JP7666466B2 - Vehicle control device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle control device for a vehicle equipped with a battery for driving that can be charged by a power supply facility and an air conditioner for conditioning the interior of the vehicle.

Among electric vehicles, BEVs (Battery Electric Vehicles) and PHEVs (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles) have a battery for driving that can be charged by a power supply facility. In these vehicles, a My Room mode may be set in which at least auxiliary equipment including an air conditioner that conditions the interior of the vehicle can be operated while the battery is being charged (for example, Patent Document 1). With the My Room mode, the interior of the vehicle can be used for teleworking, and the driver can wait comfortably inside the vehicle while the battery is being charged.

By the way, an air conditioner that conditions the air inside a vehicle cabin may perform a heating and dehumidifying operation to prevent fogging of the window glass during heating operation. In the heating and dehumidifying operation, the air blown into the vehicle cabin needs to be heated and cooled at the same time, which increases power consumption.

JP 2020-054206 A

When My Room mode is set and heating/dehumidification operation is performed in a BEV or PHEV while the battery is being charged, the battery charging time will be longer due to the large power consumption of the heating/dehumidification operation.

The present invention aims to provide a vehicle control device that can shorten the battery charging time when the My Room mode is set.

The vehicle control device according to the present invention is a vehicle control device for a vehicle equipped with a battery for driving that can be charged by a power supply facility and an air conditioner that conditions the interior of the vehicle, and is characterized in that a My Room mode can be set in which at least auxiliary equipment including the air conditioner can be operated while the battery is being charged by the power supply facility, and when the My Room mode is set and the battery charge rate is equal to or lower than a predetermined charge rate, heating and dehumidification operation is prohibited in the air conditioner.

The vehicle control device of the present invention can reduce the battery charging time when the My Room mode is set.

1 is a schematic diagram showing a vehicle according to an embodiment; 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle control device according to an embodiment; FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing a flow of heating/dehumidification prohibition control.

An example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below. In the following description, the specific shapes, materials, directions, values, etc. are examples to facilitate understanding of the present invention, and can be changed as appropriate according to the application, purpose, specifications, etc.

The air conditioning ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 80, which serves as a vehicle control device, is provided in a vehicle 10 (not shown) that includes a battery 11 for driving that can be charged by a power supply facility (not shown) and an air conditioning device 40 that conditions the interior of the vehicle 12. The air conditioning ECU 80 can reduce the charging time of the battery 11 when the vehicle is in the My Room mode, which will be described in detail later.

<Vehicles>
A vehicle 10 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG.

The vehicle 10 is a BEV that runs by driving a motor (not shown) using only the power of the battery 11. However, the vehicle 10 of this embodiment may also be a PHEV in which the battery 11 of an HEV that runs by driving a gasoline engine and a motor can be charged from a power supply facility.

As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle 10 has the above-mentioned battery 11 for driving, a battery ECU 20 that acquires the state of the battery 11, a vehicle ECU 30 that can set a my room mode described below, an air conditioning device 40 that conditions the air inside the vehicle cabin 12, and an air conditioning ECU 80 as a vehicle control device that controls each device of the air conditioning device 40.

The vehicle 10 of this embodiment has a configuration including a battery ECU 20, a vehicle ECU 30, and an air conditioning ECU 80, but is not limited to this. A single ECU may acquire the state of the battery 11, set the my room mode, and control each device of the air conditioning device 40.

<Battery>
As described above, the battery 11 supplies power to the motor for driving the vehicle 10. The battery 11 can be charged by a power supply facility external to the vehicle 10. The battery 11 is connected to the battery ECU 20.

The battery ECU 20 acquires the state of the battery 11 as described above. The battery ECU 20 is a computer having a processor 21 with an internal CPU that performs information processing, and a memory 22 that stores software, programs, or data executed by the processor 21. The battery ECU 20 is connected to the vehicle ECU 30 and the air conditioning ECU 80.

As shown in FIG. 2, the battery ECU 20 has a charging determination unit 23 that checks whether the battery 11 is being charged by the power supply equipment, and a charging rate calculation unit 24 that calculates the charging rate of the battery 11. The charging determination unit 23 and the charging rate calculation unit 24 are realized by the processor 21 executing a program stored in the memory 22.

