the cool wind blown from the vent port is blown while falling downward from the blowing direction, so that the vicinity of the knee of the front seat occupant is locally cooled.
[0005]
The present invention provides a vehicle air conditioner that does not locally cool the vicinity of a knee of a front seat occupant by conditioned air blown from a vent opening.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
An air conditioner for a vehicle according to a first aspect of the invention includes a blower that drives a blower fan by a blower motor to discharge air, an evaporator that cools air discharged from the blower, and a heater that reheats the air cooled by the evaporator. An air mix door for adjusting the air distribution ratio to the heater, a first air outlet provided on the instrument panel, for blowing conditioned air from the air conditioning unit to the front seat occupant, and an instrument panel A second outlet for providing conditioned air from the air conditioning unit to the upper part of the vehicle interior; and a first adjustment mechanism for adjusting the amount of blast air blown into the vehicle from the first outlet; A second adjustment mechanism that adjusts the amount of blown air blown into the vehicle from the second outlet, and detects the thermal load in the vehicle interior, A detecting means for outputting a signal relating to, and control means for performing air-conditioning control receives a signal relating to the heat load in the cabin which is output from the detecting means, the control means, when performing air conditioning control, (1) The blown air blown into the passenger compartment is lower than the temperature in the passenger compartment, and (2) the amount of air blown from the blower is less than or equal to a predetermined value, and (3) conditioned air from the air conditioning unit Whether or not the conditioned air blown from the first blowout port is blown downward from the blowout direction by determining whether or not at least the first blowout port is blowing. If it is estimated that the conditioned air blown from the mouth is blown downward from the blowing direction, the first blowing mechanism is closed by the first adjusting mechanism, and the second blowing opening is opened by the second adjusting mechanism. like And wherein the Gyosu Turkey.
[0007]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, comfortable conditioned air can be provided to the passenger.
[0008]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
With reference to FIGS. 1-4, one Embodiment of the vehicle air conditioner by this invention is described. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a right-hand drive vehicle equipped with a vehicle air-conditioning apparatus according to an embodiment as viewed obliquely from the rear of the vehicle. The vehicle air conditioner AC includes an air conditioning unit 100 provided inside the instrument panel 200. The instrument panel 200 is provided with an air conditioning operation unit 1 for an occupant to perform operations such as ON / OFF of the vehicle air conditioner AC and setting of the vehicle interior temperature. The instrument panel 200 includes a first spot vent port 110 that is a blowout port on the passenger seat window side that can directly blow air to the front seat occupant, and a second spot vent port 120 that is a blowout port on the center side of the passenger seat. In addition, a third spot vent port 130 that is a blowout port in the center of the driver's seat and a fourth spot vent port 140 that is a blowout port on the driver's seat window side are provided. The instrument panel 200 is provided with an upper vent port 150 that blows conditioned air upward in the vehicle interior, adjusts the temperature distribution in the vehicle interior, and further blows conditioned air to the rear seat occupant. Yes. A differential opening 20 for blowing air along the windshield is provided on the top surface of the instrument panel 200. In the lower part of the instrument panel 200, a foot port 23 for blowing conditioned air is provided near the feet of the passenger. For convenience of explanation, the present embodiment defines the vehicle left-right direction, the vehicle front-rear direction, and the vehicle up-down direction as shown in FIG.
[0009]
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of the air conditioning unit 100. In the case 10, the air conditioning unit 100 reheats the blower motor 12 that drives the fan 11, the evaporator 13 that dehumidifies and cools the air blown by the fan 11, and the blown air that has been dehumidified and cooled by the evaporator 13. A heater core 14 and an air mix door 15 that adjusts the air distribution ratio to the heater core 14 are provided. The intake portion 5 of the case 10 is provided with an inside / outside air switching door 6. The inside / outside air switching door 6 switches between intake air from the inside air introduction port 7 or intake air from the outside air introduction port 8. The blown air pressurized and blown by the fan 11 driven by the blower motor 12 controlled by the voltage passes through the evaporator 13 and is dehumidified and cooled. The air that has passed through the evaporator 13 is distributed into air that passes through the heater core 14 and air that does not pass through the heater core 14 at an air distribution ratio determined by the air mix door 15. The air that has been distributed by the air mix door and passed through the heater core 14 and the air that has not passed through the heater core 14 merge again downstream of the heater core 14 and are supplied to the vehicle interior.
