Clutching mechanism for positive displacement air cycle system

Abstract

An air cycle air conditioning system for treating air contained within a passenger compartment of a vehicle. The system includes a compressor for receiving air from the passenger compartment and compressing the air, thereby producing charged air. Further, an expander is provided selectively coupled to the compressor for expanding the air and cooling the air communicated to the passenger compartment. The system further includes an air-to-air heat exchanger that cools the air received by the compressor-and supplies cooled charged air to the vehicle's engine.

1 . An air cycle air conditioning system for treating air contained within a passenger compartment of a vehicle, the system comprising: 
 a compressor for receiving air from the passenger compartment and compressing the air, thereby producing charged air;    an expander selectively coupled to the compressor for expanding the air, thereby cooling the air communicated to the passenger compartment; and    an air-to-air heat exchanger, wherein the heat exchanger cools the air received by the compressor and supplies the cooled charged air to the vehicle's engine.    
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the air-to-air heat exchanger further comprises a water separator for removing a portion of water from the air passing through the heat exchanger.  
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1  further comprising a clutch for selectively coupling and decoupling the compressor from the expander.  
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1  further comprising a valve located between the heat exchanger and the expander for reducing air flow to the expander.  
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1  further comprising a bleed tube that connects an inlet of the expander to an outlet of the expander.  
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the expander is a positive displacement expander.  
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the expander is a variable displacement expander.  
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 7  wherein the variable displacement expander is a reciprocating type of expander wherein a stroke of the expander may be adjusted to vary a displacement of the expander.  
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 7  wherein the variable displacement expander is a screw type expander wherein an inlet point is varied to change a displacement of the expander.  
     
     
         10 . A method for treating air contained within a passenger compartment of a vehicle using an air cycle air conditioning system, the method comprising: 
 receiving air from the passenger compartment and compressing the air, thereby producing charged air using a compressor;    expanding the air using an expander selectively coupled to the compressor for, thereby cooling the air communicated to the passenger compartment;    cooling the air received by the compressor; and    supplying the cooled charged air to the vehicle's engine using an air-to-air heat exchanger.    
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10  further comprising deactivating the expansion process carried out by the expander by decoupling the expander from the compressor when the expander starts to heat the air.  
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10  further comprising deactivating an expansion process carried out by the expander by regulating a valve located upstream of the expander when the expander starts to heat the air.  
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 10  further comprising removing a portion of water from the air passing through the heat exchanger.  
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 10  further comprising selectively coupling and decoupling the compressor from the expander using a clutch to regulate an expansion process carried out by the expander.  
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 10  further comprising redirecting air from an inlet of the expander to an outlet of the expander to regulate an expansion process carried out by the expander.  
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 10  further comprising adjusting a variable displacement expander to regulate an expansion process carried out by the expander wherein the variable displacement expander is a reciprocating type of expander and wherein a stroke of the expander is varied to change a displacement of the expander.  
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 10  further comprising adjusting a variable displacement expander to regulate an expansion process carried out by the expander, wherein the variable displacement expander is a screw type expander wherein an inlet point is varied to change a displacement of the expander.