JP6729313B2 - Vehicle air conditioner - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle air conditioner configured to execute pre-air conditioning.

BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, Patent Document 1 discloses a vehicle air conditioner configured to execute pre-air conditioning that starts air conditioning in a vehicle compartment before an occupant gets into the vehicle. The vehicle air conditioner of Patent Document 1 includes a vapor compression refrigeration cycle device having an electric compressor as a temperature adjusting device that adjusts the temperature of blown air blown into the vehicle interior.

Then, in the vehicle air conditioner of Patent Document 1, by setting the upper limit value of the power consumption of the refrigeration cycle device at the time of performing the pre-air conditioning, it is possible to suppress an increase in the power consumed for the pre-air conditioning. doing.

Further, in the vehicle air conditioner of Patent Document 1, by setting the upper limit value of the power consumption to decrease with the lapse of time from the start of the pre-air conditioning, not only the increase in the power consumption is suppressed but also the vehicle is used as the pre-air conditioning. When cooling indoors, we are trying to realize highly effective cooling even immediately after the start of pre-air conditioning.

JP 2012-76517 A

However, like the vehicle air conditioner of Patent Document 1, if the upper limit value of the power consumption is reduced with the passage of time during the pre-air conditioning, the durability of the compressor is reduced when the vehicle interior is heated as the pre-air conditioning. It may adversely affect the life. The reason is that the outside air temperature becomes low during heating and the amount of refrigerating machine oil that circulates in the cycle along with the refrigerant decreases , so it is possible to return a sufficient amount of refrigerating machine oil to the compressor for lubricating the compressor. Because you will not be able to.

In addition, since the pressure of the refrigerant on the high pressure side of the cycle does not easily rise in the early stage of heating, the power consumption of the compressor is relatively low. Then, when the pressure of the high-pressure side refrigerant increases with the lapse of time from the start of heating, the power consumption of the compressor also increases. For this reason, if the upper limit of the power consumption is lowered with the passage of time from the start of pre-air conditioning as in the vehicle air conditioner of Patent Document 1, the heating capacity will be reduced with time when performing heating as pre-air conditioning. It becomes insufficient.

In view of the above points, the present invention aims to protect a compressor of a refrigeration cycle device in a vehicle air conditioner configured to be capable of performing pre-air conditioning without deteriorating a feeling of heating during pre-air conditioning. And

In order to achieve the above object, in the invention according to claim 1, an occupant gets into a vehicle by at least one of external power supplied from an external power source and power supplied from a battery (B) mounted in the vehicle. A vehicle air conditioner configured to be capable of executing pre-air conditioning that starts air conditioning in the vehicle interior,
Electric compressor (11) operated by electric power supplied from a battery, indoor condenser (12) for exchanging heat between high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the compressor and blast air blown into the passenger compartment, indoor condenser Of the compressor, a decompression device (14a) for decompressing the refrigerant flowing out of the compressor, and an outdoor heat exchanger (20) for exchanging heat between the low pressure refrigerant decompressed by the decompression device and the outside air, and a compressor. Upper and lower limit value determination units (S61, S62) that determine the upper limit value (Nc_LIM) of the refrigerant discharge capacity and the lower limit value (Nc_OIL) of the refrigerant discharge capacity of the compressor, and discharge capacity control that controls the refrigerant discharge capacity of the compressor. And a part (40a),
The external power supply can charge the battery with external power when connected to the vehicle,
The upper and lower limit value determination unit determines to increase the lower limit value (Nc_OIL) in accordance with a decrease in at least one of the outside air temperature (Tam) and the refrigerant temperature (Ts) in the outdoor heat exchanger, and the vehicle is used as pre-air conditioning. When heating the room and when an external power supply is not connected to the vehicle, the upper limit value (Nc_LIM) is determined to increase with the lapse of time from the start of pre-air conditioning.
The discharge capacity control unit is a vehicle air conditioner that controls the refrigerant discharge capacity to be equal to or higher than the lower limit value (Nc_OIL) when the lower limit value (Nc_OIL) is higher than the upper limit value (Nc_LIM).

According to this, since the discharge capacity control unit (40a) controls the refrigerant discharge capacity so as to be equal to or higher than the lower limit value (Nc_OIL), a sufficient amount of refrigerating machine oil for lubricating the compressor (11) is compressed. By setting the lower limit value (Nc_OIL) so that the compressor (11) can be returned to the compressor (11), the compressor (11) can be protected.

Further, the upper limit value (Nc_LIM) is determined so as to increase with time from the start of pre-air conditioning. Therefore, when the vehicle interior is heated as pre-air conditioning, even if the high-pressure side refrigerant pressure rises with time from the start of pre-air conditioning, the rotation speed of the compressor (11) is increased to reduce the heating capacity. Can be suppressed.

As a result, according to the invention described in claim 1, the compressor (11) of the refrigeration cycle apparatus (10) can be protected without deteriorating the heating feeling during pre-air conditioning.

It should be noted that the reference numerals in parentheses for each means described in this column and in the claims are an example showing the correspondence with specific means described in the embodiments described later.

FIG. 3 is an overall configuration diagram showing a refrigerant flow in a cooling mode and a series dehumidifying and heating mode of the refrigeration cycle device of one embodiment. It is the whole lineblock diagram showing the flow of the refrigerant at the time of parallel dehumidification heating of the refrigerating cycle device of one embodiment. It is the whole lineblock diagram showing the flow of the refrigerant at the time of heating mode of the refrigerating cycle device of one embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the electric control part of the vehicle air conditioner of one embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the control processing of the vehicle air conditioner of one embodiment. FIG. 9 is a control characteristic diagram for determining an upper limit value Nc_LIM in a cooling mode of pre-air conditioning of one embodiment. It is a flow chart which shows the important section of the control processing of the air-conditioner for vehicles of one embodiment. FIG. 9 is a control characteristic diagram for determining an upper limit value Nc_LIM in a heating mode of pre-air conditioning of one embodiment. FIG. 9 is a control characteristic diagram for determining a lower limit value Nc_OIL in a heating mode of pre-air conditioning of one embodiment.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the present embodiment, the vehicle air conditioner 1 according to the present invention is applied to a hybrid vehicle that obtains a driving force for vehicle traveling from an internal combustion engine (that is, an engine) and an electric motor for traveling.

The hybrid vehicle of the present embodiment is configured as a so-called plug-in type hybrid vehicle capable of charging the battery B mounted on the vehicle with the external power supplied from the external power source (commercial power source) when the vehicle is stopped. There is. The battery B is a secondary battery that can be repeatedly discharged by being charged. In this embodiment, a lithium ion battery is adopted as the battery B.

The external electric power supplied from the external power source and the electric power stored in the battery B can be supplied to various electric vehicle-mounted devices including the constituent devices of the vehicle air conditioner 1.

The vehicle air conditioner 1 is configured to be capable of executing pre-air conditioning, which starts air conditioning in the passenger compartment before the passenger gets in the vehicle, in addition to the normal air conditioning performed when the passenger is in the vehicle. The vehicle air conditioner 1 can perform pre-air conditioning with at least one of the external power supplied from the external power supply and the power supplied from the battery B.

The vehicle air conditioner 1 includes a refrigeration cycle device 10 as a temperature adjusting device that adjusts the temperature of blown air blown into the vehicle interior.

