JP2003211950A - Air conditioner for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a reliable air conditioner for a vehicle capable of air conditioning an operator's cab quickly and comfortably regardless of speed variation or stop of an engine without increasing cost. <P>SOLUTION: An indoor unit 20a is provided inside of the operator's cab 2, and an outdoor unit 20b is provided outside of the operator's cab 2. Fan motors and compressor motors of those units are driven by output of a generator 11 generating electric power with receiving power from an engine 6. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle air conditioner for air-conditioning a driver's cab of a vehicle such as a truck.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An air conditioner for air conditioning a driver's cab of a vehicle, such as a truck, has a compressor driven by the power of an engine transmitted by a belt or the like. For this reason, there is a problem that the air conditioning capacity is greatly affected by the change in the engine speed according to the running condition of the vehicle.
In addition, when the engine stops, the air conditioning also stops.

As a means for coping with such a problem,
Coolers made of cold storage materials and heaters made of heat storage materials are commercially available. When using a cooler made of regenerator material,
A part of the piping of the refrigeration cycle of the air conditioner is branched, and the regenerator material is attached to the branched piping. By this attachment, cold heat is stored in the regenerator material during the operation of the air conditioner, and the stored cold heat is released to the cab when the engine speed decreases (when the air conditioning capacity decreases) and when the engine stops. The heater made of a heat storage material has almost the same configuration except that it is used for heating.

[0004]

When a cooler made of a cold storage material or a heater made of a heat storage material is used, the refrigeration cycle piping or the like needs to be modified. This modification leads to an increase in product cost. In addition, there is a drawback that it takes too much time to store and regenerate heat after the heat is radiated, and cooling or heating cannot be performed during that time.

The present invention takes the above circumstances into consideration,
The purpose is to provide highly reliable vehicle air that can quickly and comfortably conditioned the driver's cab regardless of changes in engine speed or stoppage, and without increasing costs. To provide a harmony machine.

[0006]

An air conditioner for a vehicle according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises an indoor unit provided inside a driver's cab and an outdoor unit provided outside the driver's cab. It operates according to the output of the generator.

[0007]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, a vehicle, for example, a refrigeration vehicle 1, includes an engine room 3 below a driver's cab 2, and a cargo bed 4 behind the cab 2, and a container 5 is loaded on the cargo yard 4. An engine 6, which is a power source, is housed in the engine room 3.

An indoor unit 20a of an air conditioner 20, which will be described later, is housed in the cab 2, and the outdoor unit 20 of the air conditioner 20 is provided outside the cab 2, for example, on the back surface of the cab 2.
b is attached. A power plug 21 is led out from the indoor unit 20a.

A generator 11 is housed in the engine room 3 together with the engine 6. The luggage carrier 4 is provided with a converter (first converter) 12, a voltage regulator 13, and an auxiliary battery 14.

A refrigerating device such as a refrigerator 30 is housed in the container 5. This refrigerator 30 has at least a power plug 31, a DC inverter (second converter) 3
2 and the internal fan motor 33.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, the generator 11 is connected to the engine 6 via a pulley 7, a belt 8 and a pulley 9. The generator 11 receives the power of the engine 6 to generate power and outputs an AC voltage. This generator 1
The output of 1 is converted into a DC voltage by the converter 12.

A voltage regulator 13 is connected to the converter 12. The voltage adjuster 13 adjusts the output of the generator 11 so that the output voltage of the converter 12 becomes a value according to the command from the main control unit 40.

The auxiliary battery 1 is provided at the output terminal of the converter 12.
4 and the power outlets 15 and 16 are connected, and the power outlets 15 and 16 are connected to the power plug 21 of the air conditioner 20.
And the power plug 31 of the refrigerator 30 is connected. The auxiliary battery 14 is charged by the output voltage of the converter 12 when the output voltage of the converter 12 is equal to or higher than a predetermined value.
When the output voltage of 2 becomes less than the predetermined value, it discharges.

The air conditioner 20 includes the indoor unit 20 described above.
a and the outdoor unit 20b. Indoor unit 2
Reference numeral 0a denotes a DC inverter 22 for converting a DC voltage (output voltage of the converter 12 or voltage of the auxiliary battery 14) input via the power plug 21 into an AC voltage of a predetermined frequency (and level) by switching, and this DC inverter. It has an indoor fan motor 23 that operates by the output of 22, and a control unit 28 and an indoor temperature sensor 29. The outdoor unit 20b is
DC inverters 24 and 26 for converting a DC voltage input via the power plug 21 into an AC voltage of a predetermined frequency (and level) by switching, and an outdoor fan motor 25 and a compression operated by the outputs of the DC inverters 24 and 26. It has a machine motor 27. As the indoor fan motor 23, the outdoor fan motor 25, and the compressor motor 27, a brushless DC motor including a stator having windings and a rotor having permanent magnets is adopted. Brushless DC motors are more efficient than AC motors.

