JP2011110951A - Air conditioner for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air conditioner for a vehicle capable of substantially reducing power consumption so as to be suitable for an electric vehicle, and capable of further reducing power consumption by properly combining desiccant rotors. <P>SOLUTION: The air conditioner for the vehicle incorporates a refrigerating circuit having at least a compressor, condenser and evaporator of a coolant in one unit, establishes the condenser and the evaporator in parallel in a direction of air-conditioned air, and mixes the air passing the condenser and the air passing the condenser in an air mix zone in the unit to transfer it to a vehicle interior. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle air conditioner, and is mounted on a vehicle equipped with a battery as a motive power source for traveling such as an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle, and when the power of the battery is consumed by a compressor or a heater, the consumption The present invention relates to a vehicle air conditioner having a novel system configuration that can significantly reduce electric power.

  In electric vehicles and the like, compressors and heaters, which are the main power consuming devices in vehicle air conditioners, are often operated by power from the battery, but the power consumption of the air conditioner during cooling and heating is It accounts for a large percentage of the amount of electricity stored. In an ordinary vehicle air conditioner, a compressor, a condenser, and an evaporator in a refrigeration circuit are arranged in this order, and the condenser is an outdoor heat exchanger installed outside the air conditioning air passage. In general, a blower fan is disposed on the upstream side of the evaporator, and a heater core is disposed in a part of the passage on the downstream side of the evaporator.

  However, an electric vehicle or the like has few exhaust heat sources like an internal combustion locomotive and cannot be used as a heating heat source. Therefore, an electric heater is often mounted for heating. As a result, there is a problem that the continuous travel distance of the vehicle without charging the battery is significantly reduced. Therefore, in addition to the conventional normal request for increasing the amount of power stored in the battery, a vehicular air conditioner is required to significantly reduce power consumption.

  In order to significantly reduce power consumption, a desiccant (desiccant) type air conditioner is known for indoor air conditioning or dehumidification, not as a vehicle air conditioner (for example, Patent Document 1). That is, in this conventional air conditioning system as described above, the air is cooled while the humid air containing a large amount of moisture is cooled and the moisture in the air is condensed and removed, so that the air itself is cooled. Pays attention to the fact that it consumes a large amount of energy to remove the moisture contained in it, for example, removes moisture in the air with a desiccant (drying agent) and directly cools the air from which moisture has been removed. Thus, the air-conditioning system can cool the air with less energy than the conventional general air-conditioning system. In Patent Document 1, a configuration in which a desiccant is supported on a heat exchanger used is employed, but a system using a desiccant rotor is also known.

  This desiccant rotor is, for example, a desiccant rotor that slowly rotates between a dehumidification-side air passage through which moist outside air passes and a regeneration-side air passage through which hot air for rotor regeneration passes. Moisture is sorbed into a part of the desiccant rotor to obtain a dehumidified rotor passing wind, and the moisture sorbed part of the desiccant rotor is rotated into the air passage on the regeneration side, where it is sorbed by hot air. The desiccant is regenerated to a dehumidifiable state by releasing the water that was stored. In recent years, as a desiccant to be carried on a desiccant rotor, research at Okayama University has shown that polymer sorbents can be used for regeneration at temperatures as low as 50 ° C. Is underway. The polymer sorbent is a new moisture absorption mechanism that sorbs as water vapor in the polyacrylic acid polymer, and can be regenerated even at a low temperature of 40 to 80 ° C. and has a very high saturated absorption rate. It has also been known that when such a desiccant rotor carrying a desiccant is used, energy can be significantly reduced in an air conditioner. Further, since it is a desiccant using an organic material, it is considered that the possibility of adsorbing odorous components is extremely low.

  On the other hand, in an electric vehicle, a space for mounting an air conditioner is not as restricted by an internal combustion engine as in the conventional case, and thus has a high degree of freedom. However, current electric vehicles have a basic problem that the continuous travel distance is short, and in order to extend the travel distance, it is indispensable to reduce the size and weight of the vehicle air conditioner.

