JPH0142841B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an air conditioner for an automobile, particularly a device that automatically adjusts the interior temperature of a vehicle to an arbitrary set temperature. This invention relates to an improvement of an automobile air conditioner equipped with a damper.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, in automotive air conditioners, the temperature of the blown air is controlled by adjusting the ratio of hot air heated by the heater core to cold air that does not pass through the heater core by adjusting the opening degree of the air mix damper. . However, in this type of air conditioner, if cold air and hot air are not mixed uniformly, the temperature of the air blown from each outlet will vary and temperature controllability will deteriorate.

Therefore, an air conditioner equipped with an auxiliary damper that operates to make the mixture of hot air and cold air as uniform as possible and to prevent the ventilation resistance from increasing even when the air volume increases during maximum cooling or ventilation is proposed in the patent application filed in 1983. Proposed in application No. 2508.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, in this air conditioner, the air mix damper and the auxiliary damper are driven independently of each other, so if the auxiliary damper is suddenly opened or closed near maximum cooling, The temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the vehicle cannot accurately detect the temperature inside the vehicle, especially if this temperature sensor is installed near the air outlet, and as a result, the air mix damper may cause a hunting phenomenon. There is a problem with this.

In addition, when the supply of cooling water to the heater core is continued near the maximum cooling time, the opening and closing of the air mix damper and the opening and closing of the water valve, which intermittent the supply of cooling water, may not be synchronized and there may be an opening/closing error between the two. may occur, resulting in a problem that temperature controllability deteriorates.

[Means for solving problems]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, the present invention solves the above-mentioned drawbacks and provides an automotive air conditioner equipped with a link mechanism that gradually drives an auxiliary damper from its fully closed position to its fully open position after the air mix damper blocks the hot air passage. The purpose is to

[Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is an air duct for guiding air for cooling and heating of an automobile air conditioner, and an air duct for introducing outside air. It has an intake port 1a and an inside air intake port 1b for circulating the air inside the vehicle at its upstream end. Reference numeral 2 denotes an inside/outside air switching damper which manually switches between the outside air intake port 1a and the inside air intake port 1b.The outside air introduction state is shown by a solid line, and the inside air circulation state is shown by a broken line. 3 is the blower motor,
Air is blown into the vehicle interior through the outside air intake port 1a or the inside air intake port 1b.
A cooler core 4 serves as a cooler through which the air blown by the blower motor 3 is cooled, and is disposed across the air duct 1.

5 is a compressor that compresses and circulates refrigerant. It is connected to the engine, which is the in-vehicle drive source of an automobile, through a belt and is operated by its rotational driving force. The compressor 5 compresses the refrigerant and sends it to a condenser (not shown) at high pressure. The refrigerant is liquefied, the liquefied refrigerant is turned into a low-pressure, low-temperature liquid through an expansion valve (not shown), and sent to the cooler core 4, and the heat is absorbed from the blown air to become a low-pressure, low-temperature gas, which is then circulated. There is. 6
A heater core is a heater disposed inside the evaporator, which introduces engine cooling water and uses the heat to heat the blown air. 7 is an air mix damper, which adjusts the ratio of the amount of air introduced into the heater core 6 side to be heated and the amount of air that does not pass through the heater core 6 to the dehumidifying and cooling air that has passed through the heater core 4, and cools it. The temperature is adjusted by mixing cold air and warm heated air, which are then blown into the vehicle interior. The opening degree of the air mix damper 7 is automatically controlled to maintain the indoor temperature at the control target set temperature based on various information such as inside air temperature, outside air temperature, set temperature, and damper opening feedback.

Reference numeral 8 denotes an auxiliary damper called a Max Cool Damper. During maximum cooling or ventilation, it is in the position shown by the broken line to minimize ventilation resistance, and when operating other than the above, it is in the position shown in the solid line, passing through the heater core 6. It has a function of guiding the cold air in the direction of the hot air in order to uniformly mix the hot air and the cold air that does not pass through the heater core 6. The specific structure and operation of the air mix damper 7, auxiliary damper 8, etc. will be described later. Further, on the downstream side of the heater core 6, a lower outlet 9, a defroster outlet 10,
and an upper air outlet 11 are arranged, and the opening and closing of the air outlet is controlled by dampers 9a, 10a, and 11a, the details of which will be described later.

