JP6525785B2 - CONTROL DEVICE, REFRIGERATOR UNIT, REFRIGERATOR CONTROL SYSTEM, CONTROL METHOD, AND PROGRAM - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a control device, a refrigerator unit, a refrigerator control system, a control method and a program.

  Transportation of cargo requiring refrigeration and refrigeration is often carried out by a transport vehicle (refrigerated vehicle) having a refrigerator. Many refrigerated vehicles also have a configuration in which the power used to drive the vehicle is also used for the cooling operation of the refrigerator. In such a frozen vehicle, it is required to reduce transportation costs by coordinating the cooling operation of the refrigerator and the traveling operation of the frozen vehicle.

  Conventionally, a refrigerator controller that controls a refrigerator acquires information detected by a sensor (a pressure sensor, a temperature sensor, a protection switch, etc.) provided in a refrigerator, and a predetermined control procedure using the information It controlled the refrigerator according to. In recent years, in addition to that, for example, information on the traveling state of the frozen vehicle (such as the number of revolutions of the engine) is fetched from the ECU of the frozen vehicle, and transport costs are reduced by controlling the refrigerator coordinated with the traveling state of the frozen vehicle Control methods have been put to practical use.

  As a related technology, for example, in Patent Document 1, when the refrigeration vehicle drives a compressor for refrigeration, particularly on the uphill in summer, the load on the engine increases and the vehicle speed decreases. There is a description of a control method of a refrigerator and an operation management system for a vehicle. Specifically, the vehicle operation management system includes a frozen vehicle and a control center that manages the frozen vehicle, and the control center determines whether or not there is an upward slope ahead of the traveling route of the frozen vehicle. Anticipate the arrival time to the uphill. Then, at a predetermined time before the arrival time on the uphill, the management center notifies the frozen vehicle to perform forced cooling. In the frozen vehicle that has received the notification, the target temperature of the cold storage is set to a value lower by a predetermined temperature than the target temperature at the normal time, and forced cooling is performed with the low temperature as a target. Then, when the hill is actually reached, the operation of the refrigerator is stopped, and the power used for operating the refrigerator is used to drive the vehicle on the hill. According to this operation management system for vehicles, it is described in patent documents 1 that the load of the engine at the time of climb of a cooling vehicle can be eased, and uphill performance can be secured.

JP, 2014-174819, A

  However, in the above method of obtaining information from the ECU and performing control of the refrigerator coordinated with traveling of the frozen vehicle, it is necessary for the refrigerator side to conform to the specifications of the vehicle side, and an interface circuit dedicated to each frozen vehicle There is a problem that control software must be developed. Moreover, about optimization of driving | running | working of a cold storage and driving | running | working of a vehicle, although patent document 1 has a description about optimization of control with respect to a hill, there is no description about control in other situations.

  Then, this invention aims at providing the control apparatus which can solve the above-mentioned subject, a refrigerator unit, a refrigerator control system, a control method, and a program.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, the travel based on a travel route of a vehicle specified based on a position information acquisition unit that acquires information on a departure position and a target position of the vehicle and the departure position and the target position A traveling condition prediction unit that predicts traveling conditions including the traveling speed of the vehicle on the route and the duration of the traveling speed, and control mode determination to determine a control mode of a refrigerator provided in the vehicle according to the traveling conditions And a controller.

  The control mode determination unit according to the second aspect of the present invention cools the refrigerator when the traveling speed of the vehicle is equal to or greater than a predetermined first threshold and the duration of the traveling speed is equal to or greater than a predetermined second threshold. Select a control mode to reduce or stop operation.

  The control mode determining unit according to the third aspect of the present invention is provided with the refrigerator when the traveling speed of the vehicle is equal to or higher than a predetermined first threshold and the duration of the traveling speed is equal to or higher than a predetermined second threshold. Select a control mode to reduce or stop the operation of the condenser cooling fan.

  The control device according to the fourth aspect of the present invention acquires a traffic jam information acquiring unit that acquires traffic jam information indicating the status of traffic congestion in the traveling route of the vehicle, and the traveling route of the vehicle A congestion control controller for instructing the reinforcement of the cooling operation of the refrigerator in advance before reaching a congestion occurrence point indicated by the congestion information, when the congestion information indicates that congestion has occurred; .

  The control device according to a fifth aspect of the present invention further includes an environmental information acquisition unit for acquiring environmental information that affects the cooling state by the refrigerator in the travel route of the vehicle, the environmental information acquisition unit further comprising: Information on at least one of the outside air temperature of the travel route and the weather is acquired, and the control mode determination unit further determines the control mode based on the information acquired by the environment information acquisition unit.

  The control device according to a sixth aspect of the present invention further includes a traveling initial condition acquiring unit for acquiring a traveling initial condition of the vehicle, and the traveling initial condition acquiring unit is for the cooling required by the refrigerator. The control mode determination unit determines the control mode based on the information acquired by the travel initial condition acquisition unit, by acquiring at least one of the degree and the cargo load amount.

  A seventh aspect of the present invention is a refrigerator for cooling cargo transported by a frozen vehicle, and a refrigerator controller for receiving a command signal from the control device described above and controlling the refrigerator based on the command signal; It is a refrigerator unit provided with.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a server terminal device including the control device described above, a refrigerator for cooling cargo transported by a frozen vehicle, and a controller for controlling the refrigerator based on a command signal received from the control device. And a refrigerator unit comprising: a refrigerator controller;

  The refrigerator controller of the refrigerator control system according to the ninth aspect of the present invention controls the refrigerator based on a command signal received from the control device, and a current temperature in a refrigerator for cooling the refrigerator. And feedback control based on the difference between the target temperature and the predetermined target temperature, according to the traveling condition of the vehicle equipped with the refrigerator.

  The tenth aspect of the present invention acquires information on a departure position of a vehicle and a target position, and based on the travel route of the vehicle specified based on the departure position and the target position, the vehicle of the travel route It is a control method of predicting traveling conditions including a traveling speed and a duration of the traveling speed, and determining a control mode of a refrigerator provided in the vehicle according to the traveling conditions.

