JPH04353010A - Air conditioner for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To relieve uncomfortability of a passenger by preventing air-conditioning control parameters from changing suddenly according to a sudden change in the quantity of solar radiation and outside air temperature when a vehicle goes into or out of a tunnel or the like. CONSTITUTION:When a vehicle enters a tunnel while driving outdoors in strong solar radiation, the quantity of solar radiation suddenly reduces from a large quantity of solar radiation condition. In that case, an outside air temperature change amount DELTATad is computed according to the time necessary for a change in solar radiation, and a value which is computed from the change amount is set as an outside air temperature Tad for computation (step 103, 104, 107, 109, 110) instead of a sensor detected signal Ta. The outside air temperature Tad for computation is assumed to change more slowly than the change in an actual sensor detected temperature Ta. Besides, the faster the speed of the solar radiation change becomes, the more largely the change is delayed. Namely, the change is made more slowly. Then when the set outside temperature Tad for computation becomes equal to the sensor detected temperature Ta, the sensor detected signal Ta is set as the outside air temperature Tad for computation (steps 112, 113, 107, 105, 114). The same control is carried out when a vehicle toes out of a tunnel.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle air conditioner that reflects changes in solar radiation in air conditioning control.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, there is a difference in temperature between the inside and outside of a tunnel. Similarly, there is a difference in temperature between inside and outside, such as in an indoor parking lot. This temperature difference is particularly large during times of strong sunlight. Vehicle air conditioners usually calculate the heat load inside the vehicle based on the amount of solar radiation, outside temperature, etc., and control the temperature, air volume, outlet, etc. inside the vehicle based on the calculated content. Therefore, for example, if the amount of solar radiation and the outside temperature suddenly change at the same time when entering or exiting a tunnel, the air outlet temperature, air volume, or air outlet will change greatly depending on the sudden change in input conditions. May cause discomfort to passengers.

[0003] Conventionally, there are techniques shown in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-220914 and Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-open No. 62-138606 as techniques for dealing with such sudden changes in input conditions. The method described in the former publication corrects the signal of the outside air temperature sensor so that the temperature change is gradual when the rate of increase in temperature detected by the outside air temperature sensor exceeds a predetermined value. The purpose of this system is to perform air conditioning control. Furthermore, the latter publication delays the detection signal of the outside temperature sensor when the vehicle speed is below a predetermined value, and controls the air conditioning inside the vehicle based on the delayed signal.

0004

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] By the way, the methods described in the above-mentioned conventional publications all correct (including delay) the signal of the outside air temperature sensor under certain conditions, but the conditions are The decision was made completely unrelated to the problems encountered when entering and exiting tunnels, etc. Therefore, as a matter of course, the above-mentioned unpleasant phenomenon that occurs when entering and exiting the tunnel cannot be completely eliminated.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above problems, the vehicle air conditioner of the present invention has a sensor 1 for detecting outside temperature and a sensor 2 for detecting the amount of solar radiation as shown in FIG. , a means 3 for calculating the heat load inside the vehicle using the detection data of both the sensors 1 and 2, and a means 4 for controlling the air conditioning equipment based on the output of the calculating means 3. The present invention is characterized in that a delay means 5 is provided for delaying the detection signal of the outside temperature sensor 1 and inputting it to the calculation means 3 when the detected amount of solar radiation suddenly changes greatly. Note that "delay" here includes correcting the signal so that the temperature changes at a slope that is gentler than the slope of the temperature change actually detected by the outside air temperature sensor.

The vehicle air conditioner according to the second aspect of the present invention further includes means 6 for calculating the rate of change in the amount of solar radiation detected by the solar radiation sensor 2, and the delaying means as the rate of change in the amount of solar radiation increases. The present invention is characterized in that a delay adjustment means 7 is added which increases the degree of delay according to No. 5 and decreases the degree of delay as the rate of change decreases.

[0007]

[Operation] For example, if you are driving on an outdoor road with strong sunlight and suddenly enter a tunnel, the amount of sunlight will suddenly decrease. At the same time, the outside temperature also decreases. If sudden changes in these two input conditions are directly reflected in the contents of air conditioning control, the changes in the contents of air conditioning control will become too large, causing discomfort to the occupants. Therefore, in the present invention, when the amount of solar radiation changes suddenly, the signal from the outside air temperature sensor 1 is delayed and inputted to the heat load calculation means 3. As a result, the effects of changes in outside air temperature are gradually reflected in the contents of air conditioning control.