The refrigerator 30 is a DC inverter 32 for converting a DC voltage (output voltage of the converter 12 or voltage of the auxiliary battery 14) input via the power plug 31 into an AC voltage of a predetermined frequency (and level) by switching. 34, and an internal fan motor 33 and a compressor motor 35 which are operated by the outputs of the DC inverters 32, 34, and a control unit 36 and an internal temperature sensor 37. Brushless DC motors are adopted as the fan motor 33 and the compressor motor 35 in the same manner as described above.

The controller 28 of the air conditioner 20 and the controller 36 of the refrigerator 30 are connected to the main controller 40.
The main control unit 40 has a function of controlling the entire vehicle power supply device in accordance with an operation of the operation / display unit 41 and displaying the control status on the operation / display unit 41. In addition, the power plug 1 for connecting the commercial power supply to the input end of the converter 12
7 is connected.

FIG. 3 shows a specific example of the outdoor unit 20a and the outdoor unit 20b. Outdoor unit 20b
The compressor 51 is housed in the compressor 51, and the refrigerant discharge port of the compressor 51 is connected to the indoor heat exchanger 53 of the indoor unit 20 a via a four-way valve (not shown) and a refrigerant pipe 52. The compressor 51 incorporates the compressor motor 27. The indoor heat exchanger 53 is connected to the outdoor heat exchanger 55 of the outdoor unit 20b via a refrigerant pipe 54 and a pressure reducer such as an expansion valve (not shown), and the outdoor heat exchanger 55 is connected to the refrigerant of the compressor 51. The suction port is connected. The refrigerant pipes 52 and 54 are arranged between the inside and outside of the cab 2 through an opening 2 a formed in the back surface of the cab 2. In this way, a heat pump type refrigeration cycle capable of cooling and heating is configured between the indoor unit 20a and the outdoor unit 20b.

The indoor unit 20a includes an indoor heat exchanger 53.
Besides, it has an indoor fan 56, an air purifier 58, and a drain receiver 59. The indoor fan 56 is operated by the indoor fan motor 23, sucks the air in the cab 2 through the air purifier 58 and the indoor heat exchanger 53, and blows the sucked air into the cab 2 as air for air conditioning. The drain receiver 59 receives the drain dripping from the indoor heat exchanger 53.

A drain discharge pipe 60 is connected to the bottom of the drain receiver 59. The drain discharge pipe 60 is led out to the outside through the opening 2a and discharges the drain inside the drain receiver 2 to the outside.

The operator cab 2 can be tilted upward, so-called tilt up. With this tilt up,
It is possible to maintain various parts such as the engine 6 and the generator 11 of the parts in the engine room 3.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described. When the engine 6 is started, the power of the engine 6 drives the generator 11. As a result, the generator 11 generates power, and the output voltage (AC voltage) of the generator 11 is converted by the converter 12 into a DC voltage.

When the operation / display unit 41 performs the cooling operation start operation of the air conditioner 20 and the operation start operation of the refrigerator 30, the main control unit 40 commands the control units 28 and 36 to start the operation. As a result, the DC inverters 22, 24,
26, 32 and 34 are activated.

DC inverters 22, 2 of the air conditioner 20
Reference numerals 4 and 26 convert the output voltage (DC voltage) of the converter 12 into an AC voltage having a predetermined frequency. The indoor fan motor 23, the outdoor fan motor 25, and the compressor motor 27 operate by the output voltage of these DC inverters, and the cooling operation of the air conditioner 20 is started. That is, the cab 2
The air inside is sucked into the indoor unit 20a and cooled,
The cooled air is blown into the cab 2 as cooling air. When the heating operation start operation is performed, the flow of the refrigerant is switched by the four-way valve, the heating operation is executed, and the heating air is blown into the cab 2.

When the air conditioner 20 is in operation, the room temperature sensor 29 detects the room temperature Ta of the cab 2.
The control unit 28 detects the difference between the detected temperature Ta and the set room temperature of the operation / display unit 41 as an air conditioning load, and controls the output frequency of the DC inverter 26 according to the air conditioning load.
By this control, the rotation speed of the compressor motor 27 changes, the compression function force (= cooling capacity) changes, and the room temperature Ta is maintained at the set room temperature.

DC inverters 32 and 34 of the refrigerator 30
Converts the output voltage (DC voltage) of the converter 12 into an AC voltage having a predetermined frequency. The internal fan motor 33 and the compressor motor 3 are controlled by the output voltages of these DC inverters.
5 operates, and the operation of the refrigerator 30 is started. That is, the refrigerator 30 sucks the air in the refrigerator and cools it, and blows the cooled air into the refrigerator for refrigeration.

