Patent ID: 9551518
Date: 2017-01-24
CPC Classifications: B60H,F25B

Claim:
1. An automotive air conditioner comprising: a compressor configured to compress refrigerant and discharge the compressed refrigerant; an external heat exchanger configured to function as an external condenser that radiates heat off the refrigerant during a cooling operation and configured to function as an external evaporator that evaporates the refrigerant during a heating operation; an internal evaporator configured to evaporate the refrigerant; an auxiliary condenser configured to radiate heat off the refrigerant separately from the external heat exchanger; a first refrigerant circulation passage through which, during the cooling operation, the refrigerant discharged from the compressor is able to circulate by passing sequentially through the external condenser and the internal evaporator and returning to the compressor; a second refrigerant circulation passage through which, during the heating operation, the refrigerant discharged from the compressor is able to circulate by passing sequentially through the auxiliary condenser and the external evaporator and returning to the compressor; a first expansion valve, provided in the first refrigerant circulation passage, configured to throttle and expand the refrigerant introduced from the external condenser and configured to be able to deliver the throttled and expanded refrigerant to the internal evaporator; and a second expansion valve, provided in the second refrigerant circulation passage, configured to throttle and expand the refrigerant introduced from the auxiliary condenser and configured to be able to deliver the throttled and expanded refrigerant to the external evaporator, wherein the second expansion valve regulates a valve opening degree such that a refrigerant state at an inlet side of the compressor during the heating operation is in a range where dryness is greater than or equal to 0.9 and superheat is less than or equal to 5° C.