JP7164656B2 - Anti-fog system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an anti-fog system for suppressing fogging of vehicle windows.

Conventionally, anti-fog systems for suppressing fogging of windows of vehicles are known.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a window glass attached to a moving body such as a vehicle, an anti-fogging film provided on the indoor surface of the window glass, a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the indoor surface of the window glass, and a moving A temperature and humidity sensor that detects the indoor temperature and humidity of the body, a drying means that evaporates moisture adhering to the antifogging film, a glass temperature detected by the temperature sensor, and an indoor temperature and humidity detected by the temperature and humidity sensor. a controller having a circuit for estimating the amount of time it takes for the anti-fog film to fog up based on humidity and humidity, and operating the drying means based on the estimated time.

International Publication No. 2020/189353

For example, when a vehicle with multiple passengers travels in a cold region, the windows of the vehicle may fog up. One of the factors is that the water vapor emitted by the occupant cools and condenses near the surface of the window.

In the prior art described above, the time required for the anti-fogging film to become fogged is estimated without considering the effects of the water vapor emitted by the occupants, so the time required for the anti-fogging film to become fogged can be accurately estimated. is difficult to guess. Therefore, the operation time of the drying means may be too short to suppress fogging of the anti-fogging film, or the operation time of the drying means may be too long to waste power.

In view of the above background, it is an object of the present invention to provide an anti-fogging system capable of effectively suppressing fogging of windows while increasing power consumption efficiency.

In order to solve the above problems, one aspect of the present invention is a vehicle (1) equipped with a photographing device (10) for photographing an exterior space (SP2) from an interior space (SP1) through a window (6). An anti-fogging system (X) comprising a first detection device (41, 42) for detecting the state of the interior space of the vehicle, an acquisition device (61) for acquiring vital data of an occupant, and suppressing fogging of the window. An anti-fog device (19, 20) and a control device (26) for controlling the anti-fog device, wherein the control device determines the interior space of the vehicle at the current time based on the detection result of the first detection device. estimating an initial amount of water vapor that is the amount of water vapor, estimating the amount of released water vapor that is the amount of water vapor released by the occupant per unit time based on the acquisition result of the acquisition device, and calculating the estimated value of the initial amount of water vapor and the amount of released water vapor; Future fogging of the window is predicted based on the estimated water vapor content, and the anti-fogging device is controlled based on the predicted result.

According to this aspect, it is possible to accurately predict the future fogging of the window based on the estimated value of the initial water vapor amount and the estimated value of the released water vapor amount, so that the operation time and output of the anti-fogging device can be optimized. be able to. Therefore, it is possible to effectively suppress the fogging of the window while increasing the power consumption efficiency.

In the above aspect, the acquisition device may be a wearable device (61) worn by the occupant.

According to this aspect, the passenger's vital data can be acquired without installing an acquisition device in the vehicle. Therefore, it is possible to accurately predict the future fogging of the windows while suppressing the complication of the configuration of the vehicle.

In the above aspect, the wearable device may acquire at least height, weight, heart rate, and body temperature of the occupant as the vital data.

According to this aspect, the released water vapor amount can be accurately estimated based on the vital data of the occupant.

In the above aspect, the defogging system further comprises a second detection device (43, 44) for detecting the state of the space outside the vehicle and/or the running state of the vehicle, and the control device comprises the second detection device estimating the temperature of the window based on the detection result of and predicting the future fogging of the window based on the estimated value of the initial water vapor content, the estimated value of the released water vapor content, and the estimated value of the temperature of the window. , the anti-fogging device may be controlled based on the prediction result.

According to this aspect, future fogging of the window can be predicted more accurately, so that the operation time and output of the defogging device can be further optimized.

In the above aspect, the control device calculates a corrected water vapor amount by adding the estimated value of the released water vapor amount to the estimated value of the initial water vapor amount, and calculates the saturated water vapor amount based on the estimated value of the temperature of the window. It is determined whether the window will fog within a predetermined time based on the corrected water vapor amount and the saturated water vapor amount, and if it is determined that the window will fog within the predetermined time, the defogging device The operation may be started or the output of the defogging device may be increased.

