DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0040] Specific embodiments of the present invention will now be described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings in which the same or similar component parts are designated by the same or similar reference numerals.

[0041] (First Embodiment)

[0042] First, a schematic ventilation system in which air is blown toward a passenger compartment of a vehicle will be described with reference to FIG. 1 . An air conditioning unit 10 has an inside/outside air switching box 11 in which an outside air inlet 11 a for introducing outside air (air from the outside of the vehicle) and an inside air inlet 11 b for introducing inside air (air from the passenger compartment). The inside/outside air switching box 11 is provided at the most upstream end of the air conditioning unit 10 .

[0043] The inside/outside air switching box 11 has an inside/outside switching door 12 rotatably disposed therein between the outside air inlet 11 a and the inside air inlet 11 b . The inside/outside switching door 12 is driven by an electric-drive apparatus 12 a such as a servomotor. The switching door 12 opens and closes the outside air inlet 11 a and the inside air inlet 11 b to determine from which inlet the air should be introduced or to determine the mixing rate between the air from the outside of the vehicle and the air from the passenger compartment of the vehicle.

[0044] An air blower unit 13 is provided at a downstream side of the inside/outside air switching box 11 in the air conditioning unit 10 , for blowing air to the downstream side of the air conditioning unit 10 . The air blower unit 13 has a blower-driving motor 14 and a centrifugal blower fan 15 connected to a rotor shaft of the blower-driving motor 14 . An evaporator 16 and a heater core 17 are arranged in the downstream side of the blower fan 15 .

[0045] The evaporator 16 is a cooling heat exchanger and constitutes a refrigeration cycle with a compressor driven by an engine (not shown) and the like, for cooling air by absorbing heat from the air coming into the air conditioning unit 10 by causing evaporation of low-pressure coolant. The heater core 17 is a heating heat exchanger, for heating the air using hot water (cooling water) flowing in the engine as a heat source.

[0046] An air mix door 18 is rotatably provided at an upstream side of the heater core 17 . The air mix door 18 is driven by an actuator 18 a to determine an opening degree thereof for adjusting the ratio between the amount of heated air passing through the heater core 17 and the amount of cooled air bypassing the heater core 17 , thereby adjusting the temperature of the air blown into the passenger compartment. Namely, the heated air passing through the heater core 17 and the cooled air bypassing the heater core 17 are mixed with each other so as to make air having a temperature indicated by a passenger. Therefore, the air mix door constitutes a temperature adjusting means for the air blown into the passenger compartment.

[0047] At the most downstream end of the ventilation passage in the air conditioning unit 10 , a blow-out mode switching portion is provided. More specifically, a defroster door 20 for opening and closing a defroster blow-out port 19 , a face door 22 for opening and closing a face blow-out port 21 and a foot door 24 for opening and closing a foot blow-out port 23 are provided. These doors 20 , 22 , 24 are driven by an actuator 25 to determine a blow-out mode of the conditioned air, for example, a FACE mode (FACE), a BI-LEVEL mode (B/L), a FOOT mode (FOOT), a FOOT-DEF mode or a DEFROSTER mode. The conditioned air is blown into the passenger compartment from an opened port according to the blow-out mode.

[0048] When the FACE mode is selected, the face blow-out port 21 is fully opened while the defroster blow-out port 19 and the foot blow-out port 23 are closed, thereby blowing out the conditioned air only through the face blow-out port 21 toward an upper body of the passenger in the passenger compartment of the vehicle.

[0049] When the BI-LEVEL mode is selected, the face blow-out port 21 and the foot blow-out port 23 are fully opened while the defroster blow-out port 19 is closed, thereby blowing out the conditioned air through the face blow-out port 21 and the foot blow-out port 23 toward the upper body and feet of the passenger in the passenger compartment of the vehicle at the substantially equal amount of the conditioned air.

[0050] When the FOOT mode is selected, the foot blow-out port 23 is fully opened while the face blow-out port 21 is closed, and the defroster blow-out port 19 is slightly opened. As a result, the conditioned air is mainly blown toward the feet of the passenger through the foot blow-out port 23 while some of the conditioned air is blown toward an inside part of a windshield of the vehicle through the defroster blow-out port 19 .

[0051] When the DEFROSTER mode is selected, the defroster blow-out port 19 is fully opened while the face blow-out port 21 and the foot blow-out port 23 are closed, thereby blowing out the conditioned air only through the defroster blow-out port 19 toward the inside part of the windshield of the vehicle.

[0052] When the FOOT-DEFROSTER mode is selected, the defroster blow-out port 19 and the foot blow-out port 23 are fully opened while the face blow-out port 21 is closed, thereby blowing out the conditioned air through the defroster blow-out port 19 and the foot blow-out port 23 at substantially the same amount.

[0053] An air conditioning control device 30 has a microcomputer 31 as a control means. The amount of the conditioned air blown into the passenger compartment is controlled by determining the revolution speed of the blower motor 14 that is determined by the applied voltage (blower voltage) thereto. The blower voltage is adjusted in accordance with an output signal from the microcomputer 31 through a drive circuit 32 . Other actuators 12 a , 18 a and 25 are also controlled by the drive circuit 32 based on output signals from the microcomputer 31 .

[0054] The microcomputer 31 has a well-known structure including a CPU, a ROM portion, a RAM portion, a standby RAM portion, an I/O port portion, an A/D converter and the like.

[0055] The standby RAM serves as memory means, i.e., a backup memory for storing values (information) that have the passenger's preferences learned through the operations by the passenger even when an ignition switch (hereinafter, referred to as an IG) is turned off the ignition switch changing the status of the engine from an active condition to a non-active condition, and vice versa. The voltage is supplied to the standby RAM directly from a battery equipped in the vehicle, not through the IG even if the IG is turned off. Besides, a backup battery (not shown) is equipped with the vehicle to supply voltage to the microcomputer 31 for a short time in a situation that the microcomputer 31 is disconnected from the battery.

