JPH04231208A - Air conditioner for automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable crew to feel the change of the diffused air at the time of turning a vehicle. CONSTITUTION:A steering wheel operation angle is detected by a steering angle sensor in a process 107. A right and left diffusion ratio is calculated, according to the detected steering angle in a process 102. Then, a diffuser door is controlled in a process 109 on the basis of the aforesaid calculation, and the ratio of diffusion from right and left diffusers is changed. In this case, a diffusion amount from the left diffuser is made larger, when the handle is steered left, while a diffusion amount from the right diffuser is made larger, when the handle is steered right. Also, travel speed is detected by a speed sensor, and a diffusion amount is changed, depending upon the travel speed. Furthermore, a diffuser is fitted to right and left front pillars, and a diffusion amount therefrom is changed, according to a steering angle.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air conditioner for an automobile that can change the ratio of air volume from left and right outlets (hereinafter referred to as "air distribution ratio").

0002

[Prior Art] This type of conventional automotive air conditioner has
In order to eliminate temperature deviations caused by solar radiation conditions, the air distribution ratio is changed depending on the solar radiation conditions (Special Publication Publication No. 62-50
85, JP-A-1-190520, etc.).

0003

[Problem to be solved by the invention] In the conventional air conditioner,
Excluding solar radiation conditions, the left and right air distribution ratio did not change even when the steering wheel was turned and the vehicle turned. Therefore, even though the vehicle was turning, it was not possible to experience the sensation of turning as a skin sensation felt by the wind coming in through the window. Additionally, when you actually turn the steering wheel and turn the vehicle, temperature deviations occur inside the car due to the effects of inertia during the turn, but conventional air conditioning systems cannot eliminate such temperature deviations. Ta.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an air conditioning system for an automobile that allows the driver to feel the fact that the vehicle is turning through a change in the direction of wind blowing through the skin, and that can also eliminate temperature deviations that occur when the vehicle is turning. do.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems] As shown in FIG. 1, the automotive air conditioner of the present invention has air outlets 1L and 1R on the left and right sides of the vehicle that blow out conditioned air toward the vicinity of the occupant's head, respectively.
and a wind distribution adjusting means 2 for adjusting the ratio of the air volume blown from the left and right air outlets 1L and 1R, the means 3 for detecting the steering angle of the vehicle.
and an air distribution control means 4 for controlling the air distribution adjusting means 2 according to the handle operation angle detected by the means 3 to change the ratio of the air volume blown from the left and right air outlets 1L and 1R. It is characterized by

Further, in the air conditioner according to the second aspect, as shown in FIG. 2, the air distribution control means 4 controls the air distribution so that the air volume of the air outlet on the same side as the operating direction of the handle is larger than that on the other side. Control means 2. In other words, when the handle is turned to the right, the air volume from the right outlet will be greater than from the left side, and when the handle is turned to the left, the air volume from the left outlet will be greater than from the right side. Control the adjustment means.

Further, in the air conditioner according to claim 3, as shown in FIG. 1, means 5 for detecting the traveling vehicle speed;
The present invention is characterized in that a blower control means 7 is added which controls the blower device 6 to increase the amount of air blown from the left and right blower ports 1L and 1R as the traveling vehicle speed detected by the means 5 increases.

Furthermore, the air conditioner according to claim 4 is characterized in that the left and right air outlets 1L and 1R are provided on the left and right front pillars of the vehicle.

[0009]

[Effect] Generally, the human body is sensitive to changes in the wind near the head, especially to changes in the wind that hits the face and ears. In the device of the present invention, depending on the steering wheel operating angle detected by the steering wheel operating angle detecting means, from the left and right air outlets to the vicinity of the occupant's head,
In other words, the amount of air blown to areas sensitive to wind changes changes.

[0010] Furthermore, when turning, the blown air is deviated to the side opposite to the side where the steering wheel is turned due to the influence of the inertia force, causing a temperature deviation inside the car. By increasing this, the above deviation is alleviated.

[0011] Furthermore, by increasing the amount of air as the vehicle speed increases, it is possible to give the occupants the feeling that the wind is coming in through the window. Furthermore, if air is blown toward the occupant's head from the air outlet installed in the front pillar and the volume of air blown is varied, the air will directly hit the occupant's face and ears from a position close to the actual window height. You will become more sensitive to changes in the wind.

0012

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an air mix type air conditioner will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 3 shows a schematic configuration of an air conditioner according to an embodiment. In this air conditioner, an inside air inlet 10A and an outside air inlet 10B are formed in the most upstream part of an air conditioning duct 10 in the form of two branches, and an intake door 11 is provided in the divided part. By controlling the opening and closing of this intake door 11, the ratio of inside air and outside air to be introduced into the air conditioning duct 10 can be adjusted.

The air conditioning duct 10 is provided with a main blower 12, an evaporator 13, an air mix door 14, and a heater 15 in this order toward the downstream side. The evaporator 13 is connected to piping together with a compressor, a condenser, a receiver tank, and an expansion valve (not shown) to form a refrigeration cycle.