JP 2005-291571 A

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to focus on the above-described conventional and recently developed technologies, and propose a new system configuration, which can greatly reduce power consumption and is suitable for an electric vehicle and the like, and a desiccant rotor. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle air conditioner that can further reduce power consumption by appropriately combining the above.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention incorporates a refrigeration circuit having at least a refrigerant compressor, a condenser, and an evaporator in one unit, and a condenser with respect to the flow direction of the conditioned air. And an evaporator, and the condenser passing air and the evaporator passing air are mixed in an air mix zone in the unit and sent to the passenger compartment.

  In such a vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention, an evaporator that has been conventionally disposed in the air passage and a condenser that has been disposed outside the air passage are incorporated and packaged in one unit. Therefore, the refrigeration circuit and thus the entire air conditioner are configured in a compact manner. Then, a condenser and an evaporator are provided side by side with respect to the flow direction of the conditioned air, and a condenser passing air heated by heat radiation and made relatively high temperature and an evaporator passing air cooled by refrigerant evaporation and made relatively low temperature. However, since it is preferably mixed at an appropriate ratio in the air mix zone in the unit and sent to the passenger compartment as conditioned air, the heater core disposed in the conventional air passage is abolished and replaced with the heater core. In addition, a condenser can be used effectively as a heater. In addition, by providing a condenser and an evaporator, the circuit becomes compact and the piping is simplified. Therefore, the entire air conditioner is configured more compactly. The vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention has a small size due to the configuration so far. Weight saving is realized, and the power consumption particularly during heating is greatly reduced by effectively using the condenser as a heater.

  In the vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention, it is preferable that a fan for sending conditioned air to the condenser and the evaporator is also incorporated in the unit. By packaging the blower fan in the same unit, the entire vehicle air conditioner is more reliably configured in a compact manner. In this case, it is preferable from the viewpoint of further downsizing that the blower fan is composed of a coaxial fan in which a fan part for sending conditioned air to the condenser and a fan part for sending conditioned air to the evaporator are arranged coaxially. Since the condenser and the evaporator are provided side by side, such a coaxial fan is easily configured.

  And in the vehicle air conditioner which concerns on this invention, the structure which has a desiccant rotor can be added especially for the significant reduction of the power consumption at the time of air_conditioning | cooling. That is, it is a circular plate in which a desiccant (drying agent) is carried on the downstream side of the condenser and the evaporator and on the upstream side of the air mix zone. It is the structure by which the desiccant rotor rotated between the passage areas of a passing wind is provided. By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to sorb the moisture in the evaporator passing air to the desiccant carried on the desiccant rotor, and the desiccant rotor portion on which the moisture has been absorbed to the passing region of the condenser passing wind. The desiccant sorption capacity is regenerated by releasing the moisture that has been sorbed by heating with the relatively high-temperature condenser passage air, and the desiccant rotor part where the sorption capacity has been regenerated is restored. It is possible to repeatedly perform a series of operations of rotating the evaporator passing air to the passage area to sorb moisture. Since the cooling air (vaporizer passing air) whose moisture content has been reduced by sorption on the desiccant rotor is sent into the passenger compartment and circulated from the passenger compartment, the amount of moisture in the entire circulating air can be reduced. Become. Moisture released on the passage area side of the condenser passing air may be appropriately discharged together with the heating air. In this way, a large amount of energy is not consumed for moisture removal as in a conventional air conditioner, and the power required for air conditioning can be greatly reduced.

  As the desiccant supported by the desiccant rotor, a material regenerated at a relatively high temperature such as silica gel can be used. However, in order to enable easy regeneration by the condenser passing air, a low temperature of 50 ° C. or less (for example, It is preferably made of a material that can be regenerated by releasing the sorbed moisture by the condenser passing air at a low temperature of about 30 to 50 ° C. As such a desiccant, for example, as described above, research at Okayama University shows that it is possible to regenerate even at a low temperature of about 50 ° C. by using a polymer sorbent. Applied research is underway. The polymer sorbent is a new moisture absorption mechanism that sorbs as water vapor in the polyacrylic acid polymer, and can be regenerated even at a low temperature of 40 to 80 ° C. and has a very high saturated absorption rate.

  Furthermore, in the vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention, as a preferred embodiment, a gas-liquid separator is provided between the condenser and the evaporator of the refrigeration circuit, and the compressor is the gas-liquid separator. A configuration including a gas injection type compressor capable of introducing a part of the separated refrigerant gas during the compression process can be employed. By adopting such a configuration, it becomes possible to greatly increase the compression efficiency of the compressor, thereby greatly reducing the energy required for compressor refrigerant compression and greatly reducing the power consumption of the compressor. become.

