Vehicle air conditioning control system

Abstract

This mechanism suppresses the release of cold air from the air conditioning unit when the air conditioning unit and heater are operating simultaneously. [Solution] The vehicle air conditioning control system 100 includes a sensor that detects temperature information inside and outside the vehicle, an air conditioning unit that adjusts the temperature of the introduced air and supplies it to the vehicle, a heater installed in a predetermined location inside the vehicle, and a control unit that sets the required outlet temperature, which is the required air temperature at the outlet of the air conditioning unit, based on the temperature information detected by the sensor, and controls the air conditioning unit based on the set required outlet temperature. The control unit sets a lower limit value for the required outlet temperature when the air conditioning unit and heater are operating.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This disclosure relates to a vehicle air conditioning control system. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes a vehicle air conditioning system that sets not only a target room temperature but also a target radiant temperature based on the outside temperature, and controls the system so that the actually measured room temperature and radiant temperature approach the target values. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2005-193780 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0004] By the way, when adjusting the temperature inside a vehicle, heaters such as radiant heaters and seat heaters are sometimes operated simultaneously in addition to the air conditioning unit. In this case, from the perspective of energy saving, the air conditioning unit's outlet temperature may be controlled to be low, and cold air may come out of the air conditioning unit.

[0005] The present disclosure aims to provide a vehicle air conditioning control system that can suppress the discharge of cold air from the air conditioning unit when the air conditioning unit and heater are operated simultaneously. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The vehicle air conditioning control system according to claim 1 comprises: a sensor for detecting temperature information inside and outside the vehicle; an air conditioning unit for adjusting the temperature of introduced air and supplying it to the vehicle interior; a heater provided at a predetermined location inside the vehicle interior; and a control unit that sets a required outlet temperature, which is the required temperature of the air at the outlet of the air conditioning unit, based on the temperature information detected by the sensor, and controls the air conditioning unit based on the set required outlet temperature, wherein the control unit sets a lower limit value for the required outlet temperature when the air conditioning unit and the heater are operating.

[0007] In the vehicle air conditioning control system according to claim 1, when the air conditioning unit and heater are operated simultaneously, it is possible to suppress the discharge of cold air from the air conditioning unit.

[0008] The vehicle air conditioning control system according to claim 2 is the vehicle air conditioning control system according to claim 1, wherein the air conditioning unit has a heater core for heating the air, and the control unit controls the temperature of the air that has passed through the heater core to be equal to or greater than the lower limit of the required discharge temperature.

[0009] In the vehicle air conditioning control system according to claim 2, the discharge of cold air from the air conditioning unit can be suppressed by controlling the heater core.

[0010] The vehicle air conditioning control system according to claim 3 is the vehicle air conditioning control system according to claim 1, wherein the lower limit of the required outlet temperature is set based on the correspondence between the required outlet temperature and the temperature information.

[0011] In the vehicle air conditioning control system according to claim 3, an appropriate lower limit can be set based on the correspondence between the required outlet temperature and temperature information.

[0012] The vehicle air-conditioning control system according to claim 4 is the vehicle air-conditioning control system according to claim 3, wherein the temperature information includes the outside air temperature which is the air temperature outside the vehicle, the room temperature which is the temperature inside the vehicle compartment, and the solar radiation amount entering the vehicle compartment, and the required blowing temperature is a temperature calculated based on a preset target set temperature, the outside air temperature, the room temperature, and the solar radiation amount.

[0013] In the vehicle air-conditioning control system according to claim 4, an appropriate required blowing temperature can be obtained from the target set temperature, the outside air temperature, the room temperature, and the solar radiation amount.

Advantages of the Invention

[0014] As described above, according to the present disclosure, when the air-conditioning unit and the heater are operated simultaneously, it is possible to suppress the cold air from coming out of the air-conditioning unit.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0015] [Figure 1] It is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a vehicle air-conditioning control system provided in a vehicle according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] It is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of an air-conditioning unit according to an embodiment. [Figure 3] It is a block diagram showing an example of the electrical configuration of a control unit according to an embodiment. [Figure 4] It is a graph showing an example of the correspondence relationship between the required blowing temperature and the outside air temperature according to an embodiment. [Figure 5] It is a flowchart showing an example of the processing flow by a control program according to an embodiment.

