JP2858596B2 - Vehicle air conditioner - Google Patents

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 automatically sets a target value of an air conditioning temperature based on a skin temperature of a human body, in particular, a temperature of a face in performing air conditioning in a vehicle interior.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an air conditioner for automatically adjusting the air temperature in a living space, an example of a vehicle air conditioner is shown in FIG. 9 (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-141323 by the present applicant).
The figure shows an example of the configuration of a heat pump type air conditioner for a vehicle, in which 1 is a blower, 2 is an evaporator that cools or heats the air guided by the blower 1, and 3 is a reheat air that has flowed out of the evaporator 2. The air that has exited the heater is guided into the vehicle interior 4.

[0005] Reference numeral 5 denotes an air mix damper for adjusting the amount of air passed to the heater 3, and 6 denotes a damper actuator for driving the air mix damper. Reference numeral 7 denotes an expansion valve, 8 denotes a condenser, and 9 denotes a compressor. These and the evaporator 2 constitute a so-called refrigeration cycle. The compressor 9 is linked to an engine 11 via a clutch 10.

A control device 12 receives detection signals from an evaporator temperature sensor 13, a potentiometer 14 for detecting a damper position, a vehicle interior temperature sensor 15 and a temperature setting device 16, and receives signals from the control device 12. Drive signals are output to the clutch 10, the air volume controller 17 of the blower 1, and the damper actuator 6.

Here, the air temperature in the cabin 4 is adjusted based on the detected temperature of the cabin temperature sensor 15 and the set temperature of the temperature setting device 16 by the control device 12 and the air mix damper 5 by the damper actuator 6. , The rotation speed of the blower 1 by the air volume controller 17, and the on / off switching of the clutch 10 and the like.

[0006] It is known as Planck's law that the energy density emitted from an object varies depending on the temperature. This results in a distribution having a peak value at a specific wavelength, as shown in FIG.

Therefore, an air conditioner equipped with a human body detecting device which detects the presence or absence of a human body by using the above principle and thereby controls the air conditioner's performance or the direction of air-conditioned air blowing toward the human body. Have been previously proposed by the present inventors in Japanese Utility Model Application No. 1-129276.

The technical contents are as described below with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11. However, the temperature of the skin of the human body is detected in a non-contact manner, the set temperature of the air conditioner is automatically set, and air conditioning is performed based on the temperature. Did not do.

That is, in FIGS. 10 and 11, the sensing unit 20 includes an infrared sensor 21 and a Fresnel lens 2.
2. a frame 23 having a light blocking structure for installing the infrared sensor 21 and the Fresnel lens 22;
The frame 23 includes a motor shaft 2 of a stepping motor 24.
A boss portion 26 is provided for connecting to the boss 5. The output from the infrared sensor 21 passes through the lead wire 27 and passes through the amplifier 2.
8, input to the microcomputer 30 via the A / D converter 29, are processed by a predetermined algorithm in the microcomputer 30, and operate various actuators 32 via the interface 31.

The sensing unit 20 is installed in the indoor unit of the air conditioner. During the operation of detecting the human body, the stepping motor 24 performs a repetitive motion at an arbitrary angle α by the controller 33 as shown in FIG. Accordingly, the infrared sensor 21 moves by the angle α, so that if a human body exists within an arbitrary angle α, an output waveform corresponding to the human body can be obtained. Note that the frame 23 has an optically sealed structure so as to block light between the Fresnel lens 22 and the infrared sensor 21 so that only the light from the Fresnel lens 22 enters the infrared sensor 21. In this way, the presence or absence of a human body can be detected.

[0011]

The control of the conventional air conditioner detects the temperature at a certain point in the vehicle compartment, and if the temperature is higher than the set temperature, increases the air flow to the evaporator to increase the temperature in the vehicle compartment to the set temperature. Control is performed so as to approach.
On the other hand, if the temperature is lower than the set temperature, the compressor is stopped or the air flow from the heater side is increased to increase the temperature from the outlet.

Therefore, even when the sunlight directly hits the human body, the human being feels hot but controls so that the temperature becomes the initially set temperature. There was a problem that it was not done. In addition, some individuals are hot and some are cold, and in this respect, the control method described above cannot perform air conditioning that satisfies the needs of the individual.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle air conditioner capable of performing air conditioning suited to individuals.

[0014]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the structure of the present invention, the sensing unit is controlled by the driving means.
A radiation temperature detecting means driven so as to be able to sweep the detection space, a reference temperature detecting means for measuring a vehicle interior reference temperature provided with a reference temperature detecting element, and a detection temperature of the reference temperature detecting means.
The face of the human body based on the temperature detected by the radiation temperature detecting means.
Temperature calculating means for estimating and calculating surface temperature, and said temperature calculating means
Automatically sets the target value of the air conditioning temperature based on the calculation result of
And a control device . Also the radiation temperature
Characterized in that the degree detection means is provided above and in front of the driver's seat.
You. In addition, the radiation temperature detection means is integrated with the rearview mirror.
It is characterized by having been provided.

