Patent Publication Number: US-2018029447-A1

Title: Humidification device and air conditioner for vehicle

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     The application is based on Japanese Patent Applications No. 2015-056257 filed on Mar. 19, 2015, and No. 2015-072751 filed on Mar. 31, 2015, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present disclosure relates to a humidification device applied to an air-conditioning unit, and a vehicle air conditioner that includes the air-conditioning unit and the humidification device. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     Conventionally, there is a known air-conditioning unit for a vehicle equipped with a humidifier that humidifies the vehicle interior (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Patent Document 1 discloses an air-conditioning unit that includes permeable tubes designed to vaporize water and disposed in a duct to guide temperature-adjusted air into the vehicle interior, so that water stored in a tank is supplied to the permeable tubes, thereby humidifying the air before it is blown into the vehicle interior. 
     RELATED ART DOCUMENT 
     Patent Document 
     
         
         Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-282992 
       
    
     SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
     However, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, the amount of water in the tank is gradually decreased along with the humidification of the vehicle interior as the water is supplied to the permeable tubes. The tank needs to be replenished with water. 
     In vehicles as a movable body, there is a limitation on the amount of water for replenishing the tank. If the water in the tank and water for replenishing the tank fail to be adequately ensured, the vehicle interior cannot be humidified continuously. 
     It is a first object of the present disclosure to humidify the vehicle interior without supplying water from the outside of a vehicle air conditioner. 
     It is a second object of the present disclosure to provide a humidification device and a vehicle air conditioner that can continuously humidify the vehicle interior. 
     It is a third object of the present disclosure to reduce the influence on the temperature control and the air-distribution ratio of ventilation air in a vehicle air conditioner. The vehicle air conditioner is one that guides ventilation air having temperatures controlled independently to different sites of the vehicle interior. Alternatively, the vehicle air conditioner is one that has a ventilation passage through which outside air passes and another ventilation passage through which inside air passes. 
     According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a humidification device is usable for an air-conditioning unit that accommodates a cooling portion for cooling ventilation air and a heating portion for heating ventilation air, in an air-conditioning case that forms a ventilation passage for the ventilation air into the vehicle interior. 
     The humidification device includes: an adsorber including an adsorbent that adsorbs and desorbs moisture; an adsorption case configured to provide an accommodating space that accommodates the adsorber, the accommodating space including a moisture-adsorption space and a moisture-desorption space, the moisture-adsorption space being configured to adsorb moisture contained in cooled air, produced by the cooling portion, into the adsorbent by circulating the cooled air, the moisture-desorption space being configured to desorb the moisture adsorbed in the adsorbent by circulating heated air produced by the heating portion; a humidification-side guiding portion that guides humidification air humidified by using the moisture desorbed within the moisture-desorption space, to the vehicle interior; and a moving mechanism that moves at least a part of the adsorbent existing in the moisture-adsorption space of the adsorber to the moisture-desorption space, while moving at least a part of the adsorbent existing in the moisture-desorption space of the adsorber to the moisture-adsorption space. 
     According to another aspect of the present disclosure, an air conditioner for a vehicle includes: 
     an air-conditioning unit configured to accommodate a cooling portion that cools ventilation air and a heating portion that heats the ventilation air, in an air-conditioning case provided with a ventilation passage for the ventilation air into a vehicle interior; and 
     a humidification device that desorbs moisture adsorbed in an adsorbent of an adsorber, humidifies air with the moisture desorbed from the adsorbent, and guides the humidification air to the vehicle interior. 
     In the air conditioner for a vehicle, the humidification device includes: 
     an adsorption case configured to provide an accommodating space that accommodates the adsorber, the accommodating space including a moisture-adsorption space and a moisture-desorption space, the moisture-adsorption space being configured to adsorb moisture contained in cooled air, produced by the cooling portion, into the adsorbent by circulating the cooled air, the moisture-desorption space being configured to desorb the moisture adsorbed in the adsorbent by circulating heated air produced by the heating portion; and 
     a moving mechanism that moves at least a part of the adsorbent existing in the moisture-desorption space of the adsorber to the moisture-adsorption space, while moving at least a part of the adsorbent existing in the moisture-adsorption space of the adsorber to the moisture-desorption space. 
     Thus, the moisture of the cooled air produced by the air-conditioning unit can be used to humidify the vehicle interior, and thereby there is no need for water to be supplied from the outside of the vehicle air conditioner. The moisture adsorbed into the adsorbent in the moisture-adsorption space can be desorbed from the adsorbent in the moisture-desorption space, thereby humidifying the heated air with the moisture. Concurrently, the adsorbent desorbing the moisture in the moisture-desorption space can adsorb the moisture of the cooled air circulating through the moisture-adsorption space. Thus, the continuous humidification of the vehicle interior can be performed. 
     An air conditioner for a vehicle according to another aspect of the present disclosure includes: 
     an air-conditioning unit configured to accommodate a cooling portion that cools ventilation air and a heating portion that heats the ventilation air, in an air-conditioning case, the air-conditioning case being provided with a first ventilation passage and a second ventilation passage that are configured to guide the ventilation air having temperatures controlled independently to different areas of a vehicle interior; and 
     a humidification device that desorbs moisture adsorbed in an adsorbent of an adsorber, humidifies air with the moisture desorbed from the adsorbent, and guides the humidification air to the vehicle interior. 
     Furthermore, the humidification device includes: 
     a cold-air introduction passage that guides the cooled air produced by the cooling portion from both the first ventilation passage and the second ventilation passage to the adsorber, as air that causes moisture to be adsorbed into the adsorbent; 
     a pre-humidification air passage that guides pre-humidification air, which causes moisture adsorbed in the adsorbent to be desorbed from the adsorbent, to the adsorber; and 
     a post-humidification air passage that guides post-humidification air, which is humidified by the moisture desorbed within the adsorption case, to the vehicle interior. 
     The moisture of the cooled air produced by the air-conditioning unit can be used to humidify the vehicle interior, so that the vehicle interior can be humidified without being supplied with water from the outside of the vehicle air conditioner. 
     If the cooled air for adsorbing moisture into the adsorbent is taken out of one of the first and second ventilation passages and then guided to the adsorber, only the volume of the air in one ventilation passage would vary depending on the ON or OFF status of the humidification device. Such variations in the air volume might adversely affect the temperature control and the air-distribution ratio of the ventilation air in the first and second ventilation passages. 
     In contrast, in the configuration in which the cooled air is taken out of both the first ventilation passage and the second ventilation passage and then guided to the adsorber, the cooled air can be taken in the vehicle air conditioner substantially uniformly from both the first and second ventilation passages. Such an arrangement can reduce the influence on the temperature control and the air-distribution ratio of the ventilation air in the first and second ventilation passages. 
     According to another aspect of the present disclosure, an air conditioner for a vehicle includes: 
     an air-conditioning unit configured to accommodate a cooling portion that cools air and a heating portion that heats the air, in an air-conditioning case, the air-conditioning case being provided with an outside-air ventilation passage and an inside-air ventilation passage, the outside-air ventilation passage being configured to guide the air introduced from an outside of the vehicle into a vehicle interior, the inside-air ventilation passage being configured to guide the air introduced from the vehicle interior to the vehicle interior; and 
     a humidification device that desorbs moisture adsorbed in an adsorbent of an adsorber, humidifies air with the moisture desorbed from the adsorbent, and guides the humidification air to the vehicle interior. 
     Furthermore, the humidification device includes: 
     a cold-air introduction passage that guides the cooled air, produced by the cooling portion, from the outside-air ventilation passage to the adsorber, as air that causes moisture to be adsorbed into the adsorbent; 
     a pre-humidification air passage that guides pre-humidification air, heated by the heating portion, from the inside-air ventilation passage to the adsorber, as air that causes moisture adsorbed in the adsorbent to be desorbed from the adsorbent; and 
     a post-humidification air passage that guides post-humidification air, humidified by the moisture desorbed within the adsorption case, to the vehicle interior. 
     The moisture of the cooled air produced by the air-conditioning unit can be used to humidify the vehicle interior, so that the vehicle interior can be humidified without being supplied with water from the outside of the vehicle air conditioner. 
     For example, during air-cooling in summer, the relative humidity of the outside air tends to become higher than the relative humidity of the inside air. The cooled air for adsorbing moisture into the adsorbent is taken out of the outside-air ventilation passage, and the pre-humidification air for desorbing moisture adsorbed in the adsorbent is taken out of the inside-air ventilation passage. Consequently, a difference in the relative humidity between the cooled air and the pre-humidification air can be enlarged. Accordingly, the efficiency of the adsorbent is improved, and thereby the high-humidity air can be supplied to the vehicle interior. 
     Further, the air guided to the adsorber is taken out of both the outside-air ventilation passage and the inside-air ventilation passage, thereby making it possible to reduce the influence on the temperature control and the air-distribution ratio of the ventilation air in the outside-air ventilation passage and the inside-air ventilation passage. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an entire structure of a vehicle air conditioner that includes a humidification device according to a first embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view showing a main part of the humidification device according to the first embodiment. 
         FIG. 4  is a fragmentary view taken in the direction of the arrow IV of  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view showing an outline structure of a heat exchanger according to the first embodiment. 
         FIG. 6  is a block diagram showing a configuration of a controller for the humidification device and an air-conditioning unit according to the first embodiment. 
         FIG. 7  is a flowchart showing the flow of control processing for the humidification device that is executed by the controller according to the first embodiment. 
         FIG. 8  is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an operating state of the humidification device and the air-conditioning unit according to the first embodiment. 
         FIG. 9  is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an entire structure of a vehicle air conditioner that includes a humidification device according to a second embodiment. 
         FIG. 10  is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an entire structure of a vehicle air conditioner that includes a humidification device according to a third embodiment. 
         FIG. 11  is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an entire structure of a vehicle air conditioner according to a fourth embodiment. 
         FIG. 12  is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XII-XII of  FIG. 11 . 
         FIG. 13  is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an entire structure of a vehicle air conditioner according to a fifth embodiment. 
         FIG. 14  is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XIV-XIV of  FIG. 13 . 
         FIG. 15  is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a modified example of the vehicle air conditioner according to the fifth embodiment. 
         FIG. 16  is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an entire structure of a vehicle air conditioner according to a sixth embodiment. 
         FIG. 17  is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an entire structure of a vehicle air conditioner according to a seventh embodiment. 
         FIG. 18  is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an entire structure of a vehicle air conditioner according to an eighth embodiment. 
         FIG. 19  is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an entire structure of a vehicle air conditioner according to a ninth embodiment. 
         FIG. 20  is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an entire structure of a vehicle air conditioner according to a tenth embodiment. 
         FIG. 21  is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XXI-XXI of  FIG. 20 . 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
     Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following respective embodiments, the same or equivalent parts as the matters explained in the previous embodiment(s) are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted in some cases. When only part of a component in each of the embodiments is explained, other parts of the component can be applied to components explained in the previous embodiment(s). 
     First Embodiment 
     This embodiment will describe an example in which a vehicle air conditioner to perform air-conditioning of the vehicle interior is applied to a vehicle that obtains a driving force for vehicle traveling from an internal combustion engine (for example, engine) (not shown). As shown in  FIG. 1 , the vehicle air conditioner includes an air-conditioning unit  10  and a humidification device  50  as main components. Note that respective arrows indicating the upper and lower sides shown in  FIG. 1  indicate the up and down directions when the vehicle air conditioner is mounted on the vehicle. The same goes for other drawings. 
     First, the air-conditioning unit  10  will be described. The air-conditioning unit  10  is disposed below a dashboard (i.e., an instrumental panel) in the vehicle interior. The air-conditioning unit  10  accommodates an evaporator  13  and a heater core  14  in an air-conditioning case  11  forming an outer shell of the air-conditioning unit. 
     The air-conditioning case  11  configures a ventilation passage through which the ventilation air is blown into the vehicle interior. The air-conditioning case  11  in this embodiment is formed of resin (for example, polypropylene) with some elasticity and excellent strength. 
       FIG. 2  shows a schematic cross-sectional view of the air-conditioning case  11  obtained when cutting the air-conditioning case  11  in a direction perpendicular to the air-flow direction. As shown in  FIG. 2 , in the air-conditioning case  11  of this embodiment, the ventilation passage through which the ventilation air flows is partitioned and formed by a bottom surface portion  11   a,  an upper surface portion  11   b,  and side surface portions  11   c.  Note that  FIG. 2  illustrates an example in which a drain discharge portion  111 , a cold-air guiding portion  112 , and a hot-air guiding portion  113  to be described later are arranged in parallel in the right-left direction on a paper surface for the convenience of explanation, which obviously should not be construed in a limited sense. 
     The bottom surface portion  11   a  is a part configuring a lower-side wall surface that faces the bottoms of the evaporator  13 , heater core  14 , and the like in the air-conditioning case  11 . The upper surface portion  11   b  is a part configuring an upper-side wall surface that faces the bottom surface portion  11   a  of the air-conditioning case  11 . The side surface portions  11   c  are parts configuring wall surfaces of the air-conditioning case  11  other than the bottom surface portion  11   a  and the upper surface portion  11   b.  In practice, the cross section of the air-conditioning case  11  is not in a quadrilateral shape, such as that shown in  FIG. 2 , in some cases. When the bottom surface portion  11   a  and the like are difficult to distinguish clearly in this way, the bottom surface portion  11   a  can be interpreted as a part that occupies one third on the lower side of the cross section of the air-conditioning case  11 . The upper surface portion  11   b  can be interpreted as a part that occupies one third on the upper side of the cross section of the air-conditioning case  11 . The side surface portions  11   c  can be interpreted as a part that occupies one third at the center part of the cross section of the air-conditioning case  11 . 
     Returning to  FIG. 1 , an inside/outside air switching box  12  is disposed at the most upstream side of the air flow in the air-conditioning case  11 . The inside/outside air switching box serves to switch between air outside a vehicle compartment (i.e., the outside air) and air in the vehicle interior (i.e., the inside air) and to introduce the switched air into the air-conditioning case. The inside/outside air switching box  12  is provided with an outside-air introduction port  121  for introducing the outside air and an inside-air introduction port  122  for introducing the air of the vehicle interior. An inside/outside air switching door  123  is disposed within the inside/outside air switching box  12 . The inside/outside air switching door  123  changes the ratio of the introduced volume of the outside air to the introduced volume of the inside air by adjusting opening areas of the respective introduction ports  121  and  122 . 