[0056] Operational signals are input to the microcomputer 31 that are sent from an air conditioning operational portion 33 arranged on an instrument panel in the passenger compartment. Many kinds of switches are provided in the operational portion 33 , such as an AUTO switch 34 for setting an automatic control condition of the air conditioner, an inside/outside air selecting switch 35 for manually selecting a suction mode between an inside air suction mode and an outside air suction mode, a blow-out mode selecting switch 36 for manually selecting the blow-out mode described above, a blowing air amount adjusting switch 37 for manually adjusting the amount of air blown by the fan 15 , a temperature setting switch 38 for setting a preferred temperature of the passenger. The temperature setting switch 38 serves as an operational portion operated by the passenger for setting a passenger's desired condition in the air conditioning of the vehicle.

[0057] The inside/outside air selecting switch 35 , the blow-out mode selecting switch 36 , the blowing air amount adjusting switch 37 and the temperature setting switch 38 denote operating means for setting the preferred air-conditioning of the passenger operated by the passenger. The microcomputer 31 changes a control characteristic based on the air-conditioning operating information set by operations at respective switches 35 - 38 by the passenger. That is, the microcomputer 31 performs a learning control.

[0058] The blowing air amount adjusting switch 37 has an up amount switch 37 a and a down amount switch 37 b both of which are push type switches. The up amount switch 37 a outputs an increase signal by which the blower voltage (the voltage supplied to the drive motor 14 ) is increased by one level that denotes 0.25 volts in every single pushing operation by the passenger. The down amount switch 37 b outputs a reduction signal by which the blower voltage is reduced by one level that denotes 0.25 volts in every single pushing operation by the passenger.

[0059] The microcomputer 31 receives sensor signals from several sensors each of which detects an environmental condition, i.e., air-conditioning heat load, that influences the air conditioning in the passenger compartment. More specifically, the sensors are an inside air temperature sensor 39 for detecting the temperature (TR) of air inside of the passenger compartment, an outside air temperature sensor 40 for detecting the temperature (TAM) of air outside of the vehicle, a sunlight sensor 41 for detecting the amount of sunlight (TS) incident into the passenger compartment, an evaporator temperature sensor 42 for detecting the temperature (TE) of the evaporator (actually, the temperature of the air immediately after passing through the evaporator), a water temperature sensor 43 for detecting the temperature (TW) of the cooling water circulating in the engine and the heater core 17 , a seat sensor 44 as rear seat passenger detecting means which is provided at a rear seat for detecting the presence of a rear seat passenger and the like. The signals from those sensors are input to the microcomputer after being converted by the A/D converter. A signal sent from the temperature setting switch 38 is also input to the microcomputer 31 after its level is converted by a level converter circuit 45 .

[0060] A vehicle navigation system 50 is connected to the microcomputer 31 . The navigation system 50 has a monitor (not shown) to display a current position of the vehicle. The passenger can input his/her personal information such as the length of the hair, his/her age into the microcomputer 31 through a display of the monitor. That is, the navigation system 50 denotes input means for inputting personal information by operations by the passenger.

[0061] Next, a flow chart executed by the microcomputer 31 in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 2 . This flow chart will start by turning on the IG. First of all, every conversion and setting of initial values of flags or the like are executed in step S 1 . Next, the microcomputer 31 reads the operational signals from the switches 34 - 38 of the air conditioning operational portion 33 in step S 2 . Also, the microcomputer 31 reads the detected signals indicative of the environmental conditions of the vehicle from the sensors 39 - 44 and a signal from the navigation system 50 in step S 2 .

[0062] Next, a target blowing temperature TAO of the air blown into the passenger compartment is calculated in step S 3 based on detected signals indicative of the environmental conditions that are read out at the step S 2 and a preset temperature TSET by using the following equation 1. The TAO is a necessary air blowing temperature for keeping the passenger compartment at the control preset temperature TSET regardless of change in the environmental condition.

TAO=KSET×TSET−KR×TR−KAM×TAM−KS×TS+C (1)

[0063] Wherein KSET, KR, KAM and KS represent coefficients, and C represents a correction constant. TSET, TR, TAM, TS represent the control preset temperature, the inside air temperature, the outside air temperature, the sunlight amount as described above, respectively.

[0064] Next, the flow continues to step S 4 , so that a blower voltage for determining the blowing air amount is determined in accordance with the TAO obtained from the above-described equation (1). It is difficult to determine the amount of air blown into the compartment uniformly due to the individual differences of the passenger. Accordingly, in this embodiment, the microcomputer 31 alters a blower voltage calculation map as a blowing air amount control characteristic based on a manual operation by the passenger with respect to the amount of the air blown into the passenger compartment, so that the blower voltage map becomes the one which learns the passenger's preference.

[0065] Moreover, microcomputer 31 can determine a blower voltage calculation pattern based on the personal information. More specifically, the microcomputer 31 has plural blower voltage calculation maps, and selects one of them according to the personal information of the passenger or calculation so as to determine the blower voltage based on the selected blower voltage calculation map. The maps will be described in detail later. Also, the microcomputer 31 can determine the blower voltage calculation pattern by calculation using the personal information.

[0066] Next, the flow continues to step S 5 to calculate a target opening degree SW of the air mix door 18 based on the TAO described above, TE and TW.

