Abstract
A heat exchanger, in particular battery cooler, having a pipe which has a pipe end portion that is placed at an open end of the pipe and is widened, at least in part, with respect to the non-widened portion of the pipe that is further away from the pipe end portion, a head part that has an opening and a radial outside wall, wherein the non-widened portion of the pipe fits through the opening. The, a seal which is received by the head part in order to be compressed between the pipe and the radial outside wall of the head part, and a tank component which is connected to pipe end portion via the head part. A method for assembling a heat exchanger is also provided.
Claims
1. A heat exchanger, comprising: a pipe which has a pipe end portion that is placed at an open end of the pipe and is widened, at least in part, with respect to the non-widened portion of the pipe that is further away from the pipe end portion, a head part that has an opening and a radial outside wall, wherein the non-widened portion of the pipe fits through the opening, a seal which is received by the head part in order to be compressed between the pipe and the radial outside wall of the head part, and a tank component which is connected to pipe end portion via the head part, wherein the seal is an O-ring.
2. A heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein the seal is deformed, in a plan view, such that it has an oval shape, a racetrack shape, or a polygonal shape.
3. A heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein the seal is constructed such that it applies a radial compression force to the pipe when the head part and the tank component are crimped together, and preferably applies a resilient force between a wall at an axial end of the head part and the tank component.
4. A heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein the pipe is composed of a plurality of pipe portions which each have a pipe opening at the pipe end portion, wherein the pipe portions are preferably side-by-side, wherein the pipe portions preferably have a quadratic cross section.
5. A heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein the pipe is flat.
6. A heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein the head part comprises a head part crimped portion and wherein the tank component has a tank crimped portion, wherein the tank crimped portion interacts with the head part crimped portion in order to enter into an interlocking connection, in particular an undulating crimped connection, between the head part and the tank component.
7. A heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein the seal is also compressed between the tank component and the head part.
8. A heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein the tank component comprises a recess for receiving the widened pipe end portion, in which recess the pipe comes into abutment on the tank component.
9. A heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein the tank component comprises an inner step or a flange for coming into abutment on a widened pipe end portion, wherein the inner step or the flange for abutment on the widened pipe end portion is preferably provided inside the recess for receiving the widened pipe end portion.
10. A heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein the opening of the head part is of such dimensions that it is too narrow for the widened pipe end portion to move through the opening, but allows for the non-widened portion of the pipe to move through the opening.
11. A method for assembling a heat exchanger, said method comprising the following steps: providing a pipe which has a pipe end portion that is positioned at an open end of the pipe; placing a head part, which has an opening and a radial outside wall, on the pipe, such that the pipe fits through the opening of the head part; placing a seal, which is an O-ring, on the pipe, such that it is received by the head part between the pipe and the radial outside wall; widening the pipe end portion at least in part; placing a tank component on the widened pipe end portion, such that it is in contact with the head part, wherein the seal is placed between the head part and the tank component, and crimping together the head part and the tank component, wherein the widened pipe end portion is surrounded by the tank component and/or by the head part.
12. A method according to claim 11, wherein the heat exchanger, wherein the heat exchanger comprises: a pipe which has a pipe end portion that is placed at an open end of the pipe and is widened, at least in part, with respect to the non-widened portion of the pipe that is further away from the pipe end portion, a head part that has an opening and a radial outside wall, wherein the non-widened portion of the pipe fits through the opening, a seal which is received by the head part in order to be compressed between the pipe and the radial outside wall of the head part, and a tank component which is connected to pipe end portion via the head part, wherein the seal is an O-ring.
13. A method according to claim 11, wherein the pipe end portion is widened by insertion of a punching knife through the pipe end portion and into the pipe.
Description
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0022] In the following, an example of the above concept, which is shown in the following figures, is described.
[0023] FIG. 1 shows the completed module consisting of a pipe and a tank component;
[0024] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the elements to be assembled for the module from FIG. 1;
[0025] FIG. 3 shows some of the elements from FIG. 2, in a step of an assembly method;
[0026] FIG. 4 shows elements for a further step of the assembly method;
[0027] FIG. 5 shows a tool for widening a pipe end, which is connected to the tank component;
[0028] FIG. 6 also shows the tool shown in FIG. 5, which widens the end of the pipe to be connected to the tank component;
[0029] FIG. 7 shows the elements from FIG. 2 in a further step of the assembly method;
[0030] FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the elements in the step illustrated in FIG. 7;
[0031] FIG. 9 shows the elements from FIG. 2 in a further step of the assembly method;
[0032] FIG. 10 is a sectional view of the elements in the step illustrated in FIG. 9;
[0033] FIG. 11 is an enlarged view of a part of the drawing from FIG. 10;
[0034] FIG. 12 shows aspects of the fully assembled connection of the pipe and the tank component, as shown in FIG. 10.
