Air conditioning system and operating method for a motor vehicle with heat pump and/or reheat operating mode

Air conditioning system for a motor vehicle, which air conditioning system is designed for an air conditioning operating mode and a heat pump operating mode and a reheat operating mode, said air conditioning system comprising:

• a refrigerant cycle with a compressor, a refrigerant cooler and a supply air/refrigerant heat exchanger, said supply air/refrigerant heat exchanger being disposed in a supply air channel and functioning as an evaporator in an air conditioning operating mode,
• a coolant cycle for cooling a heat generating vehicle component including a first coolant cooler for cooling an internal combustion engine of said motor vehicle,
• a refrigerant/coolant heat exchanger, coupling the refrigerant cycle and the coolant cycle so as to transfer heat, and
• refrigerant flow control valves for controlling mode-dependent flow of the refrigerant so as to be guided in an air conditioning mode from the compressor over the refrigerant cooler to the supply air/refrigerant heat exchanger,
• wherein said reheat operating mode, in which the refrigerant flow control valves guide refrigerant flow from the compressor at least in part to the refrigerant/coolant heat exchanger, functions as the condenser/gas cooler, and from there to the supply air/refrigerant heat exchanger, functioning as the evaporator in said reheat mode, and
• wherein the refrigerant/coolant heat exchanger is connected upstream in series on the coolant side to a supply air/coolant heat exchanger disposed in the supply air channel and connected downstream in series with the first coolant cooler of the internal combustion engine.

A method of operating an air conditioning system for a motor vehicle, which air conditioning system is designed for an air conditioning operating mode and at least one of a heat pump operating mode and a reheat operating mode, said air conditioning system comprising:

• a refrigerant cycle with a compressor, a refrigerant cooler and a supply air/refrigerant heat exchanger, said supply air/refrigerant heat exchanger being disposed in a supply air channel and functioning as an evaporator in an air conditioning operating mode,
• a coolant cycle for cooling a heat generating vehicle component a first coolant cooler for cooling an internal combustion engine of said motor vehicle,
• a refrigerant/coolant heat exchanger, coupling the refrigerant cycle and the coolant cycle so as to transfer heat,
• refrigerant flow control valves for controlling mode-dependent flow of the refrigerant so as to be guided in the air conditioning mode from the compressor over the refrigerant cooler to the supply air/refrigerant heat exchanger, and
• an internal combustion engine exhaust gas/coolant heat exchanger connected upstream in series to the refrigerant/coolant heat exchanger in the coolant cycle and connected downstream in series with the first coolant cooler of the internal combustion engine,
• said method including controlling said refrigerant control valves to switch the air conditioning system between an air conditioning operating mode and one of the heat pump operating mode and the reheat operating mode.

A method of operating an air conditioning system for a motor vehicle, which air conditioning system is designed for an air conditioning operating mode and at least one of a heat pump operating mode and a reheat operating mode, said air conditioning system comprising:

• a refrigerant cycle with a compressor, a refrigerant cooler and a supply air/refrigerant heat exchanger, said supply air/refrigerant heat exchanger being disposed in a supply air channel and functioning as an evaporator in the air conditioning operating mode,
• a coolant cycle for cooling a heat generating vehicle component a first coolant for cooling an internal combustion engine of said motor vehicle,
• a refrigerant/coolant heat exchanger, coupling the refrigerant cycle and the coolant cycle so as to transfer heat, and
• refrigerant flow control valves for controlling mode-dependent flow of the refrigerant so as to be guided in the air conditioning mode from the compressor over the refrigerant cooler to the supply air/refrigerant heat exchanger, and
• said method including controlling said refrigerant control valves to switch the air conditioning system between the air conditioning operating mode and the at least one of a heat pump operating mode and a reheat operating mode,
• wherein said at least one of a heat pump operating mode and a reheat operating mode includes a reheat operating mode, in which the refrigerant flow control valves guide refrigerant flow from the compressor at least in part to the refrigerant/coolant heat exchanger, functioning as the condenser/gas cooler in said reheat operating mode, and from there to the supply air/refrigerant heat exchanger, functioning as the evaporator in said reheat operating mode, and
• wherein the refrigerant/coolant heat exchanger is connected upstream in series on the coolant side to a supply air/coolant heat exchanger disposed in the supply air channel and connected downstream in series with the first coolant cooler of the internal combustion engine.

A method of operating an air conditioning system for a motor vehicle, which air conditioning system is designed for an air conditioning operating mode and at least one of a heat pump operating mode and a reheat operating mode, said air conditioning system comprising:

• a refrigerant cycle with a compressor, a refrigerant cooler and a supply air/refrigerant heat exchanger, said supply air/refrigerant heat exchanger being disposed in a supply air channel of a supply air conveying unit and functioning as an evaporator in an air conditioning operating mode,
• wherein the supply air conveying unit exhibits two operating modes with opposite supply air conveying directions, and
• wherein the air conditioning system is designed for carrying out a drying operating mode, in that the supply air conveying unit conveys drying air for drying the supply air/refrigerant heat exchanger in the air conveying direction, reversed to the supply air conveying direction leading into the vehicle interior, past the supply air/refrigerant heat exchanger, whereby the drying mode is activated at least after shutdown of the vehicle in a previous air conditioning or reheat mode,
• said method including switching the supply air conveying direction to and from the drying mode.