[0067] Next, the flow will continue to step S 6 to determine the inside/outside air suction mode of the sucking ratio between the inside air and the outside air that is adjusted by the inside/outside-air switching door 12 based on the TAO. Then, the flow will continue to step S 7 to determine the blow-out mode that is achieved with the blow-out mode doors 20 , 22 and 24 based on the TAO. Then, in next step S 8 , the control for the compressor is determined so that the evaporator temperature TE is kept at a target temperature of the evaporator. The calculation for the blow-out mode based on the TAO may be conducted between steps S 3 and S 4 .

[0068] After that, the flow will continue to step S 9 to control an activation in each actuator 12 a , 18 a and 25 and the compressor in addition to the revolution rate of the blower motor 14 by supplying control signals to them through the drive circuit 32 that are obtained at each step S 4 to S 8 described above. The flow will return to step S 2 after finishing step S 9 to repeat the above-described steps.

[0069] Next, the determination for the blower voltage in step S 4 shown in FIG. 2 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4 . One pattern among patterns a 1 to a 6 as the blower voltage calculation maps, which is shown in step S 180 in FIG. 3 , is selected based on the personal information of the passenger. The blower voltage maps shown as the patterns a 1 to a 6 are provided in every blow-out mode. The blower voltage maps are provided previously before the passenger operates the blowing air amount adjusting switch 37 for the first time.

[0070] Incidentally, the selected pattern may be obtained by calculating the personal information. The selected pattern obtained by calculation may be the same as one shown in step S 180 .

[0071] The pattern a 1 denotes an average characteristic in the amount of the blowing air. The pattern a 2 denotes a relatively high characteristic in the amount of the blowing air so that the amount of the blowing air is more than that in the pattern a 1 at an intermediate temperature range of the TAO. The pattern a 3 denotes the highest characteristic in the amount of the blowing air so that the amount of the blowing air is more than that in the pattern a 2 at a temperature range between 10 to 39 Celsius of the TAO. The pattern a 4 denotes a relatively low characteristic in the amount of the blowing air so that the amount of the blowing air is less than that in the pattern a 1 at an intermediate temperature range of the TAO. The pattern a 5 denotes the lowest characteristic in the amount of the blowing air so that the amount of the blowing air is less than that in the pattern a 1 at the whole range between for the TAO. The pattern a 6 denotes a slightly lower characteristic in the amount of the blowing air so that the amount of the blowing air is less than that in the pattern a 1 at a low temperature range of the TAO.

[0072] In FIG. 3 , it is determined whether or not an air-conditioning initial setting display is selected on the monitor of the navigation system 50 at step S 110 . The initialization for the air-conditioning is performed when the vehicle is driven for the first time or the passenger changes. In the air-conditioning initial setting display, the personal information, such as the length of the hair, his/her age or the like, is input in the manner that the passenger answers the questions shown on the display of the navigation system. In each step S 120 , S 130 , S 140 , S 150 and S 160 , the determination is conducted based on the personal information.

[0073] When an air-conditioning initial setup is selected and the determination of step S 110 is “YES”, the flow will continue to step S 120 . In this step, it is determined whether or not the passenger is an elderly person who is equal to or older than 55. When the passenger is determined as the elderly person, the determination of step S 120 is “YES”, the flow will continue to step S 125 . Since the elderly person usually dislikes feeling the wind speed of the conditioned air blown into the passenger compartment, the pattern a 5 , i.e., the lowest amount of the blowing air is selected in step S 125 from the blower voltage calculation maps.

[0074] When the determination of step S 120 is “NO”, the flow will continue to step S 130 to determine whether or not the passenger wears contact lenses. When the determination of step S 130 is “YES”, the flow will continue to step S 135 . It is likely that eyes will dry out soon when wearing the contact lenses. Therefore, the pattern a 4 , i.e., the relatively low amount of the blowing air is selected.

[0075] When the determination of step S 130 is “NO”, the flow will continue to step S 140 to determine whether or not the passenger has long hair. When the passenger has long hair, the determination of step S 140 is “YES”, the flow will continue to step S 145 . It is likely that a person who has long hair dislikes the hair being blown. Therefore, the pattern a 6 , i.e., the slightly low amount of the blowing air is selected.

[0076] When the determination of step S 140 is “NO”, the flow will continue to step S 150 to determine whether or not the passenger wears glasses or whether or not the passenger does not put the blow-out direction of the conditioned air toward him/herself. When the determination of step S 150 is “YES”, the flow will continue to step S 155 . It is likely that a person who wears glasses does not feel the dry of his/her eyes, and likely wants to feel the conditioned air blown toward him/herself. Therefore, the pattern a 3 , i.e., the highest amount of the blowing air is selected. This selection is also applicable to a person who does not put the blow-out direction of the conditioned air toward him/herself because the strong wind of the conditioned air helps the person feel the air-conditioning with the air strongly blown into the passenger compartment.

[0077] When the determination of step S 150 is “NO”, the flow will continue to step S 160 to determine whether or not the passenger is a young person who is younger than 21. When the passenger is the young person, the determination of step S 160 is “YES”, the flow will continue to step S 165 . It is likely that the young person likes to feel the wind speed of the conditioned air blown into the passenger compartment. Therefore, the pattern a 2 , i.e., the relatively higher amount of the blowing air is selected.

[0078] When the determination of step S 160 is “NO”, the flow will continue to step S 170 to select the pattern a 1 , i.e., the average amount of the blowing air.

[0079] Then, the flow continues to step S 180 to determine the control pattern, which is selected from patterns a 1 to a 6 according to the preceding steps, as a blower voltage calculation map to determine the blower voltage and as a basis (specific) blower voltage calculation map to learn the passenger's preference. The blower voltage calculation maps are provided in each blow-out mode. Therefore, one of, for example, six blower voltage calculation maps is chosen in each blow-out mode.

