Vehicular air conditioner

• US 8,899,311 B2
• Filed: 11/15/2010
• Issued: 12/02/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/16/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Misumi, Haruki, Kataoka, Takuya, Nishikawa, Michio, Hirai, Shinichirou, Suzuki, Yoshiaki, Kuwada, Katsuji, Ota, Koji, Haraguchi, Akihiro, Sagou, Yasuhiro
• Primary Examiner(s): CIRIC, LJILJANA V
• Application Number:
  US12/927,441
• Publication Number:
  US 20110114739A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,478 Days
• Field of Search: 165/202, 165/203, 165/204, 622/44, 454/75
• US Class Current: 165/202
• 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 2001/00733 Computational models modifying user-set values
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/88 Optimized components or subsystems, e.g. lighting, actively controlled glasses

Abstract

When there is no occupant in seats other than a driver seat during a foot mode, an air-conditioning controller executes a single seat concentration mode to prevent blowing of warm air to a passenger seat and a backseat by closing foot outlets on a passenger seat side and a backseat side. In this case, in order to maintain an air volume blown from the foot outlet on a driver seat side when the controller changes the mode from the normal foot mode to the single seat concentration mode, the controller sets a blower level to be lower than in the case of the normal foot mode with respect to the same target blown air temperature.

Claims

1. A vehicular air conditioner for a vehicle, the vehicular air conditioner comprising:

an air-conditioning unit that has a plurality of outlets corresponding to a driver'"'"'s seat and any other seats in the vehicle and that blows air-conditioned air from the outlets to the driver'"'"'s seat and the any other seats;

a blower that is accommodated in the air-conditioning unit and that is driven by an electric motor to generate blown air;

a switching section provided in the air-conditioning unit for switching between a normal air-conditioning mode, in which the air-conditioned air is blown from a driver'"'"'s seat outlet corresponding to the driver'"'"'s seat and the any other outlets corresponding to the any other seats other than the driver'"'"'s seat, and a single seat concentration mode, in which the blowing of the air-conditioned air from at least one of the any other outlets is prohibited and the air-conditioned air is blown solely from the driver'"'"'s seat outlet; and

a controller configured to control the operation of the switching section and to control the amount of the air blown by the blower by setting a supplied power to the blower in accordance with an air-conditioning heat load, wherein

the controller is configured to execute the normal air-conditioning mode when an occupant is seated in any seat other than the driver'"'"'s seat,

the controller is configured to execute the single seat concentration mode when there is no occupant in the seats other than the driver'"'"'s seat, and

the controller is configured to set the supplied power to the blower in the single seat concentration mode to be smaller than in the normal air-conditioning mode at any given air-conditioning heat load.

2. The vehicular air conditioner as in claim 1, further comprising:

a heating heat exchanger provided in the air-conditioning unit for heating the blown air by using a cooling fluid, the cooling fluid being used for cooling a drive unit used to obtain a driving force for running the vehicle, as a heat source, wherein

the controller is configured to request operation of the drive unit when the temperature of the cooling fluid is lower than a predetermined temperature,

the controller is configured to set the predetermined temperature based on the air-conditioning heat load, and

the controller is configured to set the predetermined temperature in the single seat concentration mode to be lower than in the normal air-conditioning mode at any given air-conditioning heat load.

3. The vehicular air conditioner as in claim 2, wherein

the air-conditioning unit further includes at least another one outlet, which is provided to correspond with the driver'"'"'s seat;

the controller prohibits the blowing of the air-conditioned air from the at least another one outlet during the normal air-conditioning mode; and

the controller permits the blowing of the air-conditioned air from the at least another one outlet during the single seat concentration mode.

4. The vehicular air conditioner as in claim 2, wherein

when the occupant manipulates an economy switch to select an economy mode during the single seat concentration mode, the controller is configured to set the predetermined temperature to be lower than in the normal air-conditioning mode for any given air-conditioning heat load.

5. The vehicular air conditioner as in claim 1, wherein the plurality of outlets are foot outlets for blowing the air-conditioned air toward the feet of any occupants in the driver'"'"'s seat and in the any other seats, and

the controller is configured to execute the single seat concentration mode during a foot outlet mode, in which warm air is blown from at least the foot outlets.

6. The vehicular air conditioner as in claim 1, wherein

when the occupant manipulates an economy switch to select an economy mode during the single seat concentration mode, the controller is configured to set the power supplied to the blower to be smaller than in the normal air-conditioning mode for any given air-conditioning heat load.

7. The vehicular air conditioner as in claim 1, wherein

the air-conditioning unit has a defroster outlet for blowing the air-conditioned air toward a windshield of the vehicle and also has an opening degree adjusting section for adjusting an opening degree of the defroster outlet, and

the controller is configured to control the opening degree adjusting section during the single seat concentration mode such that the opening degree of the defroster outlet becomes smaller than in the normal air-conditioning mode.

8. A vehicular air conditioner for a vehicle, the vehicular air conditioner comprising:

an air-conditioning unit that has a plurality of outlets corresponding to a driver'"'"'s seat and any other seats in the vehicle and that blows air-conditioned air from the outlets to the driver'"'"'s seat and the any other seats;

a switching section provided in the air-conditioning unit for switching between a normal air-conditioning mode, in which the air-conditioned air is blown from a driver'"'"'s seat outlet corresponding to the driver'"'"'s seat and the any other outlets corresponding to the any other seats other than the driver'"'"'s seat, and a single seat concentration mode, in which the blowing of the air-conditioned air from at least one of the any other outlets is prohibited and the air-conditioned air is blown solely from the driver'"'"'s seat outlet;

a heating heat exchanger that is provided in the air-conditioning unit and that heats the blown air heading to an inside of a vehicle compartment of the vehicle by using a cooling fluid, the cooling fluid cooling a drive unit used for obtaining a driving force for running the vehicle, as a heat source; and

a controller configured to control operation of the switching section and to request an operation of the drive unit when a temperature of the cooling fluid is lower than a predetermined temperature, wherein

the controller is configured to execute the normal air-conditioning mode when there is an occupant in any of the any other seats other than the driver'"'"'s seat,

the controller is configured to execute the single seat concentration mode when there is no occupant in any of the any other seats other than the driver'"'"'s seat,

the controller is configured to set the predetermined temperature based on an air-conditioning heat load, and

the controller is configured to set the predetermined temperature in the single seat concentration mode to be lower than in the normal air-conditioning mode at any given air-conditioning heat load.