Air-Conditioning Device, In Particular For A Vehicle

1 - 12 . (canceled)

13 . An air-conditioning device, comprising:

a first heat exchanger at a low-pressure side of the air-conditioning device and a second heat exchanger at a high-pressure side of the air-conditioning device;

a cooling circuit containing a cooling medium, said cooling medium in said cooling circuit being at a higher pressure at the high-pressure side of the air-conditional device than at the low-pressure side;

a first housing portion housing said first heat exchanger at the low-pressure side and a second housing portion housing said second heat exchanger at the high-pressure side;

wherein a smoke removal opening is formed between said first and second housing portions, said smoke removal opening being closed during normal operation of the air conditioning device and opened in the event of a fire, for enabling an air flow from said first housing portion into said second housing portion.

14 . The air-conditioning device according to claim 13 , wherein said first housing portion is formed with a fresh air opening for introducing fresh air into said first housing portion and an inner space opening for introducing the fresh air, after having been cooled by said first heat exchanger in said first housing portion, into an interior space that is intended to be air-conditioned by the air-conditioning device.

15 . The air-conditioning device according to claim 13 , wherein said second housing portion is formed with a supply air opening for introducing supply air into said second housing portion and with an exhaust air opening for blowing out the supply air, after having been heated by said second heat exchanger in said second housing portion from the second housing portion in an outward direction.

16 . The air-conditioning device according to claim 15 , wherein said second housing portion is associated with a fan which,

during the normal operation of the air-conditioning device, draws supply air through said supply air opening into said second housing portion and blows out the supply air which has been heated by said heat exchanger in said second housing portion in an outward direction and which,

in the event of a fire, while the smoke removal opening is open, additionally draws inner space air through said inner space opening into said first housing portion, from said first housing portion through said smoke removal opening into said second housing portion and blows the air from there outward through said exhaust air opening.

17 . The air-conditioning device according to claim 16 , wherein said fan is disposed in said second housing portion or said fan is fluidically connected with said second housing portion.

18 . The air-conditioning device according to claim 13 , which comprises a control device configured to issue a control signal which, when a warning signal is present that indicates a fire, causes the smoke removal opening to open.

19 . The air-conditioning device according to claim 18 , wherein:

said smoke removal opening is provided with an actuatable closure element which in an initial state closes the smoke removal opening and opens said smoke removal opening when an actuation signal is present; and

said control device is configured, when the warning signal is present as a control signal, to produce the actuation signal in order to actuate said closure element.

20 . The air-conditioning device according to claim 19 , wherein said closure element is a pyrotechnically operating closure element having a pyrotechnical drive that is ignited when the actuation signal is present.

21 . The air-conditioning device according to claim 18 , wherein said control device is configured to close said supply air opening when the warning signal is present.

22 . The air-conditioning device according to claim 18 , wherein said control device is configured to close said fresh air opening when the warning signal is present.

23 . The air-conditioning device according to claim 18 , wherein said control device is configured to open said smoke removal opening and to close said fresh air opening and said supply air opening when the warning signal is present.

24 . A vehicle, comprising:

an air-conditioning device according to claim 13 configured to air-condition a vehicle interior space during normal operation and to remove smoke from the vehicle interior space via the smoke removal opening in the case of a fire.

25 . The vehicle according to claim 24 being a rail vehicle.

26 . A method for operating an air-conditioning device which has a heat exchanger at a low-pressure side of the air-conditioning device and a heat exchanger at a high-pressure side of the air-conditioning device, the method comprising:

setting a cooling medium in a cooling circuit of the air-conditioning device to a higher pressure at the high-pressure side than at the low-pressure side;

wherein the heat exchanger at the low-pressure side is arranged in a first housing portion of the air-conditioning device and the heat exchanger at the high-pressure side is arranged in a second housing portion of the air-conditioning device and there is formed a smoke removal opening between the first and second housing portions;

keeping the smoke removal opening closed during normal operation of the air-conditioning device; and

opening the smoke removal opening in the event of a fire to enable an air flow from the first housing portion into the second housing portion.