KR20100039029A - Air-con filter change time detection method for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

A vehicle air conditioner filter replacement time detection method is provided. The air conditioner filter replacement time detection method may include: checking a blower mode (BLR MODE) in an ignition switch ON state; A check mode switching step of automatically switching to an air conditioner filter check mode when the blower mode is turned on through the blower mode check; A wind speed measurement step of detecting a change in wind speed on a corresponding path by using a wind speed sensor installed on a path inside the housing behind the filter after switching the check mode; An operation control step of comparing the data input through the wind speed sensor with a reference value set in the controller, and outputting an electrical operation signal from the controller when the reference value is exceeded; And a filter change information display step of displaying filter change information through a filter change display device which is operated by receiving an electrical operation signal outputted from the operation control step. The check mode switched through the check mode change step includes: It is realized through a combination of the intake mode, the blower stage, and the vent mode, and the modes for implementing the check mode are to be switched to the same condition at the time of measurement.

Description

Air-con filter change time detection method for vehicle

The present invention relates to a vehicle air conditioner filter replacement time detection method, and more particularly, by detecting a change in the air volume inside the housing constituting the vehicle air conditioner to detect the air conditioner filter replacement time and informs the driver of the air conditioner filter at the correct time The present invention relates to a vehicle air conditioner filter replacement time detection method to be replaced.

In general, in a vehicle air conditioner, air introduced from outside or circulated indoor air is forcibly sent to the evaporator by a blower, and the air passing through the evaporator is selectively passed through the heater according to the position of the door, and the air of the condition set by the driver is It enters a state and flows into a vehicle interior.

When the outside air is introduced from the air conditioning apparatus, contaminants contained in the outside air are introduced into the room as they are or mixed with moisture condensed in the evaporator to provide a habitat environment such as bacteria or mold. Therefore, in order to prevent this, conventionally, by installing an air conditioner filter in front of the evaporator core or other suitable position to filter the air introduced into the air conditioning apparatus, a more comfortable indoor air condition can be maintained. .

 As an example installed at the front of the evaporator core, the air flowing into the air inlet is filtered through various air contaminants such as dust and foreign substances while passing through the air conditioner filter, and then passes through the evaporator to an air state having a set temperature condition. After switching, it is introduced into the vehicle interior through a door (damper) that is selectively opened by a driver's operation. At this time, since contaminants accumulate on the surface of the air conditioner filter, the air permeability of the air conditioner filter decreases as time passes, causing the air conditioner to degrade.

Therefore, the air conditioner filter requires continuous management through periodic replacement. However, the air conditioner filter for vehicles is installed in an enclosed space such as a housing that forms a movement path of air. Unless the filter is separated from the filter, it is not possible to determine whether the filter is contaminated, and most drivers use the contaminated air conditioner filter as it is.

In order to solve the problem caused by the non-replacement of the conventional air conditioner filter, in recent years, by measuring the pollution degree of the air conditioner filter using a sensor, and if the pollution degree exceeds the set reference value to inform the driver that the time to replace the air conditioner filter device An air conditioner filter contamination measuring apparatus has been proposed.

Conventional air conditioner filter pollution degree measuring apparatus includes an infrared method for detecting the degree of contamination by irradiating the infrared filter to the air conditioner filter and a method for detecting the contamination by changing the output characteristics of the blower according to the accumulation of pollutants in the air conditioner filter.

Infrared method has high possibility of changing output characteristics according to the distance and material of air conditioner filter and infrared sensor, making it difficult to obtain reliable data. Also, it is susceptible to external environment such as vehicle vibration. You may be restricted.

The method using the change of blower output characteristics detects the filter pollution by formulating the data that changes according to the change of vehicle speed, intake mode and wind speed per blower stage, but the exact value is large because the variation of the value is large according to the vehicle speed. It is difficult to do and therefore is difficult to apply to actual air conditioner filter contamination measurement.

The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to switch to the check mode that always maintains the same conditions with the vehicle ignition switch (ON), in this state to detect the change in the amount of air flow inside the housing to detect the pollution degree and replacement time of the filter As a result, a more reliable data value can be obtained, and therefore, a vehicle air conditioner filter replacement time detection method capable of detecting the replacement time of the air conditioner filter more accurately is provided.

As a means for solving the above technical problem, the present invention includes the steps of checking the blower mode (BLR MODE) in the ignition switch ON immediately after starting; A check mode switching step of automatically switching to an air conditioner filter check mode when the blower mode is turned on through the blower mode check; A wind speed measurement step of detecting a change in wind speed on a corresponding path by using a wind speed sensor installed on a path inside the housing behind the filter after switching the check mode; An operation control step of comparing the data input through the wind speed sensor with a reference value set in the controller, and outputting an electrical operation signal from the controller when the reference value is exceeded; And a filter change information display step of expressing filter change information through a filter change display device which is operated by receiving an electrical operation signal output from the operation control step.