  According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer of the control device based on means for acquiring information on a departure position and a target position of the vehicle, based on a travel route of the vehicle specified based on the departure position and the target position. Function as means for predicting traveling conditions including traveling speed of the vehicle on the traveling route and duration of the traveling speed, and means for determining a control mode of a refrigerator of the vehicle according to the traveling conditions Is a program for

  According to the present invention, the transport cost of the frozen vehicle can be reduced by performing control of the refrigerator in coordination with the traveling condition of the frozen vehicle. In addition, since the control can be independently performed only on the side of the refrigerator without cooperating with the ECU mounted on the frozen vehicle, the development cost can be suppressed.

It is a block diagram showing an example of a refrigerator control system in an embodiment of the present invention. It is a first view showing an example of a frozen vehicle in an embodiment of the present invention. It is a 2nd figure showing an example of the frozen vehicle in the embodiment of the present invention. It is a first flowchart of refrigerator control in an embodiment of the present invention. It is a 2nd flow chart of freezer control in an embodiment of the present invention. It is an example of the data table used for determination of the control mode of the refrigerator in embodiment of this invention. It is the 3rd flow chart of freezer control in an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, a refrigerator control system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a refrigerator control system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 1, the refrigerator control system 1 includes a controller 10 and a refrigerator unit 30. The refrigerator control system 1 is a system for controlling a refrigerator included in a frozen vehicle. The control device 10 is, for example, a server terminal device installed in a data center. The control device 10 is connected to the Internet, for example, a vehicle management system operated by a company that acquires information such as weather, outside temperature, traffic condition, etc. of a route on which the frozen vehicle travels, and performs operation management of the frozen vehicle. , And information such as the starting position and the target position of the frozen vehicle can be acquired. The refrigerator unit 30 is a device which is provided in a frozen vehicle and freezes and refrigerates cargo transported by the frozen vehicle. The control device 10 is communicably connected to the refrigerator unit 30 via a network. The control device 10 transmits a command signal instructing cooling control to the refrigerator unit 30, and the refrigerator unit 30 performs cooling control on the cargo based on the command signal received from the control device 10.

  The refrigerator unit 30 includes a refrigerator controller 31, a refrigerator 32, and a reception interface 33. The reception interface 33 receives the command signal transmitted by the control device 10, and outputs the command signal to the refrigerator controller 31. The refrigerator controller 31 controls the cooling operation of the refrigerator 32 based on the acquired command signal. As described later, the refrigerator 32 operates using the engine of the frozen vehicle as a power source. Therefore, when the frozen vehicle 20 travels at high speed, the cooling capacity of the refrigerator 32 is increased, and when the frozen vehicle 20 is stopped, the cooling capacity of the refrigerator 32 is decreased. The refrigerator unit 30 freezes or refrigerates to a temperature according to the type of cargo to be transported. In the following, freezing or refrigeration is generically called freezing.

  The control device 10 includes a traveling initial condition acquiring unit 101, an environment information acquiring unit 102, a position information acquiring unit 103, a traffic jam information acquiring unit 104, a route specifying unit 105, a traveling condition predicting unit 106, and a control mode determination. A section 107, a traffic jam cooling control section 108, a command signal transmission section 109, and a storage section 110 are provided.

  The traveling initial condition acquisition unit 101 acquires a traveling initial condition when the refrigeration vehicle provided with the refrigerator unit 30 travels while loading cargo. The travel initial conditions include, for example, a departure position, a destination position, a type of cargo, a load of cargo, and the like. These traveling initial conditions are registered in, for example, a vehicle management system (not shown) of a distribution company that manages delivery by the frozen vehicle, and the traveling initial condition acquisition unit 101 acquires the traveling initial conditions from this vehicle management system Do.

The environmental information acquisition unit 102 acquires environmental information that affects the cooling state of the refrigerator unit 30 in the travel route. The environmental information is, for example, the outside temperature of the traveling route, the weather, the amount of solar radiation, and the like. The environmental information acquisition unit 102 acquires, for example, information such as the outside temperature of the travel route via the Internet.
The position information acquisition unit 103 acquires current position information of the frozen vehicle provided with the refrigerator unit 30. For example, the cooling vehicle 20 is equipped with a GPS receiver, and the vehicle management system acquires position information of the frozen vehicle from the cooling vehicle 20 at predetermined time intervals. The position information acquisition unit 103 acquires position information of the frozen vehicle from the vehicle management system.

The congestion information acquisition unit 104 acquires congestion information including information on a section where congestion occurs in the traveling route of the frozen vehicle. For example, the traffic congestion information acquisition unit 104 acquires road traffic information provided by a public organization, and acquires traffic congestion information included in the road traffic information.
The route identification unit 105 illuminates the information on the departure position and the destination position acquired by the traveling initial condition acquisition unit 101 with the map information including the road network information, and the frozen vehicle travels from the departure position to the destination position. Identify the travel route. For example, when the frozen vehicle leaves the departure position and travels in the order of the general road A, the expressway B, and the general road C to reach the target position, the route specifying unit 105 is a road that configures the traveling route of the frozen vehicle. Identify

  The traveling condition prediction unit 106 predicts the traveling condition of the frozen vehicle in the traveling route with respect to the traveling route specified by the route specifying unit 105. The traveling conditions are, for example, the traveling speed of the frozen vehicle and the duration of the traveling speed. For example, on the general road A, the traveling condition prediction unit 106 predicts that traveling can be continued for 10 minutes at a speed of 40 km / hour. Also, for example, on the expressway B, the traveling condition prediction unit 106 predicts that traveling can be continued continuously for 60 minutes at 100 km / hr.

  The control mode determination unit 107 determines the control mode of the refrigerator 32 according to the traveling condition predicted by the traveling condition prediction unit 106. When the frozen vehicle can travel continuously at high speed, the traveling wind cools the cold storage provided in the frozen vehicle, and the surface of the cold storage is cooled, thereby reducing the heat of entry from the outside into the cold storage. As a result, the temperature in the cold storage becomes difficult to increase (these effects are called cooling effects). Therefore, for example, when the traveling condition prediction unit 106 predicts that the frozen vehicle can continuously travel for 60 minutes at a speed of 100 km per hour, the control mode determination unit 107 performs control capable of energy saving operation with the operation rate of the refrigerator 32 suppressed. It decides to control in mode.

