The disclosure herein relates to a vehicle compressor control apparatus and control method, and more particularly to a vehicle compressor control apparatus for controlling compressor operating rate to allow braking according to brake negative pressure, while maintaining a minimum level of operation of the compressor. By preventing compressor deactivation during braking, the control apparatus assists in preventing moisture build-up of moisture on a windshield that decreases visibility for a driver and increases safety concerns. The apparatus includes: a compressor that reduces a temperature by compressing an air conditioner coolant; a data sensor that detects status data; and a controller that determines whether a brake negative pressure margin rate meets a first reference value when the status data satisfy a predetermined condition, and sets a compressor operating accordingly when the brake negative pressure margin rate meets a first reference value.

Disclosed are climate systems for vehicles and methods for controlling the climate systems. In some implementations, a climate system includes: (1) a temperature sensor configured to measure a temperature within the compartment of the vehicle; (2) a first compressor powered by an engine of the vehicle to compress a refrigerant; (3) a second compressor driven by an electric motor to compress the refrigerant; and (4) a controller electrically coupled to the first compressor and the second compressor. The controller configured to: (1) calculate a thermal load of the compartment based on a difference between a desired temperature and a measured temperature; and, (2) based on the calculated load, selectively activate: (i) the engine, (ii) the first compressor, and/or (iii) the second compressor.

A refrigerant system includes a compressor, multiple pressure sensors, multiple refrigerant flow valves, and a processor. The compressor is configured to present a refrigerant at a first pressure. A first pressure sensor is configured to measure the first pressure of the refrigerant. A second pressure sensor is configured to measure a second pressure of the refrigerant. The refrigerant flow valves have a plurality of flow valve positions. The processor is configured to calculate a delta value as a difference between the first pressure and the second pressure, calculate an expected delta value between the first pressure and the second pressure based on a ratio of a low-side density of the refrigerant at the compressor to the flow valve positions, and perform a remedial action where the delta value deviates from the expected delta value by greater than a threshold value.

A vehicle air conditioner has a refrigeration cycle system including a compressor. The rotational frequency of the compressor is variably controlled, and the compressor is prevented from being operated within a resonating rotational frequency range of the compressor in which the vibration frequency of the compressor and the natural frequency of a steering device resonate with each other. When the vehicle performs automated driving, the compressor is also allowed to operate within the resonating rotational frequency range.

A vehicle includes a vehicle cooling system for cooling a cabin and a battery system, each having a respective target operating range. The cooling system is configured to select among a cabin-only mode, battery-only mode, or a hybrid cooling mode for cooling the cabin and the battery system. In the hybrid mode, the system determines a desired pressure at an inlet of a compressor corresponding to a suction pressure of the compressor, to avoid cooling interruptions. The system generates a control signal based on the desired suction pressure, and applies the control signal to the compressor. Generating the control signal may include generating a feedforward signal the desired suction pressure, generating a feedback signal based on the suction pressure, or a combination thereof. For example, the use of hybrid mode based on suction pressure allows smoother response to targets with reduced delays in response in meeting the cooling demands.

A parking cooler which is capable of battery powered operation during engine off operation. The parking cooler or air conditioning system may vary in cooling capacities to maximize cooling or maximize battery life. The parking cooler includes one or more condensers and a housing to accommodate such variation of cooling capacity.

A control system includes a refrigerant recovery module and at least one of a valve control module and a compressor control module. The refrigerant recovery module is configured to generate a refrigerant recovery signal to initiate a recovery of refrigerant from a first heat exchanger of a thermal system for an electric vehicle, and to stop the refrigerant recovery based on a temperature of refrigerant circulating through the first heat exchanger. The valve control module is configured to open a first valve to allow refrigerant to flow through the first heat exchanger in response to the refrigerant recovery signal. The compressor control module is configured to increase a speed of a compressor disposed upstream from the first heat exchanger in response to the refrigerant recovery signal.

A heat pump system control method for a vehicle includes a process (A) of operating a compressor of an air conditioner to cool or heat an interior of the vehicle while the vehicle is driving, measuring by a controller initial states of the compressor and a refrigerant based on data detected from a data detector, and monitoring the compressor, a process (B) of determining by the controller whether a current coil temperature of a motor unit provided in the compressor is higher than a coil specification temperature through the process (A) and operating a protection mode; and a process (C) of, when the process (B) is completed, calculating by the controller a slope of a coil temperature of the motor unit over time, determining whether the temperature slope is greater than zero (0) three times consecutively to stop the operation of the compressor, and terminating control.

A thermal management system control method for a vehicle, may include: (A) a process in which a controller determines whether a pre-cooling mode is selected according to data detected from a data detector before track driving of the vehicle, and operates an air conditioner; (B) a process in which the controller, when the process (A) is completed, operates a battery chiller expansion valve to cool a battery module according to the data detected from the data detector; and (C) a process in which the controller, when the process (B) is completed, determines whether the evaporator is frozen and then thaws the evaporator or controls an evaporator expansion valve, and terminates the control.

The invention relates to a method for controlling a thermal conditioning circuit (100) for thermally conditioning an air flow (1), notably intended for a motor vehicle interior (2), the circuit comprising a heat exchanger (4) configured to have a refrigerant pass through it and exchange heat with the air flow (1), the heat exchanger (4) being configured to operate selectively in at least:—a mode known as cooling mode,—a mode known as heating mode, the method comprising the steps of:—evaluating a level of humidity in a region in contact with an exterior surface (5) of the heat exchanger (4),—detecting an instruction to switch from cooling mode to heating mode,—if the evaluated level of humidity is below a predetermined first threshold (s1), allowing refrigerant to circulate through the exchanger (4) in response to the instruction to switch to heating mode,—if the level of humidity is above a predetermined second threshold (s2), preventing the refrigerant from circulating through the exchanger (4) for a first predetermined length of time (D1), so as to delay the switch to heating mode.