JPS6355449B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a car air conditioner control device that automatically controls humidity.

In motor vehicles, it is known to install humidifying means, either integrated with the air conditioning unit combined with the temperature regulating means or independently thereof, to thereby increase the humidity of the cabin air. Such a device has the advantage of avoiding the discomfort of thirst for the occupants and preventing any mucous membranes from drying out, especially when the heater is activated in cold weather.

However, when operating the humidifying means, it is not preferable to make the vehicle interior more humid than necessary, and it is even more undesirable for the window glass to fog up during driving.

The present invention takes into consideration the above-mentioned requirements, and furthermore, when the vehicle is stopped and rests in the vehicle,
This makes it possible to create more comfortable rest conditions.

That is, when the occupant stops driving and takes a rest, fogging of the window glass is not so much of a problem, and it is important to set the conditions for the occupant's rest.

An object of the present invention is to achieve safety while driving and comfort while resting by changing the amount of humidification adjustment by operating an operating device that selects between a driving mode and a rest mode. The purpose is to enable selection as appropriate.

For this reason, the gist of the present invention is to provide a mode selector, detect the humidity inside the vehicle and the degree of fogging of the window glass, and the control device to set the mode selector to detect the humidity inside the vehicle and the degree of fogging of the window glass. The operation of the humidifying means is adjusted so that the humidity reaches a desired level, and in the rest mode, the above-mentioned restriction is substantially canceled and the operation of the humidifying means is adjusted so that the humidity inside the vehicle reaches the desired level. .

One embodiment of the present invention will be explained with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 shows an example in which the present invention is applied to a known air conditioning system for large vehicles. A switching door 14, a blower 5, an evaporator 6, a heater 8, an air mix damper 7, and mode switching doors 9 and 10 are arranged.

The blow switching door 4 is connected to a rod 39 of an electric pneumatic actuating mechanism 38, and when the electric pneumatic actuating mechanism 38 is applied with atmospheric pressure or negative pressure from an internal combustion engine (not shown), the rod 39 is connected. The inlet port is switched by moving the switching door 4 connected to the rod 39 upward or downward. When the inlet 2 of the air duct 1 is opened, the air duct 1 is opened from the outside of the vehicle.
Outside air is introduced into the air duct 1, and when the recirculation port 3 of the air duct 1 is opened, the air inside the vehicle interior 14 is recirculated into the air duct 1.

The blower 5 sucks air from the introduction port 2 or the reflux port 3 and sends it to the evaporator 6 as an air flow having a flow rate depending on the rotation speed. The air flow from the blower 5 is cooled by a cooling medium in the evaporator 6 and is converted into air mix as a cooling air flow.
The cooling medium in the evaporator 6, which is applied to the damper 7 and warmed by the heat of the air flow from the blower 5, is sent to a compressor (not shown). This compressor is operatively connected to the internal combustion engine via its electromagnetic clutch (not shown), and is driven by the internal combustion engine under excitation of the electromagnetic clutch to compress the refrigerant sent from the evaporator 6 to produce high-pressure and low-temperature fluid. This coolant is sent back to the evaporator 6 as a low-pressure, low-temperature coolant through a condenser (not shown), a pressure receiver (not shown), and an expansion valve (not shown). Note that when the electromagnetic clutch is in a de-energized state, the compressor is disconnected from the internal combustion engine.

The heater 8 receives cooling water from the internal combustion engine, warms the cooling air flow sent from the evaporator 6, and sends it into the vehicle interior 14 as an air flow having a predetermined temperature.
The air mix damper 7 is connected to a rod 20 of an electric pneumatic actuation mechanism 17, and the electric pneumatic actuation mechanism 17 is applied with atmospheric pressure or negative pressure from an internal combustion engine to move the rod 20 upward or downward. When the rod 20 is moved, it functions to decrease or increase the opening degree Ar according to the upward or downward movement of the rod 20. As a result, a part of the cooling air flow from the evaporator 6 is transferred to the air mix damper 7 at the opening angle Ar.
The remaining part of the cooling air flow from the evaporator 6 is applied directly into the passenger compartment 14 . In this case, the air mix damper 7 has a minimum opening degree when the rod 20 is at the lower moving end in the figure, and the entire cooling airflow from the evaporator 6 is applied directly into the passenger compartment 14. do. On the other hand, when the rod 20 is at the upper moving end,
It is assumed that the air mix damper 7 has a maximum opening and that the entire cooling air flow from the evaporator 6 is applied to the heater 8. Note that when the electric gas actuation mechanism 17 is simultaneously cut off from atmospheric pressure and the negative pressure of the internal heat engine to stop the rod 20, the opening degree of the air mix damper 7 changes to a value corresponding to the stop position of the rod 20. will be maintained.