  In a traffic jam cooling control unit 108, when it is predicted that the frozen vehicle will not travel, the refrigeration operation of the refrigerator 32 is strengthened by a predetermined time before the time when it is predicted that the frozen vehicle will not travel. Prepare for a situation where the vehicle stops traveling (a situation where the cooling capacity of the refrigerator 32 is reduced). For example, when the information acquired by the congestion information acquisition unit indicates that congestion is occurring in the traveling route of the cooling vehicle, the congestion cooling control unit 108 is configured to arrive at the congestion occurrence point indicated by the congestion information a predetermined time before It is decided in advance to perform control to strengthen the cooling operation of the refrigerator 32.

The command signal transmission unit 109 transmits, to the refrigerator unit 30, a control content corresponding to the control mode determined by the control mode determination unit 107 and a command signal for performing the control determined by the traffic cooling control unit 108. The refrigerator unit 30 receives a command signal and operates according to the received command signal.
The storage unit 110 stores various information necessary for operation control of the refrigerator unit 30. For example, the storage unit 110 stores map information including information on roads constituting the travel route identified by the route identification unit 105.

FIG. 2 is a first view showing an example of a frozen vehicle in the embodiment of the present invention.
The frozen vehicle 20A shown in FIG. 2 is a configuration example of the frozen vehicle in which the engine 21 directly drives the compressor 321.
The engine 21 of the frozen vehicle 20A shown in FIG. 2 is a power source for causing the frozen vehicle 20A to travel. The engine 21 is connected to the compressor 321 by an electromagnetic clutch or the like. Control of connecting the compressor 321 to the engine 21 is performed by the refrigerator controller 31. When the compressor 321 is connected to the engine 21, the compressor 321 is rotationally driven by the engine 21 to generate high-pressure and high-temperature refrigerant gas. The condenser 322 condenses and liquefies the refrigerant compressed by the compressor 321. The evaporator 323 evaporates the refrigerant gas liquefied by the condenser 322, exchanges heat with air in the cold storage 22 provided in the refrigeration vehicle 20, and cools the cold storage 22. The evaporator 323 delivers low temperature, low pressure refrigerant gas to the compressor 321. The compressor 321 sucks in the refrigerant gas from the evaporator 323 to generate a high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant gas. And the above-mentioned process is repeated and the cool storage 22 is cooled. The devices such as the compressor 321, the condenser 322, and the evaporator 323 are connected by refrigerant pipes, and these constitute a refrigeration cycle. The refrigeration cycle including the compressor 321, the condenser 322, the evaporator 323 and the like corresponds to the refrigerator 32 of FIG.

  The refrigerator controller 31 operates the compressor 321 by controlling the on / off of the electromagnetic clutch connecting the compressor 321 and the engine 21 as described above. Further, the refrigerator controller 31 controls on / off of a cooling fan (not shown) for cooling the condenser 322, and operates the cooling fan to realize liquefaction of the refrigerant gas by the condenser. The cooling operation by the refrigerator 32 in the frozen vehicle 20 is realized by the compressor 321 obtaining power from the engine 21. That is, if the engine 21 is rotating, a cooling operation is also possible, and if the engine 21 is stopped, the cool storage 22 can not be cooled. In addition, when the frozen vehicle 20 travels while operating the refrigerator 32, the load on the engine 21 is increased, and the transportation cost is increased. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the refrigerator 32 is operated in coordination with the traveling condition of the frozen vehicle 20 to optimize the transportation cost. The transportation cost is the total cost required for transporting the cargo by the frozen vehicle 20A, and the transportation cost includes the cost required for operating the refrigerator 32.

FIG. 3 is a second view showing an example of the frozen vehicle in the embodiment of the present invention.
The frozen vehicle 20B illustrated in FIG. 3 is a configuration example of a frozen vehicle in which the engine 21 generates a power by driving the generator 24, and the compressor 321 is rotationally driven by the power via the motor 324.
The generator 24 is rotationally driven by the engine 21 to generate electric power. The generator 24 and the motor 324 are electrically connected, and the motor 324 is rotationally driven by the power generated by the generator 24. The motor 324 and the compressor 321 are connected, and when the motor 324 rotates, the compressor 321 also rotates. The refrigerator controller 31 operates the compressor 321 by controlling on / off of the electrical connection between the generator 24 and the motor 324. When the compressor 321 is driven to rotate, the compressor 321 generates high-pressure and high-temperature refrigerant gas, and the cooler 22 is cooled by the above-described series of refrigeration cycles. Since the rotational speed of the compressor 321 can be changed by adjusting the rotational speed of the motor 324, the configuration illustrated in FIG. 3 is better than the configuration in which the compressor 321 illustrated in FIG. More detailed control is possible. However, even in this configuration example, the refrigerator 32 can not be operated while the engine 21 is not rotating, and operating the refrigerator 32 increases the load applied to the engine 21. The control device 10 of the present embodiment transmits a command signal to the refrigerator controller 31 provided in the refrigerated vehicles 20A and 20B having the configuration illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 and is necessary for the cargo loaded in the cold storage 22. Optimize transportation costs while cooling. Next, control of the cooling operation by the refrigerator 32 of the present embodiment will be described.

FIG. 4 is a first flowchart of refrigerator control according to the embodiment of the present invention.
The flow of processing in which the control device 10 generates a command signal and the refrigerator controller 31 controls the cooling operation of the refrigerator 32 will be described using FIG. 4.
First, the traveling initial condition acquiring unit 101 acquires position information of the departure position and the target position of the frozen vehicle 20 from a vehicle management system that manages the operation of the frozen vehicle 20 (step S11). The traveling initial condition acquiring unit 101 outputs the position information to the route specifying unit 105. The route specifying unit 105 reads the map information stored in the storage unit 110, selects a road to be traveled from the departure position to the destination position from the information of the road network included in the map information, and specifies the travel route. Perform (step S12). The specification of the travel route is to specify the type and nature of the road on which the frozen vehicle 20 travels. The type is, for example, an expressway or a general road, or a speed limit of the road. In addition, the nature of the road means whether it includes uphills or there are many traffic lights. The map information stored in the storage unit 110 includes the above information for each road, and the route specifying unit 105 reads the type of the road on which the frozen vehicle 20 travels from the map information. In addition, well-known methods, such as a route guidance of what is called car navigation, can be used for selection of the road which drive | works, for example. Alternatively, the route specifying unit 105 may acquire information of a road traveling from the outside such as a vehicle management system. The route identification unit 105 outputs information on the identified travel route to the traveling condition prediction unit 106.

