Method for controlling air conditioner based on energy flow mode of vehicle

1. A method of controlling an air conditioner comprising steps of:

determining whether or not a signal for operating the air conditioner is input to a controller;

when it is determined that the signal for operating the air conditioner is input to the controller, determining whether or not conditions for variably controlling the air conditioner are satisfied;

when it is determined that the conditions are satisfied, checking one of a plurality of energy flow modes on the basis of an energy flow between a battery, a motor, an engine, and electric components;

controlling the air conditioner to be operated in a mode corresponding to the checked energy flow mode,

wherein a compressor of the air conditioner is driven by the motor which provide a vehicle with a driving power,

wherein the controller determines that the checked energy flow mode is a regenerative braking mode when a regenerative braking power is greater than a braking power or when a battery charge current is greater than a battery regenerative current, and upon determining that the checked energy flow mode is the regenerative braking mode, the controller operates the air conditioner and charges the battery by using regenerative energy supplied from the motor, and

wherein the controller determines that the checked energy flow mode is an idle charge mode when a power of the engine is greater than a power of the motor and when the electric vehicle (EV) traveling mode is selected as a driving mode of the vehicle, and upon determining that the checked energy flow mode is the idle charge mode, the controller supplies the air conditioner with electrical energy less than electrical energy supplied to the air conditioner in any other of the plurality of energy flow modes.

2. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising controlling the air conditioner in a general control mode when it is determined that the signal for operating the air conditioner is not input to the controller.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the step of determining whether or not the conditions for variably controlling the air conditioner are satisfied includes determining whether or not a condition of an air conditioner controller of the vehicle corresponds to a previous condition input to the controller.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the step of determining whether or not the conditions for variably controlling the air conditioner are satisfied includes determining whether or not an indoor temperature condition of the vehicle corresponds to a previous condition input to the controller on the basis of collected indoor information.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the determining of whether or not the conditions for variably controlling the air conditioner are satisfied includes determining whether or not an outdoor temperature condition of the vehicle corresponds to a previous condition input to the controller on the basis of collected outdoor information.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the step of determining whether or not the conditions for variably controlling the air conditioner are satisfied includes determining whether or not revolutions per minute (RPM) of the compressor of the air conditioner corresponds to a previous condition input to the controller.

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the step of determining whether or not the conditions for variably controlling the air conditioner are satisfied includes whether or not a condition of an air conditioner controller, an indoor temperature condition, an outdoor temperature condition, and revolutions per minute (RPM) of the compressor of the air conditioner correspond to previous conditions input to the controller and, when all the conditions are satisfied, the step of checking one of the plurality of energy flow modes is performed.

8. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the step of checking one of the plurality of energy flow modes includes determining whether or not one of the plurality of energy flow modes is the regenerative braking mode, and when the checked energy flow mode is the regenerative braking mode, the step of controlling the air conditioner to be operated in a method corresponding to the regenerative braking mode previously input to the controller is performed.

9. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the step of checking one of the plurality of energy flow modes includes determining whether or not one of the plurality of energy flow modes is the electric vehicle (EV) traveling mode, and when the checked energy flow mode is the EV traveling mode, the step of controlling the air conditioner to be operated in a method corresponding to the EV traveling mode previously input to the controller is performed.

10. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the step of checking one of the plurality of energy flow modes includes determining whether or not one of the plurality of energy flow modes is a charge mode, and when the checked energy flow mode is the charge mode, the step of controlling the air conditioner to be operated in a method corresponding to the charge mode previously input to the controller is performed.

11. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the step of checking one of the plurality of energy flow modes includes determining whether or not one of the plurality of energy flow modes an engine driving mode, and when the checked energy flow mode is the engine driving mode, the step of controlling the air conditioner to be operated in a method corresponding to the engine driving mode previously input to the controller is performed.

12. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the step of checking one of the plurality of energy flow modes includes determining whether or not one of the plurality of energy flow modes is the regenerative braking mode, the electric vehicle (EV) traveling mode, a charge mode, or an engine driving mode, and when the checked energy flow mode does not correspond to any one of the modes, the step of controlling the air conditioner to be operated in a method corresponding to a battery assist mode previously input to the controller is performed.