JPH08276725A - Air conditioner for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a cheap automatic inside and outside air switching device which can be installed with ease. CONSTITUTION: A gas sensor 26 is arranged in a blowout duct 9 down-stream of a suction port switching door 4 for selecting an outside air inlet port 3a and an inside air circulation port 3b, and a suction port switching door servo motor 29 is controlled to drive a suction port switching door 4 based on the value detected by the gas sensor 26 after the lapse of a specified time after the selection of the outside air inlet port 3a by the suction port switching door 4. While outside air is being introduced in the blowout duct 9, the outside air inlet port 3a and the inside air circulation port 3b can be selected based on the detection by the gas sensor 26. The installation of the gas sensor 26 inside the cabin reduces mounting and wiring work, making the air conditioner cheap.

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 for automatically controlling a suction mode by detecting a degree of pollution of air outside a vehicle by a gas sensor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-23722 discloses an air conditioner for a vehicle, which is provided with a gas sensor for detecting the degree of pollution of the air outside the vehicle compartment and switches between the inside air and the outside air. In the present invention, the gas sensor is installed on the upstream side of the intake door (damper) of the air conditioning duct that serves as a passage for the air outside the vehicle compartment.

[0003]

However, in an actual vehicle, it is difficult to secure a space for installing the gas sensor on the upstream side of the intake door of the air conditioning duct. Therefore, the gas sensor is arranged in the engine room or the front grill. Will be done. In this case, in order to install a gas sensor in the vehicle air conditioner, a servomotor for switching control of the suction port, a switch, etc., it is necessary to work at multiple locations, and wiring is required between the engine room and the vehicle interior. Since it is necessary to handle them, there is a problem that the number of man-hours is increased, and particularly in the case of the retrofitting work, the burden becomes too large.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an air conditioner for a vehicle which can be installed as an automatic inside / outside air switching system by a simple operation and can be a cheap system by reducing the installation work.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicle interior opening for introducing air outside the vehicle interior and a vehicle interior opening for sucking and circulating the vehicle interior air. Opening selection means for selecting the vehicle exterior opening and the vehicle interior opening, an conditioned air passage for introducing air into the vehicle interior from the opening selected by the opening selection means, and the opening selection A pollution detection sensor arranged in the conditioned air passage on the downstream side of the means, for detecting air pollution, and selection control means for controlling the opening selection means based on the detection value of the pollution detection sensor. The technical means consisting of and.

A second aspect of the present invention is a technical means in which the selection control means has a determination means for performing a determination for selection when the opening selection means is selecting the outside-cabin opening. According to a third aspect of the present invention, the determining means includes a delaying means that starts a determining operation after a lapse of a predetermined time after the opening selecting means selects the opening outside the vehicle compartment. Claim 4 is, in claims 1, 2, and 3,
An evaporator for cooling the passing air is arranged in the conditioned air passage, and the pollution detecting sensor is arranged in the conditioned air passage on the downstream side of the opening selecting means and on the upstream side of the evaporator. What you have done is the technical means.

[0007]

According to the present invention, when the vehicle compartment opening is selected by the opening selecting means, the air in the vehicle compartment is introduced into the vehicle compartment in the air conditioning air passage. Air circulates. On the other hand, when the opening outside the vehicle compartment is selected by the opening selecting means, the air outside the vehicle interior is introduced into the vehicle interior through the air-conditioning air passage. At this time, therefore, the contamination detection sensor contaminates the air outside the vehicle interior. Can be detected, and the opening selecting unit can be controlled based on the detected value.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the selection control means has a determination means for making a determination for selection when the opening selection means is selecting the exterior opening of the vehicle compartment. When the outdoor opening is selected,
The opening can be selected depending on the degree of air pollution. In the invention of claim 3, the determination means has a delay means, and the determination operation is started after a lapse of a predetermined time after the opening selection means selects the outside opening of the vehicle compartment, so that the air outside the vehicle compartment is surely discharged. The degree of pollution can be detected when the pollution detection sensor reaches the pollution detection sensor and is sufficiently responsive to the air outside the vehicle compartment. In the invention of claim 4, when the air passing through the conditioned air passage is cooled by the evaporator, the air is dehumidified by the cooling and the humidity thereof drops. Some pollution detection sensors may change their output when affected by humidity.
The pollution detection sensor is arranged in the conditioned air passage on the downstream side of the opening selection means and on the upstream side of the evaporator. Therefore, the pollution detection sensor is not affected by the air cooled by the evaporator and outputs in a stable state.