BEST MODE
[0035] In the following, FIG. 1 to FIG. 12 are described in greater detail, as an example or an embodiment of the concept explained in the above description of the invention. It is noted that the same reference signs are used for the same elements, throughout the description of the embodiment and of the method shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 12.
[0036] FIG. 1 shows a module 26 consisting of a pipe 10 and a tank component 18. The tank component comprises a tank opening 24 through which a fluid for cooling a battery or other devices can be fed into the pipe 10.
[0037] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the module 26 from FIG. 1. As is clear from FIG. 2, the pipe 10 has a pipe end portion 12 in order to be connected to the tank component 18. Said pipe end portion 12 is placed at an open end of the pipe 10 and is widened with respect to the portion of the pipe 10 that is further downstream, i.e. remote from the open end. The pipe 10 has a flat structure and comprises a plurality of individual pipe portions, in this example eighteen individual pipe portions, each of which has an individual opening 22 at the pipe end portion 12, and the pipe portions being formed integrally in order to form the pipe 10. In the present embodiment, the pipe portions are dimensioned such that they have a substantially quadratic cross section. While it is not always possible to determine, from outside the pipe 10, the number of pipe portions within the joint outside wall of the pipe 10, the present disclosure can be used for many different types of pipe 10. In particular, the flat structure comprising a plurality of pipe portions which are arranged opposite one another and each of which is an individual pipe, as in the present invention, is a preferred structure, since it makes it possible for a large quantity of coolant to be conducted along the battery to be cooled, and as a result allows for a very efficient heat transfer between the element to be cooled, for example the battery, and the cooling medium. However, it is of course possible for more or fewer pipe portions to be used in the pipe 10. It is also possible for the pipe portions to be of other shapes and dimensions, and the present disclosure is also applicable to an individual pipe, i.e. a pipe in which the outside wall is the only wall of the pipe, without a plurality of pipe portions being formed inside the pipe or inside the outside wall.
[0038] FIG. 2 furthermore shows a head part 14 comprising a head part crimped portion 20 that is integral with the head part 14. The dimensions of the head part 14 are such that a portion of the pipe 10, specifically the non-widened portion of the pipe 10, is allowed to pass through an opening 15 of the head part 14 and receive a seal 16 around the opening 15 which is intended to surround the pipe 10 and to be surrounded by a radial outside wall 17 of the head part 14, such that it is compressed between the pipe 10 and the radial outside wall 17. The seal 16, which is surrounded by the outside wall 17 of the head part 14, and the pipe 10, which is surrounded by the seal 16 and rests in the opening 15 of the head part 14, are described in more detail in the following, and are shown in some of the following figures.
[0039] FIG. 2 furthermore shows the tank component 18 which is intended to be crimped to the head part crimped portion 20. For this purpose, the tank component 18 has a tank crimped portion 21 that is designed such that, i.e. has such dimensions and is shaped such that it interacts with the head part crimped portion 20 in order to enter into an interlocking connection. The embodiment shown in the figures of the present application represents an undulating crimped connection between the head part and the tank component 18.
[0040] FIG. 3 shows an assembly step of the module shown in FIG. 1. In this step, the head part 14 is placed on the pipe 10 such that it surrounds the pipe 10 and is moved away from the open end of the pipe 10 that is intended to be connected to the tank component 18, in order to make said end of the pipe 10 accessible for further method steps. The seal 16 is also placed on the pipe 10 such that it surrounds the pipe 10 and is received by the head part 14. As a result, the seal 16 is placed between the pipe 10 and the head part 14, more precisely the outside wall 17 of the head part 14, in a radial direction with respect to the pipe axis. FIG. 3 shows the head part 14, the seal 16, and the partially assembled structure of the pipe 10, the head part 14 and the seal 16. FIG. 3 also shows the pipe openings 22 of the pipe portions of the pipe 10, and it is clear from FIG. 3 that, when the seal 16 and the head part 14 are placed on the pipe 10, the end of the pipe that is intended to be connected to the tank component 18 is not yet widened, but is approximately the same diameter as the rest of the pipe 10. Said diameter of the end of the pipe is dimensioned such that it allows the head part 14, in particular the opening 15, and the seal 16, to receive and surround the pipe 10, from the free end of the pipe, in a fitting manner.