In this case, in the case of the check mode switched through the check mode switching step, if the conditions are different for each measurement, the effectiveness and reliability of the data obtained through the wind speed measurement step may be reduced, so that the same conditions are always maintained. The condition is that the intake mode is a bet mode, the blower stage is one stage, and the vent mode is a defrost mode.

In addition, it is preferable that the check mode switched through the check mode switching step is not displayed to the outside so that the driver does not notice that it is a process of detecting an exchange time.

And, the wind speed measurement in the wind speed measurement step is to measure the wind speed on the air introduction path between the filter and the evaporator inside the air conditioner housing, so as to detect the accurate wind speed change as the foreign matter accumulated in the filter so that the filter replacement time can be derived It is desirable to.

In addition, the wind speed measurement performed through the check mode switching is preferably performed so that the measurement is performed for each cycle based on a predetermined cycle input to the controller regardless of the number of ON of the ignition switch when the vehicle is started.

At this time, the measurement period for measuring the wind speed, it is preferable to be able to arbitrarily adjust through an external input, in this case, the measurement period input is a control-related various buttons or separate input provided to adjust the output state of the vehicle air conditioner It is preferable to configure the input using any one of the buttons.

Preferably, since the accumulation amount of foreign matter accumulated in the filter increases in proportion to the operating time, it is preferable that the measurement period is also gradually shortened based on a predetermined number of measurement times, so that an accurate filter replacement time can be detected. Do.

On the other hand, in the filter replacement information display step, a buzzer which outputs a warning sound by an electric operation signal from the control unit or a FATC which expresses an operation state of a lamp or air conditioner which is lit or flashed by an electric operation signal from the control unit. Preferably, the filter replacement information is displayed through any one selected from the display unit.

According to the embodiment of the present invention configured as described above, the vehicle is switched to the check mode that maintains the same conditions at all times with the vehicle ignition switch ON (ON), in this state by detecting the change in the air flow rate inside the housing and filter replacement time Detect. Therefore, a more reliable data value can be obtained, and as a result, the replacement timing of the air conditioner filter can be detected more accurately.

In addition, since the pollution measurement of the air conditioner filter is not performed by the driver's artificial manipulation, but is automatically performed with the ignition switch ON according to the set input cycle, the switch is operated every time to check the air condition filter replacement time. There is an advantage that can be eliminated the hassle.

In addition, the system is automatically implemented with the ignition switch ON according to the set input period, and the system is implemented so that the driver is finally informed only when the accumulation level of filter contaminants exceeds the set reference value. There is no need to pay attention to check the timing, which can be convenient for use.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, a preferred embodiment for implementing the replacement time detection device and detection method of the vehicle air conditioner filter according to the present invention will be described in detail.

1 is a view schematically showing the overall configuration of a vehicle air conditioner (HVAC) is installed air conditioner filter replacement time detection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is for implementing an air conditioner filter replacement time detection method according to the present invention A block diagram schematically showing the configuration of the device.

First, a configuration of a general vehicle air conditioner will be briefly described with reference to FIG. 1. A vehicle air conditioner (Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning Unit (HVAC)) includes two branched internal and external air inlets and a plurality of branched doors (dampers) 12 Blower 20, blower 20 and the air inlet is located in a suitable place in the housing 10, the inside of the housing 10 to force the air through the inlet to discharge the discharge port into the vehicle Air conditioner filter 60 installed on the path between the heater core 40 disposed on the path between the evaporator 30 and the evaporator 30 and the discharge port in the rear of the blower 20 for the air is introduced direction ).

Air or the circulated indoor air introduced into the housing 10 from the outside passes through the air conditioner filter 60 by the blower 20, and various contaminants such as dust and foreign substances are filtered out, and then the evaporator 30 is removed. After passing through, it is converted into the air state with the set temperature condition and then flows into the vehicle interior through the door (damper) 12 that is selectively opened by the driver's operation. At this time, the contaminants filtered by the filter 60 accumulate on the surface of the air conditioner filter 60, and the air conditioner filter is inferior in proportion to the cumulative amount. Therefore, in a general vehicle air conditioner, periodic replacement of the air conditioner filter 60 is required.

The present invention provides an apparatus and method for detecting an exchange time of an air conditioner filter so that a filter change can be performed at an appropriate timing by detecting and informing a driver of a more accurate replacement time of the air conditioner filter periodically required by the vehicle air conditioner as described above. . First, a replacement time detection device for an air conditioner filter according to the present invention will be described. The replacement time detection device for the air conditioner filter includes a wind speed sensor 70, a controller 80, and a filter replacement display device 90. It is implemented as a configuration.