According to this aspect, it is possible to accurately determine whether or not the window will be fogged within the predetermined time based on the corrected water vapor amount and the saturated water vapor amount. Therefore, it is possible to start the operation of the anti-fogging device at an appropriate timing or to increase the output of the anti-fogging device at an appropriate timing.

In the above aspect, the second detection device may include a vehicle exterior temperature sensor (43) that detects the temperature of the vehicle exterior space, and a vehicle speed sensor (44) that detects vehicle speed.

According to this aspect, the temperature of the window can be accurately estimated based on the temperature of the space outside the vehicle and the vehicle speed. Therefore, future fogging of windows can be predicted more accurately.

In the above aspect, the first detection device may include a vehicle interior temperature sensor (41) that detects the temperature of the vehicle interior space, and a vehicle interior humidity sensor (42) that detects the humidity of the vehicle interior space.

According to this aspect, the initial water vapor amount can be estimated more accurately based on the temperature and humidity of the vehicle interior space. Therefore, future fogging of windows can be predicted more accurately.

In the above aspect, the defogging device may include a heating device (19) for heating the window and/or an air conditioner (20) for conditioning the air in the vehicle interior space.

According to this aspect, fogging of the window can be effectively suppressed by the anti-fogging device.

According to the above configuration, it is possible to provide an anti-fogging system capable of effectively suppressing fogging of windows while increasing power consumption efficiency.

1 is a perspective view showing a vehicle according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a front window and its surroundings according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a vehicle and wearable device according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. Explanatory diagram showing first to third control tables according to one embodiment of the present invention Flowchart showing anti-fogging control according to one embodiment of the present invention

<Vehicle 1>
First, a vehicle 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. FIG.

Referring to FIG. 1, vehicle 1 according to the present embodiment is an automobile. A vehicle 1 has a vehicle body 2 that is long in the front-rear direction. A vehicle interior space SP1 is formed inside the vehicle body 2, and a vehicle interior 3 for accommodating an occupant is provided in the front-rear direction central portion of the vehicle interior space SP1. The passenger compartment 3 is provided with, for example, a plurality of front seats 4 (driver's seat, front passenger's seat) and a plurality of rear seats 5 arranged behind the front seats 4 . In this embodiment, two rows of seats are provided in the front and rear, but in other embodiments, only one row of seats may be provided in the front and rear, or three or more rows of seats may be provided in the front and rear. good.

A front window 6 (an example of a window) is provided in front of the front seats 4 in the front part of the vehicle body 2 . The front window 6 is made of glass. In other embodiments, the front window 6 may be made of a transparent material other than glass (for example, transparent resin). A rear window 7 is provided behind a rear seat 5 in the rear part of the vehicle body 2 . A plurality of side doors 8 are provided on the sides of the front seat 4 and the rear seat 5 on both sides of the vehicle body 2 , and a side window 9 is provided above each side door 8 .

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, a front camera 10 (an example of a photographing device) is provided above and behind the front window 6 . The front camera 10 is a device that captures an image of the vehicle exterior space SP2 (the space in front of the vehicle 1 in this embodiment) from the vehicle interior space SP1 through the front window 6 . The front camera 10 is, for example, a digital camera using a solid-state imaging device such as CCD or CMOS. The front camera 10 includes a lens that converges light incident from the front through the front window 6, and a sensor that converts the light converged by the lens into an electrical signal. Note that the arrow P in FIG. 2 indicates the field of view (photographable range) of the front camera 10 .

Referring to FIG. 2, front camera 10 is attached to the inner surface of front window 6 via bracket 11 . Bracket 11 includes a body portion 12 arranged around front camera 10 and a hood portion 13 extending forward from body portion 12 . The body portion 12 is fixed to the inner surface of the front window 6 . The hood part 13 surrounds the space in front of the lens of the front camera 10 together with the front window 6 . The hood portion 13 includes a bottom wall 13A extending in the left-right direction, and left and right side walls 13B (only the right side wall 13B is shown in FIG. 2) extending upward from both left and right ends of the bottom wall 13A.

