Patent ID: 8099966

Claim:
A system for controlling air temperatures in a pressurized cabin in an aircraft, said system comprising: a passageway for receiving a supply of pressurized air from an engine, and directing said air through a pressure regulator; a heat exchanger disposed in said passageway for reducing temperatures in said supply air received through said pressure regulator using available ram air as a cooling medium when the aircraft is in flight, and the cooling medium also being compellable through said exchanger by suction created in an exhaust duct of the heat exchanger regardless of whether ram air is available, the suction pulling the cooling medium through the exchanger; a temperature-maintaining valve in the exhaust duct of the heat exchanger for controlling the exit temperature of the supply air from the heat exchanger so that when the supply air is received in the cabin the supply air will be at a desired temperature setting; a splitter device for dividing said supply of pressurized air into a hot stream and a cold stream; said splitter device having a supply orifice which limits airflow, and thus, along with said pressure regulator, maintains a constant rate of airflow into said pressurized cabin for substantially all modes of operation; a first conduit for receiving said cold stream from the splitter device and directing said cold stream into said pressurized cabin at a substantially constant rate; and a second conduit for receiving said hot stream from the splitter device and then using an elbow to direct said hot stream out of the ram air exhaust duct creating the suction that causes the cooling medium to be drawn across the heat exchanger regardless of whether the aircraft is in flight; a mode-control valve in said second conduit having an open mode in which flow is allowed from the splitter device through the second conduit in a manner in which divides said supply airflow into a hot stream and a cold stream; a closed mode for said mode-control valve in the second conduit wherein the supply airflow is released into the cabin as an undivided stream; and a relief valve in said cabin for maintaining a constant pressure in the cabin.