JPH05278444A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an air conditioner which can give a comfortable feeling to a driver by giving an adequate amount of fluctuation, and can prevent a generation of niose. CONSTITUTION:When the air is blown off at a standard blower voltage V1 at Me(medium), a fluctuation width DELTAV of the absolute value 1V is given to the V1. And when the air is blown off at a standard blower voltage V1 at Lo(low), a fluctuation width DELTAV of the absolute value 2V is given. In this case, since the fluctuation width is larger when the V1 is at Lo, a rider can feel bodily a comfortable feeling by this fluctuation. And since the fluctuation width is smaller when the V1 is at Me than when the V1 is at Lo, the rider never feels the noise owing to the fluctuation uncomfortable, and the comfortableness by the fluctuation is being maintained.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air conditioner, and more particularly to an air conditioner for controlling a voltage applied to a blower motor used in a vehicle air conditioner.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 58-112822, an air flow level set by a driver in order to add a function of fluctuating the air flow of a blower simply by connecting a controller to a conventional normal blower. Conventionally, there has been known an apparatus that fluctuates the air volume with a fluctuation width according to the above.

[0003]

However, when the above-mentioned conventional device is applied to a vehicle, for example, according to the experiments and studies by the present inventor, when the air volume set by the driver is small, the driver hardly feels fluctuation and is comfortable. It has been found that there is a problem that the driver cannot get a feeling, and when the air volume set by the driver is large, the fluctuation is too large and noise is generated, and the driver feels uncomfortable.

In view of the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide an air conditioner capable of giving a comfortable feeling to a driver and preventing the generation of noise by giving fluctuation of an appropriate size. ..

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention determines a blowing means for blowing air into a room and a blowing voltage applied to the blowing means, and outputs this to the blowing means. Blower voltage determining means, and a fluctuation command means for commanding a signal that gives fluctuations to the wind generated by the blower means, and if a fluctuation command is issued from the fluctuation commanding means, the blower voltage determining means The gist of an air conditioner includes a fluctuation width providing unit that gives a large fluctuation width to the determined ventilation voltage when the ventilation voltage is small and a small fluctuation width when the ventilation voltage is large.

[0006]

According to the present invention, when the fluctuation instruction means issues a command to give fluctuations to the air blown into the room,
The fluctuation width imparting means imparts a large fluctuation width to the air blowing voltage when the air blowing voltage determined by the air blowing voltage determining means is small. Obtainable.

Further, the fluctuation width imparting means imparts a small fluctuation width to the air blowing voltage when the air blowing voltage determined by the air blowing voltage determining means is large, so that the occupant does not significantly deteriorate the comfort feeling due to the fluctuation. It is possible to avoid feeling uncomfortable due to noise.

[0008]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the passenger from feeling uncomfortable due to noise while getting a comfortable feeling due to fluctuations regardless of the amount of air flow.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an automobile will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, the overall configuration of the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, an inside air inlet 8 and an outside air inlet 9 are formed on the upstream side of the ventilation duct 20. The inside air introduction port 8 and the outside air introduction port 9 are used to
It is opened and closed by an inside / outside air switching damper 6 driven by the controller 5.

A blower for introducing air from the inside air introduction port 8 or the outside air introduction port 9 by rotating itself to the downstream side of the inside / outside air switching damper 6 and blowing this air into the vehicle interior through the ventilation duct 20. 19 are provided. The blower 19 is driven by a blower motor 11 driven by a voltage applied from the outside. Incidentally, in the first embodiment, the blower 19 and the blower motor 11 constitute a blower.

An evaporator 12 is arranged downstream of the blower 19. The evaporator 12 is a heat exchanger that cools and dehumidifies the air by absorbing heat from the surrounding air by the refrigerant flowing inside the evaporator 12, and forms a refrigeration cycle together with a compressor, a condenser, and a pressure reducer (not shown). An evaporator blow-out temperature sensor 23 that detects the air temperature immediately after passing through the evaporator 12 is arranged immediately downstream of the evaporator 12.

A heater core 1 is provided downstream of the evaporator 12.
3 are provided. The heater core 13 is a heat exchanger that heats air by using engine cooling water flowing through a pipe (not shown) as a heat source. The inflow of the engine cooling water into the heater core 13 is interrupted by opening and closing a water valve (not shown). Further, a water temperature sensor (not shown) for detecting the engine cooling water temperature is provided in the pipe.

