Vehicle air-conditioner safety device, and control method thereof

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10518608-B2
Application number	US-201415102758-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 4, 2014
Priority date	Dec 9, 2013
Publication date	Dec 31, 2019
Grant date	Dec 31, 2019

Abstract

A vehicle air-conditioner safety device includes a controller which, in a case in which an abnormality has occurred in a heating device that heats coolant with a heater, determines whether or not the abnormality is a restorable abnormality or a non-restorable abnormality. When the abnormality is determined to be the restorable abnormality, it is determined whether or not the restorable abnormality has been removed. Heating by the heater is prohibited when the restorable abnormality or the non-restorable abnormality has occurred. Heating by the heater is restored when the restorable abnormality has been removed after heating by the heater is prohibited due to occurrence of the restorable abnormality.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A vehicle air-conditioner safety device for a vehicle air-conditioner having a heating device, comprising:
a controller configured to
determine when an abnormality has occurred in the heating device that heats coolant with a heater, whether the abnormality is a restorable abnormality or a non-restorable abnormality,
determine when the abnormality is determined as being the restorable abnormality, whether or not the restorable abnormality is removed,
prohibit heating by the heater when the restorable abnormality has occurred and prohibit heating by the heater when the non-restorable abnormality has occurred,
restore heating by the heater when the restorable abnormality is removed after heating by the heater is prohibited due to occurrence of the restorable abnormality, and
prohibit heating by the heater, when the non-restorable abnormality has occurred, even when the restorable abnormality has been removed,

wherein
the restorable abnormality includes an abnormality in which a temperature of at least one of a switching device, which allows or interrupts flow of current to the heater, or the heater becomes higher than a predetermined temperature, and
the non-restorable abnormality is an abnormality in which an input signal and a driving signal of a transistor as the switching device do not match.

2. The vehicle air-conditioner safety device according to claim 1 , wherein
when the restorable abnormality occurs, the controller prohibits heating by the heater while allowing driving of a pump circulating the coolant.

3. The vehicle air-conditioner safety device according to claim 1 , wherein
the controller determines whether or not the non-restorable abnormality has occurred and, when the non-restorable abnormality has not occurred, determines whether or not the restorable abnormality has occurred.

4. The vehicle air-conditioner safety device according to claim 1 , wherein
the controller restores heating by the heater after it has been determined that the restorable abnormality has been removed and the heating device functions normally.

5. The vehicle air-conditioner safety device according to claim 1 , wherein the transistor is an IGBT.

Assignees

• Calsonic Kansei Corp

Inventors

• Kamiyama Naohisa
• Satou Takeshi
• Ogasawara Takeshi
• Yoshioka Hiroki

Classifications

• B60H1/00885

  Controlling the flow of heating or cooling liquid, e.g. valves or pumps (B60H1/00899 takes precedence; constructions of valves B60H1/00485) · CPC title

• B60H2001/224

  automatic operation, e.g. control circuits or methods · CPC title

• F28F27/00

  Control arrangements or safety devices specially adapted for heat-exchange or heat-transfer apparatus (control arrangements in general G05) · CPC title

• F24H2250/04

  Positive temperature coefficients [PTC]; Negative temperature coefficients [NTC] · CPC title

• B60H1/2218 Primary

  controlling the operation of electric heaters · CPC title