Patent ID: 7201219
Filing Date: 2007-04-10
Classification: B60H

Abstract:
1. An automotive air-conditioner comprising: an evaporator for cooling air to be supplied to a passenger compartment; a heater for heating air to be supplied to the passenger compartment; an air-mixing door for mixing the air cooled by the evaporator with the air heated by the heater; and a controller for controlling the evaporator, the heater and the air mixing door, the controller comprising: means for operating the air-conditioner in a cooling mode in Which the air mixing door is fully closed and temperature of the air to be supplied to the passenger compartment is controlled by controlling a cooling ability of the evaporator; means for operating the air-conditioner in a heating mode in which the air-mixing door is fully opened and temperature of the air to be supplied to the passenger compartment is controlled by controlling a heating ability of the heater; means for operating the air-conditioner in an air-mixing mode in which the cooling ability of the evaporator and the heating ability of the heater are controlled while controlling positions of the air-mixing door; and means for selecting either one of the cooling mode, the heating mode or the air-mixing mode; wherein when an operating mode of the air-conditioner is switched to the cooling mode from either the heating mode or the air-mixing mode, the positions of the air-mixing door are controlled to gradually increase an amount of the cooled air to be supplied to the passenger compartment to avoid an abrupt temperature drop due to a delay of the evaporator responding to the mode switching; and the positions of the air-mixing door are controlled to gradually increase the amount of the cooled air to be supplied to the passenger compartment until an absolute value of a difference between a target temperature and an actual temperature of the air cooled by the evaporator becomes smaller than a predetermined value that is a positive non-zero value.