Referring to FIG. 3, vehicle 1 includes propulsion device 14, brake device 15, steering device 16, HMI 17 (Human Machine Interface), navigation device 18, and heating device 19 (an example of an anti-fog device). , an air conditioner 20 (an example of an anti-fogging device), an occupant sensor 21 , an external sensor 22 , a vehicle sensor 23 and a control device 26 .

The propulsion device 14 is a device that applies driving force to the vehicle 1 . The propulsion device 14 includes, for example, an internal combustion engine such as a gasoline engine or a diesel engine and/or an electric motor.

The braking device 15 is a device that applies braking force to the vehicle 1 . The brake device 15 includes, for example, a brake caliper that presses a pad against the brake rotor and an electric cylinder that supplies hydraulic pressure to the brake caliper.

The steering device 16 is a device that changes the steering angle of the wheels. The steering device 16 includes, for example, a rack-and-pinion mechanism that steers the wheels, and an electric motor that drives the rack-and-pinion mechanism.

The HMI 17 is a device that notifies the occupant of various types of information (for example, a failure of the heating device 19) and receives an input operation from the occupant. The HMI 17 includes, for example, a touch panel, an audio generator, an ignition switch, and the like.

The navigation device 18 is a device that provides route guidance and the like to the destination of the vehicle 1 . The navigation device 18 includes an input device that receives an input operation from a passenger. This input device may be part of the HMI 17 or may be provided separately from the HMI 17 . The navigation device 18 stores map information. The navigation device 18 identifies the current position (latitude and longitude) of the vehicle 1 based on signals received from artificial satellites. The navigation device 18 plots a route from the departure point (for example, the current position) of the vehicle 1 to the destination based on the map information, the current position of the vehicle 1, and the destination of the vehicle 1 input by the occupant into the input device. set.

The heating device 19 is a device that suppresses fogging of the front window 6 by heating the front window 6 . Referring to FIG. 2 , heating device 19 is composed of a plurality of metal heating wires 28 that contact the inner surface of front window 6 . At least some of the plurality of heating wires 28 are preferably arranged within the field of view of the front camera 10 (see arrow P in FIG. 2). In another embodiment, the heating device 19 may be made of a transparent film such as an ITO film (Indium Tin Oxide Film). In another embodiment, the heating device 19 may be built in the front window 6 or may face the front window 6 with a gap therebetween.

Referring to FIG. 3, air conditioner 20 is a device that adjusts the air in vehicle interior space SP1. The air conditioner 20 includes a duct connected to the vehicle interior space SP1 and the vehicle exterior space SP2, an evaporator and a heater core installed in the duct, a blower fan that generates an air flow in the duct, and an electric motor that drives the blower fan. and including. The air conditioner 20 is provided so as to be able to switch the air volume (rotational speed of the blower fan) and the air conditioning mode. The air conditioning modes include, for example, an outside air introduction mode for introducing air from the outside space SP2 into the inside space SP1, an inside air circulation mode for circulating the air inside the inside space SP1, and a defroster mode for blowing air toward the front window 6. and are included.

The occupant sensor 21 is a sensor that detects the boarding state of the occupant. The occupant sensor 21 includes a seatbelt sensor 35 that detects the seatbelt wearing state of the occupant, and an occupant camera 36 that captures an image of the occupant.

The external sensor 22 is a sensor that detects targets existing in the vehicle exterior space SP2 (for example, obstacles and lane markings on the travel path of the vehicle 1). The external sensor 22 includes the aforementioned front camera 10 , sonar 38 , and vehicle exterior camera 39 .