     The inside/outside air switching door  123  is rotatably disposed between the outside-air introduction port  121  and the inside-air introduction port  122 . The inside/outside air switching door  123  is driven by an actuator (not shown). 
     The evaporator  13  is disposed on the air-flow downstream side of the inside/outside air switching box  12 . The evaporator  13  configures a cooling portion that cools the ventilation air to be blown into the vehicle interior. The evaporator  13  is a heat exchanger that absorbs, from the ventilation air, the latent heat of evaporation of a low-temperature refrigerant circulating therethrough, thereby cooling the ventilation air. The evaporator  13  configures a vapor compression refrigeration cycle together with a compressor, a condenser, and a decompression mechanism (all not shown). _p A hot-air passage  16  and a cold-air bypass passage  17  are formed on the air-flow downstream side of the evaporator  13 . The hot-air passage  16  allows the air cooled by the evaporator  13  to flow to the side of the heater core  14 . The cold-air bypass passage  17  allows the air cooled by the evaporator  13  to flow bypassing the heater core  14 . 
     The heater core  14  is a heat exchanger that heats the ventilation air by using a coolant for an engine (not shown) as a heat source. In this embodiment, the heater core  14  configures a heating portion that heats the ventilation air. 
     An air mix door  18  is rotatably disposed between the evaporator  13  and the heater core  14 . The air mix door  18  is a member that is driven by an actuator (not shown) and regulates the temperature of the ventilation air to be blown into the vehicle interior by adjusting the ratio of the air circulating through the hot-air passage  16  to the air circulating through the cold-air bypass passage  17 . 
     An air-conditioning blower  19  is disposed on the air-flow downstream side of the hot-air passage  16  and the cold-air bypass passage  17 . The air-conditioning blower  19  is a device that generates an air flow within the air-conditioning case  11 , to be blown into the vehicle interior. The air-conditioning blower  19  includes a blowing case  191 , an air-conditioning fan  192 , and an air-conditioning motor  193 . 
     The blowing case  191  configures a part of the air-conditioning case  11 . The blowing case  191  is provided with a suction port  191   a  for air and a discharge port  191   b  from which the air drawn via the suction port  191   a  is discharged. 
     The air-conditioning fan  192  draws the air on the air-flow downstream side of the hot-air passage  16  and cold-air bypass passage  17  via the suction port  191   a  and discharges the air from the discharge port  191   b.  The air-conditioning fan  192  in this embodiment is configured of a centrifugal fan that blows the air drawn thereinto from the axial direction toward the outside thereof in the radial direction. The air-conditioning fan  192  is rotatably driven by the air-conditioning motor  193 . Note that the air-conditioning fan  192  is not limited to the centrifugal fan and may be configured of an axial fan, a cross flow fan, or the like. 
     The discharge port  191   b  of the air-conditioning blower  19  is connected to an air-conditioning duct  20 . The air-conditioning duct  20  is a member that is opened within the vehicle interior and guides the ventilation air to outlet portions (not shown) to blow the air therefrom into the vehicle interior. Although not shown, the outlet portions include a face air outlet that blows air toward a side of an occupant&#39;s upper body, a foot air outlet that blows air toward a side of the occupant&#39;s lower body, and a defroster air outlet that blows air toward a windshield of the vehicle. The air-conditioning duct  20  or blowing case  191  is provided with a mode switching door (not shown) that sets a blowing mode of the air from each air outlet. The mode switching door is driven by an actuator (not shown). 
     The air-conditioning case  11  in this embodiment has the drain discharge portion  111 , the cold-air guiding portion  112 , and the hot-air guiding portion  113 , which are formed on its bottom surface portion  11   a.  The drain discharge portion  111  is an opening from which the condensed water generated in the evaporator  13  is discharged toward the outside of the vehicle. The drain discharge portion  111  in this embodiment is formed at a part of the bottom surface portion  11   a  of the air-conditioning case  11  that faces a lower end of the evaporator  13 . 
     The cold-air guiding portion  112  is an opening through which part of the ventilation air (i.e., cooled air) cooled by the evaporator  13  in the air-conditioning case  11  is guided toward the outside of the air-conditioning case  11 . The cold-air guiding portion  112  in this embodiment is formed at a part between the evaporator  13  and the heater core  14  at the bottom surface portion  11   a  of the air-conditioning case  11 . More specifically, the cold-air guiding portion  112  is formed at the bottom surface portion  11  a positioned between the drain discharge portion  111  and the heater core  14 . 
     The hot-air guiding portion  113  is an opening through which part of the ventilation air (i.e., heated air) heated by the heater core  14  in the air-conditioning case  11  is guided toward the outside of the air-conditioning case  11 . The hot-air guiding portion  113  in this embodiment is formed between the air-conditioning fan  192  and the discharge port  191   b  of the air-conditioning blower  19 , at the bottom surface portion  11   a  of the air-conditioning case  11 . The position where the hot-air guiding portion  113  in this embodiment is formed only needs to be on the air-flow downstream side of the air-conditioning blower  19 , for example, may be in the air-conditioning duct  20  of the air-conditioning case  11 . 
     The air-conditioning unit  10  in this embodiment adopts a so-called suction type structure in which the air-conditioning blower  19  is disposed on the air-flow downstream side in the air-conditioning case  11 . Thus, the internal pressure of the air-conditioning case  11  is lower than the pressure outside the air-conditioning case  11 . 
     Subsequently, the humidification device  50  will be described. The humidification device  50  is disposed below the dashboard of the vehicle, like the air-conditioning unit  10 . More specifically, the humidification device  50  is disposed on the lower side of the air-conditioning case  11  and in a position close to a part of the air-conditioning case  11  where the evaporator  13  is disposed, in such a manner as to make the cold-air guiding portion  112  of the air-conditioning case  11  close to a cold-air suction portion  52  of the humidification device  50  to be described later. 
     The humidification device  50  accommodates an adsorber  60  in an adsorption case  51  forming an outer shell of the humidification device. The adsorption case  51  configures a ventilation passage for the ventilation air. The adsorption case  51  is a component separately formed from the air-conditioning case  11 . The adsorption case  51  is mainly divided into the cold-air suction portion  52 , a hot-air suction portion  53 , an adsorber accommodating portion  54 , a cold-air discharge portion  56 , and a hot-air discharge portion  57 . 
     The cold-air suction portion  52  includes a first external introduction port  52   a  communicating with the outside thereof, and a first internal communication port  52   b  communicating with a moisture-adsorption space  541   a  of the adsorber accommodating portion  54  to be described later. The first external introduction port  52   a  is connected to a cold-air suction duct  521  for introduction of the cooled air produced by the evaporator  13 . 
     The cold-air suction duct  521  connects the first external introduction port  52   a  of the cold-air suction portion  52  with the cold-air guiding portion  112  of the air-conditioning case  11 . The cold-air suction duct  521  in this embodiment configures a first introduction portion that introduces the cooled air produced by the evaporator  13  into a moisture-adsorption space  541   a  of the adsorber accommodating portion  54 , as described later. The cold-air suction duct  521  is a component separately formed from the air-conditioning case  11  and configured to be detachable from the cold-air guiding portion  112  by a coupling member (not shown), such as a snap-fit. 
     The hot-air suction portion  53  includes a second external introduction port  53   a  communicating with the outside thereof, and a second internal communication port  53   b  communicating with a moisture-desorption space  541   b  of the adsorber accommodating portion  54  to be described later. The second external introduction port  53   a  is connected to a hot-air suction duct  531  for introduction of the heated air produced by the heater core  14 . 
     The hot-air suction duct  531  connects the second external introduction port  53   a  of the hot-air suction portion  53  with the hot-air guiding portion  113  of the air-conditioning case  11 . The hot-air suction duct  531  in this embodiment configures a second introduction portion that introduces the heated air, produced by the heater core  14 , into a moisture-desorption space  541   b  of an adsorber accommodating portion  54 , as described later. The hot-air suction duct  531  is a component separately formed from the air-conditioning case  11  and configured to be detachable from the hot-air guiding portion  113  by a coupling member (not shown), such as a snap-fit. 
     The hot-air suction duct  531  in this embodiment has its size set such that when a reference air volume is defined as a minimum air volume from the air-conditioning blower  19 , the air volume of the heated air introduced via the hot-air suction duct  531  is smaller (for example, at 10 m 3 /h, which is approximately 10% of the reference air volume) than the reference air volume. In this case, the heated air introduced via the hot-air suction duct  531  is sufficiently smaller than the reference air volume, which hardly affects an air-conditioning function of the side of the air-conditioning unit  10 . 
     The adsorber accommodating portion  54  is a part that accommodates the adsorber  60  therein. As shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the adsorber accommodating portion  54  in this embodiment has a hollow cylindrical contour. The adsorber accommodating portion  54  has an accommodating space  541  for the adsorber  60  formed therein. 
     The adsorber accommodating portion  54  sets, as the accommodating space  541 , a space for circulation of the cooled air introduced via the cold-air suction portion  52  and a space for circulation of the heated air introduced via the hot-air suction portion  53 . 
     Specifically, the accommodating space  541  is partitioned into the space for circulation of the cooled air and the space for circulation of the heated air by first and second partition members  542  and  543  that are provided on both the air-flow upstream and downstream sides of the adsorber  60 . 
     The first partition member  542  is a member that is provided on the air-flow upstream side of the adsorber  60  and partitions the space on the air-flow upstream side of the adsorber  60  into a flow path for the cooled air and a flow path for the heated air. The first partition member  542  is integral with the inner side of an upper surface part of the adsorber accommodating portion  54 . 
     The second partition member  543  is a member that is provided on the air-flow downstream side of the adsorber  60  and partitions the space on the air-flow downstream side of the adsorber  60  into the flow path for the cooled air and the flow path for the heated air. The second partition member  543  is integral with the inner side of a bottom surface part of the adsorber accommodating portion  54 . 
     In the adsorber accommodating portion  54 , the adsorber  60  is disposed to stride across both the space for circulation of the cooled air and the space for circulation of the heated air. The space for circulation of the cooled air in the adsorber accommodating portion  54  configures the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  that allows moisture contained in the cooled air to be adsorbed in the adsorbent  61  of the adsorber  60 . The space for circulation of the heated air in the adsorber accommodating portion  54  configures the moisture-desorption space  541   b  that desorbs moisture adsorbed in the adsorbent  61  of the adsorber  60  therefrom and humidifies the heated air with the moisture. 
     An adsorption rate of moisture per unit mass into the adsorbent  61  tends to be approximately twice as slow as a desorption rate of moisture per unit mass from the adsorbent  61 . As the amount of the moisture adsorbed into the adsorbent  61  decreases, the amount of the moisture desorbed from the adsorbent  61  becomes less. Consequently, it might be difficult for the humidification device to sufficiently ensure the humidification amount of the vehicle interior. 
     When taking this into account, in this embodiment, the accommodating space  541  of the adsorber  60  is partitioned by the respective partition members  542  and  543  such that the amount of the adsorbent  61  existing in the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  is more than that of the adsorbent existing in the moisture-desorption space  541   b.  Specifically, a member bent in a L shape is used as each of the partition members  542  and  543 , and thereby the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  is set approximately twice as large as the moisture-desorption space  541   b  in the accommodating space  541  of the adsorber  60 . Note that the details of the adsorber  60  will be described later. 
     Returning to  FIG. 1 , the cold-air discharge portion  56  is a part that communicates with the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  of the adsorber accommodating portion  54  and discharges the air passing through the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  to the outside of the adsorption case  51 . The cold-air discharge portion  56  in this embodiment is connected to a cold-air discharge duct (not shown). 
     The cold-air discharge duct is a duct that guides out the air passing through the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  of the adsorption case  51  to the outside of the adsorption case  51 . The cold-air discharge duct configures a moisture-adsorption side guiding portion. The cold-air discharge duct has an outlet opening at its downstream-side end that is opened to the inside of the dashboard. In this way, the cold air flowing through the cold-air discharge duct is blown into the internal space of the dashboard. 
     A humidification blower  561  is disposed in the cold-air discharge portion  56  in this embodiment. The humidification blower  561  is provided to introduce the cooled air into the adsorption case  51  from the inside of the air-conditioning case  11  having a lower pressure, compared to the external pressure. The humidification blower  561  includes a humidification fan  561   a,  a humidification motor  561   b,  and the like. 
     The humidification fan  561   a  draws the air from the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  of the adsorber accommodating portion  54  and discharges the air therefrom. The humidification fan  561   a  in this embodiment is configured of a centrifugal fan that blows the air drawn thereinto from the axial direction toward the outside thereof in the radial direction. The humidification fan  561   a  is rotatably driven by the humidification motor  561   b.  Note that the humidification fan  561   a  is not limited to the centrifugal fan and may be configured of an axial fan, a cross flow fan, or the like. 
     The hot-air discharge portion  57  is a part that communicates with the moisture-desorption space  541   b  of the adsorption case  51  and discharges the air passing through the moisture-desorption space  541   b  to the outside of the adsorption case  51 . The hot-air discharge portion  57  in this embodiment is connected to a humidification duct  571 . 
     The humidification duct  571  configures a humidification-side guiding portion that guides out the humidification air, humidified in the moisture-desorption space  541   b  of the adsorption case  51 , into the vehicle interior. The humidification duct  571  in this embodiment is a component separately formed from the air-conditioning duct  20 , which is an outlet duct in the air-conditioning unit  10 . 
     In the humidification duct  571 , an outlet opening  572  as its downstream end is opened at a part (for example, a meter hood) located at the dashboard and near an occupant&#39;s face. The outlet opening  572  is opened in a position different from the outlet portion of the air-conditioning unit  10 . Thus, the air flowing through the humidification duct is blown toward the occupant&#39;s face, thereby humidifying a space around the occupant&#39;s face. 