[0080] After the procedures shown in FIG. 3 , the procedures shown in FIG. 4 will be performed. The blower voltage calculation map is altered according to the operation by the passenger, and the blower voltage is determined based on the TAO. In step S 210 , it is determined whether or not the blow-out mode is currently the FACE mode. When the mode is FACE mode, the determination in step S 210 is “YES”, and the flow will continue to step S 211 to determine whether or not the passenger manually has changed the amount of the conditioned air blown into the passenger compartment by operating the blowing air amount adjusting switch 37 . When the amount of the conditioned air blown into the passenger compartment is changed manually by the passenger, the determination in step S 211 is “YES”, and the flow will continue to step S 212 .

[0081] In step S 212 , the blower voltage calculation map of the FACE mode, which is shown in FIG. 5 A, is changed to learn the passenger's preference based on the operation of the blowing air amount adjusting switch 37 . The blower voltage calculation map in this case is selected at step S 180 in FIG. 3 as the one for the FACE mode. Then, the flow will continue to step S 213 to calculate the blower voltage using the TAO based on the lower voltage calculation map in the FACE mode. When the determination in step S 211 is “NO”, the flow immediately continues to step S 213 to calculate it.

[0082] When the determination in step S 210 is “NO”, the flow will continue to step S 220 to determine whether or not the blow-out mode is currently the BI-LEVEL mode. When the mode is the BI-LEVEL (B/L) mode, the determination in step S 220 is “YES”, the flow will continue to step S 221 to determine whether or not the passenger has changed manually the amount of the conditioned air blown into the passenger compartment by operating the blowing air amount adjusting switch 37 . In a case where he/she has manually changed the amount of the conditioned air, the determination in step S 221 is “YES” so that the flow continues to step S 222 .

[0083] In step S 222 , the blower voltage calculation map of the BI-LEVEL mode, which is shown in FIG. 5 B, is changed to learn the passenger's preference based on the operation of the blowing air amount adjusting switch 37 . The blower voltage calculation map in this case is selected at step S 180 in FIG. 3 as the one for the BI-LEVEL mode. Then, the flow will continue to step S 223 to calculate the blower voltage using the TAO based on the lower voltage calculation map of the BI-LEVEL mode. When the determination in step S 221 is “NO”, the flow immediately continues to step S 223 to calculate it.

[0084] When the determination in step S 220 is “NO”, the flow will continue to step S 230 to determine whether or not the blow-out mode is currently the FOOT mode. When the mode is the FOOT mode, the determination in step S 230 is “YES”, the flow will continue to step S 231 to determine whether or not the passenger has manually changed the amount of the conditioned air blown into the passenger compartment by operating the blowing air amount adjusting switch 37 . In a case where he/she has manually changed the amount of the conditioned air, the determination in step S 231 is “YES” so that the flow continues to step S 232 .

[0085] In step S 232 , the blower voltage calculation map of the FOOT mode, which is shown in FIG. 5 C, is changed to learn the passenger's preference based on the operation of the blowing air amount adjusting switch 37 . The blower voltage calculation map in this case is selected at step S 180 in FIG. 3 as the one for the FOOT mode. Then, the flow will continue to step S 233 to calculate the blower voltage using the TAO based on the lower voltage calculation map in the FOOT mode. When the determination in step S 231 is “NO”, the flow immediately continues to step S 233 to calculate it.

[0086] When the determination in step S 230 is “NO”, the flow will continue to step S 240 to determine whether or not the blow-out mode is currently the FOOT/DEF (F/D) mode. When the mode is the FOOT/DEF mode, the determination in step S 240 is “YES”, the flow will continue to step S 241 to determine whether or not the passenger has manually changed the amount of the conditioned air blown into the passenger compartment by operating the blowing air amount adjusting switch 37 . In a case where he/she has manually changed the amount of the conditioned air, the determination in step S 241 is “YES” so that the flow continues to step S 242 .

[0087] In step S 242 , the blower voltage calculation map of the FOOT/DEF mode, which is shown in FIG. 5 D, is changed to learn the passenger's preference based on the operation of the blowing air amount adjusting switch 37 . The blower voltage calculation map in this case is selected at step S 180 in FIG. 3 as the one for the FOOT/DEF mode. Then, the flow will continue to step S 243 to calculate the blower voltage using the TAO based on the lower voltage calculation map in the FOOT/DEF mode. When the determination in step S 241 is “NO”, the flow immediately continues to step S 243 to calculate it.

[0088] When the determination in step S 240 is “NO”, the flow will continue to step S 251 . The current blow-out mode is the DEF mode when the flow continues to step S 251 in response to the result of determining for the current mode in steps S 210 to 240 . In step S 241 , it is determined whether or not the passenger has manually changed the amount of the conditioned air blown into the passenger compartment by operating the blowing air amount adjusting switch 37 . In a case where he/she has manually changed the amount of the conditioned air, the determination in step S 251 is “YES” so that the flow continues to step S 252 .

[0089] In step S 242 , the blower voltage calculation map of the DEF mode, which is shown in FIG. 5 E, is changed to learn the passenger's preference based on the operation of the blowing air amount adjusting switch 37 . The blower voltage calculation map in this case is selected at step S 180 in FIG. 3 as the one for the DEF mode. Then, the flow will continue to step S 253 to calculate the blower voltage using the TAO based on the lower voltage calculation map in the FOOT/DEF mode. When the determination in step S 251 is “NO”, the flow immediately continues to step S 253 to calculate it.

[0090] As described above, the passenger's preference can be learned by altering the blower voltage calculation map corresponding to each mode in respective step S 212 , S 222 , S 232 , S 242 , S 252 based on the operation of the blowing air amount adjusting switch 37 by the passenger.