[0009]

According to the present invention, the pollution detecting sensor is provided in the air-conditioning air passage downstream of the opening selecting means to switch between the air outside the vehicle compartment and the air inside the vehicle compartment so that the air outside the vehicle compartment is contaminated. The detection can be performed by the detection sensor. Therefore, install the contamination detection sensor and switches, etc.
Since it is not necessary to carry out outside the vehicle and only the work inside the vehicle is required, the burden of wiring and the like is reduced, and the work man-hours can be reduced compared to the conventional one. Therefore, the installation can be performed by a simple operation, and in particular, since the installation operation in the case of retrofitting is reduced, an inexpensive system can be obtained. Further, when the pollution detection sensor is arranged in the conditioned air passage on the downstream side of the opening selection means and on the upstream side of the evaporator, the pollution detection sensor is not affected by the air cooled by the evaporator, Output in a stable state.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will now be described based on the embodiments shown in the drawings. The automobile air conditioner 100 of the first embodiment shown in FIG.
Is provided with a blower 2 upstream of the air-conditioning duct 1, and an intake-air switching door 4 is provided in the inside / outside air switching box 3 further upstream. In the air conditioning duct 1 downstream of the blower 2,
An evaporator (evaporator) 5, a heater core 6, and air mix doors 7 and 8 of the refrigeration cycle are arranged, and outlet ducts 9, 10 and 11 are provided downstream of the air conditioning duct 1 in a branched manner. At the downstream ends of 10, 11,
FACE outlets 12 and DEF opened in the passenger compartment
An outlet 13 and a FOOT outlet 14 are provided. In addition, 15 and 16 are blower outlet mode doors for selecting each blower outlet.

With the above construction, the air conditioner 10 for automobiles
At 0, when the blower 2 operates, the outside air introduction port 3a or the inside air circulation port 3b opened by the suction port switching door 4
The air sucked into the air conditioning duct 1 from the air is cooled by the evaporator 5, passes through the heater core 6 according to the opening degree SW of the air mix doors 7 and 8 and is heated, and is cooled by the evaporator 5. The air heated by passing through the heater core 6 is mixed and blown out into the vehicle compartment from the air outlets 12 to 14 corresponding to the open states of the air outlet mode doors 15 and 16.

The controller 20 for controlling the air conditioner 100 for automobiles described above includes an inside air temperature sensor 21, an outside air temperature sensor 22, a solar radiation sensor 23, and an after-evaporation temperature sensor 24 for detecting the temperature of air passing through the evaporator 5. An air conditioner panel 25 for giving an operation instruction such as temperature setting by an occupant and a gas sensor 26 at the outlet duct 9 downstream of the air conditioning duct 1 are provided, and the blower 2 is provided in accordance with the detection value of each sensor and the operation instruction from the air conditioner panel 25. A blower controller 27 for controlling the air mix door, an air mix door servomotor 28 for driving the air mix doors 6, 7, a suction port switching door servomotor 29 for driving the suction port switching door 4, and a blower for driving the blowout mode doors 15, 16. The outlet servomotors 30 are controlled respectively.

The gas sensor 26 is for detecting contamination by harmful gases such as carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides outside the vehicle cabin.