The vehicle sensor 23 is a sensor that detects the state of the vehicle interior space SP1, the state of the vehicle exterior space SP2, the running state of the vehicle 1, and the like. The vehicle sensor 23 includes a vehicle interior temperature sensor 41 (an example of a first detection device) that detects the temperature of the vehicle interior SP1 (hereinafter referred to as "vehicle temperature"), and the humidity of the vehicle interior SP1 (hereinafter referred to as "vehicle humidity"). and a vehicle exterior temperature sensor 43 (an example of a second detection device) that detects the temperature of the vehicle exterior space SP2 (hereinafter referred to as “vehicle temperature”). , and a vehicle speed sensor 44 (an example of a second detection device) that detects the vehicle speed.

The control device 26 is an electronic control unit including a CPU, ROM, RAM, and the like. The control device 26 is connected to each component of the vehicle 1 via a communication network such as CAN (Controller Area Network), and controls each component of the vehicle 1 .

The control device 26 includes a communication unit 51 , an external world recognition unit 52 , a travel control unit 53 , an anti-fogging control unit 54 and a storage unit 55 .

A communication unit 51 of the control device 26 communicates with peripheral devices based on a wireless communication standard such as Bluetooth (registered trademark). For example, the communication unit 51 communicates with the wearable device 61 (details will be described later) based on a wireless communication standard, and transmits and receives information to and from the wearable device 61 .

The external world recognition unit 52 of the control device 26 recognizes the positions of targets (for example, obstacles and lane markings on the roadway of the vehicle 1) existing in the vehicle exterior space SP2 based on the detection results of the external world sensor 22 . For example, the external world recognition unit 52 recognizes the position of a target existing in front of the vehicle 1 by analyzing changes in density values on the image captured by the front camera 10 .

A travel control unit 53 of the control device 26 controls travel of the vehicle 1 based on the detection results of the external sensor 22 and the vehicle sensor 23 . For example, when the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor 44 is equal to or higher than a predetermined first threshold speed, the travel control unit 53 executes lane keeping control based on the position of the lane marking recognized by the external world recognition unit 52 . In the lane keeping control, the travel control unit 53 controls the steering device 16 so that the vehicle 1 travels at a reference position (for example, the center in the width direction of the lane) within the lane partitioned by the lane markings. Further, when the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor 44 is equal to or higher than the predetermined second threshold speed, the travel control unit 53 executes collision mitigation control based on the position of the obstacle recognized by the external world recognition unit 52 . In the collision mitigation control, the travel control unit 53 controls the brake device 15 so as to avoid or reduce the collision between the vehicle 1 and an obstacle.

An anti-fogging control unit 54 of the control device 26 controls the heating device 19 and the air conditioning device 20 to suppress fogging of the front window 6 . For example, the anti-fogging control unit 54 switches the air volume and air conditioning mode of the air conditioner 20 based on the detection result of the vehicle sensor 23 and the input operation of the passenger to the HMI 17 . The anti-fogging control unit 54 controls the heating device 19 by PWM control based on the detection result of the vehicle sensor 23 and the like.

The storage unit 55 of the control device 26 is composed of memory, HDD, and the like. The storage unit 55 stores programs, tables, and the like necessary for controlling the vehicle 1 . For example, the storage unit 55 stores a first control table T1, a second control table T2, and a third control table T3.

Referring to FIG. 4A, the first control table T1 is a table that defines the relationship between the temperature and humidity in the vehicle and the amount of water vapor in the vehicle space SP1 at the current time (hereinafter referred to as the "initial amount of water vapor"). be. In the first control table T1, the higher the in-vehicle temperature and the higher the in-vehicle humidity, the larger the initial water vapor amount is set.

Referring to FIG. 4(B), the second control table T2 includes the height, weight, heart rate, and body temperature of the occupant (all of which are examples of vital data of the occupant) and the amount of water vapor released by the occupant per unit time ( Hereafter, it is a table that defines the relationship between (hereinafter referred to as "released water vapor amount"). In the second control table T2, the higher the height of the occupant, the larger the amount of released water vapor is set, the heavier the occupant, the larger the amount of released water vapor is set, and the higher the heart rate of the occupant, the larger the amount of released water vapor is set. The higher the body temperature of the occupant, the larger the amount of water vapor to be released is set.