[0091] The concrete learning for the blower voltage calculation map in, for example, step S 212 , will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 A- 6 C. The control characteristic A 1 shown in FIG. 6A is the blower voltage calculation map determined at step S 180 . When the operation by the passenger regarding the amount of the conditioned air blown into the passenger compartment has never been learned, the blower voltage is obtained by using this map A 1 .

[0092] When the passenger operates the blowing air amount adjusting switch 37 the first time so that the blower voltage is lowered from an α 0 level (maximum amount of the blown air) to an operating point α 1 level, this operation is learned so that an inclined portion of the control characteristic A 1 is translated parallel to the left side in FIG. 6A (a lower temperature side of the TAO). A control characteristic B 1 shows the characteristic after learning the first passenger's operation.

[0093] As shown in FIG. 6 B, when the blower voltage is raised from a β 0 level (small amount of the blown air close to a minimum amount of the blown air Lo) in the characteristic B 1 after the first learning to an operating point β 1 level in association with a second operation by the passenger, an inclination θ of the control characteristic is changed so as to be defined by both operating points α 1 and β 1 . A control characteristic C 1 shows the characteristic after learning the second passenger's operation.

[0094] As shown in FIG. 6 C, when the blower voltage is lowered from a γ 0 level (the amount between the minimum amount of the blown air Lo and the amount of the operating point β 1 ) in the characteristic C 1 after the second learning to an operating point γ 1 level, i.e., the Lo level in association with a third operation by the passenger, an inclination θ of the control characteristic C 1 is changed so as to be the one obtained by a least squares approach with the operating points α 1 , β 1 and γ 1 . Therefore, the characteristic after learning the third passenger's operation is a control characteristic D 1 shown in FIG. 6C . In a passenger's operation of more than 3 times, an inclination of the characteristic is changed by a least squares approach with the operating points.

[0095] In this embodiment, the air conditioner, which automatically controls the amount of the blown air according to the control characteristic, has plural control characteristics as the control characteristic for the amount of the blown air. In addition, the air conditioner selects the most suitable one for the passenger from the plural control characteristics according to the personal information of the passenger such as his/her age or the like. Therefore, the air-conditioning is performed, which is supposed to be close to the one suitable for the passenger's preference.

[0096] Moreover, learning of the passenger's preference is conducted using the characteristic selected according to the passenger's information that is supposed to be close to the passenger's preference. Therefore, the control characteristic can be modified relatively quickly to the one which is the most suitable for the passenger's preference by the small amount of times of an operation by the passenger. Or, the passenger might need not alert the selected control characteristic since it is selected based on the passenger's information to get close to his/her preference.

[0097] (Second Embodiment)

[0098] In this embodiment, the age of the passenger or the like is presumed using an image analysis. For achieving the analysis, the process shown in FIG. 3 is modified to that shown in FIG. 7 . In this embodiment, the air conditioner has an image recognition device (not shown) such as a CCD camera to output image signals of a passenger in a vehicle. The other features are the same as those of the first embodiment.

[0099] The age of the passenger or the like is presumed by analyzing the image signals input from the image recognition device at step S 310 . Then, the flow will continue based on the presumed personal information as follows.

[0100] In step S 320 , it is determined whether or not the passenger is an elderly person who is equal to or older than 55. When the passenger is determined as the elderly person, the determination of step S 320 is “YES”, the flow will continue to step S 325 . The pattern a 5 , i.e., the lowest amount of the blown air is selected in step S 325 among the blower voltage calculation maps.

[0101] When the determination of step S 320 is “NO”, the flow will continue to step S 330 to determine whether or not the passenger has long hair. When the passenger has long hair, the determination of step S 330 is “YES”, the flow will continue to step S 335 . The pattern a 6 , i.e., the slightly low amount of the blowing air is selected.

[0102] When the determination of step S 330 is “NO”, the flow will continue to step S 340 to determine whether or not the passenger wears glasses. When the determination of step S 340 is “YES”, the flow will continue to step S 345 . The pattern a 3 , i.e., the highest amount of the blowing air is selected.

[0103] When the determination of step S 340 is “NO”, the flow will continue to step S 350 to determine whether or not the passenger is a young person who is younger than 21. When the passenger is the young person, the determination of step S 350 is “YES”, the flow will continue to step S 355 . The pattern a 2 , i.e., the relatively high amount of the blowing air is selected.

[0104] When the determination of step S 350 is “NO”, the flow will continue to step S 365 to select the pattern a 1 , i.e., the average amount of the blowing air.

[0105] Then, the flow continues to step S 370 to determine the control pattern, which is selected from patterns a 1 to a 6 according to the preceding steps, as a blower voltage calculation map to determine the blower voltage and as a basis blower voltage calculation map to learn the passenger's preference. Then, the processes shown in FIG. 4 are performed.

[0106] In this embodiment, in addition to the effect in the first embodiment, the image analysis is used for getting passenger's information without inputting it so as to be convenient for the passenger.

[0107] The presumption of the passenger can be conducted automatically when the passenger changes from one to the other. Especially, when the car is a company-owned car which is usually used by a different person of the company, it is useful to apply the automatic setting of the air-conditioning, since the air conditioner can choose the most suitable blower voltage calculation map for each driver by using the image analysis without the operation by the driver.

[0108] (Third Embodiment)

[0109] In this embodiment, a control characteristic, which is supposed to be the most suitable for a passenger, may be selected by obtaining the passenger's information from a passenger's belongings containing it. The process shown in FIG. 3 is modified to that shown in FIG. 8 . A receiver is provided so as to be connected to the air conditioner for receiving the personal information of the passenger from the belongings such as a cell phone, a PDA or the like. The other features are the same as those of the first embodiment.

[0110] When an air-conditioning initial setup is selected at step S 410 , the age of the passenger, the length of passenger's hair or the like is input by communicating with the passenger's belongings. Then, the flow will continue based on the input personal information as follows.

