There is disclosed a vehicle air conditioner device of a so-called heat pump system to accurately perform efficient and comfortable heating of a vehicle interior. The vehicle air conditioner device includes a heating medium circulating circuit 23 which heats air to be supplied from an air flow passage 3 to a vehicle interior. A controller calculates a required heating capability TGQhtr of the heating medium circulating circuit to complement a shortage of an actual heating capability Qhp to a required heating capability TGQ of a radiator 4. The controller calculates a decrease amount ΔQhp of the actual heating capability Qhp from a difference ΔTXO between a refrigerant evaporation temperature TXO of an outdoor heat exchanger 7 and a refrigerant evaporation temperature TXObase in non-frosting, and adds the decrease amount ΔQhp to the required heating capability TGQhtr to execute the heating by the heating medium circulating circuit.

A heat pump air conditioner assembly for an electric vehicle and a control method thereof, and an electric vehicle with the heat pump air conditioner assembly for the electric vehicle are provided. The heat pump air conditioner assembly includes a heat pump air conditioning system and a HVAC box body. An in-vehicle heat exchanger of the heat pump air conditioning system is located in the HVAC box body. An auxiliary heater is also arranged in the HVAC box body. The auxiliary heater is located at a leeward side of the in-vehicle heat exchanger. The heat pump air conditioning system is provided with a defrosting branch connecting with a refrigerant outlet of an external heat exchanger and a suction port of a compressor. When the heat pump air conditioning system is in a defrosting mode, the HVAC box body supplies air to the vehicle, the auxiliary heater is turned on.

A vehicle air-conditioning device is a heat pump type vehicle air-conditioning device including an external heat exchanger that performs heat exchange between refrigerant flowing the inside thereof and outside air. With the vehicle air-conditioning device, a controller functions as a temperature-difference calculation unit that calculates the temperature difference ΔT between the refrigerant in a refrigerant flow path on the exit side of the external heat exchanger and the outside air, and in addition, the controller functions as a frost formation determination unit that determines that frost formation is caused on the external heat exchanger on the basis of the elapsed time to of a state in which the temperature difference ΔT is equal to or larger than a frost-formation temperature difference at which the frost formation may be caused on the external heat exchanger.

The invention relates to a device and a method for icing prevention regulation for a heat pump evaporator (3) in air conditioning systems of vehicles, composed of a subsection (1) of a refrigerant circuit which can be operated both as a heat pump and also as an air conditioning system. The device comprises the heat pump evaporator (3), an electrical or mechanical refrigerant compressor (4), a cooler fan (9) which is attached to the heat pump evaporator (3) and which draws ambient air (11) upstream from and through the heat pump evaporator (3) at an adjustable flow speed, and which thus permits a permanent flow of ambient air (11) over the heat pump evaporator surface, a first temperature sensor (6) in or on the refrigerant line (5, 5a) upstream from the heat pump evaporator (3) with respect to the heat pump operating direction, and a control and regulating unit (8). The control and regulating unit (8) is connected via signal lines (10, 10a, 10b, 10c, 10e) at least to the first temperature sensor (6), to further sensors, in particular for detecting the ambient air temperature (Tu) and the vehicle speed (V.sub.F), to the expansion valve (2), to the cooler fan (9) and to the refrigerant compressor (4) for the direct or indirect regulation of the flow cross section of the expansion valve (2) and the rotational speed of the electric refrigerant compressor (4) or of the regulating valve of the mechanical refrigerant compressor (4) and for the actuation of the cooler fan (9) of the vehicle during heat pump operation.

Provided are a defrosting control device, an air conditioner and a defrosting control method therefor. The device includes an airbag device, wherein the airbag device includes a mounting support (1), an airbag (2) and an inflation mechanism. When an air conditioner to be controlled enters a defrosting mode, the inflation mechanism inflates the airbag (2) such that same forms an airbag layer to isolate an outdoor heat exchanger of the air conditioner to be controlled from flowing air outside the outdoor heat exchanger. The defrosting control device can achieve the beneficial effects of a small defrosting heat loss, a good defrosting effect and a good user experience.

During a normal operation, a refrigeration cycle device is switched to a refrigerant circuit in which heat contained in a high-pressure refrigerant flowing out of an interior radiator is stored in a heat storage member. When frost is formed on an evaporator, the refrigeration cycle device is switched to another refrigerant circuit in which the exterior heat exchanger is heated and defrosted using heat stored in the heat storage member as a heat source. The heat storage member uses a material formed by adding W (tungsten) as an additive to VO.sub.2 (vanadium dioxide) which is a transition metal oxide having a property of a phase transition between a metal and an insulator. The heat storage member effectively stores or dissipates heat depending on a temperature zone of the refrigerant, thereby suppressing an increase in energy consumption of a compressor.

Methods and systems for providing de-icing a heat pump exchanger and heating a vehicle cabin are presented. In one example, a climate control system that experiences icing of the exterior heat exchanger may be operated in a first mode where thermal energy from the energy storage device is used to de-ice and also heat the cabin.

A heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system of a vehicle increases air-conditioning efficiency by inhibiting a waste of cooling/heating energy by individually performing air-conditioning for seats, depending on whether there are passengers sitting in the seats and then increases the range of an electric vehicle due to the increase in air-conditioning efficiency.

An air-conditioning system, in particular for a motor vehicle, having a refrigerant circuit, which has an evaporator and a condenser, and a coolant circuit, wherein the refrigerant circuit and the coolant circuit are thermally coupled to each other, in particular in the region of the evaporator and in the region of the condenser, wherein the coolant circuit has a line system having junctions, wherein a heating body, a cooling body, an outside heat exchanger, an additional heat source, a first bypass line, and a second bypass line are integrated into the line system, wherein the first bypass line bypasses the additional heat source from the cooling body to the outside heat exchanger, and/or the second bypass line bypasses the additional heat source from the heating body to the outside heat exchanger.

An air conditioner includes an inside condenser, an outside heat exchanger, an inside evaporator, a refrigerant circuit switcher, and an air passage switcher. The refrigerant circuit switcher is configured to switch a layout of the refrigerant circuit to (i) a first circuit during a heating mode such that the refrigerant releases heat at the inside condenser and is decompressed to evaporate at the outside heat exchanger and (ii) a second circuit during a defrosting mode such that the refrigerant releases heat at the outside heat exchanger and is decompressed to evaporate at the inside evaporator. The air passage switcher is configured to switch the air passage to (i) a first passage during the heating mode such that the air passes through the inside evaporator and the inside condenser and (ii) a second passage during the defrosting mode such that the air bypasses the inside condenser.