Referring to FIG. 4C, the third control table T3 is a table showing the relationship between the temperature outside the vehicle, the vehicle speed, and the temperature of the front window 6. As shown in FIG. In the third control table T3, the higher the temperature outside the vehicle, the higher the temperature of the front window 6 is set, and the higher the vehicle speed, the lower the temperature of the front window 6 is set.

<Wearable device 61>
Next, a wearable device 61 (an example of an acquisition device) according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The wearable device 61 constitutes an antifogging system X together with the heating device 19 , the air conditioner 20 , the occupant sensor 21 , the external sensor 22 , the vehicle sensor 23 and the control device 26 .

The wearable device 61 is worn by the occupant. When there is only one passenger, the wearable device 61 may be worn by the one passenger. When there are multiple passengers, the wearable device 61 is preferably worn by each of the multiple passengers. The wearable device 61 has an arbitrary shape such as a wristwatch type, a wristband type, a spectacle type, a ring type, a shoe last, a pendant type, or the like.

The wearable device 61 includes a processing section 62 , a communication section 63 , an input section 64 and a detection section 65 .

The processing section 62 is an electronic control unit including a CPU, ROM, RAM, and the like. The processing unit 62 is connected to each component of the wearable device 61 and controls each component of the wearable device 61 .

The communication unit 63 communicates with peripheral devices based on a wireless communication standard such as Bluetooth (registered trademark). For example, the communication unit 63 communicates with the communication unit 51 of the control device 26 of the vehicle 1 based on a wireless communication standard, and transmits and receives information to and from the communication unit 51 of the control device 26 . For example, the communication unit 63 transmits height, weight, heart rate, and body temperature of the occupant acquired by the input unit 64 and the detection unit 65 to the communication unit 51 of the control device 26 .

The input unit 64 receives input of the passenger's height and weight. In another embodiment, instead of the input unit 64 receiving the height and weight of the occupant, the portable terminal owned by the occupant receives the height and weight of the occupant, and the communication unit 63 receives the height and weight of the occupant from the portable terminal. Information regarding height and weight may be received. Further, in another embodiment, instead of the input unit 64 receiving input of the height and weight of the occupant, a digital measuring device measures the height and weight of the occupant, and the communication unit 63 measures the height and weight of the occupant from the digital measuring device. You may receive information about

The detector 65 includes an optical heartbeat sensor such as a PPG sensor (Photoplethysmogram Sensor), and is provided to detect the heartbeat of the occupant. The detection unit 65 includes a temperature sensor such as a thermistor, and is provided to detect the body temperature of the occupant. Note that in other embodiments, the detection unit 65 may be provided so as to detect not only the heart rate and body temperature of the occupant, but also the height and weight of the occupant.

<Anti-fogging control>
Next, the anti-fogging control executed by the anti-fogging control section 54 of the control device 26 will be described with reference to FIG. Anti-fogging control is control for suppressing fogging of the front window 6 . For example, anti-fogging control is executed immediately after the occupant turns on the ignition switch (that is, immediately after the occupant gets into the vehicle 1). However, in other embodiments, the anti-fogging control may be executed at timings other than the above (for example, when the vehicle 1 is running).

When the anti-fog control is started, the anti-fog control unit 54 refers to the first control table T1 based on the vehicle interior temperature acquired from the vehicle interior temperature sensor 41 and the vehicle interior humidity acquired from the vehicle interior humidity sensor 42. An initial water vapor amount is estimated (step ST1). Hereinafter, the initial water vapor amount estimated by the anti-fogging control section 54 in step ST1 will be referred to as an "estimated value of the initial water vapor amount". In addition, when it is predicted that the vehicle interior temperature and vehicle interior humidity fluctuate greatly within a predetermined time (for example, when the air conditioner 20 is operating in the outside air introduction mode), the anti-fogging control unit 54 controls the vehicle interior temperature and vehicle interior humidity. The estimated value of the initial water vapor content may be corrected according to the predicted value of the humidity variation amount.

