Air conditioning system having controllably coupled thermal storage capability

In a system adapted for incorporation in a motor vehicle having a passenger area for conditioning a stream of air to provide an output air stream having a controlled temperature to said passenger area, said system being of the type comprising means for producing an air stream, a refrigerant, a compressor for said refrigerant, means for coupling said compressor to the engine of said vehicle to be driven thereby, a condenser for liquifying said refrigerant, fluid connections between the output of said compressor and the input of said condenser, an evaporator coil having one end connected to the output of said condenser and the other end connected to the input of said compressor and pressure control means disposed in said one end of said evaporator coil to maintain a differential between the pressure in said condenser and the pressure in said coil, the improvement in said system comprising:

• a medium having thermal storage capacity;
• thermal conducting means interposed between said evaporator coil and said thermal storage medium for effecting heat exchange therebetween, at least a portion of said thermal conducting means being disposed in the path of said air stream for heat exchange therewith, said portion being arranged to permit passage of said air stream therethrough;
• cycling means operatively connected to said coupling means for effecting activation and deactivation thereof, activation of said cycling means effecting coupling of said compressor to said engine and deactivation of said cycling means effecting decoupling of said compressor to said engine;
• and
• means for controlling the flow rate of said air stream through said thermal conducting means portion for controllably apportioning heat transfer from said air stream and said medium to said refrigerant when said compressor is coupled to said engine whereby when said flow rate is increased there is increased heat transfer from said air stream to said refrigerant and decreased heat transfer from said medium to said refrigerant and when said flow rate is decreased there is decreased heat transfer from said air stream to said refrigerant an increased heat transfer from said medium to said refrigerant, and for controlling the rate of heat transfer from said air stream to said medium when said compressor is decoupled from said engine whereby when said flow rate is increased there is increased heat transfer from said air stream to said medium and when said flow rate is decreased there is decreased heat transfer from said air stream to said medium.