WO2019008945A1 - Vehicular measurement device - Google Patents

Abstract

A vehicular measurement device (10) is provided with a sensor (110) for measuring a specific physical quantity and a reporting unit (120) for reporting a measurement result from the sensor to a passenger. The reporting unit uses one reporting mode selected from among a plurality of preset reporting modes in accordance with the circumstances to report to a passenger.

Description

Vehicle measuring device Cross-reference to related applications

This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-133713 filed on July 7, 2017, and claims the benefit of its priority, and the entire contents of the patent application are as follows: Incorporated herein by reference.

The present disclosure relates to a measuring device for a vehicle.

The vehicle is equipped with a vehicle measuring device for measuring a specific physical quantity. As such a measuring device for vehicles, an outside air temperature sensor for measuring outside air temperature, a particle sensor for measuring the concentration of the minute particle (PM2.5) which drifts in the air, etc. are mentioned, for example. The result measured by the vehicle measurement device is notified to the occupant by, for example, a display device or the like provided in the vicinity of the driver's seat.

By the way, the measurement of the physical quantity by the measuring device for vehicles is not always performed normally. For example, Patent Document 1 below describes that the value measured by the outside air temperature sensor may be higher than the actual outside air temperature due to the influence of radiant heat from the engine. If such measured values are directly displayed (notified) to the occupant, the occupant will recognize a value different from the actual value as the outside air temperature.

Therefore, in the outside air temperature display device described in Patent Document 1 below, when the measurement value rises in a situation where there is a possibility of being affected by radiation, the measurement value before the rise is displayed in a held state. This makes it possible to prevent a situation in which a value higher than the actual outside air temperature is displayed to the occupant.

Japanese Examined Patent Publication 6-45297

However, the occupant looking at the outside air temperature display device described in the above-mentioned patent document 1 is a value which is held so that the displayed value is a value actually measured or is not affected by radiation. I can not know what it is.

In addition, when the measuring device for vehicles measures a physical quantity, various situations may arise besides the situation where measurement becomes inaccurate by an external factor as mentioned above. For example, in the case of an optical particle concentration sensor, it may occur that the dew condensation on the light receiving surface makes the measurement difficult. In order to cause the occupant to accurately grasp the condition of the vehicle, it is not sufficient that the vehicular measuring device merely report only the measurement result, and it is preferable to notify the occupant of the condition of measurement as well.

An object of the present disclosure is to provide a vehicle measurement device capable of notifying an occupant of the measurement condition in addition to the measurement result.

The measuring apparatus for vehicles concerning this indication is provided with the sensor which measures a specific physical quantity, and the reporting part which reports a measurement result by a sensor to a crew member. The notification unit notifies the occupant in one notification mode selected according to the situation from among a plurality of notification modes set in advance.

In the vehicle measuring apparatus having such a configuration, notification to the occupant is performed in the notification mode selected according to the situation. Therefore, the occupant can not only know the measurement result but also know the state of measurement based on the notification mode.

According to the present disclosure, there is provided a vehicle measurement device capable of notifying an occupant of the condition of measurement in addition to the measurement result.

FIG. 1 is a view schematically showing the configuration of a measurement apparatus for a vehicle according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a view showing a normal mode which is one of the notification modes of the notification unit. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an aspect of stopping the control which is one of the notification aspects of the notification unit. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing another example of the control suspension state shown in FIG. FIG. 5: is a figure which shows the aspect in preparation which is one of the alerting modes of an alerting | reporting part. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an abnormal state which is one of the notification modes of the notification unit. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an insufficient control mode, which is one of the notification modes of the notification unit. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing executed by the control unit.

Hereinafter, the present embodiment will be described with reference to the attached drawings. In order to facilitate understanding of the description, the same constituent elements in the drawings are denoted by the same reference numerals as much as possible, and redundant description will be omitted.

The measuring apparatus 10 for vehicles which concerns on this embodiment is demonstrated, referring FIG. The measuring apparatus 10 for vehicles is an apparatus provided in a vehicle (the whole is not shown), and is comprised as an apparatus which measures the density | concentration of the micro particle (PM2.5) which drifts the space in the vehicle interior of the said vehicle. The measuring device 10 for vehicles measures the said density | concentration in the air which passes the air conditioner 20 mounted in the vehicle. The concentration measured by the vehicle measuring device 10 is hereinafter also referred to as "particle concentration". Prior to the description of the configuration of the vehicle measurement device 10, the configuration of the air conditioner 20 will be described first.