Next, the anti-fogging control unit 54 refers to the second control table T2 based on the occupant's height, weight, heart rate, and body temperature obtained from the wearable device 61, thereby estimating the amount of released water vapor (step ST2 ). Hereinafter, the amount of released water vapor estimated by the anti-fogging control section 54 in step ST2 is referred to as an "estimated value of the amount of released water vapor". In addition, when there are multiple occupants, the anti-fogging control unit 54 calculates an estimated value of the amount of released water vapor for each of the multiple occupants, and adds the calculated estimated values of the amount of released water vapor to obtain a final value. It is preferable to calculate an estimated value of the amount of released water vapor.

Next, the anti-fogging control unit 54 calculates the corrected water vapor content by adding the estimated value of the released water vapor content to the estimated value of the initial water vapor content (step ST3). The corrected water vapor amount corresponds to an estimated value of the water vapor amount in the vehicle interior space SP1 at the time when a predetermined time has elapsed from the current time.

Next, the anti-fogging control unit 54 estimates the temperature of the front window 6 by referring to the third control table T3 based on the vehicle exterior temperature acquired from the vehicle exterior temperature sensor 43 and the vehicle speed acquired from the vehicle speed sensor 44 ( step ST4). Hereinafter, the temperature of the front window 6 estimated by the anti-fogging control section 54 in step ST4 will be referred to as an "estimated value of the temperature of the front window 6".

Next, the anti-fogging control unit 54 calculates the estimated value of the temperature of the front window 6 and the corresponding saturated water vapor content (step ST5). The correspondence relationship between the estimated value of the temperature of the front window 6 and the amount of saturated water vapor is preferably stored in the storage unit 55 of the control device 26 in advance.

Next, based on the corrected water vapor amount and the saturated water vapor amount, the anti-fogging control unit 54 determines whether the front window 6 will fog within a predetermined time (whether the temperature of the front window 6 reaches the dew point within a predetermined time). ) is determined (step ST6). For example, when the corrected water vapor amount exceeds the saturated water vapor amount, the anti-fogging control unit 54 determines that the front window 6 will fog up within a predetermined time. On the other hand, when the corrected water vapor amount is equal to or less than the saturated water vapor amount, the anti-fogging control unit 54 determines that the front window 6 will not fog within the predetermined time.

When it is determined that the front window 6 will fog up within the predetermined time (step ST6: Yes), the anti-fogging control section 54 executes the anti-fogging process (step ST7). In the anti-fogging process, the anti-fogging control unit 54 suppresses fogging of the front window 6 by starting the operation of the heating device 19 and the air conditioning device 20 or increasing the output of the heating device 19 and the air conditioning device 20. do. When the output of the heating device 19 and the air conditioning device 20 is increased, the anti-fogging control unit 54 preferably increases the duty ratio of the heating device 19 or the air volume of the air conditioning device 20 . In another embodiment, the anti-fogging control unit 54 may start operation of only one of the heating device 19 and the air conditioning device 20, or may start operation of only one of the heating device 19 and the air conditioning device 20. Output may be increased. When the anti-fogging process ends, the anti-fogging control unit 54 terminates the anti-fogging control.

On the other hand, if it is determined that the front window 6 will not fog up within the predetermined time (step ST6: No), the anti-fogging control section 54 ends the anti-fogging control without executing the anti-fogging process. That is, the anti-fogging control unit 54 does not start the operation of the heating device 19 and the air conditioning device 20 or increase the output of the heating device 19 and the air conditioning device 20. Stay up and running.

