Patent ID: 6837061

Claim:
An air conditioning system for a vehicle comprising: a compressor ( 12 ) for compressing a refrigerant, a condenser ( 14 ) for condensing the refrigerant, an evaporator ( 16 ) for evaporating the refrigerant and including a predetermined portion in which refrigerant pools, a discharge fluid line ( 18 ) interconnecting the compressor ( 12 ) and said condenser ( 14 ), a liquid fluid line ( 20 ) interconnecting said condenser ( 14 ) and said evaporator ( 16 ), a suction fluid line ( 22 ) interconnecting said evaporator ( 16 ) and said compressor ( 12 ), a discharge-line control valve ( 26 ) disposed in said discharge fluid line ( 18 ) between said compressor ( 12 ) and said condenser ( 14 ), a liquid-line control valve ( 28 ) disposed in said liquid fluid line ( 20 ) between said condenser ( 14 ) and said evaporator ( 16 ), a one-way check valve disposed in said suction fluid line ( 22 ) between said evaporator ( 16 ) and said compressor ( 12 ) for allowing one way flow from said evaporator to said compressor, and a controller ( 36 ) for closing one of the flow control valves ( 26 , 28 ) a period of time before closing the other flow control valve ( 26 , 28 ) and shutting down the compressor ( 12 ).