JP6809178B2 - Vehicle air conditioning controller - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle air conditioning controller.

In order to improve fuel efficiency and reduce exhaust gas, the internal combustion engine is stopped when the automatic stop condition is met when the vehicle is stopped at an intersection, and then the internal combustion engine is restarted when the restart condition is met. It is equipped with an idle stop function to start.

Such an air conditioner for a vehicle is provided with a blower that blows air into the vehicle interior from an outlet in order to bring the interior of the vehicle to a set temperature set by an occupant.

According to Patent Document 1, when the engine is stopped, the air volume of the blower is maintained in a state of being increased from the minimum air volume of the blower to the intermediate air volume increased by a predetermined amount for a predetermined time, and then the target is when the engine is started. It is disclosed that the amount of air blown is changed based on the blowing temperature.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-14636

By the way, in Patent Document 1, since the amount of air blown is changed based on the target blowing temperature when the engine is restarted, the driving noise of the blower becomes louder and the amount of air blown increases, so that the occupant feels comfortable. Gives a sense of discomfort.

Further, an air conditioning control device having a plurality of batteries, one of which supplies electric power to the electric motor for starting the engine is driven by a control unit for driving and controlling the blower, and the other battery is used to drive the blower. Then, when the engine is restarted, the voltage of one of the batteries drops. When the voltage of one battery drops, the voltage of the power supplied to the control unit drops, whereas the voltage of the other battery that supplies power to the blower does not fluctuate. In such a state, when the control unit raises the applied voltage of the blower in order to make the target applied voltage based on the set temperature by feedback control from the voltage of the supplied electric power, the amount of air blown by the blower temporarily increases. The increase in the number of people will occur, giving the occupants a sense of discomfort.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle air-conditioning control device capable of reducing the discomfort of the occupants due to an increase in the driving noise of the blower and an increase in the amount of air blown when the engine is restarted.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is an air conditioning control device for a vehicle that stops an engine when a predetermined automatic stop condition is satisfied and restarts the engine when a predetermined restart condition is satisfied. The control unit includes a blower that blows air into the passenger compartment of the vehicle, a main battery, a sub-battery, a starting device that starts the engine, and a control unit that controls the amount of air blown by the blower. The blower is driven by the target air volume, and when the restart condition is satisfied, the main battery and the starting device are connected, the sub battery and the blower are connected, and the air volume is set to the target air volume. It is limited to the following.

According to the present invention as described above, it is possible to reduce the discomfort of the occupant due to the increase in the driving sound of the blower and the increase in the amount of blown air when the engine is restarted.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a vehicle air conditioning control device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a procedure for blower control processing of a vehicle air conditioning control device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a time chart showing changes in the voltage applied to the blower fan motor due to the blower control process of the vehicle air conditioning control device according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a time chart showing changes in the voltage applied to the blower fan motor due to the conventional blower control process.

The vehicle air-conditioning control device according to an embodiment of the present invention is a vehicle air-conditioning control that stops the engine when a predetermined automatic stop condition is satisfied and restarts the engine when a predetermined restart condition is satisfied. The device includes a blower that blows air into the passenger compartment of the vehicle and a control unit that controls the amount of air blown by the blower. The control unit drives the blower with a target air volume and when the restart condition is satisfied. Is configured to limit the air volume below the target air volume.

As a result, it is possible to reduce the discomfort of the occupants due to the increase in the driving noise of the blower and the increase in the amount of air blown when the engine is restarted.

Hereinafter, the vehicle air conditioning control device according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, a vehicle 1 equipped with a vehicle air-conditioning control device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an engine 2, a power supply system 3, and an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 4 as a control unit. ing. Further, the vehicle 1 according to the present embodiment is a vehicle having an idle stop function as described later.

The engine 2 includes a piston, a cylinder, a connecting rod, etc. (not shown), and is a four-cycle engine that performs a series of four strokes including an intake stroke, a compression stroke, an expansion stroke, and an exhaust stroke while the piston makes two reciprocations in the cylinder. It is composed of.