[0010]
The air conditioning unit 100 has a spot vent duct 19 connected to each of the spot vent ports 110 to 140, a spot vent door 18 that opens and closes the spot vent duct 19, and a differential port 20 in order to distribute the conditioned air into the vehicle interior. A differential duct 22 connected to the base, a differential door 21 that opens and closes the differential duct 22, a foot duct 25 connected to the foot opening 23, a foot door 24 that opens and closes the foot duct 25, and an upper vent duct connected to the upper vent opening 150 152 and an upper vent door 151 that opens and closes the upper vent duct 152.
[0011]
The vehicle air conditioner AC includes an auto air conditioner amplifier 30, and detection signals from the outside air temperature sensor 35, the solar radiation sensor 36, and the room temperature sensor 37 for detecting the heat load of the vehicle air conditioner AC are supplied to the auto air conditioner amplifier 30. Entered. The auto air conditioner amplifier 30 calculates the air conditioning operation condition based on information from each of the sensors 35 to 37 so that the vehicle interior temperature becomes the set temperature set by the air conditioning operation unit 1. Based on the calculated air-conditioning operation conditions, the auto air conditioner amplifier 30 controls the voltage VF of the blower motor 12 so as to obtain a predetermined air volume, and the opening XM of the air mix door 15 and the doors 18, 21, 24, 151. To control the opening degree. In addition to the control by the calculation of the auto air conditioner amplifier 30, the upper vent door 151 can be opened and closed and the mode of the outlet can be set based on the operation of the air conditioning operation unit 1 by the occupant.
[0012]
The opening XM of the air mix door 15 and the voltage VF of the blower motor 12 are expressed by the following equations.
[Expression 1]
XM = f1 (Tw, Tam, Tin, Ts, Tptc, Q) (1)
[Expression 2]
VF = f2 (XM) (2)
Here, Tw is the engine outlet water temperature, Tam is the outside air temperature, Tin is the vehicle interior temperature, Ts is the fan intake air temperature, Tptc is the set temperature in the vehicle, and Q is the amount of solar radiation. This is a parameter related to heat load.
[0013]
In the vehicle air conditioner AC having the above-described configuration, the auto air conditioner amplifier 30 controls the voltage (number of rotations) of the blower motor 12 and the opening of the air mix door 15 and the doors 18, 21, 24, 151 to set the interior of the vehicle interior. Air-conditioning air whose air volume and temperature are adjusted to reach the temperature is blown into the passenger compartment. Further, as will be described later, when the vehicle air conditioner AC determines that the knee of the front seat occupant is cold, it stops blowing air from each of the spot vent ports 110 to 140. Details will be described below.
[0014]
――― Operation of vehicle air conditioner AC ―――
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an operation of an air conditioning operation program executed by the vehicle air conditioner AC. The program shown in FIG. 3 is executed by the auto air conditioner amplifier 30. When the ignition switch is turned on and the air conditioner switch of the air conditioning operation unit 1 is turned on while power is supplied to the auto air conditioner amplifier 30 of the vehicle air conditioner AC, the program of FIG. 3 starts its operation. In step S100, the previous operation state of the vehicle air conditioner AC stored in the memory (not shown) of the automatic air conditioner amplifier 30 is read, and the process proceeds to step S200. Note that the reading of the operation state in step S100 does not include the setting or flag in step S600 described later. In step S200, the previous operation state of the vehicle air conditioner AC read in step S100, the detection signals from the sensors 35 to 37, and the state signals of the operation switches of the air conditioning operation unit 1 such as the air volume and the set temperature. Based on this, the blowing temperature of the blown air is calculated.
[0015]
In step S300, the opening XM of the air mix door 15 corresponding to the blowing temperature calculated in step S200 is calculated based on the above-described equation (1), and the process proceeds to step S400. In step S400, the voltage VF (target blower motor voltage) of the blower motor 12 is calculated based on the equation (2), and the process proceeds to step S500. In step S500, the outlet is determined based on the XM and VF calculated in each step, the input signals from the sensors 35 to 37, and the state signals of the operation switches of the air conditioning operation unit 1, and the process proceeds to step S600. In the subroutine of step S600, it is determined whether or not the occupant's knee is in a cold state, and the process proceeds to step S700. The subroutine of step S600 will be described later. In step S700, as a result of calculation in each step, the operation of the vehicle air conditioner AC is started based on the set condition and the flag, and the process returns to step S100.
[0016]
――― Subroutine of Step S600 ―――
When the room temperature in the passenger compartment stabilizes and the amount of blown air decreases, if the conditioned air is cooler than the passenger compartment temperature, the conditioned air is blown downward from the blowing direction due to the difference in specific gravity. Therefore, the conditioned air blown from each of the spot vent ports 110 to 140 cools the occupant's knees. Therefore, in this vehicle air conditioner AC, as described later, when it is determined that the conditioned air blown from each spot vent port 110-140 cools the occupant's knee, the air blown from each spot vent port 110-140. To stop.
