JPS6238165B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an air conditioning control device capable of heating and used in an automobile having a hot water heat exchanger or the like as a main heat exchanger.

Conventional hot water type heating systems installed in cars, for example, use hot water from the car's engine to lead it to a heat exchanger to exchange heat with the air.The warm air heated by the heat exchanger is then sent to the inside of the car using a blower. It is designed to blow air. In this type of device, it has been proposed to insert an electric heater as an auxiliary heater into the duct to generate heat for a transient state in which the engine cooling water temperature does not rise. Further, in order to adjust the amount of heat generated, a system that detects the temperature of the engine cooling water and determines whether or not to energize the heating element is also found in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 48-34349.

However, the conventional system merely determines whether or not to energize the electric heater, and is not designed to determine whether auxiliary heat generation is really necessary. In other words, no consideration was given to eliminating power loss due to unnecessary heat generation and preventing unreasonably large heating effects by automatically determining and controlling whether auxiliary heat generation is necessary. .

Furthermore, in a typical automobile air conditioner, air that has been cooled or heated by a heat exchanger is blown into the passenger compartment through an air outlet installed in the instrument panel and an air outlet installed near the foot of the driver's seat. It is designed to give the occupants a sense of warmth.
In an air conditioner having such a configuration, due to the positional relationship of the air outlet with respect to the occupant's body, cold or warm air of sufficient wind speed from the air conditioner does not directly hit the exposed face, hands, etc. of the occupant. Therefore,
If the air conditioner is turned on after parking in the scorching sun in the summer or especially early in the winter, the occupants may not be able to experience excessive heat or cold sensations, and this tendency may cause the engine water temperature to rise rapidly in warm winds. It becomes noticeable because it does not rise.

The purpose of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of conventional automotive air conditioners.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner for an automobile that provides sufficient thermal sensation to the occupants during excessive operation, particularly in summer and/or winter.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an automatically controlled air conditioner for a vehicle that provides sufficient and efficient heating effects to the occupants during winter interruptions.

The object of the present invention is to support a steering system of a vehicle in order to blow cold or warm air near the occupant's face, hands, or knees in addition to the air outlet provided near the occupant's feet and on the instrument panel. A ventilation path device is provided along the support column, and a distribution mechanism for adjusting the amount of air passing through the ventilation path device and an electric heater for heating the air passing through the ventilation path device are provided, and the distribution mechanism and the electric heat This is accomplished by providing means for electrically controlling the heater in accordance with the actual and expected heat dissipation capacities of the main heat exchanger of the vehicle air conditioning unit.

The present invention will be described below with reference to embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. This embodiment is an example in which the present invention is applied to a generally known automobile air conditioner using a cold air/warm air mixing method. An outside air suction port 1a for introducing outside air and an inside air suction port 1b for circulating inside air are provided on the upstream side of 1, and both suction ports are opened and closed by an inside and outside air damper 2. Inside the ventilation duct 1, toward the downstream side, there are a blower motor 3,
An evaporator 4 that forms part of the cooling cycle cc, a heater core 5 that forms part of the cooling water cycle HC of the engine EG, and a temperature control damper that adjusts the ratio of air passing through the heater core 5 to air passing through its bypass passage 6. (A/M dampers) 7 are arranged in order. At the most downstream part of the ventilation duct 1, there are provided upper and lower air outlets 1c and 1d and a handle air outlet 1e for blowing air whose temperature has been adjusted in the duct to the upper and lower parts of the vehicle interior. These outlets are opened and closed by outlet dampers 8 and 9. An electric heater 15 is attached to the handle outlet 1e.

In order to perform temperature control and various operation mode controls, the control device 10 receives various information signals, executes processing based on a preset control program, and electrically controls the operation of the air conditioning function sections 1 to 1. It is something that gives specific instructions.

As a means for inputting various information signals to the control device 10, an inside temperature sensor 21 including a heat-sensitive resistor that generates an analog voltage signal Tr' corresponding to the temperature inside the vehicle interior, and an analog voltage signal corresponding to the temperature outside the vehicle interior.
Outside temperature sensor 2 including a heat-sensitive resistor that produces Tam′
2. Temperature setter 2 that includes a variable resistor that generates an analog voltage signal Tset' according to the set temperature (set position)
3. An opening sensor 24 including a potentiometer that generates an analog voltage signal Ar' corresponding to the opening degree of the temperature control damper 7, and a heat-sensitive resistor that generates an analog voltage signal Tc' corresponding to the air temperature near the downstream side of the cooler core 4. A cold air sensor 25 including an analog voltage signal corresponding to the cooling water temperature in the piping of the cooling water cycle HC.
A water temperature sensor 26 including a heat-sensitive resistor that generates Tw', a voltage sensor 27 that includes a voltage dividing resistor that generates a voltage signal VB' corresponding to the voltage of the on-board battery 14, and a switch group for operation such as run, stop, and operation mode selection. Switch panel 1 thus generating an on/off signal
1 is provided.

