Search

DE-102025144866-A1 - VEHICLE AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THE SAME

DE102025144866A1DE 102025144866 A1DE102025144866 A1DE 102025144866A1DE-102025144866-A1

Abstract

A vehicle air conditioning system comprises: a flow path 10 through which air can flow from a vehicle interior and/or from a vehicle exterior; at least one humidity control device 20 provided in the flow path 10, wherein the humidity control device 20 is configured to repeatedly 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 air, wherein the HVAC unit 30 comprises: a footwell vent 33b for blowing the heated air towards a passenger's foot area inside the vehicle; a windshield heater vent 33a for blowing the heated air towards a window inside the vehicle; a footwell flap 34b for adjusting the amount of air blown out of the footwell vent 33b; and a windshield heating flap 34a for adjusting the amount of air blown out of the windshield heating opening 33a; and a control unit 40 configured to control the humidity control device 20 and the HVAC unit 30. The control unit 40 controls the windshield heating flap 34a and the footwell flap 34b such that the amount of air blown out of the windshield heating opening 33a is greater than the amount of air blown out of the footwell opening 33b during the operation of the heating mode of the HVAC unit 30 and the adsorption 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 (14)

  1. Vehicle climate control system comprising: a flow path (10) through which air can flow from a vehicle interior and/or from a vehicle exterior; 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 air, wherein the HVAC unit (30) comprises: a footwell vent (33b) for blowing the heated air towards a passenger's foot area inside the vehicle; a windshield heating vent (33a) for blowing the heated air towards a window inside the vehicle; a footwell flap (34b) for adjusting the amount of air blown from the footwell vent (33b); and a windshield heating flap (34a) for adjusting the amount of air blown out of the windshield heating opening (33a); and a control unit (40) configured to control the humidity control device (20) and the HVAC unit (30), the control unit (40) controlling the windshield heating flap (34a) and the footwell flap (34b) such that the amount of air blown out of the windshield heating opening (33a) is greater than the amount of air blown out of the footwell opening (33b) during the operation of the heating mode of the HVAC unit (30) and the adsorption mode of the humidity control device (20).
  2. Vehicle air conditioning system according to Claim 1 , wherein the control unit (40) controls the footwell flap (34b) and the windshield heating flap (34a) such that air is blown out of both the windshield heating opening (33a) and the footwell opening (33b) during the operation of the heating mode of the HVAC unit (30) and the adsorption mode of the humidity control device.
  3. Vehicle air conditioning system according to Claim 1 or 2 , wherein the ratio of the amount of air blown out of the window heating opening (33a) to the total amount of air blown into the vehicle interior is 55% or more.
  4. Vehicle air conditioning system according to one of the Claims 1 until 3 , wherein the HVAC unit (30) further comprises a face opening (33c) for blowing heated air near the faces of passengers inside the vehicle and a face opening flap (34c) for adjusting the amount of air blown out of the face opening (33c), and wherein the control unit (40) controls the windshield heating flap (34a) and the face opening flap (34c) such that the amount of air blown out of the windshield heating opening (33a) is greater than the amount of air blown out of the face opening (33c) during the operation of the heating mode of the HVAC unit (30) and the adsorption mode of the humidity control device (20).
  5. Vehicle air conditioning system according to one of the Claims 1 until 4 , wherein the humidity control device (20) is provided in the HVAC unit (30).
  6. Vehicle air conditioning system according to one of the Claims 1 until 4 , wherein the humidity control device (20) is provided on an upstream side of the HVAC unit (30).
  7. Vehicle air conditioning system according to one of the Claims 1 until 6 , wherein the flow path (10) on a downstream side of the humidity control device (20) branches into a first flow path (11) for allowing air to flow into the vehicle interior and a second flow path (12) for allowing air to flow out to an exterior of the vehicle, and wherein the vehicle air conditioning system further comprises a first valve (60) configured to switch the airflow between the first flow path (11) and the second flow path (12).
  8. Vehicle air conditioning system according to one of the Claims 1 until 7 , wherein the humidity control device (20) comprises: an adsorption section containing an adsorbent configured to adsorb moisture at a temperature below or equal to a predetermined temperature and to desorb the adsorbed moisture when the temperature exceeds the predetermined temperature; and a heating medium or heating structure configured to heat the adsorption section.
  9. Vehicle air conditioning system according to Claim 8 , wherein the humidity control device (20) comprises: a honeycomb structure (21) with an outer circumferential wall (22) and partitions (25) provided on an inner surface of the outer circumferential 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 air; an adsorption layer (26) comprising the adsorbent, the adsorption layer (26) being provided on a surface of each of the partitions (25); and an electrode pair (27A, 27b) being provided on the first end face (23a) and the second end face (23b) of the honeycomb structure (21) or on the outer circumferential wall (22) parallel to an extension direction of the cells (24) of the honeycomb structure (21).
  10. Vehicle air conditioning system according to Claim 9 , wherein at least the partitions (25) of the honeycomb structure (21) are made of a material with a positive temperature coefficient (PTC) property.
