The purpose of the present invention is to provide a vehicle air conditioning system and a control method of the vehicle air conditioning system which enable detecting leaks of flammable refrigerant without requiring a separate sensor. This vehicle air conditioning system is provided with: a refrigeration cycle for cooling (23); a heat pump cycle for heating (33); a refrigerant that is very flammable, has an explosive range near room temperature, and circulates in the refrigeration cycle for cooling (23) and the heat pump cycle for heating (33); an outside temperature sensor (44) which detects the outside temperature; a pressure sensor (49) which detects the refrigerant pressure; and a control device which calculates the refrigerant density, which is the density of refrigerant, on the basis of the outside temperature and the pressure, and determines whether or not the refrigerant density has fallen below a prescribed threshold value which is based on the amount of sealed refrigerant, the total volume in the refrigeration cycle for cooling (23) and in the heat pump cycle for heating (33), the volume of the vehicle cabin, the standard density of the atmosphere, and the explosive limit of the refrigerant.

A vehicle air-conditioning controller includes a battery temperature sensor configured to detect a battery temperature of a battery, a cooling-air temperature sensor configured to detect a temperature of cooling air that has passed an evaporator, and an air-conditioning ECU configured to determine a target ejection temperature of air to be ejected into a vehicle interior from an air conditioner. The air-conditioning ECU is configured to control a cooling device to cool the battery, during air conditioning of the vehicle interior through remote operation external of the vehicle, when the battery temperature is at a predetermined temperature or higher and a state wherein the difference between the target ejection temperature and the cooling-air temperature has been at or below a predetermined value for a predetermined time period.

Methods and systems for power management are provided. Aspects include receiving, by a controller, load data associated with two or more refrigeration systems, wherein the two or more refrigeration systems comprise at least a first refrigeration system and a second refrigeration system, determining, by the controller, an available power capacity for the first refrigeration system and the second refrigeration system, operating, by the controller, the first refrigeration system and the second refrigeration system in a plurality of modes based at least in part on the load data and the available power capacity, wherein the plurality of modes comprise an unloaded mode and a plurality of loaded modes.

This disclosure relates to an electrified vehicle having a control strategy for managing battery and cabin cooling. A corresponding method is also disclosed. An example electrified vehicle includes a cabin thermal management system configured to thermally condition a cabin of the electrified vehicle. The cabin thermal management system includes a compressor. The vehicle further includes a battery thermal management system configured to thermally condition a battery of the electrified vehicle, and a controller configured issue an instruction to reduce the speed of the compressor based, at least in part, on a speed of the electrified vehicle and a temperature of the battery.

A system and method for protecting against low refrigerant charge of a refrigerant subsystem in a vehicle includes a controller configured to control a component of the vehicle in response to detecting a low refrigerant charge based on an ambient temperature of the refrigerant subsystem, a suction pressure of refrigerant entering a compressor of the refrigerant subsystem, and a speed of the compressor.

An electric drivetrain for installation in a vehicle chassis. A generator coupled to an engine generates electric power for charging an array of batteries. The vehicle, including components and subsystems, may be powered electrically from the batteries, allowing the engine and generator to be easily replaced or customized for an industry, geographic region, fuel type, or a set of emission requirements. A thermal management system may determine a battery temperature for the set of batteries and cause one or more of a coolant system, a refrigerant system, an exhaust gas system or an ambient air heat exchanger to add heat to the set of batteries or transfer heat away from the set of batteries.

The invention relates to a method for supplying air at a controlled temperature to a cabin of a surface vehicle in which at least one air cycle device is used, comprising at least one motorized turbocompressor. The air inlet of the turbine is arranged to receive a compressed airflow from the compressor. At least one exchanger is interposed between the air outlet of the compressor and the air inlet of the turbine. The air inlet of the compressor is arranged to receive air at a pressure greater than or equal to atmospheric pressure. The invention likewise relates to a surface vehicle comprising at least one such air cycle device.

A vehicle-mounted temperature controller includes a first heat circuit having a battery heat exchange part exchanging heat with a battery and a first heat exchange part, with a first heat medium circulating therethrough; and a refrigeration circuit having a compression part compressing a refrigerant, a second heat exchange part radiating heat from the refrigerant, an expansion part expanding the refrigerant, and the first heat exchange part evaporating the refrigerant by making the refrigerant absorb heat from the first heat medium, realizing a refrigeration cycle by the refrigerant circulating therethrough. The first heat circuit includes a bypass flow path bypassing the battery heat exchange part, and an adjusting device adjusting a flow rate of the first heat medium flowing through the bypass flow path based on the temperature of the battery.

A method of controlling a hybrid intercooler system integrated with an air conditioning system includes: starting operation of the air conditioning system by opening first and second air conditioning valves and operating a compressor, when an operation signal of the air conditioning system is determined to be applied; measuring a first temperature by measuring a temperature of compressed air at an outlet of the hybrid intercooler system, after the starting operation of the air conditioning system; and starting operation of a first water cooling unit by opening first and second bypass valves, when the measured first temperature exceeds a predetermined first reference temperature. This method stabilizes the temperature of intake air passing through the inlet of an intercooler using a water cooling unit and increases the cooling efficiency of the intercooler using an air cooling unit.

An air conditioner for a vehicle includes: a condenser that includes a core for allowing heat exchange between a refrigerant discharged from a compressor of a refrigeration cycle and air; and a switching unit that switches a refrigerant passage in the condenser. The switching unit switches the refrigerant passage between a first refrigerant passage that allows the refrigerant to flow throughout the core, and a second refrigerant passage that allows the refrigerant to flow through a part of the core by allowing the refrigerant discharged from the compressor to flow into a middle part of the core.