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:
Oct. 28, 2003
Filed:
Oct. 21, 2002
Cooling fan control method for minimizing the power consumption of a vehicle air conditioning system
Wayne Oliver Forrest, Gasport, NY (US);
Lawrence Scherer, North Tonawanda, NY (US);
Nicholas Joseph Alonge, Jr., Tonawanda, NY (US);
Frank A. Krueger, Lockport, NY (US);
Lindsey Lee Leitzel, Lockport, NY (US);
Paul J. Bruski, Buffalo, NY (US);
Delphi Technologies, Inc., Troy, MI (US);
Abstract
An improved control method for a vehicle air conditioning system including a refrigerant compressor and a condenser cooling fan adjusts the power consumption of the condenser cooling fan in a manner to minimize the combined power consumption of compressor and the condenser cooling fan while maintaining adequate cooling of the condensed refrigerant. When the air conditioning system is operating at less than full capacity, the combined power consumption of the compressor and the condenser cooling fan is determined for each of a series of operating intervals. The change in the combined power consumption from one operating interval to the next is computed to determine the effect of a prior cooling fan power adjustment, and the power level of the cooling fan is incrementally adjusted in the same direction as the prior adjustment so long as the prior adjustment resulted in at least a specified reduction of the combined power consumption. Otherwise, the power level of the cooling fan is incrementally adjusted in the opposite direction so that the control continually seeks the cooling fan power level that will minimize the combined power consumption of the compressor and condenser cooling fan.