[0111] In step S 420 , it is determined whether or not the passenger is an elderly person who is equal to or older than 55. When the passenger is determined as the elderly person, the determination of step S 420 is “YES”, the flow will continue to step S 425 . The pattern a 5 , i.e., the lowest amount of the blown air is selected in step S 425 among the blower voltage calculation maps.

[0112] When the determination of step S 420 is “NO”, the flow will continue to step S 430 to determine whether or not the passenger wears contact lenses. When the determination of step S 430 is “YES”, the flow will continue to step S 435 . The pattern a 4 , i.e., the relatively lower amount of the blowing air is selected.

[0113] When the determination of step S 430 is “NO”, the flow will continue to step S 440 to determine whether or not the passenger has long hair. When the passenger has long hair, the determination of step S 440 is “YES”, the flow will continue to step S 445 . The pattern a 6 , i.e., the slightly lower amount of the blowing air is selected.

[0114] When the determination of step S 440 is “NO”, the flow will continue to step S 450 to determine whether or not the passenger wears glasses. When the determination of step S 450 is “YES”, the flow will continue to step S 455 . The pattern a 3 , i.e., the highest amount of the blowing air is selected.

[0115] When the determination of step S 450 is “NO”, the flow will continue to step S 460 to determine whether or not the passenger is a young person who is younger than 21. When the passenger is the young person, the determination of step S 460 is “YES”, the flow will continue to step S 465 . The pattern a 2 , i.e., the relatively high amount of the blowing air is selected.

[0116] When the determination of step S 460 is “NO”, the flow will continue to step S 475 to select the pattern a 1 , i.e., the average amount of the blowing air.

[0117] Then, the flow continues to step S 480 to determine the control pattern, which is selected among patterns at a 1 to a 6 according to the preceding steps, as a blower voltage calculation map to determine the blower voltage and as a basis blower voltage calculation map to learn the passenger's preference. Then, the processes shown in FIG. 4 are performed.

[0118] In this embodiment, in addition to the effect in the first embodiment, receiving the personal information from the passenger's belongings such as the cell phone or the like allows the passenger not input it by him/herself.

[0119] (Fourth Embodiment)

[0120] In this embodiment, the selected control characteristic can be cleared by the instruction of the passenger when the preference of the passenger changes significantly. To accomplish this, the process shown in FIG. 9 is added to the flow described in, for example, the first embodiment. The air conditioner has a clear switch (not shown) to clear the selected characteristic. The other features are the same as those of the first embodiment.

[0121] In step S 510 , it is determined whether or not the passenger has operated the clear switch to clear the blower voltage calculation map that has already been selected. It is supposed that the clear switch is operated in a case where the passenger's preference changes significantly because, for example, the passenger changes his/her hair style, or the passenger changes from glasses to contact lenses. When the clear switch is operated, the determination at step S 510 is “YES”, the flow will continue to step S 520 .

[0122] In step S 520 , the blower voltage calculation map, which has already been selected, is cleared, and the averaged characteristic pattern a 1 is selected as a blower voltage calculation map for determining the blower voltage after that. The pattern a 1 is also used as a basis for learning the passenger's preference.

[0123] According to this embodiment, the selected control characteristic is cleared when the preference for the control characteristic is changed so that learning of the passenger's preference is restarted using a newly selected control characteristic as the basis. Therefore, the control characteristic can be modified relatively soon to the one which is the most suitable for the passenger's preference by the small amount of times of an operation by the passenger.

[0124] In the above-described embodiments, one map is selected from the group of the blower voltage calculation maps according to the passenger's information. However, the other determination can be applied as follows. First, a standard pattern for the blower voltage calculation map is selected as a basis control characteristic. Then, the blower voltage calculation map, which is supposed to be the most suitable for the passenger, is obtained by calculating the basis control characteristic in light of the passenger's information. Or, the blower voltage calculation map, which is supposed to be the most suitable for the passenger, is obtained by simply calculating the passenger's information.

[0125] This invention can be applied to an air conditioner which controls the air-conditioning in each air-conditioning zone independently in a vehicle. Each one may be selected from the blower voltage calculation maps in every air-conditioning zone based on the information of each passenger sitting in each air-conditioning zone. Even when fellow passengers ride in the vehicle with the owner driver in a situation where the blower voltage calculation maps in all air-conditioning zones are the same as one having the preference of the owner driver, the blower voltage calculation map, which is the most suitable for each passenger, can be selected in each zone. Therefore, the air-conditioning can be performed to match with the passenger's preference in each zone without frequent operations by each passenger.

[0126] (Fifth Embodiment)

[0127] In this embodiment, a different control of the air-conditioning will be described with reference to FIG. 10 . Similar to the first embodiment, one map is selected from blower voltage calculation maps shown in step S 660 in FIG. 10 according to the operating information by a passenger during a predetermined time. Each blow-out mode has these previously-prepared maps. These maps are a basis for learning the passenger's preference.

[0128] In FIG. 10 , it is determined whether or not an air-conditioning initial setting display is selected on the monitor of the navigation system 50 at step S 610 . When the air-conditioning initial setting display is on the monitor, the determination at step S 610 is “YES”, and then, the flow will continue to step S 620 .

[0129] In step S 620 , it is determined whether or not the passenger has indicated the start for learning the passenger's preference. When the start for the learning is indicated, the determination in step S 620 is “YES”, and the flow will continue to step S 630 .

[0130] In step S 630 , it is determined whether or not the passenger has manually changed the amount of the conditioned air blown into the passenger compartment by operating the blowing air amount adjusting switch 37 . When the amount of the blown air is changed manually by the passenger, the determination in step S 630 is “YES”, and the flow will continue to step S 640 .

