Heat exchanger and method for assembling same

Abstract

A packing is held between a tank body and a header plate to secure sealing. Therewith, the width in a longer axis direction of an opening of a flat tube is wider and the width of the tank body is relatively narrow, resulting in a compact tank structure. A number of tooth parts protrude from the tank body at regular intervals, a tube end release part is formed between the tooth parts, and a side edge in a longitudinal axis direction of an opening of the flat tube is positioned therein. The tooth part, a flange part, a seal face of the header plate and a peripheral wall form a packing accommodation part, and a tip edge of the tooth part is seated on an edge of a convex part. The packing is arranged between the packing accommodation part and the seal face.

Claims

1. A heat exchanger comprising: a header plate and a plurality of flat tubes, the header plate having tube insertion holes which receive end portions of the flat tubes with the tubes arranged orthogonally to the header plate and spaced from one another in a longitudinal direction of the header plate, the flat tubes having sides comprising mutually opposed flat faces and longitudinal edges connecting the sides, and a cross-section of greater dimension parallel to the flat faces and of lesser dimension orthogonal to the flat faces, the tubes being arranged so that the spaces between the tubes are spaces between the tube sides comprising flat faces; and a resin tank body fixed to the header plate at an opening of the tank body via an annular packing, wherein: the header plate includes a bottom part provided with a seal face with which the annular packing makes contact and also provided with a tube insertion hole face in which the tube insertion holes are formed; the header plate includes a peripheral wall and caulking claws extending upward from an outer peripheral edge of the bottom part; the tube insertion hole face includes a face of a convex part or respective faces of each of two mutually parallel convex parts of the bottom part of the header plate protruding in a same direction as the direction of the upward extending of the peripheral wall and extending in a lengthwise direction of the tubes over a range up to a vicinity of but not including respective end openings of the tubes; the bottom part of the header plate includes a concave part contiguous with the convex part or the two mutually parallel convex parts and circumscribing the convex part or the two mutually parallel convex parts and receding in a direction opposite the direction of the upward extending of the peripheral wall, the concave part comprising the seal face; the convex part or each of the two mutually parallel convex parts of the bottom part of the header plate has an outer peripheral side edge at a juncture thereof with the concave part of the bottom part of the header plate; and the tank body comprises: an annular flange part at a periphery of the opening of the tank body, and a plurality of tooth parts protruding from an end face of the flange part along an inner periphery of the flange part, the tooth parts being spaced from each other and facing the seal face of the header plate; tube end release parts formed between adjacent pairs of the tooth parts and recessed so that, proximate the tube openings, longitudinal edges of the tubes are disposed closer than inner peripheries of the tooth parts to the peripheral wall of the header plate; and a part for accommodating the annular packing, the packing accommodation part being formed by an outer side face of each of the tooth parts and an end face of the flange part and an inner peripheral face of the peripheral wall; wherein: only an inside tip edge of each of the tooth parts is seated on the outer peripheral side edge of the convex part or one or the other of the two mutually parallel convex parts of the bottom part of the header plate; and the annular packing is arranged between the packing accommodation part and the seal face, and the tank body is fixed to the header plate by the caulking claw.

2. The heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein the protrusion of the convex part is in a direction parallel to longitudinal axes of the tube insertion holes.

3. The heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein a gap is present between the outer side face of each of the tooth parts and the annular packing.

4. The heat exchanger according to claim 3, wherein at edges of the tube insertion holes protective walls for the tube ends are formed extending upward in the direction in which the peripheral wall extends upward, and the annular packing is positioned adjacent longitudinal edges of the protective walls.

5. The heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein the recess of each of the tube end release parts, in transverse section thereof, curves gradually so that the recess is deepest adjacent the packing and gradually becomes more shallow in a direction away from the annular packing.

6. A method for assembling the heat exchanger according to claim 1, comprising: stretching the annular packing so that the stretched annular packing contacts and is thereby mounted onto the outer side face of each of the tooth parts of the tank body, and then fitting the opening of the tank body onto the seal face of the header plate; and subsequently, caulking and fixing the tank body to the header plate with the caulking claws.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 illustrates an exploded perspective view of a main part of a heat exchanger in a first Example of the present invention.

(2) FIG. 2 illustrates a transverse sectional view of the main part.

(3) FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of the main part.

(4) FIG. 4 illustrates a transverse sectional view of a tank body 5 for use in the heat exchanger.

(5) FIG. 5 illustrates a transverse sectional view of a header plate 1 for use in the heat exchanger.

(6) FIG. 6 illustrates a main part plan view seen along a VI-VI arrow in FIG. 5.

(7) FIG. 7 illustrates a main part transverse sectional view of a heat exchanger in a second Example of the invention.

(8) FIG. 8 illustrates a perspective view showing a state where a packing 7 is mounted on the outer periphery of a tooth part 10 in FIG. 7 and an arc-like tooth part 14.

(9) FIG. 9 illustrates a view seen along the IX-IX arrow in FIG. 7.

(10) FIG. 10 illustrates a cross-sectional view seen along the X-X arrow in FIG. 9.

(11) FIG. 11 illustrates a main part plan view showing another example 1 of the header plate 1 for use in a heat exchanger of the present invention.

(12) FIG. 12 illustrates a view seen along the XII-XII arrow in FIG. 11.

(13) FIG. 13 illustrates a main part plan view showing another example 2 of the header plate 1 for use in a heat exchanger of the present invention.

(14) FIG. 14 illustrates a main part plan view showing another example 3 of the header plate 1 for use in a heat exchanger of the present invention.

(15) FIG. 15 illustrates a main part transverse sectional view of a conventional type heat exchanger.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(16) Next, the heat exchanger of the present invention is explained referring to the drawings.

Example 1

(17) FIGS. 1-6 show a first Example of the present invention.

(18) In the heat exchanger, as shown in FIG. 1, a number of flat tubes 3 are disposed in parallel, and the end part of both openings 3b of the flat tube 3 is inserted into a tube insertion hole 2 drilled in parallel in a longitudinal direction of a pair of header plates 1 (a tank on a lower side is omitted). Then, a corrugated fin is arranged between each tube 3 to form a core, and respective components of the core are integrally brazed in a high temperature furnace. A brazing material is, in advance, applied between each component or coated to members.

(19) The header plate 1 is formed by press molding of a plate of metal (such as aluminum, aluminum alloy or stainless steel) and has a plate-like shape with a peripheral wall 8 extended upward at the outer peripheral edge of a bottom part 1c of the plate. At a tip edge of the peripheral wall 8, a caulking claw 9 is separately provided in a protruding state. For the bottom face 1c of each header plate 1, an insertion hole drilling face 1b in which the tube insertion hole 2 is drilled, and a seal face 1a, a packing being placed between an outer periphery thereof and the peripheral wall 8, are provided.

(20) In a state where the packing 7 is placed on the seal face 1a, the tank body 5 is fitted thereto. The tank body 5 has a flange part 6 formed by injection molding of resin, and, by the caulking claw 9 provided in a protruding state for a peripheral edge, the tank body 5 is fixed to the core.

(21) Here, the present invention is characterized by an assembling structure of the resin tank body 5 and the header plate 1. The tank body 5 is formed into an approximately square box-like shape with one opened face, and, at the outer periphery of the opened end, the flange part 6 is formed annularly. Therewith, as illustrated in FIGS. 1-4, a number of tooth parts 10 are provided in a protruding state along the inner peripheral face on an inner face side of the tank body.

(22) The tooth part 10 protrudes from an end face 6a of the flange part 6 of the tank body 5, and at both ends in a longitudinal direction of the tank body 5, a pair of arc-like tooth parts 14 (left side is omitted) are provided in a protruding state. The length of each tooth part 10 and the protruding length of a pair of the arc-like tooth parts 14 from the end face 6a are identical.

(23) That is, in the end face 6a of the tank body 5 and a side face 10a on the outer side of the tooth part 10, as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the transverse section in the width direction of the tank body 5 forms an L-shaped step.

(24) Between these respective tooth parts 10, a tube end release part 11 is formed in a recessed state so as to match the position of the tube insertion hole 2 with respect to the flat tube 3. The tube end release part 11 is recessed, as illustrated in FIGS. 1-3, toward the end face 6a of the flange part 6, so that the transverse section in the width direction of the tank body 5 is in a reverse J-like shape without the head part.

(25) Next, to the header plate 1, as illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, the tube insertion holes 2 are drilled at a constant interval so as to be in parallel in the longitudinal direction of the insertion hole drilling face 1b of the bottom face 1c thereof. At the hole edge part of the tube insertion hole 2, a rim wall 13 extended upward toward the extending direction of the peripheral wall 8 of the header plate 1 is formed. Further, at a position adjacent to each tube insertion hole 2, a convex part 4 is provided in a protruding state toward the extended upward direction of the peripheral wall 8. Furthermore, as illustrated in FIG. 2, it is configured so that a tip edge 10b of the tank body 5 abuts on an edge 4a on the outer side of the convex part 4.

(26) In the example in FIGS. 1-6, the convex part 4 has a shape that rises in a planar state from the inner face bottom part 1c of the header plate 1 over the whole of the insertion hole drilling face 1b. Protruding height H1 from the inner face bottom part 1c of the header plate 1 is formed, as illustrated in FIG. 5, so as not to exceed height H2 from the inner face bottom part 1c to an opening end part into which the flat tube 3 is inserted.

(27) As the result of disposing the convex part 4, it is possible to position the tooth part 10 of the tank body 5, and to prevent lateral slip of the tank body 5. Moreover, as the result of disposing the rim wall 13, it is possible to prevent deformation of the end part of the flat tube 3 due to, when an external force is applied to the tank body 5, direct propagation of the external force to an insertion end part of the flat tube 3.

(28) In the example, between the edge 4a on the outer side of the convex part 4 and the peripheral wall 8 of the header plate 1, the annular and groove-shaped seal face 1a is formed.

(29) When the resin tank body 5 is assembled to such a core of a heat exchanger, in advance, the annular packing 7 is arranged to the seal face 1a of the header plate 1. At this time, the inner periphery of the packing 7 abuts on a side edge on a longer axis side of the rim wall 13 to position the packing 7.

(30) Subsequently, the tank body 5 is fitted onto the header plate 1. The end face 6a of the flange part 6 of the tank body 5 is placed onto the seal face 1a via the packing 7. On this occasion, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the tooth part 10 of the tank body 5 and the tip edge 10b on the inner side of the arc-shaped tooth part 14 abut on the edge 4a on the outer side of the convex part 4 of the header plate 1 to position the tank body 5.

(31) At this time, such a structure is given that the groove-shaped seal face 1a, the peripheral wall 8, the side face 10a of the tooth part 10, and the end face 6a of the flange part 6 form the annular packing accommodation part 12 and the packing 7 is arranged to the packing accommodation part 12.

(32) A side edge on the long axis side of the rim wall 13 is formed so as to protrude from the side face 10a on the outer side of the tooth part 10 of the tank body 5, and, therefore, between the side face 10a on the outer side of the tooth part of the tank body 5 and the inner periphery of the packing 7, a gap 101 is generated. Consequently, it is possible to prevent the tooth part 10 from running on the packing 7, and to keep good sealing performance.

(33) Moreover, as is clear from FIGS. 2 and 3, each flat tube 3 is inserted into the tube insertion hole 2 of the rim wall 13 of the header plate 1, and the side edge 3a is put into the tube end release part 11 between respective tooth parts 10. Consequently, the side edge 3a in the longer axis direction of the opening 3b of the flat tube 3 is caused to protrude on the peripheral wall 8 side. Further, the side edge 3a is positioned on the peripheral wall 8 side than the tip edge 10b of the tooth part 10 of the tank body 5. As the result, the width of the peripheral wall 8 is reduced to give a compact structure.

(34) Subsequently, in the state, the caulking claw 9 at the end part of the peripheral wall 8 of the header plate 1 is caulked to the flange part 6 side of the tank body 5, the tank body 5 is fixed to the core to complete a heat exchanger. At this time, the packing 7 is pressed to the seal face 1a side to form a watertight structure.

(35) In the drawings, portions that give characteristics of the present application are illustrated with emphasis, and, therefore, necessary portions such as a fluid inlet/outlet port for allowing a fluid to flow into the inside of the tank of the heat exchanger are omitted. These are formed at the same time as the tank body 5 upon resin-molding the tank body 5.

Example 2

(36) FIGS. 7-11 illustrate a second Example of the present invention.

(37) A difference from the first Example is, as illustrated in FIG. 7, a point that the packing 7 contacts the tooth part 10 of the tank body 5. Moreover, a characteristic thereof is an assembling method enabling easy assembling, by fitting the packing 7 in advance, as illustrated in FIG. 8, to the side face 10a of the outer periphery of the tooth part 10 of the tank body 5, upon assembling thereof.

(38) The structure of the tank body 5 and the structure of the header plate 1 are the same as those in the first Example, and, therefore, explanation is omitted.

(39) In the second Example, as illustrated in FIG. 8, for the step formed from the end face 6a of the flange part 6 and the tooth part 10 of the tank body 5, and the side face 10a on the outer side of the arc-shaped tooth part 14, in advance the annular packing 7 is fitted, in a stretched state, to the inner periphery thereof. At this time, the packing 7 protrudes slightly by the magnitude of step 15 to the lower side of the tooth part 10 and the tip face of the arc-shaped tooth part 14.

(40) In the state, in the case where the tank body 5 is fitted onto the header plate 1 and pressed, the magnitude of the step 15 is pressed and, as illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10, the inner periphery 7b of the packing 7 is pushed out to be abutted on the side edge on the longer axis side of the rim wall 13 of the tube insertion hole 2 of each flat tube 3, and the packing 7 is positioned. In the state, the caulking claw 9 of the peripheral wall 8 is caulked to the flange part 6 of the tank body 5, and the tank body 5 and the core are fixed to each other.

(41) In the above-described two Examples, the explanation is given on the basis of the example in which the rim wall 13 is provided at the hole edge of the tube insertion hole 2, but it is also possible to insert the flat tube 3, without providing the rim wall 13, into the header plate 1. In this case, the inner periphery of the packing 7 can also be contacted to the side edge 3a of the inserted end part of the flat tube 3 to position the packing 7.

(42) Moreover, in the drawings, such a configuration is illustrated that the tube end release part 11 is recessed so that the transverse section has a reverse J-like shape without the head portion, but, if a shape allows a tube edge to be inserted reasonably, the above-described shape is not limitative.

(43) (Another Example of Shape of Convex Part 4 of Header Plate 1)

(44) In addition, the shape of the convex part 4 of the header plate 1 can be set, as illustrated in FIGS. 11 and 12, to a projection linearly extending between the tube insertion holes 2. Moreover, as illustrated in FIG. 13, the shape can also be set to a linear projection extending in the parallel direction of the tube insertion holes 2. Furthermore, as illustrated in FIG. 14, by providing dimple-shaped projections to form the convex part 4, displacement of the tooth part 10 of the tank body 5 can also be prevented.

(45) The shape of the convex part 4 provided for the header plate 1 may be a shape that exerts the effect of the convex part 4 of the present invention (at least a function of preventing displacement of the tooth part 10 of the tank body 5), and the above-described Examples are not limitative.