  Next, the traveling condition prediction unit 106 predicts traveling conditions based on the information of the traveling route acquired from the route identification unit 105 (step S13). For example, the traveling condition prediction unit 106 predicts the traveling speed of the frozen vehicle 20 and the duration of the traveling speed. For example, based on the information that the road condition from the A1 point to the A2 point is a general road and there are a lot of signals included in the acquired travel route information, the traveling condition prediction unit 106 has a traveling speed of 40 km / hour for 1 minute in that section Predict that it can only continue. It should be noted that the continuation time of the predetermined traveling speed may be regarded as being interrupted by stopping the traveling of the frozen vehicle 20 by a signal etc., and the continuation time may be predicted, or the average time in the section is considered The duration of travel at different travel speeds may be predicted. Also, for example, based on the information that the traveling condition prediction unit 106 is a freeway and is relatively flat from the point B1 to the point B2 included in the acquired information of the traveling route, the traveling speed = It is predicted that 100 km / h (first threshold) can last for 60 minutes (second threshold). Also, for example, the traveling condition prediction unit 106 has many ascending slopes that load is applied to the engine from the C1 point to the C2 point (for example, the ascending slope continues or the distance of the section where the ascending slope appears repeatedly is a predetermined threshold) Predict longer). The traveling condition prediction unit 106 outputs information indicating the predicted traveling condition to the control mode determination unit 107.

  Control mode determination unit 107 determines the control mode based on the information indicating the traveling condition acquired from traveling condition prediction unit 106 (step S14). First, the control mode determination unit 107 determines a control mode corresponding to each traveling speed and its duration from prediction of traveling conditions based on the type of road. For example, when it is possible to travel at 40 km / h for 1 minute, the cooling effect by the traveling wind can not be expected, so the control mode determination unit 107 selects a control mode in which the cooling operation of the cold storage 22 is performed intermittently. The control that performs the cooling operation intermittently is, for example, control such that the cooling operation is repeatedly turned on and off every 10 minutes. Further, for example, when traveling can be continued for 60 minutes (second threshold) at a speed of 100 km (first threshold) for 100 minutes, the load required for cooling the cooler 22 can be reduced by the cooling effect of the traveling wind. Further, in the case of high-speed traveling, since the cooling capacity of the refrigerator 32 is improved, a high cooling effect can be obtained even by the cooling operation for a relatively short time. Therefore, the control mode determination unit 107 selects a control mode for reducing the cooling operation. The control to lower the cooling operation is, for example, control to repeat the operation of turning off the cooling operation for 30 minutes and then turning on the cooling operation for 5 minutes.

  Next, the control mode determination unit 107 determines control according to the uphill among the information indicating the traveling conditions acquired from the traveling condition prediction unit 106 (step S15). In step S14, the control mode determination unit 107 determines the control mode for determining the basic cooling operation in the section in accordance with the traveling condition (continuous traveling speed) in the section. In step S15, the control mode determination unit 107 determines the control particularly corresponding to the uphill among the nature of the road. When traveling uphill, the engine 21 is loaded. Therefore, when the refrigerator 32 is operated and the cooler 22 is sufficiently cooled by the time immediately before the uphill to travel up the hill, the compressor 321 and the engine 21 are disconnected in the configuration of FIG. 2. Control is performed to cause the frozen vehicle 20 to travel. The control mode determination unit 107 determines a cooling time required to perform strong cooling in advance in preparation for a state where cooling of the cold storage 22 can not be performed while traveling on the uphill. The required cooling time may be predetermined, for example, according to the time required to climb the hill. Further, using the traveling speed predicted by the traveling condition prediction unit 106, the control mode determination unit 107 can secure a necessary cooling time by starting from which point the cooling starts before reaching the start position of the uphill. The cooling start position is calculated. The control mode determination unit 107 determines to perform control to start cooling when the cooling vehicle 20 reaches the cooling start position.

  The control content in driving | running | working of the cooling vehicle 20 is decided by the above. When the control content is determined, the control mode determination unit 107 outputs, to the command signal transmission unit 109, the control content (control mode, control for the hill) and the position information of the start position and the end position of the section corresponding to each control content. Do. The cooling vehicle 20 also loads cargo and starts traveling from the departure position to the destination position.

  When the cooling vehicle 20 starts traveling, the position information acquisition unit 103 acquires current position information of the cooling vehicle 20 at predetermined time intervals. The position information acquisition unit 103 outputs the acquired position information of the cooling vehicle 20 to the command signal transmission unit 109. The command signal transmission unit 109 generates a command signal based on the information of the section to be controlled in each control mode acquired from the control mode determination unit 107, the information of the control content in the section, and the position information of the cooling vehicle 20. And transmit to the refrigerator unit 30 (step S16). For example, when the control mode determination unit 107 selects the control mode for intermittently performing the cooling operation of the refrigerator 22 based on the traveling condition in the section from the A1 point to the A2 point, the command signal transmission unit 109 When it is determined that the current position of 20 is included in the section, a command signal instructing to turn on the refrigerator 32 intermittently is transmitted. In the refrigerator unit 30, the refrigerator controller 31 receives the command signal via the reception interface 33, and controls the operation of the refrigerator 32 according to the command signal (step S17). Specifically, for example, in the case of the frozen vehicle illustrated in FIG. 2, the refrigerator controller 31 performs control of connecting the compressor 321 to the engine 21 in a time zone in which the refrigerator 32 is turned on. When the compressor 321 is connected to the engine 21 and rotationally driven, the refrigerator 22 cools the cooler 22 by the refrigeration cycle of the refrigerator 32. Further, for example, in the case where the refrigerator car has the configuration illustrated in FIG. 3, the refrigerator controller 31 performs control of electrically connecting the generator 24 and the motor 324. In addition, when it is time to turn off the refrigerator 32, the refrigerator controller 31 performs control to disconnect the connection between the compressor 321 and the engine 21, for example.