The HEAT switching door 9 is connected to the rod 21 of the electric pneumatic actuating mechanism 18, and the electric pneumatic actuating mechanism 18 is applied with atmospheric pressure or negative pressure from the internal combustion engine to move the rod 21 up or down. By moving it downward, the HEAT door 9 is moved upward or downward. When the HEAT door is at the upper moving end,
When the HEAT outlet 13 is opened, air is blown out from the lower part of the passenger compartment. On the other hand, at the lower moving end,
When the HEAT outlet 13 is closed, air no longer comes out.

Further, the differential vent (DEF-VENT) switching door 10 is connected to the rod 22 of the electric pneumatic actuation mechanism 19.
The electric pneumatic actuating mechanism 19 moves the rod 22 upward or downward by applying atmospheric pressure or negative pressure from the internal combustion engine.
Move the DEF-VENT switching door 10 up or down. When the DEF-VENT switching door 10 is at the lower moving end, the defrost (DEF) outlet 11 opens and the vent (VENT) outlet 12 closes, so that air is blown out from the DEF. On the contrary, DEF−
When the VENT switching door 10 is at the upper moving end, the DEF outlet 11 closes and the VENT outlet 12 opens, causing air to be blown out from the VENT.

Further, a humidifier 15 is arranged within the vehicle compartment 14, and this humidifier 15 is, for example, an ultrasonic humidifier. The humidifier 15 is activated (ON) and stopped (OFF) controlled by a drive circuit 23 .

The electric control circuit 34 includes an AD converter 36 connected to various sensors 24 to 31, and a digital computer 35 connected to a digital temperature setting device 32 and a control switch 33.

Among the sensor group, the dew condensation sensor 24, which is the second detection means according to the present invention, is installed on the windshield in the vehicle interior 14 at a location where it does not obstruct the driver's view. The fogging of the glass is detected and an analog signal having a level corresponding to this fogging is generated. A humidity sensor 25 serving as a first detection means is arranged in the vehicle interior 14, detects the actual relative humidity R _H in the vehicle interior 14, and generates an analog signal having a level corresponding to this relative humidity R _H. occurs.

The interior temperature sensor 26 is disposed within the vehicle interior 14, detects the actual temperature Tr within the vehicle interior 14, and generates an analog signal having a level corresponding to the interior temperature Tr. The opening sensor 27 is operatively connected to the rod 20 of the electro-pneumatic actuation mechanism 17 and, in relation to the displacement of the rod 20, the air
Detects the actual opening degree Ar of mix damper 7,
An analog signal having a level corresponding to this detected opening degree Ar is generated. The outside temperature sensor 28 is located close to the front grill of the radiator of the vehicle, detects the actual temperature Tam of the air outside the vehicle, and generates an analog signal having a level corresponding to this outside temperature Tam.

The water temperature sensor 29 is placed close to the inlet of the heater 8, detects the actual temperature T _W of the cooling water from the cooling device, and generates an analog signal having a level corresponding to the detected water temperature T _W. do. The air temperature sensor 30 is placed close to the outlet of the evaporator 6, detects the actual temperature T _E of the air flow from the evaporator 6, and outputs an analog signal having a level corresponding to the detected air temperature T _E. Occur. The solar radiation sensor 31 is arranged near the window of the vehicle interior 14, and detects the actual solar radiation amount T _S and generates an analog signal having a level corresponding to this.

The A-D converter 36 converts each sensor 24 to 31 based on a request from the digital computer 35.
Converts the analog signal from to a digital signal,
These digital signals are calculated as follows: fogging degree F, vehicle interior relative humidity R _H , inside temperature Tr, opening degree Ar, outside temperature Tam,
It is provided to the digital computer 35 as representing the water temperature T _W , the air temperature T _E and the amount of solar radiation T _S . The temperature setting device 32 is provided in the vehicle compartment 14, and a desired temperature setting Tset is selected by a passenger's manual operation and is generated as a temperature setting signal.

The control switch 33, which serves as an operating device, is composed of a plurality of self-returning switch elements that generate signals to command the operating mode of the air conditioning member included in the air duct 1.
Contains instructions for commanding rest mode, which is displayed as . The control switch 33 is a temperature setting device 32
Additionally, it is installed in a location within the vehicle that is easy for passengers to operate.

