Air conditioning system having controllably coupled thermal storage capability
First Claim
1. In a system for conditioning a stream of air to provide an output air stream having a controlled temperature, said system being of the type comprising means for producing an air stream, a first medium in heat exchange relation with said air stream and means for controlling the temperature of said medium to effect sufficient heat exchange between said medium and said air stream to maintain the temperature of said output air stream at said controlled temperature, the improvement in said system comprising:
- a second medium having thermal storage capability;
thermal conducting means interposed between said first and second media for effecting heat exchange therebetween, at least a portion of said thermal conducting means being disposed in the path of said air stream for heat exchange therewith, said portion being arranged to permit passage of said stream therethrough;
means for controlling the flow rate of said air stream through said thermal conducting means portion for controllably apportioning heat transfer from said air stream and said second medium to said first medium when said means for controlling the temperature of said first medium is activated whereby when said means for controlling the temperature of said first medium is activated and said flow rate is increased there is increased heat transfer from said air stream to said first medium and decreased heat transfer from said second medium to said first medium and when said flow rate is decreased there is decreased heat transfer from said air stream to said first medium and increased heat transfer from said second medium to said first medium; and
for controlling the rate of heat transfer from said air stream to said second medium when said means for controlling the temperature of said first medium is deactivated whereby when said first temperature controlling means is deactivated and said flow rate is increased there is increased heat transfer from said air stream to said second medium and when said flow rate is decreased there is decreased heat transfer from said air stream to said second medium; and
cycling means operatively connected to said first medium temperature controlling means for effecting activation and deactivation thereof.
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Abstract
An improved air conditioning system comprises a first medium in heat exchange relation with an air stream, means for controlling the temperature of the first medium to effect sufficient heat exchange to control the temperature of the air stream, a second medium having thermal storage capacity, thermal conducting means interposed between said first and second media for effecting heat exchange therebetween, the thermal conducting means being thermally coupled to a means for exchanging heat with the air stream, and a means for controlling the flow rate of the air stream through the heat exchange means in order to controllably apportion heat exchange between (a) the first medium and (b) the air stream and the second medium.
The system also includes, as additions to the conventional sensors and controls, means for sensing the level of thermal storage effected by the second medium and providing an output signal indicative thereof, cycling means for activating the temperature control means in response to these sensing means output signals, and, for vehicular applications, means for sensing and cycling on the basis of vehicle operating mode.
81 Citations
34 Claims
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1. In a system for conditioning a stream of air to provide an output air stream having a controlled temperature, said system being of the type comprising means for producing an air stream, a first medium in heat exchange relation with said air stream and means for controlling the temperature of said medium to effect sufficient heat exchange between said medium and said air stream to maintain the temperature of said output air stream at said controlled temperature, the improvement in said system comprising:
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a second medium having thermal storage capability; thermal conducting means interposed between said first and second media for effecting heat exchange therebetween, at least a portion of said thermal conducting means being disposed in the path of said air stream for heat exchange therewith, said portion being arranged to permit passage of said stream therethrough; means for controlling the flow rate of said air stream through said thermal conducting means portion for controllably apportioning heat transfer from said air stream and said second medium to said first medium when said means for controlling the temperature of said first medium is activated whereby when said means for controlling the temperature of said first medium is activated and said flow rate is increased there is increased heat transfer from said air stream to said first medium and decreased heat transfer from said second medium to said first medium and when said flow rate is decreased there is decreased heat transfer from said air stream to said first medium and increased heat transfer from said second medium to said first medium; and
for controlling the rate of heat transfer from said air stream to said second medium when said means for controlling the temperature of said first medium is deactivated whereby when said first temperature controlling means is deactivated and said flow rate is increased there is increased heat transfer from said air stream to said second medium and when said flow rate is decreased there is decreased heat transfer from said air stream to said second medium; andcycling means operatively connected to said first medium temperature controlling means for effecting activation and deactivation thereof. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. In a system adapted for incorporation in a motor vehicle having a passenger area for conditioning a stream of air to provide an output air stream having a controlled temperature to said passenger area, said system being of the type comprising means for producing an air stream, a refrigerant, a compressor for said refrigerant, means for coupling said compressor to the engine of said vehicle to be driven thereby, a condenser for liquifying said refrigerant, fluid connections between the output of said compressor and the input of said condenser, an evaporator coil having one end connected to the output of said condenser and the other end connected to the input of said compressor and pressure control means disposed in said one end of said evaporator coil to maintain a differential between the pressure in said condenser and the pressure in said coil, the improvement in said system comprising:
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a medium having thermal storage capacity; thermal conducting means interposed between said evaporator coil and said thermal storage medium for effecting heat exchange therebetween, at least a portion of said thermal conducting means being disposed in the path of said air stream for heat exchange therewith, said portion being arranged to permit passage of said air stream therethrough; cycling means operatively connected to said coupling means for effecting activation and deactivation thereof, activation of said cycling means effecting coupling of said compressor to said engine and deactivation of said cycling means effecting decoupling of said compressor to said engine; and means for controlling the flow rate of said air stream through said thermal conducting means portion for controllably apportioning heat transfer from said air stream and said medium to said refrigerant when said compressor is coupled to said engine whereby when said flow rate is increased there is increased heat transfer from said air stream to said refrigerant and decreased heat transfer from said medium to said refrigerant and when said flow rate is decreased there is decreased heat transfer from said air stream to said refrigerant an increased heat transfer from said medium to said refrigerant, and for controlling the rate of heat transfer from said air stream to said medium when said compressor is decoupled from said engine whereby when said flow rate is increased there is increased heat transfer from said air stream to said medium and when said flow rate is decreased there is decreased heat transfer from said air stream to said medium. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34)
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Specification