There is disclosed a vehicle air conditioner which is capable of enlarging an effective range of a dehumidifying and heating mode to environmental conditions and smoothly dehumidifying and heating a vehicle interior. A vehicle air conditioner 1 executes a dehumidifying and heating mode in which a controller lets a refrigerant discharged from a compressor 2 radiate heat in a radiator 4, and decompresses the refrigerant by which heat has been radiated and then lets the refrigerant absorb heat in a heat absorber 9 and an outdoor heat exchanger 7, the controller decreases an outdoor blower voltage FANVout of an outdoor blower 15 and decreases an air volume into the outdoor blower 15 in a case where a temperature Te of the heat absorber 9 is high even when the controller adjusts a valve position of an outdoor expansion valve 6 into a lower limit of controlling in a situation in which a temperature TCI of the radiator 4 is satisfactory.

There is disclosed a vehicular air-conditioning device of a so-called heat pump system which eliminates or decreases noise generated when an opening/closing valve opens at a changing time of an operation mode. The vehicular air-conditioning device executes a heating mode to let a refrigerant discharged from a compressor 2 radiate heat in a radiator 4, decompress the refrigerant by which heat has been radiated, and then let the refrigerant absorb heat in an outdoor heat exchanger 7, and a dehumidifying and heating mode to open a solenoid valve 22 in a state of the heating mode, decompress at least a part of the refrigerant flowing out from the radiator and then let the refrigerant absorb heat in a heat absorber 9. When the heating mode changes to the dehumidifying and heating mode, the controller decreases a radiator pressure or a pressure difference before and after the solenoid valve to a predetermined value or less, and then opens the solenoid valve 22.

The application provides a vehicle thermal management system, a vehicle thermal management method and a vehicle. The vehicle thermal management system comprises: a flow path switching valve; a compressor, an intake port and an exhaust port of the compressor being respectively connected to the flow path switching valve; an in-cabin thermal management flow path, which comprises fluid communication of an in-cabin heat exchanger, a first fan associated to the in-cabin heat exchanger, and a first throttle element connected to the in-cabin heat exchanger; a first end of the in-cabin thermal management flow path being connected to the flow path switching valve; an out-cabin thermal management flow path, which comprises an out-cabin heat exchanger, a second fan associated to the out-cabin heat exchanger, and a second throttle element connected to the out-cabin heat exchanger; a first end of the out-cabin thermal management flow path being connected to the flow path switching valve; and a second end of the out-cabin thermal management flow path being connected to a second end of the in-cabin thermal management flow path; and at least one battery module thermal management flow path, which comprises a cell heat exchanger associated to at least one cell of a battery module, and a third throttle element connected to the cell heat exchanger; a first end of the battery module thermal management flow path being connected to the flow path switching valve; and a second end of the battery module thermal management flow path being connected to the second end of the in-cabin thermal management flow path, the second end of the out-cabin thermal management flow path, and the flow path switching valve, respectively; wherein the flow path switching valve is used for switching the on/off and flow direction of the intake port of the compressor, the exhaust port of the compressor, the in-cabin thermal management flow path, the out-cabin thermal management flow path, and the battery module thermal management flow path. The vehicle thermal management system has high energy efficiency and reliability and is lightweight.

An expansion valve using a shape memory alloy spring includes: a valve housing having a first refrigerant flow passage and a second refrigerant flow passage passing through both sides of the valve housing and an opening/closing adjuster receiving space along an opened upper portion of the valve housing; an opening/closing adjuster configured to enter the opening/closing adjuster receiving space and to adjust an opening/closing degree of a valve using a shape memory alloy spring exerting an elastic force at a memory temperature; and a valve cover sealing the opened upper portion of the valve housing.

