Automotive air-conditioner operable under cooling, heating or air-mixing mode

• US 20040068998A1
• Filed: 10/09/2003
• Published: 04/15/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 10/15/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Oomura, Mitsuyo, Ieda, Hisashi
• Granted Patent: US 7,201,219 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 62/186
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00835 Damper doors, e.g. position control construction or arrangement of damper doors B60H1/00664; B60H1/00864 takes precedence

Abstract

An air-conditioner is operated under one mode selected from among three modes, i.e., a cooling mode, a heating mode and an air-mixing mode. Conditioned air temperature is controlled by changing a cooling ability in the cooling mode, a heating ability in the heating mode, and a position of an air-mixing door in the air-mixing mode. When the operating mode is switched to the cooling mode or to the heating mode from another mode, the position of the air-mixing door is gradually changed to prevent an abrupt temperature drop or rise until a difference between a target temperature and an actual temperature becomes smaller than a predetermined value.

Claims

1. An automotive air-conditioner comprising:

an evaporator for cooling air to be supplied to a passenger compartment;

a heater for heating air to be supplied to the passenger compartment; and

an air-mixing door for mixing the air cooled by the evaporator with the air heated by the heater to thereby control temperature of the air to be supplied to the passenger compartment, wherein;

the air-conditioner is operated selectively under a cooling mode in which temperature of the air to be supplied to the passenger compartment is controlled by controlling a cooling ability of the evaporator, a heating mode in which temperature of the air to be supplied to the passenger compartment is controlled by controlling a heating ability of the heater, or an air-mixing mode in which temperature of the air to be supplied to the passenger compartment is controlled by controlling positions of an air-mixing door; and

the positions of the air-mixing door are controlled to gradually increase an amount of the cooled air to be supplied to the passenger compartment when the operating mode of the air-conditioner is switched to the cooling mode from one of the other modes.

2. The automotive air-conditioner as in claim 1, wherein:

when the operating mode of the air-conditioner is switched to the cooling mode, the position of the air-mixing door is controlled to gradually increase the amount of the cooled air until an absolute value of a difference between a target temperature and an actual temperature of the air cooled by the evaporator becomes smaller than a predetermined value.

6. The automotive air-conditioner as in claim 1, wherein:

the evaporator is a heat exchanger disposed at a low pressure side of a vapor-compression-type refrigeration circuit that includes a compressor driven by an electric motor; and

the heater is a heating device through which hot water heated by an electric heater circulates.

3. An automotive air-conditioner comprising:

an evaporator for cooling air to be supplied to a passenger compartment;

a heater for heating air to be supplied to the passenger compartment; and

an air-mixing door for mixing the air cooled by the evaporator with the air heated by the heater to thereby control temperature of the air to be supplied to the passenger compartment, wherein;

the air-conditioner is operated selectively under a cooling mode in which temperature of the air to be supplied to the passenger compartment is controlled by controlling a cooling ability of the evaporator, a heating mode in which temperature of the air to be supplied to the passenger compartment is controlled by controlling a heating ability of the heater, or an air-mixing mode in which temperature of the air to be supplied to the passenger compartment is controlled by controlling positions of an air-mixing door; and

the positions of the air-mixing door are controlled to gradually increase an amount of the heated air to be supplied to the passenger compartment when the operating mode of the air-conditioner is switched to the heating mode from one of the other modes.

4. The automotive air-conditioner as in claim 3, wherein:

when the operating mode of the air-conditioner is switched to the heating mode, the position of the air-mixing door is controlled to gradually increase the amount of the heated air until an absolute value of a difference between a target temperature and an actual temperature of the air heated by the heater becomes smaller than a predetermined value.

5. The automotive air-conditioner as in claim 4, wherein:

the target temperature of the air heated by the heater is represented by a target temperature of hot water circulating the heater, and the actual temperature of the air heated by the heater is represented by a temperature of the hot water actually detected.

7. The automotive air-conditioner as in claim 3, wherein:

the evaporator is a heat exchanger disposed at a low pressure side of a vapor-compression-type refrigeration circuit that includes a compressor driven by an electric motor; and

the heater is a heating device through which hot water heated by an electric heater circulates.