System for heating and cooling the interior of a motor vehicle

#1. Field of the Invention

#The invention relates to a system for heating and cooling the interior of a motor vehicle, including a first climate control device designed to heat or cool the front area of the interior, a second climate control device which is designed to heat or cool the rear area of the interior, a first evaporator which can be connected to a cooling circuit being assigned to the first climate control device and a second evaporator which can be connected to the cooling circuit being assigned to the second climate control device.

#2. Description of Related Art

#FIG. 1 shows a schematic of a first embodiment of the system of the present invention;

#FIG. 2 shows a schematic of a second embodiment of the system of the present invention;

#FIG. 3 shows a schematic of a third embodiment of the system of the present invention; and

#The system shown in FIG. 1 is designed for heating and cooling of the interior or the cab of a commercial vehicle. The compression refrigeration circuit of the system comprises a compressor 42 which can be mechanically driven by the engine of the vehicle. In the conventional manner, a condenser 44 is connected downstream of the compressor 42. A first HVAC module or a first climate control device 10 has a first heating heat exchanger 22 which is connected to the coolant circuit of the vehicle engine or to the heating circuit 52, as is likewise known in and of itself. Optionally, the first heating heat exchanger 22 can be equipped with, for example, an electrical auxiliary heater. A first cooling agent circuit 11 is connected to the first climate control device 10. The condenser 44 and compressor 42 are positioned along the first cooling agent circuit 11. In the first climate control device 10, there is furthermore a first evaporator 14 to which a first expansion element 34 is assigned. The first heating heat exchanger 22 and the first evaporator 14 are located in succession such that an air flow produced by the first fan 24 flows first through the first evaporator 14 or past it and then through the first heating heat exchanger 22 before it is supplied to the front area of the interior of the motor vehicle. The first climate control device 10 can be made for example in the form of a front box which is located in the front area of the vehicle. The first climate control device 10 is designed to control the climate in the driver and/or passenger area of the cab. The first evaporator 14 is connected parallel to the series connection of the compressor 42 and condenser 44, the first valve 36 being assigned to the first evaporator 14 and with it the coolant flow through the first evaporator 14 can be completely or partially stopped with the compressor 42 running.

#A second HVAC module or a second climate control device 12 is located in the sleeping berth of the cab and contains a second heating heat exchanger 26, a first heat exchanger 20 and a second fan 28. The second heating heat exchanger 26, like the first heating heat exchanger 22, can be connected to the coolant circuit of the vehicle engine or to the heating circuit 52. In particular, with respect to auxiliary air conditioning or heating, embodiments are however also possible in which the second heating heat exchanger 26 is formed in addition or exclusively by an electrical or fuel-fired heating system or auxiliary heating system. Electrical heating systems or auxiliary heating systems can be used to special advantage if there is for example a fuel cell-operated APU (auxiliary power unit/auxiliary (electrical) power source). The second heating heat exchanger 26 and the first heat exchanger 20 are located in succession such that the air flow produced by a second fan 28 flows first through the first heat exchanger 20 and then through the second heating heat exchanger 26 before it is supplied to the sleeping berth. The first heat exchanger 20 is connected via a second cooling agent circuit 29 to a second heat exchanger 30 which is located in a latent storage 18 in which especially cold can be stored. The cooling agent can be for example sols and/or water and/or glycol, there being a cooling agent pump 32 for circulating the cooling agent. The cooling agent circuit furthermore comprises an equalization tank 48. In the latent storage 18, there is a second evaporator 16 to which a second expansion element 38 is assigned. The second evaporator 16 is likewise connected in parallel to the series connection of the compressor 42 and the condenser 44. To the second evaporator 16, a second valve 40 is assigned with which coolant flow through the second evaporator 16 can be completely or partially prevented with the compressor 42 running. Furthermore, a check valve 46, the operation of which will be detailed below, is assigned to the second evaporator 16. The latent storage 18 is charged by the cold which is released during the evaporation process on the second evaporator 16. The cold stored in the latent storage 18 can be transferred, with the cooling agent pump 32 running, at least in part from the second heat exchanger 30 to the cooling agent and from the latter via the first heat exchanger 20 to the air flow which is produced by the second fan 28.

#In this embodiment the second valve 40, the check valve 46, the cooling agent pump 32, the equalization tank 48, and the latent storage 18 which contains the second evaporator 16, the second expansion element 38, and the second heat exchanger 30 are combined into an auxiliary air conditioning module 50.