The piston housed in the cylinder is connected to the crankshaft via a connecting rod. The connecting rod is designed to convert the reciprocating motion of the piston into the rotational motion of the crankshaft.

A transmission 23 is connected to the engine 2. The transmission 23 shifts the rotation of the crankshaft of the engine 2 at a predetermined gear ratio and outputs it to the differential gear 24.

The differential gear 24 transmits the output of the transmission 23 to the drive shaft 25 to rotate the left and right wheels 26. In FIG. 1, only one wheel 26 is shown, and the remaining three wheels are not shown.

The power supply system 3 includes a main battery 31 as a first battery, a sub battery 32 as a second battery, a motor generator 33, and a switch (SW) circuit 34.

The main battery 31 is composed of, for example, a lead storage battery. The main battery 31 is electrically connected to the electric load 35 and the motor generator 33 via the switch circuit 34. Although not shown, a current sensor, a voltage sensor, and a battery temperature sensor are connected to the main battery 31. These sensors are connected to the ECU 4. The ECU 4 can detect the charging state of the main battery 31 from the outputs of these sensors.

The sub-battery 32 is composed of, for example, a lithium ion storage battery. The sub-battery 32 is electrically connected to the electric load 35, the motor generator 33, and the blower fan motor 38 via the switch circuit 34. Although not shown, the sub-battery 32 is connected to a current sensor, a voltage sensor, and a battery temperature sensor. These sensors are connected to the ECU 4. The ECU 4 can detect the charging state of the sub-battery 32 from the outputs of these sensors.

The switch circuit 34 selects and connects at least one of the main battery 31 and the sub battery 32 as a power source for supplying electric power to the electric load 35, the motor generator 33, and the blower fan motor 38. The switch circuit 34 connects the electric load 35, the motor generator 33, the blower fan motor 38, and the main battery 31 and the sub battery 32 under the control of the ECU 4.

The motor generator 33 is a motor having a function as an alternator that generates electricity by driving the engine 2 in addition to a function as a starter for starting the engine 2. The motor generator 33 is driven by electric power supplied from at least one of the main battery 31 and the sub battery 32. The motor generator 33 controls the output torque according to the torque command signal output by the ECU 4.

The motor generator 33 includes an electric generator pulley 36 connected to a rotor shaft of the motor generator 33. The motor generator pulley 36 is connected to the crankshaft pulley 27 connected to the crankshaft of the engine 2 via a belt 28 so as to be able to transmit power.

The vehicle 1 is equipped with an air conditioner (not shown). The air conditioner includes a blower 37 and a blower fan motor 38.

The blower 37 is designed to blow air to be blown into the vehicle interior. The blower 37 is provided with a blower fan motor 38 that rotates the blower 37. The blower 37 is rotated by the blower fan motor 38 to blow the air introduced from the introduction port toward the discharge port. The rotational force of the blower fan motor 38 changes according to the control by the ECU 4, and the amount of air blown by the blower 37 changes.

The ECU 4 is composed of a computer unit including a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a flash memory, an input port, and an output port.

The ROM of the ECU 4 stores various control constants, various maps, and the like, as well as a program for causing the computer unit to function as the ECU 4. That is, when the CPU executes the program stored in the ROM, the computer unit functions as the ECU 4.

Various sensors such as an engine speed sensor 51, a vehicle speed sensor 52, an accelerator opening sensor 53, and a brake switch 54 are connected to the input port of the ECU 4.

The engine speed sensor 51 detects the engine speed of the engine 2. The vehicle speed sensor 52 detects the speed of the vehicle 1 from the rotation speed of the wheels 26 and the like.

The accelerator opening sensor 53 detects an accelerator opening, which is an opening of an accelerator pedal (not shown) operated by the driver, for example, when an acceleration is requested.

The brake switch 54 detects whether or not a brake pedal (not shown) is depressed. The brake switch 54 outputs an on signal when the brake pedal is depressed, and outputs an off signal when the brake pedal is not depressed.

On the other hand, various control objects such as an engine 2, a motor generator 33, a switch circuit 34, and a blower fan motor 38 are connected to the output port of the ECU 4.

