Patent ID: 8806882

Claim:
A thermal management system for an automobile, comprising: a coolant loop having a coolant loop junction, the coolant loop junction configured to receive coolant from a radiator output and to distribute the coolant between a first coolant loop branch and a second coolant loop branch; a first pump disposed between the radiator and the coolant loop junction in the first loop branch, the first pump configured to provide coolant to the first coolant loop junction, and the first pump is additionally connected to a radiator bypass path; a first heat exchanger connected to the coolant loop junction by the first coolant loop branch and configured to use coolant received from the coolant loop junction to exchange heat with a first vehicle component; a second heat exchanger connected to the coolant loop junction by the second coolant loop branch and configured to use coolant received from the coolant loop junction to exchange heat with a second vehicle component; a second pump disposed between the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger in the second loop branch, the second pump configured to provide coolant, heated by the second heat exchanger, from the second heat exchanger output to the first heat exchanger in a reverse flow through the first heat exchanger relative to the direction of coolant flow through the first heat exchanger supplied by the first pump; and a control element configured to control flow of coolant in at least one of the first and second coolant loop branches in response to a condition detected in at least one of the first and second vehicle components, wherein in a first mode, heated coolant from at least a second heat exchanger output is provided directly to the first pump through the radiator bypass path, and in a second mode, heated coolant from at least the second heat exchanger output is cooled by the radiator and then provided to the first pump.