  Further, for example, when the control mode determination unit 107 selects the control mode for reducing the cooling operation of the refrigerator 22 based on the traveling condition in the section from the B1 point to the B2 point, the command signal transmission unit 109 When it is determined that the current position of 20 has entered the section from the B1 point to the B2 point, a command signal instructing to lower the refrigeration operation of the refrigerator 32 is transmitted. In the refrigerator unit 30, the refrigerator controller 31 receives this command signal via the reception interface 33, and performs control to disconnect the compressor 321 and the engine 21, for example. When the compressor 321 is disconnected from the engine 21, the load on the engine 21 is reduced. Moreover, when traveling continuously at high speed for a predetermined time or longer instead of stopping the cooling operation of the refrigerator 32, it is possible to expect the effect of preventing the temperature rise of the cooler 22 due to the cooling effect by the traveling wind. Further, since the condenser 322 is cooled by the traveling wind, the refrigerator controller 31 can also perform control to stop the cooling fan of the condenser 322. This can save energy. In addition, when traveling for a predetermined time (for example, 30 minutes) with the cooling operation of the refrigerator 32 turned off, the refrigerator controller 31 controls, for example, to connect the compressor 321 and the engine 21 in order to restart the cooling operation. I do. Thereby, the refrigerator 32 resumes the cooling operation. In the control mode in which the cooling operation is reduced, the section in which the refrigerator 32 is turned off is provided for a longer period in this manner to reduce the load on the engine 21 and save energy.

  In addition, for example, when there is an uphill on the traveling route, the command signal transmission unit 109 transmits an instruction signal instructing reinforcement of the cooling operation in preparation for the uphill when the cooling vehicle 20 reaches the cooling start position. The refrigerator controller 31 performs control to keep the compressor 321 and the engine 21 connected, for example, until reaching the uphill, based on the command signal.

  According to the method of controlling the cooling operation of the refrigerator 32 in accordance with the traveling condition of the frozen vehicle 20, the cooling operation can be saved under certain traveling conditions, so that the transportation cost can be reduced. In particular, when the frozen vehicle 20 transports freight over a long distance using an expressway, the transportation cost can be reduced. Further, by reducing the load applied to the engine 21 and the compressor 321, an effect of delaying the consumption of the frozen vehicle 20 and the refrigerator 32 can be expected.

  In the above example, the control mode from the section (A1 point to A3 point) of the general road was determined based on the traveling speed and its duration in that section, but further prediction of the traveling condition in the next section The control mode may be determined in consideration. For example, it is assumed that the section from the point B1 to the point B2 follows the section from the point A1 to the point A3. In the above example, it is predicted that the road from the point B1 to the point B2 is an expressway, and continuous traveling at a predetermined speed or more is possible. In that case, the control mode determination unit 107 selects a control mode in which the cooling is made stronger in advance in the section from the A1 point to the A2 point so that the refrigerator 32 can be stopped and traveled from the B1 point to the B2 point It is also good. The control for stronger cooling is control in which the time for turning on the refrigerator 32 is set longer.

FIG. 5 is a second flowchart of the refrigerator control in the embodiment of the present invention.
In the flowchart of FIG. 4, the control mode determination unit 107 determines the control mode based on the traveling speed and the duration of the traveling speed. The control mode determination unit 107 can also determine the control mode according to the type of road on which the vehicle travels. FIG. 5 is an example of processing for determining the control mode according to the type of road on which the vehicle is traveling.
First, the control mode determination unit 107 acquires, from the route identification unit 105, information indicating the type of road included in the travel route of the frozen vehicle 20 (step S21). Next, the control mode determination unit 107 determines a control mode based on the type of road for each of the roads included in the travel route acquired from the route identification unit 105. First, the control mode determination unit 107 determines the type of road (step S22). For example, when the type of road is an expressway, the control mode determination unit 107 determines the control mode in the section of the expressway as the control mode for the expressway (step S23). The control mode for highways is, for example, a control mode in which the cooling operation of the refrigerator 32 is reduced. For example, when the type of road is a general road, the control mode determination unit 107 determines the control mode in the section of the general road as the control mode for a general road (step S24). The control mode for a general road is, for example, a control mode in which the cooling operation of the refrigerator 32 is performed intermittently. In the case of a general road, due to speed restrictions and traffic stops, it is not possible to expect the cooling effect of a traveling wind like a freeway. Therefore, in the control mode for a general road, for example, the control mode in which the cooling operation of the refrigerator 32 is intermittently performed is determined.

  Also, in the case of an ordinary road, unlike an expressway, there are many disturbances. Disturbances include, for example, departures and stops due to traffic lights, sudden changes in traveling speed due to local traffic conditions (for example, traveling at places where the road width is narrow due to vehicles that are parked on the road), etc. Change (eg, select a short cut or a less crowded road) or the like. In such an environment with many disturbances, uniform control by the control mode determined by the control device 10 may result in an increase in cost. Therefore, in the case of a general road, the following control may be performed. If the type of road is a road expected to have relatively low disturbance (for example, a national road), the control mode determination unit 107 controls the operation of the refrigerator 32 according to the control mode. Further, if the type of road is a road expected to have relatively large disturbance (for example, a municipal road), the cooling operation of the refrigerator 32 is left to the frozen vehicle 20 side. The control (hereinafter referred to as local control) in the case of leaving it to the frozen vehicle 20 is, for example, a control method of detecting the temperature or pressure of the cold storage 22 by a sensor and performing feedback control on the target temperature or target pressure.