12 is a single-chip microcomputer that executes digital arithmetic processing of software according to a predetermined air conditioning control program, and constitutes arithmetic processing means, and is connected to a crystal resonator of several megahertz (MHz). It is activated by receiving a stabilized voltage from a stabilized power supply circuit (not shown) that generates a stabilized voltage based on power supplied from an on-vehicle battery.

13 is an inside temperature sensor that detects the temperature inside the vehicle interior and generates a room temperature signal; 14 is an outside temperature sensor that detects the outside air temperature outside the vehicle interior and generates an outside temperature signal;
15 is a solar radiation sensor that detects the amount of sunlight entering the vehicle interior and generates a solar radiation signal; 16 is a water temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the engine coolant supplied to the heater core 6 and generates a water temperature signal; 17 is a An opening sensor 18a detects the opening of the air mix damper and generates an opening signal; 18a is a cold air temperature sensor that detects the cold air temperature at the outlet of the cooler core 4 and generates a cold air temperature signal; 18b is a cold air temperature sensor of the heater core 6; The warm air that is placed on the downstream side and has passed through the heater core 6,
Mixed with cold air that does not pass through the heater core 6,
This is an air conditioning temperature sensor that detects the temperature of air conditioned air.

A control switch 19 is a switch for manually setting various operating modes such as a heater mode, defroster mode, and cooler mode in the air conditioner. Reference numeral 20 denotes a temperature setting device for determining the control target air temperature, which is manually operated by the occupant to set an arbitrary temperature.

Signals from the various sensors 13 to 18, control switch 19, and temperature setting device 20 are input to the computer 12, and the computer 12 performs digital arithmetic processing according to a predetermined control program.

A blower motor drive circuit 21 controls the rotation speed of the blower motor 3 based on the output from the computer 12. A compressor actuator 22 controls ON/OFF of the compressor 5 and/or controls the compression capacity of the compressor based on the output from the computer 12. A damper opening actuator 23 adjusts the opening of the air mix damper 7 based on the output from the computer 12 to control the temperature. A water valve actuator 24 opens and closes a water valve 30 that controls the supply of engine cooling water to the heater core 6 based on the output from the computer 12. Damper actuators 25 and 26 open and close the dampers 9a to 11a of each of the air outlets 9 to 11, and are similarly controlled by the output of the computer 12.

Next, the specific configuration of the air duct 1 will be explained based on the attached FIG. 2.

FIG. 2 shows the state in which the device of the present invention is mounted on an automobile, where 100 is the windshield of the automobile, and 102
is the bonnet, 103 is the engine room, 104
is the passenger compartment, 105 is the passenger compartment 104 and engine room 1
03 and the bonnet 102.

In this embodiment, a blower unit 106 portion of the air conditioner is installed within the cowl portion 105. This blower unit 106 includes a blower fan 10 driven by a motor (not shown).
7, and an inside/outside air switching box is provided on the suction side of the blower fan 107 to selectively introduce air inside the vehicle and air outside the vehicle.

A synchronized main body unit 108 to which air is blown and introduced from the blower unit 106 is installed in the vehicle interior 104, and for assembly purposes, this unit 108 has a case 109 formed by combining a plurality of divided bodies. There is. A cooler core (evaporator) 4 is installed at the most upstream side of the air passage formed within this case 109. This cooler core 4 is
It consists of a refrigerant evaporator in a refrigeration cycle that is driven by an automobile engine. At the lowest part of the case 109 is a drain port 1 for drain water generated in the cooler core 4.
11 is formed. Further, a heater core 6 whose heat source is the cooling water (hot water) of the automobile engine is installed approximately in the center of the case 109, and the shaft 1 is connected to the air inlet side 6a of the heater core 6.
An air mix damper 7 for temperature control is provided which is rotatable about 13. Further, a cold air passage 115 is formed between the air inlet side 6a of the heater core 6 and a case surface 109a facing thereto at a predetermined distance.
The ratio between the amount of cold air passing through the heater core 6 and the amount of air (warm air) flowing into the heater core 6 and being heated is adjusted by the opening degree of the air mix damper 7. In addition, the air outlet side 6 of the heater core 6
A ventilation passage 116 is formed between the hot air passage 116 and the case surface 109b facing the case surface 109b at a predetermined interval, and the hot air passage 116 allows the cold air that has passed through the cold air passage 115 to pass through the heater core 6. It also serves as a mixing chamber for mixing hot air.
Further, a guide plate 117 integrally formed with the case 109 protrudes from the air outlet side 6b of the heater core 6, and this guide plate 117 directs the hot air toward the cold air side and mixes the hot air and the cold air well. It is something.

