JPS59140117A - Method and device for automatic air-conditioning in automotive compartment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide feeling of thermal comfort to a passenger sitting on a seat in an automotive compartment, by controlling the air conditioner on the basis of reference information of comfortable skin temperature of the passenger and actual skin temperature of the passenger. CONSTITUTION:Reference information of comfortable skin temperature is stored in a computer 3, and each of output signals from a non-contact type skin temperature sensor 4 arranged at the back of a neck portion of a passenger 1 and a contact type skin temperature sensor 5 attached on a wrist portion of the passenger 1 is inputted to the computer 3. An air conditioner 6 including a hot water flow control unit 8, compression capacity control unit 10, air mix damper operating unit 12 and air flow control unit 7 for a blower 14 is controlled on the basis of a comparative data of information of skin temperature from the sensor 4 and 5 relative to the reference information of comfortable skin temperature. Thus, skin temperature of the passenger sitting on a seat may approach the reference comfortable skin temperature, thereby obtaining feeling of thermal comfort.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an automatic air conditioning method and apparatus for a vehicle interior.

Traditionally, in vehicles such as automobiles, automatic air conditioning methods have been used to detect the temperature inside and outside the vehicle, as well as the amount of solar radiation, and to set the air conditioner to the temperature set by the passenger in the vehicle interior. However, this conventional automatic air conditioning method for a vehicle interior is insufficient in the following points.

(b) The vehicle interior temperature suitable for the occupants to feel thermal comfort changes because the thermal comfort changes depending on the amount of heat produced by the occupants before and after riding, and the set temperature varies. This does not necessarily mean that the vehicle interior temperature is suitable for providing thermal comfort to the occupants.

(b) Since the amount of solar radiation received by each passenger and the amount of air blown from the air conditioner reaching each person vary depending on the seat position of each passenger, the temperature inside the vehicle cabin may not be constant on average. Even if control is carried out to achieve this, there are variations depending on the location, and the thermal environment is different depending on the surroundings of each individual passenger, making it difficult to provide a feeling of thermal comfort to each individual.

Additionally, in conventional automatic air conditioning systems for vehicle interiors, the air conditioner is installed at the front of the vehicle and blows air out from an outlet provided in the dash panel. Due to the distance between the front and rear seats, it is difficult to blow conditioned air to areas that are effective in improving the thermal sensation of passengers, and the rear seats in particular have the following problems. .

(g) In order for rear seat occupants to feel thermally comfortable, front seat occupants must operate the air conditioner by changing the set temperature, blowing speed, blowing direction, etc.

(b) When attempting to blow conditioned air to areas that are effective in improving the thermal sensation of rear seat occupants, a duct extending from the air conditioner toward the rear seats must be installed. However, since the air conditioner is installed at the front of the vehicle, its duct becomes long.

In addition to the above-mentioned problems with conventional automatic air conditioning systems for vehicle interiors, the seats themselves get warm during the summer due to sunlight and high temperatures while the vehicle is parked. Moreover, in the winter, when the vehicle is parked, the vehicle is cooled by low temperatures, causing discomfort in the area that comes into contact with the passenger's seat.

Furthermore, in the prior art, thermal comfort is obtained by setting the air temperature to an appropriate value, and information regarding whether the occupant is comfortable or not is not used at all. It is known in the field of physiology that information about whether a human being is in a comfortable state can be obtained from skin temperature. At 64°C, humans are in a comfortable state regardless of their age, gender, or amount of clothing.

However, so far, (a) it is not known what the skin temperature of each part of the human body is in a comfortable state indoors.

(b) It is not known what the skin temperature is when the passenger is seated in a vehicle and is comfortable (indoors, compared to a normal room). There are differences in the thermal environment between indoors and regular indoors, such as the fact that people sit on seats that largely cover their backs, buttocks, and lower thighs, and the strong influence of wind from wearing air conditioners. The skin temperature of humans in comfortable conditions cannot be treated in the same way.)

The problems with practical application have not been investigated at all.

The present invention has been made in view of the drawbacks and problems of the prior art described above, and has the following objects.

The first object of the present invention is to focus on the fact that the thermal comfort of humans is strongly dependent on skin temperature, regardless of the age, gender, or amount of clothing of the occupant, and to utilize skin donation to improve air conditioning. An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic air conditioning method for a vehicle interior and a device for controlling the device.