  11. Method for controlling a vehicle air conditioning system, wherein the vehicle air conditioning system comprises: a flow path (10) through which air can flow from a vehicle interior and/or from a vehicle exterior; 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 air, wherein the HVAC unit (30) comprises: a footwell vent (33b) for blowing the heated air towards a passenger's foot area inside the vehicle; a windshield heating vent (33a) for blowing the heated air towards a window inside the vehicle; a footwell flap (34b) for adjusting the amount of air blown out of the footwell vent (33b); and a windshield heating flap (34a) for adjusting the amount of air blown out of the windshield heating opening (33a); and a control unit (40) configured to control the humidity control device (20) and the HVAC unit (30), the method comprising the control unit (40) controlling the windshield heating flap (34a) and the footwell flap (34b) such that the amount of air blown out of the windshield heating opening (33a) is greater than the amount of air blown out of the footwell opening (33b) during the operation of the heating mode of the HVAC unit (30) and the adsorption mode of the humidity control device (20).
  12. Method for controlling a vehicle air conditioning system according to Claim 11 , wherein the method comprises controlling the footwell flap (34b) and the windshield heating flap (34a) by the control unit (40) so that air is blown out of both the windshield heating opening (33a) and the footwell opening (33b) during the execution of the heating mode of the HVAC unit (30) and the adsorption mode of the humidity control device.
  13. Method for controlling a vehicle air conditioning system according to Claim 11 or 12 , wherein the ratio of the amount of air blown out of the window heating opening (33a) to the total amount of air blown into the vehicle interior is 55% or more.
  14. Method for controlling a vehicle air conditioning system according to one of the Claims 11 until 13 , wherein the HVAC unit (30) further comprises a face opening (33c) for blowing heated air near the faces of passengers inside the vehicle and a face opening flap (34c) for adjusting the amount of air blown out of the face opening (33c), and wherein the method comprises controlling the windshield heating flap (34a) and the face opening flap (34c) by the control unit (40) such that the amount of air blown out of the windshield heating opening (33a) is greater than the amount of air blown out of the face opening (33c) during the operation of the heating mode of the HVAC unit (30) and the adsorption 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 the same. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION For various vehicle types, such as motor vehicles, the demands for improving the vehicle interior are increasing. Specific requirements include reducing the amount of CO₂ inside the vehicle to decrease driver fatigue, regulating humidity levels, and eliminating harmful volatile components such as odors and allergens. Ventilation is an effective measure to meet these requirements; however, in winter, ventilation results in significant heat loss, leading to reduced energy efficiency. Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are particularly affected, as their range is considerably limited due to energy losses. 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) containing a honeycomb structure with an outer circumferential wall and partitions provided on an inner surface of the outer circumferential 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, wherein at least the partition is made of a material with PTC properties; 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 a 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 end face of the heating element to the vehicle interior, wherein the outlet pipe has a first path connecting an outlet end face of the heating element to a vehicle interior, and a second path (second flow path) connecting the outlet end face of the heating element to a vehicle exterior, and wherein the system includes a switching valve configured to change an airflow circulating through the outlet pipe between the first path and the second path (e.g. patent literature 1). On the other hand, an air conditioning system provided with an HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) unit that uses a heat pump cycle has been proposed as an air conditioning system capable of heating and cooling 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] Publication of the Japanese patent application no. 2016-097817 A SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Problem to be solved by the invention In a vehicle's climate control system, which includes a humidity control device and an HVAC unit, the humidity inside the vehicle can increase due to factors such as an increased number of passengers or the introduction of rain or snow from the vehicle's exterior during heating operation. If, under these conditions, the humidity control device operates in adsorption mode and directs air into the vehicle interior through a footwell vent in the HVAC unit, the interior windows can easily fog up. The present invention is intended to solve the problems described above, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle air conditioning system and a method for controlling the same which can effectively prevent the fogging of the window panes inside the vehicle during the operation of the heating mode of the HVAC unit and the adsorption mode of the humidity control device. Means to solve the problem As a result of extensive investigations into vehicle climate control systems that include humidity control devices and HVAC units, the inventor has found that the problems described above can be solved by controlling a windshield defroster flap and a footwell flap in such a way that, during the operation of a heating mode of the HVAC unit and an adsorption mode of the humidity control device, a larger volume of air is blown out of a windshield defroster opening than out of a footwell opening. In other words, this invention can be explained as follows: <1> A vehicle climate control system comprising: a flow path through which air can flow from a vehicle interior and/or from a vehicle exterior; 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 configured to perform a heating mode for heating the air, wherein the HVAC unit comprises: a footwell vent for blowing heated air towards a passenger's foot area inside the vehicle; a windshield defroster vent for blowing heated air towards a window inside the vehicle; a footwell flap for adjusting the amount of air blown from the footwell vent; and a windshield defroster flap for adjusting the amount of air blown from t