A control method of an air conditioning system for a vehicle includes a process A of determining whether arrival at a destination is imminent based on data detected from a data detecting unit by a controller and comparing a target temperature of an evaporator with an actual temperature of the evaporator in a state of cooling a vehicle interior while the vehicle is running. A process B includes controlling a blow motor, a compressor, and a vent discharge control unit by determining whether the evaporator is cleaned by the controller through process A, and controlling an outdoor air/indoor air mode operation unit by detecting external humidity and internal humidity. A process C includes controlling the blow motor and the outdoor air/indoor air mode operation unit by comparing an external temperature with the temperature of the evaporator.

A multi-mode vehicle thermal management system is provided that allows efficient thermal communication between a refrigerant-based thermal control loop and three non-refrigerant-based thermal control loops, where one of the non-refrigerant-based loops provides temperature control over the vehicle's passenger cabin, a second of the non-refrigerant-based control loops is thermally coupled to the vehicle's battery system and the third of the non-refrigerant-based control circuits is thermally coupled to the vehicle's drive train. The refrigerant-based control loop may be operated either in a heating mode or a cooling mode and is coupled to the vehicle's HVAC system using a refrigerant-air heat exchanger, and to the battery thermal control loop using refrigerant-fluid heat exchangers. A valve assembly is used to couple and/or decouple the battery and drive train thermal control loops, thereby allowing these two thermal control loops to operate either in parallel or in series.

There is disclosed a vehicle air conditioning device which inhibits generation of noise in a solenoid valve 30 disposed on an inlet side of a radiator 4 and improves durability of the solenoid valve. A second operation mode is executed to shut off an outdoor expansion valve 6, close the solenoid valve 30, open a solenoid valve 40 and thereby send a refrigerant discharged from a compressor 2 through a bypass pipe 35 to an outdoor heat exchanger 7. When a first operation mode to open the solenoid valve 30 and close the solenoid valve 40 and thereby send the refrigerant to the radiator 4 is shifted to the second operation mode, a controller opens the solenoid valve 30 at a timing to stop the compressor 2.

A vehicle includes a vapor-injection heat pump having a refrigerant loop with an evaporator configured to cool cabin air, the evaporator coupled to an electronically controllable pressure regulating valve having a fully-open position with near-zero pressure drop, and a cabin conditioning coolant loop having a heater core configured to selectively heat the cabin air. A controller is configured to control the valve to maintain temperature and pressure of the refrigerant loop above a freezing threshold to inhibit or prevent evaporator icing. The valve may be controlled to throttle flow during a parallel dehumidification mode and to fully open to minimize pressure drop during other operational modes, such as a cooling mode, heating mode, de-icing mode, and series dehumidification mode.

A heat pump system for a vehicle may include a cooling apparatus of circulating a coolant in a coolant line to cool at least one electrical component provided in the coolant line; a battery cooling apparatus of circulating the coolant to the battery module; a heating apparatus that heats an interior of the vehicle using the coolant; a chiller for heat-exchanging the coolant with a refrigerant to control a temperature of the coolant;, and, wherein the chiller is connected to a chiller connection line through a third valve provided in the coolant line between the radiator and a second valve, and, wherein the reservoir tank is provided in the coolant line between the radiator and the first valve, and is connected to the coolant line connecting the first valve and the first water pump through a supply line bypassing the first valve.

Thermal management in a vehicle involves a compressor to output a refrigerant in vapor form for circulation in a refrigerant loop. A thermal management system includes a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system in the refrigerant loop including an evaporator and an HVAC condenser, and an exterior condenser in the refrigerant loop configured to vent heat to an exterior of the vehicle. A first variable refrigerant flow valve (RFV) controls a flow rate of the refrigerant output by the compressor into the HVAC condenser, and a second RFV controls a flow rate of the refrigerant output by the compressor into the exterior condenser. A controller controls the first RFV and the second RFV based on a target output temperature for the HVAC condenser.

A vehicle air-conditioning device is provided which is capable of eliminating or suppressing vibration and noise generated due to the application of a counterpressure to an opening/closing valve. The vehicle air-conditioning device includes a refrigerant circuit R having a compressor 2, a radiator 4 to perform heat exchange between a refrigerant and air, an outdoor heat exchanger 7, a heat absorber 9, and a solenoid valve 40. The compressor 2 and the solenoid valve 40 are controlled to air-condition a vehicle interior. A decompression speed at a refrigerant inflow side of the solenoid valve when the compressor 2 is stopped and the solenoid valve 40 is closed is faster than that at a refrigerant outflow side thereof. When operation is stopped from a state in which the compressor 2 is operating with the solenoid valve 40 being in an opened state, the opened state of the solenoid valve 40 is maintained even after the compressor 2 is stopped.

An automotive air conditioning system includes a compressor, a first heat exchanger, a first pump, a first combined valve, a second combined valve, an outdoor heat exchanger, a second heat exchanger and a battery unit. In a first cooling mode, the compressor, the outdoor heat exchanger, the first combined valve and the first heat exchanger communicate in sequence to form a circuit, while the first pump, the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger communicate to form another circuit. In a first heating mode, the compressor, the first heat exchanger, the second combined valve and the outdoor heat exchanger communicate in sequence to form a circuit, while the first pump, the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchange communicate in sequence to form another circuit. Thermal management of the battery unit can be made by interacting with the first cooling mode or the first heating mode.

Methods and systems are provided for operating a climate control system. In one example, a method for operating a vehicle climate control system includes modeling a pressure in a heat pump downstream of an exterior heat exchanger an upstream of an expansion valve. The method also includes operating the expansion valve to cool a vehicle cabin using the modeled pressure in conjunction with a temperature from a sensor positioned upstream of the expansion valve and downstream of the exterior heat exchanger.

A heat pump system for air conditioning a vehicle, in particular an electric or hybrid vehicle, includes an air conditioning unit which has an air conditioning evaporator and a heating heat exchanger, for air conditioning a passenger compartment of the vehicle. A condenser transmits heat from a refrigeration circuit into a coolant circuit, and a chiller transmits heat from the coolant circuit into the refrigeration circuit. The coolant circuit has two branches which are parallel to one another downstream of a low temperature cooler, namely a heating branch which can be shut off and in which the condenser and the heating heat exchanger are arranged, and a cooling branch, in which the chiller and a low temperature heat exchanger for cooling a vehicle component are arranged. The low temperature cooler, the condenser and the heating heat exchanger are connected in series with respect to one another. The heat pump system has a plurality of operating modes.