On the other hand, at a position above the heater core 6, an auxiliary damper 8 is disposed at a portion extending from the cold air passage 115 to the hot air passage 116.
is rotatable around the shaft 118. The auxiliary damper 8 is formed in a U-shape so as to guide the cold air and improve the mixing properties of the cold and hot air.

At the top of the case 109 is a front glass 100.
Defroster outlet 10 for blowing hot air to
The defroster outlet 10 is provided with a damper 1 which is rotatable around a shaft 126.
It is opened and closed by 0a. Defroster outlet 10
The upper air outlet 11 in the center is located at the lower part of the case 10 and above the auxiliary damper 8.
It is provided on the front side of 9. This upper air outlet 1
1 blows wind toward the upper body of the occupant, and is opened and closed by a damper 11a. Damper 1
1a is configured to be rotatable around a shaft 127. Further, upper air outlets 123 are provided on both left and right sides of the case 109 so as to be located below the defroster air outlet 10 and above the auxiliary damper 8 . The upper air outlets 123 on both sides communicate with air outlet grilles provided on both left and right sides of an automobile instrument panel (not shown) via ducts (not shown), and dampers (not shown) provided on the air outlet grilles. By manually opening and closing the openings (1), ventilation is intermittent to the upper air outlets 123 on both sides.

In addition, a lower air outlet 9 is provided at a portion of both left and right side surfaces of the case 109 that communicates with the hot air passage 116 above the heater core 6, and this lower air outlet 9 has a lower air outlet duct (see FIG. (not shown) is connected, and this downward blowing duct is formed to blow wind toward the passenger's feet. Also,
The lower air outlet 9 is opened and closed by a damper 9a.

Next, based on Fig. 3, the air mix damper 7
The main parts of the link mechanism for driving the auxiliary damper 8 will be explained. In Figure 3, 23
A damper opening actuator is controlled by the computer 12 and is composed of a servo motor. A V-shaped first lever 201 is fixed to the output shaft 200 of the actuator 23 and rotates together with the output shaft 200. The end of the first leg 202 of the first lever 201 has a second
One end of the lever 204 is connected, and the other end is connected to the shaft 1 which pivotally supports the air mix damper 7.
The other end of the third lever 205 is connected to the other end of the third lever 205, which has one end fixed to the lever 13. Therefore, the actuator 23
The rotational movement of the first to third levers 201, 20
4,205 to the shaft 113,
The air mix damper 7 is driven to an arbitrary position (see FIG. 4).

A pin 206 is fixed to the end of the second leg 203 of the first lever 201, and a fourth lever 207
It engages with an arcuate groove 208 formed at one end of. The radius of the arcuate groove 208 is equal to the distance between the pin 206 and the output shaft 200, and its opening angle is set to 82.5 degrees. Therefore, the first lever 201
During the clockwise rotation of 82.5 degrees from the state shown in FIG.
(See Figure 5).
The other end of the fourth lever 207 is connected to the other end of a fifth lever 209, one end of which is fixed to a shaft 118 that pivotally supports the auxiliary damper 8. 210
is a return spring that urges the fifth lever 209 to return to the position shown by the solid line in FIG.
The position of the fifth lever 209 indicated by the solid line in FIG.
This corresponds to the solid line position of the auxiliary damper 8 in the figures and FIG. 2, and the auxiliary damper 9 is normally located at this solid line position (fully closed position) (see FIG. 5).

As mentioned above, since the arcuate groove 208 is formed in an angular range of 82.5 degrees, the first lever 201 rotates clockwise in response to the cooling load, moving the air mix damper 7 from the solid line position to the broken line position. Even when the auxiliary damper 8 is driven in the direction shown in FIG. When the first lever 201 further rotates and the pin 206 comes into contact with the other end of the groove 208, that is, when the first lever 201 rotates 82.5 degrees,
The subsequent rotation of the first lever 201 is transmitted to the fifth lever 209 via the fourth lever 207, and the auxiliary damper 8 is gradually rotated from the fully closed position toward the fully open position shown by the broken line ( (See Figure 5).