The refrigeration cycle device 10 includes a cooling mode refrigerant circuit (see FIG. 1 ), a series dehumidifying and heating mode refrigerant circuit (see FIG. 1 ), a parallel dehumidifying and heating mode refrigerant circuit (see FIG. 2 ), and a heating mode refrigerant circuit ( (See FIG. 3) can be switched. 1 to 3, the flow of the refrigerant in each operation mode is indicated by a thick solid arrow.

In the vehicle air conditioner 1, the cooling mode is an operation mode in which the blast air is cooled and blown into the vehicle interior to cool the vehicle interior. The dehumidifying and heating mode is an operation mode in which the chilled and dehumidified blast air is reheated and blown into the vehicle interior to dehumidify and heat the vehicle interior. The heating mode is an operation mode in which the blast air is heated and blown into the vehicle interior to heat the vehicle interior.

The refrigeration cycle apparatus 10 employs an HFC refrigerant (specifically, R134a) as a refrigerant, and constitutes a vapor compression type subcritical refrigeration cycle in which the pressure of the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 11 does not exceed the critical pressure of the refrigerant. doing. Refrigerant oil for lubricating the compressor 11 is mixed in the refrigerant. As the refrigerating machine oil, PAG oil (polyalkylene glycol oil) having compatibility with the liquid refrigerant is adopted. Part of the refrigerating machine oil circulates in the cycle together with the refrigerant.

In the refrigeration cycle device 10, the compressor 11 draws in the refrigerant, compresses it, and discharges it. The compressor 11 is arranged in the hood of the vehicle. The compressor 11 is an electric compressor in which a fixed displacement type compression mechanism having a fixed discharge capacity is rotationally driven by an electric motor. The number of rotations (that is, refrigerant discharge capacity) of the compressor 11 is controlled by a control signal output from the air conditioning control device 40 described later.

The refrigerant inlet side of the indoor condenser 12 is connected to the discharge port of the compressor 11. The indoor condenser 12 is arranged in an air conditioning case 31 of an indoor air conditioning unit 30 of the vehicle air conditioning device 1 described later. The indoor condenser 12 is a heating heat exchanger that heats the blast air by exchanging heat between the high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the compressor 11 and the blast air that has passed through an indoor evaporator 23 described later.

The refrigerant outlet side of the indoor condenser 12 is connected to the inlet side of a first three-way joint 13a having three inlets and outlets communicating with each other. As such a three-way joint, one formed by joining a plurality of pipes or one formed by providing a plurality of refrigerant passages in a metal block or a resin block can be adopted.

Further, the refrigeration cycle apparatus 10 includes a plurality of three-way joints such as second to fourth three-way joints 13b to 13d as described later. The basic configuration of the second to fourth three-way joints 13b to 13d and the like is similar to that of the first three-way joint 13a.

The inlet side of the first expansion valve 14a is connected to one outlet of the first three-way joint 13a. Further, one inlet side of the second three-way joint 13b is connected to the other outlet side of the first three-way joint 13a. A first on-off valve 15a is arranged in a first refrigerant passage 18a that connects the other outlet side of the first three-way joint 13a and the one inlet side of the second three-way joint 13b.

The first opening/closing valve 15a is an electromagnetic valve that opens/closes the first refrigerant passage 18a. Further, the refrigeration cycle device 10 includes a second opening/closing valve 15b as described later. The basic configuration of the second opening/closing valve 15b is the same as that of the first opening/closing valve 15a.

The first and second on-off valves 15a and 15b can switch the refrigerant circuit in each of the above operation modes by opening and closing the refrigerant passage. Therefore, the first and second on-off valves 15a and 15b are a refrigerant circuit switching device that switches the refrigerant circuit of the cycle. The operation of the first and second on-off valves 15a and 15b is controlled by the control voltage output from the air conditioning controller 40.

The first expansion valve 14a is a decompression device that decompresses the high-pressure refrigerant flowing out from the indoor condenser 12 at least in the heating mode. The first expansion valve 14a is an electric variable throttle mechanism that includes a valve body configured to change the opening degree of the throttle and an electric actuator that changes the opening degree of the valve body.

Further, the refrigeration cycle device 10 includes a second expansion valve 14b, which will be described later. The basic configuration of the second expansion valve 14b is the same as that of the first expansion valve 14a. These first and second expansion valves 14a and 14b have a fully opened function that functions as a simple refrigerant passage with almost no flow rate adjusting action and refrigerant depressurizing action by fully opening the valve opening degree, and the valve opening degree. The fully closed function has a function of closing the refrigerant passage.

The fully open function and the fully closed function allow the first and second expansion valves 14a and 14b to switch the refrigerant circuits in the above-described operation modes. Therefore, the first and second expansion valves 14a and 14b also have a function as a refrigerant circuit switching device. The operation of the first and second expansion valves 14a and 14b is controlled by a control signal (control pulse) output from the air conditioning controller 40.

The refrigerant inlet side of the outdoor heat exchanger 20 is connected to the outlet of the first expansion valve 14a. The outdoor heat exchanger 20 is a heat exchanger that exchanges heat between the refrigerant flowing out of the first expansion valve 14a and the outside air blown from the outside air fan 20a. The outdoor heat exchanger 20 is arranged on the front side in the vehicle hood.

The outdoor heat exchanger 20 functions as a radiator that dissipates the high pressure refrigerant at least in the cooling mode, and functions as an evaporator that evaporates the low pressure refrigerant at least in the heating mode. The outside air fan 20a is an electric type outside air blower whose rotation speed (that is, blowing capacity) is controlled by a control voltage output from the air conditioning controller 40.

The refrigerant outlet of the outdoor heat exchanger 20 is connected to the inlet side of the third three-way joint 13c. The other inflow port side of the second three-way joint 13b is connected to one outflow port of the third three-way joint 13c. One of the inlets of the fourth three-way joint 13d is connected to the other outlet of the third three-way joint 13c.

A second on-off valve 15b that opens and closes the second refrigerant passage 18b is arranged in the second refrigerant passage 18b that connects the other outlet side of the third three-way joint 13c and the one inlet side of the fourth three-way joint 13d. Has been done.

A check valve 21 is arranged in the refrigerant passage that connects one of the outlet sides of the third three-way joint 13c and the other inlet side of the second three-way joint 13b. The check valve 21 allows the refrigerant to flow from the third three-way joint 13c side (that is, the outdoor heat exchanger 20 side) to the second three-way joint 13b side (that is, the second expansion valve 14b side), and the second It serves to inhibit the refrigerant from flowing from the three-way joint 13b side to the third three-way joint 13c side.

The inlet side of the second expansion valve 14b is connected to the outlet of the second three-way joint 13b. The second expansion valve 14b is an electric variable throttle mechanism that reduces the pressure of the refrigerant flowing out of the outdoor heat exchanger 20 at least in the cooling mode. The refrigerant inlet side of the indoor evaporator 23 is connected to the outlet of the second expansion valve 14b.

The indoor evaporator 23 is arranged in the air conditioning case 31 of the indoor air conditioning unit 30. The indoor evaporator 23 heat-exchanges the low-pressure refrigerant decompressed by the second expansion valve 14b and the blast air blown from the blower 32 at least in the cooling mode to evaporate the low-pressure refrigerant and endothermic the low-pressure refrigerant. It is a heat exchanger for cooling that cools blown air by exerting it.