In addition, the engine EG is used as a means for operating functional elements according to electrical commands from the control device 10.
an electromagnetic clutch 31 that intermittents the driving force from to the cooling cycle cc, an electromagnetic valve 32 that opens and closes the cooling water circulation path to the heater core 5 in the heating cycle HC, an internal/external air damper 2, a temperature control damper 7, an outlet damper 8 , 9 by negative pressure of the engine.
5, 36, and an amplifier 37 for controlling energization to the electric heater 15. The display panel 12 displays the operating status of the air conditioner and the control device based on the output signal of the control device 10.

When the ignition switch 13 of the vehicle is turned on, the control device 10 is supplied with power from the vehicle battery 14 and becomes ready for operation. As shown in FIG. 2, the control device 10 includes a digital computer (microcomputer) 10a that includes a CPU, ROM, RAM, and an I/O timing generator, and performs information processing based on a preset control program;
Signal input means 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 2
An analog input interface 10 that selectively converts analog voltage signals from 6 and 27 into analog-to-digital conversion and inputs them to the computer 10a.
b. A digital input interface 10c that formats the on/off signals of each switch from the switch panel 11 and inputs them to the computer 10a; and functional elements 31 to 3 output from the computer 10a.
7, a power amplifier circuit 10b for amplifying each operation command signal, an information processing clock generation circuit 10f, a rotation speed control circuit 10e for the motor 3, and a constant voltage circuit, and the computer 10a is activated immediately after the ignition switch 13 is turned on. It consists of an initialization circuit (none of which is shown) that starts the process.

As shown in FIG. 3, the rotational speed control circuit 10e includes a latch circuit 41 that latches a binary signal 41a representing rotational speed data output from the computer 10a in synchronization with a timing signal 41b;
A digital-analog conversion circuit (A/D conversion circuit) 42 that converts the latched binary signal 41c into an analog voltage signal 42a, and an oscillation circuit 4 that generates a triangular wave voltage signal 43a with a constant frequency and constant amplitude.
3, a comparison circuit 44 which compares both voltage signals 42a and 43a to obtain a pulse train 44a of a constant frequency and a duty ratio proportional to the magnitude of the analog voltage signal 42a, and amplifies this pulse train 44a and applies it to the blower motor 3. The rotation speed is controlled by controlling the duty ratio of the current supplied to the blower motor 3 in response to a binary signal 41a from the computer 10a.

Then, the control device 10 determines the temperature and air volume of the air blown into the vehicle interior from the air conditioning function section through calculation processing based on the control program of the computer 10a, and determines the rotation speed of the blower motor 3 and the rotation speed of the air mix damper 7. Opening degree, switching control of the inside/outside air switching damper 2, outlet switching dampers 8 and 9, energization control of the electric heater 15, and display panel 12
commands and controls the display and control of internal air temperature.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the automobile instrument panel section, showing the above-mentioned upper air outlet 1c, lower air outlet 1d, handle air outlet 1e, etc.
FIG. 5 shows an example of the mounting structure of the handle outlet 1e. A duct 51 that sends air to the outlet 1e is attached to a shaft cover 53 of a steering shaft 52 with a clamp 54 or the like, and is generally made of resin. It is inserted into the manufactured steering column cover 55. This duct 51 communicates with the air outlet 1e through an opening hole 57 in the handle 56. 58 is a dash panel, 59 is an instrument panel, and 60 is a duct that blows air to the upper air outlet 1c.

FIG. 6 is a control program showing control functions related to the present invention among the arithmetic processing of the computer 10a. Note that a description of the control operations in the steady operating state, particularly the switching control of the inside/outside air damper 2, the opening control of the air mix damper 7, the display control of the display panel 12, etc., will be omitted.

The apparatus of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 operates according to the control program shown in FIG. 6 under the arithmetic processing of the computer 10a. The operation of the device will be explained below according to this program. First, by turning on ignition switch 13, the second
Power supply is started to the electrical control system shown in the figure, and the computer 10a is now in an operating state and starts the arithmetic processing shown in the control program shown in FIG. 6 according to this control program that is repeated every several tens of milliseconds. do. First, in the signal input step 101, the room temperature sensor 21, the outside temperature sensor 22, the temperature setting device 2
3. Each analog voltage signal of the cooling water temperature sensor 26 and the voltage sensor 27 is converted by the A/D converter 106 into a digital signal that can be processed by a computer, and also the room temperature Tr, outside temperature Tam, set temperature Ts, water temperature Tw, Input as battery voltage VB. Next, in determination step 102, it is determined that the battery voltage VB is a voltage sufficient to operate the air conditioner (in this example,
If the voltage VB is less than 10.5 ^V , it is determined that the battery is not normal, and the process jumps to steps 103 and 104, where it issues commands to stop the blower motor ³ and stop energization of the electric heater 15. is outputted to the power amplifier circuit 10a and rotational speed control circuit 10e.