The digital computer 35 is a single chip
The microcomputer 35 is formed of an LSI microcomputer, and receives a constant voltage from a constant voltage circuit (not shown) to be ready for operation. In this case, the constant voltage circuit receives DC voltage from a DC power source in response to closing of an ignition switch (not shown) and generates the constant voltage. The microcomputer 35 is
It is equipped with a central processing unit (hereinafter referred to as CPU), memory, input/output device (hereinafter referred to as I/O), and a clock circuit.
and clock circuits are connected to each other via a bus line. The memory of the microcomputer 35 receives and temporarily stores each digital signal from the A-D converter 36, the temperature setting signal from the temperature setting device 32, and the command signal from the control switch 33 through I/O. Selectively give signals to the CPU. The clock circuit of the microcomputer 35 cooperates with a crystal oscillator 37 to generate a clock signal having a predetermined frequency, and allows the microcomputer 35 to execute a predetermined control program based on this clock signal.

In the memory of the microcomputer 35, the predetermined control program is stored in advance in order to execute the following arithmetic processing within the microcomputer 35.

(1) The CPU uses the set temperature Tset stored in memory,
According to the inside temperature Tr, the outside temperature Tam, and the amount of solar radiation T _S , the blowout temperature T _AO required for the airflow blown into the passenger compartment 14 from the air duct 1 is calculated based on the following formula (1). .

T _AO = Kset・Tset−Kr・Tr−Kam・Tam −Ks・Ts+C ……(1) However, each coefficient Kset, Kr, Kam, and Ks is determined experimentally taking into account the performance of the air conditioner. In addition, the symbol C indicates a constant, and each of these gains and constants are stored in advance in the memory.

(2) The CPU calculates the optimum opening degree SW of the air mix damper 7 based on the following formula (2) according to the blowout temperature _TAO and the water temperature _TW and air temperature _TE stored in the memory, This calculation result and the actual opening degree of air mix damper 7 stored in memory.
An output signal representative of the difference from Ar is generated and applied to the electrical pneumatic actuation mechanism 17.

SW = (T _AO − T _E ) / (T _W − _{T E} −15) × 100 (%) ...(2) (3) The CPU checks whether the relative humidity inside the vehicle R _H is 50% or less,
It is determined whether it is 50 to 70% or more than 70%, and if the relative humidity R _H in the vehicle is 50% or less, or if the operating state of the humidifier 15 is activated (ON) before determining whether it is 50 to 70%. determines whether the rest switch is turned on (ON). However, if the relative humidity R _H in the vehicle is 70% or more,
If the operating state of the humidifier 15 is stopped (OFF) before determining even 50 to 70%, turn off the humidifier 15.
It generates an output signal and applies it to the drive circuit 23 of the humidifier 15.

In addition, the rest switch in the control switch 33 is
When ON, the inlet is set to internal air circulation 3, the outlet is set to DEF11, and an output signal is generated to turn on the humidifier 15, and is applied to the electric gas operating mechanism 18, 19, 38, and drive circuit 23. do.

Next, the rest switch in the control switch 23
In the case of OFF, an output signal is generated such that the inlet is set to internal air circulation 3 and the outlet is set to DEF11 and HEAT13, and the electrical gas actuating mechanism 18,1
Granted to 9,38. And the dew condensation sensor 24
It is determined whether the window is foggy or not based on the output of the humidifier 1.
5 is turned OFF, and if the window is not fogged, output signals are generated and applied to the drive circuit 23 to turn on the humidifier 15.

The electric pneumatic actuating mechanism 17 adjusts the optimum opening degree in response to an output signal from the microcomputer 35 representing the difference between the optimum opening degree SW and the actual opening degree Ar.
When SW is larger than the actual opening Ar, negative pressure is applied from the internal combustion engine according to the difference between these openings, and when the optimal opening SW is smaller than the actual opening Ar, negative pressure is applied according to the difference between these openings. When the optimum opening SW is equal to the actual opening Ar, the valve is isolated from negative pressure and atmospheric pressure.