An inlet side of the evaporation pressure adjusting valve 26 is connected to a refrigerant outlet side of the indoor evaporator 23. The evaporation pressure adjusting valve 26 is composed of a mechanical mechanism, and has a function of adjusting the refrigerant evaporation pressure in the indoor evaporator 23 to a predetermined reference pressure or higher in order to suppress frost formation on the indoor evaporator 23. Fulfill. In other words, the evaporation pressure adjusting valve 26 has a function of adjusting the refrigerant evaporation temperature in the indoor evaporator 23 to be equal to or higher than the reference temperature at which frost formation on the indoor evaporator 23 can be suppressed.

The outlet of the evaporation pressure adjusting valve 26 is connected to the other inlet side of the fourth three-way joint 13d. The inlet side of the accumulator 24 is connected to the outlet of the fourth three-way joint 13d. The accumulator 24 is a gas-liquid separator that separates the gas-liquid refrigerant that has flowed into the inside and stores the excess liquid-phase refrigerant in the cycle. The suction side of the compressor 11 is connected to the vapor-phase refrigerant outlet of the accumulator 24.

Next, the indoor air conditioning unit 30 will be described. The indoor air conditioning unit 30 is arranged inside the instrument panel (instrument panel) at the forefront of the vehicle compartment. The indoor air conditioning unit 30 blows the blast air whose temperature has been adjusted by the refrigeration cycle device 10 into the vehicle interior, so that a blower 32 and an indoor evaporator 23 are provided in an air passage formed in an air conditioning case 31 that forms an outer shell of the air blast unit. , The heater core 39, the indoor condenser 12, and the like.

The heater core 39 is an auxiliary heating heat exchanger that supplementally heats the blast air by exchanging heat between the engine cooling water and the blast air that has passed through the indoor evaporator 23. The heater core 39 is connected to an engine cooling water circuit that circulates engine cooling water.

The air-conditioning case 31 forms an air passage for blown air that is blown into the vehicle interior, and is formed of a resin (for example, polypropylene) having a certain degree of elasticity and excellent strength. An inside/outside air switching device 33 that switches and introduces inside air (air inside the vehicle interior) and outside air (air outside the vehicle interior) into the air conditioning case 31 is arranged on the most upstream side of the air flow of the air conditioning case 31.

The inside/outside air switching device 33 continuously adjusts the opening areas of the inside air introducing port for introducing the inside air and the outside air introducing port for introducing the outside air into the air conditioning case 31 by the inside/outside air switching door to introduce the introduced air amount of the inside air and the outside air. The introduction rate is changed with the introduction air volume of. The inside/outside air switching door is driven by an electric actuator for the inside/outside air switching door. The operation of this electric actuator is controlled by a control signal output from the air conditioning controller 40.

On the downstream side of the blown air flow of the inside/outside air switching device 33, a blower 32 that blows the air sucked through the inside/outside air switching device 33 toward the passenger compartment is arranged. The blower 32 is an electric blower that drives a centrifugal multi-blade fan with an electric motor. The blower 32 has its rotation speed (that is, blowing capacity) controlled by a control voltage output from the air conditioning controller 40.

The indoor evaporator 23, the heater core 39, and the indoor condenser 12 are arranged on the downstream side of the blower 32 in the order of the blown air, in this order. That is, the indoor evaporator 23 is arranged on the upstream side of the blown air flow with respect to the heater core 39 and the indoor condenser 12.

In the air conditioning case 31, a bypass passage 35 is provided in which the blown air after passing the indoor evaporator 23 bypasses the heater core 39 and the indoor condenser 12 to flow. Further, an air mix door 34 is arranged in the air conditioning case 31 on the downstream side of the blown air flow of the indoor evaporator 23 and on the upstream side of the blown air flow of the heater core 39 and the indoor condenser 12.

The air mix door 34 adjusts the air volume ratio between the air volume of the air blown through the indoor condenser 12 and the air volume of the air blown through the bypass passage 35 in the air blown after passing through the indoor evaporator 23. It is an adjusting unit. The air mix door 34 is driven by an electric actuator for the air mix door. The operation of this electric actuator is controlled by a control signal output from the air conditioning controller 40.

On the downstream side of the blower air flow of the indoor condenser 12 and the bypass passage 35, blown air that has been heated by exchanging heat with the refrigerant in the heater core 39 and the indoor condenser 12 and blown air that has not passed through the bypass passage 35 and is not heated. A merging space 36 in which air merges is formed. Therefore, the temperature of the blast air merged in the merge space 36 is adjusted by the air mix door 34 adjusting the air flow rate.

At the most downstream portion of the blast air flow of the air conditioning case 31, an opening hole is provided for blowing the blast air whose temperature is adjusted in the merging space 36 into the vehicle interior. Specifically, a foot opening hole 37a, a face opening hole 37b, and a defroster opening hole 37c are provided as the opening holes.

The foot opening hole 37a is an opening hole for blowing the conditioned air toward the feet of the occupant. The face opening hole 37b is an opening hole for blowing the conditioned air toward the upper half of the body of the passenger in the vehicle compartment. The defroster opening hole 37c is an opening hole for blowing the conditioned air toward the inner surface of the vehicle front window glass.

Further, on the upstream side of the blown air flow of the foot opening hole 37a, the face opening hole 37b, and the defroster opening hole 37c, the opening areas of the foot door hole 38a and the face opening hole 37b that adjust the opening area of the foot opening hole 37a are adjusted, respectively. A face door 38b and a defroster door 38c for adjusting the opening area of the defroster opening hole 37c are arranged.

The foot door 38a, the face door 38b, and the defroster door 38c are blowout mode doors that switch the blowout modes by opening and closing the opening holes 37a to 37c, and configure a blowout mode switching device. Each of the doors 38a to 38c is rotationally operated by an electric actuator 61 for a blowout mode door via a link mechanism or the like. The operation of the electric actuator 61 is controlled by a control signal output from the air conditioning controller 40.

On the downstream side of the foot opening hole 37a, the face opening hole 37b, and the defroster opening hole 37c, the downstream side of the blast air flow is provided with a face air outlet, a foot air outlet, and a defroster air outlet provided in the passenger compartment via ducts forming air passages. It is connected to the.

Further, as the blowout modes switched by the blowout mode switching device, specifically, there are a face mode, a bi-level mode, a foot mode, and the like.

The face mode is a blowing mode in which the face opening hole 37b is fully opened and blown air is blown from the face outlet toward the upper half of the occupant in the passenger compartment. The bi-level mode is a blowing mode in which both the face opening hole 37b and the foot opening hole 37a are opened, and blown air is blown toward the upper body and the feet of the passenger in the passenger compartment. The foot mode is a blowing mode in which the foot opening hole 37a is fully opened and the defroster opening hole 37c is opened by a small opening degree, and blown air is mainly blown out from the foot outlet.

Further, the occupant may manually operate the blowout mode changeover switch provided on the operation panel 50 to fully open the defroster opening hole 37c to set the defroster mode in which blown air is blown from the defroster outlet to the inner surface of the vehicle windshield. it can.

Next, the electrical control unit of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The air-conditioning control device 40 is composed of a well-known microcomputer including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM and the like and its peripheral circuits. Then, various calculations and processing are performed based on the air conditioning control program stored in the ROM to control the operation of various air conditioning control devices connected to the output side.