A second object of the present invention is to provide an automatic air conditioning system for the interior of a vehicle, in which the air conditioning system is provided under the seat, and furthermore, vehicle equipment (such as a center villa) is effectively utilized.

A third object of the present invention is to provide an automatic air conditioning system for a vehicle interior that can detect the skin temperature of each passenger.

The basic configuration of the present invention is to store reference comfortable skin temperature information when an occupant is seated in a vehicle cabin in a computer, detect the occupant's skin temperature, and input the skin temperature information into the computer; The skin temperature information of the passenger is compared with the comfortable skin temperature information of the standard, and based on the skin temperature information of the passenger and the comfortable skin temperature information of the standard, air conditioning is performed so that the skin temperature of the passenger approaches the comfortable skin temperature. The present invention provides a method and device for automatic air conditioning in a vehicle interior, characterized by controlling the device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An actual MI example of an automatic air conditioning method for a vehicle interior and its device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention, in which 1 is a passenger, 2 is a seat, and 3 is a computer, in which reference comfortable skin temperature information is stored. A non-contact type cortical vortex detector 4 is attached to the neck area of the occupant 1 from behind, and a contact type skin temperature detector 5 is attached to the wrist area of the occupant 10. The skin temperature information of the occupant obtained from each skin temperature detector 4.5 is input into the computer 3, and the computer 3 compares this skin temperature information with the standard comfortable skin temperature information. Based on this, the air conditioner 6 and the blower air volume adjustment device 7 are controlled. Here, the air conditioner 6 includes a hot water flow rate adjustment device 8, a heater 9, a compression capacity adjustment bag layer 10, an evaporator 11, and an air mix damper operation bag fftt1. In the air mix damper 13, the conditioned air is sent to a blower 14, and the duct of the blower 14 is designed to provide a thermal sensation to the occupant 1. It faces the area to be improved, in this case the wrist area, and is configured to be able to blow air toward the occupant 1.

The standard comfortable skin temperature information indicates the skin temperature at which the occupant feels comfortable when he or she is seated in seat 2 in the vehicle interior, and is experimentally determined. However, there are variations among the individual occupants, and there are also differences in each part of the body skin of each individual.The table below shows comfortable skin temperature information based on this standard.

Here, the average is the arithmetic mean of the skin temperature of each part of the passenger when the passenger is comfortable, but is not limited to this. It can also be calculated by integrating and adding these values. From the table above, the inventors have conducted several studies and experiments, and found that each part of the human body is used as a reference for automatic air conditioning. The skin temperature is preferably 31~ around the neck.
35℃, upper arm 32-36℃, upper arm 33-36℃
It has been found that there is no practical problem if the temperature is within the range of 53 to 35°C for the thigh, 32 to 36°C for the lower leg, and 33 to 37°C for the toe.

Here, the computer 3 uses average comfortable skin temperature information obtained by averaging the standard comfortable skin temperature information of human body parts, and the computer 3 uses the skin temperature of the passenger 1 and the standard comfortable skin temperature information. When there is a difference between the comfortable skin temperature information and the comfortable skin temperature information, the skin temperature of the occupant 1 is controlled to approach the reference comfortable skin temperature information. Note that, after the skin temperature of the occupant 1 reaches the reference comfortable skin temperature information, the computer 3 controls the air conditioner 6 and the blower air volume adjustment device 7 so that the skin temperature of the occupant 1 does not deviate greatly from the reference comfortable skin temperature. and control.

FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of the present invention, in which an environment measuring mechanism 15 for measuring room temperature, outside temperature, solar radiation, etc. is incorporated to enable even more detailed control. , and other configurations are substantially the same as those of the embodiment described above, so the same components as those of the embodiment described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed explanation thereof will be omitted.

