Automotive air conditioning system
First Claim
1. A closed-loop refrigeration circuit, comprising:
- a compressor for circulating a refrigerant through the circuit;
an evaporator arranged to contact a flow of air such that an exchange of heat occurs between refrigerant in the evaporator and the air flow; and
an infrared temperature to remotely measure the temperature of a surface of the evaporator, wherein the infrared temperature sensor measures the temperature of a downstream surface of the evaporator, wherein a field of view of the infrared temperature sensor is substantially the entire downstream surface of the evaporator.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An automotive air conditioning system is provided comprising a duct for introducing a flow of air into a vehicle cabin, a closed-loop refrigeration circuit including a condenser and an evaporator, a temperature sensor arrange in the duct for measuring the temperature of the evaporator, and a control unit for selectively commanding operation of the system in accordance with the measured temperature of the evaporator. In a preferred embodiment, the temperature sensor comprises an infrared (IR) temperature sensor that is remotely positioned downstream of the evaporator such that the sensor can measure the temperature of a downstream surface of the evaporator. The use of an infrared temperature sensor allows the temperature of substantially the entire downstream surface of the evaporator to be measured instead of a small finite area of the evaporator.
31 Citations
26 Claims
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1. A closed-loop refrigeration circuit, comprising:
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a compressor for circulating a refrigerant through the circuit;
an evaporator arranged to contact a flow of air such that an exchange of heat occurs between refrigerant in the evaporator and the air flow; and
an infrared temperature to remotely measure the temperature of a surface of the evaporator, wherein the infrared temperature sensor measures the temperature of a downstream surface of the evaporator, wherein a field of view of the infrared temperature sensor is substantially the entire downstream surface of the evaporator. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A system for conditioning the air of a vehicle cabin, comprising:
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a duct for introducing a flow of air into the vehicle cabin;
a closed-loop refrigeration circuit comprising a compressor and an evaporator, the evaporator arranged in the duct to contact the air flow such that an exchange of heat occurs between refrigerant in the evaporator and the air in the duct;
a temperature sensor disposed in the duct to remotely measure the temperature of a surface of the evaporator; and
a control unit for selectively commanding operation of the air conditioning system in accordance with the measured surface temperature of the evaporator, wherein the temperature sensor is an infrared temperature sensor, wherein a field of view of the infrared temperature sensor is substantially the entire downstream surface of the evaporator. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A closed-loop refrigeration circuit, comprising:
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a compressor for circulating a refrigerant through the circuit;
an evaporator arranged to contact a flow of air such that an exchange of heat occurs between refrigerant in the evaporator and the air flow; and
an infrared temperature to remotely measure the temperature of a surface of the evaporator, wherein the temperature sensor includes an output for selectively transmitting an output signal, wherein the output signal represents an average surface temperature of the evaporator.
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26. A system for conditioning the air of a vehicle cabin, comprising:
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a duct for introducing a flow of air into the vehicle cabin;
a closed-loop refrigeration circuit comprising a compressor and an evaporator, the evaporator arranged in the duct to contact the air flow such that an exchange of heat occurs between refrigerant in the evaporator and the air in the duct;
a temperature sensor disposed in the duct to remotely measure the temperature of a surface of the evaporator; and
a control unit for selectively commanding operation of the air conditioning system in accordance with the measured surface temperature of the evaporator, wherein the temperature sensor includes an output for selectively transmitting an output signal, the control unit having a terminal that receives the output signal, the control unit configured to produce a control signal that corresponds to the commanded operation of the air conditioning system, wherein the output signal represents an average surface temperature of the evaporator.
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Specification