The controller 20 will be described below with reference to FIG.
The control operation of will be described. First, the contents stored in the data processing memory are initialized (step 100), the set temperature Tset of the air conditioner panel 25, the vehicle interior temperature Tr detected by each sensor, the outside air temperature Tam, and the solar radiation amount T into the vehicle interior T.
s, post-evaporation air temperature Te, and engine cooling water temperature Tw are read and stored in the data processing memory (step 1
10). Next, the required outlet temperature TA based on each data
O is calculated by the following equation (step 120). TAO = Kset-Tset-Kr-Tr-Kam-Tam-Ks-Ts + C-where Kset, Kr, Kam, and Ks are correction gains, and C is
Indicates the correction constant.

Next, it is determined whether the inlet mode is the inside air mode or the outside air mode according to the required outlet temperature TAO (step 130). Here, the suction port mode is as shown in FIG.
As shown in, when the required outlet temperature TAO is high,
The outside air mode is determined, and when the outside air mode is low, the inside air mode is determined.

When the determined inlet port mode is the outside air mode (NO in step 130), the timer counter TM2 for measuring a predetermined time t2 after the inlet port switching door 4 switches from the inside air mode to the outside air mode is "0". "
If it is not "0" (step 140
, NO), "1" from the value of the timer counter TM2
Is subtracted (step 141), and the suction port mode is continuously set to the outside air mode (step 160).

In step 140, the timer counter T
When the value of M2 is "0" (YES), a sufficient amount of time has elapsed since the outdoor mode has been entered, and the outdoor air is reliably introduced into the outlet duct 9, and the gas sensor 26 reacts sufficiently to the outdoor air. Since it can be considered that the intake port mode is set to the outside air mode or the inside air mode, it is determined based on the detection voltage of the gas sensor 26 in the outlet duct 9.

When the detection voltage of the gas sensor 26 is higher than the determination voltage (NO in step 150), the outside air mode is determined (step 160). On the contrary, when the detection voltage of the gas sensor 26 is lower than the determination voltage (YES in step 150), the timer counter TM1 for measuring the duration limit time of the inside air mode is reset and the value is set to “180” (step). 151), the suction mode is determined to be the inside air mode (step 161).

On the other hand, when the suction mode determined by the required outlet temperature TAO is the inside air mode (step 13
If YES in 0), it is determined whether or not the value of the timer counter TM1 is "0", and if it is not "0" (NO in step 131), "1" is subtracted from the value of the timer counter TM1 (step 132). , Move to step 161, and continue the inside air mode,

In step 131, when the value of the timer counter TM1 is "0" (YES), the timer counter TM2 is reset and the value is set to "10" (step 133), and the suction port mode is set to the outside air. The mode is set (step 134). Steps 160, 161, 1
After finishing each processing of 34, the control output according to each set suction port mode is changed to the suction port switching door servomotor 2
9 (step 170).

After that, the blower control voltage is calculated according to the required outlet temperature TAO based on the characteristic shown in FIG. 4 (step 180), and the required outlet temperature TAO is calculated according to the characteristic shown in FIG. To determine the outlet mode (step 190). Furthermore, the required outlet temperature TA
O, the post-evaporator air temperature Te, and the engine cooling water temperature Tw, based on the following equation, the opening degree SW of the air mix door
(%) Is calculated (step 200). SW = (TAO-Te) / (Tw-Te) × 100 (%)-

After the above control values are calculated, at step 210, the control output is made to the blower motor controller 27 so that the blower voltage calculated at step 180 is obtained, and at step 220, the control output is obtained at step 200. The control output to the air mix door U servo motor 28 is performed so that the opening SW is set, and in step 230, the control output to the outlet servo motor 30 is set so that the outlet mode determined in step 190 is achieved. do.

By performing the above control operation, in the automobile air conditioner 100 of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, from the time 0 to the time A, the inside air mode is set. The mode is not judged. From time A to time B, it is the outside air mode, but since the time by the timer counter TM2 has not elapsed and the outside air is not sufficiently introduced into the outlet duct 9, the gas sensor 26 cannot determine the inlet mode. Not done

After the time B, since the outside air is sufficiently introduced into the outlet duct 9, the gas sensor 26 determines the inlet mode. Here, since the detection voltage of the gas sensor 26 after time B is higher than the determination voltage,
Since the outside air mode is set, the outside air mode is continued. When the detection voltage of the gas sensor 26 becomes lower than the determination voltage at time C, the suction port mode is set to the inside air mode.
The inside air mode is maintained until the continuation time limit TM1 of the inside air mode elapses.

