JPH04257716A - Air conditioner for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To control the operation of a rear cooler and a rear heater, in interlocking with a front side automatic air conditioner. CONSTITUTION:The opening degree of an air mixing damper 13 is detected by a potentiometer 51, and the voltage signal is inputted into a control unit 8. The control unit 8 controls the operation of a rear driving motor 46 on the basis of the voltage signal, and the opening and closing of both the air mixing dampers 13 and 43 are interlocked. Further, the ON-OFF operation of a rear heater is controlled by the corresponding voltage signal in selecting the face mode/bye-level mode of an automatic air conditioner, and the ON-OFF operation of a rear cooler is controlled by the corresponding voltage signal in the selection between foot mode/bye-level mode.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle air conditioning system that is applied to a vehicle that is equipped with an automatic air conditioner on the front side and a rear cooler device and a rear heater device on the rear side.

0002

[Prior Art] A vehicle air conditioner used in a vehicle such as an automobile, for example, sucks in outside air or cabin air (hereinafter referred to as inside air) by operating a blower fan, passes the sucked air through an evaporator, and then heats the heater core as necessary. The temperature-controlled air is heated and adjusted to a desired temperature and is guided through a duct to an air outlet in the vehicle interior. The temperature of this temperature-controlled air is determined mainly by the opening degree of the air mix damper, which adjusts the amount of ventilation to the heater core. Auto air conditioner devices (hereinafter referred to as auto air conditioners) are widely used, which are linked to automatic air conditioners to automatically maintain the desired cabin temperature set by the occupants.

0003

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] By the way, in vehicles with a large interior volume such as one-box cars, in addition to the usual front air conditioner, it is necessary to provide a comfortable interior environment for rear seat passengers. A rear cooler device (hereinafter referred to as rear cooler) and rear heater device may be provided for this purpose. Even when such a vehicle air conditioner is equipped with an automatic air conditioner on the front side, the operation of the rear cooler and rear heater is generally manually operated from the rear seat.

[0004] Therefore, as described above, in a vehicle air conditioner equipped with an automatic air conditioner on the front side and a manually operated rear cooler and rear heater on the rear side,
Since the rear side does not work in conjunction with the front side automatic air conditioner, when the air conditioning load changes sharply due to fluctuations in outside temperature or solar radiation, unlike the front seat passengers, who can maintain a comfortable environment by responding to changes in the outside temperature or solar radiation, the rear seat Occasionally, passengers may feel uncomfortable. To explain this in detail, for example, when the outside air temperature drops, the opening of the air mix damper in the front automatic air conditioner automatically changes to correct the blowout temperature, and the blowout mode also changes automatically. The system maintains a comfortable environment set by the occupants by switching from air blowing to bi-level blowing or foot blowing. However, on the rear side, the rear cooler will continue to blow out cold air and the rear heater will not start operating until the rear seat occupant manually adjusts it. For this reason, for example, when the front side is switched to bi-level airflow, operating with only the rear cooler may make you feel cold, or operating only the rear heater may make your upper body feel particularly hot, causing discomfort or discomfort in the temperature of the airflow on the rear side. There was an inconvenience that I felt. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle air conditioner that enables air flow control adapted to the air conditioning load even on the rear side by switching the operation of the rear cooler and rear heater in conjunction with the front auto air conditioner. It is in.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and provides an automatic air conditioner for a vehicle comprising an automatic air conditioner device on the front side and a rear cooler device and a rear heater device on the rear side. A means for detecting the opening degree of a front heater air mix damper that adjusts the temperature of air blown out from the air conditioner device, and an opening/closing means for driving the rear heater air mix damper that adjusts the temperature that hot air is blown out from the rear heater device are provided. A vehicle air conditioner is characterized in that the opening/closing driving means is operated in conjunction with the detected value, and the ON/OFF of a rear cooler device and a rear heater device is controlled.

[0006]