[0131] In step S 640 , the air conditioner memorizes the information at the operating point indicated by the blowing air amount adjusting switch 37 , i.e., the air-conditioning operating information regarding the amount of the blown air. More specifically, the blower voltage set by the blowing air amount adjusting switch 37 and the TAO at that time are recorded.

[0132] Then, the flow will continue to step S 650 . The determination in step S 650 is “NO” until the number of times of an operation to change the amount of the blown air reaches 10 times. In this case, the steps S 630 and S 640 are repeated. When the number of times of the operation to change the amount of the blown air exceeds 10 times, the determination in step S 650 is “YES”, the flow will continue to step S 660 .

[0133] In step S 660 , the blower voltage calculation map, which is presumed to be the one closest to the passenger's preference, is selected among patterns a 1 to a 6 of blower voltage calculation maps based on the information of the ten operating points recorded at step S 640 .

[0134] The selection is performed as follows. The “o”s shown in step S 660 denote ten operating points recorded at step S 640 . For example, an operating point X in step S 660 is the closest to the patterns a 2 and a 3 among all patterns. Then, the operating point X is closer to the patterns a 1 and a 6 than the remaining patterns. In this case, a ten-point is applied to each of the patterns a 2 and a 3 , and a five-point is applied to each of the patterns a 1 and a 6 . Likewise, each pattern is applied with some points with respect to the other operating points. Finally, the blower voltage calculation map of the pattern which has the highest point value is selected. The selected blower voltage calculation map is a basis for learning the passenger's preference. Incidentally, the blower voltage calculation maps in the patterns a 1 to a 6 are the same those shown in step S 180 in FIG. 3 described above.

[0135] On the other hand, when the determinations in steps S 610 and S 620 are “NO”, that is, the air-conditioning initial setting display is not selected, or when the start of learning of the passenger's preference is not indicated, a normal partial learning is performed at step S 625 . In this embodiment, the partial learning is conducted through the flow similar to the one shown in FIG. 4, i .e., the whole steps shown in FIGS. 4 , 5 A- 5 E and 6 A- 6 C described above. Therefore, the description will be omitted here.

[0136] In this embodiment, the air conditioner, which automatically controls the amount of the blown air according to the blower voltage calculation map, learns the passenger's preference by altering the blower voltage calculation map. The air conditioner presumes the passenger's preference based on the air-conditioning operating information during the predetermined time, and selects the one as the basis map, which is supposed to be the most suitable for the passenger's preference, among the plural blower voltage calculation maps. Therefore, the blower voltage calculation map, which is selected after the predetermined time the passenger operated the switch 37 for ten times, will be matched with the passenger's preference. Moreover, after the blower voltage calculation map is selected, learning of the passenger's preference will continue. Namely, the selected blower voltage calculation map is the basis map to learn the passenger's preference and is altered according to the passenger's operation so as to be further close to the passenger's preference with a small amount of times of operation by the passenger.

[0137] (Sixth Embodiment)

[0138] In this embodiment, the amount of operation by a passenger is reflected to learning of the passenger's preference in a wide range during a predetermined time. After the predetermined time has elapsed, the amount of an operation by the passenger after the predetermined time is reflected to learning the passenger's preference in a narrow range. To achieve the control, the process shown in FIG. 10 is modified to that shown in FIG. 11 . The other features are the same as those of the fifth embodiment.

[0139] In FIG. 11 , it is determined whether or not an air-conditioning initial setting display is selected on the monitor of the navigation system 50 at step S 710 . When the air-conditioning initial setting display is on the monitor, the determination at step S 710 is “YES”, and then, the flow will continue to step S 720 .

[0140] In step S 720 , it is determined whether or not the passenger has indicated the start for learning the passenger's preference. When the start for the learning is indicated, the determination in step S 720 is “YES”, and the flow will continue to step S 730 . The standard blower voltage calculation map memorized previously, which is identical to the pattern a 1 in FIG. 10 , is used as a basis for learning in the following steps.

[0141] In step S 730 , it is determined the number of times of operation at the blowing air amount adjusting switch 37 by the passenger after the indication of the start for the learning. When the amount of times of the operation is within ten times (one to ten), the determination in step S 730 is “YES”, and the flow will continue to step S 640 . In this step, the blower voltage calculation map is altered to learn the passenger's preference in association with the TAO over a range of the outside temperature TAM±40° C. at the time when the blowing air amount adjusting switch 37 is operated.

[0142] When the determination in step S 730 is “NO”, the flow will continue to step S 750 . When the amount of times of the operation is between eleven and twenty, the determination in step S 750 is “YES”, and the flow will continue to step S 760 . In this step, the blower voltage calculation map is altered to learn the passenger's preference in association with the TAO over a range of the outside temperature TAM±20° C. at the time when the blowing air amount adjusting switch 37 is operated.

[0143] When the determination in step S 750 is “NO”, the flow will continue to step S 770 . When the amount of times of the operation is between twenty-one and thirty, the determination in step S 770 is “YES”, and the flow will continue to step S 780 . In this step, the blower voltage calculation map is altered to learn the passenger's preference in association with the TAO over a range of the outside temperature TAM±10° C. at the time when the blowing air amount adjusting switch 37 is operated.

[0144] When the determination in step S 770 is “NO”, that is, when the amount of times of the operation is more than thirty, the flow will continue to step S 790 . In this step, the blower voltage calculation map is altered to learn the passenger's preference in association with the TAO over a range of the outside temperature TAM±5° C. at the time when the blowing air amount adjusting switch 37 is operated.

[0145] On the other hand, when the determinations in steps S 710 and S 720 are “NO”, that is, the air-conditioning initial setting display is not selected, or when the start of learning of the passenger's preference is not indicated, a normal partial learning is performed at step S 725 .