  As described above, when performing the method of switching between the control determined by the control device 10 and the local control, the route specifying unit 105 further outputs information such as national road or municipal road to the control mode determination unit 107 as the type of road. . If the type of the acquired road is a municipal road, the control mode determination unit 107 determines that local control is to be performed for the section, and the command signal transmission unit 109 transmits a command signal instructing local control to the frozen vehicle 20 Do. The refrigerator controller 31 includes a circuit for local control, and switches control of the operation of the refrigerator 32 to local control when it receives a command signal instructing the local control. As described above, by switching between control by the control device 10 and local control according to the type of road, control of the refrigerator 32 more suitable for traveling conditions can be realized.

FIG. 6 is an example of a data table used to determine the control mode of the refrigerator in the embodiment of the present invention.
The process of selecting the control mode mainly corresponding to the traveling condition of the frozen vehicle 20 and controlling the cooling operation of the refrigerator 32 in the control mode has been described using FIGS. 4 and 5. By the way, it is not only the traveling wind at high speed traveling that affects the temperature of the cold storage 22. Other parameters that affect the environment may include outside temperature, weather, cargo load, and degree of cooling. For example, if the outside air temperature is high, the heat of entry into the refrigerator 22 increases, and the temperature of the refrigerator 22 also easily rises. Moreover, if it is rainy weather, the cooler 22 is cooled by rain, and the temperature of the cooler 22 becomes difficult to rise. In addition, it is considered that the load of the cooling operation is increased if the cargo loading amount is large. Further, the degree of cooling differs depending on the type of cargo, and it is necessary to transport foods such as vegetables in a refrigerated state and ice cream etc in a frozen state. For example, in the case of refrigeration, it is necessary to operate the refrigerator 32 relatively frequently in order to maintain the temperature in the refrigerator 22 at an appropriate temperature, but in the case of refrigeration, the temperature in the refrigerator 22 is previously By setting the temperature lower than the necessary temperature, there is a possibility that the frozen state can be maintained for a relatively long time even if the refrigerator 32 is stopped, which affects the operation control of the refrigerator 32.

  FIG. 6 is an example of a data table (hereinafter referred to as a control mode determination table) used by the control mode determination unit 107 to determine the control mode. The control mode determination table is stored in the storage unit 110. As shown in the figure, the control mode determination table has items of “identification information”, “traveling speed”, “duration time”, “outside temperature”, “weather”, “loading amount”, and “degree of cooling”. ing. In the control mode determination table, optimal control is performed according to the values stored in the items “traveling speed”, “duration”, “outside temperature”, “weather”, “loading amount”, and “degree of cooling”. Mode is defined. For example, in control mode 1, the traveling speed is "100 km / h or more" and can be continued for "60 minutes", and the temperature is "30 degrees or more", the weather is "fine", the loading amount is "large", This control mode is suitable for transporting frozen cargo. For example, in the control mode 2, the traveling conditions are the same as those in the control mode 1, and the temperature is "20 to 30 degrees", the weather is "cloudy", the loading amount is "low", and the cargo is transported by "frozen" It is a suitable control mode. Preferably, in the control mode determination table, control modes are set for all combinations of the respective conditions.

  Further, the storage unit 110 stores information indicating control content in the control mode in association with identification information of the control mode. For example, in the control mode 1, control information which determines that the refrigerator 32 is turned on for 5 minutes every time the vehicle travels for 30 minutes is recorded. In addition, for example, in the control mode 2, control information which determines that the refrigerator 32 is turned on for 5 minutes every time the vehicle travels for 40 minutes is recorded.

  A flow of processing using the control mode determination table will be described. The steps up to step S13 are the same as the flowchart of FIG. In step S14, the control mode determination unit 107 acquires, from the traveling condition prediction unit 106, the traveling speed for each section constituting the traveling route and the predicted value of the duration of the traveling speed. Further, the control mode determination unit 107 acquires, from the environment information acquisition unit 102, information on the outside temperature of the environment where the frozen vehicle 20 travels and the weather. Further, the control mode determination unit 107 acquires, from the traveling initial condition acquisition unit 101, information on the loading amount of the cargo loaded by the frozen vehicle 20 and the degree of cooling. The control mode determination unit 107 refers to the control mode determination table stored in the storage unit 110 based on the acquired information as a condition, and specifies a control mode that satisfies each condition. Next, the control mode determination unit 107 reads the value of “identification information” of the specified control mode. Furthermore, the control mode determination unit 107 reads the control content corresponding to the identified identification information of the control mode, and outputs the control content to the command signal transmission unit 109. The process after step S15 is the same as that of the flowchart of FIG.

  If the control mode determination table is used, in addition to the traveling conditions of the frozen vehicle 20, control of the refrigerator 32 can be performed in consideration of the environment in which the frozen vehicle 20 travels and the cargo transported by the frozen vehicle 20. In addition, you may provide item "type of a road" instead of each item of "traveling speed" of the table illustrated in FIG. 6, and "duration".

  In addition, in step S15 of the flowchart in FIG. 4, it has been described that control according to the uphill is performed. For example, when performing control to strengthen cooling in advance from before the uphill, the outside temperature, weather, loading amount, The time for performing control to strengthen the cooling in advance may be changed according to the degree of cooling or the like. Further, for example, it is predicted that the load capacity is small and the engine load on the uphill is not so high, and if the outside air temperature is high, etc., the refrigerator 32 may be operated even while traveling on the uphill .

  In the above description, the control mode is determined in advance in accordance with the traveling conditions, the traveling environment, and the like, and the traveling is performed by way of example. However, the control device 10 changes during traveling of the frozen vehicle 20 The control mode may be changed in real time according to the traveling conditions, the traveling environment, and the like, and a command signal corresponding to the changed control mode may be transmitted to the refrigerator unit 30.

  So far, it has been described that the control mode is changed according to the traveling condition of the frozen vehicle 20, the traveling environment, the condition of cargo to be transported, etc., and the control of the refrigerator 32 coordinated with the traveling condition of the frozen vehicle 20 is performed. According to the control device 10 of the present embodiment, the transportation cost of the frozen vehicle 20 can be optimized without cooperation with an ECU or the like included in the frozen vehicle 20. Next, an example of control for optimally maintaining the frozen state or the refrigerated state of the transported cargo while optimizing the transportation cost of the frozen vehicle 20 will be described using FIG. 7.