[0017]
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the processing of the program executed in the subroutine of step S600. In step S601, it is determined whether or not the set temperature has been raised by the operation of the air conditioning operation unit 1. If an affirmative determination is made in step S601, the process proceeds to step S603, where it is determined whether the knee is cold or not. In the knee cold determination in step S603, when all of the following conditions are satisfied, it is estimated that the conditioned air is blown downward from the blowing direction, and it is determined that the knee is cold.
(1) The opening XM of the air mix door 15 calculated in step S500 is 30% or less (0% is full cool, 100% is full hot)
(2) The amount of solar radiation detected by the solar radiation sensor 36 is 200 W / m ² or less. (3) The voltage VF of the blower motor 12 calculated in step S500 is 7 V or less. (4) The outlet setting calculated in step S500 is vent mode or Bi-level mode [0018]
If a positive determination is made in step S603, the process proceeds to step S605, where the spot vent door 18 is closed and the upper vent door 151 is opened. Further, the calculation result of the opening XM of the air mix door 15 in step S500 is discarded, the opening XM of the air mix door 15 is set to the current opening, and the process proceeds to step S607. In step S607, it is determined whether or not the air-conditioning operation unit 1 has been operated by the occupant so as to close the upper vent door 151. If an affirmative determination is made in step S607, the process proceeds to step S609, a flag for stopping the vehicle air conditioner AC is set, and the process returns to the main routine. If a negative determination is made in step S607, the process returns to the main routine.
[0019]
If a negative determination is made in step S601 or step S603, the process proceeds to step S611, and it is determined whether or not the setting of the outlet is the vent mode. If a positive determination is made in step S611, the process proceeds to step S613, and it is determined whether or not the opening XM of the air mix door 15 is greater than 0%. If a positive determination is made in step S613, the process proceeds to step S615, a flag for opening the upper vent door 115 is set, and the process returns to the main routine. If a negative determination is made in step S613, the process proceeds to step S617, a flag for closing the upper vent door 115 is set, and the process returns to the main routine. If a negative determination is made in step S611, the process returns to the main routine.
[0020]
According to the subroutine of step S600 described above, the vehicle air conditioner AC determines that each occupant's knee is cold when the occupant raises the temperature setting by operating the air-conditioning operation unit 1. It is possible to stop blowing from ~ 140 and blow from the upper vent port 150 while the opening XM of the air mix door 15 is fixed.
[0021]
The vehicle air conditioner having the above configuration can provide the following operational effects.
(1) When it is determined that the occupant's knees are in a cold state (Yes at Step S603), the air blowing from each of the spot vent ports 110 to 140 is stopped and the air is blown from the upper vent port 150 (Step S605). Thereby, while a passenger | crew's knee cooling is prevented, the vehicle interior temperature can be maintained with the ventilation from the upper vent port 150. FIG.
(2) When the set temperature is raised by the operation of the air conditioning operation unit 1 (Yes in Step S601) and it is determined that the occupant's knee is cold (Yes in Step S603), the opening XM of the air mix door 15 is fixed. Then, the air is blown from the upper vent port 150 (step S605). Thereby, since a passenger | crew's knee cooling can be prevented, maintaining a vehicle interior temperature, the drowsiness, attention distraction, etc. accompanying the vehicle interior temperature rise of a passenger | crew's head vicinity can be suppressed.
(3) The upper vent door 151 can be opened and closed based on calculation control of the auto air conditioner amplifier 30 and can be opened and closed based on the operation of the air conditioning operation unit 1 by a passenger. As a result, it is possible to provide a blowing state according to the occupant's preference and to prevent a reduction in the blowing air speed from each of the spot vent ports 110 to 140 due to forgetting to close the upper vent door 151 at the time of cool-down (step S617). Moreover, the troublesome manual operation of the upper vent door 151 at the time of cool-down is eliminated, and it is possible to concentrate on driving and the safety is high.
(4) If the upper vent door 151 is closed by the occupant's operation when the air outlet mode is the vent mode and the air is blown only from the upper vent port 150, the vehicle air conditioner AC is stopped (step S609). ). Thereby, when the air is blown only from the upper vent port 150, the booming noise generated when the upper vent door 151 is closed is prevented, and the passenger is not uncomfortable.
(5) After the upper vent door 151 is closed by the operation of the occupant and the vehicle air conditioner AC is stopped (step S609), when the air conditioning switch of the air conditioning operation unit 1 is turned on again, step S600 executed immediately before The setting of is not considered (step S100), and the operation of the vehicle air conditioner AC is started. Thereby, the air conditioning control using the effect by the ventilation from the upper vent port 150 can be performed, and the conditioned air suitable for the state of the passenger compartment can be provided.