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0016] Hereinafter, an example of a mode for carrying out the technology of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0017] Figure 1 shows an example of the configuration of a vehicle air conditioning control system 100 installed in a vehicle according to this embodiment. As shown in Figure 1, the vehicle air conditioning control system 100 according to this embodiment includes a control unit 10, a room temperature sensor 20, an outside temperature sensor 21, a solar radiation sensor 22, an air conditioning unit 30, a radiant heater 40, a steering heater 41, and a seat heater 42. The control unit 10 is configured, for example, as an ECU (Electronic Control Unit). The room temperature sensor 20, the outside temperature sensor 21, and the solar radiation sensor 22 are examples of sensors that detect temperature information inside and outside the vehicle. The room temperature sensor 20 detects the room temperature, which is the temperature inside the vehicle; the outside temperature sensor 21 detects the outside temperature, which is the temperature outside the vehicle; and the solar radiation sensor 22 detects the amount of solar radiation entering the vehicle. The air conditioning unit 30 adjusts the temperature of the introduced air (hereinafter referred to as "introduced air") and supplies it to the vehicle. The radiant heater 40, steering heater 41, and seat heater 42 are examples of heaters and are installed in predetermined locations within the vehicle interior. Specifically, the radiant heater 40 is installed under the steering column and under the door trim, the steering heater 41 is installed on the steering wheel, and the seat heater 42 is installed on the seat. The radiant heater 40 is a radiant type heater, while the steering heater 41 and seat heater 42 are heat transfer type heaters. The vehicle air conditioning control system 100 according to this embodiment includes the radiant heater 40, the steering heater 41, and the seat heater 42, but it is sufficient to include at least one of these radiant heater 40, steering heater 41, and seat heater 42.

[0018] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of the air conditioning unit 30 according to this embodiment. The white arrows in Figure 2 indicate the flow of incoming air. The air conditioning unit 30 according to this embodiment has a housing 31. An interior air intake 32 and an exterior air intake 33 are provided at the upstream end of the housing 31. The interior air intake 32 is an air inlet that takes in air from inside the vehicle into the housing 31. The exterior air intake 33 is an air inlet that takes in air from outside the vehicle into the housing 31. An interior / exterior air switching door 34 is provided adjacent to the interior air intake 32 and the exterior air intake 33. The interior / exterior air switching door 34 is driven by an actuator (not shown) and changes the opening degree of the interior air intake 32 and the exterior air intake 33. Downstream from the interior / exterior air switching door 34, a blower 35 is provided as a fan. The blower 35 takes in air from the interior air intake 32 or the exterior air intake 33 and sends it to the downstream side of the housing 31. Downstream of the blower 35 are the evaporator 36, the air mix door 37, and the heater core 38. During cooling operation, the evaporator 36 cools the air blown from the blower 35 using the latent heat of vaporization of the refrigerant. The cooled conditioned air is then output into the vehicle, cooling the interior. The air mix door 37 is located upstream of the heater core 38 and adjusts the amount of air passing through the heater core 38. During heating operation, the air mix door 37 moves to a position that does not obstruct the heater core 38. As a result, the air blown from the blower 35 passes through the heater core 38 and is heated. The heated conditioned air is then output into the vehicle, heating the interior. The downstream end of the housing 31 is divided into multiple (three in the illustrated example) passages, each passage connected to a specific outlet. In this embodiment, the air outlets include a defroster outlet 39A facing the windshield, a face outlet 39B facing the occupant's face, and a foot outlet 39C facing the occupant's feet.

[0019] Figure 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the electrical configuration of the control unit 10 according to this embodiment. The control unit 10 according to this embodiment includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 13, an input / output unit (I / O) 14, a storage unit 15, and an input / output interface (I / O I / F) 16. The CPU 11, ROM 12, RAM 13, and I / O 14 are connected to each other via a bus. Each functional unit, including the storage unit 15 and the I / O I / F 16, is connected to the I / O 14. Each of these functional units can communicate with the CPU 11 via the I / O 14.