[0146] In this embodiment, the amount of the operation by the passenger is reflected to the learning in the wide range during the predetermined time after the vehicle is purchased. Then, the further amount of the operation by the passenger is reflected to the learning in the narrow range after the predetermined time has passed. Therefore, the blower voltage calculation map can be modified promptly to the one which is matched roughly with the passenger's preference, and then, it can be modified so as further to approach the passenger's preference by the partial learning after the rough learning with a small amount of times of the operation by the passenger.

[0147] Similar to the first through third embodiments, the clearing process described in the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 9 can be also applied to the above-described fifth, sixth, and the following seventh embodiments that is performed with the clear switch (not shown) operated by the passenger.

[0148] (Seventh Embodiment)

[0149] In this embodiment, the learning is performed using a standard blower voltage calculation map before a basis blower voltage calculation map is determined. Moreover, the determination of the basis blower voltage calculation map is informed to the passenger when it is determined. To accomplish this, the process shown in FIG. 3 is modified to the flow shown in FIG. 12 . The other features are the same as those of the fifth embodiment.

[0150] In FIG. 12 , it is determined whether or not an air-conditioning initial setting display is selected on the monitor of the navigation system 50 at step S 810 . When the air-conditioning initial setting display is on the monitor, the determination at step S 810 is “YES”, and then, the flow will continue to step S 820 .

[0151] In step S 820 , it is determined whether or not the passenger has indicated the start for learning the passenger's preference. When the start for the learning is indicated, the determination in step S 820 is “YES”, and the flow will continue to step S 830 .

[0152] In step S 830 , it is determined whether or not the passenger has manually changed the amount of the conditioned air blown into the passenger compartment by operating the blowing air amount adjusting switch 37 . When the amount of the blown air is changed manually by the passenger, the determination in step S 830 is “YES”, and the flow will continue to step S 840 .

[0153] In step S 840 , the air conditioner memorizes the information at the operating point indicated by the blowing air amount adjusting switch 37 , i.e., the air-conditioning operating information regarding the amount of the blown air. More specifically, the blower voltage set by the blowing air amount adjusting switch 37 and the TAO at that time are recorded.

[0154] Then, the flow will continue to step S 850 to conduct the normal partial learning based on the blower voltage calculation map of the pattern a 1 shown in FIG. 10 having a standard characteristic of the blowing air amount.

[0155] Next, the flow will continue to step S 860 . The determination in step S 860 is “NO” until the number of times of an operation to change the amount of the blown air reaches 10 times. In this case, the steps S 830 , S 840 and S 850 are repeated.

[0156] As described above, the learning is performed using the blower voltage calculation map in the pattern a 1 as the standard blower voltage calculation map during the predetermined period in the beginning of the learning. Therefore, the learning effect is provisionally obtained.

[0157] Next, when the number of times of the operation to change the amount of the blown air exceeds ten times, the determination in step S 860 is “YES”, the flow will continue to step S 870 . In this step, the blower voltage calculation map, obtained by conducting the normal partial learning at step S 850 , is cleared.

[0158] In the next step S 880 , the blower voltage calculation map, which is presumed as the one closest to the passenger's preference, is selected among the patterns a 1 to a 6 of the blower voltage calculation maps shown in FIG. 10 based on the information of ten operating points recorded at step S 840 . The selection is the same as that in the fifth embodiment. In this embodiment, the blower voltage calculation map in the pattern a 2 , which has relatively high amount characteristic with respect to the conditioned air blown into the passenger compartment, is selected. Then, the partial learning is conducted using the selected blower voltage calculation map as a basis map.

[0159] Next, it is informed to the passenger that the relative high amount characteristic of the blown air is selected as the basis map for subsequently learning of the passenger's preference by using the vehicle navigation system 50 . The information of the selected characteristic is displayed on the monitor of the navigation system 50 and announced as the voice information.

[0160] By informing the passenger of the selected characteristic, the passenger can recognize that the control of the air-conditioning may be changed after the determination of the basis map. Therefore, informing the passenger of the selected characteristic can prevent the passenger from feeling uncomfortable when the air-conditioning is changed based on the selected blower voltage calculation map.

[0161] On the other hand, when the determinations in steps S 810 and S 820 are “NO”, that is, the air-conditioning initial setting display is not selected, or when the start of learning of the passenger's preference is not indicated, a normal partial learning is performed at step S 825 .

[0162] In the above-described fifth through seventh embodiments, the plural patterns of the blower voltage calculation maps are previously provided, and one of them is selected as the basis for learning the passenger's preference based on the operating information by the passenger.

[0163] However, the other determination can be applied as follows. First, a standard pattern for the blower voltage calculation map is selected as a basis control characteristic. Then, the blower voltage calculation map, which is supposed to be the most suitable for the passenger, is obtained by calculating the basis control characteristic in light of the operations by the passenger. Or, the blower voltage calculation map, which is supposed to be the most suitable for the passenger, is obtained by simply calculating the operations by the passenger.

[0164] Also, each of the fifth through seventh embodiments can be applied to various types air conditioners such as the one having plural air-conditioning zones in a vehicle described above.

[0165] In the above-described embodiments, the one is selected from the plural blower voltage calculation maps, or obtained by calculation, based on the personal information of the passenger(s) or the operations by the passenger(s), as the basis control characteristic for learning the passenger's preference. However, the selection or calculation of the control characteristic as the basis characteristic described above can be applied to the other feature such as the inside/outside air suction mode control characteristic, the blow-out mode control characteristic and the blow-out temperature control characteristic.

[0166] While the present invention has been shown and described with reference to the foregoing preferred embodiment, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes in form and detail may be therein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.