[0022]
In the above description, when it is determined that the occupant's knees are in a cold state, the air blowing from the spot vent ports 110 to 140 is stopped and the air is blown from the upper vent port 150. However, the present invention is not limited to this. . For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the blowing direction determination louver 115 is provided at the spot vent port 110, the blowing direction determination louver 125 is set at the spot vent port 120, the blowing direction determination louver 135 is set at the spot vent port 130, and the spot vent port 140 is set. A blowing direction determining louver 145 is provided. When it is determined that the occupant's knees are in a cold state, the airflow from the spot vent ports 110-140 is directed upward by controlling the air blowing direction determination louvers 115, 125, 135, 145, so It can also prevent cooling.
[0023]
In the above embodiment and its modifications, for example, the first outlet and outlet are the spot vent openings 110 to 140, the second outlet is the upper vent opening 150, and the first adjustment mechanism is the spot vent door. 18, the second adjustment mechanism is realized by the upper vent door 151, and the control means is realized by the auto air conditioner amplifier 30. For example, the detection means is realized by an outside air temperature sensor 35, a solar radiation sensor 36 and a room temperature sensor 37. For example, the adjustment mechanism operation unit is realized by the air conditioning operation unit 1, and the air blowing direction adjustment mechanism is realized by the air blowing direction determining louvers 115, 125, 135, and 145, respectively. Furthermore, as long as the characteristic functions of the present invention are not impaired, the present invention is not limited to the device configuration in the above-described embodiment.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of an embodiment of a vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of an air conditioning unit 100 of the vehicle air conditioner shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of a program executed by the vehicle air conditioner AC of FIG.
4 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of the flowchart shown in FIG. 3. FIG.
FIG. 5 is a view showing a modification of the embodiment of the vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention, and shows the vicinity of a spot vent port.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Air-conditioning operation part 11 Fan 12 Blower motor 13 Evaporator 14 Heater core 15 Air mix door 18 Spot vent door 19 Spot vent duct 30 Auto air conditioner amplifier 35 Outside temperature sensor 36 Solar radiation sensor 37 Room temperature sensor 100 Air-conditioning unit 110 1st spot vent port 120 2nd Spot vent port 130 Third spot vent port 140 Fourth spot vent port 150 Upper vent port 151 Upper vent door 152 Upper vent ducts 115, 125, 135, 145

Claims (5)

A blower that drives a blower fan by a blower motor to discharge air;
An evaporator for cooling the air discharged from the blower;
A heater for reheating the air cooled by the evaporator;
An air mix door that adjusts the air distribution ratio to the heater,
A first air outlet provided on an instrument panel for blowing conditioned air from the air conditioning unit to a front seat occupant;
A second outlet that is provided on the instrument panel and blows conditioned air from the air conditioning unit upward in the vehicle interior;
A first adjustment mechanism that adjusts the amount of blown air blown into the vehicle from the first outlet;
A second adjustment mechanism that adjusts the amount of blown air blown into the vehicle from the second outlet;
Detecting means for detecting a thermal load in the passenger compartment and outputting a signal relating to the thermal load in the passenger compartment;
Control means for performing air conditioning control by receiving a signal related to the thermal load in the vehicle interior output from the detection means ,
When the control means performs the air conditioning control, (1) the blown air blown into the passenger compartment is lower than the temperature in the passenger compartment, and (2) the amount of air blown from the blower is The conditioned air blown from the first outlet is blown out by determining whether or not (3) the conditioned air from the air conditioning unit is blown from at least the first outlet. If it is estimated whether or not the conditioned air blown from the first blowing port is blown downward from the blowing direction, the first adjustment mechanism causes the first blowing to be performed. the mouth is closed, the second adjusting mechanism by the second outlet open and to control to a vehicle air-conditioning system according to claim and Turkey as. In the vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1,
When the control means estimates that the conditioned air blown from the first blowout port is blown downward from the blowout direction, the opening degree of the air mix door is fixed. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1 or 2,
A vehicle air conditioner further comprising an adjustment mechanism operation unit for operating at least the second adjustment mechanism. In the vehicle air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The first outlet is a spot vent;
The second outlet is an upper vent;
When the adjustment mechanism operation unit is operated so that the second adjustment mechanism is closed when the blow mode is a mode of blowing only from the upper vent port, the control unit stops the blower. A vehicle air conditioner. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 4,
The said control means performs air-conditioning control based on the signal regarding the thermal load in the vehicle interior output from the said detection means, if the air-conditioning operation signal is received after stopping the said air blower.

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