The wind speed sensor 70 detects a change in wind speed on the inner path of the housing behind the filter, which is changed when contaminants accumulate in the filter, and the controller 80 sets data input through the wind speed sensor 70. When the reference value range is exceeded, an electrical operation signal for operating the filter replacement display device 90 is output. In addition, the filter replacement display device 90 receives an electric operation signal from the controller 80 to display information related to the filter replacement to the outside so that the driver may know that it is time to replace the filter.

The wind speed sensor 70 in the present invention is specifically, the filter 60 and the evaporator inside the housing 10 which is a position that can immediately detect a change in the wind speed when contaminants accumulated in the filter 60 It is installed on the air introduction path between the 30, the control unit 80 is a measurement period is input so that the wind speed measurement through the wind speed sensor 70 can be made periodically.

The measurement period is input to the memory of the initial control unit 80 and can be adjusted through an external input. In setting the measurement period, various control-related buttons or separate input buttons provided for adjusting the output state of the vehicle air conditioner It is preferable to configure so that it can be set by using any one of the buttons. Since the accumulated amount of foreign matter accumulated in the filter 60 increases in proportion to the operating time of the air conditioning apparatus, the measurement period is also set to be shortened step by step based on a constant measurement number for more accurate detection of the filter replacement time. It is desirable to maintain.

The control unit 80, which has been inputted with a measurement cycle, automatically adjusts the air flow direction, air flow rate, room temperature, and inflow state of the temperature to create a comfortable indoor environment regardless of external conditions. ) May be a computer, which is based on electrical signals input from various sensors installed in the air conditioner, and includes an air conditioner actuator 50, a temperature control actuator (not shown), a blower 20, and the air conditioner filter 60. When the time for replacement is reached, the operation of the filter replacement display device 90 for expressing information related to filter replacement to the outside is controlled.

The filter replacement display device 90 adopts a separate display means such as a buzzer which outputs a warning sound by an electric operation signal from the control unit 80 or a lamp that lights or flashes by an electric operation signal from the control unit. However, it is preferable to use the existing suitable means provided in the vehicle so that the replacement time can be expressed so that a separate additional part for external expression of the replacement time is not required. For example, a method of utilizing the display unit of the FATC to express the operating state of the air conditioner.

Next, a method of detecting an exchange time of the air conditioner filter according to the present invention, which is performed through the air conditioner filter replacement time detecting device having the above-described configuration, will be described in connection with the operation of the detection device.

3 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a process of detecting a filter replacement time according to the method for detecting an air conditioner filter replacement time according to the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a system applied to the present invention for detecting an air conditioner filter replacement time.

3 to 4, in detecting an air conditioner filter replacement time through the air conditioner filter replacement time detecting device according to the present invention, the blower mode (BLR MODE) is checked in the ignition ON state immediately after starting. It proceeds from the process (S100). Only when the blower mode is in the ON state and the setting cycle input to the controller is satisfied, the next process for detecting the replacement time is performed.If the blower mode is OFF even though the ignition switch is in the ON state, the replacement is performed. The process for timing detection does not proceed.

When the blower mode is turned on through the blower mode check and the detection period is met in accordance with a preset period input to the controller, a check mode switching step of automatically switching to the check mode for air conditioner filter check is performed ( S200). In the case of the check mode switched through the check mode switching step (S200), if the conditions change every measurement, the effectiveness and reliability of the data obtained through the wind speed measurement step may be reduced. Therefore, it is desirable to maintain the same conditions at all times. The preferred measurement conditions are intake mode, bet mode, single stage of blower, and vent moed, defrost mode. mode, defrost mode).

In the case of switching to the check mode through the check mode switching step (S200), the state that has been switched to the check mode is not displayed to the outside, and only filter replacement information is required only when the filter is finally changed through the filter check. It is desirable to prevent the driver from recognizing that the filter replacement time is detected during the filter replacement time check process, and to prevent problems such as distraction of the driver's attention by the filter replacement time check. .

The wind speed measurement step (S300) of determining the accumulation degree of the pollutants in the filter by detecting the change in the wind speed on the inner path of the housing behind the filter in the state of switching to the check mode as described above is successively performed. The wind speed measurement in this wind speed measurement step measures the wind speed for the corresponding path through a wind speed sensor installed on the air introduction path between the filter inside the air conditioner housing and the evaporator. Detect and derive the filter replacement time.

Wind speed measurement at the proper position inside the housing that is performed by switching the check mode is performed on a periodic basis (time) input to the control unit regardless of the number of ON of the ignition switch when the vehicle is started. For example, the measurement interval for wind speed measurement can be adjusted arbitrarily by the operator or mechanic through an external input. In this case, the measurement period input may be configured to use various control-related buttons provided to adjust the output state of the vehicle air conditioner, or to separately provide an input button to set and input the measurement period.

