The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 17, 2002
Filed:
Nov. 09, 2000
Kazushige Murao, Kariya, JP;
Shigeyuki Hidaka, Kariya, JP;
Masahiro Kawaguchi, Kariya, JP;
Satoshi Koumura, Kariya, JP;
Kabushiki Kaisha Toyoda Jidoshokki Seisakusho, Kariya, JP;
Abstract
A vehicle air conditioner includes a variable displacement compressor forming a part of a coolant circuit, detectors for detecting external information necessary for air conditioning, and a controller. The compressor has pistons and mechanism for actuating the pistons to draw, compress and discharge refrigerant. The piston actuating mechanism is located in a crank chamber. The pressure in the crank chamber is changed to vary the compressor displacement. The controller controls the compressor based on the information from the detectors. When disengaging an electromagnetic clutch, which is located between a vehicle engine and the compressor, the controller quickly decreases the compressor displacement and prevents the pressure difference between the crank chamber and compression chambers excessively increased. Therefore, immediately after being stopped, the compressor is started at the minimum displacement, which minimizes the shock due to load torque change on the engine. Also, the electromagnetic clutch is prevented from malfunctioning.