Vehicular air conditioner
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Solution Overview
Problem
Vehicular air conditioners with heat pump cycle units face reduced heating and dehumidifying performance when outside air temperatures drop below a certain limit, affecting anti-fog performance inside the vehicle.
Innovation Solution
A vehicular air conditioner with a heat pump cycle unit, a heater core, temperature detectors, and a controller that selectively switches the refrigerant circuit layout between cooling, heating, and dehumidifying-heating modes based on passage air temperature, ensuring optimal performance across varying outside air temperatures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a heat pump cycle unit is used to heat the vehicle interior, then heating capability is improved, but heating and dehumidifying performance deteriorates when outside air temperature drops below a certain limit
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically switches between different circuit layouts (first dehumidifying-heating circuit and second heating circuit) based on outside air temperature conditions. When outside air temperature is above the lower limit, the first dehumidifying-heating circuit is used; when it drops below the limit, the second heating circuit is activated. This dynamic adaptation resolves the contradiction by adjusting the system configuration to maintain reliable heating and dehumidifying performance across varying temperature conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes operational parameters by switching circuit layouts based on outside air temperature. The controller monitors temperature and adjusts the refrigerant circulation path accordingly, changing the system's thermal characteristics to match environmental conditions. This parameter change enables the system to maintain optimal heating and dehumidifying performance whether outside air temperature is high or low.
2Use of energy by moving object
If the heat pump cycle unit operates in heating mode with outside air, then heating efficiency is improved, but anti-fog performance deteriorates at low outside air temperatures
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts its operation mode based on outside air temperature and vehicle interior conditions. When outside air temperature is above the lower limit, the first dehumidifying-heating circuit operates to provide both heating and dehumidification for anti-fog performance. When temperature drops below the limit, the second heating circuit is activated to maintain heating efficiency while preventing fogging through alternative thermal management. This dynamic switching resolves the contradiction between heating efficiency and anti-fog performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the heat pump cycle unit to serve multiple functions: heating the vehicle interior and dehumidifying to prevent fogging on windows. By switching between circuit layouts, the system automatically adapts to maintain both heating efficiency and anti-fog performance without external intervention, resolving the contradiction through self-adjusting operational modes.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances heating and dehumidifying capabilities, maintaining effective anti-fog performance by adaptively adjusting the air conditioner's operation modes to compensate for lower outside air temperatures, thereby improving the vehicle's interior climate control.
Implementation Method 1
a first inside heat exchanger disposed downstream of the heater core in a flow direction of a conditioning air, the first inside heat exchanger being configured to exchange heat between the conditioning air and a refrigerant
Implementation Method 2
a second inside heat exchanger disposed upstream of the heater core in the flow direction of the conditioning air, the second inside heat exchanger being configured to exchange heat between the conditioning air and the refrigerant
Implementation Method 3
an outside heat exchanger configured to exchange heat between air outside the vehicle and the refrigerant
Implementation Method 4
a heater core, coolant for cooling an engine of a vehicle flows through the heater core
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicular air conditioner includes an air conditioning, a heater core, a heat pump cycle unit, a temperature detector, and a controller. The heat pump cycle unit includes a first inside heat exchanger disposed downstream of the heater core in a flow direction of a conditioning air, a second inside heat exchanger disposed upstream of the heater core in the flow direction of the conditioning air, and an outside heat exchanger. The temperature detector is configured to detect a passage air temperature, the passage air temperature being a temperature of the conditioning air that has passed through the heater core. The controller is configured to selectively switch a circuit layout of the heat pump cycle unit between a cooling circuit, a heating circuit, and a dehumidifying-heating circuit based on the passage air temperature.