Patent ID: 8286440

Claim:
An air conditioning system for a cabin of a vehicle comprising: an air conditioning compressor having a drive shaft that is rotated to operate the air conditioning compressor; an electrically operated clutch assembly mounted on the drive shaft of the air conditioning compressor, wherein the clutch assembly includes a first pulley for coupling via a first drive belt to a second pulley, wherein the second pulley is rigidly coupled to a drive engine of the vehicle, and wherein the first pulley is rotated by the drive engine via the first drive belt coupled to the second pulley; a third pulley rigidly coupled to a hub of the clutch assembly, wherein the hub is rigidly coupled to the air conditioning compressor shaft; an electric motor; and a fourth pulley rigidly coupled to a shaft of the electric motor, wherein the third pulley is rotated by the electric motor via a second drive belt coupling the third and fourth pulleys or the fourth pulley is rotated by the drive engine, the first, second and third pulleys and the first and second drive belts, wherein in response to control signals the clutch assembly selects between i) coupling the first pulley rigidly to the air conditioning compressor shaft in a first mode, so that with the electric motor de-energized the pulleys are configured in the first mode for the drive engine driving both the air conditioning compressor shaft and the electric motor shaft, and ii) coupling the first pulley to turn independently of the air conditioning compressor shaft in a second mode, so that with the electric motor energized the pulleys are configured in the second mode for the electric motor driving the air conditioning compressor shaft via the third pulley independently of the drive engine.