[0015]

According to the above construction, the target value of the air-conditioning temperature is automatically set based on the skin temperature of the human body, and air-conditioning suitable for each individual is performed.

[0016]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. As shown in FIG. 1 which is a schematic configuration diagram of the inside of the vehicle and FIG. 3 which is a functional block diagram, an outlet of an air conditioner 42 and a handle 43 are provided at a front portion in a vehicle compartment 41 of the vehicle 40. A driver 45 is seated on the driver's seat 44.

A radiation temperature detecting means 47 is provided above the windshield 46 in the passenger compartment 41 and the ceiling 4 is provided.
Reference temperature detecting means 49 is provided at the center of 8. The reference temperature detecting means 49 is provided with a thermistor 50 as a reference temperature detecting element, and its detection signal is input to the temperature calculating means 51 together with the detection signal of the radiation temperature detecting means 47.

As shown in FIG. 2 which is a perspective view of the radiation temperature detecting means, a sensing unit 100 of the radiation temperature detecting means 47 is provided.
Is the infrared sensor 10 as in the case of FIG.
1. It has a Fresnel lens 102, a frame 103, and a lead wire 104, and the motor 105 and the motor shaft 106 can swing by an angle α.

That is, the Fresnel lens 102 first faces the reference temperature member 52 of the reference temperature detecting means 49, receives infrared rays corresponding to the reference temperature member 52, and focuses the infrared rays on the infrared sensor 101. When the motor 105 rotates gradually, the Fresnel lens 102 receives infrared rays from the head of the driver 45, and when the motor 105 rotates continuously, the Fresnel lens 102 receives infrared rays from the face to the chest of the driver 45. Is received. At this time, the angle α is set to 90
When the temperature is set to the degree, the infrared rays up to the knees of the driver 45 are received, then inverted and the infrared rays of the chest, face, and head are received, and the temperature returns to the reference temperature member 52. Infrared sensor 1 at that time
The output of 01 is as shown in FIG. The characteristics shown in FIG. 5 are obtained when the cooling operation is being performed at an ambient temperature of 28 ° C., where (A) indicates the reference temperature measurement range, and (B)
Indicates a measurement area such as a head, (c) indicates a face, and (d) indicates a chest.

The temperature calculating means 51 estimates and calculates the skin temperature, especially the face temperature of the driver 45 based on the reference temperature of the reference temperature member 52 by the thermistor 50 and the radiant energy by the radiant temperature detecting means 47. Then, the calculation result is input to the control device 54 of the air conditioner 42 installed in the dashboard 53.
The controller 54 automatically sets a target value of the air-conditioning temperature based on the input value, and performs air conditioning in consideration of comfort via the comparison arithmetic unit 55 and the arithmetic control unit 56.

If the radiation temperature detecting means 47 is installed integrally with the rear-view mirror 57, the lens for sensing is adjusted to the face of the driver 45 together with the mirror, so that the detection accuracy is further improved. improves. Also,
It goes without saying that the radiation temperature detecting means 47 may be provided on the dashboard 53, the door section, and the seats such as the driver's seat 44.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described based on the results of various investigations by the present inventors. First, the degree of comfort with respect to indoor air was examined by changing the temperature of indoor air and investigating the ratio of the number of subjects who felt comfortable to all subjects. At that time, the subject's body temperature and the rate of sweating were also examined. An example of the result is shown in FIG.
Is shown in From this result, it can be understood that the body temperature (t _b ) at room temperature at which 80% or more of the subjects feel comfortable is determined substantially uniquely. Next, the result of examining the relationship between the body temperature (t _b ) and the face temperature of the human body (t _f ) is shown in FIG. From this result, it is clear that the face temperature has an extremely high correlation in a state where the temperature is substantially constant temperature (δt) higher than the body temperature. That is, the relationship of _{t f = t b + δt (} 1) is satisfied. From the above relationship, it is clear that the comfortable temperature at which the user feels comfortable can be represented by the face temperature. Therefore, when performing air conditioning focusing on comfort, it is clear that a temperature lower than the face temperature by a predetermined value may be set as the control set temperature.

By the way, in detecting the face temperature, it is apparent that the human body temperature is higher than the air temperature in the vehicle during the cooling operation except during the start, and that the human body temperature is higher than the air temperature in the vehicle during the heating operation. is there. Therefore, in each case, it can be understood that the face temperature is higher than the temperature to be air-conditioned and can be detected with high accuracy by the radiation temperature measurement, except at the start. Therefore, in this embodiment, when detecting the face temperature of the driver 45, the sensing unit 100 of the radiation temperature detecting means 47 is swung by the motor 105 to sweep the light receiving window from the head of the driver 45 to the chest. is there.