As described above, the anti-fogging control unit 54 determines the estimated value of the initial water vapor amount (the amount of water vapor in the vehicle interior space SP1 at the current time) and the estimated value of the released water vapor amount (the amount of water vapor released by the occupant per unit time). Based on this, future fogging of the front window 6 is predicted, and the heating device 19 and the air conditioner 20 are controlled based on the prediction result. As a result, future fogging of the front window 6 can be accurately predicted based on the estimated value of the initial water vapor content and the estimated value of the released water vapor content, so that the operating time and output of the heating device 19 and the air conditioning device 20 can be adjusted. can be optimized. Therefore, fogging of the front window 6 can be effectively suppressed while increasing power consumption efficiency.

In addition, in this embodiment, the wearable device 61 worn by the passenger acquires vital data of the passenger. This eliminates the need to provide the vehicle 1 with a device for acquiring vital data of the occupant. Therefore, it is possible to accurately predict future fogging of the front window 6 while suppressing complication of the configuration of the vehicle 1 . Note that in another embodiment, the vital data of the occupant may be obtained from the components of the vehicle 1 . For example, if the occupant camera 36 is an infrared camera capable of detecting the body temperature (skin temperature) of the occupant, the body temperature of the occupant may be acquired by the occupant camera 36 .

Also, the wearable device 61 acquires the passenger's height, weight, heart rate, and body temperature as the passenger's vital data. As a result, it is possible to accurately estimate the amount of released water vapor based on the crew's vital data. In another embodiment, the wearable device 61 may acquire only 1 to 3 data selected from the height, weight, heart rate, and body temperature of the occupant as vital data of the occupant, Data other than the passenger's height, weight, heart rate, and body temperature (for example, the passenger's body moisture content) may be acquired as vital data.

Further, the anti-fogging control unit 54 predicts future fogging of the front window 6 based on the estimated value of the initial water vapor amount, the estimated value of the released water vapor amount, and the estimated value of the temperature of the front window 6, and the prediction result is Based on this, the heating device 19 and the air conditioning device 20 are controlled. As a result, future fogging of the front window 6 can be predicted more accurately, so that the operation time and output of the heating device 19 and the air conditioning device 20 can be further optimized.

Further, the antifogging control unit 54 determines whether or not the front window 6 will fog within a predetermined time based on the corrected water vapor amount and the saturated water vapor amount. , the operation of the heating device 19 and the air conditioning device 20 is started, or the output of the heating device 19 and the air conditioning device 20 is increased. Accordingly, it is possible to accurately determine whether or not the front window 6 will fog up within a predetermined time based on the corrected water vapor amount and the saturated water vapor amount. Therefore, the operation of the heating device 19 and the air conditioning device 20 can be started at an appropriate timing, or the outputs of the heating device 19 and the air conditioning device 20 can be increased at an appropriate timing.

The anti-fogging control unit 54 also estimates the temperature of the front window 6 based on the detection results of the vehicle exterior temperature sensor 43 and the vehicle speed sensor 44 . As a result, the temperature of the front window 6 can be accurately estimated based on the vehicle exterior temperature and the vehicle speed. Therefore, future fogging of the front window 6 can be predicted more accurately. Note that, in another embodiment, the anti-fogging control unit 54 may estimate the temperature of the front window 6 based on the detection result of only one of the vehicle exterior temperature sensor 43 and the vehicle speed sensor 44. The temperature of the front window 6 may be estimated based on the detection results of sensors other than the vehicle speed sensor 43 and the vehicle speed sensor 44 .

Further, the anti-fogging control unit 54 estimates the initial amount of water vapor based on the detection results of the vehicle interior temperature sensor 41 and the vehicle interior humidity sensor 42 . Thereby, the initial water vapor amount can be estimated more accurately based on the vehicle interior temperature and the vehicle interior humidity. Therefore, future fogging of the front window 6 can be predicted more accurately. In another embodiment, the anti-fogging control unit 54 may estimate the initial water vapor amount based on the detection result of only one of the vehicle interior temperature sensor 41 and the vehicle interior humidity sensor 42, or the vehicle interior temperature sensor 41 Alternatively, the initial water vapor amount may be estimated based on the detection result of a sensor other than the in-vehicle humidity sensor 42 .