     In this embodiment, a duct having a flow-path diameter of φ50 mm and a flow-path length of approximately 1000 mm is adopted as the humidification duct  571 . Thus, the high-temperature and high-humidity humidification air having passed through the adsorber  60  is cooled by exchanging heat with the air outside the humidification duct  571 , thereby making it possible to increase the relative humidity of the humidification air. 
     Regarding the outlet opening  572  of the humidification duct  571 , its opening diameter and its distance to the occupant&#39;s face are set such that the blown air therefrom reaches the face in a high-humidity state. The outlet opening  572  in this embodiment is set to have an opening diameter of approximately 75 mm and a distance to the occupant&#39;s face of approximately 600 mm in such a manner that the air reaching the face is at a relative humidity of approximately 40%, a temperature of approximately 20° C., and an air speed of approximately 0.5 m/s. That is, in this embodiment, the humidification duct  571  in use is a duct in which an opening area of the outlet opening  572  is larger than a flow-path cross section of the flow path leading to the outlet opening  572 . In the humidification duct  571  configured in this way, the air speed reaching the occupant becomes low, so that the diffusion of the humidification air can be suppressed, thereby surely causing the humidification air to reach the face. 
     Furthermore, the humidification duct  571  in this embodiment is configured to be thinner than the cold-air suction duct  521  and the hot-air suction duct  531  in such a manner as to exchange heat between the air circulating through the duct  571  and the air existing outside the duct  571 . 
     A gas-gas heat exchanger  58  is disposed in the cold-air discharge portion  56  and hot-air discharge portion  57  in this embodiment. The gas-gas heat exchanger  58  exchanges heat between the air (i.e., cold air) passing through the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  of the adsorber accommodating portion  54  and the air (i.e., hot air) passing through the moisture-desorption space  541   b.    
     As shown in  FIG. 5 , the gas-gas heat exchanger  58  is a heat exchanger that includes a plurality of metal plate-shaped members  581  and fins  582  disposed between the adjacent plate-shaped members  581 . The gas-gas heat exchanger  58  in this embodiment independently forms flow paths  58   a  for circulation of the cold air and flow paths  58   b  for circulation of the hot air so as not to mix the cold air and hot air therein. Note that materials for use in the plate shaped members  581  and the fins  582  are desirably formed of metal with excellent heat conductivity (e.g., aluminum, or copper). 
     Subsequently, the adsorber  60  will be described with reference to  FIGS. 3 and 4 . As shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the adsorber  60  has a disk-shaped contour that corresponds to the inner shape of the adsorber accommodating portion  54 . The adsorber  60  has its center part coupled to a rotary shaft  71  of a driving member  70  to be described later. The adsorber  60  is rotatably supported by the adsorption case  51  via the rotary shaft  71 . 
     The adsorber  60  is configured to support the adsorbent  61  that adsorbs and desorbs (or releases) moisture into and from the metal plate-shaped members (not shown). The respective plate-shaped members are stacked on each other with a spacing therebeween so as to form a flow path between the adjacent plate-shaped members along the axial direction of the rotary shaft  71  to be described later. The adsorber  60  in this embodiment increases a contact area between the ventilation air and the adsorbent  61  by stacking the respective plate-shaped members that support the adsorbent  61 . 
     The adsorbent  61  adopts a polymer sorbent. The adsorbent  61  preferably has adsorption property that changes the moisture amount adsorbed (i.e., the adsorption amount) by at least 3 wt % or more when changing the relative humidity of the ventilation air passing through the adsorber  60  by 50% within a temperature range expected as a temperature of the ventilation air. More preferably, the adsorbent  61  has the adsorption property that changes the adsorption amount thereof within a range of 3 wt % to 10 wt % under an environment on the same conditions as those described above. 
     The adsorber  60  in this embodiment is accommodated in the adsorber accommodating portion  54  that has its internal space partitioned into the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  and the moisture-desorption space  541   b.  Although the adsorber  60  is disposed to stride across both the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  and the moisture-desorption space  541   b  as mentioned above, there is a limitation on the adsorption amount of moisture that can be adsorbed in the adsorbent  61  existing in the moisture-adsorption space. Further, there is also a limitation on the amount of moisture desorbed by the adsorbent  61  existing in the moisture-desorption space  541   b.    
     The humidification device  50  is provided with the driving member  70  that serves as a movement mechanism for moving the adsorbent  61  of the adsorber  60  between the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  and the moisture-desorption space  541   b.  The driving member  70  is a device that moves at least a part of the adsorbent  61  existing in the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  of the adsorber  60  to the moisture-desorption space  541   b,  while moving at least a part of the adsorbent  61  existing in the moisture-desorption space  541   b  of the adsorber  60  to the moisture-adsorption space  541   a.    
     The driving member  70  is configured to include the rotary shaft  71  and an electric motor  72  with a decelerator. The rotary shaft  71  is coupled to the adsorber  60 , while penetrating the center of the adsorber  60 . The electric motor  72  serves to rotatably drive the rotary shaft  71 . The rotary shaft  71  is rotatably supported by the adsorption case  51 . The rotary shaft  71  rotates together with the adsorber  60  within the adsorption case  51  when receiving a driving force transferred thereto from the electric motor  72 . Thus, a part of the adsorbent  61  existing in the moisture-desorption space  541   b  of the adsorber  60  moves to the moisture-adsorption space  541   a,  while a part of the adsorbent  61  existing in the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  of the adsorber  60  moves to the moisture-desorption space  541   b.    
     The electric motor  72  in this embodiment serves to rotatably drive the rotary shaft  71  continuously in one direction. Thus, the adsorbent  61  that has sufficiently desorbed moisture at the moisture-desorption space  541   b  in the adsorber  60  can be moved to the moisture-adsorption space  541   a,  while the adsorbent  61  that has sufficiently adsorbed moisture at the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  in the adsorber  60  can be moved to the moisture-desorption space  541   b.    
     Next, a controller  100  serving as an electric control unit for the vehicle air conditioner will be described with reference to  FIG. 6 . The controller  100  shown in  FIG. 6  is configured of a microcomputer, including storage units, such as a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM, and a peripheral circuit thereof. The controller  100  performs various computations and processing based on control programs stored in the storage unit to thereby control the operations of various devices that are connected to its output side. Note that the storage unit in the controller  100  is configured of a non-transitional entity storage. 
     The controller  100  in this embodiment is a device obtained by integrally forming a control unit for controlling the operations of respective components of the air-conditioning unit  10  and a control unit for controlling the operations of respective components of the humidification device  50 . Alternatively, the controller  100  may have a structure that separately includes the control unit for controlling the operations of respective components of the air-conditioning unit  10  and the control unit for controlling the operations of respective components of the humidification device  50 . 
     The input side of the controller  100  is connected to a group  101  of various sensors for air-conditioning control, a group  102  of various sensors for humidification control, and an operation panel  103  for the air-conditioning control and the humidification control. 
     The group  101  of various sensors for air-conditioning control includes: an inside-air temperature sensor that detects an inside-air temperature; an outside-air temperature sensor that detects an outside-air temperature; a solar radiation sensor that detects the amount of solar radiation in the vehicle interior; and an evaporator temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the evaporator  13 . 
     The group  102  of various sensors for the humidification control includes a first temperature sensor that detects the temperature of air blown from the humidification duct  571  and a second temperature sensor that detects the temperature of air blown from the cold-air discharge duct. 
     The operation panel  103  is provided with an air-conditioning operation switch  103   a,  a humidification operation switch  103   b,  a temperature setting switch  103   c,  and the like. The air-conditioning operation switch  103   a  is a switch that switches between on and off of an air-conditioning operation by the air-conditioning unit  10 . The humidification operation switch  103   b  is a switch that switches between on and off of a humidification operation of the humidification device  50 . The temperature setting switch  103   c  is a switch that presets a target temperature of air blown out of the air-conditioning unit  10  or the humidification device  50 . 
     The controller  100  in this embodiment is a device that integrates therein hardware and software of the control units for controlling the operations of various components connected to its output side. The control units integrated in the controller  100  include a humidification control unit  100   a  and a desorption control unit  100   b.  The humidification control unit  100   a  executes a humidification operation for humidifying the vehicle interior by the humidification device  50 . The desorption control unit  100   b  executes a desorption operation for desorbing moisture, adsorbed in the adsorbent  61 , when stopping the humidification of the vehicle interior. 
     Next, the operations of the air-conditioning unit  10  and the humidification device  50  in this embodiment will be described. First, the outline of the operation of the air-conditioning unit  10  will be described. In the air-conditioning unit  10 , when the air-conditioning operation switch  103   a  is turned on, the controller  100  calculates a target air outlet temperature TAO of the ventilation air to be blown into the vehicle interior, based on detection signals from the group  101  of the respective sensors for the air-conditioning control and the preset temperature set by the temperature setting switch  103   c.  The controller  100  controls the operations of the respective components in the air-conditioning unit  10  such that the temperature of the ventilation air to be blown into the vehicle interior approaches the target air outlet temperature TAO. 
     In this way, the controller  100  in the air-conditioning unit  10  controls the respective components according to the detection signals or the like from the group  101  of the respective sensors for the air-conditioning control, thereby making it possible to achieve the appropriate temperature adjustment of the vehicle interior requested by the user. 
     Subsequently, the operation of the humidification device  50  will be described below with reference to the flowchart of  FIG. 7 . The controller  100  executes control processing when the air-conditioning operation switch  103   a  is turned on as shown in the flowchart of  FIG. 7 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 7 , the controller  100  determines whether a humidification request is made or not by detecting on or off of the humidification operation switch  103   b  (S 10 ). In the determination process at step S 10 , the humidification request is determined not to be made when the humidification operation switch  103   b  is turned off, whereas the humidification request is determined to be made when the humidification operation switch  103   b  is turned on. 
     When the humidification request is determined to be made as a result of the determination process at step S 10 , the controller  100  executes the humidification operation of the vehicle interior by using the humidification device  50  (S 20 ). Specifically, the controller  100  operates the driving member  70  while operating the humidification blower  561 , thereby rotating the adsorber  60  at a predetermined rotational speed (for example, 5 rpm). Note that when the air mix door  18  is located in a position that closes the hot-air passage  16 , the controller  100  causes the air mix door  18  to be displaced to a position that opens the hot-air passage  16  (for example, an intermediate position). 
     At this time, the controller  100  controls the humidification blower  561  such that when the reference air volume is defined as the minimum air volume from the air-conditioning blower  19 , the air volume of the cooled air introduced via the cold-air suction duct  521  is smaller (for example, at 20 m 3 /h, which is approximately 20% of the reference air volume) than the reference air volume. In this case, the cooled air introduced via the cold-air suction duct  521  is sufficiently smaller than the reference air volume, which hardly affects an air-conditioning function of the side of the air-conditioning unit  10 . Note that the controller  100  may be adapted to control the air volume of the air-conditioning blower  19  based on the detection values and the like from the group  102  of the respective sensors for the humidification control. 
     The controller  100  controls the electric motor  72  of the driving member  70  in such a manner that the adsorbent  61 , which has sufficiently desorbed moisture in the moisture-desorption space  541   b,  moves to the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  of the adsorber accommodating portion  54 . For example, the controller  100  controls the electric motor  72  such that when a reference time is defined as a time required to desorb moisture from the adsorbent  61  in the moisture-desorption space  541   b,  the adsorbent  61  is moved to the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  after the reference time has elapsed since the movement of the adsorbent  61  to the moisture-desorption space  541   b.    
     Here, a description will be given on the operating state of the humidification device  50  when the controller  100  executes the humidification operation with reference to  FIG. 8 . As shown in  FIG. 8 , part of the low-temperature and high-humidity cooled air (for example, at a temperature of 5° C. and a relative humidity of 70%), cooled by the evaporator  13 , is introduced into the adsorption case  51  via the cold-air suction duct  521 . The moisture contained in the cooled air introduced into the adsorption case  51  is adsorbed into the adsorbent  61  existing in the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  of the adsorber  60 . 
     At this time, since the adsorber  60  rotates within the accommodating space  541 , the adsorbent  61 , which has sufficiently desorbed moisture in the moisture-desorption space  541   b  of the adsorber  60 , moves to the moisture-adsorption space  541   a.  Thus, the moisture contained in the cooled air introduced into the adsorption case  51  is continuously adsorbed into the adsorbent  61  existing in the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  of the adsorber  60 . 
     Subsequently, the air passing through the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  flows to the cold-air discharge duct via the cold-air discharge portion  56  and is then blown into the internal space of the dashboard. Thus, the cold air at a low humidity hardly flows into the vehicle interior. 
     Part of the high-temperature and low-humidity heated air (for example, at a temperature of 25° C. and a relative humidity of 20%), heated by the heater core  14 , is introduced into the adsorption case  51  via the hot-air suction duct  531 . Moisture adsorbed in the adsorbent  61  is desorbed therefrom within the moisture-desorption space  541   b  in the adsorber  60 , and then the heated air introduced into the adsorption case  51  is humidified (for example, at a temperature of 21° C. and a relative humidity of 57%) with the desorbed moisture. 
     At this time, since the adsorber  60  rotates within the accommodating space  541 , the adsorbent  61 , which has sufficiently adsorbed moisture in the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  of the adsorber  60 , moves to the moisture-desorption space  541   b.  Thus, the heated air introduced into the adsorption case  51  is continuously humidified by the moisture desorbed from the adsorbent  61  existing in the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  of the adsorber  60 . 
     In this embodiment, the hot-air suction duct  531  is connected to an air-discharge side of the air-conditioning blower  19  that becomes at a higher pressure than the pressure in the adsorption case  51 . Thus, heated air produced by the heater core  14  is introduced into the adsorption case  51  via the hot-air suction duct  531  by a difference in pressure between the air-discharge side of the air-conditioning blower  19  and the adsorption case  51 . 
     Subsequently, the humidification air, humidified in the moisture-desorption space  541   b,  flows through the hot-air discharge portion  57 . 
