Patent ID: 7007856

Claim:
An extended engine off climate control system for a hybrid electric motor vehicle comprising a gasoline engine in a gasoline engine bay and an electric motor, the system comprising: an air conditioning compressor; an air conditioning condenser coupled to receive refrigerant vapor from the air conditioning compressor; a two stage expansion orifice coupled to receive refrigerant liquid from the air conditioning condenser, the two stage expansion orifice configured to utilize a first orifice size when the gasoline engine is operating and a second orifice size different than the first orifice size when the gasoline engine is not operating; an air conditioning evaporator coupled to receive refrigerant liquid from the two stage expansion orifice; and a power train control module coupled to control the air conditioning compressor and operational to detect when the gasoline engine is operating and when the gasoline engine is not operating and to send a signal to the two stage expansion orifice to utilize the first orifice size or the second orifice size.