Vehicle air conditioning and heating system

Claim 1

A unified heating and air conditioning system for automotive vehicles and the like comprising a circulating loop for hot vehicle engine coolant under the influence of an engine operated coolant pump, a heating-cooling coil connected in said circulating loop and being at least partly in the passenger compartment of a vehicle having a blower means to direct an air stream over the heating-cooling coil, an independent engine coolant circulating loop including a common branch with the first-named circulating loop, the common branch containing said heating-cooling coil, pumping means to circulate engine coolant through the independent loop, an absorption refrigeration system external to the passenger compartment of a vehicle including a refrigerant evaporator connected in said independent loop to chill the engine coolant being pumped through such loop and a generator, and a second circulating loop for hot engine coolant under influence of said coolant pump connected into the first-named circulating loop and including said generator, whereby normally wasted heat in the hot engine coolant is utilized by the generator as thermal energy to operate the absorption refrigeration system, and valving connected between the first-named, independent and said second circulating loops to selectively control the flow of engine coolant therethrough at required times, and the absorption refrigeration system further comprising a refrigerant condenser connected between said generator and said refrigerant evaporator, an absorber connected between the evaporator and said generator, a solution condenser connected with the absorber, solution pumping means connected between the solution condenser and the absorber, and restrictor valve means connected between the refrigerant condenser and evaporator and between the evaporator and the absorber.