초록 ▼

An air conditioner includes a compressor for compressing refrigerant, an exterior heat exchanger for performing heat exchange between refrigerant and outside air, an interior heat exchanger for performing heat exchange between the refrigerant and air to be blown into the compartment, a decompression

An air conditioner includes a compressor for compressing refrigerant, an exterior heat exchanger for performing heat exchange between refrigerant and outside air, an interior heat exchanger for performing heat exchange between the refrigerant and air to be blown into the compartment, a decompression unit for decompressing high-pressure refrigerant, and a heater that heats air using high-temperature refrigerant discharged from the compressor as a heating source. In a dehumidifying and heating operation, refrigerant in the interior heat exchanger absorbs heat from air so that the air is cooled and dehumidified, and the heater heats air having been dehumidified and cooled by using the heating source, so that low-humidity and high-temperature air is supplied into the compartment. The heater can be disposed to indirectly heat air by heating a fluid flowing through a heater core for heating air, or to directly heat air to be blown into the compartment.

대표청구항 ▼

1. An air conditioner for a compartment, comprising:a compressor for compressing and discharging refrigerant; a decompression unit that decompresses high-temperature refrigerant discharged from the compressor; an exterior heat exchanger for performing heat exchange between refrigerant and outside ai

1. An air conditioner for a compartment, comprising:a compressor for compressing and discharging refrigerant; a decompression unit that decompresses high-temperature refrigerant discharged from the compressor; an exterior heat exchanger for performing heat exchange between refrigerant and outside air outside the compartment; an interior heat exchanger for performing heat exchange between refrigerant and air to be blown into the compartment, wherein the interior heat exchanger and the exterior heat exchanger are disposed such that heat from low-temperature refrigerant in one of the interior heat exchanger and the exterior heat exchanger is moved to the high-temperature refrigerant in the other one thereof by evaporation of refrigerant after being decompressed in the decompression unit; and a heater disposed to heat air to be blown into the compartment using the high-temperature refrigerant before being decompressed as a heating source; wherein the decompression unit includes an ejector for decompressing refrigerant discharged from the compressor while sucking gas refrigerant from the interior heat exchanger, and for converting expansion energy to pressure energy to increase pressure of refrigerant to be sucked to the compressor, and first and second throttles for decompressing refrigerant in substantially iso-enthalpy, the air conditioner further comprising a switching unit for changing a refrigerant flow to switch one of a first operation where the compartment is cooled, a second operation where the compartment is dehumidified while being heated, and a third operation where the compartment is heated, wherein: in the first operation, refrigerant after being decompressed is evaporated in the interior heat exchanger to cool air passing therethrough, and high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the compressor is decompressed in the ejector while sucking gas refrigerant from the interior heat exchanger; in the second operation, refrigerant after being decompressed is evaporated in the interior heat exchanger to cool and dehumidify air passing therethrough, and high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the compressor is decompressed by the first throttle; and in the third operation, high-temperature refrigerant before being decompressed flows into the interior heat exchanger to heat air passing therethrough, and the high-pressure refrigerant is decompressed in the second throttle. 2. An air conditioner according to claim 1, further comprisingan air conditioning case for defining an air passage through which air flows into the compartment, the air conditioning case being disposed to accommodate the interior heat exchanger, wherein: the heater includes a heater core disposed in the air conditioning case downstream from the interior heat exchanger in an air flow direction for heating air passing therethrough by using a fluid flowing therein as a heating source, and a fluid-refrigerant heat exchanger disposed outside the air conditioning case for heating the fluid circulating in the heater core by using the high-temperature refrigerant discharged from the compressor as a heating source. 3. An air conditioner according to claim 2, further comprising:a gas-liquid separator for separating refrigerant into gas refrigerant and liquid refrigerant, wherein: in the first operation, refrigerant discharged from the compressor flows through the exterior heat exchanger, the ejector, the gas-liquid separator and the compressor in this order, while liquid refrigerant in the gas-liquid separator circulates the interior heat exchanger, the ejector and the gas-liquid separator in this order; in the second operation, refrigerant discharged from the compressor circulates the fluid-refrigerant heat exchanger, the first throttle, the interior heat exchanger, the second throttle, the exterior heat exchanger, the ejector, the gas-liquid separator and the compressor in this order, while refrigerant only passes through the second throttle and ejector without decompression; and in the third operation, refrigerant discharged from the compressor circulates the fluid-refrigerant heat exchanger, the first throttle, the interior heat exchanger, the second throttle, the exterior heat exchanger, the ejector, the gas-liquid separator and the compressor in this order, while refrigerant only passes through the first throttle and the ejector without decompression. 4. An air conditioner according to claim 1, further comprising:an air conditioning case for defining an air passage through which air flows into the compartment, the air conditioning case being disposed to accommodate the interior heat exchanger; and a heater core disposed in the air conditioning case downstream from the interior heat exchanger in an air flow direction for heating air passing therethrough by using a fluid flowing therein as a heating source, wherein: the heater is a refrigerant heat exchanger disposed in the air conditioning case downstream from the heater core, for heating air by using the high-temperature refrigerant discharged from the compressor as a heating source. 5. An air conditioner according to claim 4, further comprising:a gas-liquid separator for separating refrigerant into gas refrigerant and liquid refrigerant, wherein: in the first operation, refrigerant discharged from the compressor flows through the exterior heat exchanger, the ejector, the gas-liquid separator and the compressor in this order, while liquid refrigerant in the gas-liquid separator circulates the interior heat exchanger, the ejector and the gas-liquid separator in this order; in the second operation, refrigerant discharged from the compressor circulates the refrigerant heat exchanger, the first throttle, the interior heat exchanger, the second throttle, the exterior heat exchanger, the gas-liquid separator and the compressor in this order, while refrigerant only passes through the second throttle without decompression; and in the third operation, refrigerant discharged from the compressor circulates the refrigerant heat exchanger, the first throttle, the interior heat exchanger, the second throttle, the exterior heat exchanger, the gas-liquid separator and the compressor in this order, while refrigerant only passes through the first throttle without decompression. 6. A vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1, whereinrefrigerant discharged from the compressor has a pressure equal to or higher than the critical pressure of the refrigerant. 7. A vehicle air conditioner according to claim 6, whereinthe refrigerant is carbon dioxide. 8. A vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1, whereinrefrigerant discharged from the compressor has a pressure lower than the critical pressure of the refrigerant. 9. A vehicle air conditioner according to claim 8, whereinthe refrigerant is fluorocarbon.