[Operation] According to the above-mentioned means, the opening degree of the air mix damper of the automatic air conditioner device is detected, and in conjunction with this, the air mix damper of the rear heater device is opened and closed, and the rear cooler device and the rear heater device are turned on and off.
Since the FF is controlled, the operation on the rear side is almost the same as the operation on the front side, which changes in response to fluctuations in the air conditioning load. In other words, when the front side is in face mode blowing out cold air, the rear side operates only the rear cooler, and when the front side is in foot mode blowing warm air, the rear side operates only the rear heater, and the front side operates only the rear heater. When in bi-level mode, where temperature-controlled air is blown out from the outlet and foot outlet, it is possible to control both the rear cooler and rear heater to operate.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a vehicle air conditioner. The front side automatic air conditioner has an inside/outside air switching damper 3 that switches between an outside air inlet 1 and an inside air inlet 2.
A blower unit 5, an evaporator 6,
The heater core 7 and the switching dampers of each outlet are connected and attached through a duct. Blower unit 5 is motor 5
It rotates using drive source a, and its operating speed is variable under the control of the control unit 8. Temperature sensors 9 and 10 are provided before and after the evaporator 6, respectively, and their detected values are input to the control unit 8. In a typical manual air conditioner, the compressor (not shown) is turned on and off based on the detected values of these temperature sensors 9 and 10.
However, the automatic air conditioner control unit 8 also includes a solar radiation sensor 11 and a vehicle interior temperature sensor 1.
2 detection values are input for more detailed control. The heater core 7 emits heat of engine cooling water for heating purposes, and a pair of air mix dampers 13 are provided at its entrance and exit. On the secondary side of the heater core 7, there are a front differential air outlet 14, a side differential air outlet 15, and a face air outlet 16 that open to the instrument panel 4.
A rear heater outlet 18 branches from the foot outlet 17. The front differential air outlet 14 and the side differential air outlet 15 are provided with a differential mode switching damper 19 that switches the opening and closing of both air outlets. A foot mode switching damper 21 is provided respectively. Each of these switching dampers 19, 20, 21 has a common drive motor 22, and each damper opens and closes in the direction of the illustrated arrow in an interlocked state. Note that 23 is a drive motor that adjusts the opening degree of the air mix damper 13, and 24 is a drive motor for the inside/outside air switching damper 3.

On the other hand, the rear side is equipped with a rear cooler and a rear heater. The rear cooler includes a rear evaporator 31, a rear cooler blower unit 32, and a temperature sensor 3.
A solenoid valve 36 for adjusting the flow rate of the refrigerant is provided at an appropriate position in the refrigerant passages 34 and 35, which are connected to a compressor and a condenser (not shown) and circulate the refrigerant. The rear cooler blower unit 32 uses a motor 32a as a driving source to suck in air inside the vehicle interior, and sends cool air heat exchanged by the rear evaporator 31 to the rear cooler outlet 3 through a duct 37.
Blow out from 8. Note that the detected value of the temperature sensor 33 is input to the control unit 8, and the detected value of the temperature sensor 33 is input to the control unit 8.
The solenoid valve 36 is operated under the control of the control unit 36. The rear heater includes a rear heater core 41, a rear heater blower unit 42, and a rear heater air mix damper 43. Similar to the front side heater core 7, the rear heater uses the heat of the engine coolant for heating. Engine and pipes 44, 45
connected by. The opening of the pair of rear heater air mix dampers 43 is adjusted by a drive motor 46 that is operated under the control of the control unit 8. Also, the motor 42a that is the drive source of the rear heater blower unit 42 is also controlled by the control unit 8. It receives and operates. When the rear heater is in operation, air inside the vehicle compartment sucked by the rear heater blower unit 42 is sent to the rear heater core 41 with the rear heater air mix damper 43 open as shown in FIG. It blows out at the feet of the seat occupants.

Next, the operation of the vehicle air conditioner having the above-described structure will be explained. First, to briefly explain the air flow in the front auto air conditioner, outside air or inside air is sucked into the blower unit 5 according to the opening/closing position of the inside/outside air switching damper 3, and the entire amount passes through the evaporator 6. At this time, if a compressor (not shown) is operating to circulate the refrigerant, the air that has passed through the evaporator 6 will be sent to the heater core 7 as cold air through heat exchange. The amount of cold air sent to the heater core 7 that passes through the heater core 7 changes depending on the opening degree of the air mix damper 13. The air mix damper 13 in FIG. 1 is in the fully closed position, and in this state, the entire amount of cold air is sent from the heater core 7 to the outlet without being heated. In addition, the air mix damper 13 can be maintained at a desired opening between fully closed and fully opened, thereby separating warm air that has passed through the heater core 7 and been heated and cold air that has not passed through the heater core 7. The blowing temperature is adjusted by changing the mixing ratio. The opening degree of the air mix damper 13 described above is linked to the open/close state (setting mode) of the switching damper provided at each outlet. These controls are performed by the control unit 8, and the details of the controls will be explained based on the control map shown in FIG. In addition, in the control map of FIG. 2, the differential mode operated by a manual switch in rainy weather etc. is omitted. That is, the automatic air conditioner has three blowout modes: face mode, bilevel mode, and foot mode, which are automatically switched depending on various conditions. In the face mode, the air conditioning load is on the cooling side, the opening degree of the air mix damper 13 is fully closed or close to fully closed, and the face mode switching damper 20 opens to blow out cold air from the face outlet 16. The foot mode is when the air conditioning load is on the heating side, and the opening degree of the air mix damper 13 is fully open or close to fully open.
The foot mode switching damper 21 opens and the foot air outlet 17 opens.
Blows out warm air. Bi-level mode is a case where the air conditioning load is between the cooling side and the heating side, the opening degree of the air mix damper 13 is near the middle, and cold air and warm air are generated from the face outlet 16 and the foot outlet 17. Blows out temperature-controlled air that is appropriately mixed. These blowout modes are determined by the relationship between the set temperature according to the passenger's preference and the detected values of the solar radiation sensor 11 and the vehicle interior temperature sensor 12. In other words, if the temperature inside the vehicle is higher than the set temperature or the amount of solar radiation is high, the air conditioning load will be on the cooling side, and conversely, if the temperature inside the vehicle is lower than the set temperature and the amount of solar radiation is low, the air conditioning load will be on the heating side. Become.