<My Room Mode>
1 again, the vehicle ECU 30 can set a "my room mode" (described later). The vehicle ECU 30 is a computer having a processor 31 with a CPU for performing information processing therein, and a memory 32 for storing software, programs, or data executed by the processor 31.

The My Room mode is a state in which the vehicle 10 can operate at least the auxiliary equipment including the air conditioner 40 while the battery 11 is being charged by the power supply equipment. The auxiliary equipment may include audio equipment, video equipment, a navigation system, a seat heater, a mirror heater, etc. The My Room mode allows the user to use the interior 12 of the vehicle 10 for teleworking, to wait comfortably in the interior 12 while the battery 11 is being charged, etc.

The vehicle ECU 30 is connected to a my room mode button 34 for setting the my room mode. The my room mode button 34 is provided near the driver's seat in the vehicle interior 12. The vehicle ECU 30 is also connected to the battery ECU 20 and the air conditioning ECU 80.

As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle ECU 30 has a my room mode setting unit 33 that sets the my room mode. The my room mode setting unit 33 is realized by the processor 31 executing a program stored in the memory 32.

<Air conditioning equipment>
As shown in FIG. 1 again, the air conditioning device 40 has an air passage 50 for blowing conditioned air into the vehicle interior 12, a refrigeration cycle circuit 60 for cooling the air passing through the air passage, and a heater circuit 70 for heating the air passing through the air passage 50.

The air passage 50 is a passage that conditions the air and blows the conditioned air into the vehicle interior 12. The air passage 50 has a heater core 71 connected to the heater circuit 70 and heats the air passing through the air passage 50, an evaporator 64 connected to the refrigeration cycle circuit 60 and cools the air passing through the air passage 50, an inside/outside air switching door 51 that switches between inside air circulation and outside air introduction for the air blown into the vehicle interior 12, an air mix door 52 that switches between blowing air to the heater core 71 or blowing air to the evaporator 64, and a blower 53 that generates an air flow toward the vehicle interior 12.

The refrigeration cycle circuit 60 includes a compressor 61 that compresses the refrigerant, an outdoor heat exchanger 62 that rejects heat to the outside air, an expansion valve 63 that expands the liquid refrigerant, and an evaporator 64 that is provided in the air passage 50 and cools the air passing through the air passage 50, all connected by piping. In this embodiment, the refrigeration cycle circuit 60 includes an outdoor heat exchanger 62 that rejects heat to the outside air, but is not limited to this. It may also include a water-cooled condenser that rejects heat to the heater circuit 70.

The heater circuit 70 is provided in the air passage 50 and includes a heater core 71 that heats the air passing through the air passage 50, an electric heater 72 that heats the cooling water of the heater circuit 70, and a pump 73 that circulates the cooling water of the heater circuit 70.

Here, the air conditioner 40 may perform a heating and dehumidifying operation to defog the window glass in the vehicle interior 12 during heating operation. In the heating and dehumidifying operation, the air to be blown into the vehicle interior 12 needs to be heated by the heater core 71 of the heater circuit 70, and the air to be blown into the vehicle interior 12 needs to be cooled by the evaporator 64 of the refrigeration cycle circuit 60. Specifically, it is necessary to drive the electric heater 72 and the pump 73 of the heater circuit 70, and to drive the compressor 61 of the refrigeration cycle circuit 60, which results in a large amount of power consumption.

Thus, as will be described in detail later, when the vehicle 10 is set to the My Room mode in which the vehicle 10 is not traveling, there is no safety issue even if the anti-fogging performance of the window glass inside the vehicle interior 12 is reduced. Therefore, when the battery 11 is at or below a predetermined charging rate, the air conditioning ECU 80 prohibits heating and dehumidification operation to shorten the charging time of the battery 11.

The air conditioning ECU 80 controls each device of the air conditioning device 40 as described above. The air conditioning ECU 80 is a computer having a processor 81 with an internal CPU that performs information processing, and a memory 82 that stores software, programs, or data executed by the processor 81. The air conditioning ECU 80 is connected to the battery ECU 20 and the vehicle ECU 30.

The air conditioning ECU 80 is connected to the inside/outside air switching door 51, the air mix door 52, and the blower 53 of the air passage 50, the compressor 61 and the expansion valve 63 of the refrigeration cycle circuit 60, and the electric heater 72 and the pump 73 of the heater circuit 70.