  As a driving method of the compressor in the present invention, it is possible to transmit driving power from a power source for vehicle travel, but in order to directly obtain the effect of reducing the power consumption of the compressor as described above. The compressor is preferably an electric compressor driven by an electric motor. In this case, the power consumption of the electric motor is greatly reduced.

  Furthermore, the vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention is particularly mounted on an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle, so that a great effect can be obtained by reducing power consumption. In particular, in electric vehicles, there is a basic requirement to increase the continuous mileage as described above. To meet this requirement, the significant reduction in power consumption of the vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention can greatly contribute. It becomes.

  As described above, according to the vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention, the entire air conditioner can be reduced in size and weight by incorporating the evaporator and the condenser in one unit. The conventional heater core can be abolished and the condenser can be used as a heater, so that the power consumed by the air conditioner can be greatly reduced. Further, particularly by appropriately combining the desiccant rotor, it becomes possible to further reduce power consumption. By greatly reducing power consumption, the continuous travel distance of an electric vehicle can be extended.

1 is a schematic equipment diagram showing an example of a basic configuration of a vehicle air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is the general | schematic cross-sectional view (A) seen from the upper direction which shows the more concrete structural example of the vehicle air conditioner which concerns on one embodiment of this invention, and the schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view (B) seen from the side.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows a basic configuration example of a vehicle air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention (the blower fan will be described with reference to FIG. 2). In the vehicle air conditioner 1 shown in FIG. 1, the refrigerant is circulated in the direction of the arrow 3 in the refrigeration circuit 2. The compressor 4 is composed of an electric compressor driven by an electric motor 5, and the electric motor 5 is supplied with power from a vehicle-mounted battery (not shown). The refrigerant compressed by the compressor 4 is sent to the condenser 6 to be condensed, and heat is radiated from the condenser 6 by the condensation. Due to this heat dissipation, the condenser passing air 7 is heated and, for example, warmed to about 30 to 50 ° C.

  In this embodiment, a gas-liquid separator 8 is provided on the downstream side of the condenser 6, and a part of the refrigerant gas separated by the gas-liquid separator 8 is introduced during the compression process in the compressor 4. It is configured to be possible. That is, the compressor 4 is configured as a gas injection type compressor, and the compression efficiency is improved.

  An expansion valve 9 is disposed on the downstream side of the gas-liquid separator 8, and an evaporator 10 is disposed on the downstream side thereof. In the evaporator 10, the refrigerant is evaporated, and the evaporator passing air 11 is cooled by heat exchange with the evaporator passing air 11. The refrigerant from the evaporator 10 is again sucked into the compressor 4 and circulated in the refrigeration circuit 2. The evaporator 10 and the condenser 6 are provided side by side with respect to the flow direction of the conditioned air (that is, the flow direction of the condenser passing air 7 and the evaporator passing air 11). That is, they are arranged in parallel.

  The condenser passing air 7 and the evaporator passing air 11 are mixed in the air mix zone 12 and sent to the passenger compartment as the conditioned air 13. The compressor 4, the condenser 6, the gas-liquid separator 8, the expansion valve 9, and the evaporator 10 are incorporated in one unit, and an air mix zone 12 is formed in the unit.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, the condenser 6 and the evaporator 10 are downstream of the air-conditioning air flow direction and upstream of the air mix zone 12. A desiccant rotor 14 that is rotated between the two is provided. The desiccant rotor 14 is composed of a disk through which a desiccant (drying agent) is carried and capable of passing air. As the desiccant to be supported, as described above, a material that releases sorbed moisture at a relatively low temperature of about 30 to 50 ° C. and can be regenerated to a moisture sorbable state is preferable.

  FIG. 2 shows a more specific configuration example. FIG. 2 shows an example of the unit 21 as described above. A compressor 4, a condenser 6 and an evaporator 10, and a desiccant rotor 14 provided in the unit 21 are shown in FIG. 2, for example. Built in. In the unit 21, a blower fan 22 that sends conditioned air to the condenser 6 and the evaporator 10 is also incorporated. The blower fan 22 air-conditions the fan unit 22 a that sends conditioned air to the condenser 6 and the evaporator 10. The fan part 22b which sends a wind consists of a coaxial fan arrange | positioned coaxially.