When the first lever 201 is rotated 73.5 degrees from the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 3, the air mix damper 7 is in the fully open position shown by the broken line in FIG. and the connecting pin 211 between the second lever 204 and the second lever 20
4 and the connecting pin 212 of the third lever 205 are located almost in a straight line, and in this state,
Even if the first lever 201 is rotated by a smaller angle, the air mix damper 7 is maintained at the fully open position described above (see FIG. 4). In this example,
The first lever 201 is configured to rotate 82.5 degrees from the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 3, and then further rotate 98 degrees for a total of 15.5 degrees. Therefore, the auxiliary damper will gradually move from the fully closed position to the fully open position within the range of 82.5° to 98°.

The water valve 30 that controls the supply of cooling water to the heater core 6 is operated when the first lever 201 is
When the air mix damper 7 is rotated by 75.5 degrees, the opening sensor 17 detects the opening of the air mix damper 7, and as a result, it is controlled from ON to OFF. Also, the first lever 201 moves from the 98° position to the closing direction,
When the water valve 30 reaches the 80.5° position,
Controlled from OFF to ON. (See Figure 6).

Next, the operation of this embodiment in the above configuration will be explained. Air selected by the occupant and sucked in from the inside air suction port and the outside air suction port provided in the blower unit 106 is sent to the cooler core 4, where it is dehumidified and cooled. Next, the dehumidified and cooled air that has exited the cooler core 4 is distributed to the heater core 6 and the cold air passage 115 according to the operating position of the air mix damper 7. For example, if the air mix damper 7 is at position 7a, all the cold air will flow through the cold air passage 115.
Cool air is blown out from each outlet 10, 11, 123, and 9. Also, if the air mix damper 7 is in position 7b, all of the cold air will flow to the heater core 6.
It is heated here and becomes warm air D, which blows into each outlet 1.
Blow out warm air from 0, 11, 123, 9. Furthermore, if the air mix damper 7 is located at any intermediate position between the above, the hot air and cold air are respectively adjusted to predetermined distribution amounts according to the damper opening degree. Therefore, the air mix damper 7 is 7a~
7b and when the auxiliary damper 8 is at the position 8a (fully closed position), the cold air entering the heater core 6 is heated by the heater core 6 and becomes warm air D, which flows into the mixing chamber. Warm air passage 1 that also serves as
Enter 16. In addition, the remaining cold air distributed by the air mix damper 7 passes through the cold air passage 115, is guided by the auxiliary damper 8, detours around the side of the heater core 6 as shown by arrow A, and passes through the hot air passage 115.
6, mixes with the warm air D that has passed through the heater core 6 mentioned above, adjusts it to a predetermined temperature, and then blows the air into each outlet 1.
It leads to 0, 11, 123, 9. Here, the temperature of the blown air can be adjusted by operating the air mix damper 7 using the actuator 23 and changing the damper opening degree to change the mixing ratio of cold air and hot air.
Any desired blowing air temperature can be obtained continuously from low to high temperatures. Next, to describe the function of the auxiliary damper 8, when the passenger requests only cold air, such as during maximum cooling, the air mix damper 7
By operating the auxiliary damper 8 to the position a and the auxiliary damper 8 to the position 8b using the link mechanism shown in FIG. It can be reached by
Therefore, compared to when cold air flows bypassing the auxiliary damper 8 as shown by arrow E, the ventilation resistance is much smaller when cold air flows as shown by arrows B and C, and the air volume increases accordingly. It is possible to obtain a large amount of air, and the blowing air speed can also be increased, improving the cooling effect. Here, even in the ventilation mode in which the cooler core 4 is not operated, the auxiliary damper 8 is
It is recommended to operate it to position b to increase the air volume.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications are possible. For example, in the link mechanism shown in FIG. 3, the first lever 2
The lever 01 does not need to be V-shaped, but can be a rod-like lever, and one end of the second lever 204 can be connected to the tip of the lever, and the pin 206 can also be fixed. It is also possible to form an arcuate groove in the first lever 201 and to fix a pin to one end of the fourth lever 207 to engage with this groove. Further, the return spring 210 may be connected to, for example, the fourth lever instead of being connected to the fifth lever. It is also possible to make the arcuate groove 208 a straight groove.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, in the present invention, the air mix damper and the auxiliary damper are connected by a link mechanism,
After the air mix damper is fully open during maximum cooling, the auxiliary damper is gradually driven from its fully closed position to its fully open position via this link mechanism, so that the auxiliary damper is suddenly opened and closed during maximum cooling. As a result, the temperature sensor that detects the temperature in the vehicle interior can accurately detect the temperature in the vehicle interior, and it is possible to avoid the hunting phenomenon of the air mix damper and/or the auxiliary damper.

