HEAT EXCHANGER FOR VEHICLE

Abstract

A heat exchanger for vehicles includes: a plurality of first stacked plates forming a condensing portion in which a refrigerant is condensed through heat exchange between a coolant and the refrigerant; a receiver container for storing the refrigerant passing through the condensing portion; a plurality of second stacked plates forming a sub-cooling portion for cooling the refrigerant through heat exchange between the coolant and the refrigerant discharged from the receiver container; and an intermediate plate between the first stacked plates and the second stacked plates and comprising through holes through which the refrigerant and the coolant respectively move.

Claims

1. A heat exchanger for vehicles that performs heat exchange between a coolant and a refrigerant, comprising: a plurality of first stacked plates forming a condensing portion in which the refrigerant is condensed through heat exchange between the coolant and the refrigerant; a receiver container for storing the refrigerant passing through the condensing portion; a plurality of second stacked plates forming a subcooling portion for cooling the refrigerant through heat exchange between the coolant and the refrigerant discharged from the receiver container; and an intermediate plate interposed between the plurality of the first stacked plates and the plurality of the second stacked plates and comprising through holes through which the refrigerant and the coolant respectively move, wherein the plurality of the second stacked plates form a refrigerant bypass passage for bypassing the refrigerant passing through the condensing portion and the through hole of the intermediate plate to the receiver container, wherein the refrigerant bypass passage is formed in the form of a sealed passage by male-female coupling of male and female flanges respectively provided on the adjacent second stacked plates, wherein the plurality of the second stacked plates form a through hole through which the refrigerant returned from the receiver container moves, and wherein the refrigerant bypass passage and the through hole are disposed adjacent to each other in a lateral direction.

2. The heat exchanger for vehicles of claim 1, further comprising first and second cover plates respectively disposed outside the plurality of the first stacked plates and outside the plurality of the second stacked plates, and a connecting block fixing the receiver container to the second cover plate, wherein the receiver container comprises an inlet hole through which the refrigerant is introduced and an outlet hole that is formed at a position lower than the inlet hole and through which the refrigerant is discharged, and wherein the connection block is configured such that the refrigerant introduced from the refrigerant bypass passage moves upwardly and is then supplied to the inlet hole so that the refrigerant is introduced to the inlet hole positioned at a position higher than the outlet hole and is then discharged to the outlet hole.

3. The heat exchanger for vehicles of claim 2, wherein the female flange comprises a protruding contact portion configured to be in close contact with the facing second stacked plate, and an insertion portion extending from the protruding contact portion, and wherein the male flange is inserted into the insertion portion.

4. The heat exchanger for vehicles of claim 2, wherein the second cover plate comprises a through hole connected to the refrigerant bypass passage, and wherein the connecting block comprises: a recessed groove communicating with the through hole of the second cover plate; a guide groove that is connected to the recessed groove and extends upwardly; and a through hole that extends toward the inlet hole of the receiver container at an upper end of the guide groove.

5. The heat exchanger for vehicles of claim 1, wherein the plurality of the second stacked plates form a through hole through which the refrigerant returned from the receiver container moves, wherein the refrigerant bypass passage and the through hole through which the refrigerant returned from the receiver container moves are disposed adjacent to each other in a lateral direction, and wherein the refrigerant bypass passage and the through hole through which the refrigerant returned from the receiver container moves are formed on flanges connected to each other.

6. The heat exchanger for vehicles of claim 1, wherein the intermediate plate is configured to block at least a portion of the flow of the refrigerant flowing through the first stacked plate to change a direction of the flow and then to transfer the flow to the second stacked plate.

7. A heat exchanger for vehicles that performs heat exchange between a coolant and a refrigerant, comprising: a plurality of first stacked plates forming a condensing portion in which the refrigerant is condensed through heat exchange between the coolant and the refrigerant; a receiver container for storing the refrigerant passing through the condensing portion; a plurality of second stacked plates forming a subcooling portion for cooling the refrigerant through heat exchange between the refrigerant discharged from the receiver container and the coolant; and an intermediate plate interposed between the plurality of the first stacked plates and the plurality of the second stacked plates and comprising through holes through which the refrigerant and the coolant respectively move, wherein the plurality of the second stacked plates form a refrigerant bypass passage for bypassing the refrigerant passing through the condensing portion and the through hole of the intermediate plate to the receiver container, wherein the refrigerant bypass passage is formed in the form of a sealed passage by male-female coupling of male and female flanges respectively provided on the adjacent second stacked plates, wherein the plurality of the second stacked plates form a through hole through which the refrigerant returned from the receiver container moves, wherein the refrigerant bypass passage is positioned to be higher than the through hole on the second stacked plate, wherein the receiver container comprises an inlet hole through which the refrigerant is introduced and an outlet hole that is positioned to be lower than the inlet hole and through which the refrigerant is discharged, and further comprising an upper coupler that is provided at a height corresponding to the inlet hole and is connected to the refrigerant bypass passage and the inlet hole and a lower coupler that is provided at a height corresponding to the outlet hole and is connected to the through hole through which the refrigerant returned from the receiver container and the outlet hole.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0018] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a heat exchanger for vehicles according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0019] FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of a heat exchanger for vehicles according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0020] FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of a heat exchanger for vehicles according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0021] FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a heat exchanger for vehicles according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0022] FIG. 5 is a drawing showing a flow of coolant of a heat exchanger for vehicles according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] FIG. 6 is a drawing showing a flow of refrigerant of a heat exchanger for vehicles according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along a line VII-VII in FIG. 1.