  The air passage 23 before and after the passage of the conditioned air through the condenser 6 and the air passage 24 before and after the passage of the evaporator 10 are partitioned by a wall 25, and the condenser passage air 7 and the evaporator passage air 11 pass through the desiccant rotor 14. Later, it is mixed in the air mix zone 12. In the air mix zone 12, for example, an air mix damper 26 capable of adjusting the mixing ratio of the condenser passing air 7 and the evaporator passing air 11 is provided. For example, a suitably mixed conditioned air 13 (FIG. 1) is adjusted to the destination and the air volume by a mode damper 27 (preferably a plurality of arrangements) provided on the downstream side. Further, since the condenser passing air 7 that has passed through the desiccant rotor 14 may contain a large amount of moisture due to regeneration of the desiccant, an exhaust damper 28 is also provided so that such air can be appropriately exhausted to the outside. Yes. Circulating wind or outside air from the passenger compartment is taken in through the intake port 29.

  Thus, by incorporating the refrigeration circuit 2, the blower fan 22, the desiccant rotor 14, etc. into one unit 21 and packaging it, a compact air conditioner is completed, which is a compact and lightweight suitable for electric vehicles and the like. A vehicle air conditioner is configured. And as mentioned above, the condenser 6 and the evaporator 10 are provided side by side, and the condenser airflow 7 and the evaporator airflow 11 are mixed to obtain the desired air conditioning airflow 13, so that at least heating by a conventional heater is unnecessary. Therefore, power consumption is reduced.

  Further, the desiccant rotor 14 is arranged so that the moisture in the evaporator passing air 11 is sorbed, and the absorbed moisture is released in the passage region of the relatively cool condenser passing air 7 so that the desiccant can be regenerated. As a result, a large amount of energy is not consumed for moisture removal as in the conventional air conditioning system, and the power consumed by the air conditioner can be greatly reduced. As a result, when the air conditioner is mounted on an electric vehicle, it is possible to greatly increase the vehicle's continuously travelable distance with respect to a predetermined battery storage amount.

  The vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention is particularly suitable when mounted on an electric vehicle.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vehicle air conditioner 2 Refrigeration circuit 3 Flow direction of refrigerant 4 Compressor 5 Electric motor 6 Condenser 7 Condenser passing air 8 Gas-liquid separator 9 Expansion valve 10 Evaporator 11 Evaporator passing air 12 Air mix zone 13 Air conditioning air 14 Desiccant rotor 21 Unit 22 Blower fans 22a and 22b Fan sections 23 and 24 Air passage 25 Wall 26 Air mix damper 27 Mode damper 28 Exhaust damper 29 Inlet

Claims (8)

  A refrigeration circuit having at least a refrigerant compressor, a condenser, and an evaporator is incorporated in one unit, and a condenser and an evaporator are provided in the flow direction of the air-conditioning air. A vehicle air conditioner characterized in that it is mixed in an air mix zone in the unit and sent to the passenger compartment.   The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein a blower fan that sends conditioned air to the condenser and the evaporator is also incorporated in the unit.   3. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 2, wherein the blower fan includes a coaxial fan in which a fan unit that sends conditioned air to the condenser and a fan unit that sends conditioned air to the evaporator are arranged coaxially.   An air-permeable disc carrying a desiccant on the downstream side of the condenser and the evaporator and on the upstream side of the air mix zone, wherein a passage area for passing the condenser and a passage area for passing the evaporator air The vehicle air conditioner in any one of Claims 1-3 with which the desiccant rotor rotated between these is provided.   5. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 4, wherein the desiccant is made of a material that can be regenerated by releasing sorbed moisture by a low-temperature condenser passing air of 50 ° C. or less.   A gas-liquid separator is provided between the condenser and the evaporator of the refrigeration circuit, and the compressor can introduce a part of the refrigerant gas separated by the gas-liquid separator during the compression process. The vehicle air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 5, comprising a gas injection type compressor.   The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the compressor is an electric compressor driven by an electric motor.   The vehicle air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 7, which is mounted on an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle.

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