The output side of the air conditioning controller 40 is connected to the compressor 11, the first and second expansion valves 14a and 14b, the first and second opening/closing valves 15a and 15b, the outside air fan 20a, the blower 32, and other electric actuators. Has been done.

On the input side of the air conditioning controller 40, an inside air temperature sensor 41, an outside air temperature sensor 42, a solar radiation sensor 43, an inflow air temperature sensor 44, first to third refrigerant temperature sensors 45a to 45c, a high pressure sensor 46a, an outdoor unit pressure sensor. 46b, an evaporator temperature sensor 47, an air conditioning air temperature sensor 48, etc. are connected. Then, the detection signals of these sensor groups for air conditioning control are input to the air conditioning control device 40.

The inside air temperature sensor 41 is an inside air temperature detection unit that detects a vehicle interior temperature (inside air temperature) Tr. The outside air temperature sensor 42 is an outside air temperature detection unit that detects the outside temperature (outside air temperature) Tam of the vehicle compartment. The solar radiation sensor 43 is a solar radiation amount detection unit that detects the solar radiation amount As emitted to the vehicle interior. The inflow air temperature sensor 44 is an inflow air temperature detection unit that detects the inflow air temperature TAin of the blown air that flows into the indoor condenser 12.

The first refrigerant temperature sensor 45a is a first refrigerant temperature detection unit that detects an inlet side refrigerant temperature Td of the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 11 and flowing into the indoor condenser 12. The second refrigerant temperature sensor 45b is a second refrigerant temperature detection unit that detects the outlet side refrigerant temperature Th of the refrigerant that has flowed out of the indoor condenser 12. The third refrigerant temperature sensor 45c is a third refrigerant temperature detection unit that detects the temperature (outdoor heat exchanger temperature) Ts of the refrigerant that has flowed out of the outdoor heat exchanger 20.

The high pressure sensor 46a is a high pressure refrigerant pressure detection unit that detects the high pressure side refrigerant pressure Ph of the refrigerant passage extending from the discharge side of the compressor 11 to the inlet side of the first expansion valve 14a. The outdoor unit pressure sensor 46b is an outdoor unit pressure detection unit that detects the outdoor refrigerant pressure Ps flowing out from the outdoor heat exchanger 20. The evaporator temperature sensor 47 is an evaporator temperature detection unit that detects the refrigerant evaporation temperature (evaporator temperature) Tefin in the indoor evaporator 23. The conditioned air temperature sensor 48 is an conditioned air temperature detection unit that detects a blast air temperature TAV that is blown from the merging space 36 into the vehicle interior.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, an operation panel 50 arranged near the instrument panel in the front part of the vehicle compartment is connected to the input side of the air conditioning control device 40, and various operation switches provided on the operation panel 50 are connected to the operation panel 50. Is input.

The various operation switches provided on the operation panel 50 include an operation switch, an auto switch, an operation mode changeover switch, an air volume setting switch, a temperature setting switch, a blowout mode changing switch, and the like.

The operation switch is an operation request setting unit that requests operation of the vehicle air conditioner 1. The auto switch is an automatic control setting unit that sets or cancels automatic control of the vehicle air conditioner 1. The operation mode changeover switch is an operation mode setting unit that sets an operation mode such as a cooling mode. The air volume setting switch is an air volume setting unit for manually setting the air volume of the blower 32. The temperature setting switch is a temperature setting unit for manually setting the target temperature Tset in the vehicle compartment. The blowout mode changeover switch is a blowout mode setting unit for manually setting the blowout mode.

Although the air-conditioning control device 40 of the present embodiment is integrally configured with a control unit that controls various control target devices connected to the output side thereof, it is configured to control the operation of each control target device. The (hardware and software) configures a control unit that controls the operation of each control target device.

For example, in the air conditioning controller 40, the configuration (hardware and software) that controls the refrigerant discharge capacity of the compressor 11 is the discharge capacity controller 40a. The configuration for controlling the throttle opening of the first expansion valve 14a is the pressure reducing device control unit 40b. The configuration that controls the operation of the refrigerant circuit switching device such as the first and second opening/closing valves 15a and 15b is the refrigerant circuit control unit 40c. The configuration for controlling the blowing capacity of the blower 32 is the blower control unit 40d.

Further, the air conditioning control device 40 has a pre-air conditioning transmitting/receiving unit 40e for transmitting/receiving a control signal to/from a remote controller 60 which is a wireless terminal carried by a passenger. The remote controller 60 is a pre-air-conditioning signal transmission unit that outputs a pre-air-conditioning request signal or the like requesting that the occupant execute the above-mentioned pre-air conditioning. As a result, the occupant can start the vehicle air conditioning system 1 for pre-air conditioning at a place away from the vehicle.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment having the above configuration will be described. The vehicle air conditioner 1 of the present embodiment can perform cooling, dehumidifying and heating, and heating of the vehicle interior. In response to this, the refrigeration cycle apparatus 10 can switch between the operation in the cooling mode, the operation in the series dehumidifying and heating mode, the operation in the parallel dehumidifying and heating mode, and the operation in the heating mode.

Switching of these operation modes is performed by executing the air conditioning control program. The air conditioning control program is executed even when the vehicle system is stopped as long as the battery B supplies power to the air conditioning control device 40. Further, switching of each operation mode is performed not only during normal air conditioning but also during pre-air conditioning.

The main routine of the air conditioning control program will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The control steps shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 5 and 6 are various function realizing units included in the air conditioning control device 40.

First, in step S1 of FIG. 5, it is determined whether the operation switch of the vehicle air conditioner 1 is turned on (ON) and whether the start switch of the pre-air conditioning is turned on. When it is determined that the operation switch of the vehicle air conditioner 1 or the pre-air conditioning start switch is turned on, the process proceeds to step S2.

In step S2, initialization such as initialization of flags and timers configured by the storage circuit of the air conditioning controller 40 and initial alignment of the stepping motor that constitutes the above-described electric actuator is performed. In step S3, the detection signal of the sensor group for air conditioning control and the operation signal of the operation panel 50 are read.

In step S4, based on the values of the detection signal and the operation signal read in step S3, the target outlet temperature TAO, which is the target temperature of the outlet air blown into the vehicle compartment, is calculated based on the following formula 1.
TAO=Kset*Tset-Kr*Tr-Kam*Tam-Ks*As+C... (F1)
Here, Tset is the vehicle interior temperature set by the temperature setting switch, Tr is the inside air temperature detected by the inside air temperature sensor 41, Tam is the outside air temperature detected by the outside air temperature sensor 42, and As is the detection by the solar radiation sensor 43. It is the amount of solar radiation. Kset, Kr, Kam, and Ks are control gains, and C is a correction constant.

In step S5, the operation mode is determined. Specifically, in the state where the cooling mode is set by the operation mode changeover switch of the operation panel 50 and the target outlet temperature TAO is lower than the predetermined cooling reference temperature α, the cooling mode is determined. It

Further, when the cooling mode is set by the operation mode changeover switch, the target outlet temperature TAO is equal to or higher than the cooling reference temperature α, and the outside air temperature Tam is higher than the predetermined dehumidification heating reference temperature β. If so, the series dehumidification heating mode is determined.

Further, when the target outlet temperature TAO is equal to or higher than the cooling reference temperature α and the outside air temperature Tam is equal to or lower than the dehumidification heating reference temperature β when the cooling mode is set by the operation mode changeover switch. , It is decided to operate in parallel dehumidification heating mode. When the cooling mode is not set by the operation mode changeover switch, the heating mode is determined.

