Air conditioning device for vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9610822-B2
Application number	US-201214122122-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 9, 2012
Priority date	May 26, 2011
Publication date	Apr 4, 2017
Grant date	Apr 4, 2017

Abstract

An vehicle air conditioner ( 1 A) includes a duct ( 3 ) in which a partition member ( 4 ) forming a first flow path ( 3 A) and a second flow path ( 3 B) is provided, and a heat pump circuit ( 2 A). In the heat pump circuit ( 2 A), a first indoor heat exchanger ( 12 A) that contributes mainly to heating is located in the first flow path ( 3 A) or faces an outlet of the first flow path ( 3 A), and a second indoor heat exchanger ( 12 B) that contributes mainly to cooling is located in the second flow path ( 3 B). The ratio between an internal air and an external air within air flowing through each of the first flow path ( 3 A) and the second flow path ( 3 B) is adjustable. The duct ( 3 ) is provided with at least one of a heating exhaust port ( 35 ) for discharging air cooled in the second indoor heat exchanger ( 12 B) to the outside of the vehicle interior in heating operation, and a cooling exhaust port ( 36 ) for discharging air heated in the first indoor heat exchanger ( 12 A) to the outside of the vehicle interior in cooling operation. This configuration enables the air within the vehicle interior, the temperature of which has been adjusted by heating or cooling, to be efficiently utilized without wasting energy by discharging the air as it is to the outside.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A vehicle air conditioner that cools and heats a vehicle interior, the vehicle air conditioner comprising:
a duct having an internal air inlet port and an external air inlet port at one end portion thereof, and a blowing port at another end portion thereof;
a partition member provided so that a first flow path and a second flow path are formed in the duct;
a first air blower disposed in the first flow path;
a second air blower disposed in the second flow path;
a first intake damper that adjusts a ratio between an amount of internal air flowing into the first flow path through the internal air inlet port and an amount of external air flowing into the first flow path through the external air inlet port;
a second intake damper that adjusts a ratio between an amount of internal air flowing into the second flow path through the internal air inlet port and an amount of external air flowing into the second flow path through the external air inlet port;
a heat pump circuit comprising
a first indoor heat exchanger that is disposed in the duct so as to be located in the first flow path or to face an outlet of the first flow path and that contributes to heating,
a second indoor heat exchanger that is disposed in the duct so as to be located in the second flow path and that contributes to cooling, and
an outdoor heat exchanger disposed outside the vehicle interior; and

a controller,
wherein the duct is provided with a heating exhaust port for discharging air cooled in the second indoor heat exchanger to an outside of the vehicle interior in heating operation, and
in the heating operation,
(i) the controller controls the first intake damper to set the first intake damper at an intermediate position for opening both of the internal air inlet port and the external air inlet port, a mixed air of the internal air having flowed through the internal air inlet port and the external air having flowed through the external air inlet port is supplied into the first flow path, and the mixed air supplied into the first flow path is heated in the first indoor heat exchanger and is blown into the vehicle interior through the blowing port, and
(ii) the controller controls the second intake damper to set the second intake damper at an external air blocking position for closing the external air inlet port, and the internal air supplied into the second flow path is cooled in the second indoor heat exchanger and is discharged to the outside of the vehicle interior through the heating exhaust port,

wherein a flow rate of the internal air discharged to the outside of the vehicle interior through the heating exhaust port is less than a flow rate of the external air drawn into the first flow path through the external air inlet port.

2. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1 , wherein the duct is provided with the heating exhaust port, and a cooling exhaust port for discharging air heated in the first indoor heat exchanger to the outside of the vehicle interior in cooling operation.

3. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 2 , further comprising a cooling discharge damper that opens and closes the cooling exhaust port, wherein
the cooling discharge damper directs air having passed through the first indoor heat exchanger to the cooling exhaust port when the cooling discharge damper has opened the cooling exhaust port.

4. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1 , wherein the second indoor heat exchanger is located on a windward side in the duct with respect to the first indoor heat exchanger.

5. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1 , wherein the outdoor heat exchanger functions as an evaporator in the heating operation and functions as a condenser in the cooling operation.

6. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 5 , wherein
the heat pump circuit further comprises: a compressor that compresses a refrigerant; a first expansion valve that expands the refrigerant in the heating operation; and a second expansion valve that expands the refrigerant in the cooling operation, and
the compressor, the first indoor heat exchanger, the first expansion valve, the outdoor heat exchanger, the second expansion valve, and the second indoor heat exchanger are connected in this order in a loop by flow paths.

7. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 5 , wherein
the heat pump circuit further comprises a compressor that compresses a refrigerant, and an expansion mechanism that expands the refrigerant, and
the vehicle air conditioner further comprises a switching means that switches a flow direction of the refrigerant in the heat pump circuit to a first direction in the cooling operation and that switches the flow direction to a second direction in the heating operation,
the first direction being a direction in which the refrigerant discharged from the compressor passes through the outdoor heat exchanger, the expansion mechanism, the first indoor heat exchanger, and the second indoor heat exchanger in this order to return to the compressor,
the second direction being a direction in which the refrigerant discharged from the compressor passes through the first indoor heat exchanger, the expansion mechanism, the outdoor heat exchanger, and the second indoor heat exchanger in this order to return to the compressor.

8. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1 , further comprising a heating discharge damper that opens and closes the heating exhaust port, wherein
the heating discharge damper directs air having passed through the second indoor heat exchanger to the heating exhaust port when the heating discharge damper has opened the heating exhaust port.

9. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 8 , wherein when no external air needs to be introduced into the vehicle interior, the second air blower is stopped, the first intake damper is set at an external air blocking position, and the heating discharge damper is set at a closing position.

10. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1 , further comprising:
an internal air dividing wall dividing the internal air inlet port; and
an external air dividing wall dividing the external air inlet port,
wherein the internal air dividing wall and the external air dividing wall are continuous with the partition member.

11. A method of controlling a vehicle air conditioner that cools and heats a vehicle interior, the vehicle air conditioner comprising:
a duct having an internal air inlet port and an external air inlet port at one end portion thereof, and a blowing port at another end portion thereof;
a partition member provided so that a first flow path and a second flow path are formed in the duct;
a first air blower disposed in the first flow path;
a second air blower disposed in the second flow path;
a first intake damper that adjusts a ratio between an amount of internal air flowing into the first flow path through the internal air inlet port and an amount of external air flowing into the first flow path through the external air inlet port;
a second intake damper that adjusts a ratio between an amount of internal air flowing into the second flow path through the internal air inlet port and an amount of external air flowing into the second flow path through the external air inlet port; and
a heat pump circuit comprising:
a first indoor heat exchanger that is disposed in the duct so as to be located in the first flow path or to face an outlet of the first flow path and that contributes to heating,
a second indoor heat exchanger that is disposed in the duct so as to be located in the second flow path and that contributes to cooling, and
an outdoor heat exchanger disposed ou

Assignees

• Takahashi Yasufumi
• Panasonic Ip Man Co Ltd

Inventors

• Takahashi Yasufumi

Classifications

• B60H2001/00135

  Deviding walls for separate air flows · CPC title

• B60H2001/00178

  comprising an air passage from the HVAC box to the exterior of the cabin · CPC title

• F25B29/003

  of the compression type system · CPC title

• B60H2001/00085

  of air intake · CPC title

• B60H1/00057

  the air being heated and cooled simultaneously, e.g. using parallel heat exchangers · CPC title