     The humidification air flowing through the hot-air discharge portion  57  exchanges heat with the cooled air flowing through the cold-air discharge portion  56  in the gas-gas heat exchanger  58 , and thereby the air is cooled and decreases its temperature while increasing its relative humidity (for example, at a temperature of 18° C. and a relative humidity of 65%). The humidification air having passed through the gas-gas heat exchanger  58  is blown from the outlet opening  572  toward the occupant&#39;s face via the humidification duct  571 . 
     Returning to  FIG. 7 , the controller  100  determines whether a humidification stop request is made or not during execution of the above-mentioned humidification operation (S 30 ). In the determination process at step S 30 , the humidification stop request is determined not to be made when each of the operation switches  103   a  and  103   b  is turned on, whereas the humidification stop request is determined to be made when either of the operation switches  103   a  and  103   b  is turned off. 
     When the humidification stop request is determined not to be made as a result of the determination process at step S 30 , the controller  100  continues the humidification operation. 
     On the other hand, when the humidification stop request is determined to be made as a result of the determination process at step S 30 , the controller  100  executes the desorption operation of desorbing moisture adsorbed in the adsorbent  61  of the adsorber  60  (S 40 ). 
     Specifically, the controller  100  stops the operation of the humidification blower  561  while rotating the adsorber  60  by the driving member  70  during execution of the desorption operation. 
     Thus, the low-temperature and high-humidity cooled air produced by the evaporator  13  does not flow into the adsorption case  51  by stopping of the operation of the humidification blower  561 , thereby stopping the adsorption of moisture in the adsorbent  61  existing in the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  of the adsorber  60 . 
     On the other hand, the heated air at a high temperature and a low humidity, produced by the heater core  14 , is introduced into the adsorption case  51  via the hot-air suction duct  531 , and the moisture adsorbed in the adsorbent  61  existing in the moisture-desorption space  541   b  of the adsorber  60  is desorbed from the adsorbent  61 . 
     In this way, the adsorption of the moisture in the adsorbent  61  of the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  is stopped, and the desorption of the moisture from the adsorbent  61  in the moisture-desorption space  541   b  is continued, so that the moisture adsorbed in the adsorbent  61  can be desorbed therefrom. 
     The controller  100  continues the desorption operation until a preset operation duration has elapsed. After the time has elapsed since the start of the desorption operation, the controller  100  stops the operations of the respective components of the humidification device  50  and ends the control processing. Note that the operation duration only needs to be set at a time required to cause the humidification device  50  to desorb the whole moisture adsorbed in the adsorbent  61  existing in the moisture-desorption space  541   b.    
     The humidification device  50  in this embodiment described above and the vehicle air conditioner including the humidification device  50  can use the moisture of the cooled air produced by the air-conditioning unit  10  to humidify the vehicle interior, which eliminates the need to supply water from the outside to the vehicle air conditioner. Note that this embodiment utilizes the heated air produced by the air-conditioning unit  10  and thereby does not need to prepare a heat source dedicated to the humidification. 
     The humidification device  50  in this embodiment includes the driving member  70 . The driving member  70  moves a part of the adsorbent  61  existing in the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  of the adsorber  60  to the moisture-desorption space  541   b,  while moving a part of the adsorbent  61  existing in the moisture-desorption space  541   b  of the adsorber  60  to the moisture-adsorption space  541   a.    
     Thus, the moisture adsorbed into the adsorbent  61  in the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  can be desorbed from the adsorbent in the moisture-desorption space  541   b,  thereby humidifying the heated air with the moisture. Concurrently, the adsorbent  61  desorbing the moisture in the moisture-desorption space  541   b  can adsorb the moisture of the cooled air circulating through the moisture-adsorption space  541   a.    
     Therefore, the humidification device  50  and the vehicle air conditioner in this embodiment can achieve the continuous humidification of the vehicle interior without being supplied with water. 
     In the humidification device  50  of this embodiment, the humidification duct  571  configuring a humidification-side guiding portion is a component separately formed from the air-conditioning duct  20  for the air having its temperature adjusted in the air-conditioning unit  10 . Thus, the air having its temperature adjusted in the air-conditioning unit  10  is less likely to be mixed with the humidification air, humidified by the humidification device  50 , so that the humidified air at a high humidity can be supplied to the vehicle interior. 
     Furthermore, in this embodiment, the adsorption case  51 , the cold-air suction duct  521 , and the hot-air suction duct  531  are components separately formed from the air-conditioning case  11 . The cold-air suction duct  521  and the hot-air suction duct  531  are configured to be detachable from the air-conditioning case  11 . 
     Thus, the humidification device  50  can be additionally installed on the air-conditioning unit  10 . That is, the humidification device  50  can be used as an option (i.e., add-on parts) for the vehicle air conditioner. 
     In addition, in this embodiment, the gas-gas heat exchanger  58  is provided to exchange heat between the cooled air passing through the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  and the humidification air passing through the moisture-desorption space  541   b.  Thus, the gas-gas heat exchanger  58  cools the air having passed through the moisture-desorption space  541   b  by using the air (i.e., cooled air) having passed through the moisture-adsorption space  541   a,  so that the humidification air guided out into the vehicle interior can have a high relative humidity. As a result, the comfort for the occupant can be improved because of the humidification of the vehicle interior. 
     In this embodiment, the controller  100  executes the desorption operation that desorbs moisture, adsorbed in the adsorbent  61 , when stopping the humidification of the vehicle interior. Thus, breeding of germs in the presence of moisture remaining in the adsorbent  61  can be suppressed during stopping the humidification device  50 , thereby ensuring the comfort for the occupant because of the humidification of the vehicle interior. 
     The adsorbent  61  tends to exhibit the feature that the adsorption rate of moisture per unit mass becomes slower than the desorption rate of moisture per unit mass. 
     When taking this into account, in this embodiment, the accommodating space within the adsorption case  51  is partitioned by the respective partition members  542  and  543  such that the amount of the adsorbent  61  existing in the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  is more than that of the adsorbent  61  existing in the moisture-desorption space  541   b.    
     Since the adsorption amount of moisture into the adsorbent  61  can be sufficiently ensured in the moisture-adsorption space  541   a,  the moisture adsorbed by the adsorbent  61  is efficiently desorbed in the moisture-desorption space  541   b,  thereby making it possible to ensure the sufficient humidification amount. 
     Although in the description of this embodiment, the humidification device  50  is disposed under the air-conditioning unit  10  by way of example, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the humidification device  50  may be disposed above or beside the air-conditioning unit  10 . 
     Second Embodiment 
     A second embodiment will be described with reference to  FIG. 9 . This embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the humidification device  50  is applied to an air-conditioning unit  10 A in which an air-conditioning blower  19 A is disposed on the air-flow upstream side of the evaporator  13 . In this embodiment, the description of the same or equivalent parts as those in the first embodiment will be omitted or simplified. 
     As shown in  FIG. 9 , in the air-conditioning unit  10 A of this embodiment, the air-conditioning blower  19 A is disposed on the air-flow downstream side of the inside/outside air switching box  12  and on the air-flow upstream side of the evaporator  13 . In the air-conditioning blower  19 A of this embodiment, the suction port  191   a  is opened toward the inside/outside air switching box  12 , while the discharge port  191   b  is opened toward the evaporator  13 . 
     The hot-air guiding portion  113 A in this embodiment is formed on the air-flow downstream side of the heater core  14  at the bottom surface portion  11  a of the air-conditioning case  11 . The hot-air guiding portion  113 A in this embodiment only needs to be located on the air-flow downstream side of the heater core  14 , for example, may be formed in the air-conditioning duct  20  of the air-conditioning case  11 . 
     Furthermore, the air-conditioning case  11  in this embodiment has an opening  114  formed on the air-flow downstream side of the heater core  14 . The opening  114  is to blow the temperature-adjusted air from the air-conditioning case  11  into the vehicle interior via the air-conditioning duct  20  and the outlet portions. 
     Other structures in the air-conditioning unit  10 A are substantially the same as those in the first embodiment. The air-conditioning unit  10 A in this embodiment adopts a so-called push-type structure in which the air-conditioning blower  19 A is disposed on the air-flow upstream side of the evaporator  13 . Thus, the pressure in the air-conditioning case  11 , located after the discharge side of the air-conditioning blower  19 A, is higher than the pressure outside the air-conditioning case  11 . 
     Subsequently, the humidification device  50  in this embodiment will be described below. In the humidification device  50  of this embodiment, each of the suction ducts  521  and  531  is connected to the air-discharge side of the air-conditioning blower  19 A that becomes at a higher pressure than the pressure in the adsorption case  51 . 
     Thus, part of the cooled air produced by the evaporator  13  is introduced into the adsorption case  51  via the cold-air suction duct  521  by a difference in pressure between the air-discharge side of the air-conditioning blower  19  and the adsorption case  51 . Likewise, part of the heated air produced by the heater core  14  is introduced into the adsorption case  51  via the hot-air suction duct  531 . 
     In this embodiment, the cooled air and the heated air are introduced into the adsorption case  51  via the respective suction ducts  521  and  531 , respectively, by a difference in pressure between the air-discharge side of the air-conditioning blower  19  and the adsorption case  51 . Thus, the humidification device  50  in this embodiment eliminates a structure corresponding to the humidification blower  561  in the first embodiment. 
     The structures of other components in this embodiment are the same as those in the first embodiment. Also with the arrangement of this embodiment, the moisture of the cooled air produced by the air-conditioning unit  10 A can be used to humidify the vehicle interior, which eliminates the need to supply water from the outside to the vehicle air conditioner. Thus, the moisture adsorbed into the adsorbent  61  in the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  can be desorbed from the adsorbent in the moisture-desorption space  541   b,  thereby humidifying the heated air with the moisture. Concurrently, the adsorbent  61  desorbing the moisture in the moisture-desorption space  541   b  can adsorb the moisture of the cooled air circulating through the moisture-adsorption space  541   a.    
     Therefore, the humidification device  50  and the vehicle air conditioner in this embodiment can achieve the continuous humidification of the vehicle interior without being supplied with water. 
     In particular, the humidification device  50  in this embodiment eliminates the structure corresponding to the humidification blower  561  in the first embodiment. Thus, this embodiment has an advantage of enabling the reduction in the number of parts of the humidification device  50 . 
     Like this embodiment, in the structure that introduces part of the cooled air produced by the evaporator  13  into the adsorption case  51  via the cold-air suction duct  521 , the moisture in the adsorbent  61  is difficult to desorb sufficiently by the desorption operation when stopping the operation of the humidification device  50 . For this reason, desirably, this embodiment additionally has an interruption member that temporarily interrupts the introduction of the cooled air produced by the evaporator  13  into the adsorption case  51 . The interruption member may be configured, for example, of an opening/closing door that opens and closes the first external introduction port  52   a.    
     Third Embodiment 
     A third embodiment will be described with reference to  FIG. 10 . This embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that a discharge route for the air passing through the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  of the adsorption case  51  is modified. In this embodiment, the description of the same or equivalent parts as those in the first embodiment will be omitted or simplified. 
     As shown in  FIG. 10 , in this embodiment, an opening as the downstream-side end of a cold-air discharge duct  562  is connected to the air-conditioning case  11 . The cold-air discharge duct  562  allows the air having passed through the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  to be discharged therefrom toward the outside. In this embodiment, the cold-air discharge duct  562  is connected to the air-conditioning case  11  such that the air flowing through the cold-air discharge duct  562  is returned to the cold-air bypass passage  17 . A part of the connection of the cold-air discharge duct  562  is not limited thereto and can be connected to an arbitrary part of the air-conditioning case  11 . 
     The structures of other components in this embodiment are the same as those in the first embodiment. Also with the arrangement of this embodiment, the moisture of the cooled air produced by the air-conditioning unit  10  can be used to humidify the vehicle interior, which eliminates the need to supply water from the outside to the vehicle air conditioner. Thus, the moisture adsorbed into the adsorbent  61  in the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  can be desorbed from the adsorbent in the moisture-desorption space  541   b,  thereby humidifying the heated air with the moisture. Concurrently, the adsorbent  61  desorbing the moisture in the moisture-desorption space  541   b  can adsorb the moisture of the cooled air circulating through the moisture-adsorption space  541   a.    
     Therefore, the humidification device  50  and the vehicle air conditioner in this embodiment can achieve the continuous humidification of the vehicle interior without being supplied with water. 
     In particular, in the humidification device  50  of this embodiment, the downstream-side end of the cold-air discharge duct  562 , which configures the moisture-adsorption side guiding portion, is connected to the air-conditioning case  11 , and the cooled air passing through the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  is guided out into the air-conditioning case  11 . Thus, the air having passed through the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  is returned into the air-conditioning case  11 . This embodiment has an advantage of enabling the suppression of the leakage of low-humidity air into the vehicle interior. 
     Fourth Embodiment 
     A fourth embodiment will be described with reference to  FIGS. 11 and 12 . This embodiment differs from the first to third embodiments in that the vehicle air conditioner is applied to an air-conditioning unit  10 B capable of guiding ventilation air having the temperatures controlled independently to different sites of the vehicle interior. In this embodiment, the description of the same or equivalent parts as those in the first to third embodiments will be omitted or simplified. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 11 and 12 , in the air-conditioning case  11  of this embodiment, the air-conditioning blower  19 A is disposed on the air-flow downstream side of the inside/outside air switching box  12 . The air-conditioning blower  19 A is a device that generates an air flow within the air-conditioning case  11 , which is to be blown into the vehicle interior. The air-conditioning blower  19 A includes an air-conditioning fan  192  and an air-conditioning motor  193  that drives the air-conditioning fan  192 . 
     The air-conditioning fan  192  in this embodiment is configured of a centrifugal fan that blows the air drawn thereinto from the axial direction toward the outside thereof in the radial direction. The air-conditioning fan  192  is not limited to the centrifugal fan and may be configured of an axial fan, a circulating fan, or the like. 
     The evaporator  13  is disposed on the air-flow downstream side of the air-conditioning blower  19 A. The evaporator  13  configures a cooling portion that cools the ventilation air to be blown into the vehicle interior. The evaporator  13  is a heat exchanger that absorbs, from the ventilation air, latent heat of evaporation of a low-temperature refrigerant circulating therethrough, thereby cooling the ventilation air. 
