JPH11348540A - Air conditioner for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To stably and independently distribute air to the right and left, without considerable effect on a temperature control characteristic. SOLUTION: An air conditioner is equipped with an air conditioner unit 4, a blower fan 5 in the up stream, and plural blowoff ports 2, for independently blow off air conditioner air in different directions with each other, in the downstream end. The blowoff ports 2 are composed of face blowoff ports 2bR and 2bL, etc., and are installed plural so as to correspond to respective directions of driver's and assistant driver's seat sides in a cabin. A partitioning plate 4a is provided in the unit 4 to divide the inside of which into two spaces so as to correspond to respective directions, and air distribution dampers 20R and 20L are arranged in these spaces respectively. In the air conditioner, when the air is blown off from a blowoff port 20bR stronger than from 20bL for instance, operation is controlled where the damper 20R is opened fully to decide the rotation speed of the fan 5, and then set the opening of the damper 20L.

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 interior in this way.

By the way, in the above-mentioned air conditioner,
There has been proposed a device capable of distributing the wind blown into the vehicle interior independently of the left and right. That is, the air conditioner is capable of changing the temperature, blowout strength, and the like of the wind blown to the driver's seat side and the wind blown to the passenger seat side.
At this time, the outlet is appropriately divided so as to blow out the conditioned air to the driver seat side and the passenger seat side. By installing this air conditioner in a vehicle, it is possible to more precisely control the environment in the vehicle compartment. Further, as an apparatus configuration for realizing the independent air distribution, the following is known. That is, (i) one in which two blowers are installed in the air conditioner unit, (ii) one in which an air distribution damper is provided on the upstream side of the evaporator, and (iii) an air distribution damper is provided on the downstream side of the evaporator and on the upstream side of the heater. Things, etc.

[0004]

First, regarding the above (i), that is, the case where two blowers are installed,
By separately blowing air from these blower fans in the air conditioner unit, independent air distribution is realized. However, in the air conditioner unit, a considerable amount of space for installing the two blower fans must be ensured, which results in an increase in the size of the entire air conditioner. Therefore, it becomes difficult to mount the air conditioner main body in the vehicle, and there is also a problem that the battery mounted on the vehicle is significantly consumed because both blower fans are driven.

On the other hand, in the above (ii) and (iii), that is, those in which an air distribution damper is provided on the upstream side or the downstream side of the evaporator, the air sent from the blower fan by the air distribution damper is supplied to the driver seat side outlet. It is intended to distribute the air-conditioning unit to be communicated with the air-conditioning unit to be communicated to the passenger side outlet. According to this, only one blower fan needs to be installed, and the above-described problem does not occur.

However, in an apparatus configuration in which the air distribution damper is installed on the upstream side of the evaporator, the conditioned air is distributed before passing through the evaporator. Is difficult to pass depending on the switching condition. In some cases, there is a possibility that a situation in which the vehicle does not pass at all may occur. Therefore, there is a large possibility that uneven temperature and frost will be generated, and there is a problem in characteristics of temperature control.

[0007] In an apparatus configuration in which an air distribution damper is installed on the downstream side of the evaporator and on the upstream side of the heater, the air distribution damper greatly affects the flow direction of the conditioned air passing through the air mix damper and the subsequent heater. Has an effect. In other words, the switching operation of the air distribution damper may impose a great restriction on the wind to be passed through the heater, which is not preferable in terms of the temperature control characteristics as described above.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner for a vehicle which enables stable left and right independent air distribution without greatly affecting temperature control characteristics. Is to do.

[0009]

The present invention employs the following means in order to solve the above-mentioned problems. In other words, the air conditioner according to claim 1 has an external air inlet and an internal air inlet that are opened and closed by a damper at an upstream end, and a plurality of air outlets at a downstream end for independently blowing conditioned air. Unit, a blower fan, an evaporator, a partition plate, a heater provided in the air conditioner unit,
An air conditioner for a vehicle, comprising: an air mix damper; a plurality of air distribution dampers disposed in the air conditioning unit so as to correspond to each of the plurality of outlets; and control means for controlling an operation of the air distribution damper. In the apparatus, when the conditioned air blown out of one of the plurality of outlets is set to be blown out more strongly than the conditioned air blown out of the other outlet, the control unit is configured to control the air distribution damper. After fully opening the one corresponding to one outlet, controlling the rotation speed of the blower fan so that the intensity of the conditioned air blown out to the one outlet is equal to the setting, and determining the blower air amount, A series of controls for determining the opening degree of the air distribution damper corresponding to the other air outlet in consideration of the blower air volume are performed.

