Patent ID: 8118257

Claim:
A thermal management system for an aircraft having first and second climate controlled regions each with an inlet and an outlet, said system comprising: a fluid loop for circulating a fluid, wherein the fluid loop forms a continuous path between the first and second climate controlled regions of the aircraft; a first heat pump system connected to the fluid loop and disposed between the outlet of the second climate controlled region and the inlet of the first climate controlled region; a second heat pump system connected to the fluid loop and disposed between the outlet of the first climate controlled region and the inlet of the second climate controlled region; a first fluid bypass configured to allow a first portion of the fluid flowing through the fluid loop to bypass the first climate controlled region; a second fluid bypass configured to allow a second portion of the fluid flowing through the fluid loop to bypass the second climate controlled region; a first bypass valve configured to control the amount of fluid flowing through the first fluid bypass; a second bypass valve configured to control the amount of fluid flowing through the second fluid bypass; and a controller configured to control the first and second heat pump systems and the first and second bypass valves to modulate cooling capacity for the first and second climate controlled systems in accordance with cooling requirements for the first and second climate controlled regions, respectively, wherein the fluid loop enters the first heat pump system at only one inlet and the fluid loop enters the second heat pump system at only one inlet.