The ECU 4 calculates the target air volume of the blower 37 based on the set temperature set in the air conditioner by the operation of the occupant of the vehicle 1 and the air volume set by the fan switch that sets the air volume of the blower 37. The ECU 4 controls the voltage applied to the blower fan motor 38 so that the blower 37 blows the target air volume. The ECU 4 monitors the battery voltage of the main battery 31 and controls the applied voltage to the blower fan motor 38 by feedback control in order to prevent the applied voltage to the blower fan motor 38 from fluctuating due to the voltage fluctuation of the battery.

The ECU 4 can execute idle stop control that automatically stops the engine 2 when a predetermined automatic stop condition is satisfied and restarts the engine 2 when a predetermined restart condition is satisfied. The predetermined automatic stop condition includes, for example, that the vehicle speed is equal to or lower than the predetermined vehicle speed, the accelerator operation amount is "0", the brake is depressed, and the like. Further, the predetermined restart conditions include, for example, that the accelerator operation has been performed, that the brake has not been stepped on, and the like.

Further, the ECU 4 restarts the engine 2 when the above-mentioned predetermined restart condition is satisfied. The ECU 4 supplies electric power from the main battery 31 to the motor generator 33 to increase the engine speed, causes the engine speed to reach a predetermined target speed, and restarts the engine 2. Here, the predetermined target rotation speed is, for example, the idle rotation speed of the engine 2. The ECU 4 determines that the restart of the engine 2 is completed when the engine speed reaches a predetermined target speed.

When the above-mentioned predetermined restart condition is satisfied, the ECU 4 limits the air volume of the blower 37 to the target air volume or less. The ECU 4 limits the air flow rate of the blower 37 to a target air volume or less by limiting the voltage applied to the blower fan motor 38 to a predetermined voltage. The ECU 4 may limit the air volume of the blower 37 to the target air volume or less while the engine 2 is restarting (from the start to the completion of the restart).

When the restart of the engine 2 is completed, the ECU 4 returns the air volume of the blower 37 to the target air volume. The ECU 4 returns the voltage applied to the blower fan motor 38 to the voltage at which the blower 37 blows the target air volume.

The ECU 4 may gradually increase the air volume of the blower 37 when returning the air volume of the blower 37 to the target air volume when the restart of the engine 2 is completed. The ECU 4 gradually increases the amount of air blown by the blower 37 by gradually increasing the voltage applied to the blower fan motor 38.

The blower control process by the vehicle air-conditioning controller according to the present embodiment configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. The blower control process described below is started when the ECU 4 starts the process, and is executed at preset time intervals.

In step S1, the ECU 4 determines whether or not the air conditioner is switched on by the operation of the occupant of the vehicle 1. If it is determined that the air conditioner switch is not turned on, the ECU 4 ends the process.

When it is determined that the switch of the air conditioner is turned on, in step S2, the ECU 4 blows the blower fan so as to obtain the air blowing amount calculated based on the temperature and the air blowing amount set in the air conditioner by the operation of the occupant of the vehicle 1. A voltage is applied to the motor 38 to drive the blower 37.

In step S3, the ECU 4 determines whether or not the above-mentioned automatic stop condition is satisfied. If it is determined that the automatic stop condition is not satisfied, the ECU 4 ends the process.

If it is determined that the automatic stop condition is satisfied, the ECU 4 stops the engine 2 in step S4.

In step S5, the ECU 4 determines whether or not the above-mentioned restart condition is satisfied. If it is determined that the restart condition is not satisfied, the ECU 4 ends the process.

When it is determined that the restart condition is satisfied, in step S6, the ECU 4 supplies electric power to the motor generator 33 to start restarting the engine 2. At this time, electric power is supplied to the motor generator 33 from the main battery 31, and the voltage of the main battery 31 drops.

In step S7, the ECU 4 limits the air flow rate of the blower 37 to the target air volume or less by limiting the voltage applied to the blower fan motor 38 to a predetermined voltage. This is to prevent the voltage applied to the blower fan motor 38 from rising due to feedback control due to the voltage drop of the main battery 31.