Further, in the apparatus of the second aspect, the degree of the delay is increased as the solar radiation change speed is faster, and the degree of the delay is decreased as the solar radiation change speed is slow. In other words, when the solar radiation changes quickly, the outside temperature detected by the sensor also changes quickly, so its influence is extremely likely to appear in the air conditioning control content. Therefore, by making the outside temperature appear to change more slowly, the effect on the air conditioning control is reduced. Furthermore, when the change in solar radiation is slow, the change in outside temperature detected by the sensor is also slow, so its influence does not appear quickly on the air conditioning control content. Therefore, by bringing the change in outside air temperature for calculation closer to the change in outside air temperature actually detected by the sensor, the sense of discomfort is eliminated.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The air conditioner of the embodiment will be explained using the block diagram of FIG.
, means 3 for calculating the heat load inside the vehicle using the detection data of both sensors, means 4 for controlling the air conditioning equipment based on the output thereof, and vehicle speed sensor 8. a delay means 5 for delaying the signal from the outside air temperature sensor 1 when the temperature rises at , and a means 6 for calculating the rate of change in the amount of solar radiation; A delay adjustment means 7 is provided which reduces the degree of delay as the rate of change decreases.

Means other than the above-mentioned sensors are mainly composed of a microcomputer, and the microcomputer performs various processes to control the air conditioning equipment according to inputs from various sensors including the above-mentioned sensors. The air conditioning equipment in this case includes a fan that changes the air volume, a compressor and air mix door that adjusts the blowout temperature, a mode door that selects the blowout outlet, and the like.

One of the processing routines of the microcomputer is an outside air sensor signal input processing routine shown in FIG. The contents of this routine will be described in detail below. This outside air sensor signal input processing routine is
It is repeatedly executed at a constant cycle of about 1 to 8 seconds.

First, prior to explaining the processing procedure, symbols used in the explanation will be described. Each symbol is used with the following meanings. Ta...Outside air temperature Ta detected by outside air temperature sensor 1
d...Outside air temperature ΔTad used for calculation of in-vehicle heat load...
The amount of change in the outside temperature for each process given during delay processing α...The lower limit value of the solar radiation sensor signal when driving outdoors during solar radiation β...The upper limit value of the solar radiation sensor signal when driving in a tunnel is assumed. In the processing routine, three flags F1, F2,
F3 is used in the following meanings. Flag F1...Flag indicating that the vehicle was traveling under strong sunlightFlag F2...Flag indicating that the vehicle was traveling in a dark place (inside a tunnel, etc.)Flag F3...Indicates that the amount of change ΔTad for delay has been set flag to indicate

The contents of the routine shown in FIG. 2 will be explained. When this process starts, first, the signals of the solar radiation sensor 2, outside temperature sensor 1, and vehicle speed sensor 8 are input (step 101).
). Next, check whether the vehicle speed is 20 km or more (step 102), and if it is 20 km or more, step 10
Proceeding to step 3, calculate the amount of solar radiation in the three regions (A) shown in Figure 3, (
It is determined which region B) or (C) it is in. If the vehicle is traveling under strong solar radiation conditions, the determination result will be (A). If the vehicle is traveling at night, in a tunnel, or in an indoor parking lot, the determination result will be (C). Furthermore, if the vehicle is traveling in a brightness that is between the two, the determination result will be (B).

If the judgment result is (A), step 10
4, the flag F indicates that you are driving under strong solar radiation conditions.
Set 1. Next, in step 105, the state of the flag F2 is checked, and it is determined whether the vehicle was traveling in a dark place (for example, inside a tunnel) during the previous process (the process 1 to 8 seconds ago). If you did not drive in a dark place last time, the flag F2 is "0", so the process goes to step 114 and the temperature Ta detected by the outside temperature sensor is directly used as the temperature T for calculation.
Set it as ad and finish the current process. In other words, in this case, the change in the amount of solar radiation between the previous time and this time is not so large, so it is indicated that the delay processing is not performed.

[0015] Also, if the amount of solar radiation is small, step 1
The determination in step 03 becomes (C), and the process proceeds to step 106. In this step 106, a flag F2 indicating that the vehicle is traveling in a dark place is set, and the process proceeds to step 107. In step 107, the state of flag F1 is checked. If you did not drive under strong solar radiation conditions last time, flag F1 is set to "
0'', the process proceeds to step 114, and the detected temperature Ta of the outside air temperature sensor is directly set as the calculation temperature Tad. In other words, in this case, the change in the amount of solar radiation between the previous time and this time is not so large, so it is indicated that the delay processing is not performed.

[0016] Furthermore, if the flag F1 is set after proceeding to step 107, that is, if the vehicle was traveling under strong solar radiation conditions last time and is now traveling in a dark place, the determination in step 107 is YES. Then, the process proceeds to step 108. Similarly, when the process proceeds to step 105, the flag F
2 is set, that is, if the vehicle was traveling in a dark place last time and the vehicle was traveling under strong solar radiation conditions this time, the determination in step 105 is YES and the process proceeds to step 108. Steps 109 and 110 after this step 108,
111 is a step for correcting the detection signal of the outside air temperature sensor, and in step 109 the temperature change amount ΔTad to be applied during delay processing is calculated.

[0017] The amount of outside air temperature change Δ given by this one process
Tad is the amount of temperature change per minute (0.3 x 30
/t), (0.3×30/t)×(processing interval/6
0). Here, the processing interval is 1 to 8 seconds, and t is the time when the amount of solar radiation changes from α to β or from β to α. This time t represents the speed of change in solar radiation, and becomes smaller as the speed of change in solar radiation becomes faster. And here, as can be seen from the above equation, the amount of change ΔT
The faster the solar radiation change speed (t is smaller), the larger ad is calculated, and the slower the solar radiation speed (t is larger), the smaller ad is calculated.

