Vehicle air conditioner

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10040337-B2
Application number	US-201414909353-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 5, 2014
Priority date	Aug 7, 2013
Publication date	Aug 7, 2018
Grant date	Aug 7, 2018

Abstract

There is disclosed a vehicle air conditioner in which a refrigerant subcool degree of a radiator to satisfy both a high pressure and a refrigerant flow rate during heating can appropriately be controlled to achieve improvement of a heating capability. The vehicle air conditioner comprises a compressor 2 which compresses a refrigerant, a radiator 4 which lets the refrigerant radiate heat, an outdoor heat exchanger 7 disposed outside the vehicle interior to let the refrigerant radiate or absorb heat, and a controller. The controller executes a heating mode to let the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 2 radiate heat in the radiator 4, decompress the refrigerant by which heat has been radiated and then absorb heat in the outdoor heat exchanger 7. The controller 32 has a high pressure priority mode to increase a target radiator subcool degree TGSC of the radiator 4 in a direction in which the high pressure is set to a predetermined high value, and a revolution number priority mode to decrease the target radiator subcool degree of the radiator in a direction in which the revolution number of the compressor 2 is set to a predetermined high value.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A vehicle air conditioner comprising:
a compressor which compresses a refrigerant;
a radiator which lets the refrigerant radiate heat to heat air to be supplied into a vehicle interior;
an outdoor heat exchanger disposed outside the vehicle interior to let the refrigerant absorb heat;
an expansion valve which decompresses the refrigerant flowing into the outdoor heat exchanger; and
control means,
the control means being configured to let the refrigerant discharged from the compressor radiate heat in the radiator, decompress the refrigerant by which heat has been radiated by the expansion valve and then absorb heat in the outdoor heat exchanger, thereby heating the vehicle interior,
wherein the control means controls a subcool degree of the refrigerant in the radiator by the expansion valve, and controls a revolution number of the compressor on the basis of a high pressure, and
has a high pressure priority mode to increase a target radiator subcool degree of the radiator in a direction in which the high pressure is set to a predetermined high value, and
a revolution number priority mode to decrease the target radiator subcool degree of the radiator in a direction in which the revolution number of the compressor is set to a predetermined high value.

2. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1 ,
wherein the control means switches and executes the high pressure priority mode and the revolution number priority mode, thereby changing the target radiator subcool degree of the radiator to highly maintain the revolution number of the compressor while maintaining the high pressure at the predetermined high value.

3. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 2 ,
wherein the control means executes the high pressure priority mode to increase the target radiator subcool degree of the radiator in the direction in which the high pressure is set to the predetermined high value, shifts to the revolution number priority mode in a case where the high pressure reaches the predetermined high value, and decreases the target radiator subcool degree of the radiator in the direction in which the revolution number of the compressor is set to the predetermined high value.

4. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1 ,
wherein in the high pressure priority mode, the control means increases the target radiator subcool degree of the radiator in a direction in which the high pressure is set to an upper limit value of controlling, and in the revolution number priority mode, the control means decreases the target radiator subcool degree of the radiator in a direction in which the revolution number of the compressor is set to an upper limit value of controlling.

5. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 4 ,
wherein in the high pressure priority mode, the control means performs feedback correction of the target radiator subcool degree of the radiator on the basis of a deviation between the upper limit value of controlling of the high pressure and an actual high pressure, and in the revolution number priority mode, the control means performs the feedback correction of the target radiator subcool degree of the radiator on the basis of a deviation between the upper limit value of controlling of the revolution number of the compressor and an actual revolution number.

6. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1 ,
wherein the control means has efficiency priority control and capability priority control,
in the efficiency priority control, the control means determines the target radiator subcool degree of the radiator on the basis of a volume of air to be passed through the radiator, and
shifts to the capability priority control in a case where conditions that a heating capability by the radiator runs short are established, and in the capability priority control, the control means executes the high pressure priority mode and the revolution number priority mode and corrects the target radiator subcool degree of the radiator.

7. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 6 ,
which comprises an injection circuit which distributes a part of the refrigerant flowing out from the radiator to return the part of the refrigerant to the compressor,
wherein the control means changes conditions to shift to the capability priority control in a case where the injection circuit returns the part of the refrigerant flowing out from the radiator to the compressor and a case where the injection circuit does not return the part of the refrigerant to the compressor.

8. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 2 ,
wherein in the high pressure priority mode, the control means increases the target radiator subcool degree of the radiator in a direction in which the high pressure is set to an upper limit value of controlling, and in the revolution number priority mode, the control means decreases the target radiator subcool degree of the radiator in a direction in which the revolution number of the compressor is set to an upper limit value of controlling.

9. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 3 ,
wherein in the high pressure priority mode, the control means increases the target radiator subcool degree of the radiator in a direction in which the high pressure is set to an upper limit value of controlling, and in the revolution number priority mode, the control means decreases the target radiator subcool degree of the radiator in a direction in which the revolution number of the compressor is set to an upper limit value of controlling.

10. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 2 ,
wherein the control means has efficiency priority control and capability priority control,
in the efficiency priority control, the control means determines the target radiator subcool degree of the radiator on the basis of a volume of air to be passed through the radiator, and
shifts to the capability priority control in a case where conditions that a heating capability by the radiator runs short are established, and in the capability priority control, the control means executes the high pressure priority mode and the revolution number priority mode and corrects the target radiator subcool degree of the radiator.

11. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 3 ,
wherein the control means has efficiency priority control and capability priority control,
in the efficiency priority control, the control means determines the target radiator subcool degree of the radiator on the basis of a volume of air to be passed through the radiator, and
shifts to the capability priority control in a case where conditions that a heating capability by the radiator runs short are established, and in the capability priority control, the control means executes the high pressure priority mode and the revolution number priority mode and corrects the target radiator subcool degree of the radiator.

12. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 4 ,
wherein the control means has efficiency priority control and capability priority control,
in the efficiency priority control, the control means determines the target radiator subcool degree of the radiator on the basis of a volume of air to be passed through the radiator, and
shifts to the capability priority control in a case where conditions that a heating capability by the radiator runs short are established, and in the capability priority control, the control means executes the high pressure priority mode and the revolution number priority mode and corrects the target radiator subcool degree of the radiator.

13. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 5 ,
wherein the control means

Assignees

• Sanden Holdings Corp

Inventors

• Miyakoshi Ryo
• Suzuki Kenichi
• Yamashita Kouhei

Classifications

• B60H1/00921

  where the flow direction of the refrigerant does not change and there is an extra subcondenser, e.g. in an air duct · CPC title

• B60H2001/3261

  of the air at an evaporating unit · CPC title

• B60H2001/325

  of the refrigerant at a compressing unit · CPC title

• B60H2001/3258

  of the air at a condensing unit · CPC title

• B60H1/3208

  Vehicle drive related control of the compressor drive means, e.g. for fuel saving purposes · CPC title