FIG. 7 is a third flowchart of refrigerator control according to the embodiment of the present invention.
According to the flowchart of FIG. 7, the refrigerated storage 22 may not be able to sufficiently operate the refrigerator 32 due to the decrease in the number of rotations of the engine 21 because the traveling frozen vehicle 20 may be entrained in a traffic jam or the like. It is a control to prevent the internal temperature from rising and damaging the cargo. As a premise of the present processing flow, it is assumed that the frozen vehicle 20 travels leaving a departure position. In addition, it is assumed that the traveling initial condition acquiring unit 101 acquires position information of the frozen vehicle 20 at predetermined time intervals.
First, the traffic congestion information acquisition unit 104 acquires traffic congestion information (step S31). The congestion information acquisition unit 104 outputs the acquired congestion information to the cooling control unit 108 during heavy traffic. The congestion time cooling control unit 108 acquires information on the traveling route of the frozen vehicle 20 from the route identification unit 105. The congested state cooling control unit 108 compares the information on the traveling route on which the frozen vehicle 20 is scheduled to travel with the congestion information to detect whether or not there is a traffic jam on the planned traveling road. Then, during heavy traffic, the cooling control unit 108 determines whether the frozen vehicle 20 encounters heavy traffic (step S32). When it is determined that traffic congestion is not encountered (step S32; No), this processing flow ends.

  If it is determined that traffic congestion will be encountered (step S32; Yes), the congestion time cooling control unit 108 calculates the cooling time necessary for cooling in advance in preparation for traffic congestion. For example, it is assumed that the storage unit 110 records the time required to get out of the traffic congestion per 1 km of traffic congestion for each road or road type, and the traffic congestion information is given by the traffic congestion occurrence section and the traffic congestion length. The on-congestion cooling control unit 108 calculates the time required to exit the on-congestion based on these values. Next, during heavy traffic, the cooling control unit 108 calculates a cooling time for performing cooling in advance (strongly) in preparation for heavy traffic (step S33). For example, the storage unit 110 stores a data table or function that associates the time required to get out of the traffic jam and the cooling time in advance, and the traffic cooling control unit 108 performs this data table or function. Use to calculate the pre-cooling time. In addition, the congestion time cooling control unit 108 adds the parameters such as the outside temperature and weather of the road where the traffic congestion is occurring, the loading amount of the cargo loaded on the cooling vehicle 20, the type of cargo (degree of cooling), etc. The cooling time may be calculated.

  If the cooling time in advance is calculated, the congestion-time cooling control unit 108 calculates a point at which the cooling in advance is to be started (step S34). Specifically, the traffic cooling control unit 108 multiplies the traveling speed predicted by the traveling condition prediction unit 106 by the previously calculated cooling time in advance, and calculates the traveling distance traveled while performing cooling in advance. . Then, the congestion time cooling control unit 108 calculates a point ahead by the travel distance calculated from the end on the near side in the traveling direction of the traffic congestion occurrence section, and determines the point as a point to start preliminary cooling. Next, the traffic cooling control unit 108 outputs, to the command signal transmission unit 109, information indicating that control will be performed to strengthen the cooling operation when the frozen vehicle 20 reaches a point where cooling in advance is started.

  Next, based on the position information of the cooled vehicle 20 acquired by the position information acquiring unit 103, the command signal transmitting unit 109 detects that the frozen vehicle 20 has reached the point at which the preliminary cooling calculated in step S34 is started. Then, a command signal instructing to strengthen the cooling operation is transmitted to the refrigerator unit 30 (step S35). In the refrigerator unit 30, the refrigerator controller 31 receives this command signal, and controls the operation of the refrigerator 32 in accordance with the command signal (step S36). For example, when it is the freeway where the traffic congestion has occurred, the refrigerator controller 31 controls the refrigerator 32 according to the control mode for reducing the cooling operation before reaching the point of starting the preliminary cooling. Then, the refrigerator controller 31 performs control to intensify the cooling operation after the point of starting the preliminary cooling. The control to strengthen the cooling operation is, for example, to perform control to keep the compressor 321 and the engine 21 connected. According to this control, even when the cooling capacity of the refrigerator 32 is lowered because the frozen vehicle 20 gets stuck in a traffic jam and can not travel, the temperature rise of the refrigerator is suppressed and the cargo is prevented from being damaged. Can.

  Conventionally, control of the refrigerator 32 was performing feedback control based on the temperature and pressure which the sensor in the cool storage 22 detected. In the case of such control, there is a problem in optimization of the transportation cost because the traveling condition of the frozen vehicle is not considered. According to the present embodiment, in order to determine the control mode of the refrigerator 32 in consideration of the traveling conditions and the traveling environment of the frozen vehicle 20, for example, the transportation cost is reduced by stopping the excessive cooling operation. The load of 21 can be reduced.

  In addition, there is also a method of acquiring information on the number of revolutions of an engine, for example, from an ECU mounted on the frozen vehicle, estimating traveling conditions of the frozen vehicle based on the information, and controlling the refrigerator considering the traveling conditions. . However, there are many cases where the manufacturer of the refrigerator and the manufacturer of the vehicle part of the frozen vehicle are different, and in this control method, there are also problems in aspects other than the technology such as adjustment between different manufacturers. Also, if a manufacturer of refrigerators is to provide a refrigerator to each of the refrigerated vehicles manufactured by a plurality of manufacturers, it will be necessary to develop an interface of the refrigerator according to the specifications of each manufacturer. Development costs and maintenance costs may increase. According to the present embodiment, the control device 10 may be installed in a data center or the like, while the refrigerator unit 30 may be provided with an interface connectable to the control device 10 by a wireless communication means or the like. It can be set as a general-purpose structure using an interface apparatus. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the above problem does not occur.

  Further, the control device 10 of the present embodiment predicts the traveling condition of the frozen vehicle 20 only by inputting the information of the departure position and the target position of the frozen vehicle 20, and performs control of the refrigerator 32 in consideration of the traveling condition. be able to. Further, the control device 10 can obtain information on the traveling environment of the frozen vehicle 20 and the cargo to be transported, and can control the refrigerator 32 in consideration of those parameters. Thereby, there is no need to cooperate with the frozen vehicle side, and the transportation cost of the frozen vehicle 20 can be optimized only by the control of the freezer unit 30 side.

