US 12,447,799 B2
Vehicle air conditioning system and vehicle air conditioning method
Hirotaka Tanabe, Tokyo (JP); Takayuki Kobayashi, Tokyo (JP); Yasutaka Aoki, Tokyo (JP); Tomoki Hase, Tokyo (JP); Hideaki Tatenoi, Tokyo (JP); Masayuki Sakai, Tokyo (JP); and Michiaki Nakanishi, Tokyo (JP)
Assigned to MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES THERMAL SYSTEMS, LTD., Tokyo (JP)
Appl. No. 18/280,913
Filed by MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES THERMAL SYSTEMS, LTD., Tokyo (JP)
PCT Filed Mar. 29, 2022, PCT No. PCT/JP2022/015454
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Sep. 7, 2023,
PCT Pub. No. WO2022/230556, PCT Pub. Date Nov. 3, 2022.
Claims priority of application No. 2021-075617 (JP), filed on Apr. 28, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2024/0149640 A1, May 9, 2024
Int. Cl. B60H 1/00 (2006.01); B60H 1/32 (2006.01)
CPC B60H 1/00899 (2013.01) [B60H 1/00885 (2013.01); B60H 1/32284 (2019.05); B60H 2001/00928 (2013.01); B60H 2001/00961 (2019.05)] 7 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A vehicle air conditioning system, comprising:
a refrigerant circuit in which a refrigerant circulates in accordance with a refrigeration cycle;
a heat medium circuit including a high-temperature medium circuit in which a heat medium absorbing heat from the refrigerant in the refrigerant circuit circulates and a low- temperature medium circuit in which a heat medium dissipating heat to the refrigerant in the refrigerant circuit circulates;
a vehicle-interior heat exchanger configured to exchange heat between the heat medium and air;
a vehicle-exterior heat exchanger configured to exchange heat between the heat medium and air and including a first heat exchanger and a second heat exchanger disposed in series with respect to a flow of air generated by an air blower;
a switching unit configured to switch a flow of the heat medium;
a detection unit configured to detect a degree of frost formation on each of the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger; and
a control device configured to control operation of the switching unit in accordance with an operation mode of the vehicle air conditioning system, wherein
the operation mode includes a defrosting mode in which the heat medium in the high-temperature medium circuit is supplied to a defrosting target to be selected as either the first heat exchanger or the second heat exchanger connected in parallel in the heat medium circuit by the operation of the switching unit, and
in selecting the defrosting target by the operation of the switching unit and on the basis of a detection result of the degree of frost formation by the detection unit, the control device
selects the first heat exchanger as the defrosting target when it is determined that only the first heat exchanger needs to be defrosted,
selects the second heat exchanger as the defrosting target when it is determined that only the second heat exchanger needs to be defrosted, and
selects, as the defrosting target, the first heat exchanger located on an upwind side in preference to the second heat exchanger located on a downwind side when it is determined that both the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger need to be defrosted.
 
6. A vehicle air conditioning method using a vehicle air conditioning system,
the vehicle air conditioning system comprising:
a refrigerant circuit in which a refrigerant circulates in accordance with a refrigeration cycle;
a heat medium circuit including a high-temperature medium circuit in which a heat medium absorbing heat from the refrigerant in the refrigerant circuit circulates and a low-temperature medium circuit in which the heat medium dissipating heat to the refrigerant in the refrigerant circuit circulates;
a vehicle-interior heat exchanger configured to exchange heat between the heat medium and air;
a vehicle-exterior heat exchanger configured to exchange heat between the heat medium and air and including a first heat exchanger and a second heat exchanger disposed in series with respect to a flow of air generated by an air blower; and
a switching unit configured to switch a flow of the heat medium,
the vehicle air conditioning method comprising:
in supplying the heat medium in the high-temperature medium circuit to a defrosting target to be selected as either the first heat exchanger or the second heat exchanger connected in parallel by operation of the switching unit and
on the basis of a detection result of a degree of frost formation on each of the first heat exchanger located on an upwind side and the second heat exchanger located on a downwind side,
selecting the first heat exchanger as the defrosting target when it is determined that only the first heat exchanger needs to be defrosted;
selecting the second heat exchanger as the defrosting target when it is determined that only the second heat exchanger needs to be defrosted; and
selecting, as the defrosting target, the first heat exchanger in preference to the second heat exchanger when it is determined that both the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger need to be defrosted.