     As shown in  FIG. 12 , in this embodiment, a center partition plate  116  is integrally formed in the air-conditioning case  11 . The center partition plate  116  partitions a ventilation passage, located on the air-flow downstream side of the evaporator  13 , into a first ventilation passage  117  and a second ventilation passage  118 . 
     The first ventilation passage  117  is a passage that guides the ventilation air to a driver-seat-side air outlet for blowing out air toward a driver&#39;s seat. Although not shown, the driver-seat-side air outlets include a face air outlet, a foot air outlet, and a defroster air outlet. The face air outlet blows air toward the upper body of an occupant on the driver&#39;s seat. The foot air outlet blows air toward the lower body of the occupant on the driver&#39;s seat. The defroster air outlet blows air toward a windshield of the vehicle. 
     As shown in  FIG. 11 , a driver-seat-side mode switching door  119  is provided at an air-flow downstream part of the first ventilation passage  117 . The driver-seat-side mode switching door  119  serves to set a blowing mode of the air from the driver-seat-side air outlet. The driver-seat-side mode switching door  119  is driven by an actuator (not shown). 
     The second ventilation passage  118  is a passage that guides the ventilation air to a front-passenger-seat-side air outlet for blowing out air toward a front passenger&#39;s seat. Although not shown, the front-passenger-seat-side air outlets include a face air outlet, a foot air outlet, and a defroster air outlet. The face air outlet blows air toward the upper body of an occupant on the front passenger&#39;s seat. The foot air outlet blows air toward the lower body of the occupant on the front passenger&#39;s seat. The defroster air outlet blows air toward a windshield of the vehicle. 
     A front-passenger-seat-side mode switching door  120  is provided at an air-flow downstream part of the second ventilation passage  118 . The front-passenger-seat-side mode switching door  120  serves to set a blowing mode of the air from the front-passenger-seat-side air outlet. The front-passenger-seat-side mode switching door  120  is driven by an actuator (not shown). 
     A first air mix door  181  is rotatably disposed between the evaporator  13  and the heater core  14  in the first ventilation passage  117 . The first air mix door  181  is driven by an actuator (not shown). 
     The first air mix door  181  is a member that adjusts the ratio of the air that circulates from the evaporator  13  to the heater core  14  side in the first ventilation passage  117  to the air that passes through the evaporator  13  in the first ventilation passage  117  and then circulates to a downstream side with respect to the heater core  14  while bypassing the heater core  14 . That is, the first air mix door  181  is a member that regulates the temperature of the ventilation air to be blown toward the driver&#39;s seat by adjusting the ratio of the air passing through the heater core  14  to the air bypassing the heater core  14 . 
     A second air mix door  182  is rotatably disposed between the evaporator  13  and the heater core  14  in the second ventilation passage  118 . The second air mix door  182  is driven by an actuator (not shown). 
     The second air mix door  182  is a member that adjusts the ratio of the air that circulates from the evaporator  13  to the heater core  14  side in the second ventilation passage  118  to the air that passes through the evaporator  13  in the second ventilation passage  118  and then circulates to a downstream side with respect to the heater core  14  while bypassing the heater core  14 . That is, the second air mix door  182  is a member that regulates the temperature of the ventilation air to be blown toward the front passenger&#39;s seat by adjusting the ratio of the air passing through the heater core  14  to the air flowing while bypassing the heater core  14 . 
     The first air mix door  181  and the second air mix door  182  are controlled independently. In this way, the temperature of the ventilation air blown toward the driver&#39;s seat and the temperature of the ventilation air blown toward the front passenger&#39;s seat are controlled independently. 
     The air-conditioning case  11  has the cold-air guiding portion  112  formed on the bottom surface portion thereof. The cold-air guiding portion  112  is one opening through which part of the ventilation air (i.e., cooled air) cooled by the evaporator  13  in the air-conditioning case  11  is guided out toward the outside of the air-conditioning case  11 . 
     In more details, the cold-air guiding portion  112  is formed in a part of the bottom surface portion of the air-conditioning case  11  that is located between the evaporator  13  and the heater core  14 . The cold-air guiding portion  112  is formed to straddle the first ventilation passage  117  and the second ventilation passage  118 . Thus, the cooled air produced by the evaporator  13  can be taken out of both the first ventilation passage  117  and the second ventilation passage  118 . The bottom surface portion of the air-conditioning case  11  is a part configuring a lower-side wall surface that faces the bottoms of the evaporator  13 , heater core  14 , and the like in the air-conditioning case  11 . 
     Subsequently, the humidification device  50  in this embodiment will be described below. The humidification device  50  is disposed under the air-conditioning unit  10 B and below the dashboard of the vehicle, like the air-conditioning unit  10 B. 
     The humidification device  50  accommodates the adsorber  60  in the adsorption case  51  forming an outer shell of the humidification device. The adsorber  60  includes the adsorbent that adsorbs and desorbs moisture. The adsorption case  51  is a component separately formed from the air-conditioning case  11 . 
     The adsorption case  51  is provided with a cold-air introduction passage  512 , a cold-air guiding passage  513 , a pre-humidification air passage  514 , a post-humidification air passage  515 , and the adsorber accommodating portion  54 . In this embodiment, the cold-air introduction passage  512  corresponds to inner passages of the cold-air suction portion  52  and cold-air suction duct  521  in the first embodiment. In this embodiment, the cold-air guiding passage  513  corresponds to inner passages of the cold-air discharge portion  56  and cold-air discharge duct in the first embodiment. In this embodiment, the post-humidification air passage  515  corresponds to inner passages of the hot-air discharge portion  57  and humidification duct  571  in the first embodiment. 
     The cold-air introduction passage  512  has its end on the air-flow upstream side connected to the cold-air guiding portion  112  of the air-conditioning case  11 , and its end on the air-flow downstream side connected to the adsorber accommodating portion  54 . Thus, the cooled air taken out of both the first ventilation passage  117  and the second ventilation passage  118  is guided to the adsorber  60  via the cold-air introduction passage  512 . 
     A cold-air passage door  90  is disposed at a part on the air-flow upstream side of the cold-air introduction passage  512  so as to open and close the cold-air guiding portion  112  of the air-conditioning case  11 . The cold-air passage door  90  is driven by an actuator (not shown). 
     The cold-air guiding passage  513  has its end on the air-flow upstream side connected to the adsorber  60 , and its end on the air-flow downstream side opened at the inside of the dashboard. In this way, the cold air flowing through the adsorber  60  is blown out into the internal space of the dashboard. 
     The pre-humidification air passage  514  has its end on the air-flow upstream side opened within the vehicle interior, and its end on the air-flow downstream side connected to the adsorber accommodating portion  54 . Thus, the pre-humidification air (i.e., heated air) directly taken in from the vehicle interior is guided into the adsorber  60  via the pre-humidification air passage  514 . 
     A humidification blower  91  and a pre-humidification air passage door  92  are disposed at parts on the air-flow upstream side of the pre-humidification air passage  514 . The humidification blower  91  serves to supply the air located in the vehicle interior to the pre-humidification air passage  514 . The pre-humidification air passage door  92  acts to open and close the pre-humidification air passage  514 . The humidification blower  91  includes a humidification fan and a humidification motor. The pre-humidification air passage door  92  is driven by an actuator (not shown). 
     The post-humidification air passage  515  has its end on the air-flow upstream side connected to the adsorber  60 , and its end on the air-flow downstream side opened at a part of the dashboard existing near an occupant&#39;s face (for example, a meter hood). Thus, the post-humidification air having passed through the adsorber  60  is blown toward the occupant&#39;s face, thereby humidifying a space around the occupant&#39;s face. 
     The adsorber accommodating portion  54  is a part that accommodates the adsorber  60  therein. The adsorber accommodating portion  54  in this embodiment has substantially the same basic structure as the adsorber accommodating portion  54  of the first embodiment shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 . Thus, in this embodiment, different parts from the first embodiment will be mainly described, and thus a description of common parts thereto will be omitted or simplified. 
     The adsorber accommodating portion  54  in this embodiment sets, as the accommodating space  541 , a space for circulation of the cooled air introduced via the cold-air introduction passage  512  and a space for circulation of the heated air introduced via the pre-humidification air passage  514 . 
     Specifically, the accommodating space  541  is partitioned into the space for circulation of the cooled air and the space for circulation of the heated air by first and second partition members  542  and  543 . The first and second partition members  542  and  543  are provided on both the air-flow upstream and downstream sides of the adsorber  60  as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 . 
     In the adsorber accommodating portion  54 , the adsorber  60  is disposed to straddle both the space for circulation of the cooled air and the space for circulation of the heated air. The space for circulation of the cooled air in the adsorber accommodating portion  54  configures the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  that allows moisture contained in the cooled air to be adsorbed in the adsorbent of the adsorber  60 , like the first embodiment. The space for circulation of the heated air in the adsorber accommodating portion  54  configures the moisture-desorption space  541   b  that desorbs moisture adsorbed in the adsorbent of the adsorber  60  therefrom and humidifies the heated air with the moisture, like the first embodiment. 
     The gas-gas heat exchanger  58  is disposed in the cold-air guiding passage  513  and the post-humidification air passage  515 . The gas-gas heat exchanger  58  exchanges heat between the air (i.e., cold air) passing through the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  of the adsorber accommodating portion  54  and the air (i.e., hot air) passing through the moisture-desorption space  541   b.    
     The gas-gas heat exchanger  58  in this embodiment has substantially the same structure as the gas-gas heat exchanger  58  in the first embodiment shown in  FIG. 5 . That is, as shown in  FIG. 5 , in the gas-gas heat exchanger  58 , flow paths  58   a  for circulation of the cold air and flow paths  58   b  for circulation of the hot air are independently formed not to mix the cold air and hot air therein. 
     The structures of other components of the vehicle air conditioner in this embodiment are substantially the same as those in the first embodiment, and thus a detailed description thereof will be omitted by quoting the description of the first embodiment. For example, the vehicle air conditioner in this embodiment includes the controller  100  shown in  FIG. 6 , like the first embodiment. 
     Next, a description will be given on the operations of the air-conditioning unit  10 B and the humidification device  50  in this embodiment. First, the outline of the operation of the air-conditioning unit  10 B will be described. 
     In the air-conditioning unit  10 B, when the air-conditioning operation switch  103   a  is turned on, the controller  100  calculates target air outlet temperatures TAO for both sides of the driver&#39;s seat and the front passenger&#39;s seat, based on detection signals from the group  101  of the respective sensors for the air-conditioning control and the preset temperature set by the temperature setting switch  103   c.  The controller  100  controls the operations of the respective components in the air-conditioning unit  10 B such that the temperature of the ventilation air to be blown to the driver&#39;s seat side and the temperature of the ventilation air to be blown to the front passenger&#39;s seat approach the respective target air outlet temperatures TAO. 
     In this way, the controller  100  in the air-conditioning unit  10 B controls the respective components according to the detection signals or the like from the group  101  of the respective sensors for the air-conditioning control, thereby making it possible to achieve the appropriate temperature adjustment of the vehicle interior as requested by the user. 
     Subsequently, the operation of the humidification device  50  will be described below. In this embodiment, the controller  100  basically executes control processing as shown in the flowchart of  FIG. 7 , like the first embodiment. That is, the controller  100  determines whether a humidification request is made or not by detecting on or off of the humidification operation switch  103   b.  If the humidification request is consequently determined to be made, the controller  100  executes the humidification operation of the vehicle interior by using the humidification device  50 . 
     Specifically, the controller  100  rotates the cold-air passage door  90  to a position where the cold-air guiding portion  112  is opened, and also rotates the pre-humidification air passage door  92  to a position where the pre-humidification air passage  514  is opened. The controller  100  operates the humidification blower  91  and operates the driving member  70  to thereby rotate the adsorber  60  at a predetermined rotational speed (for example, 5 rpm). 
     At this time, the controller  100  controls an electric motor  72  of the driving member  70  such that the adsorbent sufficiently desorbing moisture in the desorption space  541   b  moves to the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  of the adsorber accommodating portion  54 . For example, the controller  100  controls the electric motor  72  such that when a reference time is defined as a time required to desorb moisture from the adsorbent in the moisture-desorption space  541   b,  the adsorbent is moved to the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  after the reference time has elapsed since the movement of the adsorbent to the moisture-desorption space  541   b.    
     Here, a description will be given on the operating state of the humidification device  50  when the controller  100  executes the humidification operation, with reference to  FIG. 11  and  FIG. 12 . 
     The cold-air guiding portion  112  is opened, so that part of the low-temperature and high-humidity cooled air produced by the evaporator  13  (for example, at a temperature of 5° C. and a relative humidity of 70%) is divided and flows from both the first ventilation passage  117  and second ventilation passage  118  into the cold-air introduction passage  512 . Thus, the part of the cooled air is introduced into the adsorber accommodating portion  54  via the cold-air introduction passage  512 . Then, the moisture that is contained in the cooled air introduced into the adsorber accommodating portion  54  is adsorbed into the adsorbent existing in the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  of the adsorber  60 . 
     At this time, since the adsorber  60  rotates within the accommodating space  541 , the adsorbent that sufficiently desorbs moisture in the desorption space  541   b  of the adsorber  60  moves to the moisture-adsorption space  541   a.  Thus, the moisture contained in the cooled air introduced into the adsorber accommodating portion  54  is continuously adsorbed into the adsorbent existing in the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  at the adsorber  60 . 
     Subsequently, the air passing through the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  is guided to the gas-gas heat exchanger  58  via the cold-air guiding passage  513  and passes through the gas-gas-heat exchanger  58 . Then, the air is guided again to the cold-air guiding passage  513  to be blown into the internal space of the dashboard. Thus, the cold air at a low humidity hardly flows into the vehicle interior. 
     The pre-humidification air passage  514  is opened, and the humidification blower  91  is operated, so that dried air in the vehicle interior (for example, at a temperature of 25° C. and a relative humidity of 20%) is introduced into the adsorber accommodating portion  54  via the pre-humidification air passage  514 . The pre-humidification air introduced into the adsorber accommodating portion  54  is humidified (for example, at a temperature of 21° C. and a relative humidity of 57%) with moisture adsorbed in and then desorbed from the adsorbent existing in the moisture-desorption space  541   b  of the adsorber  60 . 
