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DE-102025144830-A1 - VEHICLE AIR CONDITIONING AND METHOD FOR ITS CONTROL

DE102025144830A1DE 102025144830 A1DE102025144830 A1DE 102025144830A1DE-102025144830-A1

Abstract

A vehicle air conditioning system comprises a flow path (10) through which interior air in a vehicle interior and exterior air from a vehicle exterior can flow, wherein the flow path (10) includes a flap (52) configured to adjust a percentage of the amount of interior air and an amount of the supplied exterior air; at least one humidity control device (20) provided in the flow path (10), wherein the humidity control device (20) is configured to perform an adsorption mode for adsorbing moisture and a regeneration mode for desorbing the moisture; an HVAC unit (30) configured to perform a heating mode for heating the interior air and the exterior air; and a control unit (40) configured to control the humidity control device (20), the HVAC unit (30), and the flap (52). The control unit (40) controls the flap (52) so that a percentage of the supplied outside air is 20 to 90% when a passenger manually selects an outside air supply mode for the vehicle interior during the execution of the heating mode of the HVAC unit (30) and the adsorption mode or the regeneration mode of the humidity control device (20).

Inventors

  • Takafumi Hamada

Assignees

  • NGK INSULATORS, LTD.

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20251031
Priority Date
20241111

Claims (11)

  1. Vehicle air conditioning system comprising: a flow path (10) through which interior air in a vehicle interior and exterior air from a vehicle exterior can flow, wherein the flow path (10) includes a flap (52) configured to adjust a percentage of the amount of interior air and an amount of the supplied exterior air; at least one humidity control device (20) provided in the flow path (10), wherein the humidity control device (20) is configured to perform an adsorption mode for adsorbing moisture and a regeneration mode for desorbing the moisture; an HVAC unit (30) configured to perform a heating mode for heating the interior air and the exterior air; and a control unit (40) configured to control the humidity control device (20), the HVAC unit (30) and the flap (52), the control unit (40) controlling the flap (52) such that a percentage of the supplied outside air is 20 to 90% when a passenger manually selects an outside air supply mode for the vehicle interior during the operation of the heating mode of the HVAC unit (30) and the adsorption mode or the regeneration mode of the humidity control device (20).
  2. Vehicle air conditioning system Claim 1 , wherein the control unit (40) controls the flap (52) such that a percentage of the supplied outside air is 40 to 70% when a passenger manually selects an outside air supply mode for the vehicle interior during the execution of the heating mode of the HVAC unit (30) and the adsorption mode or the regeneration mode of the humidity control device (20).
  3. Vehicle air conditioning system Claim 1 or 2 , wherein the HVAC unit (30) includes the damper (52) which is configured to adjust the percentage of the indoor air volume and the supplied outdoor air volume.
  4. Vehicle air conditioning according to one of the Claims 1 until 3 , wherein the humidity control device (20) is provided in the HVAC unit (30).
  5. Vehicle air conditioning according to one of the Claims 1 until 3 , wherein the humidity control device (20) is provided on an upstream side of the HVAC unit (30).
  6. Vehicle air conditioning according to one of the Claims 1 until 5 , wherein the flow path (10) on a downstream side of the humidity control device (20) branches into a first flow path (11) for allowing the interior air and the exterior air to flow into the vehicle interior and a second flow path (12) for allowing the interior air and the exterior air to flow to the vehicle exterior, and wherein the vehicle air conditioning system further comprises a first valve (60) configured to switch the flow of the interior air and the exterior air between the first flow path (11) and the second flow path (12).
  7. Vehicle air conditioning according to one of the Claims 1 until 6 , wherein the humidity control device (20) comprises: an adsorption section containing an adsorbent configured to adsorb moisture at a temperature less than or equal to a predetermined temperature and to desorb the adsorbed moisture when the temperature exceeds the predetermined temperature; and a heating device or heating structure configured to heat the adsorption section.
  8. Vehicle air conditioning system Claim 7 , wherein the humidity control device (20) comprises: a honeycomb structure (21) with an outer perimeter wall (22) and partitions (25) provided on an inner side of the outer perimeter wall (22), the partitions (25) defining a plurality of cells (24), each of the cells (24) extending from a first end face (23a) to a second end face (23b) of the honeycomb structure (21) to form a flow path for the indoor air and the outdoor air; an adsorption layer (26) containing the adsorbent, the adsorption layer (26) being provided on a surface of each of the partitions (25); and a pair of electrodes (27A, 27b) which are provided at the first end surface (23a) and the second end surface (23b) of the honeycomb structure (21) or at the outer circumferential wall (22) parallel to an extension direction of the cells (24) of the honeycomb structure (21).
  9. Vehicle air conditioning system Claim 8 , wherein at least the partitions (25) of the honeycomb structure (21) consist of a material with a positive temperature coefficient (PTC).
  10. Method for controlling a vehicle air conditioning system, wherein the vehicle air conditioning system comprises: a flow path (10) through which interior air can flow into a vehicle interior and exterior air can flow from a vehicle exterior, wherein the flow path (10) comprises a flap (52) configured to adjust a percentage of a quantity of interior air and a quantity of supplied exterior air; at least one humidity control device (20) provided in the flow path (10), wherein the humidity control device (20) is configured to perform an adsorption mode for adsorbing moisture and a regeneration mode for desorbing moisture; an HVAC unit (30) configured to perform a heating mode for heating the interior air and the outside air; and a control unit (40) configured to control the humidity control device (20), the HVAC unit (30), and the flap (52), wherein the method comprises: controlling, by the control unit (40), the flap (52) such that a percentage of the supplied outside air is 20 to 90% when a passenger manually selects an outside air supply mode for the vehicle interior during the execution of the heating mode of the HVAC unit (30) and the adsorption mode or the regeneration mode of the humidity control device (20).
  11. Method for controlling a vehicle air conditioning system according to Claim 10 , wherein the method comprises: controlling, by the control unit (40), the flap (52) such that a percentage of the supplied outside air is 40 to 70% when a passenger manually selects an outside air supply mode for the vehicle interior during the execution of the heating mode of the HVAC unit (30) and the adsorption mode or the regeneration mode of the humidity control device (20).