There is disclosed a vehicle air conditioning device of a heat pump system which delays proceeding of frosting onto an outdoor heat exchanger, thereby eliminating or inhibiting deterioration of a heating capability due to the frosting. The vehicle air conditioning device executes a heating mode in which a controller lets a refrigerant discharged from a compressor 2 radiate heat in a radiator 4, decompresses the refrigerant by which heat has been radiated, and then lets the refrigerant absorb heat in an outdoor heat exchanger 7, and on the basis of a difference TXO=(TXObaseTXO) between a refrigerant evaporation temperature TXObase of the outdoor heat exchanger 7 in non-frosting and a refrigerant evaporation temperature TXO of the outdoor heat exchanger 7, the controller corrects a target subcool degree TGSC that is a target value of a subcool degree of the refrigerant in the radiator 4 in an increasing direction in accordance with increase of the difference TXO.

Vehicular air-conditioning device capable of inhibiting liquid return and generation of noise in an accumulator on startup of a compressor, and improving reliability and comfort. A controller lets a refrigerant discharged from a compressor 2 radiate heat in a radiator 4, and decompresses the refrigerant from which the heat has been radiated, to let the refrigerant absorb heat in an outdoor heat exchanger 7, thereby heating a vehicle interior. On startup of the compressor 2, the controller continues an operation at a predetermined startup number of revolution for a predetermined time, and then raises a number of revolution of the compressor 2 to a predetermined target number of revolution at a predetermined rising speed, and changes the startup number of revolution of the compressor 2 so as to lower the startup number of revolution as the outdoor air temperature is higher, on the basis of an outdoor air temperature.

A method for controlling a refrigeration system of a vehicle includes a circuit containing a refrigerant, a compressor, and first and second evaporators which are connected in parallel to the compressor, and a first expansion valve arranged upstream the first evaporator that regulates a pressure drop of the refrigerant before the first evaporator, and a second expansion valve arranged upstream the second evaporator that regulates a pressure drop of the refrigerant before the second evaporator, and a condenser arranged downstream the compressor between the compressor and the first and second expansion valves. The method includes controlling a total opening of the first expansion valve and the second expansion valve, based on a temperature and a pressure of the refrigerant which refrigerant temperature and refrigerant pressure are measured downstream the first and second evaporators at a position between the first and second evaporators and the compressor.

There is provided a vehicle air conditioner which is capable of smoothly achieving a dehumidifying and heating mode without using an evaporation pressure adjustment valve, so that cost reduction is achievable. A controller executes a normal mode to control an operation of a compressor 2 on the basis of a radiator pressure PCI and control a valve position of an outdoor expansion valve 6 on the basis of a heat absorber temperature Te, and in this normal mode, when the valve position of the outdoor expansion valve 6 is maximized but the heat absorber temperature Te falls, the controller shifts to a heat absorber temperature control mode to control the operation of the compressor 2 on the basis of the temperature of a heat absorber 9 and generate heat from an auxiliary heater 23.

There is disclosed a vehicle air-conditioning device in which a refrigerant subcool degree in a radiator is appropriately controlled, so that comfortable and efficient vehicle interior air conditioning is achievable. The vehicle air-conditioning device executes a heating mode in which a controller lets a refrigerant discharged from a compressor 2 radiate heat in a radiator 4, decompresses the refrigerant by which heat has been radiated by an outdoor expansion valve 6, and then lets the refrigerant absorb heat in an outdoor heat exchanger 7. In the heating mode, the vehicle air-conditioning device controls a refrigerant subcool degree SC of the radiator 4 by the outdoor expansion valve 6. On a basis of a radiator inlet air temperature THin that is a temperature of the air flowing into the radiator 4, the controller corrects a target subcool degree TGSC that is a target value of the refrigerant subcool degree SC in the radiator 4 in a lowering direction, as the radiator inlet air temperature THin rises.

A method for controlling a vehicle air-conditioning system and a vehicle air-conditioning system, the method includes acquiring an actual degree of superheat, a preset degree of superheat and a degree of opening of an electronic expansion valve; determining, according to the actual degree of superheat, the preset degree of superheat and the degree of opening of the electronic expansion valve and whether the electronic expansion valve is in a fault state; and outputting a control signal to an executive control mechanism to adjust a parameter of a device in a vehicle air-conditioning system, which influences the variation of the actual degree of superheat, so as to adjust the degree of superheat of the vehicle air-conditioning system.