At this time, the output V of the radiation temperature detecting means 47 changes as shown in FIG. For example, for the entire sweep range (e), (b) is the temperature measurement range of the reference temperature member 52 (b) is the head of the driver 45 ハ (c) is the driver's 45 face 顔 (d) is the driver 45 and the other そ の 他, the face temperature t _R can be determined by determining the relationship between the sensor outputs V _R and V _f with respect to the reference temperature t _R and the face temperature t _f .
_f can be obtained. On the other hand, the output V of the radiation temperature detecting means 47 with respect to the temperature t of the object is expressed as follows.
α = ΔV / Δt (2) If V = f (t) (3), the functional relationship f between V and t cannot be uniquely determined due to zero point drift due to an electric circuit or the like, but the limited temperature t Within this range, the relationship α = constant (4) holds. Therefore, if the sensor output V _R with respect to the reference temperature t _R is measured, the temperature t of an arbitrary sensor output V can be obtained.
Obtained more _{t = ΔV / α + t R} (5) However ΔV = V-V _R. Therefore, the face temperature t _f
(6) determined depending on the _{t f = ΔV f / α +} t R However ΔV _f = V _f -V _R. This relationship is shown in FIG. Temperature calculation means 5
1 performs this operation is to output the result to the controller 54 as t _f or t _f -.DELTA.t.

The operation of the radiation temperature detecting means 47 will be described first. An object radiates heat energy in an amount corresponding to the temperature. If this is grasped as a spectrum of radiant energy with respect to the wavelength, the distribution is as shown in FIG. 8 and is given as Planck's equation. Therefore, the radiation temperature detecting means 4
7 uses this radiant energy as a heat-sensitive part (infrared sensor 10
1), and outputs an output corresponding to the energy, for example, a voltage V. Therefore, if the sweep speed is the same, the energy collected in the heat-sensitive portion is the radiant heat energy flow rate q _Rb = q _Rbr × dλ (w / m ² ) (7) where q _Rbr is the monochromatic radioactivity (w / m ² ) _having the wavelength λ.・ Μ) For dλ, the difference in level in the minute section of wavelength λ is identified as the difference in temperature.

Through the above-described process, the face temperature tf or the skin temperature tf-δt of the driver 45 is input to the control device 54 of the air conditioner 42. On the other hand, the control device 54 controls the air conditioning temperature based on the input value. Are automatically set, and the drive of a damper actuator (not shown) of the air conditioner 42, a clutch, an air volume controller (see FIG. 9) of the blower, and the like are controlled so that the room temperature ta matches the set value.

[0027]

As described above, according to the present invention, air-conditioning is performed by automatically setting the target value of the air-conditioning temperature based on the skin temperature of the human body. There is an effect that can be performed. Further, in the case of a vehicle, since the position of the driver can be specified, there is an advantage that the skin temperature of the human body can be easily detected, and a high-precision one can be manufactured at low cost.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of the inside of a vehicle showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the radiation temperature detecting means.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram.

FIG. 4 is a temperature characteristic diagram of the radiation temperature detecting means.

FIG. 5 is a sweep output characteristic diagram of the radiation temperature detecting means.

FIG. 6 is a graph showing a comfortable temperature characteristic;

FIG. 7 is a correlation diagram between a face and a body temperature.

FIG. 8 is a monochromatic emission spectrum.

FIG. 9 is a system diagram showing an example of a conventional vehicle air conditioner.

FIG. 10 is a system diagram showing an example of the human body detection device.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the radiation temperature detecting means.

[Explanation of symbols]

 41 vehicle compartment 42 air conditioner 45 driver 47 radiation temperature detecting means 49 reference temperature detecting means 50 thermistor 51 temperature calculating means 54 control device 100 sensing unit 105 motor

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Toshiya Hisashima 1 Nagoya Research Laboratory, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. No. 1 Iwazuka-cho Takamichi, Nagoya Research Laboratory, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. References JP-A-2-158412 (JP, A) JP-A-63-255116 (JP, A) JP-A-63-74709 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name ) B60H 1/00 101

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] The sensing unit is driven by the driving means to be detected.
A radiation temperature detection means between the sweep drivable and a reference temperature detecting means for the vehicle interior reference temperature measurement with a reference temperature sensing element, release the the detected temperature of the reference temperature sensing means
Face temperature of the human body based on the temperature detected by the
Temperature calculating means for estimating the temperature, and calculating the temperature calculating means
A control device that automatically sets the target value of the air conditioning temperature based on the results
And an air conditioner for a vehicle. 2. An air conditioner for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said radiation temperature detecting means is provided above and in front of a driver's seat. 3. The air conditioner for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the radiation temperature detecting means is provided integrally with the rearview mirror.