The electric gas actuation mechanism 18 receives an output signal corresponding to the HEAT outlet 13 from the microcomputer 35, and when setting the outlet to the HEAT outlet 13, the air pressure is applied to the HEAT outlet 1.
3 is opened, and when it is closed, negative pressure is applied from the internal combustion engine to close the HEAT outlet 13. Further, the electric pneumatic actuation mechanism 19 is connected to the microcomputer 35.
When opening the DEF outlet 11 upon receiving an output signal representing the outlet, negative pressure is applied from the internal combustion engine to close the VENT outlet 12.
open. Next, when opening the VENT outlet 12,
Atmospheric pressure is applied to close the DEF outlet 11.
Open VENT outlet 12. Next, the drive circuit 23
is from the microcomputer 35 to the humidifier 15.
Upon receiving an output signal indicating ON or OFF, the humidifier 15 is turned ON or OFF in accordance with this output signal. Next, the electric gas actuating mechanism 38 similarly changes between outside air introduction and inside air circulation by switching between negative pressure and atmospheric pressure.

It should be noted that the drive circuit 1 which has little relation to the implementation of the present invention
6 will be explained in detail along with the explanation of the control state by the computer 34.

In this embodiment configured as described above, the internal combustion engine is put into an idling state by operating the ignition switch of the vehicle, and the microcomputer 35 receives a constant voltage from the constant voltage circuit and becomes ready for operation. Placed, second
In step 101, execution of arithmetic processing is started according to the flowchart shown in the figure. At this time, it is assumed that the temperature setting device 32 generates a temperature setting signal representing the desired temperature Tset by manual operation.

In this state, when the computer program advances to step 102, the actual temperature Tr in the vehicle interior 14 and the actual opening degree Ar of the air mix damper 7 are determined by the inside temperature sensor 26 and the opening degree sensor 27, respectively. The actual temperature Tam outside the vehicle and the actual temperature T _W of the cooling water from the cooling system are detected as analog signals by the outside air temperature sensor 28 and water temperature sensor 29, respectively, and the actual temperature near the evaporator outlet is detected as an analog signal. temperature of
T _E and the actual amount of solar radiation T _S are detected as analog signals by the air temperature sensor 30 and the solar radiation sensor 31, respectively, and these analog signals are respectively converted into digital signals by the A-D converter 36 and then sent to the microcomputer 35. temporarily stored in memory. Further, the temperature setting signal from the temperature setting device 35 and the ON and OFF command signals from the rest switch in the control switch 33 are temporarily stored in the memory of the microcomputer 35, respectively.

When the computer program proceeds to step 103, the CPU stores the set temperature Tset, the inside temperature Tr, the outside temperature Tam, and the like from the memory of the microcomputer 35.
Solar radiation T _S , constant C and each gain Kset, Kr, Kam
and Ks, calculate the blowout temperature _TAO based on equation (1), and run the computer program in step 104.
Proceed to. Then, the CPU calculates the air outlet temperature _TAO calculated in step 103 and the water temperature stored in the memory.
The optimum opening degree SW of the air mix damper 7 is calculated based on equation (2) according to T _W and air temperature T _E , and in step 105, this opening degree SW and the actual opening degree Ar stored in the memory are calculated. generates an output signal representing . Thereby, the electric pneumatic actuating mechanism 17 appropriately controls the opening degree of the air mix damper 7 according to the value of the output signal from the CPU.

When the computer program proceeds to step 106, the CPU selects the vehicle interior relative humidity stored in memory.
A signal indicating the ON/OFF state of R _H and humidifier 15 determines whether the relative humidity R _H in the vehicle interior is 50% or less or 50 to 70%.
% or 70% or more, and determines the relative humidity inside the vehicle R _H
If it is below 50% or even between 50 and 70%, use humidifier 1.
If the operating state of 5 is ON, the CPU is "ON"
In step 107, the rest switch is
Determine whether it is ON or not. If the rest switch is ON, the CPU determines "YES" and in step 108, the inlet is set to internal air circulation 3 and the outlet is set to internal air circulation 3.
Electrical gas actuation mechanism 1 so that DEF11
Output signals are generated at 8, 19, and 38. and,
Proceeding to step 113, an output signal for turning on the humidifier 15 is generated in the drive circuit 23. However,
The output signal from the CPU is transmitted to the electric pneumatic actuation mechanism 18,
19, 38, and drive circuit 23, and the respective switching dampers 4, 9, 10 and humidifier 15 operate.