Figure 3 shows a third embodiment of the present invention, and in this figure, 16 is a vehicle interior, 17 is a front seat, 18 is a rear seat, 19.19' is a passenger, and the front seat 17 An air conditioner 20 is provided in the lower part of the , and the back and seating part of the
Air supply ducts 21° and 21' are provided to blow conditioned air to areas that improve the thermal sensation of the occupants 19. A duct 22 for air supply and a fan 23 for sucking inside air are provided, and the center villa is provided with a duct 24 in the center pillar for air supply extending upward from below, and connected to a ceiling duct 25 for air supply. The air outlet of the air ceiling duct 25 is provided so as to face the head of each passenger 19, 19', and a proa 26, 26 is provided at each of the air outlet, so that the air can be flowed downward from overhead. A proar 27 is provided at the front of the vehicle compartment, and conditioned air is blown from its outlet toward the feet of the occupant 19, and A proar 28 is provided at the front, and the passenger 19' is
Conditioned air is blown toward the feet of each passenger, and non-contact skin temperature detectors 29 and 29 are installed in the front seats 17 and rear seats 18, respectively, to detect each passenger's feet.
It is designed to detect the skin T4 temperature at 9.19'.

According to this embodiment, since the air conditioner 20 is provided directly below the front seat 17, the seating area is cooled by its heat exchange effect in the summer and warmed in the winter, so that the occupant feels a sense of warmth. In particular, since the air supply duct 21, 21' is provided in the seat itself, the heat exchange effect between the air conditioner 20 and the seat is promoted. Furthermore, an air conditioner is installed directly under the front seats.
Since the air supply duct is provided in the center villa, conditioned air can be sent to rear seat passengers without the need for a long duct.

Although the embodiments have been described above, the present invention is not limited thereto and includes the following.

(a) The present invention can also be applied to the passenger compartment of an aircraft and the passenger compartment of a train.

(b) Comfortable skin temperature information is not limited to what is shown in the table, but can also be stored in the computer 3 according to each individual's preference.

As explained above, according to the automatic vehicle cabin air conditioning method and its device according to the present invention, based on the reference comfortable skin temperature information and the passenger's skin temperature when the passenger is seated in the vehicle cabin, Because it controls the air conditioner,
This has the effect of providing thermal comfort to the occupant when he or she is seated.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a first embodiment of the automatic vehicle interior air conditioning method and device according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the first embodiment of the vehicle interior automatic air conditioning method and device according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the second embodiment, and FIG. . 1...Crew 2...Seat 3...Computer 4.5...Skin temperature detector 6...Air conditioner 14...Blower

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] (1) A computer stores reference comfortable skin temperature information when an occupant is seated in a vehicle, detects the skin temperature of the occupant when seated, and transmits the skin temperature information to the computer. input the passenger's skin temperature information and the comfort level of each part of the human body as a reference [q-temperature information], and compare at least one of the average comfortable skin temperature information obtained by averaging the comfortable skin temperature of each part of the human body. and controlling an air conditioner so that the skin temperature of the passenger approaches a comfortable skin temperature based on the skin temperature information of the passenger and the reference comfortable skin temperature information. . (2. In claim 1, the temperature as the comfortable skin temperature information of each part of the human body as the reference is in the range of 31 degrees Celsius to 37 degrees Celsius, and fc is the temperature in the range of 33 degrees Celsius as the average comfortable skin temperature information. (3) Claim 2 provides that the comfortable skin temperature information of each part of the human body as the reference is 31°C near the head. ~37℃, 34-37 for upper body excluding upper limbs and head area
℃, 37 to 36 degrees Celsius for the upper limbs, 32 to 37 degrees Celsius for the lower body, or average comfortable skin temperature information in the range of 34.5 degrees C to 36 degrees C. Method. (4) At least information on comfortable skin temperature information for each part of the human body based on reference/assembly when the occupant is seated in the vehicle compartment, or average comfortable skin temperature information obtained by averaging comfortable skin temperature information for each part of the human body. a skin temperature detector that detects the passenger's skin temperature and outputs skin temperature detection information to the computer; an air conditioner that controls the passenger's skin temperature to approach a comfortable skin temperature; and a blower that blows conditioned air toward the passenger. Device. (5) The automatic air conditioner for a vehicle interior according to claim 4, characterized in that the air conditioner is provided below a seat. (6) An automatic air conditioner for a vehicle cabin according to claim 4, characterized in that an air outlet for discharging conditioned air for each occupant is provided facing the vehicle. (7) An automatic air conditioning system in a vehicle cabin according to claim 4, which detects the skin temperature of each occupant and blows air conditioned for each occupant.