Air conditioning system for use in vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10006684-B2
Application number	US-201514965142-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 10, 2015
Priority date	Dec 10, 2015
Publication date	Jun 26, 2018
Grant date	Jun 26, 2018

Abstract

An air conditioning system for use in a vehicle includes at least one compressor, a condenser disposed downstream of the at least one compressor and a plurality of evaporators disposed downstream of the condenser with first and second evaporators fluidly coupled to each other in parallel. The at least one compressor, the condenser, and the plurality of evaporators are fluidly connected by refrigerant lines to form a refrigerant circuit. The air conditioning system also includes a plurality of shut-off valves, with one shut-off valve installed at a refrigerant inlet and another shut-off valve installed at a refrigerant outlet of the first evaporator. The shut-off valves are controlled to prevent undesired collection of refrigerant in the first evaporator.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An air conditioning system for use in a vehicle having two or more compartments, the air conditioning system comprising:
a plurality of compressors for compressing refrigerant into a compressed refrigerant, the plurality of compressors including:
a first compressor configured to connect to an internal combustion engine of the vehicle and be driven by the internal combustion engine when the internal combustion engine is running; and
a second compressor fluidly coupled in parallel to the first compressor and configured to operate when the internal combustion engine of the vehicle is not running;

a condenser disposed downstream of the first compressor and the second compressor and configured to condense the compressed refrigerant;
a plurality of evaporators disposed downstream of the condenser and configured to evaporate the condensed refrigerant, the plurality of evaporators including a first evaporator and a second evaporator, wherein:
the first evaporator and the second evaporator are fluidly coupled to each other in parallel;
the first evaporator is in thermal communication with a cab compartment of the vehicle to cool the cab compartment; and
the second evaporator is in thermal communication with a sleeper compartment of the vehicle to cool the sleeper compartment;

a plurality of shut-off valves including a first shut-off valve and a second shut-off valve, wherein the first shut-off valve is installed at a refrigerant inlet of the first evaporator and the second shut-off valve is installed at a refrigerant outlet of the first evaporator to prevent refrigerant from collecting in the first evaporator;
refrigerant lines fluidly connecting the plurality of compressors, the condenser, and the plurality of evaporators to form a refrigerant circuit for circulating the refrigerant; and
a controller communicatively coupled to the plurality of compressors and the first and second shut-off valves, the controller configured to operate the first and second shut-off valves and the plurality of compressors, including adjusting operation of the plurality of compressors based on whether the internal combustion engine of the vehicle is running.

2. The air conditioning system of claim 1 , further comprising a first sensor configured to measure airflow passing over the first evaporator; and
wherein the controller is electrically coupled to the first sensor and configured to:
automatically close the first and second shut-off valves when the measured airflow passing over the first evaporator is less than a first predetermined volume, and
automatically open the first and second shut-off valves when the measured airflow passing over the first evaporator is equal to or greater than the first predetermined volume.

3. The air conditioning system of claim 2 , wherein first predetermined volume is based on one or more occupant preferences.

4. The air conditioning system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to automatically control operation of the plurality of compressors in accordance with cooling demand of the two or more compartments of the vehicle.

5. The air conditioning system of claim 1 , wherein the first evaporator is mounted in the cab compartment of the vehicle.

6. The air conditioning system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of evaporators further includes a third evaporator fluidly coupled to the first and second evaporators in parallel and in thermal communication with a third compartment of the two or more compartments of the vehicle.

7. The air conditioning system of claim 1 , wherein the second compressor is an electrically driven compressor.

8. The air conditioning system of claim 1 , further
a first flow control valve disposed upstream of the first compressor and configured to selectively restrict or permit flow of the refrigerant to the first compressor; and
a second flow control valve disposed upstream of the second compressor and configured to selectively restrict or permit flow of the refrigerant to the second compressor.

9. The air conditioning system of claim 1 , further comprising:
a first metering device disposed between the first shut off valve and the first evaporator and configured for controlling flow rate of the refrigerant into the first evaporator; and
a second metering device disposed upstream of the second evaporator and configured for controlling flow rate of the refrigerant into the second evaporator.

10. The air conditioning system of claim 9 , wherein the first and the second metering devices are thermal expansion valves.

11. The air conditioning system of claim 1 , further comprising a receiver component disposed between the condenser and the plurality of evaporators and configured for performing one or more of the following:
temporarily storing the refrigerant; and
absorbing moisture from the refrigerant.

12. The air conditioning system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of shut-off valves include a third shut-off valve and a fourth shut-off valve, wherein the third shut-off valve is installed at a refrigerant inlet of the second evaporator and the fourth shut-off valve is installed at a refrigerant outlet of the second evaporator to prevent refrigerant from collecting in the second evaporator.

13. The air conditioning system of claim 12 , further comprising:
a first sensor configured to measure airflow passing over the first evaporator;
a second sensor configured to measure airflow passing over the second evaporator; and
a controller electrically coupled to the first and second sensors and configured to:
automatically close the first and second shut-off valves when the measured airflow passing over the first evaporator is less than a first predetermined volume,
automatically open the first and second shut-off valves when the measured airflow passing over the first evaporator is equal to or greater than the first predetermined volume,
automatically close the third and fourth shut-off valves when the measured airflow passing over the second evaporator is less than a second predetermined volume, and
automatically open the third and fourth shut-off valves when the measured airflow passing over the second evaporator is equal to or greater than the second predetermined volume.

14. The air conditioning system of claim 13 , wherein the second predetermined volume is at most 75 Cubic Feet per Minute (CFM).

15. The air conditioning system of claim 12 , wherein the controller is further configured to operate the third and fourth shut-off valves.

16. The air conditioning system of claim 1 , further comprising:
a first air blower positioned proximate the first evaporator and configured to blow air over the first evaporator;
a second air blower positioned proximate the second evaporator and configured to blow air over the second evaporator, and
a third air blower positioned proximate the condenser and configured to blow air over the condenser.

17. The air conditioning system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to operate the first and second shut-off valves based on occupant preferences.

18. The air conditioning system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to operate the first and second shut-off valves based on a type of the vehicle.

19. The air conditioning system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to operate the air conditioning system in a first mode, a second mode, and a third mode; and
wherein:
in the first mode, both the first evaporator and the second evaporator are in operation and

Assignees

• Bergstrom Inc

Inventors

• Connell Brett S
• Herrmann Brett J
• Zeigler Terry

Classifications

• F25B41/04

  Mechanical Engineering · mapped topic

• F25B2600/2519

  On-off valves · CPC title

• F25B5/02

  arranged in parallel · CPC title

• F25B49/02 Primary

  for compression type machines, plants or systems · CPC title

• F25B6/02

  arranged in parallel · CPC title