     At this time, since the adsorber  60  rotates within the accommodating space  541 , the adsorbent that sufficiently adsorbs moisture in the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  of the adsorber  60  moves to the moisture-desorption space  541   b.  Thus, the pre-humidification air introduced into the adsorber accommodating portion  54  is continuously humidified by the moisture desorbed from the adsorbent existing in the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  of the adsorber  60 . 
     Subsequently, the post-humidification air, humidified in the moisture-desorption space  541   b,  is guided to the gas-gas heat exchanger  58  via the post-humidification air passage  515  and then flows into the gas-gas heat exchanger  58 . The post-humidification air flowing into the gas-gas heat exchanger  58  exchanges heat with the cold air flowing through the gas-gas heat exchanger  58 . Thus, the air has its temperature decreased and its relative humidity increased (for example, at a temperature of 18° C. and a relative humidity of 65%). Then, the post-humidification air having passed through the gas-gas heat exchanger  58  is guided again to the post-humidification air passage  515  and then blown toward the occupant&#39;s face, thereby humidifying a space around the occupant&#39;s face. 
     The controller  100  determines whether a humidification stop request is made or not during execution of the above-mentioned humidification operation. If the humidification stop request is determined not to be made as a result of the determination process, the controller  100  continues the humidification operation. On the other hand, if the humidification stop request is determined to be made as a result of the determination process, the controller  100  executes the desorption operation of desorbing moisture adsorbed in the adsorbent of the adsorber  60 . 
     Specifically, the controller  100  closes the cold-air guiding portion  112  by the cold-air passage door  90 , while rotating the adsorber  60  by the driving member  70  during execution of the desorption operation. Thus, the low-temperature and high-humidity cooled air produced by the evaporator  13  does not flow into the adsorber accommodating portion  54 , and the adsorption of moisture in the adsorbent existing in the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  of the adsorber  60  is stopped. 
     The pre-humidification air passage  514  is opened, and the humidification blower  91  is operated, so that dried air in the vehicle interior is introduced into the adsorber accommodating portion  54  via the pre-humidification air passage  514 . Thus, the moisture adsorbed in the adsorbent existing in the moisture-desorption space  541   b  of the adsorber  60  is desorbed therefrom. 
     In this way, when the humidification stop request is made, the humidification device  50  in this embodiment stops the adsorption of the moisture in the adsorbent of the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  and continues desorption of the moisture from the adsorbent in the moisture-adsorption space  541   a.  Consequently, the moisture adsorbed in the adsorbent can be desorbed. 
     The controller  100  continues the desorption operation until a preset operation duration time has elapsed. After the operation duration time has elapsed since the start of the desorption operation, the controller  100  stops the operations of the respective components of the humidification device  50  and ends the control processing. The operation duration time may be set at a time required to cause the humidification device  50  to desorb the whole moisture adsorbed in the adsorbent existing in the moisture-desorption space  541   b.    
     The vehicle air conditioner in this embodiment, mentioned above, can obtain the following effects.
     (a) In this embodiment, the moisture of the cooled air produced by the air-conditioning unit  10 B can be used to humidify the vehicle interior. Thus, water does not need to be supplied from the outside to the vehicle air conditioner. In this embodiment, the moisture adsorbed in the adsorbent is desorbed into the dried air in the vehicle interior. Thus, a heat source for desorbing the moisture does not need to be prepared.   (b) In this embodiment, the cooled air is taken out of both the first ventilation passage  117  and the second ventilation passage  118  to be guided into the adsorber  60 . Thus, the cooled air can be taken in the vehicle air conditioner substantially uniformly from both the first and second ventilation passages  117  and  118 . Accordingly, this embodiment can reduce the influence on the temperature control and the air-distribution ratio of the ventilation air in the first ventilation passage  117  and the second ventilation passage  118 .   (c) The humidification device  50  includes the driving member  70 . The driving member  70  moves a part of the adsorbent existing in the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  of the adsorber  60  to the moisture-desorption space  541   b,  while moving a part of the adsorbent existing in the moisture-desorption space  541   b  of the adsorber  60  to the moisture-adsorption space  541   a.      

     Thus, the moisture adsorbed into the adsorbent in the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  can be desorbed from the adsorbent in the moisture-desorption space  541   b,  thereby humidifying the pre-humidification air with the moisture. Concurrently, the adsorbent desorbing the moisture in the moisture-desorption space  541   b  can adsorb the moisture of the cooled air circulating through the moisture-adsorption space  541   a.    
     Therefore, the humidification device  50  and the vehicle air conditioner in this embodiment can achieve the continuous humidification of the vehicle interior without being supplied with water.
     (d) In this embodiment, the gas-gas heat exchanger  58  is provided to exchange heat between the cooled air passing through the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  and the post-humidification air passing through the moisture-desorption space  541   b.  Thus, the gas-gas heat exchanger  58  cools the air having passed through the moisture-desorption space  541   b  by using the air (i.e., cooled air) having passed through the moisture-adsorption space  541   a,  so that the post-humidification air blown into the vehicle interior can have a high relative humidity. As a result, the comfort for the occupant can be improved because of the humidification of the vehicle interior.   (e) In this embodiment, the controller  100  executes the desorption operation that desorbs moisture, adsorbed in the adsorbent, when stopping the humidification of the vehicle interior. Thus, breeding of germs in the presence of moisture remaining in the adsorbent can be suppressed during stopping the humidification device  50 , thereby ensuring the comfort for the occupant because of the humidification of the vehicle interior.   (f) The adsorbent tends to exhibit the feature that the adsorption rate of moisture per unit mass becomes slower than the desorption rate of moisture per unit mass.   

     When taking this into account, in this embodiment, the accommodating space  541  within the adsorption case  51  is partitioned such that the amount of the adsorbent existing in the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  is more than the amount of the adsorbent existing in the moisture-desorption space  541   b.    
     Thus, the adsorption amount of moisture into the adsorbent can be sufficiently ensured in the moisture-adsorption space  541   a,  thereby making it possible to efficiently desorb the moisture adsorbed by the adsorbent in the moisture-desorption space  541   b,  ensuring the sufficient humidification amount. 
     Fifth Embodiment 
     A fifth embodiment will be described with reference to  FIGS. 13 and 14 . This embodiment differs from the fourth embodiment in that the moisture adsorbed in the adsorbent is desorbed by using the high-temperature and low-humidity air cooled in the evaporator  13  and heated by the heater core  14 . In this embodiment, the description of the same or equivalent parts as those in the fourth embodiment will be omitted or simplified. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 13 and 14 , the air-conditioning case  11  has a pre-humidification air guiding portion  113 B formed on the bottom surface portion thereof. The pre-humidification air guiding portion  113 B is an opening through which part of the ventilation air cooled by the evaporator  13  and heated by the heater core  14  in the air-conditioning case  11  is guided out toward the outside of the air-conditioning case  11 . The pre-humidification air guiding portion  113 B is an opening corresponding to the hot-air guiding portion  113  of the first embodiment. 
     In more details, the pre-humidification air guiding portion  113 B is formed at a part of the bottom surface portion of the air-conditioning case  11  that is located on the air-flow downstream side with respect to the heater core  14 . The pre-humidification air guiding portion  113 B is formed to straddle the first ventilation passage  117  and the second ventilation passage  118 . Thus, in this embodiment, the ventilation air cooled by the evaporator  13  and heated by the heater core  14  can be taken out of both the first ventilation passage  117  and the second ventilation passage  118 . 
     The pre-humidification air passage  514  has its end on the air-flow upstream side connected to the pre-humidification air guiding portion  113 B of the air-conditioning case  11 , and its end on the air-flow downstream side connected to the adsorber accommodating portion  54 . The pre-humidification air guiding portion  113 B is opened and closed by a pre-humidification air passage door  92 . In this embodiment, the humidification blower  91  employed in the fourth embodiment is eliminated. The pre-humidification air passage  514  in this embodiment corresponds to inner passages of the hot-air suction portion  53  and hot-air suction duct  531  in the first embodiment. 
     In the vehicle air conditioner of this embodiment, the pre-humidification air guiding portion  113 B is opened when the controller  100  executes the humidification operation. Thus, in this embodiment, part of the high-temperature and low-humidity air cooled by the evaporator  13  and heated by the heater core  14  is divided and flows from both the first ventilation passage  117  and the second ventilation passage  118  into the pre-humidification air passage  514 . Then, the part of the air is introduced into to the adsorber accommodating portion  54  via the pre-humidification air passage  514 . 
     The pre-humidification air introduced into the adsorber accommodating portion  54  is humidified with moisture adsorbed in and then desorbed from the adsorbent existing in the moisture-desorption space  541   b  of the adsorber  60 . 
     The high-temperature and low-humidity air cooled by the evaporator  13  and heated by the heater core  14  has a lower relative humidity than the air in the vehicle interior. Therefore, the vehicle air conditioner according to this embodiment increases the amount of humidification for the pre-humidification air, thereby more surely humidifying the space around the occupant&#39;s face. 
     The vehicle air conditioner in this embodiment, mentioned above, can obtain the same effects as in the fourth embodiment. 
     In the vehicle air conditioner of this embodiment, the moisture adsorbed in the adsorbent is desorbed by using the high-temperature and low-humidity pre-humidification air cooled by the evaporator  13  and heated by the heater core  14 . Thus, the vehicle air conditioner in this embodiment increases the amount of humidification for the pre-humidification air, thereby more surely humidifying the space around the occupant&#39;s face. 
     In this embodiment, the humidification blower  91  employed in the fourth embodiment is eliminated, thereby making it possible to decrease the number of parts included in the vehicle air conditioner. 
     In this embodiment, the cold-air guiding portion  112  and the pre-humidification air guiding portion  113 B are formed at the bottom surface portion of the air-conditioning case  11 . However, for example, like a modified example shown in  FIG. 15 , the cold-air guiding portion  112  and the pre-humidification air guiding portion  113 B may be formed at an upper surface portion of the air-conditioning case  11 . The upper surface portion of the air-conditioning case  11  is a part configuring an upper-side wall surface that faces the bottom surface portion of the air-conditioning case  11 . 
     Sixth Embodiment 
     A sixth embodiment will be described with reference to  FIG. 16 . This embodiment differs from the fifth embodiment in that the cold air having passed through the adsorber  60  is returned to the inside/outside air switching box  12 . In this embodiment, the description of the same or equivalent parts as those in the fifth embodiment will be omitted or simplified. 
     As shown in  FIG. 16 , the inside/outside air switching box  12  is provided with a cold-air introduction port  124  from which cold air having passed through the adsorber  60  and the gas-gas heat exchanger  58  is introduced into the inside/outside air switching box. The cold-air introduction port  124  is connected to flow paths  58   a  for circulation of the cold air in the gas-gas heat exchanger  58  shown in  FIG. 5 , via a cooled-air return passage  517 . 
     A cold-air return passage door  94  is disposed at a part on the air-flow downstream side of the cooled-air return passage  517  so as to open and close the cold-air introduction port  124 . The cold-air return passage door  94  is driven by an actuator (not shown). 
     The cold-air return passage door  94  is controlled by the controller  100  shown in  FIG. 6 . The controller  100  rotates the cold-air return passage door  94  to a position where the cold-air introduction port  124  is opened when executing the humidification operation. In this way, when executing the humidification operation, the cold air having passed through the adsorber  60  is returned to the inside/outside air switching box  12 . 
     If the cold air having passed through the adsorber  60  is blown into the space inside the dashboard as in the case of the fourth and fifth embodiments, the occupant might feel uncomfortable. In contrast, like this embodiment, the cold air having passed through the adsorber  60  is returned to the inside/outside air switching box  12 , thereby preventing the occupant from feeling uncomfortable. 
     The vehicle air conditioner in this embodiment, mentioned above, can obtain the same effects as in the fifth embodiment. 
     When executing the humidification operation, the cold air having passed through the adsorber  60  is returned to the inside/outside air switching box  12 , so that the occupant can be prevented from feeling uncomfortable. Like this embodiment, the structure in which the cooled-air return passage  517  is provided can also apply to other structures described in the following embodiments. 
     Seventh Embodiment 
     A seventh embodiment will be described with reference to  FIG. 17 . This embodiment differs from the fourth embodiment in that suction blowers are used as an air-conditioning blower  19 B and the humidification blower  91 . In this embodiment, the description of the same or equivalent parts as those in the fourth embodiment will be omitted or simplified. 
     As shown in  FIG. 17 , the air-conditioning blower  19 B is a suction blower. The air-conditioning blower  19 B is disposed on the air-flow downstream side with respect to the heater core  14  and on the air-flow upstream side with respect to the driver-seat-side mode switching door  119  and the front-passenger-seat-side mode switching door  120  in the first ventilation passage  117  and the second ventilation passage  118 . The operation of the air-conditioning blower  19 B generates an air flow within the air-conditioning case  11 , which is to be blown into the vehicle interior. 
     The humidification blower  91  is disposed in the post-humidification air passage  515  located in the air-flow downstream side with respect to the adsorber  60 . The humidification blower  91  is a suction blower and is configured of a humidification fan, a humidification motor, and the like. The operation of the humidification blower  91  draws the pre-humidification air (i.e., heated air) from the vehicle interior. The pre-humidification air is guided to the adsorber  60  via the pre-humidification air passage  514 . 
     In this embodiment, a cold-air blower  95  is disposed in the cold-air guiding passage  513  located on the air-flow downstream side with respect to the adsorber  60 . The cold-air blower  95  is a suction blower and is configured of a cold-air fan, a cold-air motor, and the like. Thus, the operation of the cold-air blower  95  draws the cooled air from both the first ventilation passage  117  and the second ventilation passage  118  in the air-conditioning case  11 . Then, the cooled air is guided to the adsorber  60  via the cold-air introduction passage  512 . 
     The vehicle air conditioner in this embodiment, mentioned above, can obtain the same effects as in the fourth embodiment. 
