Vehicle air conditioner

• US 8,932,119 B2
• Filed: 02/06/2009
• Issued: 01/13/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/08/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
• Inventors: Suetake, Hideki, Ishida, Toshiyuki, Mitsui, Masatoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Hu, Kang
• Assistant Examiner(s): KANDARE, ANTHONY W
• Application Number:
  US12/666,952
• Publication Number:
  US 20100330895A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,167 Days
• Field of Search: 454/74, 454/75, 454/121, 454/127, 454/135, 454/74.75, 622/284, 622/44, 236/44.A
• US Class Current: 454/75
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00785 by the detection of humidity or frost
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/008 the input being air quality
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00849 for selectively commanding the induction of outside or inside air B60H1/00842 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/3207 for minimizing the humidity of the air
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 2001/3245 of air
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 2001/327 related to a compressing unit

Abstract

A vehicle air conditioner that can perform air conditioning operation in an inside air circulating mode while suppressing the mist on a windshield and prevent deterioration in an inside air quality. When exhaust gas concentration on the outside of a vehicle is high, an outside air lead-in mode is switched to an inside air circulating mode and window mist limit humidity at that point is calculated. When inside humidity is close to the window mist limit, a compressor is actuated, the air is blown out from a DEF blowout port into a cabin, or an air volume in a blower is increased to prevent the mist on the windshield and delay switching to the outside air lead-in mode as much as possible. Consequently, air conditioning operation in the inside air circulating mode is performed while the mist on the windshield is suppressed to prevent deterioration in the inside air quality.

Claims

1. A vehicle air conditioner comprising:

a control unit that performs control actions comprising;

switching between an outside air conditioning mode for leading in outside air to perform air conditioning and an inside air circulating mode for circulating air in a vehicle to perform air conditioning,

calculating surface temperature on an interior side of a window glass on the basis of, among outside temperature, inside temperature, and vehicle speed, at least the outside temperature and the inside temperature;

determining window mist occurrence limit humidity at which a mist occurs on the window glass from absolute humidity at which dews concentrate at the surface temperature;

repeatedly determining if an inside humidity is within a predetermined range with respect to the mist occurrence limit humidity and if so, performing operation control for reducing the inside humidity, wherein determining if the inside humidity is within the predetermined range and performing the operation control includes;

determining if the inside humidity is within the predetermined range and, if so, the control unit controls actuation of a compressor to circulate a coolant to an evaporator;

thereafter re-determining if the inside humidity is within the predetermined range and, if so, the control unit executes the control using the inside humidity and the mist occurrence limit humidity when the air conditioning is performed in the inside air circulating mode;

thereafter, re-determining if the inside humidity is within the predetermined range and if so, the control unit controls a blowing-out direction of the air into the vehicle to change the blow-out direction;

thereafter re-determining if the inside humidity is within a predetermined range and, if so,

the control unit controls an air volume to change the air volume; and

thereafter re-determines if the inside humidity is within a predetermined range with respect to the mist occurrence limit humidity and, if so

the control unit performs the air conditioning by switching the inside air circulating mode to the outside air conditioning mode; and

detecting if an exhaust gas concentration is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold and, if so, the control unit switches the outside air conditioning mode to the inside air circulating mode and calculates the mist occurrence limit humidity.

2. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the compressor is engine-driven, and the control unit executes at least one of switching of the compressor to ON, setting of a blowing-out direction of the air toward a surface on the interior side of the window glass, and an increase in the air volume as the operation control for reducing the inside humidity.

3. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the compressor is electrically-driven, and the control unit executes at least one of an increase in the number of revolutions of the compressor, setting of a blowing-out direction of the air toward a surface on the interior side of the window glass, and an increase in the air volume as the operation control for reducing the inside humidity.

4. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein, for detecting if an exhaust gas concentration is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold, when the exhaust gas concentration is not equal to or higher than the predetermined threshold, the control unit continues the outside air conditioning mode for taking outside air into a housing from an outside air intake port without switching an intake port switching damper.