As shown in FIG. 2, the air conditioning ECU 80 has a battery charging determination unit 83, a my room mode setting determination unit 84, a battery charging rate determination unit 85, and a heating/dehumidification operation prohibition unit 86, each of which will be described in detail below. The battery charging determination unit 83, the my room mode setting determination unit 84, the battery charging rate determination unit 85, and the heating/dehumidification operation prohibition unit 86 are realized by the processor 81 executing a program stored in the memory 82.

The battery charging determination unit 83 obtains the determination result by the charging determination unit 23 of the battery ECU 20 from the battery ECU 20 and determines whether the battery 11 is being charged.

The my room mode setting determination unit 84 obtains the setting result of the my room mode setting unit 33 of the vehicle ECU 30 from the vehicle ECU 30 and determines whether the my room mode is set.

The battery charging rate determination unit 85 obtains the calculation result by the charging rate calculation unit 24 of the battery ECU 20 from the battery ECU 20 and determines whether the charging rate of the battery 11 is equal to or lower than a predetermined charging rate.

When the battery charging determination unit 83 determines that the battery 11 is being charged, the my room mode setting determination unit 84 determines that the my room mode is set, and the battery charging rate determination unit 85 determines that the charging rate of the battery 11 is equal to or lower than a predetermined charging rate, the heating/dehumidification operation prohibition unit 86 prohibits the heating/dehumidification operation because it is expected that the charging time of the battery 11 will be long if a heating/dehumidification operation that consumes a lot of power is performed.

The heating and dehumidifying operation prohibition unit 86 can shorten the charging time of the battery 11 by prohibiting the heating and dehumidifying operation when the charging rate of the battery 11 is below a predetermined charging rate when the My Room mode is set. At this time, the vehicle 10 is not running, so there is no safety problem even if the anti-fogging performance of the window glass is reduced.

<Heating/dehumidification prohibition control>
The flow of the heating/dehumidification prohibition control will be described with reference to FIG.

In step S11, the battery charging determination unit 83 obtains the determination result from the charging determination unit 23 of the battery ECU 20 and determines whether the battery 11 is being charged. If the battery 11 is being charged, the process proceeds to step S12.

In step S12, the my room mode setting determination unit 84 obtains the setting result of the my room mode setting unit 33 of the vehicle ECU 30 and determines whether the my room mode is set. If the my room mode is set, the process proceeds to step S13.

In step S13, the battery charging rate determination unit 85 obtains the calculation result by the charging rate calculation unit 24 of the battery ECU 20 and determines whether the charging rate of the battery 11 is equal to or lower than a predetermined charging rate. If the charging rate of the battery 11 is equal to or lower than the predetermined charging rate, the process proceeds to step S14.

In step S14, the heating/dehumidification operation prohibition unit 86 prohibits the heating/dehumidification operation because it is expected that the charging time of the battery 11 will be long if a heating/dehumidification operation that consumes a lot of power is performed.

In step S15, normal operation is performed to enable heating and dehumidification operation without the heating and dehumidification operation prohibition unit 86 prohibiting the heating and dehumidification operation.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment and its variations, and various modifications and improvements are possible within the scope of the claims of this application.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 vehicle, 11 battery, 12 vehicle interior, 20 battery ECU, 21 processor, 22 memory, 23 charging determination unit, 24 charging rate calculation unit, 30 vehicle ECU, 31 processor, 32 memory, 33 my room mode setting unit, 34 my room mode button, 40 air conditioner, 50 air passage, 51 inside/outside air switching door, 52 air mix door, 53 blower, 60 refrigeration cycle circuit, 61 compressor, 62 exterior heat exchanger, 63 expansion valve, 64 evaporator, 70 heater circuit, 71 heater core, 72 electric heater, 73 pump, 80 air conditioning ECU, 81 processor, 82 memory, 83 battery charging determination unit, 84 my room mode setting determination unit, 85 battery charging rate determination unit, 86 heating/dehumidification operation prohibition unit

Claims (1)

A vehicle control device for a vehicle including a battery for driving that can be charged by a power supply facility and an air conditioner for air conditioning an interior of a vehicle,
A "my room" mode can be set in which at least auxiliary machines including the air conditioner can be driven while the battery is being charged by the power supply facility,
When the battery is being charged, the my room mode is set, and the charging rate of the battery is equal to or lower than a predetermined charging rate, a heating and dehumidifying operation is prohibited in the air conditioner.
Vehicle control device.

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