[0020] For example, the storage unit 15 can be an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), SSD (Solid State Drive), flash memory, etc. The storage unit 15 stores the control program 15A. This control program 15A may also be stored in the ROM 12. The control program 15A may be pre-installed in the control unit 10, for example. The control program 15A may be stored in a non-volatile storage medium or distributed via a network and installed in the control unit 10 as appropriate. Examples of non-volatile storage mediums include CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory), magneto-optical disk, HDD, DVD-ROM (Digital Versatile Disc Read Only Memory), flash memory, memory card, etc.

[0021] The input / output interface 16 is an interface for connecting to the room temperature sensor 20, the outside temperature sensor 21, the solar radiation sensor 22, the air conditioning unit 30, the radiant heater 40, the steering heater 41, and the seat heater 42. The control unit 10 is a controller that controls the operation of these room temperature sensor 20, outside temperature sensor 21, solar radiation sensor 22, air conditioning unit 30, radiant heater 40, steering heater 41, and seat heater 42.

[0022] The CPU 11 of the control unit 10 according to this embodiment executes the following control by writing the control program 15A stored in the ROM 12 or the storage unit 15 into the RAM 13 and executing it.

[0023] The control unit 10 sets the required blowing temperature based on the room temperature, the outside air temperature, and the solar radiation amount, and controls the air conditioning unit 30 based on the set required blowing temperature. The required blowing temperature is the temperature of the air required at the air outlet of the air conditioning unit 30. The required blowing temperature is referred to as TAO (Temperature Air Output), and is the temperature calculated from the preset target set temperature, the outside air temperature, the room temperature, and the solar radiation amount as to how many times of wind should be blown. Specifically, for example, it is represented by the following formula (1). However, T set is the target set temperature, T r is the room temperature, T am is the outside air temperature, ST is the solar radiation amount, K set 、K r 、K am are correction coefficients, and C is a constant.

[0024] TAO = K set ×T set -K r ×T r -K am ×T am -K s ×ST + C ···(1)

[0025] That is, as represented by the above formula (1), the control unit 10 considers the temperature information of the target set temperature, the room temperature, the outside air temperature, and the solar radiation amount, and controls the required blowing temperature TAO so that the temperature in the vehicle interior becomes the target set temperature corresponding to each temperature information.

[0026] However, when adjusting the temperature in the vehicle interior, in addition to the air conditioning unit 30, at least one of the radiation heater 40, the steering heater 41, and the seat heater 42 may be operated simultaneously. In this case, as the room temperature T r 、the outside air temperature T am ing, and the solar radiation amount ST increase, the required blowing temperature TAO is controlled to be low, and cold air may be blown from the air conditioning unit 30.

[0027] Therefore, the control unit 10 sets the lower limit of the required outlet temperature TAO when at least one of the radiant heater 40, steering heater 41, and seat heater 42 is operating simultaneously with the air conditioning unit 30. In this embodiment, the case where the lower limit of the required outlet temperature TAO is applied to heating is described, but it can be applied similarly to the defroster.

[0028] Figure 4 shows the required discharge temperature TAO and ambient temperature T according to this embodiment. am This graph shows an example of the correspondence between the required discharge temperature TAO and the outside temperature T. am The relationship between the required discharge temperature TAO and the room temperature T is shown, but r Alternatively, it may be shown in relation to solar radiation ST. Here, outside temperature T am For this reason, the lower limit of the required discharge temperature TAO is set to, for example, 30°C. Note that the dotted line shows the required discharge temperature TAO and outside temperature T when no lower limit is set. am This shows the correspondence between the two. The lower limit of the required discharge temperature TAO is determined, for example, based on the results of sensory evaluation.

[0029] Specifically, as described above, the air conditioning unit 30 has a heater core 38. The control unit 10 controls the temperature of the incoming air that has passed through the heater core 38 so that it is equal to or greater than the lower limit of the required outlet temperature TAO.