[0010] According to this, the operation related to the distribution of the conditioned air of different intensities from the plurality of outlets is realized by the operation of the air distribution dampers corresponding to the respective outlets. Further, in the plurality of outlets, when the air volume blown out from one air outlet and another air outlet is set to be different, the opening degree and the blower air volume of the plurality of air distribution dampers are determined to be optimal. Become.

Further, in the air conditioner according to the present invention, when the opening of the air distribution damper corresponding to the another air outlet is in a state closed more than a predetermined opening, the control means reduces the blower air volume. It is characterized in that the adjustment is performed in the direction of decreasing.

[0012] According to this, when the air distribution damper corresponding to the air outlet that blows out the conditioned air relatively weakly is closed more than the predetermined opening, the other air outlet has a strength higher than that set in the other air outlet. It is possible to avoid a state in which the conditioned air is blown out.

[0013]

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 (not shown) 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. A blower fan 5 is arranged on the upstream side of the air conditioner unit 4, and an evaporator 6, an air mix damper 13, and a heater 7 are arranged on the downstream side in that order.

By the way, inside the air conditioner unit 4,
The air conditioner unit 4 is provided with a partition plate 4a that divides the air conditioner unit 4 into two spaces downstream of the location where the heater 7 is provided. This corresponds to the outlet 2 described later being separately mounted on the driver's seat side and the passenger's seat side. The air mix damper 13 and the heater 7 are also provided in two sets corresponding to this division, which will be described in detail later. In the following description, for the sake of simplicity, the driver's seat side may be called the right side, and the passenger's seat side may be called the left side.

The air inlet unit (not shown) of the air conditioner unit 4 comprises an outside air inlet for introducing outside air, and an inside air inlet for introducing circulating air inside the vehicle, and an outside air inlet between the outside air inlet and the inside air inlet. An inside / outside air switching damper is provided which opens one of the mouth and the inside air introduction port to switch between outside air and inside air.

As described above, the air outlet 2 of the air conditioner unit 4 is provided with two sets of left and right independently. The air outlet 2 is formed above the air conditioner unit 4 and has defroster air outlets 2aR and 2aL for blowing air onto a windshield or the like in a vehicle compartment to prevent fogging or the like, and a face air outlet (one air outlet) for blowing air from the front of a dashboard or the like. Outlet 2bR and (other outlet) 2bL. These face outlets 2bR, 2bL are further provided with four face outlets 2bRR, 2bRR toward the right, toward the center toward the right, toward the center toward the left, toward the dashboard, and toward the left.
L, 2bLR and 2bLL. Although not shown, a foot outlet formed at a lower portion of the air conditioner unit 4 and for blowing air from a lower portion of the vehicle compartment is also provided.

By the way, the suffixes R and L of the drawing symbols at the respective outlets just described correspond to the right and left sides, that is, the driver's seat side and the passenger's seat side, respectively. The defroster outlets 2aR and 2aL are provided with defroster-side dampers 10R and 10L for adjusting the opening areas, respectively.

The blower fan 5 sucks the inside and outside air from the outside air inlet or the inside air inlet, and
And 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 a function of adjusting the mixing ratio of the cool air and the hot air by adjusting the ratio of the wind passing through the heater 7 and the wind not passing according to the swing position. Fulfill. As described above, two sets of each of the heater 7 and the air mix damper 13 are prepared corresponding to the fact that the air conditioner unit 4 is divided into two left and right spaces by the partition plate 4a. That is, as shown in FIG. 1, a heater 7R and an air mix damper 13R arranged in a space on the right side, and a heater 7L and an air mix damper 13L arranged on a left side. The adjustment of the air mix dampers 13R, 13L is performed independently of each other.

In this air conditioner, by driving the blower fan 5, outside air or inside air is introduced into the air conditioner unit 4 from the outside air introduction port or the inside air introduction port, and the introduced air passes through the air flow path 3 to the downstream side. Is sent. The air flowing in the air conditioner unit 4 is then cooled by passing through the evaporator 6 and flows downstream. At this time, the conditioned air is distributed to the right side or the left side by the partition plate 4a. Now pay attention to the air-conditioning wind flowing to the right. When the air mix damper 13R completely covers the heater 7R, the air does not pass through the heater 7R and goes to the defroster outlet 2aR and the face outlet 2bR, from which cool air is blown into the vehicle. When the air mix damper 13R fully opens the heater 7R, all of the air passes through the heater 7R and is heated, so that warm air is blown into the vehicle cabin from the outlets 2aR and 2bR described above. When the air mix damper 13R is at the intermediate position, the cold air that does not pass through the heater 7R and the hot air that passes through the air mix damper 13R are mixed on the downstream side of the air mix damper 13R in accordance with the degree of opening, and the mixed air is mixed with the air. Outlet 2aR, 2
It is blown out from bR into the vehicle interior.