Furthermore, according to the link mechanism of the present invention, the fully open state of the air mix damper is not determined by a specific (single point) rotational position of the actuator, but the air mix damper is fully opened within a certain rotation angle range of the actuator. Therefore, even if there is some variation in the opening sensor (potentiometer) that detects the opening of the air mix damper, the water valve will definitely turn OFF when the air mix damper is fully open. This improves temperature control performance near maximum cooling.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of an automotive air conditioner which is an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the air conditioner of the present invention installed in a vehicle, and FIG. The figure is a plan view showing the main parts of the link mechanism of the present invention, Figures 4 to 6 are operation explanatory diagrams showing the operation of the present invention, and Figure 4 is an air limit diagram showing the rotation angle of the first lever. FIG. 5 shows the opening degree of the auxiliary damper with respect to the rotation angle of the first lever, and FIG. 6 shows the open/closed state of the water valve with respect to the rotation angle of the first lever. 1...Air duct, 4...Cooler core, 6...
...Heater core, 7...Air mix damper,
8... Auxiliary damper, 12, 24... Control means,
13...Temperature sensor, 17...Detection means, 23
... Actuator, 30 ... Water valve,
115... Cold air passage, 116... Warm air passage, 20
1 to 209...link mechanism.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An air duct 1 attached to a vehicle; A cooler core 4 disposed within the air duct to cool the air flowing within the air duct; A cooler core 4 disposed within the air duct on the downstream side of the cooler core. a heater core 6 that heats the cold air cooled by the cooler core; a water valve 30 that controls the supply of engine cooling water to the heater core; and a water valve 30 that heats the cold air that flows into the heater core and is heated. , an air mix damper 7 rotatably disposed within the air duct to adjust the proportion of cold air that does not flow into the heater core; a hot air passage 116 formed within the air duct and downstream of the heater core; and a cold air passage 115 formed within the air duct for flowing cold air that does not pass through the heater core.
and is rotatably disposed within the air duct on the downstream side of the air mix damper, and is configured to separate the cold air flowing toward the hot air passage from among the cold air in the cold air passage and the hot air passage. An auxiliary damper 8 that controls the amount of cold air that flows directly toward the upper air outlet without passing through the air, an actuator 23 that drives the air mix damper, and a temperature sensor 13 that detects the temperature inside the vehicle interior.
and means 12 for controlling the temperature in the vehicle interior to a desired value by controlling the actuator to adjust the opening degree of the air mix damper in accordance with the output from the temperature sensor. An automotive air conditioner comprising: a detection means 17 for detecting that the air mix damper has reached a certain set position in which the cold air passage is substantially fully opened during maximum cooling; link mechanisms 201 to 209 that gradually drive the auxiliary damper from its fully closed position to its fully open position after reaching the set position; and when the air mix damper reaches the set position, the water valve An air conditioner for an automobile, further comprising control means 12 and 24 for driving the heater core and stopping the supply of engine cooling water to the heater core. 2. The automobile according to claim 1, wherein the link mechanism holds the air mix damper in the fully open position while driving the auxiliary damper from the fully closed position to the fully open position. Air conditioner. 3. The link mechanism includes: a first lever 201 fixed to the output shaft 200 of the actuator; a second lever 204 having one end connected to the first lever; and one end connected to the other end of the second lever. , a third lever 205 whose other end is fixed to the shaft of the air mix damper, a pin 206 fixed to the first lever, and a third lever 205 having an arcuate groove 208 formed at one end to engage with the pin. a fifth lever 207, one end of which is connected to the other end of the fourth lever, and the other end of which is fixed to the shaft of the auxiliary damper.
3. The automobile air conditioner according to claim 2, further comprising a lever 209. 4. The automobile air conditioner according to claim 3, wherein the link mechanism further includes a return spring 210 connected to the fifth lever and urging the auxiliary damper toward its fully closed position. Device. 5. The automobile air conditioner according to claim 3, wherein the radius of the arcuate groove is equal to the distance between the output shaft and the pin. 6. The first lever is V-shaped and has a pair of legs 202, 203, one end of the second lever is connected to the first leg, and the second lever is connected to the second leg. 4. The air conditioner for an automobile according to claim 3, wherein the pin is fixed.