Vehicle heating and air conditioning system including a dual mode manual temperature selector
First Claim
1. A motor vehicle heating and air conditioning system including a refrigerant compressor, an evaporator, and a temperature control mechanism positionable to control re-heating of air exiting the evaporator, the system comprising:
- a temperature selector manually adjustable to select a temperature setting, and mechanically coupled to the temperature control mechanism for positioning the temperature control mechanism as a function of the selected temperature setting, the temperature selector being selectively operable in;
(1) a normal mode wherein adjustment of the temperature selector produces a corresponding change in re-heating regardless of the temperature setting, or (2) a high fuel efficiency mode wherein adjustment of the temperature selector produces no change in re-heating when the temperature setting is within a designated range of temperature settings including a full cold temperature setting, and a corresponding change in re-heating when the temperature setting is outside said designated range; and
a controller effective when the high fuel efficiency mode is selected and the temperature setting is within said designated range to control a capacity of said refrigerant compressor based on the temperature setting.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An improved vehicle heating and air conditioning system includes a driver-manipulated temperature selector that is physically coupled to a discharge temperature control mechanism. The selector is operable in a normal mode in which movement of the selector away from a full cold setting produces a corresponding movement of the temperature control mechanism that increases the discharge air temperature by re-heating or a high fuel efficiency mode in which movement of the temperature selector away from the full cold setting allows the temperature control mechanism to remain in a full cold position for a limited range of selector movement while the discharge air temperature is increased by capacity reduction of the refrigerant compressor. The temperature selector is in the form of a rotary knob that is axially shiftable to change modes when the selector is positioned at the full cold setting and spring-biased so that the normal mode is established as the default mode.
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Citations
9 Claims
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1. A motor vehicle heating and air conditioning system including a refrigerant compressor, an evaporator, and a temperature control mechanism positionable to control re-heating of air exiting the evaporator, the system comprising:
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a temperature selector manually adjustable to select a temperature setting, and mechanically coupled to the temperature control mechanism for positioning the temperature control mechanism as a function of the selected temperature setting, the temperature selector being selectively operable in;
(1) a normal mode wherein adjustment of the temperature selector produces a corresponding change in re-heating regardless of the temperature setting, or (2) a high fuel efficiency mode wherein adjustment of the temperature selector produces no change in re-heating when the temperature setting is within a designated range of temperature settings including a full cold temperature setting, and a corresponding change in re-heating when the temperature setting is outside said designated range; and
a controller effective when the high fuel efficiency mode is selected and the temperature setting is within said designated range to control a capacity of said refrigerant compressor based on the temperature setting. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A motor vehicle heating and air conditioning system including a refrigerant compressor, an evaporator, a temperature control mechanism positionable to control re-heating of air exiting the evaporator, an operator-adjusted temperature selector mechanically coupled to the temperature control mechanism, and a controller for controlling a capacity of said refrigerant compressor, the improvement wherein:
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the operator-adjusted temperature selector is operable in a normal mode in which adjustment of the temperature selector away from a full cold setting produces a corresponding movement of the temperature control mechanism that increases said re-heating, or a high fuel efficiency mode in which adjustment of the temperature selector away from the full cold setting allows the temperature control mechanism to remain in a full cold position for a predetermined range of temperature selector adjustment; and
the controller controls the capacity of the refrigerant compressor to produce a discharge air temperature corresponding to the selected temperature when the temperature selector is operated in the high fuel efficiency mode and in said predetermined range of selector adjustment. - View Dependent Claims (9)
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Specification