The air conditioner 20 is a device for performing air conditioning of the vehicle interior. The air conditioner 20 includes an air conditioning case 200, a fan 250, a particle filter 240, and a heat exchange unit 260.

The air conditioning case 200 is a tubular member for guiding the air to be air conditioned into the vehicle compartment. Inside the air conditioning case 200, the air flows from the left side to the right side in FIG. In the air conditioning case 200, an inside air introducing unit 210, an outside air introducing unit 220, a face duct 270, and a foot duct 280 are formed.

The inside air introduction unit 210 is an introduction port for introducing the air (inside air) inside the vehicle compartment into the inside of the air conditioning case 200. The outside air introduction unit 220 is an introduction port for introducing the air outside the vehicle (outside air) into the inside of the air conditioning case 200. The inside air introducing unit 210 and the outside air introducing unit 220 are formed to be aligned in the upstream side portion of the air conditioning case 200.

An inside / outside air switching door 230 is provided between the inside air introduction unit 210 and the outside air introduction unit 220. The inside / outside air switching door 230 is a door for switching between the state where only the inside air introducing unit 210 is opened (FIG. 1) and the state where only the outside air introducing unit 220 is opened. When only the inside air introducing unit 210 is open, the inside air taken in from the vehicle compartment is air-conditioned and blown into the vehicle room, that is, the inside air circulating state. When only the outside air introducing unit 220 is open, the outside air taken in from the outside of the vehicle is air-conditioned and blown out into the vehicle interior, that is, the outside air circulating state. The operation of the inside / outside air switching door 230 is controlled by a control unit 130 described later.

The face duct 270 and the foot duct 280 are both exhaust ports for introducing the conditioned air into the vehicle compartment. The face duct 270 and the foot duct 280 are formed on the downstream side of the air conditioning case 200. The face duct 270 is connected to a face outlet (not shown) for blowing conditioned air toward the face of the occupant. The foot duct 280 is connected to a foot outlet (not shown) for blowing conditioned air toward the feet of the occupant.

A face door 271 is provided at the inlet of the face duct 270. When the face door 271 is in the open state as shown in FIG. 1, conditioned air is supplied from the face duct 270 toward the face outlet. Similarly, a foot door 281 is provided at the inlet of the foot duct 280. When the foot door 281 is in the open state, conditioned air is supplied from the foot duct 280 toward the foot outlet. The operations of the face door 271 and the foot door 281 are controlled by the control unit 130.

For example, the downstream side of the face duct 270 may be branched into two, and one of them may be connected to a defroster outlet (not shown) formed in the vicinity of the window.

The fan 250 is a blower for delivering air to the downstream side inside the air conditioning case 200. The control unit 130 controls the number of rotations of the fan 250, that is, the amount of conditioned air blown out from the air conditioner 20.

The particle filter 240 is a filter for removing the microparticles contained in the air from the air passing through the air conditioning case 200. The particle filter 240 is provided at a position downstream of the inside air introducing unit 210 and the outside air introducing unit 220 and on the upstream side of the fan 250.

The heat exchange unit 260 is a portion that performs air conditioning by heat exchange with a refrigerant or the like. The heat exchange unit 260 is provided downstream of the fan 250 and upstream of the face duct 270 and the foot duct 280. The heat exchange unit 260 includes an evaporator for dehumidifying and cooling the air, a heater core for heating the air, an air mix door for adjusting the flow rate of the air passing through them, and the like. ) Is provided. In addition, since a well-known thing can be employ | adopted as a structure of such a heat exchange part 260, the specific illustration and description are abbreviate | omitted.

The configuration of the vehicle measuring device 10 will be described with reference to FIG. 1 continuously. The vehicular measurement device 10 includes a particle sensor 110, a notification unit 120, and a control unit 130.

The particle sensor 110 is a sensor for measuring the particle concentration in the air. As shown in FIG. 1, one end of an introduction pipe 290 is connected to the air conditioning case 200 at a position downstream of the particle filter 240 and upstream of the fan 250. The other end of the introduction pipe 290 is open to the passenger compartment. The particle sensor 110 is provided at a position in the middle of the introduction pipe 290. When the air is flowing inside the air conditioning case 200, the negative pressure generated on the air conditioning case 200 side also causes the air flow in the introduction pipe 290. That is, a flow of air from the vehicle interior to the inside of the air conditioning case 200 through the introduction pipe 290 occurs. The particle sensor 110 measures the concentration of microparticles contained in the air, and transmits the concentration to the control unit 130 as an electrical signal.

