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:
Nov. 21, 2017
Filed:
Mar. 14, 2014
Applicant:
Ford Global Technologies, Llc, Dearborn, MI (US);
Inventor:
Franco Ragazzi, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
Assignee:
Ford Global Technologies, LLC, Dearborn, MI (US);
Attorneys:
Primary Examiner:
Assistant Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
F25D 21/08 (2006.01); B60H 1/32 (2006.01); B60H 1/00 (2006.01);
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
F25D 21/08 (2013.01); B60H 1/321 (2013.01); B60H 2001/00949 (2013.01);
Abstract
Methods and systems for de-icing an exterior heat exchanger of a vehicle's heat pump are presented. In one example, a positive temperature coefficient (PTC) heater provides heat to refrigerant that de-ices the exterior heat exchanger. In some examples, an additional PTC heater provides heat to engine coolant to warm a vehicle's passenger cabin when the vehicle's exterior heat exchanger is being de-iced.