At step 110, a flag F3 is set to indicate that the amount of change ΔTad has been set. therefore,
If the amount of change ΔTad is not set, step 10
The process proceeds to step 111 via steps 8, 109, and 110, and if the amount of change ΔTad has been set, the process directly proceeds from step 108 to step 111. And this step 11
1, a new calculation outside air temperature Tad is calculated by adding the change amount ΔTad to the previous calculation outside air temperature Tad. next,
Proceed to step 112 and check whether the outside air temperature Tad for calculation matches the sensor detection temperature Ta. If they do not match, the process ends; if they match, flags F1 to F3 are reset at step 113. After that, the process ends.

By adding the processes of steps 112 and 113, the outside air temperature Tad for calculation follows the change in the actual outside air temperature Ta with a delay. That is, by resetting the flags F1 and F2 in step 113, even if the state of high or low solar radiation continues from the next time onward, the determinations in steps 107 and 105 will be NO.
In step 114, the detected value Ta of the sensor directly becomes the outside air temperature Tad for calculation.

Further, when an intermediate amount of solar radiation is detected, the determination at step 103 becomes (B). And step 1
Step 15 is where all flags F1 to F3 are reset, and step 116 is where the sensor detection signal Ta is directly set as the calculation outside air temperature Tad, and the process is ended. When the amount of solar radiation changes from intermediate to high or low, the degree of change is small, so in either case, the process goes through step 114 and ends. Therefore, the sensor signal directly serves as the outside air temperature Tad for calculation, and no processing corresponding to delay is performed.

Further, if the vehicle speed is less than 20 km, the determination in step 102 is NO, flags F1 to F3 are reset (step 117), and in steps 118 and 119, the sensor detection signal is output only when the temperature rises. is delayed, and the delayed signal is set as the outside air temperature Tad for calculation. In this case, the gradient as the amount of change per process is constant, and Tad is made to follow Ta when the outside air temperature Tad for calculation matches the sensor signal.

[0022] By performing the above processing, specifically, the following control will be executed. In other words, if you enter a tunnel from a road under strong solar radiation and the amount of solar radiation suddenly changes from high to low, or if you exit a tunnel onto a road under strong solar radiation and the solar radiation suddenly changes from low to high. In this case, instead of the signal from the outside air temperature sensor, a signal delayed from that signal is set as the outside air temperature Tad for calculation, and air conditioning control is performed based on it. Moreover, in that case, the faster the change in solar radiation, the greater the degree of delay, and the slower the change in solar radiation, the smaller the degree of delay, and the closer the signal is to the detection signal of the sensor. FIG. 4(a) shows the former case, and FIG. 4(b) shows the latter case. Therefore, the fluctuations in the input conditions when entering and exiting the tunnel are corrected so that they fluctuate gradually, and the changes in the air conditioning control contents appear slowly, reducing the discomfort of the occupants.

[0023]

As explained above, according to the vehicle air conditioner of the present invention, when both the amount of solar radiation and the outside temperature change suddenly when entering or exiting a tunnel etc., the signal from the outside temperature sensor is Since the air conditioning control is delayed, the contents of the air conditioning control will not change suddenly and cause discomfort to the occupants. Further, according to the device according to the invention of claim 2, since the degree of delay changes depending on the speed of change in solar radiation, the passenger hardly feels any discomfort due to the delay, and can always enjoy a comfortable air-conditioned environment. You can continue driving.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a procedure for inputting an outside air sensor signal in an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the relationship between the brightness environment outside the vehicle and the solar radiation sensor signal, which is used to explain the flowchart in FIG. 2;

[Figure 4] When the process of the flowchart in Figure 2 is performed,
It is a diagram showing the relationship between a signal from an outside air sensor and a signal obtained by delaying it, and (a) is a diagram showing a case where the degree of delay is large;
(b) is a diagram showing a case where the degree of delay is small.

[Explanation of symbols]

1...Outside air temperature sensor 2… Solar radiation sensor 3…Heat load calculation means 4... Air conditioning equipment control means 5... Delay means 6... Solar radiation change rate calculation means 7... Delay adjustment means

Claims (2)

[Claims] Claim 1: A sensor for detecting outside air temperature, a sensor for detecting solar radiation, means for calculating an in-vehicle heat load using detection data from both sensors, and controlling air conditioning equipment based on the output of the calculating means. In the vehicle air conditioning system, a delay means is provided for delaying the detection signal of the outside temperature sensor and inputting the detected signal to the calculation means when the amount of solar radiation detected by the solar radiation sensor suddenly changes greatly. A vehicle air conditioner characterized by: 2. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1, further comprising: means for calculating a rate of change in the amount of solar radiation detected by the solar radiation sensor; 1. A vehicle air conditioner, further comprising a delay adjustment means that reduces the degree of delay as the rate of change decreases.