As a result, the cooling mode is mainly executed when the outside air temperature is relatively high, such as in summer. The series dehumidification heating mode is mainly executed in spring or autumn. The parallel dehumidification heating mode is mainly executed when it is necessary to heat the blast air with a higher heating capacity than the series dehumidification heating mode, such as in early spring or late autumn. The heating mode is mainly executed during the low outside temperature in winter.

Next, in steps S6 to S13, control states of various air conditioning control devices are determined. In step S6, the blowing capacity of the blower 32, that is, the control voltage applied to the electric motor of the blower 32 is determined. The control voltage output to the blower 32 is determined based on the target outlet temperature TAO with reference to a control map stored in advance in the air conditioning controller 40.

In this control map, the air volume is increased in the extremely low temperature region (maximum cooling region) and extremely high temperature region (maximum heating region) of the target outlet temperature TAO, and is decreased as the target outlet temperature TAO approaches the intermediate temperature region. To determine the control voltage.

In step S7, the blowing capacity of the outside air fan 20a, that is, the control voltage applied to the electric motor of the outside air fan 20a is determined. The control voltage output to the outside air fan 20a is determined based on the outside air temperature Tam by referring to a control map stored in advance in the air conditioning controller 40. In this control map, the control voltage is determined so as to increase the air flow rate of the outside air fan 20a as the outside air temperature Tam decreases.

In step S8, the suction mode, that is, the control signal output to the electric actuator for the inside/outside air switching door is determined. The suction mode is determined based on the target outlet temperature TAO with reference to a control map stored in advance in the air conditioning controller 40. In this control map, the outside air mode for introducing the outside air is basically prioritized, but when the target outlet temperature TAO is in the extremely low temperature region or the extremely high temperature region, the inside air mode for introducing the inside air is selected. ..

In step S9, the control signal output to the electric actuator 61 for the blowing mode, that is, the blowing mode door is determined. The blowout mode is determined based on the target blowout temperature TAO by referring to a control map stored in advance in the air conditioning controller 40.

In this control map, as the target outlet temperature TAO increases from the low temperature region to the high temperature region, the outlet mode is sequentially switched to face mode→bilevel mode→foot mode. Therefore, it is easy to select the face mode mainly in the summer, the bi-level mode mainly in the spring and autumn, and the foot mode mainly in the winter.

In step S10, the operating state of the first and second expansion valves 14a and 14b, that is, the control signal (control pulse) output to the first and second expansion valves 14a and 14b is determined according to each operation mode. ..

In step S11, the open/closed states of the first and second on-off valves 15a and 15b, that is, the control voltages output to the first and second on-off valves 15a and 15b are determined according to each operation mode.

In step S12, the opening degree of the air mix door 34, that is, the control signal output to the electric actuator for the air mix door is determined according to each operation mode.

In step S13, the refrigerant discharge capacity of the compressor 11, that is, the control signal output to the electric motor of the compressor 11 is determined according to each operation mode.

Then, in step S14, a control signal and a control voltage are output from the air conditioning control device 40 to various air conditioning control devices so that the control states determined in steps S6 to S13 described above are obtained. In the following step S15, the process waits for the control period τ, and when it is determined that the control period τ has elapsed, the process returns to step S2. The detailed operation of each operation mode will be described below.

(A) Cooling Mode In the cooling mode, the air conditioning control device 40 sets the first expansion valve 14a to the fully open state and the second expansion valve 14b to the throttled state to exert the pressure reducing action. Further, the air conditioning control device 40 closes the first opening/closing valve 15a and closes the second opening/closing valve 15b. Further, the air conditioning control device 40 displaces the air mix door 34 so that the ventilation passages on the heater core 39 and the indoor condenser 12 sides are fully closed and the bypass passage 35 side is fully opened.

As a result, in the cooling mode, as shown by the thick solid line arrow in FIG. 1, the compressor 11 (→indoor condenser 12→first expansion valve 14a)→outdoor heat exchanger 20→second expansion valve 14b→indoor evaporator. A vapor compression refrigeration cycle in which the refrigerant circulates in the order of 23→evaporation pressure adjusting valve 26→accumulator 24→compressor 11.

With this cycle configuration, the air conditioning control device 40 determines the refrigerant discharge capacity of the compressor 11, that is, the control signal output to the electric motor of the compressor 11. In the cooling mode of normal air conditioning, the operation of the compressor 11 is controlled so that the air blown from the indoor evaporator 23 reaches the target evaporator temperature TEO. The target evaporator temperature TEO is determined based on the target outlet temperature TAO with reference to a control map stored in advance in the air conditioning controller 40.

In this control map, it is determined that the target evaporator temperature TEO decreases with the decrease of the target outlet temperature TAO. Furthermore, the target evaporator temperature TEO is determined within a range (specifically, 1° C. or higher) in which frost formation on the indoor evaporator 23 can be suppressed.

Further, in the cooling mode of the pre-air conditioning that performs cooling as the pre-air conditioning, the upper limit value of the refrigerant discharge capacity (specifically, the rotation speed) of the compressor 11 is determined. More specifically, as shown in the control characteristic diagram of FIG. 6, the upper limit value Nc_LIM is determined to be decreased stepwise with the lapse of time from the start of pre-air conditioning. Then, the operation of the compressor 11 is controlled in the range in which the actual rotation speed of the compressor 11 does not exceed the upper limit Nc_LIM as in the cooling mode of normal air conditioning.

Further, the air conditioning control device 40 adjusts the throttle opening degree of the second expansion valve 14b so that the supercooling degree of the refrigerant flowing into the second expansion valve 14b becomes the target supercooling degree for cooling. The target degree of subcooling for cooling is determined based on the outdoor refrigerant pressure Ps detected by the outdoor unit pressure sensor 46b with reference to a control map stored in advance in the air conditioning controller 40. In this control map, the target degree of subcooling for cooling is determined so that the COP of the cycle approaches the maximum value.

Therefore, in the refrigeration cycle device in the cooling mode, the outdoor heat exchanger 20 functions as a radiator, and the indoor evaporator 23 functions as an evaporator. Then, the heat absorbed from the blown air when the refrigerant is evaporated in the indoor evaporator 23 can be radiated to the outside air by the outdoor heat exchanger 20. Thereby, the blown air can be cooled.

Therefore, in the cooling mode, the air in the vehicle interior can be cooled by blowing the blown air cooled by the indoor evaporator 23 into the vehicle interior.

(B) Series dehumidification heating mode In the series dehumidification heating mode, the air conditioning controller 40 sets the first expansion valve 14a in the throttled state, the second expansion valve 14b in the throttled state, closes the first opening/closing valve 15a, and opens the second opening/closing valve. Close valve 15b. Further, the air conditioning control device 40 displaces the air mix door 34 so that the ventilation passages on the heater core 39 and the indoor condenser 12 sides are fully opened and the bypass passage 35 side is fully closed.

As a result, in the series dehumidifying and heating mode, as shown by the thick solid line arrow in FIG. 1, the compressor 11→the indoor condenser 12→the first expansion valve 14a→the outdoor heat exchanger 20→the second expansion valve 14b→the indoor evaporator. A vapor compression refrigeration cycle in which the refrigerant circulates in the order of 23→evaporation pressure adjusting valve 26→accumulator 24→compressor 11.

