JPH11348525A - Air conditioner for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To more comfortably control the temperature of the interior by considering humidity as well as temperature in the environmental control of the interior. SOLUTION: A temperature sensor 30 and a humidity sensor 40 are provided in a vehicle C. An air conditioner calculates currently new effective temperature (ET*) in a interior based on the measure results of the temperature sensor 30 and the humidity sensor 40. Then, the air conditioner performs an environmental control in the interior by employing the calculated ET* as one of parameters.

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 a vehicle which is installed in a vehicle such as an automobile and performs air conditioning such as cooling and heating in a vehicle compartment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a vehicle air conditioner, a blower fan controls the flow of air between an inlet provided at an upstream end of an air conditioner unit for introducing inside and outside air and an outlet provided at a downstream end. It is something to create. An evaporator and a heater are arranged downstream of the blower fan. The air passing through the evaporator is cooled, and the air passing through the heater is heated. Further, an air mix damper is provided on the upstream side of the heater, and by adjusting the opening degree, the cool air and the hot air are mixed on the downstream side. The air conditioner is intended to provide a desired vehicle interior environment by controlling the temperature of the air blown into the vehicle in this way.

[0003] The degree to which the cool air and the warm air are mixed is determined, for example, by a passenger operating a control panel installed in the vehicle. The control panel can normally input a temperature setting and an operation mode of the air conditioner (cooling or heating, etc.). Is automatically controlled. In addition, the control of the air conditioner is usually performed in consideration of the measurement results of the temperature inside the vehicle, the outside air temperature, and the like in addition to the information input by the passenger.

[0004]

In the conventional air conditioner having the above structure, only the temperature in the passenger compartment is controlled. That is, the passenger sets the target temperature mainly for the air conditioner as described above, and the air conditioner adjusts various damper opening degrees and the like so that the interior of the vehicle compartment becomes the set temperature. Thus, the environment in the passenger compartment was controlled.

However, in such vehicle interior environment control,
Humidity issues are not considered at all. Particularly in summer, operation control is performed such that the compressor that supplies the refrigerant to the evaporator is turned on / off intermittently so that the condensed water attached to the evaporator does not freeze (that is, does not become 0 ° C. or less). . When the compressor is in the OFF state, the temperature of the cool air sent into the vehicle compartment rises, and the temperature inside the vehicle compartment rises, dehumidification is not performed, and comfort is impaired. Further, since the ON / OFF operation control of the compressor is performed at relatively short intervals, for example, performed at intervals of one minute, the total time during which the cool air is stopped is relatively long.

In such a vehicle interior control, it can be said that there is a great possibility that passenger comfort is impaired in a hot and humid environment such as Japan.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a more comfortable vehicle interior temperature control by considering humidity in addition to temperature in vehicle interior environment control. It is an object of the present invention to provide an air conditioner capable of performing the above.

[0008]

The present invention employs the following means in order to solve the above-mentioned problems. That is, the air conditioner according to claim 1 has an outside air inlet and an inside air inlet that are opened and closed by a damper at an upstream end, and an air conditioning unit that has a conditioned air outlet into a vehicle cabin at a downstream end. An air conditioner including a blower fan, an evaporator, a heater, and an air mix damper provided in the air conditioner unit, wherein a temperature measuring means for measuring a temperature in a vehicle interior and a humidity measuring means for measuring a humidity in the vehicle interior And calculating a new effective temperature based on the measurement results of the two sensors and using the calculated new effective temperature as a parameter for vehicle interior temperature control.

According to this, the environmental control in the vehicle compartment not only monitors the temperature, but also recognizes the humidity as an object to be monitored. Further, the value of the new effective temperature is calculated based on these temperature and humidity measurement results, and is used as a parameter of the passenger compartment control, so that it is possible to provide a more comfortable cabin environment for the occupant of the vehicle. .

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the configuration of the vehicle air conditioner of the embodiment. This air conditioner has an air conditioner unit 4 having an air passage 3 inside. An inlet 1 for sucking inside and outside air is formed at an upstream end of the air conditioner unit 4, and an outlet 2 for blowing conditioned air into a vehicle compartment is formed at a downstream end. Air conditioning unit 4
A blower fan 5 is arranged on the upstream side, and an evaporator 6 and an air mix damper 1 are arranged downstream from the blower fan 5 in that order.
3. A heater 7 is provided.