If the voltage VB is 10.5 ^V or more in determination step 102, then in step 105 the outside temperature is determined. In this step 105, the outside temperature
It is determined whether auxiliary heating by the electric heater 15 is necessary because Tam is low. And the outside temperature Tam
If the temperature is below 15°C, the room temperature is determined in the next step 106. In other words, the room temperature Tr is 10°C lower than the set temperature Ts.
It is determined whether or not the water temperature is lower than that, and if it is low, the water temperature is determined in the next step 107. and water temperature
If Tw is lower than 50°C, it is assumed that the engine is starting, and it is determined that the heat dissipation effect of the heater core 5 cannot be expected.In order to operate the electric heater 15, the circuit 10e is instructed to reduce the blower motor speed in step 108. At step 109, circuit 10
A command is given to close the upper air outlet as shown in the figure, and then, in step 110, a command to energize and operate the electric heater 15 is outputted to the circuit 10a, and step 1
At step 11, a command to open the air outlet 1e is output to the circuit 10a. In response to these commands, the blower motor 3, negative pressure actuators 35, 36, and amplifier 37
responds, and the air flow generated by the blower motor 3 is heated by the electric heater 15 and given to the occupant from the handle outlet 1e.

If the determination conditions are not met in the determinations 105, 106, and 107, the process jumps to step 114 and instructs the circuit 10a to stop supplying electricity to the electric heater 15. After processing the control program shown in FIG. 6, in the process of processing a control program (not shown) for regular air conditioning control, the blower motor is Start the rotation speed control of No. 3 and control of other functional elements.

In step 115, it is determined whether the room temperature Tr is particularly high, that is, the room temperature Tr is higher than the set temperature Ts.
When the temperature is 15°C or more higher than that, the system jumps to step 111 and opens the handle outlet 1e.
That is, in this case, the air conditioner is operated for cooling by a control program not shown.
By placing the outlet damper 8 in the intermediate position or in the position where the upper outlet 1c is opened, it is possible to obtain special cold air from the handle outlet 1e. room temperature
Unless Tr is 15° C. higher than the set temperature Ts, the outlet is closed in step 116 and normal air conditioning control is performed.

In the above-described embodiment, the handle outlet 1e is provided so as to branch off the lower outlet 1a, but the upper outlet 1c may be provided as a branch. Furthermore, in order to distribute the airflow between the handle outlet 1e and other outlets, one rotary damper may be provided instead of the plurality of dampers 8 and 9.

In addition, an electric heater 1 is installed from the handle outlet 1e.
When blowing out hot air heated by the blower motor 5, the rotational speed of the blower motor 3 can be set at a very slow speed so that an appropriate thermal sensation can be given to the occupant.

In addition to the water temperature sensor 26, the surface temperature of the heater core 5 or the temperature in the vicinity may be measured to detect the ability of the heater core 5 as a main radiator.

Further, the electric heater 15 may be disposed upstream of the damper 9, for example, between the damper 8 and the damper 9.

In addition, when the electric heater 15 is energized to blow out hot air from the handle outlet 1e, a cooling water cycle is used to further increase the hot air generation capacity.
A control function may be added that opens the electromagnetic valve 32 to bring Hc into a circulating state and drives the negative pressure actuator 34 so as to maintain the temperature control damper 7 at the maximum heating position (as shown).

As described above, in the present invention, since the air outlet is provided near the steering device of the vehicle, it is possible to
Or, it has the excellent effect of effectively providing a thermal sensation to the occupants during transient air conditioning operation in winter, and saving the effort of the occupants by automatically operating the electric heater efficiently according to the operating status of the air conditioner. There is.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The attached drawings show one embodiment of the present invention.
The figure is an overall configuration diagram, Figure 2 is a block diagram of the electrical system, and Figure 3 is the rotational speed control circuit 10 shown in Figure 2.
Fig. 4 is a front view of the automobile instrument panel section, and Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing the details of e.
FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line AA in the figure, and is a flowchart showing the control program of the computer 10a shown in FIG. 5... Heater core as main radiator, 10... Control device forming main part of control means, 10a... Digital computer, 15... Electric heater, 21... Inside temperature sensor, 22... Outside temperature sensor, 23... Temperature setter,
51... Duct forming a ventilation path device, 52... Steering shaft, 53... Shaft cover, 54... Clamp, 55... Steering column cover, 56
...Steering device (steering wheel).

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 A ventilator that is formed along a support member that protrudes from the front part of the vehicle interior and supports the steering device of the vehicle, has one end connected to the vehicle air conditioning unit via a distribution mechanism, and has the other end open toward the interior of the vehicle. an electric heater disposed within the ventilation passage apparatus or at a predetermined portion of the vehicle air conditioning unit that communicates with the ventilation passage apparatus; and supplying power to the electric heater and operating the distribution mechanism at least in the vehicle. An air conditioner for an automobile, characterized in that it is equipped with a control means for controlling according to a signal indicating the capacity of a main radiator in an air conditioning unit and a signal indicating a blowing air temperature required of the vehicle air conditioning unit. .