Vehicle air conditioning apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9937771-B2
Application number	US-201615196903-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 29, 2016
Priority date	Mar 3, 2011
Publication date	Apr 10, 2018
Grant date	Apr 10, 2018

Abstract

A vehicle air conditioning apparatus is provided that can prevent temperature variations of the air after the heat exchange in a radiator to reliably control the temperature of the air supplied to the vehicle interior. During the heating operation and the heating and dehumidifying operation, target degree of supercooling SCt when target air-blowing temperature TAO is a predetermined temperature or higher is set to SCt 1 that is greater than SCt 2 when the target air-blowing temperature TAO is lower than the predetermined temperature. When amount of air Ga supplied from indoor fan 12 is lower than a predetermined value, the target degree of supercooling SCt is corrected, which is set such that the degree of supercooling is lower than target degree of supercooling corrected when the amount of air Ga supplied from the indoor fan 12 is a predetermined value or higher.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A vehicle air conditioning apparatus comprising:
a compressor configured to compress and discharge a refrigerant;
a radiator configured to release heat from the refrigerant;
a heat exchanger configured to absorb the heat into the refrigerant;
an outdoor heat exchanger configured to release the heat from or absorb the heat into the refrigerant;
a heating refrigerant circuit configured to allow the refrigerant discharged from the compressor to flow into the radiator, to allow the refrigerant to flow into the outdoor heat exchanger via an expansion part, and allow the refrigerant to be sucked into the compressor;
a heating and dehumidifying refrigerant circuit configured to allow the refrigerant discharged from the compressor to flow into the radiator, to allow part of the refrigerant to flow into the heat exchanger via the expansion part while allowing a remaining refrigerant to flow into the outdoor heat exchanger via the expansion part, and to allow the refrigerant to be sucked into the compressor;
a cooling, or cooling and dehumidifying refrigerant circuit configured to allow the refrigerant discharged from the compressor to flow into the radiator, to allow the refrigerant to flow into the outdoor heat exchanger, to allow the refrigerant to flow into the heat exchanger via the expansion part and to allow the refrigerant to be sucked into the compressor; and
a high-pressure refrigerant flow regulating valve provided in a refrigerant flow passage between the radiator and the outdoor heat exchanger in the cooling, or cooling and dehumidifying refrigerant circuit, the high-pressure refrigerant flow regulating valve being able to regulate an amount of the refrigerant flowing out of the radiator and into the outdoor heat exchanger.

2. The vehicle air conditioning apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a low-pressure refrigerant flow regulating valve provided in the refrigerant flow passage between the heat exchanger and the compressor in the heating and dehumidifying refrigerant circuit, the low-pressure refrigerant flow regulating valve being able to regulate the amount of the refrigerant flowing out of the heat exchanger and sucked into the compressor.

3. The vehicle air conditioning apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a refrigerant flow control valve including the expansion part and the high-pressure refrigerant flow regulating valve that are formed integrally with one another, the expansion part expanding the refrigerant flowing into the outdoor heat exchanger in the heating refrigerant circuit and the heating and dehumidifying refrigerant circuit.

4. The vehicle air conditioning apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the refrigerant flow control valve includes a refrigerant flow channel to the expansion part, a refrigerant flow channel to the high-pressure refrigerant flow regulating valve, and a refrigerant flow channel switching part configured to allow the refrigerant flowing out of the radiator to flow into one of the refrigerant flow channel to the expansion part and the refrigerant flow channel to the high-pressure refrigerant flow regulating valve.

5. The vehicle air conditioning apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the refrigerant flow control valve includes a valve opening switching part configured to switch a range of the opening between the range for the expansion part and the range for the high-pressure refrigerant flow regulating valve.

6. The vehicle air conditioning apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein at least one of two-way valves, the outdoor heat exchanger, and the refrigerant flow control valve are integrally formed as an outdoor heat exchanger unit, the two-way valves being used to switch a refrigerant circuit among the heating refrigerant circuit, the heating and dehumidifying refrigerant circuit, and the cooling, or cooling and dehumidifying refrigerant circuit.

7. The vehicle air conditioning apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
an accumulator provided in the refrigerant flow passage to the suction side of the compressor into which the refrigerant is sucked, and configured to separate refrigerant vapor from refrigerant liquid and to allow the refrigerant vapor to be sucked into the compressor;
an expansion valve as the expansion part configured to expand the refrigerant flowing into the outdoor heat exchanger in the heating refrigerant circuit; and
a valve opening regulating part configured to regulate an opening of the expansion valve.

8. The vehicle air conditioning apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the expansion valve is an electronic expansion valve.

9. The vehicle air conditioning apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the expansion valve is a mechanical expansion valve.

10. The vehicle air conditioning apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein:
the outdoor heat exchanger includes a supercooling part configured to place the refrigerant flowing out of the outdoor heat exchanger in a supercooling state in the cooling, or cooling and dehumidifying refrigerant circuit; and
the expansion part configured to decompress the refrigerant flowing into the heat exchanger is an expansion valve that can regulate a superheat of the refrigerant flowing out of the heat exchanger.

11. The vehicle air conditioning apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the heating refrigerant circuit includes a defrost refrigerant flow passage configured to allow at least part of the refrigerant discharged from the compressor to flow not into the radiator but into the outdoor heat exchanger.

12. The vehicle air conditioning apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein:
the radiator includes a heat medium flow passage configured to allow a heat medium to flow through, the heat medium being subjected to a heat exchange with the refrigerant discharged from the compressor; and
the heat medium flow passage is connected to a heat medium circuit including a heat medium radiator configured to release heat from the heat medium having been subjected to the heat exchange with the refrigerant discharged from the compressor and absorbed the heat.

Assignees

• Sanden Holdings Corp

Inventors

• Suzuki Kenichi
• Inoue Atsuo
• Takei Hidenori

Classifications

• F25B2700/21175

  of the refrigerant at the outlet of the evaporator · CPC title

• F25B2700/21163

  of the refrigerant at the outlet of the condenser · CPC title

• F25B2700/2102

  at the outlet of the gas cooler · CPC title

• F25B2700/197

  of the evaporator · CPC title

• F25B2700/195

  of the condenser · CPC title