     Eighth Embodiment 
     An eighth embodiment will be described with reference to  FIG. 18 . This embodiment differs from the fourth embodiment in that an air-conditioning unit  10 C in use has an outside-air ventilation passage through which outside air passes and an inside-air ventilation passage through which inside air passes. In this embodiment, the description of the same or equivalent parts as those in the fourth embodiment will be omitted or simplified. 
     As shown in  FIG. 18 , an inside/outside air partition plate  25  is integrally formed in the air-conditioning case  11 . The inside/outside air partition plate  25  partitions a ventilation passage in the air-conditioning case  11 , located on the air-flow downstream side relative to the air-conditioning blower  19 C, into an outside-air ventilation passage  26  and an inside-air ventilation passage  27 . The outside-air ventilation passage  26  is provided at an upper part of the inside of the air-conditioning case  11 , while the inside-air ventilation passage  27  is provided at a lower part of the inside of the air-conditioning case  11 . 
     The air-conditioning blower  19 C includes an outside-air fan for generating an air flow in the outside-air ventilation passage  26  and an inside-air fan for generating an air flow in the inside-air ventilation passage  27 . 
     The inside/outside air switching door  123  can set an inside and outside air double-layered flow mode, an inside-air mode, and an outside-air mode. 
     The inside and outside air double-layered flow mode is a mode in which the outside-air introduction port  121  communicates only with the outside-air ventilation passage  26 , and the inside-air introduction port  122  communicates only with the inside-air ventilation passage  27 . In the inside and outside air double-layered flow mode, the entire outside air introduced from the outside-air introduction port  121  flows into the outside-air ventilation passage  26 , while the entire inside air introduced from the inside-air introduction port  122  flows into the inside-air ventilation passage  27 . 
     The inside-air mode is a mode in which the outside-air introduction port  121  is completely closed and the inside-air introduction port  122  is fully opened. 
     In the inside-air mode, the inside air introduced from the inside-air introduction port  122  flows into the outside-air ventilation passage  26  and the inside-air ventilation passage  27 . 
     The outside-air mode is a mode in which the outside-air introduction port  121  is fully opened and the inside-air introduction port  122  is completely closed. In the outside-air mode, the outside air introduced from the outside-air introduction port  121  flows into the outside-air ventilation passage  26  and the inside-air ventilation passage  27 . 
     The outside-air ventilation passage  26  is a passage that guides the ventilation air to a face air outlet and a defroster air outlet. The face air outlet is to blow air toward an occupant&#39;s upper body. The defroster air outlet is to blow air toward the windshield of the vehicle. An air-flow downstream side part of the outside-air ventilation passage  26  is provided with a face door  28  and a defroster door  29 . The face door  28  serves to open and close a ventilation passage that leads to the face air outlet. The defroster door  29  serves to open and close the ventilation air passage that leads to the defroster air outlet. The face door  28  and the defroster door  29  are driven by actuators (not shown). 
     The inside-air ventilation passage  27  is a passage that guides the ventilation air to the foot air outlet for blowing out air toward the occupant&#39;s lower body. An air-flow downstream side part of the inside-air ventilation passage  27  is provided with a foot door  30 . The foot door  30  serves to open and close a ventilation passage that leads to the foot air outlet. The foot door  30  is driven by an actuator (not shown). 
     An outside-air-side air mix door  31  is rotatably disposed between the evaporator  13  and the heater core  14  in the outside-air ventilation passage  26 . 
     The outside-air-side air mix door  31  is driven by an actuator (not shown). The outside-air-side air mix door  31  is a member that adjusts the ratio of the air circulating from the evaporator  13  to a side of the heater core  14  in the outside-air ventilation passage  26  to the air passing through the evaporator  13  in the outside-air ventilation passage  26  and then circulating to a downstream side of the heater core  14  while bypassing the heater core  14 . That is, the outside-air-side air mix door  31  is a member that regulates the temperature of ventilation air flowing through the outside-air ventilation passage  26 . 
     An inside-air-side air mix door  32  is rotatably disposed between the evaporator  13  and the heater core  14  in the inside-air ventilation passage  27 . The inside-air-side air mix door  32  is driven by an actuator (not shown). The inside-air-side air mix door  32  is a member that adjusts the ratio of the air circulating from the evaporator  13  to a side of the heater core  14  in the inside-air ventilation passage  27  to the air passing through the evaporator  13  in the inside-air ventilation passage  27  and then circulating to a downstream side of the heater core  14  while bypassing the heater core  14 . That is, the inside-air-side air mix door  32  is a member that regulates the temperature of ventilation air flowing through the inside-air ventilation passage  27 . 
     The outside-air-side air mix door  31  and the inside-air-side air mix door  32  are controlled independently. In this way, the temperature of the ventilation air blown from the face air outlet and the defroster air outlet and the temperature of the ventilation air blown from the foot air outlet are controlled independently. 
     In the air-conditioning case  11 , a communication opening  115  is formed on the air-flow downstream side with respect to the heater core  14 . The communication opening  115  communicates the outside-air ventilation passage  26  with the inside-air ventilation passage  27 . 
     A communication door  33  that opens and closes the communication opening  115  is disposed at a part where the communication opening  115  is formed. The communication door  33  is driven by an actuator (not shown). The communication door  33  completely closes the communication opening  115  in the inside and outside air double-layered flow mode, and fully opens the communication opening  115  in the inside-air mode and the outside-air mode. 
     A cold-air guiding portion  112  is formed at an upper surface portion of the air-conditioning case  11 . The cold-air guiding portion  112  is an opening through which part of the ventilation air (i.e., cooled air) cooled by the evaporator  13  in the outside-air ventilation passage  26  is guided out toward the outside of the air-conditioning case  11 . The cold-air guiding portion  112  is connected to the cold-air introduction passage  512 . Thus, the cooled air taken out of the outside-air ventilation passage  26  is guided to the adsorber  60  via the cold-air introduction passage  512 . 
     The pre-humidification air guiding portion  113 B is formed at the bottom surface portion of the air-conditioning case  11 . The pre-humidification air guiding portion  113 B is an opening through which part of the ventilation air cooled by the evaporator  13  and heated by the heater core  14  in the inside-air ventilation passage  27  is guided out toward the outside of the air-conditioning case  11 . The pre-humidification air guiding portion  113 B is connected to the pre-humidification air passage  514 . Thus, the pre-humidification air (i.e., heated air) taken out of the inside-air ventilation passage  27  is guided to the adsorber  60  via the pre-humidification air passage  514 . In this embodiment, the humidification blower  91  employed in the fourth embodiment is eliminated. 
     In the vehicle air conditioner of this embodiment, the cold-air guiding portion  112  is opened when the controller  100  executes the humidification operation. Thus, the low-temperature and high-humidity air (i.e., cooled air) taken out of the outside-air ventilation passage  26  is introduced into the adsorber accommodating portion  54  via the cold-air introduction passage  512 . Then, the moisture that is contained in the cooled air introduced into the adsorber accommodating portion  54  is adsorbed into the adsorbent existing in the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  of the adsorber  60 . 
     The pre-humidification air guiding portion  113 B is opened, so that the high-temperature and low-humidity pre-humidification air (i.e., heated air) taken out of the inside-air ventilation passage  27  is introduced into the adsorber accommodating portion  54  via the pre-humidification air passage  514 . The pre-humidification air introduced into the adsorber accommodating portion  54  is humidified with moisture adsorbed in and then desorbed from the adsorbent existing in the moisture-desorption space  541   b  of the adsorber  60 . 
     For example, during air-cooling in summer, the relative humidity of the outside air tends to become higher than the relative humidity of the inside air. Thus, when the inside and outside air double-layered flow mode is set, the cooled air for adsorbing moisture into the adsorbent is taken out of the outside-air ventilation passage  26 , while the pre-humidification air for desorbing moisture adsorbed in the adsorbent is taken out of the inside-air ventilation passage  27 . Accordingly, the vehicle air conditioner of this embodiment can enlarge a difference in the relative humidity between the cooled air and the pre-humidification air to thereby improve the efficiency of the adsorbent, so that the high-humidity air can be supplied to the vehicle interior. 
     The air guided to the adsorber  60  is taken out of both the outside-air ventilation passage  26  and the inside-air ventilation passage  27 , thereby making it possible to reduce the influence on the temperature control and the air-distribution ratio of the ventilation air in the outside-air ventilation passage  26  and the ventilation air in the inside-air ventilation passage  27 . 
     The vehicle air-conditioner in this embodiment, mentioned above, can obtain the effects (a), (c), (d), (e) and (f) among the effects (a) to (f) obtained by the vehicle air conditioner in the fourth embodiment. 
     In the vehicle air conditioner of this embodiment, the adsorbent adsorbs moisture by using the cooled air at a high relative humidity taken out of the outside-air ventilation passage  26 , and the adsorbent desorbs moisture therein by using the pre-humidification air at a low relative humidity taken out of the inside-air ventilation passage  27 . Thus, the vehicle air conditioner of this embodiment can enlarge a difference in the relative humidity between the cooled air and the pre-humidification air to thereby improve the efficiency of the adsorbent, so that the high-humidity air can be supplied to the vehicle interior. 
     In the vehicle air conditioner of this embodiment, the air guided to the adsorber  60  is taken out of both the outside-air ventilation passage  26  and the inside-air ventilation passage  27 . Thus, the vehicle air conditioner in this embodiment can take in the air substantially uniformly from both the outside-air ventilation passage  26  and the inside-air ventilation passage  27 . Consequently, the vehicle air conditioner can reduce the influence on the temperature control and the air-distribution ratio of the ventilation air in the outside-air ventilation passage  26  and the ventilation air in the inside-air ventilation passage  27 . 
     Here, in the vehicle air conditioner of this embodiment, the cooled-air return passage  517  shown in  FIG. 16  may be added to the air-conditioning unit  10 C, thereby allowing the cold air having passed through the adsorber  60  to return to the inside/outside air switching box  12 . 
     Ninth Embodiment 
     A ninth embodiment will be described with reference to  FIG. 19 . This embodiment differs from the eighth embodiment in that ventilation air having the temperatures controlled independently is guided to different sites (for example, on the driver&#39;s seat side and the front passenger&#39;s seat side) of the vehicle interior. In this embodiment, the description of the same or equivalent parts as those in the eighth embodiment will be omitted or simplified.  FIG. 19  corresponds to a perspective view of the vehicle air conditioner as viewed from the above according to the ninth embodiment. 
     As shown in  FIG. 19 , in the vehicle air conditioner of this embodiment, a center partition plate  34  is added to the vehicle air conditioner of the eighth embodiment shown in  FIG. 18 . 
     The center partition plate  34  partitions a part of the outside-air ventilation passage  26  located on the air-flow downstream side with respect to the evaporator  13 , into a first outside-air ventilation passage  26   a  and a second outside-air ventilation passage  26   b.  The first outside-air ventilation passage  26   a  is a passage that guides the ventilation air to the defroster air outlet and the face air outlet on the driver&#39;s seat side. The second outside-air ventilation passage  26   b  is a passage that guides the ventilation air to the defroster air outlet and the face air outlet on the front passenger&#39;s seat side. 
     The center partition plate  34  partitions a part of the inside-air ventilation passage  27  located on the air-flow downstream side with respect to the evaporator  13 , into a first inside-air ventilation passage  27   a  and a second inside-air ventilation passage  27   b.  The first inside-air ventilation passage  27   a  is a passage that guides the ventilation air to the foot air outlet on the driver&#39;s seat side. The second inside-air ventilation passage  27   b  is a passage that guides the ventilation air to the foot air outlet on the front passenger&#39;s seat side. 
     The first outside-air ventilation passage  26   a  and the second outside-air ventilation passage  26   b  are provided with respective outside-air-side air mix doors  31  shown in  FIG. 18 , which are independently controlled. Thus, the temperature of the ventilation air blown from the defroster air outlet and the face air outlet on the driver&#39;s seat side and the temperature of the ventilation air blown from the defroster air outlet and the face air outlet on the front passenger&#39;s seat side are controlled independently. 
     The first inside-air ventilation passage  27   a  and the second inside-air ventilation passage  27   b  are provided with respective inside-air-side air mix doors  32  shown in  FIG. 18 , which are independently controlled. Thus, the temperature of the ventilation air blown from the foot air outlet on the driver&#39;s seat side and the temperature of the ventilation air blown from the foot air outlet on the front passenger&#39;s seat side are controlled independently. 
     The cold-air guiding portion  112  is formed to straddle the first outside-air ventilation passage  26   a  and the second outside-air ventilation passage  26   b.  Thus, the vehicle air conditioner in this embodiment can take out the cooled air produced by the evaporator  13  from both the first outside-air ventilation passage  26   a  and the second outside-air ventilation passage  26   b.    
     The pre-humidification air guiding portion  113 B is formed to straddle the first inside-air ventilation passage  27   a  and the second inside-air ventilation passage  27   b.  Thus, in the vehicle air conditioner of this embodiment, the ventilation air cooled by the evaporator  13  and heated by the heater core  14  can be taken out of both the first inside-air ventilation passage  27   a  and the second inside-air ventilation passage  27   b.    
     In the vehicle air conditioner of this embodiment, the cold-air guiding portion  112  is opened when the controller  100  executes the humidification operation. Thus, the low-temperature and high-humidity air (i.e., cooled air) taken out of both the first outside-air ventilation passage  26   a  and the second outside-air ventilation passage  26   b  is introduced into the adsorber accommodating portion  54  via the cold-air introduction passage  512 . Then, the moisture that is contained in the cooled air introduced into the adsorber accommodating portion  54  is adsorbed into the adsorbent existing in the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  of the adsorber  60 . 
     The pre-humidification air guiding portion  113 B is opened, so that the high-temperature and low-humidity pre-humidification air (i.e., heated air), taken out of both the first and second inside-air ventilation passages  27   a  and  27   b,  is introduced into the adsorber accommodating portion  54  via the pre-humidification air passage  514 . The pre-humidification air introduced into the adsorber accommodating portion  54  is humidified with moisture adsorbed in and then desorbed from the adsorbent existing in the moisture-desorption space  541   b  of the adsorber  60 . 
     Here, for example, during air-cooling in summer, the relative humidity of the outside air tends to become higher than the relative humidity of the inside air. 