Such an operation is the same for the air mix damper 13L, the heater 7L, and the outlets 2aL and 2bL disposed on the left side in the air conditioner unit 4. And the air mix dampers 13R and 13L are:
Since the left and right sides are controlled independently, it is possible to blow out conditioned air at different temperatures from the right and left outlets.

The air conditioner described above is mounted on a vehicle (not shown). Inside the vehicle, in addition to the air conditioner main body, the vehicle interior temperature and the operation mode desired by the occupant are stored. An operation panel for setting the air conditioner is provided. 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. Of these, the wind conditions such as air volume and wind direction are different for the driver's seat side and the passenger seat side,
Each can be set independently. The air conditioner uses these setting information as target values to control various dampers and change the air distribution ratio on the driver's seat side and the passenger's seat side to make the environment in the vehicle interior comfortable. Further, an insolation sensor (not shown) is installed in the vehicle, and control for changing the left and right air distribution according to the degree of incidence of sunlight detected by the sensor is also possible. The present invention is not particularly limited with respect to the specific mode of the operation panel described above. 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.

The features of this embodiment will be described below. In FIG. 1, defroster outlets 2aR and 2aL located further upstream in the air conditioner unit 4,
Two air distribution dampers 20 are provided in the spaces on the right and left sides between the face outlets 2bR and 2bL on the downstream side. These air distribution dampers 20, that is, 20R and 20L are provided corresponding to the face outlets 2bR and 2bL, respectively, and adjust how much air is blown out from both outlets.
Further, these air distribution dampers 20R and 20L have control means 3 provided therein.
0 is connected. This implements setting and control of the opening degree of each air distribution damper 20R, 20L so that the amount of air blown from each of the left and right air outlets is appropriate for the occupant of the vehicle. In addition, the control unit 30 also has a function of performing various controls related to the air conditioner, for example, setting the rotation speed of the blower fan 5, setting the opening of the air mix damper 13, and the like. Therefore, what is connected is not limited to the air distribution dampers 20R and 20L, but is also connected to the blower fan 5, the air mix dampers 13R and 13L, and the like.

The operation and effect of the air conditioner having the above configuration will be described below. The operation of the air conditioner, that is, the operation mode is mainly changed by the air volume setting set by the occupant on the operation panel, and the state thereof is changed. The air volume setting that determines the operation mode of the air conditioner means that the main outlet for blowing out the conditioned air is the face outlet 2bR, 2bL, or the defroster outlet 2aR, 2aL, or the foot outlet. And the selection and setting of how much the blowout strength is to be set, and how to adjust the airflow to be allocated to the left and right sides of the driver's seat side and the passenger's seat side.

In terms of realizing a stable left and right air distribution, which is the main object of the present invention, a particular problem in this embodiment is that the air outlet 2 for mainly blowing out the conditioned air is replaced with the face air outlet 2bR. , 2bL (face mode). In this embodiment, the blowing strength can be set in nine levels from 0 to 8 levels. In this specification, this is called a blower level. Further, the state of the wind actually blown out from the outlet 2 is based on the above-mentioned temperature set value, the input result from the solar radiation sensor and the like as a target value for vehicle interior control, in addition to the above-described settings, It goes without saying that it is decided.

As an example, a case where the occupant sets the blower level on the driver's seat side higher than that on the passenger's seat side by setting the air volume will be described. In this case, the control means 30 performs the following control. First, since the blower level on the driver's seat side is set higher, the right wind distribution damper 20R is fully opened. Secondly, the rotation of the blower fan 5 is adjusted so that the amount of air blown from the face air outlet 2bR through the fully opened right air distribution damper 20R corresponds to the set blower level (air volume). Determine the speed, that is, the blower air volume. It should be noted that the blower air volume may be considered to indicate the total amount of air-conditioned air flowing in the air conditioner unit 4. This allows
From the right side, the conditioned air having the blowout strength as set is blown out.

Next, the control means 30 determines the opening of the left air distribution damper 20L in consideration of the determined blower air volume. Specifically, the opening degree is determined by the blower level difference and the air distribution damper 20 with respect to the wind blown from the left and right face outlets 2bR and 2bL as shown in FIG.
It is determined based on the relationship diagram with the L opening. This relationship is
It is assumed that a preferable combination has been examined in advance by a verification test or the like. According to this figure, for example, when the difference between the left and right blower levels is now 4, it can be seen that the opening of the left air distribution damper 20L is approximately at the middle. When the blower level difference is 8, the left air distribution damper 20L is fully closed, and when the blower level difference is 0, the damper 20L is fully open.