[0041] FIG. 4 shows a tool 28, for example a punching knife, which can be used for widening the end of the pipe 10 that is intended to be connected to the tank component 18, and in the process forms the widened pipe end portion 12. As is clear from FIG. 4, the tool 28 comprises a plurality of projections 30 which can be introduced into the pipe openings 22 at the free ends of the pipe 10. In the embodiment shown in the figures of the present application, the pipe 10 comprises eighteen pipe portions. Accordingly, the tool 28 comprises eighteen projections 30, each of the projections 30 being of such a size and being arranged such that it is pressed into one of the openings 22 of the pipe, such that each of the openings 22 receives a projection 30 and is radially widened, such that it forms the widened pipe end portion 12, after the seal 16 and the head part 14 have been pushed over the free end portion of the pipe 10.
[0042] Accordingly, FIG. 4 also shows the widened pipe end portion 12, i.e. the portion of the pipe 10 that is to be connected to the tank component 18.
[0043] FIG. 5 is a further view of the tool 28 and the projections 30 thereof. As is clear from FIG. 5, the projections have a tapering structure, in which the free ends of the projections 13, which are to be inserted into the openings 22 of the pipe 10, have a smaller diameter than the ends of the projections 30 at which the projections 30 are attached to a common base of the tool 28.
[0044] In the structure shown in FIG. 5, the projections 30 taper in a stepwise manner. That is to say that there is a first taper or widening, or a first truncated cone, which starts having a small diameter (smaller than the diameter of the opening 22) and ends having a diameter which can be for example the same diameter as or a similar diameter to the corresponding opening 22 in the pipe 10. Said truncated cone facilitates the insertion of the projection 30 into the opening 22 of the pipe 10. Further away from the free end of the projection 30 there may be a second taper or widening, for widening the pipe opening 22 and the end of the pipe 10, if the projection 30 is inserted further into the pipe 10. Further away from the free end of the projection 30, the projection can be cylindrical, i.e. not tapering or widening, in order to form a widened pipe end portion 12 that has the same diameter along the pipe axis.
[0045] The widening of the pipe 10, more specifically of the widened pipe end portion 12, can be performed up to an amount of between 0.1 mm and 2.0 mm, in particular for structures of the pipe 10 that are used for cooling automobile batteries, for example for electric cars.
[0046] FIG. 6 shows the tool 28 and projections 30 when they are inserted into the free end of the pipe 10, each of the openings 22 receiving one of the projections 30 of the tool 28. In this way, the widened pipe end portion 12 is formed. The widened pipe end portion 12 is formed by plastic deformation (of pipe portions) of the pipe 10.
[0047] As is furthermore clear from FIG. 6, the pipe 10 is a multi-layer pipe. A pipe base 34 is produced from a first material and can be used as a basis for a coating 32 that is provided on the outside wall of the pipe 10. The coating 32 can for example be an insulation coating, for example a particularly helpful electrical insulation coating if the pipe 10 is used for cooling batteries, which coating is already provided on the pipe 10 before the pipe 10 is connected to the tank component 18 or other devices. Since the method according to the present invention does not require any soldering or welding steps, which are naturally associated with high temperatures, and which could damage or even destroy the coatings, it is possible to apply temperature-sensitive coatings 32 to the basis 34 of the pipe 10 before the connection between the pipe 10 and the tank component 18 is provided. This makes it possible to significantly reduce the outlay for providing a coated battery cooler or another pipe which is connected to a tank component 18. In other words: The present invention makes it possible to provide modules having coated pipes at comparatively low costs.
[0048] FIG. 7 shows a further step of the assembly method according to the present disclosure. The pipe 10 is provided with the seal 16 and the head part 14, and the widened pipe end portion 12 has been formed for example by the tool 28 that is shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 and described above.
[0049] After the tool 28 has been removed, the end portion 12 of the pipe 10 retains the widened design thereof. In other words: The widened pipe end portion 12 is formed by plastic deformation (of the pipe portions) of the pipe 10, and does not return to the original size thereof after the tool 28 is removed. After the tool 28 has been removed from the end portion 12 of the pipe 10, the tank component 18 is placed on the widened pipe end portion 12, at least in part. The tank component 18 receives the widened pipe end portion 12, at least in part, such that an interior of the tank component 18 allows for the tank opening 24 to be in fluidic connection with the openings 22 (of the pipe portions) of the pipe 10.