At the upstream portion of the heater core 13, an air mix damper 21 for adjusting the amount of air cooled and dehumidified by the evaporator 12 passing through the heater core 13 and the amount bypassing the heater core 13 is provided. The air mix damper 21 is driven by the air mix servomotor 14.

The air whose temperature is controlled by the air mix damper 21 is blown from the face outlet 15 toward the upper body of the passenger in the passenger compartment, from the foot outlet 16 toward the feet of the passenger, and a defroster (not shown). It is blown out from the outlet toward the windshield. Opening and closing of the face air outlet, the foot air outlet, and the defroster air outlet are performed by an air outlet switching damper 17 arranged downstream of the heater core 13. The outlet switching damper 17 is driven by the outlet switching servomotor 18.

Reference numeral 1 is an inside air temperature sensor 1 for detecting the air temperature inside the vehicle compartment, 2 is an outside air temperature sensor for detecting the outside air temperature, and 3 is a solar radiation sensor for detecting the amount of solar radiation entering the vehicle interior. The signals detected by these sensors are input to the ECU 7.

In addition to the signals from the sensors 1 to 3, a signal from a temperature setting device 10 for setting the temperature inside the vehicle is input to the ECU 7. Further, a signal from the fluctuation switch 22 for giving fluctuation width to the blower voltage is input to the ECU 7. Then, a predetermined calculation is performed based on these signals, and the inside / outside air servo control is performed based on the calculation result.
Motor 5, blower motor 11, air mix servo motor 1
4, a control signal is output to the outlet switching servo motor 18 and a water valve (not shown).

Next, driving of the blower 19 will be described with reference to FIG. The ECU 7 performs feedback control of the voltage applied to the blower 19 according to the above-described calculation process.
The blower voltage VM is detected at the terminal 4. ECU
Reference numeral 7 gives a control input from the terminal 3 to the blower controller 4 to control the output voltage BLW. Terminal 2 is blower motor 1
1 is a terminal for driving a bypass relay 4a that short-circuits the output terminal of the blower controller 4 in order to drive 1 with the battery voltage (+ B), and terminal 1 is a terminal for driving a main relay 4b for supplying power to the blower motor 11. Is. Further, 4c is a power transistor, and 4d is a thermal fuse.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Here, FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the control processing of the microcomputer in the ECU 7. First, in step 110, the inside air temperature (T
R), the outside air temperature (TAM) from the outside air temperature sensor 2, the amount of solar radiation (TS) from the solar radiation sensor 3, the evaporator outlet temperature (TE) from the evaporator outlet temperature sensor 23, the engine cooling water temperature (not shown) from a water temperature sensor (not shown). TW),
And the temperature set in the vehicle compartment from the temperature setter 10 (TSE
T) and the signals from the fluctuation switch 22 are read.

Next, at step 120, the target outlet temperature (TAO) into the vehicle compartment is calculated according to the following mathematical expression 1.

[0021]

[Equation 1] TAO = KSET × TSET-KR × TR-K
AM x TAM-KS x TS + C (KSET, KR, KA
M and KS are coefficients, and C is a constant.) Next, at step 130, the target opening degree (SW) of the air mix damper 21 is set so that the temperature blown into the vehicle interior becomes the TAO obtained at step 120. Calculation is performed according to the following mathematical formula 2.

[0022]

## EQU00002 ## SW = (TAO-TE) .times.100 / (TW-TE) (%) Next, at step 140, either the blower voltage determined from the correlation shown in FIG. The reference blower voltage V1 is determined from the blower voltage determined by the air flow rate setting device (not shown) for setting. The correlation is stored in the ROM in the microcomputer.

Next, in step 150, step 120
The blowout mode corresponding to the TAO obtained in step 1 is determined from the correlation shown in FIG. The correlation is stored in the ROM in the microcomputer.

Next, at step 160, it is judged if the fluctuation switch 22 (FIG. 2) is on. If the fluctuation switch 22 is not turned on (NO), the final blower voltage V to be output to the blower controller 4 is determined to be the reference blower voltage V1 obtained in step 140 in step 170.

If it is determined in step 160 that the fluctuation switch 22 is turned on (YES), then in step 180, the fluctuation width ΔV given to the reference blower voltage V1 obtained in step 140 is calculated from FIG. decide. That is, when the reference blower voltage V1 obtained in step 140 is low (Lo), the voltage is increased (+ direction).
Gives a fluctuation width of 2 volts. When the reference blower voltage V1 is high (Hi), the fluctuation width of 1 volt is applied in the direction in which the voltage decreases (-direction). When the reference blower voltage V1 is the medium (Me), a fluctuation width of 0.5 volt is applied in each of the + and-directions. In addition,
The correlation shown in FIG. 7 corresponds to R in the microcomputer.
It is stored in OM.

