Vehicular air conditioning control device, vehicular air conditioning control method, vehicular air conditioning control program, and recording medium

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9193245-B2
Application number	US-201214118680-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 21, 2012
Priority date	May 23, 2011
Publication date	Nov 24, 2015
Grant date	Nov 24, 2015

Abstract

A vehicular air conditioning control device that detects an outside air temperature, and calculates the time for the evaporator blower to continue to blow after the engine has been shut off, in an air conditioning system where the compressor is powered by the engine. After a given elapsed time, the control device restarts the blower fan, issues an engine startup request, and initiates refrigerant circulation by the compressor.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A vehicular air conditioning control device comprising:
an acquiring component that acquires a detection result of a detecting component that detects an outside air temperature;
a calculating component that calculates, from the acquisition result of the acquiring component, a predetermined time corresponding to the outside air temperature which becomes longer as the outside air temperature becomes higher, a blower fan operating time lasting from engine shutdown until a blower fan is shutdown when a cabin interior is being air-conditioned by an air conditioning component equipped with an evaporator, with the blower fan, and with a compressor that operates using an engine as a drive source and compresses refrigerant, wherein the blower fan blows air toward the evaporator; and
a control component that controls the blower fan in such a way that the blower fan shuts down when the blower fan operating time calculated by the calculating component has elapsed after the engine has been shut down by an engine control component that controls engine startup and shutdown in accordance with the driving state of the vehicle when the cabin interior is being air-conditioned by the air conditioning component, wherein the control component further controls the blower fan in such a way that the blower fan operates until a time when a sensing result of a sensing component that senses a temperature of the evaporator becomes a dew point temperature corresponding to the outside air temperature.

2. The vehicular air conditioning control device according to claim 1 , wherein the calculating component calculates the blower fan operating time corresponding to the detection result of the detecting component from a map in which the blower fan shutdown time is predetermined in accordance with the outside air temperature.

3. The vehicular air conditioning control device according to claim 1 , wherein the control component controls the operation of the blower fan in such a way that the blowing force of the blower fan is suppressed during the blower fan operating time lasting from engine shutdown until the blower fan is shutdown.

4. The vehicular air conditioning control device according to claim 1 , wherein the control component controls the blower fan in such a way that the blower fan shuts down when the outside air temperature is in a predetermined outside air temperature range.

5. The vehicular air conditioning control device according to claim 1 , wherein the calculating component calculates the engine shutdown time lasting from engine shutdown until the temperature around the evaporator reaches the dew point temperature on the basis of the outside air temperature and the blower fan operating time, and the control component controls the engine control component in such a way as to start up the engine in a case where the engine shutdown time calculated by the calculating component has elapsed.

6. The vehicular air conditioning control device according to claim 1 , wherein the control component uses, as the sensing result of the sensing component, an estimated temperature of the evaporator estimated from at least one of a rate of temperature increase and a temperature characteristic of the evaporator found beforehand on the basis of the outside air temperature and the blower fan operating time.

7. The vehicular air conditioning control device according to claim 6 , wherein the control component calculates the blower fan operating time in such a way that it becomes a time shorter by a predetermined time than an engine shutdown time lasting from engine shutdown until the temperature around the evaporator reaches the dew point temperature.

8. A vehicular air conditioning control method comprising:
an acquisition step of acquiring a detection result of a detecting component that detects an outside air temperature;
a calculation step of calculating, from the acquisition result of the acquisition step, a predetermined time corresponding to the outside air temperature which becomes longer as the outside air temperature becomes higher, a blower fan operating time lasting from engine shutdown until a blower fan is shutdown when a cabin interior is being air-conditioned by an air conditioning component equipped with an evaporator, the blower fan, and a compressor, that operates using an engine as a drive source and compresses refrigerant, wherein the blower fan blows air toward the evaporator; and
a control step of controlling the blower fan in such a way that the blower fan shuts down when the blower fan operating time calculated by the calculation step has elapsed after the engine has been shut down by an engine control component that controls engine startup and shutdown in accordance with the driving state of the vehicle when the cabin interior is being air-conditioned by the air conditioning component, the control step further comprising controlling the blower fan in such a way that the blower fan operates until a time when a sensing result of a sensing component that senses a temperature of the evaporator becomes a dew point temperature corresponding to the outside air temperature.

9. A non-transitory recording medium in which a vehicular air conditioning control program for causing a computer to function as each of the components of the vehicular air conditioning control device according to claim 1 is recorded.

Assignees

• Kato Yasushi
• Shoji Masahiro
• Ito Shigeki
• Toyota Motor Co Ltd
• Denso Corp

Inventors

• Kato Yasushi
• Shoji Masahiro
• Ito Shigeki

Classifications

• B60H1/3205 Primary

  Control means therefor · CPC title

• B60H2001/3258

  of the air at a condensing unit · CPC title

• B60H2001/3266

  related to the operation of the vehicle · CPC title

• B60H3/0085

  Smell or pollution preventing arrangements (B60H3/0007, B60H3/0071, B60H3/02, B60H3/06 take precedence) · CPC title

• B60H2001/3282

  to control the air flow · CPC title