Patent ID: 7527091
Filing Date: 2009-05-05
Classification: B60H,F28D

Abstract:
1. An air conditioner in combination with a vehicle having a passenger compartment, the air conditioner comprising: an air conditioning case in which air flows toward the passenger compartment; a first heat exchanger for cooling air, the first heat exchanger being disposed in the air conditioning case to define a first bypass passage through which air flows while bypassing the first heat exchanger, at one side of the first heat exchanger in the air conditioning case; a first switching member for opening and closing the first bypass passage; a second heat exchanger disposed at a downstream air side of the first heat exchanger in the air conditioning case to define a second bypass passage through which air flows in the air conditioning case while bypassing the second heat exchanger at the other end side relative to the first heat exchanger, the second heat exchanger being switched to have a cooling function for cooling air or a heating function for heating air; a second switching member for opening and closing the second bypass passage; means for calculating a target temperature that is a temperature necessary for maintaining a set temperature set by a passenger in the passenger compartment; maximum cooling determining means for determining whether a control state of air to be blown into the passenger compartment is a maximum cooling state, based on the target temperature; rear passenger determining means for determining whether a passenger exists on a rear seat in the passenger compartment; means for setting a first maximum cooling mode in which a maximum cooling operation is performed with a priority for an air flow amount, when the maximum cooling determining means determines the maximum cooling state and when the rear passenger determining means determines that a passenger exists on the rear seat in the passenger compartment; and means for setting a second maximum cooling mode in which a maximum cooling operation is performed with a priority for an air temperature, when the rear passenger determining means determines that no passenger exists on the rear seat in the passenger compartment and an inside temperature of the passenger compartment is higher than a predetermined temperature.