As can be seen from FIG. 7, in the first embodiment, the absolute value of the fluctuation width is 2 volts when the reference blower voltage is Lo, and the absolute value of the fluctuation width is 2 volts when the reference blower voltage is Me and Hi. It is 1 volt. The magnitude of these absolute values is based on the experimental data shown in FIG.

That is, as can be seen from FIG. 8, the greater the fluctuation width, the higher the comfort level perceived by the fluctuation, but the higher the discomfort level perceived by noise. Therefore, in order to reduce the degree of discomfort felt by noise within a range that does not significantly impair the degree of comfort felt by fluctuation, in the first embodiment, step 140
When the reference blower voltage determined in step 2 is Lo, the fluctuation width ΔV is set to 2 volts. Further, when the reference blower voltage is Me and Hi, the fluctuation width ΔV is set to 1 volt.

When the fluctuation width ΔV is determined in step 180, the fluctuation width ΔV is added to the reference blower voltage V1 obtained in step 140 in step 190, and the value V (= V1 + ΔV) after the addition is added to the blower. It is determined as the final blower voltage to be output to the controller 4.

Next, at step 200, the opening degree of the air mix damper 21 is determined by the opening degree S determined at step 130.
A control signal is output to the air mix servo motor 14 so that it becomes W.

Next, in step 210, step 170
Alternatively, a control signal is output to apply the blower voltage determined in step 190 to the blower controller 4. Next, in step 210, a control signal is output to the outlet switching servo motor 18 so that the outlet mode becomes the outlet mode determined in step 150. Then return.

Here, the fluctuation switch 22 is turned on when the wind is being blown at the reference blower voltage of Me, and then the reference blower voltage is changed from Me to Lo by the air flow rate setting device (not shown) while continuing the fluctuation. An example of the operation when lowered is described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 4.

As shown in FIG. 1, when the time T is T <T1, the fluctuation switch 22 is not turned on, so that the blower voltage V is constant as Me as the reference blower voltage V1. That is, NO is determined in step 160 of FIG. 4, and the blower voltage V finally output to the blower controller 4 is determined to be the reference blower voltage V1 in step 170.

Then, as shown in FIG. 1B, T = T1
At this time, the fluctuation switch 22 is turned on, and the fluctuation width in both + and − directions as shown in FIG. 1D is given to the reference blower voltage V1. As a result, the blower voltage V fluctuates in both + and-directions around the Me level as shown in FIG. That is, YES is determined in step 160, and the fluctuation width ΔV is determined in step 180 as shown in FIG.
The fluctuation width .DELTA.V is added to the reference blower voltage V1 in step 190, and is determined as the final blower voltage V to be output to the blower controller 4.

Then, as shown in FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b), with the fluctuation switch 22 still turned on, T
When the reference blower voltage V1 is lowered from Me to Lo by the air flow rate setting device (not shown) when T2 = T2, the fluctuation width ΔV given to the reference blower voltage V1 is 2 in the + direction as shown in FIG. 1 (d). It will be the size of a bolt. As a result, the blower voltage V fluctuates with a magnitude of 2 volts only in the + direction with reference to the Lo level, as shown in FIG.

As described above, in the first embodiment, when the reference blower voltage is Lo, the fluctuation width given to the reference blower voltage is set to 2 volts, so that the occupant has a high comfort level due to the fluctuation. Obtainable. Further, the occupant rarely feels uncomfortable about the volume of the sound generated by setting the fluctuation width to 2 volts.

In the first embodiment, the reference blower voltage is M
In the case of e or Hi, the fluctuation width applied to the reference blower voltage is set to 1 volt, so that the occupant may feel uncomfortable due to the fluctuation of the sound while ensuring the comfort to be felt by the fluctuation. It almost disappears.