Also, in step 107, the rest switch is
In the case of OFF, the CPU determines "NO", and in step 109 reads outside temperature Tam from the memory and determines whether outside temperature Tam is equal to or higher than one value. and,
If the outside temperature Tam is below a certain value, the CPU will say “NO”
Then, proceed to step 110. Then, in step 110, the CPU sets the inlet to internal air circulation 3 and the outlet to internal air circulation 3.
Output signals are generated to the electrical pneumatic actuation mechanisms 18, 19, and 38 such that DEF11 and HEAT13. The process then proceeds to step 112, where it is determined whether the window is foggy or not based on the output from the condensation sensor 24 stored in memory.If the CPU determines "YES", the process proceeds to step 114, where it outputs an output to turn off the humidifier 15. A signal is generated and applied to the drive circuit 23. Then, the drive circuit 23 turns off the humidifier 15.
Make it. Also, if the window is not fogged and the CPU determines "NO" in step 112, the process proceeds to step 113.
and operate as described above. Also step 109
, if the outside temperature Tam is above a certain value, the CPU
is determined to be ``YES'' and the process proceeds to step 111.

Here, the judgment based on the outside temperature Tam is as follows.
When the outside temperature Tam is low, the temperature of the window glass becomes lower than the dew point, causing the window to fog up and hinder driving, but when the outside temperature Tam is high and the window glass temperature is higher than the dew point, comfort becomes lower. VENT from the surface
Since the feeling is better when air is blown from the air outlet 12, the air outlet is switched based on the outside temperature Tam.

In step 111, the CPU sets the inlet to internal air circulation 3 and the outlet to VENT 12. The process then proceeds to step 112 and operates as described above.
Also, in step 106, the relative humidity R _H of the vehicle interior is set to 70.
% or more or the relative humidity inside the vehicle R _H is 50 to 70
%, the signal indicating the operating state of the humidifier 15 is
If OFF, proceed to step 114 and operate as described above.

As can be understood from the above, when driving, that is, when the rest switch is OFF, the inlet is set to internal air circulation 3 to facilitate humidity control, and the outlet is set to DEF11andHEAT depending on the outside temperature Tam.
Decide whether to set it to 13 or VENT12.
The reason for setting DEF to 11 here is to prevent dew condensation on the glass surface to prevent the window from fogging up, and to keep the temperature distribution inside the vehicle interior 14 constant. If the window still fogs up, forcefully turn off the humidifier 15.

Also, when taking a nap, that is, when the rest switch is ON, the inlet is set to internal air 3 to facilitate humidity control, and the outlet is set to DEF 11 to prevent the window from fogging up. Even in this case, there is an advantage that a decrease in the humidity inside the vehicle due to condensation on the glass surface can be suppressed.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and the following modifications are also possible. For example, in the above embodiment, when the humidifier is activated (ON), the inlet is used for internal air circulation, but if necessary,
For example, when there is sufficient humidification capacity, both inside and outside air may be used, or outside air may be introduced.

Further, when the rest mode is selected by a switch operation as in the above embodiment, if the selection operation is performed while the vehicle is running, the rest mode may not be accepted. Whether the vehicle is running or not is determined by detecting the number of revolutions of the speedometer cable as a pulse signal using a known detector, inputting the pulse signal to the computer 35 and measuring its period, and determining if the period is smaller than the reference period. When this is the case, it can be determined that the vehicle is running. Also, from another computer that measures and determines vehicle speed,
A determination signal may also be input. Also, when the rest switch is ON and the vehicle is in rest mode, the rest switch will be turned off when it is determined that the vehicle is running.
It may be processed by assuming that it has been turned off.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a vehicle air conditioner, and FIG.
3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the computer in the figure. Explanation of symbols: 1... Air duct, 2... Outside air intake port, 3... Inside air intake port, 4... Inside/outside air switching door, 9... Heat (HEAT) door, 10... Default vent (DEF) -VENT) switching door, 11...
...DEF outlet, 12...VENT outlet, 13...
...HEAT air outlet, 14... Vehicle interior, 15... Humidifier, 18... Electric gas operating mechanism for HEAT door,
19...Electric gas operating mechanism for DEF-VENT switching door, 23...Humidifier drive circuit, 24...Dew condensation sensor (second detection means), 25...Humidity sensor (first detection means), 33 ... Control switch (operating means), 34 ... Electric control circuit, 35 ... Microcomputer, 36 ... A-D converter, 3
8... Electrical pneumatic actuation mechanism for the inside/outside air switching door.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A humidifying means, a first detecting means responsive to the humidity inside the vehicle, a second detecting means responsive to fogging of the window glass,
an operating means for selecting a rest mode; and an operating means for adjusting the humidifying means in relation to the humidity in the vehicle interior under a limit that does not cause fogging on the window glass in response to both the detection means, and the operating means selects the rest mode. A car air conditioner control device comprising: a control device configured to weaken the restriction based on the second detection means when selected.