[0010] The operation of the rear cooler and rear heater is controlled in conjunction with the air mix damper opening adjustment of the front auto air conditioner which is subject to such control. This will be explained in detail based on the control map shown in FIG. Changes in the opening degree of the air mix damper 13 on the front side are detected as an electrical signal (generally a voltage signal) obtained from an opening detection means provided in an operating mechanism for opening and closing the air mix damper 13 connected to the drive motor 23, for example. is detected and input to the controller 8. As this opening detection means, a potentiometer 51 is used.
is preferable, and it is possible to obtain a voltage signal that changes linearly according to the opening degree of the air mix damper 13. Upon receiving this voltage signal, the controller 8 operates the drive motor 46 of the rear heater air mix damper 43 to control the opening degrees of the air mix damper 13 and the rear heater air mix damper 43 to be the same.

At the same time, a point (voltage value) corresponding to mode switching of the front automatic air conditioner is determined in the voltage signal that changes linearly, and is used for switching ON/OFF the operation of the rear cooler and rear heater. do. That is, at the switching point a between the foot mode and the bi-level mode on the front side, the opening degree of the air mix damper 13 becomes A, and in conjunction with this, the opening degree of the rear heater air mix damper 43 also becomes A. And this A
This point is the ON-OFF switching point for rear cooler operation, and when the air conditioning load changes from the heating side to the cooling side, the rear cooler starts operating, and conversely, when the air conditioning load changes from the cooling side to the heating side, the rear cooler stops operating. do. Furthermore, at the switching point b between the face mode and the bi-level mode on the front side, the opening degree of the air mix damper 13 becomes B, and the rear heater air mix damper 4 interlocks with this.
The opening degree of No. 3 is also adjusted to B. This point B becomes the ON-OFF switching point for rear heater operation, and when the air conditioning load changes from the cooling side to the heating side, the rear heater starts operating, and conversely, when the air conditioning load changes from the heating side to the cooling side, the rear heater starts operating. stop operating.

[0012] Through the above-described control, the rear cooler and rear heater installed on the rear side are placed in almost the same blowing mode as the front auto air conditioner. That is,
The rear side corresponding to the front side foot mode is set to rear heater mode where only the rear heater is operated, the rear side corresponding to the front side face mode is set to rear cooler mode where only the rear cooler is operated, and the front side is set to bilevel mode. The rear side corresponding to the mode is automatically switched to a bilevel mode in which both the rear cooler and rear heater are operated. Note that even in the rear heater mode, the blowout temperature is adjusted by controlling the opening degree of the rear heater air mix damper 43, and even in the rear cooler mode, the opening and closing time of the solenoid valve 36 is controlled to change the flow rate of refrigerant flowing into the evaporator 31. By doing so, the blowing temperature can be adjusted. The opening/closing control of this solenoid valve 36 may be performed in conjunction with the front side air mix damper 13 in the same way as the rear heater air mix damper 43, or by providing means for detecting each blowout mode switching on the front side. It may also be linked to

[0013]

[Effects of the Invention] According to the above-mentioned vehicle air conditioner of the present invention, the operation of the rear cooler and rear heater is automatically switched in conjunction with the front auto air conditioner.
There is no difference between the airflow conditions on the front side and the rear side, and the effect is to improve the comfort inside the vehicle by operating according to the air conditioning load. Furthermore, since there is no need to manually adjust the operation of the rear cooler and rear heater in response to environmental changes, there is also the effect of improving operability.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a control map diagram of the vehicle air conditioner shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of an opening detection means for an air mix damper of an automatic air conditioner.

[Explanation of symbols]

17 Foot outlet 20 Face mode switching damper 21 Foot mode switching damper 31 Rear evaporator 32 Rear cooler blower unit 38 Rear cooler outlet 41 Rear heater core 42 Rear heater blower unit 43 Rear heater air mix damper 46 Drive motor 51 Potentiometer

Claims (1)

[Claims] Claim 1: In a vehicle air conditioner consisting of a front auto air conditioner device and a rear cooler device and rear heater device, opening of a front heater air mix damper that adjusts the outlet temperature of the auto air conditioner device is provided. and a rear heater air mix damper opening/closing drive means for adjusting the hot air blowing temperature of the rear heater device, and operating the opening/closing drive means in conjunction with the detected value of the opening detection means, An air conditioner for a vehicle, characterized in that ON/OFF of a rear cooler device and a rear heater device is controlled.