In the first embodiment, the blast voltage determining means comprises steps 140 and 210, or an air volume setting device (not shown). Further, the fluctuation command means is composed of the fluctuation switch 22. Further, the fluctuation width giving means is constituted by the ROM in the microcomputer and steps 180 and 190, the storage means in the fluctuation width giving means is constituted by the ROM, and the output means is constituted by steps 180 and 190. is doing.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the second embodiment, when the outside air temperature is low and the engine cooling water temperature is low, warm-up control is performed to stop blowing air and prevent blown out cold air, or when the outside air temperature is high, a certain period of time. When magic cooling control is performed to stop the blowing of hot air from the evaporator by stopping the blowing, the fluctuation is not performed even if the fluctuation command means issues a fluctuation command. The operation of the second embodiment will be specifically described below. Since the configuration of the ventilation system and the control system of the second embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment,
Illustration is omitted.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing the control processing of the microcomputer in the second embodiment. First, in steps 310 to 340, the first
The same control as steps 110 to 140 of the embodiment is performed.

Next, in step 350, the above step 3
From the target outlet temperature (TAO) obtained in step 20 and the correlation shown in FIG. 11, it is determined whether the current environmental condition is a condition for performing warm-up control or a condition for performing magic cooling control, The blower voltage applied at that time is provisionally determined from FIGS. 12 and 13. That is, when TAO is high, it is determined from FIG. 11 that the condition for performing warm-up control is determined, and the blower voltage V2 applied at that time is determined as shown in FIG.
Tentatively decided from 2. If TAO is low, it is determined from FIG. 11 that the condition for performing magic cooling control is satisfied, and the blower voltage V3 applied at that time is provisionally determined from FIG.

Next, in step 360, the above step 3
The blower voltage Va to be applied to the blower motor 11 is determined from the blower voltage V1 temporarily determined at 40 and the blower voltages V2 and V3 temporarily determined at step 350. More specifically, if it is determined in step 350 that the condition for performing warm-up control is determined, the process shown in FIG.
The blower voltage V2 provisionally determined from 2 is compared with the reference blower voltage V1 provisionally determined from FIG. 5, and the lower blower voltage is determined as Va. If it is determined in step 350 that the condition for performing magic cooling control is determined,
The blower voltage V3 provisionally determined from 3 is compared with the reference blower voltage V1 provisionally determined from FIG. 5, and the lower blower voltage is determined as Va.

Next, in step 370, step 320
The blowout mode corresponding to the TAO obtained in step 1 is determined from the correlation shown in FIG. Next, in step 380, it is determined whether the blower voltage Va determined in step 360 is the reference blower voltage V1.

When NO is determined in step 380, that is, when warm-up control or magic cooling control is performed, the process proceeds to step 390, and the final blower voltage V applied to the blower motor 11 is set to step 360.
The blower voltage Va determined in step 1 is determined. That is,
If it is determined in step 360 that warm-up control is to be performed, V = V2 is determined, and if it is determined that magic cooling control is to be performed in step 360, V = V3 is determined.

If YES is determined in step 380, that is, if neither warm-up control nor magic cooling control is performed and the air volume control according to FIG. 5 is performed, the fluctuation switch 22 is operated in step 400. It is determined whether or not there is a fluctuation width ΔV to the blower voltage Va determined in step 360 if it is operated (step 410), and if it is not operated, V = Va = V
It is determined to be 1 (step 390). Incidentally, step 410
The fluctuation width given in FIG. 7 is used as the fluctuation width given in step.

Next, steps 420 to 440
Then, the same control as steps 200 to 220 of the first embodiment is performed. Then return. Here, an operation example in the case where the warm-up control is performed while the fluctuation switch 22 is operated and then the steady control is performed will be described with reference to FIG.

The time when the activation of the air conditioner is started is T = 0. The fluctuation switch 22 is turned on at the time of T = 0, and the outside air temperature and the inside air temperature are considerably low. In this case, TAO is calculated as a high temperature at the time of T = 0, and the warm-up control is started. Then, when the engine cooling water temperature (TW) reaches 40 ° C. after a lapse of time T3 from the activation of the air conditioner, the blower voltage having the magnitude of Lo is applied to the blower motor 11. Then, as the engine cooling water temperature rises, a gradually larger blower voltage is applied, and when T = T4 (TW = 70 ° C.), the warm-up control is released, and at this point, a fluctuation width starts to be given to the blower voltage. The control thereafter is as described in the first embodiment.

As described above, in the second embodiment, when the warm-up control is performed, the fluctuation is not performed even if the fluctuation switch 22 is pressed. Therefore, the fluctuation control is performed during the warm-up control. It is possible to eliminate the feeling of cold wind and the accompanying discomfort of the passengers. Further, in the second embodiment, when performing the magic cooling control, the fluctuation is not performed even if the fluctuation switch 22 is pressed. Therefore, by performing the fluctuation control during the magic cooling control, the feeling of warm air is increased and accordingly. The discomfort of the passengers can be eliminated.

