SAE Update - October 2024 - 6

SAE & MEMBER NEWS
Celebrating industry legend
Ward J. Atkinson
Among Ward's many patents-and the one for which he is probably most well-known-is the orifice tube and cycling clutch
orifice tube (CCOT) system.
various GM divisions were
competing with each other just
as much as they were competing
with non-GM brands. It wasn't
until the 1970s and 1980s that
GM brands became more
" corporate, " sharing ideas and
working together rather than
competing.
As time went on, internal
standardization meetings were
held (and conducted by Ward)
to commonize A/C systems,
starting with the full-size GM
B-body vehicles. (Ward's favorite
car was a B-body, the Chevrolet
Impala.)
Engineering coordination
programs were put into place for
automatic temperature control
and commonization of parts
such as compressors,
condensers, and other
components in the systems.
While each division had
autonomy in some areas-like
design and appearance of
6 October 2024
dashboard vent outlets-eventually, the refrigerant
cycle side of the systems became more and more
common through the sharing of parts and
components and layout design.
Development of the CCOT
Among Ward's many patents-and the one for which
he is probably most well-known-is the orifice tube
and cycling clutch orifice tube (CCOT) system.
At the time, car manufacturers had trouble keeping
dash outlet temperatures steady. Temperature
changes of more than ten degrees at the dash outlet
would lead to customer complaints, and so the goal
was to keep any changes (be it in heating or cooling
mode) to within ten degrees or less.
Ward told me that he was sitting in his office one
day, thinking about the various A/C systems in
production and how each had various temperature
control problems. There were cycling clutch
systems, hot gas valve systems, thermal expansion
valve systems, and suction throttling valve systems,
none of which had very good temperature control
over a wide ambient swing; it was always too cold.
This led to re-evaporation odors-that musty
" laundry " smell-due to elevated evaporator core
temperatures. Also, if you didn't keep the
evaporator coil at close to freezing, then you were
UPDATE
Steve Schaeber

SAE Update - October 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of SAE Update - October 2024

SAE Update - October 2024 - Cov1
SAE Update - October 2024 - Cov2
SAE Update - October 2024 - 1
SAE Update - October 2024 - 2
SAE Update - October 2024 - 3
SAE Update - October 2024 - 4
SAE Update - October 2024 - 5
SAE Update - October 2024 - 6
SAE Update - October 2024 - 7
SAE Update - October 2024 - 8
SAE Update - October 2024 - 9
SAE Update - October 2024 - 10
SAE Update - October 2024 - 11
SAE Update - October 2024 - 12
SAE Update - October 2024 - 13
SAE Update - October 2024 - 14
SAE Update - October 2024 - 15
SAE Update - October 2024 - 16
SAE Update - October 2024 - 17
SAE Update - October 2024 - 18
SAE Update - October 2024 - 19
SAE Update - October 2024 - 20
SAE Update - October 2024 - 21
SAE Update - October 2024 - 22
SAE Update - October 2024 - 23
SAE Update - October 2024 - 24
SAE Update - October 2024 - 25
SAE Update - October 2024 - 26
SAE Update - October 2024 - 27
SAE Update - October 2024 - 28
SAE Update - October 2024 - 29
SAE Update - October 2024 - 30
SAE Update - October 2024 - 31
SAE Update - October 2024 - 32
SAE Update - October 2024 - 33
SAE Update - October 2024 - 34
SAE Update - October 2024 - 35
SAE Update - October 2024 - 36
SAE Update - October 2024 - 37
SAE Update - October 2024 - 38
SAE Update - October 2024 - 39
SAE Update - October 2024 - 40
SAE Update - October 2024 - 41
SAE Update - October 2024 - 42
SAE Update - October 2024 - 43
SAE Update - October 2024 - 44
SAE Update - October 2024 - 45
SAE Update - October 2024 - 46
SAE Update - October 2024 - 47
SAE Update - October 2024 - 48
SAE Update - October 2024 - 49
SAE Update - October 2024 - 50
SAE Update - October 2024 - 51
SAE Update - October 2024 - 52
SAE Update - October 2024 - 53
SAE Update - October 2024 - 54
SAE Update - October 2024 - 55
SAE Update - October 2024 - 56
SAE Update - October 2024 - 57
SAE Update - October 2024 - 58
SAE Update - October 2024 - 59
SAE Update - October 2024 - 60
SAE Update - October 2024 - 61
SAE Update - October 2024 - 62
SAE Update - October 2024 - 63
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