[0030] Next, the operation of the control unit 10 according to this embodiment will be explained with reference to Figure 5. Figure 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing flow by the control program 15A according to this embodiment.

[0031] When the control program 15A is instructed to execute, the CPU 11 of the control unit 10 executes the control program 15A, which is stored in the ROM 12 or memory unit 15, by writing it to the RAM 13.

[0032] In step S101 of Figure 5, the CPU 11 turns on (operates) the air conditioning unit 30 according to user input or automatically depending on the outside temperature or room temperature.

[0033] In step S102, the CPU 11 turns on (operates) at least one of the radiant heater 40, steering heater 41, and seat heater 42 according to user operation or automatically depending on the outside temperature or room temperature.

[0034] In step S103, the CPU 11 determines the target set temperature T used for temperature adjustment of the air conditioning unit 30 according to the user's operation. set Set it.

[0035] In step S104, the CPU 11, as an example, determines the required outlet temperature TAO and the ambient temperature T as shown in Figure 4 above. am Based on the correspondence with the above, the lower limit of the required discharge temperature TAO is set.

[0036] In step S105, the CPU 11 provides an example of temperature information inside and outside the vehicle, namely, room temperature T r , outside temperature T am , and the amount of solar radiation ST is detected.

[0037] In step S106, the CPU 11 calculates the required discharge temperature TAO using the above-mentioned equation (1), and controls the air conditioning unit 30 according to the calculated required discharge temperature TAO. Specifically, the CPU 11 controls the air so that the temperature of the incoming air that has passed through the heater core 38 is equal to or greater than the lower limit of the required discharge temperature TAO.

[0038] In step S107, the CPU 11 determines whether a termination timing has arrived, for example, when the operation of the air conditioning unit 30 has stopped (turned off). If it determines that a termination timing has not arrived (negative determination), the process returns to step S105 and is repeated. If it determines that a termination timing has arrived (positive determination), the series of processes by this control program 15A is terminated.

[0039] Thus, according to this embodiment, when the air conditioning unit and heater are operated simultaneously, a lower limit can be set for the required outlet temperature for controlling the air conditioning of the air conditioning unit. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the discharge of cold air from the air conditioning unit.

[0040] The technical scope of this disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above. Various modifications or improvements can be made to the embodiments without departing from the spirit, and such modified or improved forms are also included within the technical scope of this disclosure. [Explanation of symbols]

[0041] 10 Control Unit 20 Room temperature sensor 21 Outdoor temperature sensor 22 Solar radiation sensor 30 Air conditioning units 40. Radiant heater 41. Steering wheel heater 42 Seat heaters 100 Vehicle Air Conditioning Control System

Claims

1. A sensor that detects temperature information inside and outside the vehicle, An air conditioning unit that adjusts the temperature of the introduced air and supplies it to the vehicle interior, A heater installed in a predetermined location inside the vehicle interior, A control unit that sets a required air outlet temperature, which is the required air temperature at the air outlet of the air conditioning unit, based on temperature information detected by the sensor, and controls the air conditioning unit based on the set required air outlet temperature, wherein the control unit sets a lower limit value for the required air outlet temperature when the air conditioning unit and the heater are operating, A vehicle air conditioning control system equipped with this system.

2. The air conditioning unit has a heater core for heating the air, The control unit controls the temperature of the air that has passed through the heater core so that it is equal to or greater than the lower limit of the required discharge temperature. The vehicle air conditioning control system according to claim 1.

3. The lower limit of the required discharge temperature is set based on the correspondence between the required discharge temperature and the temperature information. The vehicle air conditioning control system according to claim 1.

4. The aforementioned temperature information includes the outside temperature, which is the temperature outside the vehicle; the room temperature, which is the temperature inside the vehicle; and the amount of solar radiation entering the vehicle. The required outlet temperature is a temperature calculated based on a preset target temperature, the ambient temperature, the room temperature, and the amount of solar radiation. The vehicle air conditioning control system according to claim 3.

Images