Description

AREA OF INVENTION The present invention relates to a vehicle air conditioning system and a method for controlling it. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In various vehicle types, such as automobiles, the demands for improving the vehicle interior are increasing. Specific requirements include reducing CO₂ concentration inside the vehicle to decrease driver fatigue, regulating humidity, and eliminating harmful volatile components such as odors and allergens. Ventilation is an effective measure for meeting these requirements; however, it leads to significant heat loss in winter, thus reducing energy efficiency. This is particularly problematic for battery electric vehicles (BEVs), as their range is considerably reduced due to energy loss. As a method for solving the aforementioned problems, a vehicle cleaning system (vehicle air conditioning system) is proposed, comprising: a heating element (humidity control device) with a honeycomb structure having an outer perimeter wall and partitions provided on an inner surface of the outer perimeter wall, the partitions defining a plurality of cells, each extending from one end face to the other end face of the honeycomb structure to form a flow path, the partition being at least made of a material with a positive temperature coefficient (PTC); an electrode pair comprising a first electrode provided on one end face and a second electrode provided on the other end face; and a layer containing a functional material provided on a surface of each partition; as well as an inlet pipe connecting the vehicle interior to an inlet end face of the heating element; and an outlet pipe with a first path (first flow path) connecting an outlet surface of the heating element to the vehicle interior, wherein the outlet pipe has a first path connecting an outlet surface of the heating element to the vehicle interior and a second path (second flow path) connecting the outlet surface of the heating element to the vehicle exterior, and wherein the system includes a switching valve configured to switch an airflow circulating through the outlet pipe between the first path and the second path (for example, patent literature 1). On the other hand, an air conditioning system with an HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) unit using a heat pump circuit as an air conditioning system has been proposed that can perform the heating and cooling of a vehicle (e.g. patent literature 2 and 3). STATE OF THE ART Patent literature [Patent literature 1] WO 2023/074202 A1[Patent literature 2] Japanese Patent No. 6746742 B[Patent Literature 3] Japanese Patent Application No. 2016-097817 A SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Problem to be solved by the invention In a vehicle air conditioning system with a humidity control device and an HVAC unit, the problem is that if a passenger manually selects an outside air supply mode for the vehicle interior while the HVAC unit is operating in a heating mode and the humidity control device is in an adsorption or regeneration mode, the percentage of outside air supplied is 100%, resulting in increased energy consumption for heating. The present invention was developed to solve the problem described above and aims to provide a vehicle air conditioning system and a method for controlling it, which can reduce energy consumption for heating when the passenger manually selects the outside air supply mode for the vehicle interior during the heating operation of the HVAC unit and the adsorption or regeneration operation of the humidity control device. Means to solve the problem As a result of extensive investigations into vehicle air conditioning systems, including humidity control devices and HVAC units, the inventor has found that the problem described above can be solved by controlling a flap so that the proportion of supplied outside air is between 20 and 90% when a passenger is present during the execution of a heating mode of the HVAC unit and an adsorption mode. The device manually selects an outside air supply mode for the vehicle interior, either through the device's humidity control system or a regeneration mode. In other words, this invention can be illustrated as follows: <1> A vehicle air conditioning system that includes the following: a flow path through which interior air can flow into a vehicle interior and exterior air can flow from a vehicle exterior, wherein the flow path includes a flap configured to adjust a percentage of a quantity of interior air and a quantity of supplied exterior air; at least one humidity control device provided in the flow path, wherein the humidity control device is configured to perform an adsorption mode for adsorbing moisture and a regeneration mode for desorbing the moisture; an HVAC unit designed to perform a heating mode for warming the indoor and outdoor air; and a control unit designed to control the humidity control device, the HVAC unit, and the damper, the control unit controls the flap so that a percentage of the supplied outside