[0014] Depending on the opening degree of the air mix door 14,
The ratio of air passing through the heater 15 to air not passing through the heater 15 is adjusted. The air that has passed through the heater 15 and the air that has not passed through the heater 15 are mixed on the downstream side of the heater 15, the temperature of which is adjusted, and the air is blown out from the outlet into the vehicle.

The downstream side of the air conditioning duct 10 includes a passage 21 leading to a defrost outlet (DEF) and a vent outlet (
A passage 22 leading to the heat outlet (VENT) and a heat outlet (HEA
It is divided into a passage 23 leading to T), and each passage 21,
22 and 23 are provided with mode doors 24, 25, and 26, respectively. And these mode doors 24, 25
, 26 can be selectively opened and closed to freely change the blowout mode.

Further, in this air conditioner, the vent passage 22 is further divided into two systems, namely, the VENT-A passage 2.
7 and a VENT-B passage 28. VENT
-A passage 27 is connected to the instrument panel 3 as in the conventional case.
It leads to the VENT air outlet installed at the predetermined position of 0.
It is further divided into two parts in the middle. Each of the left and right vent outlets 29 of the instrument panel 30
By opening and closing the ventilation door 31 installed at the branch point, which leads to the left and right vent outlets 29R and 29L, it is possible to adjust the ratio of air volume (air distribution ratio) from the left and right vent outlets 29R and 29L. There is.

Further, the VENT-B passage 28 is further divided into two parts in the middle, and each of them communicates with auxiliary VENT air outlets 33R and 33L that open on the inner surfaces of the left and right front pillars 32R and 32L. By opening and closing the ventilation door 34 provided at the junction, the left and right auxiliary V
It is possible to adjust the ratio (air distribution balance) of air volumes blown from the ENT blow-off ports 33R and 33L. In addition, since large air resistance acts to send air to the front pillars 32R and 32L, VENT-B passage 2
A sub-blower 35 is installed upstream of the ventilation door 34 of No. 8.

The above-mentioned intake door 11, air mix door 14, mode doors 24, 25, 26, and ventilation door 3
1 and 34 are respectively controlled to open and close by actuators (not shown). Each of these actuators, the main blower 12, the sub-blower 35, and the compressor (not shown) are
Each is controlled by a control unit 50 (see FIG. 4).

FIG. 4 shows the configuration of the control system. The control unit 50 sends control signals to the drive circuit 51 to control the intake door actuator 52, the air mix door actuator 53, and the mode door actuator 5.
4, air distribution door actuator 55, compressor 56,
The main blower 12 and the sub blower 35 are driven and controlled. Note that here, the two ventilation doors 31 and 34 (see FIG. 3) are driven in conjunction with one ventilation door actuator 55.

The control unit 50 is mainly composed of a microcomputer, and also includes an A/D converter that converts signals from sensors into digital values and inputs them to the microcomputer, and a multiplexer. I'm here. The control unit 50 includes a potentiometer that detects the opening degree of the air mix door 14, a solar radiation sensor that detects the amount of solar radiation entering the vehicle interior, an outside temperature sensor that detects the outside air temperature, and a representative temperature inside the vehicle interior. Signals are input from various sensors 60 for detecting temperature-related information, such as an inside air temperature sensor and a temperature setting device that sets the temperature inside the vehicle.

In addition to the signals from the various sensors 60 described above, the control unit 50 also receives a detection signal from a steering wheel operation angle sensor 61 and a detection signal from a vehicle speed sensor 62. The steering wheel operation angle sensor 61 outputs a signal according to the steering angle of the steering wheel. Further, the vehicle speed sensor 62 detects the traveling speed of the vehicle, and outputs a signal according to the vehicle speed.

The microcomputer in the control unit 50 receives information from various sensors, executes processing based on a preset control program, and issues control signals to control the various actuators, blowers, compressors, etc. mentioned above. do.

Next, an example of the control operation by the microcomputer will be explained. The microcomputer calculates a comprehensive signal corresponding to the air conditioning heat load based on detection data from various sensors 60 that collect temperature-related information. It also calculates a determination value for determining the blowout mode. Based on the comprehensive signal, air mix door control, ventilation control, mode door control, intake door control,
Perform compressor control sequentially. The contents of this process are defined as a main routine (not shown), and are repeated at regular intervals. Here, only the contents of the air blowing control, which is a feature of the present invention, will be explained, and the explanation of the contents of the control other than the conventional air blowing control will be omitted.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of air blowing control. This ventilation control is defined as one of the subroutines that constitute the main routine. In this control example, first, the amount of air blown W is calculated based on a total signal calculated in a separate routine (step 101). The amount of air blown W is calculated as the voltage applied to the main blower 12. Next, in step 102, it is determined whether the blowing mode is VENT. In the case of VENT, the process advances to step 103. If it is not VENT, the process proceeds to step 110, where the main blower 12 is driven so as to achieve the calculated airflow amount W, and the process returns to the main routine.