When the refrigerator 30 is in operation, the inside temperature sensor 37 detects the inside temperature Tb of the refrigerator 30. The control unit 36 detects the difference between the detected temperature Tb and the set internal temperature of the operation / display unit 41 as a refrigerating load, and controls the output frequency of the DC inverter 34 according to the refrigerating load. By this control, the rotation speed of the compressor motor 35 changes, the compression function force (= cooling capacity) changes, and the inside temperature Tb is maintained at the set inside temperature.

The main controller 40 normally adjusts the output of the generator 11 by the voltage adjuster 13 so that the output voltage of the converter 12 becomes a constant value regardless of the change in the rotation speed of the engine 6. As the constant value, 100 V or more is selected from the viewpoint of efficiency and the fact that the compressor of the domestic air conditioner can be used as the compressor 51 of the air conditioner 20.

However, the main control unit 40 is used for the air conditioner 20.
And the operating condition of the refrigerator 30 is monitored by transmitting / receiving data to / from the control units 28 and 36, and when it is determined that power increase is required for the operation of the air conditioner 20 and the operation of the refrigerator 30, the It is determined whether the increase in power is within the rated output of the generator 11. If this determination result is affirmative, that is, if the capacity on the power supply side has a margin and is capable of coping with the increase in power, the main control unit 40 causes the voltage regulator 13 to increase the output of the generator 11 to increase load. Meet the demands of.

If the determination result is negative, that is, if the power increase cannot be dealt with, the main control unit 40 indicates that the capacity on the power supply side has no margin and cannot meet the request on the load side. Notify the machine 20 and the refrigerator 30. In the air conditioner 20 and the refrigerator 30, which have received this notification, the output frequencies of the DC inverters 26 and 34 are adjusted in the decreasing direction.

When the driver leaves the refrigeration vehicle 1 and the engine 6 is stopped, the generator 11 stops generating power and its output becomes zero. At this time, the auxiliary battery 14 is discharged, and the discharge voltage (DC voltage) is
24, 26, 32, 34. Thereby, the operation of the air conditioner 20 and the refrigerator 30 is continued.

When the refrigerating vehicle 1 that has completed its work returns to the garage, the engine 6 is stopped and the operation of the air conditioner 20 and the refrigerator 30 are stopped by operating the operation / display unit 41.

The garage has a facility for a commercial power source (for example, a commercial AC power source). When the power plug 17 of the refrigerating vehicle 1 is connected to this commercial power source, the commercial power source voltage is converted to the converter 12.
Is converted into a DC voltage, and the auxiliary battery 14 is charged by the output voltage of the converter 12. This charge is
This is preparation for the next operation of the refrigerated car 1.

As described above, by providing the air conditioner 20 for cooling / heating the driver's cab 2, the driver's cab 2 can be quickly and comfortably air-conditioned. In particular, since no cooler with a cold storage material or a heater with a heat storage material as in the past is used, refrigeration cycle piping does not need to be modified and the cost rise can be suppressed, and the cooling and heating start-up time is greatly shortened. To be done. Full-scale air conditioning similar to a home air conditioner is possible.

The AC output of the generator 11 is converted into a DC voltage by the converter 12, and normally the voltage regulator 13 is used by the voltage regulator 13 so that the output voltage of the converter 12 becomes a constant value.
Since the output of the air conditioner 20 is adjusted, the air conditioner 20 and the refrigerator 30 are always operated with stable and proper capacity without being affected by the change in the rotation speed of the engine 6 depending on the running condition of the refrigeration vehicle 1. be able to.

Since the auxiliary battery 14 is provided, the operation of the air conditioner 20 and the refrigerator 30 can be continued even when the engine 6 is stopped (during idle stop), and the indoor temperature and the internal cold storage temperature are always in the optimum state. Can be kept at

Since the indoor unit 20a and the outdoor unit 20b of the air conditioner 20 are both provided in the operator's cab 2, piping work between both units is easy. In particular, since the indoor unit 20a and the outdoor unit 20b move together even when the cab 2 is tilted up,
It is possible to prevent problems such as breakage of the refrigerant pipes 52 and 54 between both units and leakage of the refrigerant gas from the pipe connection portion.

Since the drain discharge pipe 60 is led out from the indoor unit 20a to the outside of the cab 2, the drain of the indoor heat exchanger 53 can be reliably discharged to the outside of the cab 2.

Since the indoor unit 20a is provided with the air purifier 58, the dirty air such as dust, cigarette smoke, and pollen in the driver's cab 2 can be cleanly cleaned and supplied to the driver's cab 2.