By the way, when the left air distribution damper 20L is closed beyond a certain value in the above-mentioned opening setting, a case may occur in which the unexpected wind flows into the right air distribution damper 20R. At this time, face outlet 2
From aR, an excessive blower level wind exceeding the set value is blown out. In order to avoid such a situation, the control means 30 controls the left wind distribution damper 20L.
When it is determined that the closed state has been reached for a certain value or more, an adjustment is made to reduce the blower flow rate. That is, specifically, the rotation speed of the blower fan 5 is reduced. This can be understood as shown in FIG. This figure shows that when the air volume on the right side is reduced and the difference in the blower level, which is the air volume difference from the left side, becomes wider than a predetermined value, the blower air volume correction amount obtained from FIG. Is to be dropped.

Thus, the left and right air distribution dampers 20R,
When the opening degree of 20L and the blower air volume are determined, the conditioned air is constantly blown out from the face air outlets 2aR and 2bR as set, that is, in a state desired for the occupant. This does not cause inconvenience such as uneven temperature and frost, deterioration of temperature control characteristics and the like, which has been a problem when an air distribution damper is provided on the upstream or downstream side of the evaporator as in the conventional example. .
Therefore, it can be said that the air-conditioning apparatus according to the present embodiment can realize the left and right independent air distribution in a stable state, thereby providing a more comfortable vehicle interior environment.

Hereinafter, supplementary items in this embodiment will be described. First, in the above, an example in which the right blower level is set higher than that of the left blower has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when the left blower level is set to be larger than the right blower level, the blower air volume is determined after the left wind distribution damper 20L is fully opened, and the right wind distribution damper is set. Fig. 2
It is merely an operation that is determined in accordance with.

Also, as described above, the determination regarding the state of the blown wind is made not only by the direct setting of the air volume by the occupant but also by the influence of parameters such as the set temperature, the operation mode, and the amount of solar radiation. It is done even after consideration. In other words, the air conditioner refers to these parameters,
In order to provide a more comfortable vehicle interior environment, the state of the wind blown through the control means 30 is automatically determined. For example, when the control unit 30 determines that a state in which direct sunlight is applied only to the driver's seat side by referring to the solar radiation amount sensor occurs, the right side (the driver's seat side) than the left side (the passenger seat side). ) Automatically increases the blower level. By doing so, wind is blown out to the driver's seat, and the sensible "heat" felt by the driver is alleviated. The present invention also relates to the air distribution dampers 20R, 20L, and blower similar to those described above with respect to the left and right air distribution modes automatically determined by the control means 30 without such direct air volume setting by the passenger. The concept of controlling the fan 5 and the like is included in the concept.

[0032]

As described above, the air conditioner according to the first aspect controls the air distribution dampers arranged in the air conditioner unit so as to correspond to the plurality of air outlets, and controls the operation of the air distribution dampers. Control means. From this, distribution of the conditioned air having different strengths in a plurality of directions is realized by operating the air distribution dampers corresponding to the respective directions. The control means controls the operation of these air distribution dampers. Therefore, the present air conditioner can realize independent air distribution regarding stable conditioned air in a plurality of directions and can provide a more comfortable vehicle interior environment.

In the above air conditioner, when the plurality of outlets are set so that the amount of air blown from one outlet and the other outlet is different, the opening degree of the plurality of air distribution dampers and the amount of blower air are optimized. Will be determined in a proper state.
This can specifically realize the above-described effects.

In the air conditioner according to the second aspect, when the air distribution damper corresponding to the air outlet that blows out the conditioned air relatively weakly is closed to a predetermined degree, the other air outlet is set to the other air outlet. It is possible to avoid a state in which the conditioned air is blown out at a strength higher than the above. This means that the above-described effect of providing a more comfortable vehicle interior environment can be further enhanced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a blower level difference and an air distribution damper opening;

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram for explaining how a blower air volume is adjusted.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 outlet 2bR face outlet (one outlet) 2bL face outlet (second outlet) 4 air conditioner unit 4a partition plate 5 blower fan 6 evaporator 7 heater 13 air mix damper 20 air distribution damper 30 control means

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

Claims (2)

[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 a plurality of air outlets at a downstream end for independently blowing conditioned air, and the air conditioner unit. A blower fan, an evaporator, a partition plate, a heater, and an air mix damper provided therein; a plurality of air distribution dampers disposed in the air conditioner unit so as to correspond to each of the plurality of outlets; And a control unit for controlling the operation of the damper, wherein the air-conditioning air blown from one of the plurality of outlets is blown out more strongly than the air-conditioned air blown from another of the plurality of outlets. In such a case, the control means fully opens the one corresponding to one outlet of the air distribution damper, and sets the intensity of the conditioned air blown out to the one outlet. After determining the blower air flow rate by controlling the rotation speed of the blower fan so as to be equal to A vehicle air conditioner that performs a series of controls. 2. When the opening degree of the air distribution damper corresponding to the another outlet is smaller than a predetermined opening degree, the control means performs adjustment in a direction to reduce the blower air flow. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein: