SEAL FOR SEALING OFF THE GAP BETWEEN A HEAT EXCHANGER AND THE INSIDE WALL OF A GROOVE IN A FLUID CHANNEL

Abstract

The invention concerns a seal (5) for sealing off the gap between a heat exchanger (1) and the inside wall of a groove (7) in a fluid channel for accommodating said heat exchanger [1], the seal (5) comprising at least one fixing member (51, 52) for fixing the seal (5) on at least part of the circumference of the heat exchanger (1) and at least a first (53) and second lip (54) adapted to contact opposite sides (71, 72) of the groove (7) to thereby seal off the gap between the heat exchanger (1) and the fluid channel and to fix said at least part of the circumference of the heat exchanger (1) inside the groove (7).

Claims

1. A seal for sealing off the gap between a heat exchanger (1) and the inside wall of a groove (7) in a fluid channel for accommodating said heat exchanger (1], the seal (5) comprising at least one fixing member (51, 52) for fixing the seal (5) on at least part of the circumference of the heat exchanger (1) and at least a first (53) and second lip (54) adapted to contact opposite sides (71, 72) of the groove (7) to thereby seal off the gap between the heat exchanger (1) and the fluid channel and to fix said at least part of the circumference of the heat exchanger (1) inside the groove (7).

2. The seal according to claim 1, wherein at least the first lip comprises a flexible material, to allow the lip to bend under pressure.

3. The seal according to claim 1, wherein the second lip comprises material with a higher resistance against bending than the first lip.

4. The seal according to claim 1, wherein the seal comprises a first and second fixing member adapted to snap fit a part of the heat exchanger between the two members.

5. The seal according to claim 1, wherein the seal is obtained by means of extrusion.

6. The seal according to claim 1, wherein the seal is obtained by means of injection moulding.

7. An assembly, comprising: a heat exchanger; a fluid channel for guiding a fluid through said heat exchanger, wherein the fluid channel comprises a groove for receiving at least part of the circumference of the heat exchanger; and a seal according to claim 1.

8. An air intake manifold comprising the assembly according to claim 7.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] The accompanying drawings illustrate presently exemplary embodiments of the disclosure and help to explain the details of the advantages of the disclosure.

[0022] FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a heat exchanger provided with a seal inside an air intake manifold,

[0023] FIG. 2 shows a cross-section of the seal according to the present disclosure, and

[0024] FIG. 3 shows an example of a misalignment between two parts forming a groove to receive at least part of a heat exchanger and/or seal, which mismatch can be adjusted by means of the seal according to the disclosure.

[0025] In FIG. 1, the assembly of a heat exchanger 1 inside an air intake manifold 2 is shown schematically. The heat exchanger 1 is provided with a front plate 3 and a heat exchange vessel 4. Part of the upper circumference of the vessel 4 is provided with a seal 5 according to the disclosure.

[0026] The air intake manifold 2 is provided with an aperture 6 for allowing the insertion of the heat exchanger 1 inside the air intake manifold 2. The air intake manifold 2 is provided with two opposite facing grooves 7 (the groove on the right hand side is hidden behind the heat exchanger 1), wherein each groove 7 is adapted to receive in its interior the seal 5. The grooves 7 are at their extremity connect by means of a further groove (not shown). The grooves together form a U form, adapted to receive the seal 5. Once the heat exchanger 3 is inserted and fixed against the outside of the air intake manifold 2, the seal 5 around the circumference of the vessel 4 is adapted to seal off the gap between the interior of the grooves 7 and the vessel 4.

[0027] With reference to FIG. 2, the functioning of the seal 5 will be described in detail. The seal 5 provides, in a first instance, a proper seal to avoid leakage between the exterior of the vessel 4 and the interior of the groove 7. By avoiding leakage, all air travelling through the air intake manifold 2 passes through the heat exchanger vessel 4. Therefore, the heat travelling through the air intake manifold in the direction of the combustion chamber can be efficiently cooled.

[0028] Secondly, the seal 5 is used to fix the vessel 4 of the heat exchanger 1 over the entire length of the seal 5. As can be seen in FIG. 1, if the heat exchanger 1 is only fixed by means of the front plate 3 to the exterior of the air intake manifold 2, the heat exchanger would be fixed at one extremity to the air intake manifold 2. The remaining part of the heat exchanger would not be directly fixed to the interior of the air intake manifold 2. In that case, the heat exchanger 1 in its entirety would be sensitive to a pendulum effect, meaning that under the influence of vibrations and shocks, proper connection of the heat exchanger to the exterior of the air intake manifold 2 would be compromised. According to the invention, the fixing of the circumference of the vessel 4 inside the groove 7 by means of the seal 5 avoids the occurrence of such a pendulum effect.

[0029] In FIG. 2, an exemplary embodiment of the seal 5 according to the present invention is shown. The seal 5 comprises a first member 51 and a second member 52 which are used to fix the seal 5 to the exterior of the vessel 4. To allow such fixing, the members 51 and 52 are attached, for instance, to the retention tabs of the vessel 4. The retention tabs are available, for instance, when the vessel 4 comprises a pile of sheet plates which are fit together to form the fluid guides for both the air travelling through the heat exchanger 1 and the refrigerant used as a coolant.

[0030] The seal 5 further comprises a first lip 53 and a second lip 54 which are adapted to contact the interior of the groove 7. The lips 53 and 54 are adapted to contact a first interior wall 71 and a second interior wall 72. The groove 7 is shown schematically in FIG. 3.

[0031] FIG. 3 shows the interior of the wall having two side walls 71 and 72 which are spaced apart at a distance which is inferior to the maximum width of the seal 5, indicated with the letter W in FIG. 2. Thus, the seal 5, when introduced inside the groove 7, is compressed and the lips 53 and 54 are at least over a short distance moved towards each other. The compression put on the lips 53, 54 helps the seal to seal off the gap between the outside of the vessel 4 and the inside of the groove 7, in particular the walls 71 and 72, as a result of the compression put on the lips 53 and 54 and the resilience of the lips 53 and 54 allowing for the bending of the lips 53 and 54 at least one with respect to the other.

[0032] FIG. 3 shows a possible misalignment between a first part of the air intake manifold and a second part of the air intake manifold, which are connected at a welding line 73. In view of the slight mismatch of the two elements forming the groove 7, the groove 7 is not a perfectly straight groove but presents a discontinuity. The seal 5 can adapt to the presence of the discontinuity by means of the deformation of the lips 53, 54 as indicated above.

[0033] According to an embodiment of the invention, the seal 5 comprises one single material over its entire cross-section. Thus, the resilience against bending of the lips 53 and 54 is similar and the bending, in order to accommodate the inside dimensions of the groove 7, is provided by a combination of bending provided by lips 53 and 54.

[0034] In an alternative embodiment, it is possible that the resistance against bending of the first lip 53 differs from the resistance against bending of the second lip 54. The advantage of this measurement is that, for instance, the first lip 54 is specifically adapted to allow bending in order to adjust for possible misalignments in the groove 7. The second lip 54, with a higher resistance against bending, could be used specifically for proper fixing of the seal 5 and therewith of the heat exchanger 1 within the groove 7 in order to avoid any detrimental pendulum effect.