In the second embodiment, the blast voltage determining means comprises steps 360 and 430, or an air volume setting device (not shown). Further, the fluctuation command means is composed of the fluctuation switch 22. Further, the fluctuation width giving means is constituted by the ROM in the microcomputer in step 410, the storage means in the fluctuation width giving means is constituted by ROM, and the output means is constituted by step 410.

In the second embodiment, the fluctuation is controlled so as to be completely stopped during the warm-up control or the magic cooling control, but the effect can be exhibited even if a small fluctuation is added.

In the first and second embodiments described above, the blower motor 11 is instructed with a signal that gives fluctuations to the wind generated by the blower means. However, for example, a swing louver, a blowing mode switching damper, etc. It may be configured to issue a command.

In the first and second embodiments, when the reference blower voltage is Me or Hi, the fluctuation width given to the reference blower voltage is set to 1 volt. The fluctuation width may be further increased as long as the uncomfortable feeling is not high.

In the first and second embodiments, the absolute value of the fluctuation width ΔV with respect to the reference blower voltage V1 is linearly changed from Lo to Me as shown by the solid line (a) in FIG. It was changed so that V1 was all the same from Me to Hi, but V1 was linearly changed from Lo to Hi as shown by the one-dot chain line (b), or two-dot chain line ( As in c), V1 may be changed in a quadratic curve from Lo to Hi.

In the first and second embodiments described above, the present invention has been described as an example applied to an automobile, but it is also effective when applied to an indoor air conditioner, a fan, and the like. Further, in the above-described first and second embodiments, the fluctuation command means is composed of the fluctuation switch 22, but means for automatically commanding fluctuation according to the air conditioning conditions may be used.

In addition, in the first and second embodiments described above, the fluctuation width imparting means is composed of software, but it may be composed of hardware such as a circuit.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an operation example of a first embodiment of the present invention,
(A) is a figure which shows a reference blower voltage, (b) is a figure which shows the state of a fluctuation switch, (c) is a figure which shows a blower voltage, (d) is a figure which shows fluctuation width.

FIG. 2 is an overall configuration diagram schematically showing an overall configuration of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a drive circuit diagram of the blower used in the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a control process of the microcomputer used in the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a correlation diagram between TAO and a reference blower voltage in the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a correlation diagram between TAO and a blowing mode in the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a correlation diagram between the reference blower voltage and the fluctuation width in the first embodiment.

FIG. 8 is experimental data showing comfort levels due to fluctuations depending on the fluctuation width and discomfort levels due to noise depending on the fluctuation widths.

FIG. 9 is a correlation diagram between the reference blower voltage and the absolute value of the fluctuation width in the first embodiment and the other embodiments.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a control process of the microcomputer of the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11: TAO in the second embodiment whether to perform warm-up control or magic cooling control
It is the figure shown by the correlation with.

FIG. 12 is a correlation diagram between the engine cooling water temperature and the blower voltage V2 in the second embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a correlation diagram between the elapsed time after the start of the air conditioner and the blower voltage V3 in the second embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an operation example of the second embodiment,
(A) is a figure which shows engine cooling water temperature, (b) is a figure which shows a blower voltage.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 Blower motor as blower 19 Blower as blower 22 Fluctuation switch as fluctuation commander

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Yuji Ito 1-1 Showa-cho, Kariya city, Aichi Nihon Denso Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Katsuhiko Samukawa 1-1-chome Showa-cho, Kariya city Aichi Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Sugimitsu 1-1, Showa-cho, Kariya city, Aichi prefecture Nihon Denso Co., Ltd.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A blower means for blowing air into a room, a blower voltage determination means for determining a blower voltage to be applied to the blower means and outputting the blower voltage to the blower means, and a blower for generating the blower air. Fluctuation command means for commanding a signal giving fluctuation, and when a fluctuation command is issued from the fluctuation command means,
The blast voltage determined by the blast voltage determining means is provided with a fluctuation width imparting means for imparting a large fluctuation width when the air blowing voltage is small and a small fluctuation width when the air blowing voltage is large. Air conditioner characterized by. 2. The fluctuation width giving means stores a correlation in which the fluctuation width is large when the blow voltage is small and the fluctuation width is small when the blow voltage is large, and the correlation means. An air conditioner according to claim 1, further comprising a fluctuation output means for outputting fluctuations according to the relationship.