Further, in the present embodiment, fogging of the front window 6 is suppressed by the heating device 19 and the air conditioning device 20 . As a result, fogging of the front window 6 can be effectively suppressed. In another embodiment, the fogging of the front window 6 may be suppressed by only one of the heating device 19 and the air conditioning device 20, or the fogging of the front window 6 may be suppressed by an anti-fogging device other than the heating device 19 or the air conditioning device 20. You may suppress cloudiness of .

In this embodiment, the anti-fogging system X suppresses fogging of the front window 6, but in other embodiments, the anti-fogging system X may suppress fogging of the rear window 7 and the side windows 9. In other words, in this embodiment, the front camera 10 is used as an example of an imaging device, but in other embodiments, a rear camera or a side camera (neither of which is shown) may be used as an example of an imaging device.

Although the specific embodiments have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and modifications, and can be widely modified.

1: Vehicle 6: Front window (an example of a window)
10: Front camera (an example of a photographing device)
19: Heating device (an example of anti-fogging device)
20: Air conditioner (an example of an anti-fogging device)
26: Control device 41: Vehicle interior temperature sensor (an example of a first detection device)
42: In-vehicle humidity sensor (an example of the first detection device)
43: Vehicle exterior temperature sensor (an example of a second detection device)
44: vehicle speed sensor (an example of a second detection device)
61: Wearable device (an example of an acquisition device)
SP1: Interior space SP2: Exterior space X: Anti-fogging system

Claims (8)

An anti-fog system for a vehicle equipped with an image capturing device that captures an image of an exterior space from the interior space of the vehicle through a window,
a first detection device that detects the state of the vehicle interior space;
an acquisition device that acquires crew vital data;
an anti-fog device that suppresses fogging of the window;
A control device that controls the anti-fogging device,
The control device estimates an initial water vapor content, which is the water vapor content of the vehicle interior space at the current time, based on the detection result of the first detection device, and the occupant per unit time based on the acquisition result of the acquisition device. Estimating the amount of released water vapor, which is the amount of water vapor to be released, predicting future fogging of the window based on the estimated value of the initial water vapor amount and the estimated value of the amount of released water vapor, and predicting the fogging based on the prediction result An anti-fogging system characterized by controlling an anti-fogging device. 2. The anti-fogging system of claim 1, wherein said acquisition device is a wearable device worn by said occupant. 3. The defogging system according to claim 2, wherein the wearable device acquires at least height, weight, heart rate, and body temperature of the occupant as the vital data. Further comprising a second detection device that detects the state of the vehicle exterior space and/or the running state of the vehicle,
The control device estimates the temperature of the window based on the detection result of the second detection device, and based on the estimated value of the initial water vapor amount, the estimated value of the released water vapor amount, and the estimated value of the temperature of the window. 4. The anti-fogging system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the anti-fogging device is controlled based on the predicted result of predicting future fogging of the window. The control device calculates a corrected water vapor amount by adding the estimated value of the released water vapor amount to the estimated value of the initial water vapor amount, calculates the saturated water vapor amount based on the estimated value of the temperature of the window, and calculates the corrected water vapor amount. It is determined whether or not the window will fog within a predetermined time based on the water vapor amount and the saturated water vapor amount, and if it is determined that the window will fog within the predetermined time, whether to start the operation of the anti-fogging device. 5. The antifogging system of claim 4, further comprising increasing the output of the antifogging device. 6. The defogging system according to claim 4, wherein the second detection device includes an exterior temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the exterior space of the vehicle, and a vehicle speed sensor that detects the speed of the vehicle. The first detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the first detection device includes a vehicle interior temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the vehicle interior space, and a vehicle interior humidity sensor that detects the humidity of the vehicle interior space. The anti-fog system described in . The defogging system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the defogging device includes a heating device for heating the windows and/or an air conditioning device for adjusting the air in the vehicle interior space.

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