Patent ID: 6701731
Filing Date: 2004-03-09
Classification: B60H,F25B,F25D,F28D,Y02E

Abstract:
An air conditioner for a vehicle having an engine for driving the vehicle, the engine being stopped when the vehicle stops, the air conditioner comprising:a compressor for compressing and discharging refrigerant, the compressor being driven by the engine; a high-pressure side heat exchanger disposed to radiate heat of refrigerant discharged from the compressor; a decompression unit that decompresses refrigerant flowing from the high-pressure side heat exchanger; an evaporator in which refrigerant from the decompression unit is evaporated so that air to be blown into a passenger compartment of the vehicle is cooled; and a cold-storage heat exchanger having therein a cold storage material for performing a cold storage operation where the cold storage material is cooled by refrigerant from the decompression unit, and a cold release operation where refrigerant circulates between the evaporator and the cold-storage heat exchanger so that gas refrigerant evaporated in the evaporator is cooled by cold release of the cold storage material in the cold-storage heat exchanger, wherein: the cold storage heat exchanger and the evaporator are connected in series in a refrigerant flow, such that the cold storage operation of the cold storage material is performed when the compressor operates, and the cold release operation of the cold storage material is performed when operation of the compressor is stopped with a stop of the engine.