The inlet 1 of the air conditioner unit 4 comprises an outside air inlet 1a for introducing outside air, and an inside air inlet 1b for introducing circulating air inside the vehicle, and is provided between the outside air inlet 1a and the inside air inlet 1b. , Outside air inlet 1a or inside air inlet 1
An internal / external air switching damper 8 that opens one of the b and switches between external air and internal air is provided.

The air outlet 2 of the air conditioner unit 4 is
A defroster outlet 2a formed at the upper part of the air conditioner unit 4 for blowing air onto a windshield or the like in the passenger compartment to prevent fogging and the like, a face outlet 2b for blowing air from the front of the dashboard or the like, and formed at a lower part of the air conditioner unit 4. Foot outlet 2c that blows air from the lower part of the passenger compartment
Consists of The defroster outlet 2a, the face outlet 2b, and the foot outlet 2c are provided with a defroster-side damper 10, a face-side damper 11, and a foot-side damper 12, respectively, for adjusting the opening area.

The blower fan 5 sucks inside and outside air from the outside air inlet 1a or the inside air inlet 1b, and circulates the air through the air conditioner unit 4. The blower fan 5 is connected to an electric motor (not shown). The evaporator 6 is an element of the refrigeration cycle and cools the air flowing through the air conditioner unit 4. The heater 7 is incorporated in the hot water circulation path and heats the flowing air. The air mix damper 13 is
The swing control is performed on the upstream side of the heater 7, and the ratio of the wind passing through the heater 7 and the wind not passing through the heater 7 is adjusted in accordance with the swing position to adjust the mixing ratio of the cool air and the hot air. Perform the function.

In this air conditioner, the outside air or the inside air is introduced into the air conditioner unit 4 from the outside air inlet 1a or the inside air inlet 1b by driving the blower fan 5, and the introduced air flows through the air flow path 3 downstream. Sent to the side. The air flowing in the air conditioner unit 4 is then cooled by passing through the evaporator 6 and flows downstream.
At this time, if the air mix damper 13 completely covers the heater 7 side passage, the air goes to the outlet 2 without passing through the heater 7, and cool air is blown from the outlet 2 into the vehicle. When the air mix damper 13 fully opens the heater 7 side passage, all of the air passes through the heater 7 and is heated, and is blown out from the outlet 2 into the vehicle interior. When the air mix damper 13 is at the intermediate position,
The cool air that has not passed through the heater 7 and the warm air that has passed through the heater 7 are mixed on the downstream side of the air mix damper 13 according to the degree of opening thereof, and the mixed air is blown out of the air outlet 2 into the vehicle interior.

The air conditioner described above, as shown in FIG.
It is mounted on the vehicle C. In this figure, the blower fan 5, the evaporator 6, the heater 7, the defroster outlet 2a, and the face outlet 2b are indicated by reference numerals. In addition to the above, an operation panel 20 is provided inside the vehicle C for setting a vehicle interior temperature and an operation mode desired by a passenger with respect to the air conditioner.
Further, in the present embodiment, in addition to the temperature and the operation mode described above, the air volume and the air direction can be set. The air conditioner uses these setting information as target values to control various dampers so as to make the environment in the vehicle interior comfortable. The present invention is not particularly limited with respect to a specific mode of the operation panel 20. For example, the configuration may be such that parameters related to air conditioner control other than the temperature, the operation mode, the air flow rate, and the wind direction can be set.

A temperature sensor (temperature measuring means) 30 and a humidity sensor (humidity measuring means) 40 are further provided inside the vehicle C shown in FIG. These temperature sensor 30 and humidity sensor 40 measure the temperature and humidity in the passenger compartment,
The result is transmitted to the air conditioner described above.

The air conditioner according to the present embodiment calculates a new effective temperature (ET ^* ) using the vehicle interior temperature and the vehicle interior humidity. With the new effective temperature, heat transfer between the inside of the body (core) and the skin surface and heat dissipation from the skin surface etc. to the environment are handled through clothing using a simplified human body temperature regulation model, and the heat production and heat generation in the core In consideration of work to the outside, the isowetting rate line is drawn using a perspiration rate model in which the temperatures of the core portion and the surface portion are obtained from the deviations after 1 hour from 36.6 ° C. and 34.1 ° C., respectively. In other words, the new effective temperature is not simply a measure of the comfort perceived by passengers due to the separate factors of temperature and humidity, but rather the perceived comfort for humans, that is, the more essential comfort. It is intended to be expressed with typical numerical values. The new effective temperature “new” is a new index that adds new knowledge to the effective temperature (ET) based on a similar idea, which was widely used before by air conditioning engineers. It means that