With this cycle configuration, the air conditioning controller 40 controls the operation of the compressor 11 as in the cooling mode.

Further, the air conditioning control device 40 refers to a control map stored in advance in the air conditioning control device 40 on the basis of the target outlet temperature TAO and the like, and the first expansion valve 14a and the first expansion valve 14a so that the COP of the cycle approaches the maximum value. The operation of the second expansion valve 14b is controlled. More specifically, the air conditioning control device decreases the throttle opening degree of the first expansion valve 14a and increases the throttle opening degree of the second expansion valve 14b as the target outlet temperature TAO rises.

Therefore, in the refrigeration cycle device 10 in the series dehumidifying and heating mode, the indoor condenser 12 functions as a radiator, and the indoor evaporator 23 functions as an evaporator. Furthermore, when the saturation temperature of the refrigerant in the outdoor heat exchanger 20 is higher than the outdoor temperature Tam, the outdoor heat exchanger 20 functions as a radiator, and the saturation temperature of the refrigerant in the outdoor heat exchanger 20 is higher than the outdoor temperature Tam. If is also low, the outdoor heat exchanger 20 functions as an evaporator.

Then, when the saturation temperature of the refrigerant in the outdoor heat exchanger 20 is higher than the outside air temperature Tam, the saturation temperature of the refrigerant in the outdoor heat exchanger 20 is lowered as the target outlet temperature TAO rises, and the outdoor heat exchange is performed. The heat radiation amount of the refrigerant in the container 20 can be reduced. Thereby, the heat radiation amount of the refrigerant in the indoor condenser 12 can be increased to improve the heating capacity.

Further, when the saturation temperature of the refrigerant in the outdoor heat exchanger 20 is lower than the outside air temperature Tam, the saturation temperature of the refrigerant in the outdoor heat exchanger 20 is decreased as the target outlet temperature TAO increases, and the outdoor heat exchange is performed. The heat absorption amount of the refrigerant in the container 20 can be increased. Thereby, the heat radiation amount of the refrigerant in the indoor condenser 12 can be increased to improve the heating capacity.

Therefore, in the series dehumidifying and heating mode, dehumidification and heating of the vehicle interior can be performed by reheating the blown air that has been cooled and dehumidified by the indoor evaporator 23 and blows it out into the vehicle interior. it can. Furthermore, by adjusting the throttle openings of the first expansion valve 14a and the second expansion valve 14b, it is possible to adjust the heating capacity of the blower air in the indoor condenser 12.

(C) Parallel dehumidification heating mode In the parallel dehumidification heating mode, the air conditioning control device 40 sets the first expansion valve 14a in the throttled state, the second expansion valve 14b in the throttled state, opens the first opening/closing valve 15a, and opens the second opening/closing valve. Open the valve 15b. Further, the air conditioning control device 40 displaces the air mix door 34 so that the ventilation passages on the heater core 39 and the indoor condenser 12 sides are fully opened and the bypass passage 35 side is fully closed.

As a result, in the parallel dehumidifying and heating mode, as shown by the thick solid line arrow in FIG. 2, the refrigerant is in the order of compressor 11→indoor condenser 12→first expansion valve 14a→outdoor heat exchanger 20→accumulator 24→compressor 11. Of the vapor compression refrigeration cycle in which the refrigerant circulates in the order of compressor 11→indoor condenser 12→second expansion valve 14b→indoor evaporator 23→evaporation pressure adjusting valve 26→accumulator 24→compressor 11. Composed. That is, the outdoor heat exchanger 20 and the indoor evaporator 23 constitute a refrigeration cycle in which the refrigerant flow is connected in parallel.

With this cycle configuration, the air conditioning controller 40 controls the operation of the compressor 11 as in the cooling mode.

Further, the air conditioning control device 40 refers to a control map stored in advance in the air conditioning control device 40 on the basis of the target outlet temperature TAO and the like, and the first expansion valve 14a and the first expansion valve 14a so that the COP of the cycle approaches the maximum value. The operation of the second expansion valve 14b is controlled. More specifically, the air conditioning control device decreases the opening degree of the first expansion valve 14a as the target outlet temperature TAO rises.

Therefore, in the parallel dehumidification heating mode refrigeration cycle apparatus 10, the indoor condenser 12 functions as a radiator, and the outdoor heat exchanger 20 and the indoor evaporator 23 function as an evaporator. The heat absorbed when the refrigerant is evaporated in the outdoor heat exchanger 20 and the indoor evaporator 23 can be radiated to the blown air in the indoor condenser 12. As a result, the blown air that has been dehumidified by being cooled by the indoor evaporator 23 can be reheated.

Therefore, in the parallel dehumidifying and heating mode, dehumidification and heating of the vehicle interior can be performed by reheating the blown air that has been cooled and dehumidified by the indoor evaporator 23 by the indoor condenser 12 and blowing it out into the vehicle interior. it can. Further, since the saturation temperature (evaporation temperature) of the refrigerant in the outdoor heat exchanger 20 can be made lower than the saturation temperature (evaporation temperature) of the refrigerant in the indoor evaporator 23, the blowing air is heated more than in the series dehumidification heating mode. You can increase your ability.

(D) Heating Mode In the heating mode, the air conditioning control device 40 sets the first expansion valve 14a in the throttled state, the second expansion valve 14b in the fully closed state, closes the first opening/closing valve 15a, and closes the second opening/closing valve 15b. open. Further, the air conditioning control device 40 displaces the air mix door 34 so that the ventilation passages on the heater core 39 and the indoor condenser 12 sides are fully opened and the bypass passage 35 side is fully closed.

As a result, in the heating mode, the refrigerant circulates in the order of the compressor 11→the indoor condenser 12→the first expansion valve 14a→the outdoor heat exchanger 20→the accumulator 24→the compressor 11 in the heating mode, as shown by the thick solid line arrow. A vapor-compression refrigeration cycle is performed.

With this cycle configuration, the air conditioning control device 40 determines the refrigerant discharge capacity of the compressor 11, that is, the control signal output to the electric motor of the compressor 11. In the heating mode of normal air conditioning, the operation of the compressor 11 is controlled so that the pressure of the refrigerant flowing into the indoor condenser 12 becomes the target condensing pressure PDO. The target condensing pressure PDO is determined based on the target outlet temperature TAO by referring to a control map stored in advance in the air conditioning controller 40.

In this control map, it is determined that the target condensing pressure PDO rises as the target outlet temperature TAO rises. Further, the target condensing pressure PDO is determined within a range in which the rotation speed of the compressor 11 can return the refrigerating machine oil circulating in the cycle together with the refrigerant to the suction port of the compressor 11.

Further, in the heating mode of the pre-air conditioning that performs heating as the pre-air conditioning, as shown in FIG. 7, the upper limit value and the lower limit value of the refrigerant discharge capacity (specifically, the rotation speed) of the compressor 11 are determined. The flowchart shown in FIG. 7 is a control process executed as a subroutine when determining the refrigerant discharge capacity of the compressor 11 in the control step S6 of the main routine of the air conditioning control program.

In step S61, it is determined whether an external power source is connected to the vehicle. When it is determined in step S61 that the vehicle is connected to the external power source, the process returns to the main routine. When it is determined in step S61 that the vehicle is not connected to the external power source, that is, when the battery B is not charged with the external power, the process proceeds to step S62.

