Air-conditioner for a motor vehicle

• US 6,691,527 B2
• Filed: 12/21/2001
• Issued: 02/17/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 01/05/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: BEHR GmbH & Company KG (MAHLE-STIFTUNG GmbH)
• Original Assignee: BEHR GmbH & Company KG (MAHLE-STIFTUNG GmbH)
• Inventors: Weinbrenner, Marcus, Burk, Roland, Molt, Kurt, Seewald, Wolfgang, Taxis-Reischl, Brigitte, Bureau, Cathy, Duerr, Gottfried, von Rappard, Gerald, Feuerecker, Guenther
• Primary Examiner(s): Jones, Melvin
• Application Number:
  US10/024,627
• Publication Number:
  US 20020088246A1
• Time in Patent Office: 788 Days
• Field of Search: 621/99, 622/39, 622/44, 622/43, 624/30, 624/34, 624/35, 165/41, 165/42, 165/43
• US Class Current: 62/244
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00321 Heat exchangers for air-conditioning devices B60H1/3227 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00335 of the gas-air type B60H1/18 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/005 Regenerative cooling means, e.g. cold accumulators
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/323 characterised by comprising auxiliary or multiple systems, e.g. plurality of evaporators, or by involving auxiliary cooling devices
• CPC Class Codes: C09K 5/041 for compression-type refrigeration systems
• CPC Class Codes: C09K 5/063 Materials absorbing or liberating heat during crystallisation; Heat storage materials
• CPC Class Codes: C09K 5/066 Cooling mixtures; De-icing compositions
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 2400/24 Storage receiver heat
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 39/022 with plate-like or laminated elements
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 5/02 arranged in parallel
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 16/00 Devices using a combination of a cooling mode associated with refrigerating machinery with a cooling mode not associated with refrigerating machinery
• CPC Class Codes: F28D 1/05375 with particular pattern of flow, e.g. change of flow direction F28D1/05391 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F28D 20/02 using latent heat
• CPC Class Codes: F28D 2020/0013 the heat storage material being enclosed in elements attached to or integral with heat exchange conduits
• CPC Class Codes: F28D 2021/0085 Evaporators
• CPC Class Codes: F28D 7/0008 the conduits for one medium being in heat conductive contact with the conduits for the other medium
• CPC Class Codes: F28D 7/0025 the conduits for one medium or the conduits for both media being flat tubes or arrays of tubes
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/14 Thermal energy storage

Abstract

The invention relates to an air-conditioner having a heat exchanger, such as an evaporator, for example, with a reservoir for a cold storage medium.

Claims

1. An air-conditioner for a motor vehicle having a passenger compartment, comprising:

a refrigerant circuit comprising a compressor and first and second evaporator sections for cooling air to be conditioned for the passenger compartment, the second evaporator section being adapted for containing a cold storage medium; and

an air-directing mechanism for selectively directing air to be conditioned either through each evaporator section individually or through both evaporator sections together.

2. An air-conditioner as claimed in claim 1, wherein the evaporation sections comprise separate evaporators.

3. An air-conditioner as claimed in claim 1, wherein the evaporator sections comprise a single evaporator having at least two sections.

4. An air-conditioner as claimed in claim 1, wherein the evaporator sections are connected in parallel on the refrigerant side.

5. An air-conditioner as claimed in claim 4, further comprising a valve for regulating the flow of refrigerant through the second evaporator section.

6. An air-conditioner as claimed in claim 1, wherein the evaporator sections are connected in series on the refrigerant side.

7. An air-conditioner as claimed in claim 1, wherein the evaporator sections are connected in series on the air side.

8. An air-conditioner as claimed in claim 1, wherein the evaporator sections are connected in parallel on the air side.

9. An air-conditioner as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cold storage medium has a melting point in excess of 0°

C.

10. An air-conditioner as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cold storage medium comprises decanol or tetradecane.

11. An air-conditioner as claimed in claim 1, wherein the air-directing mechanism is arranged on the air inlet side of the two evaporator sections.

12. An air-conditioner as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a fresh air and/or recirculated air control mechanism.

13. An air-conditioner as claimed in claim 1, wherein said second evaporator section comprises:

a pair of manifold sections, with a first manifold section having an inlet and a second manifold section having an outlet;

a plurality of refrigerant tubes having refrigerant channels provided therein and communicating at least between the manifold sections; and

at least one reservoir for a cold storage medium, wherein at least some of the refrigerant tubes are thermally connected to the cold storage medium reservoir.

