Multiple cooling sources for a vehicle air conditioning system
First Claim
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1. An air-conditioning system for a vehicle comprising:
- multiple heat sources for performing cooling operation, one of which is an evaporator to which refrigerant compressed by a compressor is supplied, wherein the compressor is driven by an engine for driving the vehicle, and the other of which is a heat accumulator for storing the heat of the refrigerant;
means for comparing a first input energy amount, which is an increased amount of fuel to be consumed by the engine necessary for generating a unit cooling capacity by the evaporator with a second input energy amount, which is an increased amount of fuel already consumed by the engine and which is necessary for generating the unit cooling capacity by the heat accumulator; and
means for selecting one of the first and second input energy amounts, whichever is smaller than the other, for preferentially using such selected input energy amount in order to perform the cooling operation to control the temperature of the vehicle inside air.
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Abstract
In an air-conditioning system for a vehicle, which has multiple heat sources (an evaporator and a heat accumulator), either one of the heat sources, for which the input energy amount for the unit cooling capacity is smaller than that for the other heat source, is preferentially used for performing the cooling operation, an energy amount for the air-conditioning operation can be reduced.
33 Citations
24 Claims
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1. An air-conditioning system for a vehicle comprising:
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multiple heat sources for performing cooling operation, one of which is an evaporator to which refrigerant compressed by a compressor is supplied, wherein the compressor is driven by an engine for driving the vehicle, and the other of which is a heat accumulator for storing the heat of the refrigerant; means for comparing a first input energy amount, which is an increased amount of fuel to be consumed by the engine necessary for generating a unit cooling capacity by the evaporator with a second input energy amount, which is an increased amount of fuel already consumed by the engine and which is necessary for generating the unit cooling capacity by the heat accumulator; and means for selecting one of the first and second input energy amounts, whichever is smaller than the other, for preferentially using such selected input energy amount in order to perform the cooling operation to control the temperature of the vehicle inside air. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. An air-conditioning system for a vehicle comprising:
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a refrigerating cycle including a compressor driven by an engine, a condenser, and an evaporator, wherein the compressor, the condenser, and the evaporator are connected in a closed circuit; a heat accumulator connected to the refrigerating cycle in parallel to the evaporator, so that refrigerant of the refrigerating cycle operatively flows in a closed circuit of the compressor, the condenser, and the heat accumulator; and an electronic control unit configured to control a cooling operation of the refrigerating cycle, wherein the electronic control unit is configured to compare a first input energy amount, which is an increased amount of fuel to be consumed by the engine necessary for generating a unit cooling capacity by the evaporator with a second input energy amount, which is an increased amount of fuel already consumed by the engine and which is necessary for generating the unit cooling capacity by the heat accumulator, wherein the electronic control unit is configure to select the evaporator or the heat accumulator, in such a way that such selected first or second input energy amount is smaller than the other input energy amount, and wherein the selected evaporator or heat accumulator is preferentially used for performing the cooling operation to control temperature of vehicle inside air.
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11. An air-conditioning system for a vehicle comprising:
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a first and a second heat source for performing cooling operation; and means for comparing a first input energy amount, which is an increased amount of fuel to be consumed by an engine of the vehicle necessary for generating a unit cooling capacity by the first heat source with a second input energy amount, which is an increased amount of fuel already consumed by the engine necessary for generating a unit cooling capacity by the second heat source; and means for selecting one of the first and second input energy amounts, whichever is smaller than the other, for preferentially using such selected input energy amount in order to perform the cooling operation to control the temperature of the vehicle inside air. - View Dependent Claims (12)
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13. A method of operating an air-conditioning system for a vehicle, the method comprising:
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providing multiple heat sources for performing cooling operation, one of which is an evaporator to which refrigerant compressed by a compressor is supplied, wherein the compressor is driven by an engine for driving the vehicle, and the other of which is a heat accumulator for storing the heat of the refrigerant; comparing a first input energy amount, which is an increased amount of fuel to be consumed by the engine necessary for generating a unit cooling capacity by the evaporator with a second input energy amount, which is an increased amount of fuel already consumed by the engine and which is necessary for generating the unit cooling capacity by the heat accumulator; and selecting one of the first and second input energy amounts, whichever is smaller than the other, for preferentially using such selected input energy amount in order to perform the cooling operation to control the temperature of the vehicle inside air. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A method of operating an air conditioning system for a vehicle, the method comprising:
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providing a first and a second heat source for performing cooling operation; and comparing a first input energy amount, which is an increased amount of fuel to be consumed by an engine of the vehicle necessary for generating a unit cooling capacity by the first heat source with a second input energy amount, which is an increased amount of fuel already consumed by the engine necessary for generating a unit cooling capacity by the second heat source; and selecting one of the first and second input energy amounts, whichever is smaller than the other, for preferentially using such selected input energy amount in order to perform the cooling operation to control the temperature of the vehicle inside air. - View Dependent Claims (24)
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Specification