[0025] FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along a line VIII-VIII in FIG. 1.

[0026] FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of second stacked plates of a heat exchanger for vehicles according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0027] FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along a line X-X in FIG. 9.

[0028] FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a connecting block of a heat exchanger for vehicles according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0029] FIG. 12 is a rear perspective view of a connecting block of a heat exchanger for vehicles according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0030] FIG. 13 is a drawing showing second stacked plates of a heat exchanger for vehicles according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0031] FIG. 14 is a sectional view taken along a line II-II in FIG. 13.

[0032] FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a heat exchanger for vehicles according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0033] FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a heat exchanger for vehicles according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0034] FIG. 17 is a sectional view taken along a line DI-DI in FIG. 15.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

[0035] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0036] A heat exchanger according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 1 to 4. A vehicle heat exchanger according to an embodiment of the present invention is a water-cooled heat exchanger that cools a refrigerant using a liquid coolant. The vehicle heat exchanger may be configured to perform heat exchange between a refrigerant flow and a coolant flow, and may be configured to transfer heat of the refrigerant to the coolant so that condensation and subcooling of the refrigerant occur. For example, the heat exchanger can be applied as an auxiliary heat source for a passenger compartment heater in a vehicle.

[0037] The heat exchanger includes a plurality of stacked plates 101 and 201 made of metal such as aluminum. Each of the stacked plates 101 and 201 may have a substantially rectangular shape and may have a rim at an edge. The stacked plates 101 and 201 may be sequentially stacked so that their rims are in close contact with each other to form a refrigerant space filled with a refrigerant and a coolant space filled with a coolant. The refrigerant space and the coolant space are fluidly separated from each other and configured to be alternately formed between the stacked plates 101 and 201, and the heat of the refrigerant is transferred to the coolant through the stacked plates 101 and 201. Hereinafter, a stacked plate indicated by reference numeral 101 is referred to as a first stacked plate, and a stacked plate indicated by reference numeral 201 is referred to as a second stacked plate.

[0038] An intermediate plate 300 is interposed between the plurality of first stacked plates 101 and the plurality of second stacked plates 201. A first cover plate 410 is disposed outside the plurality of first stacked plates 101 and a second cover plate 420 is disposed outside the plurality of second stacked plates 201. A receiver container 500 is fastened to the second cover plate 420 through a connection block 600. The plurality of first stacked plates 101 form a condensing portion 10 in which the refrigerant is condensed, and the plurality of second stacked plates 201 form a subcooling portion 20 in which the condensed refrigerant is further cooled.

[0039] A receiver container 500 may have a substantially hollow cylindrical shape forming a space filled with a refrigerant therein. The receiver container 500 is formed to store and discharge the refrigerant condensed in the condensation portion 10, and may include a desiccant material for removing vapor phase moisture from the refrigerant. The receiver container 500 is also called a gas-liquid separator in that it functions to remove gaseous substances from liquid refrigerant. Liquid refrigerant is discharged from the receiver container 500 and supplied to the subcooling portion 20.

[0040] The refrigerant flows into the condensing portion 10 through the first cover plate 410, fills the refrigerant space, passes through the intermediate plate 300 and the subcooling portion 20, and then flows into the receiver container 500. The refrigerant discharged from the receiver container 500 flows into the subcooling portion 20, fills the refrigerant space, and is discharged through the second cover plate 420. Meanwhile, the coolant flows into the subcooling portion 20 through the second cover plate 420, fills the coolant space, flows into the condensing portion 10 through the intermediate plate 300, fills the coolant space, and is then discharged through the first cover plate 410.

