Vehicle air conditioner

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10625560-B2
Application number	US-201515304997-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 20, 2015
Priority date	Apr 18, 2014
Publication date	Apr 21, 2020
Grant date	Apr 21, 2020

Abstract

There is disclosed a vehicle air conditioner which is capable of enlarging an effective range of a dehumidifying and heating mode to environmental conditions and smoothly dehumidifying and heating a vehicle interior. A vehicle air conditioner 1 executes a dehumidifying and heating mode in which a controller lets a refrigerant discharged from a compressor 2 radiate heat in a radiator 4 , and decompresses the refrigerant by which heat has been radiated and then lets the refrigerant absorb heat in a heat absorber 9 and an outdoor heat exchanger 7 , the controller decreases an outdoor blower voltage FANVout of an outdoor blower 15 and decreases an air volume into the outdoor blower 15 in a case where a temperature Te of the heat absorber 9 is high even when the controller adjusts a valve position of an outdoor expansion valve 6 into a lower limit of controlling in a situation in which a temperature TCI of the radiator 4 is satisfactory.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A vehicle air conditioner comprising:
a compressor which compresses a refrigerant;
an air flow passage through which air to be supplied to a vehicle interior flows;
a radiator disposed in the air flow passage to let the refrigerant radiate heat;
a heat absorber disposed in the air flow passage to let the refrigerant absorb heat;
an outdoor heat exchanger disposed outside the vehicle interior to let the refrigerant absorb heat;
an outdoor expansion valve which decompresses the refrigerant flowing into the outdoor heat exchanger;
an outdoor blower which blows outdoor air through the outdoor heat exchanger; and
a controller,
the vehicle air conditioner executing at least a dehumidifying and heating mode in which the controller is configured to let the refrigerant discharged from the compressor radiate heat in the radiator, decompresses the refrigerant by which heat has been radiated and then lets the refrigerant absorb heat in the heat absorber and the outdoor heat exchanger,
wherein the controller is configured to decrease an air volume of the outdoor blower in a case where (i) a temperature of the radiator converges to a radiator target temperature, (ii) the controller is configured to adjust a valve position of the outdoor expansion valve into a lowest opening of controlling, and (iii) a temperature of the heat absorber is higher than a heat absorber target temperature.

2. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1 ,
wherein the controller is configured to increase the air volume of the outdoor blower in a case where the temperature of the heat absorber is lower than the heat absorber target temperature even when the controller is configured to adjust the valve position of the outdoor expansion valve into a highest opening of controlling in the situation in which the temperature of the radiator converges to the radiator target temperature.

3. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1 ,
wherein the controller is configured to decrease the air volume of the outdoor blower in a case where the temperature of the radiator is higher than a radiator target temperature even when the controller is configured to adjust a speed of the compressor into a lowest speed of controlling in a situation in which the temperature of the heat absorber converges to the radiator target temperature.

4. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1 ,
wherein the controller is configured to increase the air volume of the outdoor blower in a case where the temperature of the radiator is lower than a radiator target temperature even when the controller is configured to adjust a speed of the compressor into a highest speed of controlling in the situation in which the temperature of the heat absorber converges to the radiator target temperature.

5. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1 ,
wherein the controller is configured to decrease the air volume of the outdoor blower in a case where the temperature of the radiator is higher than a radiator target temperature and the temperature of the heat absorber is also higher than the heat absorber target temperature even when the controller is configured to adjust a speed of the compressor into a highest speed of controlling and adjusts the valve position of the outdoor expansion valve into the lowest opening of controlling.

6. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1 ,
wherein the controller is configured to increase the air volume of the outdoor blower in a case where the temperature of the radiator is lower than a radiator target temperature and the temperature of the heat absorber is also lower than the heat absorber target temperature even when the controller is configured to adjust a speed of the compressor into a highest speed of controlling and adjusts the valve position of the outdoor expansion valve into the highest opening of controlling.

7. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1 ,
wherein the controller is configured to judge that the dehumidifying and heating mode is not established, and changes an operation mode to another mode without executing air volume decrease/increase control of the outdoor blower in a case where the temperature of the radiator is higher than the radiator target temperature and the temperature of the heat absorber is lower than the heat absorber target temperature even when the controller configured to adjust a speed of the compressor into a highest speed of controlling and adjusts the valve position of the outdoor expansion valve into the highest opening of controlling, or in a case where the temperature of the radiator is lower than the radiator target temperature and the temperature of the heat absorber is higher than the heat absorber target temperature even when the controller is configured to adjust a speed of the compressor into a highest speed of controlling and adjusts the valve position of the outdoor expansion valve into the lowest opening of controlling.

8. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1 ,
wherein the controller is configured to not execute the air volume decrease/increase control of the outdoor blower or maximizes the air volume of the outdoor blower in a transitional stage of an operating state.

9. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 8 ,
wherein the controller is configured to determine the air volume of the outdoor blower in the transitional stage on a basis of one of an outdoor air temperature, a radiator target temperature, a heat absorber target temperature, a mass air volume of the air flowing into the air flow passage, a vehicle interior temperature, and a vehicle interior humidity, any combination of them, or all of them.

10. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1 ,
wherein the controller is configured to decrease the air volume of the outdoor blower or stops the outdoor blower in a case where a velocity is higher than a predetermined value.

11. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1 , comprising:
a grill shutter which obstructs inflow of running air into the outdoor heat exchanger,
wherein the controller is configured to execute the air volume decrease/increase control of the outdoor blower in a state of closing the grill shutter or limiting the inflow of the running air in accordance with an opening of the grill shutter.

12. A vehicle air conditioner comprising:
a compressor which compresses a refrigerant;
an air flow passage through which air to be supplied to a vehicle interior flows;
a radiator disposed in the air flow passage to let the refrigerant radiate heat;
a heat absorber disposed in the air flow passage to let the refrigerant absorb heat;
an outdoor heat exchanger disposed outside the vehicle interior to let the refrigerant radiate heat;
an outdoor expansion valve which decompresses the refrigerant flowing into the outdoor heat exchanger;
an outdoor blower which blows outdoor air through the outdoor heat exchanger; and
a controller,
the vehicle air conditioner executing at least a dehumidifying and cooling mode in which the controller is configured to let the refrigerant discharged from the compressor radiate heat in the radiator and the outdoor heat exchanger, decompresses the refrigerant by which heat has been radiated and then lets the refrigerant absorb heat in the heat absorber,
wherein the controller is configured to decrease an air volume of the outdoor blower in a case where (i) a temperature of the heat absorber converges to a heat absorber target temperature, (ii) the controller is configured to adjust a valve position of the outdoor expansion valve into a lowest opening of controlling, and (iii) a temperature of the radiator i

Assignees

• Sanden Holdings Corp

Inventors

• Miyakoshi Ryo
• Suzuki Kenichi

Classifications

• B60H2001/3263

  of the refrigerant at an evaporating unit · CPC title

• B60H1/004

  for vehicles having a combustion engine and electric drive means, e.g. hybrid electric vehicles · CPC title

• B60H2001/328

  related to an evaporating unit · CPC title

• B60H2001/3252

  of the refrigerant at an evaporating unit · CPC title

• B60H2001/326

  of the refrigerant at a condensing unit · CPC title