When the blowout mode is VENT, the detection signal from the vehicle speed sensor 62 is input in step 103, and in step 104, it is calculated how much the blowout air volume should be increased in accordance with the detected vehicle speed V. In other words, the increase in air volume Δ
Calculate W. Next, in step 105, the increased amount ΔW is added to the calculated airflow volume W to obtain the total airflow volume (W+ΔW).
The main blower 12 is driven so that.

[0026] Also, the next step after step 105 is step 10.
6, the air volume of the sub-blower 35 is calculated according to the vehicle speed V, and the sub-blower 35 is driven to achieve the calculated air volume. That is, the voltage applied to the sub-blower 35 is determined according to the detected vehicle speed V, and as the vehicle speed V increases, the voltage is increased and the air volume is increased.

Next, the process proceeds to step 107, where the signal from the steering wheel operation angle sensor 61 is input, and the process proceeds to step 10.
8, the air distribution ratio corresponding to the handle operation angle, that is, the positions of the air distribution doors 31 and 34 is calculated. The air distribution ratio is set so that as the handle is turned to the right, the air volume from the right side outlet becomes larger than the left side, and as the handle is turned to the left, the air volume from the left side air outlet becomes larger than the right side (Figure 2 reference).

Then, in step 109, the positions of the ventilation doors 31 and 34 are controlled to achieve the calculated ventilation ratio, and the process returns to the main routine.

By controlling the air blowing in this way, the VE
Only when in NT mode, the amount of air blown on the side where you turn the steering wheel increases, making the wind stronger against your face and ears. Also,
The faster the vehicle travels, the stronger the wind that hits the occupants' faces and ears. In particular, front pillars 32L, 32
The wind from R's auxiliary VENT outlets 33L and 33R hits the occupant's face and ears, and the way the wind hits the passenger's face and ears can affect how the steering wheel is turned,
and changes depending on vehicle speed. Therefore, the driver can feel as if he or she is receiving wind while driving, and can enjoy a sense of openness even though he or she is inside a closed car. Additionally, since the amount of air is increased on the side where the steering wheel is turned, temperature deviations that occur when turning are alleviated.

Note that in this control example, the amount of air blown out is changed in accordance with the vehicle speed, but this may be omitted. Further, in this control example, the air volume is increased on the side where the steering wheel is turned, but it is also possible to do the opposite. Further, the air distribution control based on normal solar radiation conditions and the air distribution control based on the steering wheel operation angle of the present invention may be combined. In that case, add up the air distribution ratios determined from both conditions,
The ventilation door can be controlled based on the total value.

[0031]

As described above, according to the air blowing control device of the present invention, the amount of air blown to the vicinity of the occupant's head changes depending on the steering angle. Therefore, even if you are in an artificial environment (inside the car) that is isolated from the outside world, you can experience the behavior of the car in a simulated manner through changes in the air volume. In addition, if the air volume is controlled to be larger in the direction in which the steering wheel is turned, this will also help alleviate temperature deviations caused by turning. Also, if the air volume increases as the vehicle speed increases,
It is possible to give the occupants the feeling that the wind is coming in through the window. Furthermore, when air is blown towards the occupant's head from the air outlet installed in the front pillar and the volume of air blown is varied, the air directly hits the face and ears, making it more sensitive to changes in steering angle and vehicle speed. You can experience it as a change in the wind.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a blower control device for an automobile air conditioner according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a characteristic diagram showing an example of the contents of air blow control according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of an automotive air conditioner according to an embodiment to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a control system of the device of the same embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the details of air blowing control in the device of the same embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1R Right side outlet 1L Left side outlet 2 Air distribution adjustment means 3 Handle operation angle detection means 4
Air distribution control means 5 Vehicle speed detection means 6 Air blower 7 Air blower control means 12 Main blower 29R Right side VENT outlet 29L Left side VENT outlet 32R Right side front pillar 32L Left side front pillar 33R Right side auxiliary VENT outlet 33L
Left side auxiliary VENT outlet 31 Air distribution door 34 Air distribution door 35 Sub blower 50 Control unit 55
Air distribution door actuator 61 Handle operation angle sensor 62 Vehicle speed sensor

Claims (4)

[Claims] Claim 1: The vehicle has air outlets on the left and right sides of the vehicle for blowing out conditioned air toward the vicinity of the occupant's head, and air distribution adjusting means for adjusting the ratio of air volume blown from the left and right air outlets. An air conditioner for an automobile comprising: a means for detecting a steering wheel operating angle of a vehicle; and a ratio of air volume blown from the left and right outlets by controlling the air distribution adjusting means according to the steering wheel operating angle detected by the means. An air conditioner for an automobile, characterized in that it is provided with an air distribution control means for changing the air distribution. 2. The air conditioner for an automobile according to claim 1, wherein the air distribution control means controls the air distribution adjustment means so that the air volume of the air outlet on the same side as the direction in which the handle is operated is larger than that on the other side. 3. The vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising: means for detecting the speed of a traveling vehicle; and a blowing control means for increasing the amount of air blown from the left and right outlets as the speed of the traveling vehicle detected by the means increases. 2. The automotive air conditioner according to 1 or 2. 4. The air conditioner for an automobile according to claim 1, wherein the left and right air outlets are provided on left and right front pillars of the vehicle.