[0050] FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the structure from FIG. 7. As is clear from FIG. 8, the widened pipe end portion 12 is received in the tank component 18 in part, and abuts an inner step 36 (which will be described in greater detail below) of the tank component 18. When the tank component 18 comes into abutment at the end of the pipe 10, the head part 14 and the seal 16 can be moved towards the tank component in order to come into contact with the tank component 18 and to be crimped thereto.
[0051] FIG. 9 shows a structure of the pipe 10, the head part 14 that includes the seal 16, and the tank component 18, in an assembled state as shown in FIG. 1. As is clear from FIG. 9, the head part crimped portion 20 and a tank crimped portion 21 form an undulating crimped connection, and therefore an interlocking connection. As an alternative or addition to the undulating crimped connection, a lug crimped structure is also possible for the present disclosure. By crimping the head part 14 to the tank component 18, a tight connection, which is at least fluid-tight within the meaning of the requirements for fluid-tightness in the present technical field, is achieved.
[0052] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the assembled structure of the head part 14 and the tank component 18. As is clear from FIG. 10, the tank crimped portion 21 and the head part crimped portion 20 are placed side-by-side, such that it is possible to crimp the head part crimped portion 20 to the tank crimped portion 21. As a result, the head part 14 is tightly connected to the tank component 18. FIG. 10 shows an outer step 38 which, when the head part 14 and the tank component 18 are in the assembled structure, provides an interlocking connection for the head part crimped portion 20, which is formed as an undulating crimped connection. In other words: The head part crimped portion 20 is not only crimped to the tank crimped portion 21, but rather an interlocking connection is also provided by the outer step 38 and the head part crimped portion 20.
[0053] There is an inner step 36 in the interior of the tank component 18, to which step reference has been made above, in connection with the abutment of the end of the pipe 10 to be received in the tank component 18. Furthermore, it is clear from FIG. 10 that the seal 16 is clamped between the outside wall 17 of the head part 14 on the one hand and the widened pipe end portion 12 on the other hand. The seal 16 is also clamped between a wall at the axial end of the head part 14 and the tank component 18. In this way, a tight and secure connection between the pipe 10 and the tank component 18 is provided.
[0054] FIG. 11 is a further enlarged view of the module in the assembled structure. The widened pipe end portion 12 is shown, and compresses the seal 16 with respect to the radial outside wall 17 of the head part 14. The seal 16 is shown such that it overlaps the widened pipe end portion 12. In the assembled state, the seal 16 is deformed, such that it fits between the widened pipe end portion 12 and the radial outside wall 17, and between the axial outside wall of the head part 14, and the tank component 18. It is clear from FIG. 11 that the pipe 10 comprises a pipe base 34 on which a coating 32 is formed before the pipe 10 is deformed, in order to form the widened pipe end portion 12, and before the pipe 10 is connected to the tank component 18 via the head part 14 and the seal 16.
[0055] FIG. 12 is a further sectional view of the structure from FIG. 9 to FIG. 11. In FIG. 12, “DT” describes the outside diameter of the pipe 10 in the widened pipe end portion 12. “DH” describes the diameter of the opening 15 of the head part 14, through which the pipe 10 is guided into the inside of the tank component 18.
[0056] It is clear that the outside diameter DT of the pipe 10 is larger than the diameter DH of the opening 15, such that an interlocking connection is formed, as a result of which the pipe 10 cannot be pulled out of the head part 14. The inner step 36 ensures that the pipe 10 cannot be pushed further into the tank component 18, and the relative positions of the tank component 18 on the one hand, and the head part 14 on the other hand, are fixed by the outer step 38, the head part crimped portion 20, the tank crimped portion 21, and the restoring force of the seal 16 between the wall at the axial end of the head part 14 on the one hand and the tank component 18 on the other hand.
[0057] The figures of the present application represent a particularly preferred embodiment of a pipe and tank component module, and a method for mechanical assembly of the pipe and tank component, which module or method makes it possible to connect the pipe and the tank component without any soldering or welding steps. This disclosure provides a cost-effective and reliable production method, and at the same time allows for a temperature-sensitive material, in particular a coating, to be applied to the pipe 10 or other elements of the module before the assembly method has ended, which increases the reliability and reduces costs.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY
[0058] The present invention provides a battery cooler for cooling batteries of an electric car or similar environment.