14. An air-conditioner as claimed in claim 13, wherein at least one refrigerant tube is arranged in such a way that a reservoir for a cold storage medium is arranged on at least one side of the refrigerant tube.

15. An air-conditioner as claimed in claim 14, wherein a reservoir is arranged on only one side of the refrigerant tube.

16. An air-conditioner as claimed in claim 14, wherein reservoirs are arranged on both sides of the refrigerant tube.

17. An air-conditioner as claimed in claim 13, further comprising a fin attached thereto.

18. An air-conditioner as claimed in claim 17, wherein the reservoir is connected on one lateral face to the refrigerant tube and on the other of its lateral faces to the fin.

19. An air-conditioner as claimed in claim 17, wherein the refrigerant tube is connected at one lateral face to a reservoir and on the other of its lateral faces to the fin.

20. An air-conditioner as claimed in claim 17, wherein the components of the heat exchanger, in a direction transverse to the direction of the air flow through the heat exchanger, have an arrangement order comprising:

refrigerant tube, reservoir, fin, refrigerant tube, reservoir, fin.

21. An air-conditioner as claimed in claim 17, wherein the components of the heat exchanger, in a direction transverse to the direction of the air flow through the heat exchanger, have an arrangement order comprising:

refrigerant tube, reservoir, fin, reservoir, refrigerant tube, reservoir, fin, reservoir, refrigerant tube.

22. An air-conditioner as claimed in claim 17, wherein the components of the heat exchanger, in a direction transverse to the direction of the air flow through the heat exchanger have an arrangement order comprising:

refrigerant tube, fin, reservoir, fin, refrigerant tube, fin, reservoir, fin, refrigerant tube.

23. An air-conditioner as claimed in claim 13, wherein at least one reservoir and at least one refrigerant tube are connected to one another.

24. An air-conditioner as claimed in claim 13, wherein at least one reservoir and at least one refrigerant tube are integrally formed.

25. An air-conditioner as claimed in claim 1, wherein said second evaporator section is adapted for containing the cold storage medium in non-circulation form.

26. An air-conditioner as claimed in claim 25, wherein said second evaporator section is adapted for containing the cold storage medium in an amount sufficient to ensure a refrigeration capacity for cooling air to the passenger compartment for a period of from about 30 to 120 seconds when the compressor is not operating.

27. An air-conditioner for a motor vehicle having a passenger compartment, comprising:

a refrigerant circuit comprising a compressor and first and second evaporator sections having refrigerant vessels in direct heat exchange contact with air for the cooling of air to be conditioned for the passenger compartment, wherein the second evaporator section is adapted for containing a cold storage medium.

28. An air-conditioner as claimed in claim 27, wherein the evaporator sections comprise separate evaporators.

29. An air-conditioner as claimed in claim 27, wherein the evaporator sections comprise a single evaporator having at least two sections.

30. An air-conditioner as claimed in claim 27, wherein the second evaporator section is connected in parallel on the refrigerant side to the first evaporator section.

31. An air-conditioner as claimed in claim 27, further comprising a valve for regulating the flow of refrigerant through the second evaporator section.

32. An air-conditioner as claimed in claim 27, wherein the cold storage medium comprises a water-glycol mixture.

33. An air-conditioner as claimed in claim 27, wherein the two evaporator sections are connected in parallel on the air side.

34. An air-conditioner as claimed in claim 27, further comprising a fresh air and/or recirculated air control mechanism.

35. An air-conditioner as claimed in claim 27, further comprising an air flow control mechanism arranged on the air inlet side of the two evaporator sections for selectively directing air to the evaporator sections.

36. An air-conditioner for a motor vehicle having a passenger compartment, comprising:

a refrigerant circuit comprising a compressor and first and second evaporator sections for the cooling of air to be conditioned for the passenger compartment, wherein the second evaporator section is adapted for containing a cold storage medium, and wherein the second evaporator section comprises evaporator tubes comprised of tubes having multiple channels and at least some of the channels are adapted to store the cold storage medium.

37. An air-conditioner as claimed in claim 36, wherein said adapted channels comprise closed channels adapted to contain stationary cold storage medium.