Although not shown, the particle sensor 110 has a light emitting unit and a light receiving unit, and air is configured to flow between the two. As the particle concentration of the air increases, the amount of light received by the light receiving unit decreases accordingly. The particle sensor 110 measures the particle concentration based on the amount of light received by the light receiving unit.

In order for the particle concentration measurement by the particle sensor 110 to be accurately performed, the air flow in the introduction pipe 290 needs to occur. For this reason, the measurement of the particle concentration by the particle sensor 110 in the present embodiment is performed only in a state in which the air conditioner 20 is performing air conditioning.

The notification unit 120 is a part that notifies the occupant of the measurement result by the particle sensor 110 (that is, the magnitude of the particle concentration). In the present embodiment, the notification unit 120 is configured as a liquid crystal display panel. That is, the notification to the occupant in the present embodiment is performed by visual display. Instead of such an aspect, the notification to the occupant by the notification unit 120 may be performed by voice or the like. The operation of the notification unit 120 is controlled by the control unit 130.

The control unit 130 is a device for controlling the overall operation of the vehicular measuring device 10. The control unit 130 is configured as a computer system provided with a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like. As described above, the control unit 130 controls the operation of the inside / outside air switching door 230, the fan 250, and the like. That is, the control unit 130 in the present embodiment is configured as a device that also controls the operation of the air conditioner 20.

Instead of such an aspect, an ECU for controlling the operation of the air conditioner 20 may be provided separately from the control unit 130. In this case, part of the operation of the air conditioner 20 may be indirectly controlled by the control unit 130 communicating with the ECU.

The control unit 130 is capable of performing particle removal control. The particle removal control is control for efficiently removing particulates by the particle filter 240. In the particle removal control, the control unit 130 increases the rotational speed of the fan 250 to a predetermined value or more after setting the inside air introduction unit 210 to the open state by the inside / outside air switching door 230, that is, the inside air circulation state. This makes it possible to efficiently remove the particulates by the particle filter 240 while preventing the particulates from entering the vehicle compartment from the outside. Such particle removal control can be said to be control that affects the measurement of particle concentration by the particle sensor 110. The particle removal control may be automatically started, or may be started based on an operation performed by an occupant on a switch or the like.

The aspect of the alerting | reporting performed by the alerting | reporting part 120 is demonstrated. The notification to the occupant by the notification unit 120 is not always performed by the same notification mode, but is performed by one notification mode selected according to the situation from among a plurality of preset notification modes.

What is shown in FIG. 2 is a notification mode used when the measurement by the particle sensor 110 is normally performed. Such a notification mode indicates to the occupant that the measurement by the particle sensor 110 is normally performed. Therefore, the notification mode of FIG. 2 is hereinafter also referred to as a “normal mode”.

In this normal mode, up to five bars (B1 to B5) are shown on the screen of the notification unit 120. When the particle concentration measured by the particle sensor 110 is the lowest, only the lowest bar B1 is displayed, and the other bars B2 and the like are not displayed.

When the particle concentration measured by the particle sensor 110 becomes larger than the above, only the lowest bar B1 and the second lowest bar B2 are displayed, and the other bars B3 and the like are not displayed. After that, as the measured particle concentration increases, bars B3 and the like are additionally displayed in order from the lower one. When the particle concentration measured by the particle sensor 110 becomes the largest, all five bars (B1 to B5) are displayed on the screen of the notification unit 120, as shown in FIG. The display color of each bar may be displayed differently for each bar.

FIG. 3 shows a notification mode used when the particle removal control described above is not performed. Such notification mode indicates to the occupant that the particle removal control is stopped. Therefore, the notification mode of FIG. 3 is hereinafter also referred to as the “control in-stop mode”.

In the vehicle measurement device 10 according to the present embodiment, measurement of the particle concentration by the particle sensor 110 is also stopped in a situation where particle removal control is not performed. For this reason, the notification mode shown in FIG. 3 can also be said to be an “in-stop mode” indicating that the measurement by the particle sensor 110 is stopped. That is, in the present embodiment, the control stop mode and the stop mode are set as the same mode, and they are used in the same scene.

Instead of such a configuration, measurement of the particle concentration by the particle sensor 110 may be performed even in a situation where particle removal control is not performed. In this case, when the particle removal control is not performed and the measurement of the particle concentration by the particle sensor 110 is performed, the notification mode illustrated in FIG. 4 may be used. In this notification mode, the bars (B1 to B5) are displayed in the same manner as in the normal mode of FIG. 2, while the character string ST "in control stop" is also displayed. In such a configuration, the notification mode shown in FIG. 3 corresponds to the “stopping mode”, and the notification mode shown in FIG. 4 corresponds to the “control stopping mode”.