In step S62, the upper limit value of the refrigerant discharge capacity (specifically, the rotation speed) of the compressor 11 is determined. More specifically, as shown in the control characteristic diagram of FIG. 8, it is determined that the upper limit value Nc_LIM is increased stepwise with the lapse of time from the start of pre-air conditioning.

In step S63, the lower limit value Nc_OIL of the refrigerant discharge capacity (specifically, the number of revolutions) of the compressor 11 is set so that the refrigerating machine oil circulating in the cycle together with the refrigerant can be reliably returned to the suction port of the compressor 11. decide.

More specifically, in step S63, it is determined based on the outside air temperature Tam and the outdoor heat exchanger temperature Ts detected by the third refrigerant temperature sensor 45c by referring to a control map stored in advance in the air conditioning controller 40. To be done. In this control map, as shown in the control characteristic diagram of FIG. 9, the lower limit value Nc_OIL is determined to be continuously increased with a decrease in at least one of the outside air temperature Tam and the outdoor heat exchanger temperature Ts.

Therefore, the control steps S62 and S63 of the present embodiment configure an upper and lower limit value determination unit that determines the upper limit value (Nc_LIM) and the lower limit value (Nc_OIL) of the refrigerant discharge capacity of the compressor 11.

In step S64, the operation of the compressor 11 is controlled in the range where the actual rotation speed of the compressor 11 is equal to or lower than the upper limit value Nc_LIM and equal to or higher than the lower limit value Nc_OIL, as in the heating mode of normal air conditioning. However, when the lower limit value Nc_OIL is higher than the upper limit value Nc_LIM, the operation of the compressor 11 is controlled so as to be equal to or higher than the lower limit value Nc_OIL even if the upper limit value Nc_LIM is exceeded.

In step S65, the integrated power consumption SWt due to the execution of the pre-air conditioning heating mode is calculated. Then, in step S66, it is determined whether or not the integrated power consumption SWt is equal to or larger than a predetermined reference integrated power consumption KWt. When it is determined in step S66 that the integrated power consumption SWt is not greater than or equal to the predetermined reference integrated power consumption KWt, the process proceeds to step S67, the heating mode for pre-air conditioning is continued, and the process returns to the main routine.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step S66 that the integrated power consumption SWt is equal to or greater than the predetermined reference integrated power consumption KWt, the process proceeds to step S68, the pre-air conditioning is terminated, and the process returns to the main routine.

Further, the air conditioning control device 40 adjusts the throttle opening degree of the first expansion valve 14a so that the supercooling degree of the refrigerant flowing into the first expansion valve 14a becomes the target supercooling degree for heating. The target degree of subcooling for heating is determined based on the high-pressure side refrigerant pressure Ph detected by the high-pressure sensor 46a with reference to a control map stored in advance in the air conditioning controller 40. In this control map, the target degree of supercooling for heating is determined so that the COP of the cycle approaches the maximum value.

Therefore, in the refrigeration cycle apparatus in the heating mode, the indoor condenser 12 functions as a radiator, and the outdoor heat exchanger 20 functions as an evaporator. The heat absorbed from the outside air when the refrigerant evaporates in the outdoor heat exchanger 20 can be radiated to the blown air in the indoor condenser 12. Thereby, the blown air can be heated.

Therefore, in the heating mode, the air in the vehicle compartment can be heated by blowing the blast air heated by the indoor condenser 12 into the vehicle interior.

As described above, according to the vehicle air conditioner 1 of the present embodiment, it is possible to perform cooling, dehumidifying and heating, and heating of the vehicle interior.

Further, in the pre-air conditioning cooling mode of the present embodiment, since the upper limit value Nc_LIM is set for the refrigerant discharge capacity (specifically, the number of revolutions) of the compressor 11, the power consumed for the pre-air conditioning. Can be suppressed. Furthermore, since the upper limit value Nc_LIM is set to decrease with the lapse of time from the start of the pre-air conditioning, it is possible to realize the cooling with high immediate effect immediately after the start of the pre-air conditioning.

Here, when the upper limit value Nc_LIM is decreased with time in the heating mode of the pre-air conditioning, as in the cooling mode of the pre-air conditioning, the durable life of the compressor 11 may be adversely affected. The reason is that, in the heating mode, since the outside air temperature is low, it becomes difficult to suck a sufficient amount of refrigerating machine oil into the compressor for lubricating the compressor.

More specifically, when the outside air temperature becomes low as in the heating mode, the pressure of the low pressure side refrigerant in the cycle decreases. Therefore, the refrigerating machine oil is less likely to dissolve in the refrigerant, and the amount of refrigerating machine oil circulating in the cycle together with the refrigerant is reduced. As a result, a sufficient amount of refrigerating machine oil cannot be sucked into the compressor, which adversely affects the durable life of the compressor.

Further, since the high-pressure side refrigerant pressure of the refrigeration cycle device 10 is unlikely to rise in the early stage of heating the vehicle interior, the power consumption of the compressor 11 is relatively low. Then, when the high-pressure side refrigerant pressure rises with the passage of time from the start of heating, the power consumption of the compressor 11 also increases. For this reason, if the upper limit value Nc_LIM is lowered with the passage of time from the start of the pre-air conditioning, the heating capacity may become insufficient with the passage of time in the heating mode of the pre-air conditioning.

On the other hand, according to the vehicle air conditioner 1 of the present embodiment, at least the rotation speed of the compressor 11 becomes equal to or higher than the lower limit value Nc_OIL, so that a sufficient amount of refrigerating machine oil for lubricating the compressor 11 is compressed. It can be returned to the machine 11. Therefore, the compressor 11 of the refrigeration cycle device 10 can be protected.

Further, upper limit value Nc_LIM is determined so as to increase with time from the start of pre-air conditioning. Therefore, in the heating mode of the pre-air conditioning, even if the high-pressure side refrigerant pressure rises with time from the start of the pre-air conditioning, the rotation speed of the compressor 11 can be increased and the shortage of the heating capacity can be suppressed.

As a result, according to the vehicle air conditioner 1 of the present embodiment, when performing cooling as pre-air conditioning, immediate effect cooling can be realized without inviting an increase in power consumption, and further, heating as pre-air conditioning. When performing, the compressor 11 can be protected without deteriorating the heating feeling of the occupant.

Further, in the vehicle air conditioner 1 of the present embodiment, the upper limit value Nc_LIM is not determined in the heating mode of the pre-air conditioning in the state where the external power source is connected. When the external power source is connected, the vehicle interior can be heated by the external power without reducing the remaining charge of the battery B. Therefore, it is possible to more effectively prevent the feeling of heating from deteriorating during pre-air conditioning.

Further, in the vehicle air conditioner 1 of the present embodiment, when the integrated power consumption SWt becomes equal to or greater than the reference integrated power consumption KWt in the heating mode of the pre-air conditioning in which the external power supply is not connected, the pre-air conditioning is ended. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the remaining charge of the battery B from significantly decreasing due to the pre-air conditioning. Then, it is possible to suppress the reduction of the continuous traveling distance of the vehicle.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but can be variously modified as follows without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

(1) In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the refrigeration cycle device 10 according to the present invention is applied to a vehicle air conditioner of a hybrid vehicle has been described, but the application of the refrigeration cycle device 10 is not limited to this. Of course, the present invention may be applied to a normal engine vehicle that obtains a driving force for vehicle traveling from an engine, or a vehicle air conditioner for an electric vehicle that obtains a driving force for vehicle traveling from a traveling electric motor.