FIG. 3 shows an iso-ET ^* diagram. This is based on the iso-wetting rate line of body temperature regulation sweating. More specifically, the line with the wetting rate w _rsw = 0 is drawn as a reference as a physiological neutral point. In the lower temperature range, it is drawn parallel to the line of w _rsw = 0,
In between, the iso-ET ^* line corresponds to an iso-wetting rate line having each value. The line of w _rsw = 1 passes through 41 ° C. and 50% RH, and is drawn parallel to the line of w _rsw = 1 in a higher temperature region.
In this figure, the double-hatched portion at the center is an area where the passenger feels "comfortable". Also, the hatched parts on both sides are "slightly cool" and "slightly warm".
It is the area where you feel. Therefore, the combination of the two areas is an environment that is comfortable for the occupant, and indicates that the boundary of this area is the comfort limit.

The operation and effect of the air conditioner having the above configuration will be described. The air conditioner first checks a set temperature, an operation mode, and the like set by a passenger through the operation panel 20. After the start of the operation, the vehicle interior environment is controlled as shown in the flowchart of FIG. That is,
In step S1 in FIG. 4, the air conditioner receives the measurement results from the temperature sensor 30 and the humidity sensor 40 installed inside the vehicle C, and based on these, the current ET in the vehicle interior.
^* Is calculated. Next, in step S2, the magnitude of the ET ^* is compared with the set temperature. If ET ^* is higher than the set temperature, the temperature of the conditioned air blown out from the outlet 2 is lowered (step S3), and conversely, the temperature of the conditioned air is raised (step S4). That is, in this case, the operation control of the air mix damper 13 is performed. This control is also performed when the operation of the compressor is stopped as described in the section of the problem to be solved by the invention.

As described above, the air conditioner according to the present embodiment uses ET ^* as one parameter for vehicle interior environment control. Therefore, the device does not simply consider the factors such as temperature or humidity alone, but controls the vehicle interior environment after comprehensively determining the essential comfort for the passenger. Can be provided. Also, when the compressor is stopped, ET ^*
It is considered that the continuous control of the air-conditioning blow-off temperature based on the occupant further enhances the comfort of the occupant.
This mainly reduces the occupant's discomfort with respect to humidity, and is particularly effective in a hot and humid climatic environment such as, for example, the midsummer of Japan.

[0021]

As described above, the vehicle air conditioner according to the first aspect includes the temperature measuring means and the humidity measuring means in the vehicle compartment. Also, a new effective temperature is calculated based on these measurement results, and this is used as a parameter for vehicle interior temperature control. Therefore, the air conditioner of the present invention can perform environmental control in consideration of not only temperature but also humidity. In addition, since consideration of this humidity is also realized by using a parameter, which is a comprehensive determination of passenger comfort called a new effective temperature, a more comfortable indoor environment can be provided. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a vehicle air conditioner.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing a vehicle air conditioner mounted inside the vehicle.

FIG. 3 is a new effective temperature diagram.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the air conditioner according to the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1a Outside air inlet 1b Inside air inlet 2 Outlet 4 Air conditioner unit 5 Blower fan 6 Evaporator 7 Heater 8 Inside / outside air switching damper 13 Air mix damper 30 Temperature sensor (temperature measuring means) 40 Humidity sensor (humidity measuring means)

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Satoshi Konan 3-1, Asahicho, Nishibiwashima-cho, Nishi-Kasugai-gun, Aichi Prefecture Inside Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. Air Conditioning Works

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An air conditioner unit having an outside air inlet and an inside air inlet that are opened and closed by a damper at an upstream end, and an air conditioning air outlet at a downstream end into a vehicle cabin, and an air conditioning unit provided in the air conditioning unit. Blower fan,
An air conditioner for a vehicle including an evaporator, a heater, and an air mix damper, comprising: a temperature measuring unit that measures a temperature in a vehicle cabin; and a humidity measuring unit that measures a humidity in a vehicle cabin. An air conditioner for a vehicle, characterized in that a new effective temperature is calculated based on the vehicle temperature, and the calculated new effective temperature is used as a parameter for vehicle interior temperature control.