  Further, the control device 10 according to the present embodiment performs strong cooling in advance in preparation for a situation in which the refrigeration capacity of the refrigerator 32 is lowered due to traffic congestion from the information of the congestion occurrence section in the travel route. , To prevent the impact on the cargo.

  Further, with regard to transportation of refrigerated and frozen cargo, different demands exist due to the difference in transportation cargo such as medicine and fresh food, and the difference in transportation form such as convenience store delivery and long distance transportation. And conventionally, individual software was created and responded to these different demands. In this case, when the software is changed, the software written to the refrigerator controller is updated each time, or the shared software corresponding to a plurality of requests is generated and handled, but the software updating operation takes time and effort In addition, while the software is being updated, there is a problem that the cooling vehicle can not be operated. In addition, the storage capacity of the refrigerator controller is limited, and the shared software tends to have a large data size, which may cause a shortage of the storage capacity. According to the present embodiment, the computer resource of the control device 10 has a margin, and since the refrigerator controller 31 performs control based on the command signal from the control device 10, there is no problem associated with software replacement.

  The above-described control device 10 internally includes a computer system. The process of each process in the control device 10 described above is stored in a computer readable recording medium in the form of a program, and the above process is performed by the computer reading and executing the program. Here, the computer readable recording medium refers to a magnetic disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, a semiconductor memory or the like. Alternatively, the computer program may be distributed to a computer through a communication line, and the computer that has received the distribution may execute the program.

Further, the program may be for realizing a part of the functions described above. Furthermore, it may be a so-called difference file (difference program) that can realize the above-described functions in combination with a program already recorded in the computer system.
The control device 10 may be configured by one computer or may be configured by a plurality of computers communicably connected.

  In addition, without departing from the spirit of the present invention, it is possible to replace components in the above-described embodiment with known components as appropriate. Further, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

1 ... refrigerator control system 10 ... control device 101 ... traveling initial condition acquisition unit 102 ... environment information acquisition unit 103 ... position information acquisition unit 104 ... traffic information acquisition unit 105 · · · · Route identification unit 106 ··· Running condition prediction unit 107 · · · Control mode decision unit 108 · · · During heavy traffic cooling control unit 109 · · · Command signal transmission unit 110 · · · Storage unit 20A, 20B · · · Frozen Vehicle 21 ··· Engine 22 ··· Storage cooler 23 ··· Electromagnetic clutch 24 ··· Generator 30 ··· Freezer unit 31 ··· Freezer controller 32 ··· Freezer 321 ··· Compressor 322 ... Condenser 323 ... Evaporator 324 ... Electric motor

Claims (11)

A position information acquisition unit that acquires information on the departure position and the target position of the vehicle;
A traveling condition prediction unit that predicts traveling conditions including the traveling speed of the vehicle on the traveling route and the duration of the traveling speed based on the traveling route of the vehicle specified based on the departure position and the target position; ,
A control mode determination unit that determines a control mode of a refrigerator provided in the vehicle according to the traveling condition;
Control device comprising: The control mode determination unit reduces or stops the cooling operation of the refrigerator when the traveling speed of the vehicle is equal to or greater than a predetermined first threshold and the duration of the traveling speed is equal to or greater than a predetermined second threshold. To choose
The control device according to claim 1, comprising: When the traveling speed of the vehicle is equal to or more than a predetermined first threshold and the duration of the traveling speed is equal to or more than a predetermined second threshold, the control mode determination unit operates the cooling fan for the condenser included in the refrigerator. Select the control mode to drop or stop,
The control device according to claim 1 or 2, comprising A traffic jam information acquisition unit that acquires traffic jam information indicating a state of traffic jam in the travel route of the vehicle;
If the information acquired by the congestion information acquisition unit indicates that congestion occurs in the travel route of the vehicle, the cooling operation of the refrigerator is performed in advance before reaching a congestion occurrence point indicated by the congestion information. Congestion cooling control unit that gives instructions to strengthen, and
The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: The environmental information acquisition unit for acquiring environmental information that affects the cooling state by the refrigerator in the travel route of the vehicle, further comprising:
The environment information acquisition unit acquires information on at least one of the outside temperature of the travel route and the weather,
The control mode determination unit further determines a control mode based on the information acquired by the environmental information acquisition unit.
The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The vehicle further includes a traveling initial condition acquisition unit that acquires a traveling initial condition of the vehicle.
The traveling initial condition acquiring unit acquires information on at least one of the degree of cooling required by the refrigerator and the cargo loading amount,
The control mode determination unit further determines the control mode based on the information acquired by the traveling initial condition acquisition unit.
The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5. A refrigerator that cools cargo transported by the frozen vehicle;
A refrigerator controller that receives a command signal from the control device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, and controls the refrigerator based on the command signal;
A refrigerator unit equipped with A server terminal device comprising the control device according to any one of claims 1 to 6.
A refrigerator unit comprising: a refrigerator for cooling cargo transported by a frozen vehicle; and a refrigerator controller for controlling the refrigerator based on a command signal received from the control device;
A refrigerator control system comprising: The refrigerator controller
The refrigerator is provided with control of the refrigerator based on a command signal received from the control device, and feedback control based on a difference between a current temperature in a cold storage to be cooled by the refrigerator and a predetermined target temperature. Switch according to the driving condition of the vehicle,
The refrigerator control system according to claim 8. Get information on departure position and destination position of the vehicle,
Based on the travel route of the vehicle specified based on the departure position and the target position, travel conditions including the travel speed of the vehicle and the duration of the travel speed on the travel path are predicted.
The control mode of the refrigerator provided in the vehicle is determined according to the traveling condition.
Control method. Controller computer,
A means for acquiring information on the departure position and the target position of the vehicle;
Means of predicting traveling conditions including traveling speed of the vehicle on the traveling route and duration of the traveling speed based on the traveling route of the vehicle specified based on the departure position and the target position;
A unit that determines a control mode of a refrigerator provided in the vehicle according to the traveling condition;
Program to function as.

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