Shown in FIG. 5 is a notification mode used when the particle sensor 110 is in preparation for measurement. Such notification mode indicates to the occupant that preparation for measurement by the particle sensor 110 is in progress. For this reason, the notification mode of FIG. 5 is hereinafter also referred to as the “under preparation mode”.

For example, during the predetermined period in which the state of the particle sensor 110 is unstable immediately after the vehicle is started, this preparation-in-progress mode is used. In the preparation mode, none of the bars B1 to B5 of FIG. 2 are displayed on the screen of the notification unit 120, and only a circular arrow as shown in FIG. 5 is displayed.

What is shown in FIG. 6 is a notification mode used when the measurement by the particle sensor 110 is not normally performed. Such a notification mode indicates to the occupant that measurement by the particle sensor 110 is not normally performed. Therefore, the notification mode of FIG. 6 is hereinafter also referred to as an “abnormal mode”.

For example, in a situation where condensation occurs on the light receiving surface of the particle sensor 110, this abnormal aspect is used. In addition, it can be determined based on the temperature and humidity of the vehicle interior which were measured by another sensor, for example that it is the condition which dew condensation has produced on the light-receiving surface of the particle sensor 110. In addition, this abnormal aspect may be used based on the result of the self-diagnosis performed by the particle sensor 110.

In the abnormal mode, the bar B1 or the like is displayed in a blinking state. In FIG. 6, such blinking bars B1 and the like are shown by dotted lines. Instead of such an aspect, the bar B1 or the like may be displayed in a dimmed state.

What is shown in FIG. 7 is a notification mode used when the particle removal control is not sufficiently executed. Such a notification mode indicates to the occupant that particle removal control is not sufficiently executed. For this reason, the notification mode of FIG. 7 is hereinafter also referred to as the “insufficient control mode”.

In the poor control mode, only one of the bars B1 to B5 indicates the current measurement value. For example, when particle removal control becomes insufficient in a situation where the particle concentration is such that three bars B1, B2 and B3 are displayed in the normal mode, the highest bar B3 as shown in FIG. Only the lower bars B2 and B1 are not displayed.

For example, in the state where only the outside air introducing portion 220 is opened by the operation performed by the occupant, that is, in the outside air circulating state, the outside air containing a large amount of particles is introduced into the vehicle interior. Under such circumstances, particle removal control can not be performed efficiently. For this reason, the control inadequate aspect of FIG. 7 is used.

In addition to the situation where the ambient air circulation state is established as described above, examples of the situation where the particle removal control is not sufficiently executed include, for example, a situation where the number of rotations of the fan 250 is reduced by the operation of the occupant. be able to.

By notifying the occupant in such an insufficient control mode, it is possible to prevent a situation in which the occupant is suspected to be suspicious that "the effect is small although the particle removal control should be executed". it can.

A process performed by the control unit 130 to switch the notification mode will be described with reference to FIG. A series of processes shown in FIG. 8 are repeatedly executed by the control unit 130 each time a predetermined control cycle elapses.

In the first step S01, it is determined whether or not particle removal control is being performed. If the particle removal control is being performed, the process proceeds to step S02. In step S02, it is determined whether preparation for measurement by the particle sensor 110 is completed. Here, the determination is performed based on whether or not a predetermined period has elapsed since the vehicle was activated. If it is determined that preparation for measurement by the particle sensor 110 is completed (that is, if a predetermined period has elapsed since activation), the process proceeds to step S03.

In step S03, it is determined whether the measurement by the particle sensor 110 is normally performed. Here, when the air temperature and humidity inside the vehicle compartment are such that the dew condensation does not occur on the light receiving surface of the particle sensor 110, it is determined that the measurement by the particle sensor 110 is normally performed. When the measurement by the particle sensor 110 is normally performed, it transfers to step S04.

In step S04, it is determined whether particle removal control is sufficiently executed. Here, it is determined that the particle removal control is sufficiently executed when the inside air introduction unit 210 is in the open state (that is, the inside air circulation state) and the rotational speed of the fan 250 is equal to or more than a predetermined value. Ru. Otherwise, it is determined that the particle removal control is not sufficiently executed.

If it is determined that the particle removal control is sufficiently executed, the process proceeds to step S05. In step S05, notification to the occupant by the notification unit 120 is performed by using the normal mode of FIG.

If it is determined in step S04 that the particle removal control is not sufficiently executed, the process proceeds to step S06. In step S06, notification to the occupant by the notification unit 120 is performed by using the control insufficient state of FIG.

