AIR-CONDITIONER FOR VEHICLE

• US 20140034266A1
• Filed: 04/09/2012
• Published: 02/06/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/19/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Tabei, Koichi, Aoishi, Koichi, Morikawa, Masahiko, Yasui, Keiji, Iwata, Yoshimi
• Application Number:
  US14/112,438
• Publication Number:
  US 20140034266A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 165/42
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00021 Air flow details of HVAC devices
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00742 by detection of the vehicle occupants' presence; by detection of conditions relating to the body of occupants, e.g. using radiant heat detectors
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00764 the input being a vehicle driving condition, e.g. speed B60H1/00828, B60H1/00864 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00842 the system comprising a plurality of damper doors; Air distribution between several outlets
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/034 from the cooling liquid of the propulsion plant and from an electric heating device
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 2001/00192 to left and right part of passenger compartment

Abstract

A control part outputs a signal demanding an engine start when it is determined that a temperature of cooling water detected by a water temperature detector is lower than a threshold. In a normal state where conditioned-air is blown off to a predetermined seat and the other seats, the control part lowers the threshold according to an increase in a heat amount emitted from an auxiliary heating element based on the operating state of the auxiliary heating element. When a predetermined seat air conditioning command is provided to air-condition the predetermined seat, as a control of a predetermined seat state, the control part controls an opening-and-closing part to close an air outlet and further lowers the threshold rather than the threshold controlled in the normal state.

Claims

1. An air-conditioner for a vehicle comprising:

an air conditioning case having an air intake port on a first side and a plurality of air outlets on a second side, air passing through the plurality of air outlets toward a passenger compartment, the plurality of air outlets being opened to correspond to a plurality of seats including a predetermined seat, which contains at least a driver seat, and the other seat, the air conditioning case having an air passage between the air intake port and the plurality of air outlets, blow-off air passing through the air passage;

an air conditioning blower sending air to the air passage of the air conditioning case;

an air conditioning part having a main heating element which heats air sent from the air conditioning blower using cooling water of an engine as a heat source, the air conditioning part sending conditioned-air to the plurality of air outlets;

an auxiliary heating element having a heat source other than waste heat of the engine for a heating operation;

an opening-and-closing part which changes opening-and-closing state of the plurality of air outlets between an allowed state and an intercepted state, conditioned-air being allowed to pass an air outlet of the plurality of air outlets which air-conditions the other seat except the predetermined seat in the allowed state and being intercepted in the intercepted state, conditioned-air being allowed to pass an air outlet of the plurality of air outlets which air-conditions the predetermined seat in the intercepted state;

a water temperature detector which detects a temperature of the cooling water; and

a control part which conducts an air conditioning for the passenger compartment by controlling the main heating element and the auxiliary heating element based on the temperature of the cooling water detected by the water temperature detector, wherein the control part outputs a demand signal demanding the engine to start when it is determined that the water temperature is lower than a threshold,

the control part lowers the threshold in accordance with an increase in a heat amount emitted from the auxiliary heating element based on an operation state of the auxiliary heating element, in a normal state where the conditioned-air is blown off to the predetermined seat and the other seat, and

the control part controls the opening-and-closing part into the intercepted state and further lowers the threshold rather than the threshold controlled in the normal mode as a control of a predetermined seat state when a predetermined seat air conditioning command is provided to air-condition the predetermined seat.

2. The air-conditioner according to claim 1, further comprising:

an input unit through which the predetermined seat air conditioning command is input.

3. The air-conditioner according to claim 1, further comprising:

an occupant detector which detects a presence or absence of an occupant on at least one seat of the plurality of seats, wherein

the control part executes the control of the predetermined seat state when it is determined that an occupant is present only in the predetermined seat based on a detection result of the occupant detector.

4. The air-conditioner according to claim 3, wherein

the occupant detector includes

a belt detector which detects a fastening of a seat belt provided to the at least one seat, and

a load detector which detects a load added to a surface of a seat to which the belt detector is provided, and

the control part determines that an occupant is present in the seat when the belt detector detects the fastening of the seat belt or when the load detector detects a load which is larger than or equal to a predetermined value.