     Thus, when the inside and outside air double-layered flow mode is set, the cooled air for adsorbing moisture into the adsorbent is taken out of the respective outside-air ventilation passages  26   a  and  26   b,  and the pre-humidification air for desorbing moisture adsorbed in the adsorbent is taken out of the respective inside-air ventilation passages  27   a  and  27   b.  Thus, the vehicle air conditioner in this embodiment can enlarge a difference in the relative humidity between the cooled air and the pre-humidification air to thereby improve the efficiency of the adsorbent, so that the high-humidity air can be supplied to the vehicle interior. 
     In the vehicle air conditioner of this embodiment, the cooled air for adsorbing moisture into the adsorbent is taken out of the first outside-air ventilation passage  26   a  and the second outside-air ventilation passage  26   b.  Thus, the vehicle air conditioner in this embodiment can reduce the influence on the temperature control and the air-distribution ratio of the ventilation air in the first outside-air ventilation passage  26   a  and the second outside-air ventilation passage  26   b.    
     In the vehicle air conditioner of this embodiment, the pre-humidification air for desorbing moisture adsorbed in the adsorbent is taken out of the first inside-air ventilation passage  27   a  and the second inside-air ventilation passage  27   b.  Thus, the vehicle air conditioner in this embodiment can reduce the influence on the temperature control and the air-distribution ratio of the ventilation air in the first inside-air ventilation passage  27   a  and the second inside-air ventilation passage  27   b.    
     The vehicle air-conditioner in this embodiment, mentioned above, can obtain the effects (a), (c), (d), (e) and (f) among the effects (a) to (f) obtained by the vehicle air conditioner in the fourth embodiment. 
     In the vehicle air conditioner of this embodiment, the adsorbent adsorbs moisture by using the cooled air at a high humidity taken out of the respective outside-air ventilation passages  26   a  and  26   b,  and the adsorbent desorbs moisture by using the pre-humidification air at a low humidity taken out of the respective inside-air ventilation passages  27   a  and  27   b.  Thus, the vehicle air conditioner of this embodiment can enlarge a difference in the relative humidity between the cooled air and the pre-humidification air to thereby improve the efficiency of the adsorbent, so that the high-humidity air can be supplied to the vehicle interior. 
     In the vehicle air conditioner of this embodiment, the cooled air for adsorbing moisture into the adsorbent is taken out of the first outside-air ventilation passage  26   a  and the second outside-air ventilation passage  26   b.  Thus, the vehicle air conditioner in this embodiment can reduce the influence on the temperature control and the air-distribution ratio of the ventilation air in the first outside-air ventilation passage  26   a  and the second outside-air ventilation passage  26   b.    
     In the vehicle air conditioner of this embodiment, the pre-humidification air for desorbing moisture adsorbed in the adsorbent is taken out of the first inside-air ventilation passage  27   a  and the second inside-air ventilation passage  27   b.  Thus, the vehicle air conditioner in this embodiment can reduce the influence on the temperature control and the air-distribution ratio of the ventilation air in the first inside-air ventilation passage  27   a  and the second inside-air ventilation passage  27   b.    
     In the vehicle air conditioner of this embodiment, the cooled-air return passage  517  shown in  FIG. 16  may be added to the air-conditioning unit  10 C, thereby allowing the cold air having passed through the adsorber  60  to return to the inside/outside air switching box  12 . 
     Tenth Embodiment 
     A tenth embodiment will be described with reference to  FIGS. 20 and 21 . This embodiment differs from the fifth embodiment in that the humidification device  50  is applied to an air-conditioning unit  10 D in which an air-conditioning blower  19 D is disposed on the air-flow downstream side of the evaporator  13  and on the air-flow upstream side of the heater core  14 . In this embodiment, the description of the same or equivalent parts as those in the fifth embodiment will be omitted or simplified. 
     As shown in  FIG. 20 , the air-conditioning blower  19 D is disposed on the air-flow downstream side with respect to the evaporator  13  and on the air-flow upstream side with respect to the heater core  14 . The operation of the air-conditioning blower  19 D generates an air flow within the air-conditioning case  11 , which is to be blown into the vehicle interior. 
     As shown in  FIG. 21 , the partition plate  116  is disposed in the air-conditioning case  11  so as to partition the ventilation passage on the air-flow downstream side of the air-conditioning blower  19 D into the first ventilation passage  117  and the second ventilation passage  118 . In the air-conditioning case  11 , the cold-air guiding portion  112  and the pre-humidification air guiding portion  1136  are formed on the bottom surface portion thereof. 
     The cold-air guiding portion  112  is one opening through which part of the ventilation air cooled by the evaporator in the air-conditioning case  11  is guided out toward the outside of the air-conditioning case  11 . In more details, the cold-air guiding portion  112  is formed in a part of the bottom surface portion of the air-conditioning case  11  that is located between the air-conditioning blower  19 D and the heater core  14 . The cold-air guiding portion  112  is formed to straddle the first ventilation passage  117  and the second ventilation passage  118 . Thus, in this embodiment, the ventilation air cooled by the evaporator  13  can be taken out of both the first ventilation passage  117  and the second ventilation passage  118 . 
     The pre-humidification air guiding portion  113 B is one opening through which part of the ventilation air cooled by the evaporator  13  and heated by the heater core  14  in the air-conditioning case  11  is guided out toward the outside of the air-conditioning case  11 . In more details, the pre-humidification air guiding portion  113 B is formed in a part of the bottom surface portion of the air-conditioning case  11  that is located on the air-flow downstream side with respect to the heater core  14 . The pre-humidification air guiding portion  113 B is formed to straddle the first ventilation passage  117  and the second ventilation passage  118 . Thus, in this embodiment, the ventilation air cooled by the evaporator  13  and heated by the heater core  14  can be taken out of both the first ventilation passage  117  and the second ventilation passage  118 . 
     The vehicle air conditioner in this embodiment differs from that in the fifth embodiment only in the position of the air-conditioning blower  19 D, and the structures of other components of the vehicle air conditioner in this embodiment are the same as those in the fifth embodiment. Thus, the vehicle air conditioner in this embodiment can obtain the functions and effects exhibited by the structures common to those in the fifth embodiment in the same manner as in the fifth embodiment. 
     In this embodiment, the air-conditioning blower  19 D is disposed between the evaporator  13  and the heater core  14  by way of example in the air-conditioning unit  10 D in which the first and second ventilation passages  117  and  118  are set inside the air-conditioning case  11 , but is not limited thereto. 
     Like the first to third embodiments, the air-conditioning blower  19  or  19 A may be disposed between the evaporator  13  and the heater core  14  in the air-conditioning unit  10  or  10 A in which the ventilation passage for single-layered air is set within the air-conditioning case  11 . 
     Like the eighth and ninth embodiments, the air-conditioning blower  19 C may be disposed between the evaporator  13  and the heater core  14  in the air-conditioning unit  10 C that has the outside-air ventilation passage for circulation of the outside air and the inside-air ventilation passage for circulation of the inside air. 
     Other Embodiments 
     Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, the present disclosure is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments. Various modifications can be made as follows.
     (1) Although in the respective above-mentioned embodiments, the humidification device  50  is applied to any one of the air-conditioning units  10  and  10 A to  10 D in which the ventilation air is cooled by the evaporator  13  and heated by the heater core  14  by way of example, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the humidification device  50  may be applied to the air-conditioning units  10  and  10 A to  10 D that adopt a cooling member, such as a Peltier element, as a cooling portion for cooling the ventilation air. Alternatively, the humidification device  50  may be applied to the air-conditioning units  10  and  10 A to  10 D that adopt an electric heater or a radiator of a refrigeration cycle as a heating portion for heating the ventilation air.   (2) Although in the above-mentioned first to third embodiments, the cold-air suction duct  521  of the humidification device  50  is connected to the cold-air guiding portion  112  that is opened at the bottom surface portion  11   a  of the air-conditioning case  11  by way of example, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The cold-air suction duct  521  may be connected to the cold-air guiding portion  112  provided at the upper surface portion  11   b  or side surface portion  11   c  of the air-conditioning case  11 .   (3) Although in the above-mentioned first to third embodiments, the hot-air suction duct  531  of the humidification device  50  is connected to the hot-air guiding portion  113  that is opened at the bottom surface portion  11   a  of the air-conditioning case  11  by way of example, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The hot-air suction duct  531  may be connected to the hot-air guiding portion  113  provided at the upper surface portion  11   b  or the side surface portion  11   c  of the air-conditioning case  11 .   

     The heated air produced by the heater core  14  is blown into the vehicle interior. Thus, the hot-air suction duct  531  may be connected to an opening that communicates with the vehicle interior, and the inside air may be introduced into the adsorption case  51  as the heated air produced by the heater core  14 . That is, the air having lower humidity and higher temperature exists within the vehicle interior into which the heated air produced by any one of the air-conditioning unit  10  and  10 A to  10 D is blown, compared to the cooled air produced by the evaporator  13 . Because of this, the inside air may be introduced into the adsorption case  51  as the heated air produced by the heater core  14 .
     (4) Although in the above-mentioned first to third embodiments, the adsorption case  51  is connected to the air-conditioning case  11  via the respective suction ducts  521  and  531  by way of example, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The cold-air suction portion  52  and the hot-air suction portion  53  in the adsorption case  51  may be directly connected to the air-conditioning case  11 . In this case, the cold-air suction portion  52  configures a first introduction portion, while the hot-air suction portion  53  configures a second introduction portion.   (5) Each of the above-mentioned embodiments has described an example in which the accommodating space  541  is partitioned such that the amount of the adsorbent  61  existing in the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  is less than that of the adsorbent  61  existing in the moisture-desorption space  541   b  when taking into account a difference between the adsorption rate and desorption rate of the adsorbent  61 . However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto.   

     The volume of the cooled air circulating through the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  may be set larger than that of the heated air circulating through the moisture-desorption space  541   b.  With this arrangement, the adsorption amount of moisture into the adsorbent  61  in the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  can be sufficiently ensured, even when the amount of the adsorbent  61  existing in the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  is substantially equal to that of the adsorbent  61  existing in the moisture-desorption space  541   b.  
     (6) Although each of the above-mentioned embodiments has described an example of a structure in which the adsorbent  61  is supported by a plurality of metal plate-shaped members as the adsorber  60 , the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The adsorber  60  may be configured to support the adsorbent  61  in a structure body, for example, having a honeycomb structure.   (7) Although each of the above-mentioned embodiments has described an example in which a polymer sorbent is adopted as the adsorbent  61 , the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Examples of the adsorbent  61  suitable for use may include silica gel and zeolite.   (8) Each of the above-mentioned embodiments has described an example in which the adsorber  60  is continuously rotated in one direction by the electric motor  72  of the driving member  70 , causing the adsorbent  61  of the adsorber  60  to move between the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  and the moisture-desorption space  541   b.  However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto.   The adsorber  60  may be intermittently rotated in one direction by the electric motor  72  of the driving member  70 , causing the adsorbent  61  of the adsorber  60  to move between the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  and the moisture-desorption space  541   b.      The rotational direction of the adsorber  60  by the electric motor  72  of the driving member  70  is not limited to one direction, and may be an inverse direction relative to the one direction. The rotational direction of the adsorber  60  may be switched between the one direction and the inverse direction relative to the one direction at a predetermined time interval, thereby moving the adsorbent  61  of the adsorber  60  between the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  and the moisture-desorption space  541   b.      

     When the accommodating space  541  is partitioned such that the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  has substantially the same size as the moisture-desorption space  541   b  or the like, switching may be performed between the whole adsorbent  61  existing in the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  and the whole adsorbent  61  existing in the moisture-desorption space  541   b.  In this case, the adsorber  60  may be intermittently rotated by 180° by the driving member  70 .
     (9) Although each of the above-mentioned embodiments has described an example in which the driving member  70  for rotating the adsorber  60  is adopted as a moving mechanism that moves the adsorbent  61  of the adsorber  60  between the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  and the moisture-desorption space  541   b,  the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The adsorber  60  may be configured of a plurality of adsorption portions, and a structure may be adopted as a moving mechanism to move each adsorption portion in a slide manner between the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  and the moisture-desorption space  541   b.      (10) Like the above-mentioned first to third embodiments, the humidification duct  571  configuring the humidification-side guiding portion is desirably a component separately formed from the air-conditioning duct  20  for the air having its temperature adjusted in the air-conditioning unit  10  or  10 A. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the humidification duct  571  may be a component that is integral with the air-conditioning duct  20  on the side of the air-conditioning unit  10  or  10 A.   (11) Like each of the above-mentioned first to third embodiments, the adsorption case  51  and the respective suction ducts  521  and  531  are desirably components separately formed from the air-conditioning case  11 , and the respective suction ducts  521  and  531  are configured to be detachable from the air-conditioning case  11 . However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The adsorption case  51  and the respective suction ducts  521  and  531  may be components integral with the air-conditioning case  11 .   (12) Like each of the above-mentioned embodiments, the gas-gas heat exchanger  58  is desirably provided to exchange heat between the cooled air passing through the moisture-adsorption space  541   a  and the humidification air passing through the moisture-desorption space  541   b.  However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the gas-gas heat exchanger  58  may be omitted. (13) Like each of the above-mentioned embodiments, the desorption operation that desorbs moisture, adsorbed in the adsorbent  61 , is desirably executed when stopping the humidification of the vehicle interior. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and no desorption operation may be executed.   (14) It is obvious that in each of the above-mentioned embodiments, elements constituting the embodiments are not necessarily essential particularly unless otherwise specified and except when clearly considered to be essential in principle, and the like. Note that the elements constituting the respective embodiments can be appropriately combined to the greatest extent practicable.   (15) When referring to a specific number about a component, including the number, a numerical value, an amount, a range, and the like in each of the above-mentioned embodiments, the component should not be limited to the specific number particularly except when clearly determined to be essential, and except when obviously limited to the specific number in principle, and the like.   (16) When referring to the shape, positional relationship, etc., of a component or the like in each of the above-mentioned embodiments, the component should not be limited to the shape, positional relationship, or the like unless otherwise specified and except when limited to the specific shape, positional relationship, etc., in principle, and the like.