When it is determined in step S03 that the measurement by the particle sensor 110 is not normally performed, the process proceeds to step S07. In step S07, notification to the occupant by the notification unit 120 is performed by using the abnormality mode of FIG. Further, in step S07, information indicating a history that an abnormality has occurred in particle sensor 110 is recorded in a storage device (for example, non-volatile memory) (not shown) included in control unit 130. The information is used as so-called diagnostic information at the time of failure analysis or the like later.

When it is determined in step S02 that preparation for measurement by the particle sensor 110 is not completed (that is, when a predetermined period has not elapsed since activation), the process proceeds to step S08. In step S08, notification to the occupant by the notification unit 120 is performed by using the preparation in progress mode of FIG.

If it is determined in step S01 that the particle removal control is not performed, the process proceeds to step S09. In step S09, notification to the occupant by the notification unit 120 is performed by using the control in-stop mode of FIG.

As described above, in the vehicle measurement device 10 according to the present embodiment, the notification to the occupant is performed in one notification mode selected according to the situation from among a plurality of notification modes set in advance. Therefore, the occupant can not only know the measurement result (the size of the particle concentration) but also know the state of measurement based on the notification mode. The plurality of notification modes set in advance may include notification modes other than the modes described above.

Each of the notification modes shown in FIGS. 2 to 7 is merely an example, and a notification mode different from the above description may be used. For example, the particle concentration may not be displayed by the number of bars B1 or the like, but may be displayed by a numerical value. Further, instead of notifying the occupant by the screen display of the notification unit 120, for example, the occupant may be notified by voice. In this case, for example, the notification to the occupant may be performed in an insufficient control mode in which a voice such as "the PM removal efficiency is reduced because it is in the open air circulation state" is emitted. .

In the above description, the specific physical quantity measured by the sensor (particle sensor 110) has been described as being the concentration of microparticles floating in the air, but the physical quantity to be measured is other than the particle concentration May be For example, the inside temperature or the outside temperature may be used.

In addition, the situation corresponding to two or more alerting | reporting aspects may occur simultaneously. For example, condensation may occur on the light receiving surface of the particle sensor 110, and particle removal control may not be performed. In such a situation, a dedicated notification mode corresponding to the situation may be used, or a notification mode corresponding to each situation occurring simultaneously may be alternately used. Further, among the notification modes corresponding to the respective situations occurring simultaneously, only the notification mode having the highest priority set in advance may be used.

For example, when condensation occurs on the light receiving surface of the particle sensor 110 as described above, and the particle removal control is not performed, the abnormal mode and the control stop mode are alternately alternated every several seconds, for example. It is also possible to switch. Also, among these, only the high-priority abnormal mode may be used. It is preferable to use only one notification mode with high priority, because the occupant can easily understand the situation. As the priority of the notification mode, it is preferable to set the priority of the abnormal mode to the highest.

The present embodiment has been described above with reference to the specific example. However, the present disclosure is not limited to these specific examples. Those appropriately modified in design by those skilled in the art are also included in the scope of the present disclosure as long as the features of the present disclosure are included. The elements included in the above-described specific examples, and the arrangement, conditions, and shapes thereof are not limited to those illustrated, but can be appropriately modified. The elements included in the above-described specific examples can be appropriately changed in combination as long as no technical contradiction arises.

Claims (8)

1. A measuring device for a vehicle (10),
   A sensor (110) that measures a specific physical quantity;
   And a notification unit (120) for notifying the occupant of the measurement result by the sensor.
   The measuring apparatus for vehicles which performs a notification to a crew member in one information mode selected according to a situation out of a plurality of information modes set up beforehand.
2. The plurality of notification modes include
   The measuring apparatus for vehicles according to claim 1 including a normal mode which shows that measurement by said sensor is performed normally.
3. The plurality of notification modes include
   The measuring apparatus for vehicles according to claim 1 including an unusual mode which shows that measurement by said sensor is not performed normally.
4. The plurality of notification modes include
   The measuring apparatus for vehicles according to claim 1 including a during-stop mode which shows that measurement by said sensor has stopped.
5. The plurality of notification modes include
   The measuring device for vehicles according to claim 1 including an preparing aspect which shows that it is preparing for measurement by said sensor.
6. The plurality of notification modes include
   The measuring apparatus for vehicles according to claim 1 including the insufficient control mode which shows that control which affects measurement by said sensor is not carried out enough.
7. The plurality of notification modes include
   The measuring device for vehicles according to claim 1 including the mode under control which shows that control which affects measurement by said sensor has stopped.
8. The measurement device for a vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the physical quantity is a concentration of microparticles floating in the air.

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