A vehicle air conditioning system provides a heat exchanger and a vehicle air conditioning system comprising same, which can simplify the overall structure and can easily perform cooling/heating of air for air conditioning and dehumidification heating by using an integrated heat exchanger which is selectively supplied with low- and high-temperature cooling water by a supply valve to perform heat exchange.

A heat exchanger tube includes a curved wall, a leg, and a joint. The leg extends orthogonal to an end of the curved wall. The joint connects the curved wall and leg. A plurality of dimples is aligned along the joint.

A method for producing a plate-fin heat exchanger core includes the steps of stacking a bottom end sheet, multiple alternately stacked individual hot and cold layers, and a top end sheet, each of the individual hot and cold layers including a fin element forming multiple parallel open-ended fluid channels, a parting sheet separating the various individual layers, and two closure bars positioned on opposite sides of the fin element, parallel to the open-ended channels and extending a length of the open-ended channels, brazing the bottom end sheet, the various layers, and the top end sheet in a brazing furnace; and removing material from each of the exterior faces by precision machining, thereby removing material from each closure bar outer face. The precision machining can include electrical discharge machining, laser cutting, band sawing, drilling, boring, hogging, acid etching, and ion milling, in any combination.

An air conditioner and a method of manufacturing the same are disclosed. The air conditioner includes an indoor heat exchanger and an outdoor heat exchanger, each including a plurality of refrigerant pipes and at least one connection pipe for interconnecting the refrigerant pipes, a brazing hole formed in the connection pipe by punching, and a brazing ring mounted over the brazing hole, wherein portions of the refrigerant pipes are inserted into the connection pipe through inlet ends of the connection pipe, the brazing hole is located between ends of the refrigerant pipes and the inlet ends of the connection pipe, and the connection pipe is bonded to the refrigerant pipes by heating at least one selected from between the refrigerant pipes and the brazing ring.

A method for producing a plate-fin heat exchanger core includes the steps of stacking a bottom end sheet, multiple alternately stacked individual hot and cold layers, and a top end sheet, each of the individual hot and cold layers including a fin element forming multiple parallel open-ended fluid channels, a parting sheet separating the various individual layers, and two closure bars positioned on opposite sides of the fin element, parallel to the open-ended channels and extending a length of the open-ended channels, brazing the bottom end sheet, the various layers, and the top end sheet in a brazing furnace; and removing material from each of the exterior faces by precision machining, thereby removing material from each closure bar outer face. The precision machining can include electrical discharge machining, laser cutting, band sawing, drilling, boring, hogging, acid etching, and ion milling, in any combination.

A heat exchanger includes: a gas-side port connected to piping for a gaseous refrigerant; a liquid-side port connected to piping for a liquid refrigerant; a refrigerant path that links the gas-side port to the liquid-side port; at least four heat exchange part regions that perform heat exchange between air and the refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant path; and a branching and merging part that branches and merges the refrigerant path to connect the heat exchange part regions in series between the gas-side port and the liquid-side port through the refrigerant path. The heat exchange part regions are connected to each other through the branching and merging part so as to allow the number of refrigerant paths provided in the heat exchange part region near the gas-side port to be greater than the number of refrigerant paths provided in the heat exchange part region near the liquid-side port.

A method of assembling a heat exchanger includes the steps of fluidly connecting a plurality of first heat exchanger tubes to a first connecting tube portion at an assembly location to form a first subassembly, fluidly connecting a plurality of second heat exchanger tubes to a second connecting tube portion at the assembly location to form a second subassembly, transporting the first subassembly and the second subassembly from the assembly location to an installation location, and connecting the first subassembly to the second subassembly at a single connection point between the first connecting tube portion and the second tube connecting portion.

A heat exchanger includes plural flat tubes each having a flat cross section, and plural flat-tube U-bends each having a flat cross section and a U-shape in external appearance. Plural flat-tube columns each made up of the plural flat tubes installed in plural tiers in a set direction are arranged in a direction intersecting the set direction and in a staggered manner. Each of the plural flat-tube U-bends is placed in a pair of coupling portions of the plural flat tubes. Each of the pair of coupling portions is placed in one of a pair of the plural flat-tube columns. The plural flat-tube U-bends are twisted such that major axes of flat cross sections in both end portions of each of the plural flat-tube U-bends are oriented in the same directions as major axes of flat cross sections of the plural flat tubes connected to the both end portions.

A method for producing a plate-fin heat exchanger core includes the steps of stacking a bottom end sheet, multiple alternately stacked individual hot and cold layers, and a top end sheet, each of the individual hot and cold layers including a fin element forming multiple parallel open-ended fluid channels, a parting sheet separating the various individual layers, and two closure bars positioned on opposite sides of the fin element, parallel to the open-ended channels and extending a length of the open-ended channels, brazing the bottom end sheet, the various layers, and the top end sheet in a brazing furnace; and removing material from each of the exterior faces by precision machining, thereby removing material from each closure bar outer face. The precision machining can include electrical discharge machining, laser cutting, band sawing, drilling, boring, hogging, acid etching, and ion milling, in any combination.

Manufacturing a heat exchanger by brazing of multiple heat transfer pipes, multiple fins, and headers. The multiple heat transfer pipes joined to each fin with the heat transfer pipes each being inserted into cutout recessed portions as cutouts of side portions of the fins on one side. The headers each joined to both end portions of each heat transfer pipe to couple the multiple heat transfer pipes and having internal spaces for collecting or distributing fluid flowing in the multiple heat transfer pipes. A protruding length Tf of each fin from a corresponding one of the heat transfer pipes and a distance Th from each heat transfer pipe to an outer surface of a corresponding one of the headers on the same side as a protrusion are substantially equal to each other.