When the continuous time limit TM1 elapses at time D, the suction port mode is automatically set to the outside air mode. Thereafter, until the time E when TM2 elapses, the gas sensor 26 cannot determine the suction port mode. If not, the gas sensor 26 determines the suction port mode again after the time E.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is only necessary to mount the sensor or the like for detecting air pollution only inside the passenger compartment, and in particular, the work load in the case of retrofitting is significantly reduced. Therefore, the device can be inexpensive. In this embodiment, the gas sensor 26 is provided in the air outlet duct 9 communicating with the FACE air outlet 12, but also in the air outlet duct communicating with other air outlets or in the air conditioning duct 1 downstream of the inside / outside air switching box 3. Good.

FIG. 7 shows an automobile air conditioner 100 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The gas sensor 26 is easily affected by the humidity of the atmosphere, and even if the air pollution state is the same, the output thereof decreases as the humidity increases, as shown in FIG. Downstream of the evaporator 5 in the air conditioning duct 1, especially the evaporator 5
Between the heater core 6 and the heater core 6, when the temperature of the evaporator 5 changes according to the operation of the refrigerant compressor of the refrigeration cycle, the humidity changes accordingly. If the gas sensor 26 is arranged at such a portion where the humidity changes, stable detection cannot be performed. Therefore, in particular, in the present embodiment, the gas sensor 26 is set as a portion that is not affected by the air cooled by the evaporator 5.
It is arranged in the air conditioning duct 1 downstream of the blower 2 and upstream of the evaporator 5. As described above, by disposing the gas sensor 26 at the upstream portion of the evaporator 5, the stable output can be secured without being affected by the humidity change in the air conditioning duct 1.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the control operation of the controller in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing setting of a suction port mode of the controller in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing setting of the voltage of the blower of the controller in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing setting of an outlet mode of the controller according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a time chart for explaining the operation according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram showing an automobile air conditioner according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a characteristic diagram showing the relationship between the output of the gas sensor and humidity in the example.

FIG. 9 is a time chart showing the relationship between the operation of the refrigeration cycle and the change in humidity downstream of the evaporator in a comparative example for explaining the effect of the vehicle air conditioner of the second example of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

100 Car Air Conditioner (Vehicle Air Conditioner) 1 Air Conditioning Duct (Air Conditioning Air Passage) 3a Outside Air Introduction Port (Vehicle Interior Opening) 3b Inside Air Circulation Port (Vehicle Interior Opening) 4 Suction Port Switching Door (Opening Selection Means) 9 Air outlet duct (air conditioning air passage) 20 Controller (selection control means, determination means, delay means) 26 Gas sensor (pollution detection sensor)

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A vehicle exterior opening for introducing air outside the vehicle interior and a vehicle interior opening for sucking and circulating air inside the vehicle interior are provided, and the vehicle exterior opening and the vehicle interior opening are provided. An opening selecting unit for selecting, an air conditioning air passage for introducing air into the vehicle compartment from the opening selected by the opening selecting unit, and arranged in the air conditioning air passage on the downstream side of the opening selecting unit, A vehicle air conditioner comprising: a pollution detection sensor for detecting air pollution; and selection control means for controlling the opening selection means based on a detection value of the pollution detection sensor. 2. The selection control means includes determination means for performing determination for selection when the opening selection means is selecting the exterior opening of the vehicle compartment.
The vehicle air conditioner described. 3. The vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the determination means has a delay means for starting the determination operation after a predetermined time has elapsed since the opening selecting means selected the opening outside the vehicle compartment. Air conditioner. 4. An evaporator for cooling the air passing therethrough is arranged in the conditioned air passage, and the pollution detecting sensor is provided on the downstream side of the opening selecting means and on the upstream side of the evaporator. The air conditioner for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the air conditioner is arranged in an air passage.