Air-conditioner for vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10106012-B2
Application number	US-201515113847-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 26, 2015
Priority date	Apr 24, 2014
Publication date	Oct 23, 2018
Grant date	Oct 23, 2018

Abstract

An air-conditioner for a vehicle includes: a first circuit in which a cooling medium circulates; a heater heating the cooling medium; a first pump disposed in the first circuit; a second circuit cooling a heat emitting portion; a second pump disposed in the second circuit; an adjustment portion controlling a circulation amount of the cooling medium flowing in the first circuit and a circulation amount of the cooling medium flowing in the second circuit; and a control portion. The vehicle includes a regenerative device, and a storage device is charged with electric energy recovered by the regenerative device. When the regenerative device is recovering the electric energy and when it is determined that power in the storage device needs to be consumed, the control portion drives the heater to heat the cooling medium such that the power in the storage device is converted into heat energy.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An air-conditioner for a vehicle configured to blow air-conditioning air into an interior of the vehicle, the air-conditioner comprising:
a first circuit in which a cooling medium circulates to cool a drive source of the vehicle;
a heater heating the cooling medium circulating in the first circuit by consuming power in a storage device installed to the vehicle;
a heating heat-exchanger disposed in the first circuit and heating the air-conditioning air passing through the heating heat-exchanger using the cooling medium by exchanging heat with the air-conditioning air passing through the heating heat-exchanger;
a first pump disposed in the first circuit and forcing the cooling medium to circulate in the first circuit;
a second circuit cooling a heat emitting portion installed to the vehicle, the cooling medium circulating in the first circuit is allowed to circulate in the second circuit;
a second pump disposed in the second circuit and forcing the cooling medium to circulate in the second circuit;
an adjustment portion connecting the first circuit and the second circuit and controlling a circulation amount of the cooling medium flowing in the first circuit and a circulation amount of the cooling medium flowing in the second circuit;
a control portion controlling the heater, the adjustment portion, the first pump, and the second pump;
a first temperature sensor detecting a temperature of the cooling medium circulating in the first circuit; and
a second temperature sensor detecting a temperature of the cooling medium circulating in the second circuit, wherein:
the vehicle includes a regenerative device recovering energy by converting kinetic energy to electric energy during deceleration of the vehicle;
the storage device is charged with the electric energy recovered by the regenerative device;
when the regenerative device is recovering the electric energy under a consumption required state in which it is determined that power in the storage device needs to be consumed by the air-conditioner, the control portion controls the heater, the adjustment portion, the first pump, and the second pump to heat the cooling medium by driving the heater such that the power in the storage device is converted into heat energy;
when a temperature detected by the second temperature sensor is lower than a predetermined temperature under the consumption required state, the control portion heats the cooling medium by driving the heater and controls the adjustment portion, the first pump, and the second pump to force the cooling medium circulating in the first circuit to also circulate in the second circuit; and
when the temperature detected by the second temperature sensor is higher than or equal to the predetermined temperature under the consumption required state, the control portion heats the cooling medium by driving the heater and controls the adjustment portion and the first pump to force the cooling medium to circulate in the first circuit while preventing the cooling medium from circulating in the second circuit from the first circuit.

2. The air-conditioner according to claim 1 , wherein:
when a temperature detected by the first temperature sensor is higher than or equal to a first predetermined temperature and when the temperature detected by the second temperature sensor is lower than a second predetermined temperature under the consumption required state, the control portion heats the cooling medium by driving the heater and controls the adjustment portion, the first pump, and the second pump to force the cooling medium circulating in the first circuit to also circulate in the second circuit.

3. The air-conditioner according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a radiation heat-exchanger disposed in the second circuit to release an amount of heat of the cooling medium passing through the radiation heat-exchanger to outside air, wherein:
the adjustment portion controls a flow rate of the cooling medium flowing to the radiation heat-exchanger; and
when a temperature detected by the first temperature sensor is higher than or equal to a first predetermined temperature and when the temperature detected by the second temperature sensor is higher than or equal to a second predetermined temperature under the consumption required state, the control portion controls the adjustment portion to adjust a flow rate of the cooling medium passing through the radiation heat-exchanger such that the temperature of the second circuit becomes lower than the second predetermined temperature.

4. The air-conditioner according to claim 1 , wherein:
the heat emitting portion cooled by the second circuit is a fuel cell.

Assignees

• Denso Corp

Inventors

• Umehara Akira
• Isomura Shinsaku
• Honda Keita

Classifications

• B60W10/30

  including control of auxiliary equipment, e.g. air-conditioning compressors or oil pumps · CPC title

• B60W20/00

  Control systems specially adapted for hybrid vehicles {(hybrid vehicle design, B60K6/00; electric vehicles B60L)} · CPC title

• H01M8/04

  Auxiliary arrangements, e.g. for control of pressure or for circulation of fluids · CPC title

• B60H2001/2253

  related to an operational state of the vehicle or a vehicle component · CPC title

• H01M8/241

  with solid or matrix-supported electrolytes · CPC title