[0041] The first cover plate 410 includes a refrigerant inlet 411 for introducing refrigerant, and the first stacked plate 201 forms a through hole 2 for refrigerant flow. As shown in the drawing, the through hole 2 may be formed at a position adjacent to one side of the stacked plate 201 and a position adjacent to the opposite side, respectively. The intermediate plate 300 may form a through hole 311 for the movement of refrigerant, and the through hole 311 may be formed at a position opposite to the refrigerant inlet 411 of the first cover plate 410. At this time, each first stacked plate 201 has two through holes 2 for refrigerant movement, and the intermediate plate 300 is provided with a through hole 311 formed at position corresponding to one of the two through holes 2 for refrigerant movement. At this time, the intermediate plate 300 is configured to block at least a portion of the flow of the refrigerant flowing through the first laminated plate 201, convert the flow, and transfer the flow to the second stacked plate 301. To this end, the intermediate plate 300 is blocked at a position corresponding to one of the two through holes 2 of the first stacked plate 201 and has a through hole 311 formed at a position corresponding to the other of the two through holes 2, thereby changing the direction of flow of a portion of refrigerant flowing through the first stacked plate 201 to transfer to the second stacked plate 301. The second cover plate 420 may include a through hole 421 for discharging the refrigerant, a through hole 422 for discharging the refrigerant to the receiver container 500, a through hole 423 for receiving the refrigerant returned from the receiver container 500, and a through hole 424 for introducing coolant. The second cover plate 420 may include a refrigerant outlet 425 connected to the through hole 421 for discharging the refrigerant, and a coolant inlet 426 connected to the through hole 424 for introducing the coolant.

[0042] Meanwhile, a refrigerant bypass passage RB is formed to supply the refrigerant condensed in the condensing portion 10 to the receiver container 500 across the subcooling portion 20. The refrigerant bypass passage RB is formed to be fluidly sealed from the refrigerant space and the coolant space of the subcooling portion 20, and is formed to pass through the subcooling portion 20 to interconnect the through hole 311 of the intermediate plate 300 and the through hole 422 of the second cover plate 420. As a result, the refrigerant condensed in the condensing portion 10 may be supplied to the receiver container 500 through the refrigerant bypass passage RB. The refrigerant discharged from the receiver container 500 is returned to the subcooling portion 20 through the through hole 423 of the second cover plate 420, and the refrigerant returned to the subcooling portion 20 fills the refrigerant space while moving passing through the through hole 5 and is discharged again through the through hole 421 of the second cover plate 420 and the outlet 425.

[0043] FIG. 5 shows the coolant flow (dotted arrow) of the vehicle heat exchanger according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 shows the refrigerant flow (dotted arrow) of the vehicle heat exchanger according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0044] First, referring to FIG. 5, the coolant is introduced into the subcooling portion 20 through the inlet 426 and the through hole 424 of the second cover plate 420, and fills the coolant space of the subcooling portion 20 while moving through the through hole 6. At this time, the through holes 6 may be formed near opposite sides of the second stacked plate 201, one of which is located at a position corresponding to the through hole 424 of the second cover plate 420. The intermediate plate 300 forms a through hole 312 formed at a position corresponding to the through hole 6 of the second stacked plate 201 through which the coolant passes, and the coolant is introduced into the condensing portion 10 through the through hole 312. The coolant fills the coolant space of the condensing portion 10 while moving through the through hole 3 formed in the first stacked plate 101. At this time, the through hole 3 of the first stacked plate 101 may be formed at a position corresponding to the through hole 312 of the intermediate plate 300 through which the coolant passes, and the coolant outlet 412 of the first cover plate 410 may be formed at a position corresponding to one of the two through holes 3 of the first stacked plate 101 through which the coolant passes.

[0045] Meanwhile, referring to FIG. 6, the refrigerant is introduced into the condensing portion 10 through the refrigerant inlet 411 of the first cover plate 410. The introduced refrigerant moves through the through hole 2 of the condensing portion 10 to pass through the condensing portion 10, and the condensed refrigerant is bypassed to the receiver container 500 via the refrigerant bypass passage RB and the through hole 422 of the second cover plate 420. The refrigerant discharged from the receiver container 500 is introduced into the subcooling portion 20 via the through hole 423 of the second cover plate 420, and the introduced refrigerant passes through the subcooling portion while moving through the through hole 5 of the second stacked plate 201. The refrigerant passing through the subcooling portion 20 fills the refrigerant space and moves through the through hole 5 on the opposite side of the second stacked plate 201 to be discharged through the through hole 421 of the second cover plate 420 and the outlet 425.

[0046] As mentioned above, in the condensing portion 10 and the subcooling portion the refrigerant space and the coolant space are alternately formed between the adjacent stacked plates 101 and 201, and for this purpose, a protruding flange 61 surrounding the through hole 6 of the second stacked plate 201 through which the coolant passes, a protruding flange 51 of the second stacked plate 201 surrounding the through hole 5 through which the refrigerant passes, a protruding flange 21 surrounding the through hole 2 of the first stacked plate 101 through which the refrigerant passes, and a protruding flange 31 surrounding the through hole 3 of the first stacked plate 101 through which the coolant passes are formed alternately. The protruding flange 61 of the second stacked plate 201 is in close contact with the facing surface of the next second stacked plate 201, whereby the coolant is not filled in the space between the corresponding two second stacked plates 201, that is, the refrigerant space. Similarly, protruding flanges 31 surrounding the through holes 3 of the neighboring first stacked plate 101 through which the coolant passes are alternately formed. Similarly, protruding flanges 21 and 51 surrounding the through holes 2 and 5 of the neighboring first and second stacked plates 101 and 201 through which the refrigerant passes are alternately formed. Accordingly, the refrigerant space and the coolant space may be alternately formed.

