Larry, no one suppressed the concept of using compressed air for a
cooling medium. Your basic concept is correct when air is compressed
it generates heat. If warm compressed air is cooled while under
pressure and returned back to ambient air temperature then released
through a narrow orifice this ambient air will expand and the result
will be refrigerated air.

In 1950 when the first aircraft with piston engines were pressurized
by an engine driven compressor extra air from these compressors was
used for air expansion cabin cooling. This hot air was first diverted
to a heat exchanger where outside ram air passing through this
radiator reduced temperature of compressed air. When airplane was on
the ground fans supplied this airflow as long as compressor was
running. In order to lower air temperature interring passenger cabin
to near freezing a secondary heat reduction unit was added called an
air cycle turbine machine and another external ram air heat exchanger
was added. When heat was required instead of cooling hot air could be
bypassed around air conditioning part of system. When aircraft
converted over to jet engines bleed air from engine compressor section
supplied air for heating and AC.

I have no information on any other mobile applications of compressed
air air-conditioning but do know of two were large stationary systems.
On one of these systems I gave testimony in a court case about its
performance. Four large 1200 HP compressors were connected to a
manifold where this warm pressurized air could be used for heating as
is, or it could be diverted to large fan cooled outside air heat
exchangers that removed process heat. This tempered air was not cool
enough to remove moisture so it required additional cooling to provide
low temperature air conditioning.

Because of the large amounts of compressed air and heat removal
requirement of an automobile it is hard to believe that pressurized
air could ever replace the phase change of liquid to gas efficiency
that today’s refrigerants provide.