Since the accumulated amount of foreign matter accumulated in the filter 60 increases in proportion to the operating time of the air conditioning apparatus, the measurement period is also set to be shortened step by step based on a constant measurement number for more accurate detection of the filter replacement time. It must be maintained.

Data measured by the wind speed sensor 70 in the wind speed measuring step S300 is input to the controller 80, and the controller 80 compares the set reference value with the input value to operate the filter exchange display device. Outputs an electrical operation signal to be This process corresponds to the operation control step (S400) in the detection method of the present invention. The output of the electrical operation signal in the operation control step (S400) is output only when the data measured by the wind speed sensor exceeds the set reference value range compared with the set reference value, if the smaller than the set reference value Data values measured through the sensor 70 are ignored.

The electrical operation signal output by the data measured by the wind speed sensor 70 exceeds the set reference value is transmitted to the filter change display device through the filter change information display step S500, and the filter change display device 90 It operates as an electric operation signal applied from the control unit 80 to display information related to the filter replacement to the outside. The display of the filter replacement information through the filter replacement information display step S500 is lit or flashed by a buzzer which outputs a warning sound by an electric operation signal from the control unit 80 or an electric operation signal from the control unit. The filter replacement information may be displayed through any one selected from the display unit of the FATC for expressing the operation state of the lamp or the air conditioner.

According to the embodiment of the present invention as described above, the vehicle is switched to the check mode that maintains the same conditions at all times with the vehicle ignition switch (ON), in this state by detecting the change in the air flow rate inside the housing, filter contamination and replacement timing By detecting, it is possible to obtain a more reliable data value, and as a result, it is possible to more accurately detect the replacement time of the air conditioner filter.

In addition, since the pollution measurement of the air conditioner filter is not performed by the driver's artificial manipulation, but is automatically performed with the ignition switch ON according to the set input cycle, the switch is operated every time to check the air condition filter replacement time. There is an advantage that can be eliminated the hassle.

In addition, the system is automatically implemented with the ignition switch ON according to the set input period, and the system is implemented so that the driver is finally informed only when the accumulation level of filter contaminants exceeds the set reference value. There is also an advantage in that it does not require attention to check the timing, so that it can be used conveniently.

In the above, the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described by way of example, but the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment, and the claims of the present invention together with the embodiments in which the above embodiments are simply combined with existing known technologies. In the detailed description and techniques that can be used by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains should be naturally included in the technical scope of the present invention.

1 is a view schematically showing the overall configuration of a vehicle air conditioner (HVAC) equipped with a detection device for implementing the air conditioning filter replacement time detection method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of a detection system for implementing an air conditioner filter replacement time detection method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a block diagram schematically showing a filter replacement time detection process according to the replacement time detection method of the air conditioner filter according to the present invention.

4 is a flow chart of a system applied to the present invention for detecting the air conditioner filter replacement time.

<Code Description of Main Parts of Drawing>

10 ... Housing 20 ... Blower

30 ... Evaporator 40 ... Heatercore

50 ... air conditioning actuator 60 ... air conditioner filter

70 ... wind speed sensor 80 ... control part

90.Filter replacement display

Claims (4)

Checking a blower mode (BLR MODE) in an ignition switch ON state; A check mode switching step of automatically switching to an air conditioner filter check mode when the blower mode is turned on through the blower mode check; A wind speed measurement step of detecting a change in wind speed on a corresponding path by using a wind speed sensor installed on a path inside the housing behind the filter after switching the check mode; An operation control step of comparing the data input through the wind speed sensor with a reference value set in the controller, and outputting an electrical operation signal from the controller when the reference value is exceeded; And a filter change information display step of expressing filter change information through a filter change display device which is operated by receiving an electrical operation signal output in the operation control step. The check mode to be switched through the check mode switching step, Implemented through a combination of intake mode, blower singular, and vent mode, Modes for implementing the check mode detection method for replacing the air conditioner filter for a vehicle, characterized in that the measurement is always switched to the same condition. The method of claim 1, The condition of the mode to implement the check mode, And the intake mode is a bet mode, the blower stage is one stage, and the vent mode is a defrost mode. The method of claim 1, Wind speed measurement performed by the check mode switching, Method for replacing the air conditioner filter for a vehicle, characterized in that the measurement is performed for each cycle based on a predetermined period input to the control unit. The method of claim 1, The measuring period for measuring the wind speed is, A method for detecting an air conditioner filter replacement time for a vehicle, characterized in that the period is shortened step by step based on a predetermined number of measurements.

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