US 12,434,535 B2
Method for controlling an air-flow thermal conditioning unit
Muriel Porto, Le Mesnil Saint Denis (FR); Wissem Nouainia, Le Mesnil Saint-Denis (FR); Jin-Ming Liu, Le Mesnil Saint-Denis (FR); and Régis Beauvis, Le Mesnil Saint-Denis (FR)
Assigned to Valeo Systemes Thermiques, Le Mesnil Saint-Denis (FR)
Appl. No. 17/619,454
Filed by Valeo Systemes Thermiques, Le Mesnil Saint-Denis (FR)
PCT Filed Jun. 16, 2020, PCT No. PCT/FR2020/051035
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Dec. 15, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/254756, PCT Pub. Date Dec. 24, 2020.
Claims priority of application No. 1906588 (FR), filed on Jun. 19, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2022/0402330 A1, Dec. 22, 2022
Int. Cl. B60H 1/00 (2006.01); B60H 1/32 (2006.01)
CPC B60H 1/00785 (2013.01) [B60H 1/00921 (2013.01); B60H 2001/00928 (2013.01); B60H 2001/3245 (2013.01)] 9 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A control method for controlling a thermal conditioning circuit for thermally conditioning an air flow for a passenger compartment of a motor vehicle, the thermal conditioning circuit comprising a heat exchanger configured to have a refrigerant pass through it and to exchange heat with the air flow, the heat exchanger being configured to operate selectively in at least:
a cooling mode in which the air flow is cooled,
a heating mode in which the air flow is heated,
the control method comprising:
evaluating a moisture level in a region in contact with an outer surface of the heat exchanger;
detecting an instruction to switch from the cooling mode to the heating mode;
allowing the refrigerant to circulate through the heat exchanger in response to the instruction to switch to the heating mode, wherein the evaluated moisture level is below a first predetermined threshold; and
preventing the refrigerant from circulating through the heat exchanger for a first predetermined period of time so as to delay the switch to the heating mode,
wherein the evaluated moisture level is above a second predetermined threshold,
wherein the second predetermined threshold is greater than the first predetermined threshold;
wherein the thermal conditioning circuit comprises an additional heater configured to heat the air flow, and
wherein preventing the refrigerant from circulating through the heat exchanger for the first predetermined period of time further comprises activating the additional heater to heat the air flow.