[0047] The refrigerant bypass passage RB is formed by male-female coupling of a male flange 41 and a female flange 42 respectively forming the through hole 4 described above. Referring to FIGS. 7, 9 and 10, the male flange 41 and the female flange 42 are alternately formed on the second stacked plates 201 arranged in sequence, and the refrigerant bypass passage RB fluidically sealed from the space between the second stacked plates 201 is formed by male-female coupling of the male flanges 41 and the female flanges 42. The male flange 41 is formed to protrude toward the second staked plate 201 having the female flange 42. The female flange 42 includes a protruding contact portion 421 that protrudes toward the facing stacked plate 201 and a receiving portion 422 that protrudes from the protruding contact portion 421 in an opposite direction and is configured to receive the male flange 41. The male flange 41 and the receiving portion 422 may have a corresponding hollow cylindrical shape, and the male flange 41 may be inserted into the receiving portion 422 in a fluid-tight manner. As a result, as shown in FIG. 7, a tubular portion is formed by continuous coupling of the male flange 41 and the female flange 42, thereby forming the refrigerant bypass passage RB. According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is no need for a separately inserted tubular member to bypass the refrigerant, and the refrigerant bypass flow path is formed by the male-female coupling of the male and female flanges 41 and 42 provided in the second stacked plate 201 in a simple structure.

[0048] The second cover plate 420 is fixed to the plurality of the second stacked plates 201, and a connecting block 600 connects the receiver container 500 to the second cover plate 420. For example, the receiver container 500, the connecting block 600, and the second cover plate 420 may be fixed to each other through brazing. The connecting block 600 is configured to form an inflow passage through which refrigerant flows into the receiver container 500 and an outflow passage through which refrigerant is discharged from the receiver container 500. Referring to FIGS. 8, 11 and 12, the inflow passage may be formed by a recessed space 601 on a surface 610 of the connecting block 600 to face the second cover plate 420, a guide groove 602 that is connected to the recessed space 601 and is formed on the surface of the connecting block 600 to extend upward, and a upper through hole 603 that is connected to an upper end of the guide groove 602 and is penetrated to a contact surface of the connecting block 600 contacting the receiver container 500. The discharge passage may be implemented by a lower through hole 604 disposed adjacent to the recessed space 601 in a lateral direction. The upper through hole 603 may communicate with an inlet hole 501 of the receiver container 500 and the lower through hole 604 may communicate with an outlet hole 502 of the receiver container 500. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the receiver container 500 is fixed by a connection block 600, which is a single member, and the connection block 600 is configured such that a position where the refrigerant flows into the receiver container 500 is higher than a position where the refrigerant is discharged therefrom.

[0049] FIGS. 13 and 14 show a second stacked plate of a vehicle heat exchanger according to another embodiment of the present invention. According to this embodiment, a through hole 4 for bypassing the refrigerant to the receiver container 50 and a through hole 5 through which the refrigerant returned from the receiver container 50 passes are surrounded by a single protruding flange 80. That is, the adjacent through holes 4 and 5 are surrounded by flanges 80 connected to each other. Compared to the case where the two through holes are formed on separate flanges, since the two through holes 4 and 5 are formed on the flange 80 having two portions connected to each other, manufacturing is easy and contact property to the next adjacent stacked plate 21 is improved with the flange 80 having a single height so that fluid sealing properties can be improved.

[0050] FIGS. 15 to 17 show a vehicle heat exchanger according to another embodiment of the present invention. The same reference numerals are used for the same parts as those of the above-described embodiment, and repeated descriptions are omitted. In this embodiment, in order to connect the second cover plate 420 and the receiver container 500, two couplers 611 and 612 are used instead of a connection block. Referring to FIGS. 16 and 17, two couplers 611 and 612 are vertically arranged to correspond to positions of the inlet hole 501 and the outlet hole 502 of the receiver container 500. Accordingly, the through hole 4 of the second stacked plate 201 communicating with the coupler 611 disposed above is disposed above the through hole 5 of the second stacked plate 201 communicating with the coupler 612 disposed below.

[0051] Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications and improvements by those skilled in the art using the basic concept of the present invention as defined in the following claims are also within the scope of the invention.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

[0052] The present invention can be applied as a heat exchanger for vehicles to have an industrial applicability.