Heat exchange – With timer – programmer – time delay – or condition responsive... – Having heating and cooling capability
Reexamination Certificate
1999-10-20
2001-12-18
Wayner, William (Department: 3744)
Heat exchange
With timer, programmer, time delay, or condition responsive...
Having heating and cooling capability
C062S059000, C062S133000, C062S212000, C062S406000, C165S236000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06330909
ABSTRACT:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is related to and claims priority from Japanese Patent Applications No. Hei. 10-302848 filed on Oct. 23, 1998, No. Hei. 10-313714 filed on Nov. 4, 1998, No. Hei. 10-313715 filed on Nov. 4, 1998, No. Hei. 10-328537 filed on Nov. 18, 1998, No. Hei. 10-333060 filed on Nov. 24, 1998, No. Hei. 10-351512 filed on Dec. 10, 1998, No. Hei. 10-358154 filed on Dec. 16, 1998, No. Hei. 11-9663 filed on Jan. 18, 1999, No. Hei. 11-39236 filed on Feb. 17, 1999, No. Hei. 11-76562 filed on Mar. 19, 1999, No. Hei. 11-189412 filed on Jul. 2, 1999, and No. Hei. 11-260605 filed on Sep. 14, 1999, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle air-conditioning system having a compressor of a refrigerant cycle, driven by a vehicle engine or an auxiliary driving unit such as an electrical motor. The vehicle air-conditioning system improves cooling performance even when operation of the compressor is forcibly temporarily stopped.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, for protecting the environment, a vehicle such as an eco-run vehicle or a hybrid vehicle, where a vehicle engine automatically stops when the vehicle is halted for example at a traffic signal, is practically used.
However, in a vehicle air-conditioning system, a compressor of a refrigerant cycle is driven by the vehicle engine. Therefore, when the vehicle engine is stopped when the vehicle is halted for example at a traffic signal, temperature of air blown from an evaporator is increased with the compressor stoppage, and temperature of air blown into a passenger compartment is increased.
A Further, even when the vehicle engine operates, the operation of the compressor may be forcibly temporarily stopped by a request from a vehicle engine side. For example, when the vehicle is accelerated, the operation of the compressor is forcibly temporarily stopped so that accelerating performance of the vehicle is improved. In this case, when the operation of the compressor is forcibly temporarily stopped, the temperature of air blown into the passenger compartment is increased, and cooling performance for a passenger in the passenger compartment is deteriorated.
In a conventional compressor control system described in JP-U-2-114511, when a vehicle is decelerated, the compressor is forcibly operated, and an evaporator is forcibly frosted. Therefore, during the vehicle decelerating, cold is stored in the evaporator as latent heat. When the vehicle is stopped after the vehicle decelerating, air passing through the evaporator can be cooled using the cold stored in the evaporator while the compressor is stopped. However, in the conventional system, because cold-storing is only performed within a short time during the vehicle decelerating, cold is not always stored in the evaporator. As a result, the cooling performance for the passenger is deteriorated when the operation of the compressor is forcibly temporarily stopped based on a request of the engine side.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the foregoing problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide an air-conditioning system which prevents cooling performance from being deteriorated when a compressor of a refrigerant cycle is forcibly temporarily stopped.
It is an another object of the present invention to provide a vehicle air-conditioning system having a compressor driven by a vehicle engine, which prevents cooling performance from being deteriorated when a vehicle engine is temporarily stopped.
It is a further another object of the present invention to provide a vehicle air-conditioning system which improves both cool-storing effect in an evaporator and power-saving effect in a compressor.
According to the present invention, an air-conditioning system for a vehicle includes an evaporator for cooling air to be blown into a passenger compartment of the vehicle, a compressor driven by a vehicle engine for compressing and discharging refrigerant having passed through the evaporator, and a control unit for controlling air-conditioning state of the passenger compartment. When the engine operates, the control unit performs a cold-storing mode where cold quantity stored in condensed water on the evaporator is increased. On the other hand, when the engine stops, the control unit performs a cold-releasing mode where air is cooled by cold released from the condensed water on the evaporator. Thus, in the air-conditioning system, a sufficient cold quantity can be stored during the cold-storing mode, while it can prevent cooling performance from being deteriorated when the engine stops.
Further, the evaporator is disposed in the air-conditioning case to form a bypass passage through which air bypasses the evaporator, an opening degree of the bypass passage is adjusted by a bypass door, and during the cold-storing mode the control unit adjusts temperature of air blown into the passenger compartment by adjusting the opening degree of the bypass passage by using the bypass door. Therefore, even when evaporator temperature is decreased to increase the cold-storing quantity in the condensed water of the evaporator during the cold-storing mode, it is possible to control temperature of air blown into the passenger compartment by mixing air passing through the evaporator and air passing through the bypass passage, and it is possible to reduce air flow amount passing through the evaporator by the air flow amount passing through the bypass passage. Thus, by reducing the air flow amount passing through the evaporator, power consumed in the compressor can be effectively reduced. As a result, the air-conditioning system improves both cool-storing effect in the evaporator and power-saving effect in the compressor.
According to the present invention, in an air-conditioning system for a vehicle, when the compressor operates, a control unit performs a cold-storing mode in which cold quantity stored in condensed water on the evaporator is increased. Further, the control unit includes a prohibiting determining unit for determining a prohibiting condition of the cold-storing mode, and the control unit stops the cold-storing mode when the prohibiting condition of the cold-storing mode is determined while the compressor operates. Thus, when no the prohibiting condition of the cold-storing mode is determined, the cold-storing mode is continuously performed during the compressor operating, and a sufficient cold quantity can be stored in the condensed water of the evaporator. As a result, when air is cooled by cold released from the condensed water of the evaporator, sufficient cooling can be provided for a passenger in the passenger compartment.
According to the present invention, an air-conditioning system for a vehicle includes a temperature adjustment unit for adjusting temperature of air to be blown into the passenger compartment at a target temperature, and a control unit for controlling air-conditioning state of the passenger compartment. When the compressor operates, the control unit sets a cold-storing mode where cold stored in condensed water on the evaporator is increased. On the other hand, when the compressor is forcibly stopped based on a request from the engine, the control unit sets a cold-releasing mode where air passing through the evaporator is cooled by cold released from condensed water of the evaporator. The control unit includes a correction unit for correcting the target temperature of air blown into the passenger compartment to a low temperature side based on an increase of humidity of the passenger compartment. Thus, when the humidity of the passenger compartment increases as temperature of evaporator increases during the cold-releasing mode, the target temperature of air blown into the passenger compartment is corrected to a low temperature side so that temperature of air blown into the passenger compartment is lowered. As a result, a humidity sensing level of a passenger can be moved to a high-temperature side relative to
Ban Koichi
Kishita Hiroshi
Naka Masayoshi
Niimi Yasuhiko
Shirota Yuichi
Denso Corporation
Harness Dickey & Pierce PLC
Wayner William
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