In step S8, the ECU 4 determines whether or not the engine speed has reached a predetermined target speed and the restart of the engine 2 has been completed. If it is determined that the restart of the engine 2 is not completed, the ECU 4 returns the process to step S5.

When it is determined that the restart of the engine 2 is completed, in step S9, the ECU 4 returns to the blower fan calculated based on the temperature and the blower amount set in the air conditioner by the operation of the occupant of the vehicle 1. The voltage applied to the motor 38 is restored. At this time, since the restart of the engine 2 is completed, the voltage of the main battery 31 has returned to the normal voltage.

The operation by such a blower control process will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. 4 is a time chart showing changes in the voltage applied to the blower fan motor 38 due to the conventional blower control process.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the restart of the engine 2 is started at the timing t3, the voltage of the main battery 31 drops. Since the ECU 4 monitors the voltage of the main battery 31 and performs feedback control, when the voltage of the main battery 31 drops, the voltage applied to the blower fan motor 38 increases. At this time, since the blower fan motor 38 is supplied with power from the sub-battery 32 and the voltage of the sub-battery 32 does not change, the voltage applied to the blower fan motor 38 rises above the target voltage. As a result, the amount of air blown by the blower 37 temporarily increases, causing a feeling of strangeness to the occupants of the vehicle 1.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, when the restart of the engine 2 is started at the timing t1, the ECU 4 limits the voltage applied to the blower fan motor 38 to a predetermined voltage. Therefore, the voltage applied to the blower fan motor 38 can be suppressed, and the blow-up of the blower 37 can be suppressed.

As described above, in the above-described embodiment, when the restart condition of the engine 2 is satisfied, the air flow rate of the blower 37 is limited to the target air volume or less by limiting the voltage applied to the blower fan motor 38 to a predetermined voltage. The ECU 4 is provided.

As a result, it is possible to reduce the discomfort of the occupants due to the increase in the driving sound of the blower 37 and the increase in the amount of air blown when the engine is restarted.

Further, the ECU 4 maintains the limit of the amount of air blown by the blower 37 while the engine 2 is restarted. As a result, it is possible to reduce the discomfort of the occupants of the vehicle 1 due to the fluctuation of the amount of air blown by the blower 37 until the restart of the engine 2 is completed.

Further, when the restart of the engine 2 is completed, the ECU 4 returns the voltage applied to the blower fan motor 38 to the voltage at which the blower 37 blows the target air volume, and returns the blower volume of the blower 37 to the target air volume. As a result, the comfort in the vehicle interior can be maintained after the engine 2 is restarted.

Further, when the blower amount of the blower 37 is returned to the target air amount when the restart of the engine 2 is completed, the ECU 4 gradually increases the blower amount of the blower 37 by gradually increasing the voltage applied to the blower fan motor 38.

As a result, it is possible to reduce the discomfort of the occupants of the vehicle 1 due to the fluctuation of the amount of air blown by the blower 37 when the restart of the engine 2 is completed.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed, it is clear that some skilled in the art can make changes without departing from the scope of the present invention. All such modifications and equivalents are intended to be included in the following claims.

1 Vehicle 2 Engine 4 ECU (control unit)
31 Main battery 32 Sub battery 33 Motor generator 37 Blower 38 Blower fan motor

Claims (4)

An air conditioning controller for a vehicle that stops an engine when a predetermined automatic stop condition is satisfied and restarts the engine when a predetermined restart condition is satisfied.
A blower that blows air into the passenger compartment of the vehicle,
A main battery, a sub-battery, a starting device for starting the engine,
A control unit for controlling the amount of air blown by the blower is provided.
The control unit drives the blower with a target air volume, and when the restart condition is satisfied, the main battery and the starting device are connected, the sub-battery and the blower are connected, and the blower is blown. A vehicle air conditioning control device that limits the air volume to the target air volume or less. The vehicle air-conditioning control device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit maintains the limitation of the amount of air blown while the engine is restarted. The vehicle air conditioning control device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control unit drives the blower with the target air volume when the restart of the engine is completed. The vehicle air conditioning control device according to claim 3, wherein the control unit gradually increases the air volume to the target air volume when the restart of the engine is completed.

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