(2) In the cooling mode of the pre-air conditioning of the above-described embodiment, the example in which the upper limit value Nc_LIM is determined to be decreased stepwise with the passage of time has been described, but of course, it may be decreased continuously with the passage of time. .. Similarly, in the pre-air-conditioning heating mode of the above-described embodiment, an example is described in which the upper limit value Nc_LIM is determined to be increased stepwise with the passage of time, but of course, it may be continuously increased with the passage of time. ..

Further, in the heating mode of the pre-air conditioning of the above-described embodiment, the example in which the lower limit value Nc_OIL is determined to be continuously increased with the decrease of at least one of the outside air temperature Tam and the outdoor heat exchanger temperature Ts has been described. However, of course, the temperature may be increased stepwise with a decrease in at least one of the outside air temperature Tam and the outside heat exchanger temperature Ts. Further, instead of the outdoor heat exchanger temperature Ts, the lower limit value Nc_OIL may be increased as the outdoor refrigerant pressure Ps decreases.

Here, in the pre-air conditioning cooling mode, the low-pressure side refrigerant pressure of the cycle (that is, the refrigerant evaporation pressure in the indoor evaporator 23) is the low-pressure side refrigerant pressure in the pre-air conditioning heating mode (that is, in the outdoor heat exchanger 20). Refrigerant evaporation pressure). Therefore, in the cooling mode of the pre-air conditioning, unlike the heating mode of the pre-air conditioning, the amount of refrigerating machine oil circulating in the cycle is less likely to decrease.

Therefore, the lower limit value Nc_OIL is not determined in the pre-air conditioning cooling mode of the above-described embodiment, but, of course, the lower limit value Nc_OIL is determined in the pre-air conditioning cooling mode as in the pre-air conditioning heating mode. Good. Then, when the lower limit value Nc_OIL is higher than the upper limit value Nc_LIM, the operation of the compressor 11 may be controlled so as to be equal to or higher than the lower limit value Nc_OIL even if the upper limit value Nc_LIM is exceeded.

(3) In the above embodiment, an example in which the remote controller 60 is adopted as the wireless terminal has been described, but the wireless terminal is not limited to this. For example, a mobile communication device (specifically, a mobile phone or a smartphone) that transmits a signal to the pre-air conditioning transmitting/receiving unit 40e of the air conditioning control device 40 via a mobile phone base station may be adopted. Further, there may be a plurality of wireless terminals. Further, the operation panel 50 or the wireless terminal may be provided with a timer setting function for setting a timer operation for starting pre-air conditioning at a predetermined time.

(4) In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the upper limit value Nc_LIM is set for the refrigerant discharge capacity (specifically, the number of revolutions) of the compressor 11 during pre-air conditioning has been described. An upper limit value similar to that of the compressor 11 may be set for the blowing capacity (specifically, the rotation speed). According to this, the power consumption consumed for the pre-air conditioning can be reduced.

(5) The refrigeration cycle device 10 is not limited to the one disclosed in the above embodiment. For example, the refrigeration cycle apparatus may configure a gas injection cycle in the heating mode (that is, the normal heating mode and the low flow rate heating mode).

In this case, the compressor 11 is a two-stage booster having an intake port for sucking the refrigerant, a discharge port for discharging the compressed refrigerant, and an intermediate pressure port for joining the intermediate pressure refrigerant generated in the cycle with the refrigerant in the compression process. It is only necessary to adopt a formula.

Further, a gas-liquid separation unit for separating the gas-liquid of the intermediate pressure refrigerant decompressed by the first expansion valve 14a is provided. The gas-phase refrigerant outlet side of the gas-liquid separation section and the intermediate pressure port side of the compressor are connected to each other, and the refrigerant passage connecting the gas-phase refrigerant outlet side and the intermediate pressure port side of the compressor is connected as a refrigerant circuit switching device. An on-off valve similar to that of the above-described embodiment is arranged.

The liquid-phase refrigerant outlet side of the gas-liquid separator is connected to the inlet side of the outdoor heat exchanger 20, and the gas-liquid separator is connected to the refrigerant passage connecting the liquid-phase refrigerant outlet side and the inlet side of the outdoor heat exchanger 20. An expansion valve similar to that of the above-described embodiment may be arranged as a pressure reducing device for reducing the pressure of the liquid-phase refrigerant flowing out from the valve until it becomes low-pressure refrigerant.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the refrigeration cycle device 10 configured to be able to switch the refrigerant circuits has been described, but switching of the refrigerant circuits is not essential. A vehicle air conditioner to which at least a refrigeration cycle device capable of operating in a heating mode is applied can protect the compressor without deteriorating the feeling of heating during pre-air conditioning.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which R134a is adopted as the refrigerant of the refrigeration cycle device 10 has been described, but the refrigerant is not limited to this. For example, R1234yf, R600a, R410A, R404A, R32, R407C, etc. may be adopted. Alternatively, a mixed refrigerant obtained by mixing plural kinds of these refrigerants may be adopted.

10 Refrigeration cycle device 11 Compressor 12 Indoor condenser (heat exchanger for heating)
14a First expansion valve (pressure reducing device)
20 outdoor heat exchanger 40a discharge capacity control unit S61, S62 upper and lower limit value determination unit

Claims (2)

By at least one of the electric power supplied from a battery mounted on the external power and the vehicle is supplied from an external power source (B), executable configured pre-air conditioning the passenger starts air-conditioning the cabin before boarding the vehicle A vehicle air conditioner,
An electric compressor (11) operated by electric power supplied from the battery, an indoor condenser (12) for exchanging heat between the high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the compressor and the blast air blown into the vehicle interior, A refrigeration cycle apparatus (10) having a decompression device (14a) for decompressing the refrigerant flowing out from the indoor condenser, and an outdoor heat exchanger (20) for exchanging heat between the low pressure refrigerant decompressed by the decompression device and the outside air. When,
An upper and lower limit value determination unit (S61, S62) that determines an upper limit value (Nc_LIM) of the refrigerant discharge capacity of the compressor and a lower limit value (Nc_OIL) of the refrigerant discharge capacity of the compressor;
A discharge capacity control unit (40a) for controlling the refrigerant discharge capacity of the compressor,
The external power source is capable of charging the battery with the external power when connected to the vehicle,
The upper and lower limit value determination unit determines to increase the lower limit value (Nc_OIL) with a decrease in at least one of the outside air temperature (Tam) and the refrigerant temperature (Ts) in the outdoor heat exchanger. ,
Further, the upper and lower limit value determination unit is a time elapsed from the start of the pre-air conditioning when heating the vehicle interior as the pre-air conditioning and when the external power supply is not connected to the vehicle. And the upper limit value (Nc_LIM) is increased.
When the lower limit value (Nc_OIL) is higher than the upper limit value (Nc_LIM), the discharge capacity control unit controls the refrigerant discharge capacity of the compressor so as to be equal to or higher than the lower limit value (Nc_OIL). A vehicle air conditioner that does. The upper and lower limit value determination unit is configured to decrease the upper limit value (Nc_LIM) of the refrigerant discharge capacity of the compressor with the lapse of time from the start of the pre-air conditioning when performing cooling of the vehicle interior as the pre-air conditioning. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1 , wherein the air conditioner is a vehicle.

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