Travel coach air conditioning system

#This present invention relates generally to air conditioning, and particular to air conditioners.

#Large passenger coaches are presently being converted into travel homes for professional entertainers, athletes, and other personalities who must travel a great deal of the time. These coaches are delivered to the converter from the manufacturer in a stripped down condition with a heating system, including air ducts, but without an air conditioning system. It is therefore left up to the converter to install its own air conditioning.

#It has been the general practice in the industry to purchase preexisting air conditioning systems and install them in the best way possible in a stripped down coach. This practice has proven, however, to be far from satisfactory for a number of reasons.

#For a better understanding of these and objects of the invention, reference will be made to the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

#FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a typical passenger coach that has been converted into a travel home;

#FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a dedicated air conditioning system suitable for installation in a passenger coach that has been converted into a travel home;

#Turning now to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a large passenger coach, generally referenced 10, of the type widely known in the industry and available through a number of manufacturers for conversion into travel homes for people who are forced to travel over the road for extended periods of time. Although the coaches are available through a number of manufacturers, they all have the same general configuration and include an upper passenger compartment that is separated from a lower cargo area by a floor. The coaches are typically delivered from the manufacturer in a stripped down condition that includes ductwork through which conditioned (heated) air can be delivered to both the curbside region and the roadside region of the passenger's compartment as well as the driver's position. The lower cargo area is further divided into bays which are accessed through large bay doors located on both the curbside and roadside of the coach.

#As illustrated schematically in FIG. 2, the present air conditioning system 18 employs two individual electrically driven compressors 20 and 21 that are each capable of delivering high temperature, high pressure refrigerant through suitable supply lines 23 and 24 to a downstream condenser unit generally referenced 25. The compressors can be, for example, scroll type compressors or any other electrically driven compressor that is known or used in the art. The compressors are arranged so that they can be selectively driven from a primary generator 27 that is coupled to the coach engine or from a secondary generator 28. The primary generator is employed under normal operating conditions when the coach engine is running. The secondary generator is employed when the coach is parked and the engine is not running. A desired generator is operatively selected through means of a controller 75 that is located in the driver's compartment, which remotely operates switches 76 and 77 associated with the generators. The secondary generator is preferably located adjacent to a bay door so that it can be readily accessed for service and maintenance. The secondary generator is self-contained and has its own gasoline engine which consumes considerably less fuel than the coach engine, thus resulting in a considerable savings to the user. Alternatively, the compressor can be connected directly to an outside power supply, when available, thereby bypassing both generators. To this end, it is preferred that the compressors can operate on a conventional electrical outlet.

#The discharge side of the first compressor 20 is connected to a first condenser heat exchanger circuit 30 by supply line 23 while the discharge side of the second compressor 21 is connected to a second condenser heat exchanger circuit 31 via supply line 24. The first condenser heat exchanger is arranged to supply refrigerant to a curbside evaporator 34 and a driver's compartment evaporator 35 via refrigerant lines 37 and 38, respectively. Suitable expansion devices 40 are mounted in the refrigerant lines to throttle the refrigerant in the lines to a lower temperature prior to delivery to the evaporators. The two evaporators, in turn, are coupled to the inlet side of compressor 20 by return lines 42 and 43.