Since the power conversion from the generator 11 to each brushless DC motor is performed in two steps, the power loss accompanying the power conversion can be suppressed as much as possible. The suppression of the power loss, together with the high efficiency of the brushless DC motor itself, leads to a great reduction in the load on the engine 6. As a result, the fuel consumption amount and exhaust gas amount of the engine 6 can be reduced, and excellent effects can be obtained in terms of energy saving and environmental friendliness.

In the situation where the load side requires a large amount of power, if the capacity of the power source side has a margin, the voltage regulator 13 increases the output of the generator 11 to meet the demand of the load side, and the capacity of the power source side must have a margin. In that case, the fact is notified to the load side and the output frequency of the DC inverter is adjusted in the decreasing direction. Therefore, optimal operation can be performed in consideration of both the power supply side and the load side, and reliability can be improved. Power plug 15,
Since 16 is adopted, the air conditioner 20 and the refrigerator 30
Even when replacing, quick and appropriate work is possible.

As shown in FIG. 4, a drain receiver 59 having a depth is employed to form two outlets at the bottom of the drain receiver 59 and two branch pipes 6 each having an upper portion.
Adopt a drain discharge pipe 60 divided into 1a and 61b,
The branch pipes 61a and 61b of the drain discharge pipe 60 may be connected to two discharge ports of the drain receiver 59.
In this case, the drain discharge pipe 60 is led out of the cab 2 through an appropriate passage other than the opening 2a.

According to this structure, in the normal state where the operator's cab 2 is not tilted up, the drain in the drain receiver 59 flows into both the branch pipes 61a and 61b through both outlets, and the operator's cab 2 is tilted up. In this state, the drain in the drain receiver 59 flows into the branch pipe 61a through at least the front outlet. As a result, the drain in the drain receiver 59 can be reliably discharged to the outside of the cab 2 regardless of whether or not the cab 2 is tilted up. Other,
The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[0043]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to quickly and comfortably air-condition the driver's cab regardless of changes in engine speed and stoppage, and without increasing costs. A vehicle air conditioner with excellent reliability can be provided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a refrigeration vehicle and an embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control circuit according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a main part of one embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a main part of a modified example of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Refrigeration vehicle (vehicle), 2 ... Driver's cab, 2a ... Opening, 3 ... Engine room, 4 ... Luggage, 5 ... Container, 6 ... Engine, 11 ... Generator, 12 ... Converter, 13 ... Voltage regulator, 14 ... auxiliary battery, 15, 16 ... power outlet, 17 ... power plug, 20 ... air conditioner, 20a ... indoor unit, 20b ... outdoor unit, 21 ... power plug, 22, 24, 26 ... DC inverter, 23 ... indoor fan Motor (brushless DC motor), 25 ... Outdoor fan motor (brushless DC motor), 27 ... Compressor motor (brushless DC motor), 28 ... Control part, 29 ... Indoor temperature sensor, 40 ... Main control part, 51 ... Compressor , 52,
54 ... Refrigerant piping, 53 ... Indoor heat exchanger, 55 ... Outdoor heat exchanger, 56 ... Indoor fan, 57 ... Outdoor fan, 58 ... Air purifier, 59 ... Drain receiver, 60 ... Drain discharge pipe

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. An air conditioner for a vehicle, which comprises an indoor unit provided inside a driver's cab and an outdoor unit provided outside the driver's cab, and operates by the output of a generator that generates power with the engine of the vehicle. 2. The indoor unit has an indoor heat exchanger and an indoor fan, and the outdoor unit is an outdoor heat exchanger,
The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1, further comprising an outdoor fan and a compressor. 3. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 2, wherein the indoor fan, the outdoor fan, and the compressor each have a brushless DC motor for driving. 4. A first for converting the output of the generator into direct current
The converter and the output of the first converter to the brushless D
The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 3, further comprising a plurality of second converters that convert into drive power for the C motor. 5. A first for converting the output of the generator into direct current
The converter and the output of the first converter to the brushless D
A plurality of second converters for converting into drive power for the C motor, and a brushless D of the compressor among the second converters.
The power supply device for a vehicle according to claim 3, further comprising: a control unit that controls an output frequency of the second converter corresponding to the C motor according to an air conditioning load of the indoor unit. 6. The vehicle power supply device according to claim 4 or 5, further comprising a battery connected to an output end of the first converter. 7. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the indoor unit includes at least one of an air purifier, an ozone deodorizer, a dust collector, and an oxygen generator. 8. The indoor unit has an indoor heat exchanger, a drain receiver for receiving the drain of the indoor heat exchanger, and a drain discharge pipe for discharging the drain in the drain receiver to the outside of the operator's cab. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1. 9. The operator's cab can be tilted up freely. The drain receiver has a plurality of outlets for discharging drain regardless of whether the operator's cab is tilted up or not. The air conditioner for a vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising a branch pipe connected to each outlet of the drain receiver.